This article has a good plan for following up with the cooler leads. As the market slows, those who have good follow-up strategies in place will be fine...Those who relied on cherry-picking (or low-hanging fruit) for all their business may have a harder time...
3 Persuasive Strategies for Nurturing Move-Up Buyers or Renters
by Demian Farnworth
Transactions, not leads, are the true currency of real estate.
That's why it's so important to make follow up a priority on your leads you generate. If you don't nurture and close those leads, even a 1,000 leads a month won't save you from burnout, the blues or bankruptcy.
Understandably, following up on even 100 leads in a month is a lot of work. That's why if you do generate a lot of leads then you should probably cherry pick only the financially qualified and highly-motivated, which, by the way, is a sound strategy.
But let me throw something at you? By simply nurturing the leads that may be further out in the sales cycle, you can easily double the number of transactions you close every year.
But there's a catch. What's it worth to you to close twice as many deals a year as you do now? Thirty, forty, maybe even sixty more hours of your time a month?
If you said more than forty hours of your time is the maximum you are willing to sacrifice, then you'll be please to know that the following strategy will take you less than an hour a month to implement.
Here's How It Works
Once a month take the leads that you didn't follow up on - the ones that you have a name and address for - and split them into two categories based on their address: renters and homeowners.
Now, for the addresses that are obviously apartments send a letter like this for renters.
3-step Move-Up Homeowner Strategy
In first letter you are simply making contact with the renter. You're introducing yourself, sending them the MLS sheet on the home they called about and MLS sheets on 3 more comparable properties. You go so far as applauding them for making a decision to get out of the rent trap. You close with an invitation to meet face-to-face or simply call.
After thirty days, if you haven't heard from them, send a second letter.
In this letter you are including three new MLS sheets for homes like the home they originally called you about. In addition, you are giving another very strong incentive to get out of the rent trap. This time you have a piece of proof - a Harvard University study done that demonstrates that homeowners' assets and wealth grow over 70 times faster than renters. (Although Senior homeowners were the topic of the study, the information is relevant to renters of all ages. Very powerful stuff.) http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/finance/w05-8.pdf
Send the final letter if you haven't heard from anyone in over 60 days from the original call. This third letter really puts a push on the renter to get out of the rent trap by tugging on that emotional heartstring of pride and fear. It also offers an opportunity to sit down with you and discuss issues like down payments, financing and renting versus homeownership.
3-step Move-Up Homeowner Strategy
Now, for the group made up of homeowners, send them the first homeowner letter. In this letter you are doing the same as the renter letter - introducing yourself, sending MLS sheets - except your not including the information about avoiding the rent trap. Again, it's a close with an invitation to meet face-to-face or simply call.
After 30 days, mail the second homeowner letter. Here you are just checking in, informing them if there has been any change on the status of the home they originally called about and sending a couple of MLS sheets for comparables.
For the homeowners, the final letter takes a new approach: in this letter, you are asking them to call you and leave some information behind. They can receive a free over the phone market evaluation simply by calling your toll-free call number. In return you're going to send them an over-the-phone market evaluation. What you're trying to do here is get them thinking about selling their house - even if they are three or more months out already.
Imagine the Benefits
If you want to tap into every ounce of opportunity you can, opening the door to transactions as wide as possible, then this easy, 3-step letter program is exactly what you need to do.
Cherry picking is good when there is plenty of good going around. But especially when the market slows down, you want to have plenty of ripe plants in the ground to pull up when other areas slow down.
One agent said that by following this approach she was able to raise her transactions from 5% to 11% each month with the leads she generated. That means if you can generate 100 leads in a month, then you'll get 11 transactions out of those 100 leads in the next twelve months. And that kind of momentum will build until you have an unstoppable transaction machine.
About the Author: Demian Farnworth is the Copywriter for Proquest Technologies and the Editor for The Real Estate Insider and Writer/Editor for In the Zone, both real estate marketing email newsletters. To learn more about Proquest Technologies simply visit http://www.realestategrowth.com. Or email Demian at demian@proquest-tech.com
