Is your lead conversion 99% (give or take a 1% margin for error)?
Do you provide an excellent customer experience?
Do past clients flood your inboxes with reviews and referrals?
Do your competitors tremble at the mere mention of your name?
No? Here are seven things you can do to start converting leads and closing business.
Respond quickly and communicate effectively. Answer or return every call, email or text message immediately – or within moments of receiving it – even if you have to tell the caller that you’re currently showing a home and will get back to them as soon as possible. Communicate clearly and consistently, providing your leads and clients with some measure of value during every interaction, whether explaining a step in the process, passing along helpful tips or just remembering someone’s birthday.
Listen. When the client does most of the talking, you will gain a deeper understanding of their time frame, motivation and concerns. You’ll be better equipped to provide a customer experience that delights them and inspires them to refer you and, ultimately, return to you the next time they need your services.
Pay attention to detail. You must think of everything, omit nothing, and be ready for anything. In the blink of an eye, you can provide any piece of data a client may ask you for – whether that’s the square footage of a listing, closing prices of the three nearest just-sold homes, or the deadline for any piece of paperwork.
Build and maintain connections. You’re not only a “people person” with leads and clients, you also partner with other professionals – lenders, appraisers, home inspectors, attorneys, even other agents – to build a vast network dedicated to helping people successfully buy and sell homes.
Stick with it. Never give up on a lead, a sparse inventory or a lagging market. Make sure you regularly check in with contacts and past clients to see how you can help them, and do whatever it takes to convert a lead and close a sale.
Be creative and adaptive. Take on challenges with a cool head and overcome them with panache. Be on the constant lookout for new ideas, strategies and knowledge to make the client’s buying or selling process smoother, faster, easier and ultimately rewarding.
Stay well-informed and never stop learning. Be well versed in the local housing market, area and neighborhoods. Stay on top of the industry with continuing education and professional development. (Reading this newsletter is a good start!)
None of these habits should come as any surprise and you may already apply some of them to your business. The trick is to adopt all of them and make them part of your DNA.
Top-earning real estate agents live and breathe lead-nurturing, customer service and marketing all day, every day, because they know that doing these tasks better than anybody else is what puts them on top.