Today, my entire career revolves around cold calling and training agents and inside sales agents (ISAs) to follow up effectively on the phone. What changed? Well, over the years, I developed effective real estate scripts and strategies to take the guesswork (and anxiety!) out of the process.

In this article, I’ll be answering the six most common questions I get from agents and ISAs about how and when to follow up with leads. My hope is that putting these questions to rest will help make your follow-up calls easier, and in turn help you convert more leads.

1. How Soon Should I Call Leads Back?

The most common question I get from agents is “How soon should I call my leads back?” The best rule of thumb here is to ASK the lead! AND PLEASE, ask them to do you a favor because you know how calls and texts can get lost: “Would you please save my number!”

Here are a few real estate scripts you can use to schedule your follow-up calls, making the process a no-brainer. This will help you build confidence on your calls.

2. What Do I Say When I Call Them Back?

The second most common question I get is “What do I say when I call them?” Well, the hard truth is that what you say is much less important than being consistent with your follow-up calls.

Your goal for your follow-up should just be to let them know YOU SHOW UP FOR THE JOB. Building confidence and rapport during this stage is vital to earning their trust and business.

Remember this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Your First Call Will Determine What You Say on Follow-up Calls

You should know from the first conversation what is most important to them, which will determine what you say in your follow-up calls. I can’t emphasize how important it is to take detailed notes during your calls to prepare for a follow-up conversation.

Getting Personal Makes Follow-up Conversations Easier

Keep conversation personal; building rapport is the goal here. If they share with you that they are taking their child out to dinner for their birthday, on your next call, ask them how they enjoyed it. Remember, on that first call, the most important goal is not going right for the appointment. It’s about discovering where they are in the process, their situation, and how you can be of service.

For Effective Follow-up Calls, Ask the Right Questions

Here is an example follow-up script that leans on the rapport you’ve already built, and drives the conversation by asking the right questions:

Of course, not every conversation is going to go like this. But this is a very typical follow-up conversation. Asking the right questions to take the guesswork out of the follow-up is a technique that will prevent you from overthinking the process. Here are a few questions you may want to consider.

1. Do you have any questions?
2. Has anything changed?
3. How is mom, dog, husband, grandchildren? (Or anything personal they may have mentioned in the first call.)

Show that you care and you listen. Always remember: They value how much you care more than how much you know.

Everyone likes to be listened to, and if you can get them talking about their life, you will win. What exactly you talk about almost doesn’t matter. This is because when pressing for the appointment, you will be attaching an emotion to your conversations with them.

Building rapport and establishing a personal connection takes the pressure off, and if you do it right, they will actually look forward to your follow-up calls.

3. What If They Don’t Answer the Phone When I Call Them Back?

This is another very common question I get. The answer is simple. Do the happy dance and know you won’t get stuck on the phone. Don’t overthink this—just do it!

If you follow the scripts from the “How soon should I call them back” section above, you will never have to stress about them not picking up the phone. After all, you’ve already built rapport with them.

However, you should always remember you are not yet a priority in their life. All you’re trying to do here is to stay top of mind. That’s it.

4. Should I Leave a Voicemail?

Yes! Here is the message I train my coaching clients to use whenever they are sent to voicemail:

While I say this in every article, it’s always worth repeating: You just have to be a little bit better than your competition. I promise you—competing agents are not even calling or are just hanging up when they get voicemail because they don’t know what to say. Now you know what to say, so you no longer have an excuse to not leave a message.

Are you going to win them all? Of course not. But again, I want to remind you that if you follow my strategies, you will feel better about yourself and will leave fewer opportunities on the table.

Don’t get frustrated if you keep getting sent to voicemail. People are busy with work, family, hobbies, and just living life.

You can’t control what people do, so don’t get hung up on one lead, or even getting sent to voicemail 20 times a day.

Always remember that this is a numbers game. The more check-ins you do, the more you are increasing your chances of winning. So when you get voicemail after voicemail, just keep saying Next…!

And I repeat, do not get attached to the outcome. Learn to enjoy the process. Be grateful you have leads to follow up with rather than being upset that they don’t answer the phone when you call. I’m actually grateful when they don’t answer so I can get more touches completed that day.

So, is your glass half-full or half-empty? It’s up to you.

5. How Many Times Should I Try Calling Them?

This is where too many agents overthink the process and actually set up their own objections. They think they’re bothering the lead with their follow-up calls. What if they’re eating dinner? What if they’re playing with their children?

It’s hard enough dealing with the lead’s objections, so why create your own? Early on in my career, I had to learn to remove my own objections from the process as much as possible. I would set a follow-up call reminder and when it popped up in my tasks, I would just stare at my notes and talk myself out of calling them. Because I didn’t want to bother them.

I learned the hard way that if I set the proper expectations on the first call, it made this process more automatic. I was then able to stop the self-talk and just make the damn call. This was a huge confidence booster—not to mention a time saver!

In order to take the guesswork out of deciding how often to try calling, set the expectation for follow-ups on your first call. Here are some easy real estate scripts to use to do just that:

This process stops the monkey mind because now you don’t care if they don’t answer the phone. You have asked permission to continue to check in and also let them know you understand they may not answer when you call.

Think about the calls you receive that you dodge. How does it make you feel? The more upfront you are with your leads about the follow-up process, the easier it makes it for everyone.

6. What If They NEVER Respond to My Repeated Calls?

The unfortunate reality is that some leads will simply never respond to you. This is a hard lesson to learn, but an important one.

Dealing with this is simple. You can’t win them all! If you did, The Close wouldn’t exist and no one would be in need of my coaching services. The Close gets over 400,000 page views a month and my coaching business is busier than ever, so …

You also need to work hard to not take it personally. We can’t force people to hire us. However, if you use my scripts and follow up correctly, at least you will know you did everything you could to connect with that lead.

Making phone calls for over a decade (not just to my leads but for multiple brokers across the country), I have realized one thing. Your leads do not ghost you on purpose. Most of the time, leads that stop responding just changed their minds. Life happens, right?

Follow Up Until They Buy or Die

A lot of agents don’t want to hear this, but it’s true. Effective follow-up is a numbers game. The more you follow up, the better your chances of closing are. It really is that simple. You will never find the perfect time to call when they’re not busy. It just doesn’t exist.

In fact, when I follow up, I always try to mention that I know they are busy and maybe things have changed since we spoke last. Here are a few example real estate scripts you can use to acknowledge how busy you know they are.

Always make it about them, and remember you are doing what you should be doing. And you may just have to let go of some leads. I always ask myself, is this really someone I want to work with if they can’t communicate?

Build your business with great relationships and you will have a lot more fun. And always remember setting the expectation is the magic to winning.

Over to You

Do you have more questions about follow-up phone calls that I didn’t address in this article? Let me know in the comments!

The post How to Master the Follow-up Phone Call in 2022 (+ Scripts) appeared first on The Close.

That’s why today I am going to give you my easy follow-up tips as well as show you how to stop overtasking and get you excited about long-term lead nurturing! These tips and tricks will quickly turn your database into a money-making machine and increase your conversion rate.

Before we get to the scripts though, let’s start with my two rules for nurturing leads over the long term:

1. Stop Sweating That First Phone Call. The Money Is Made in the Follow-up.

Let’s face it, that first call is just sexier, right? You spew out all of your charm and knowledge, do the happy dance, and get excited for that future closing … That is, until reality sets in and you find out they are not in the market until next year!

So you set a reminder, forget about them, and never speak with them again. Sadly, this is what the majority of agents do with lead nurture these days: “Set and Forget.”

If you truly want to increase your conversion rate this year, you have to shift out of this mindset. Make your new mantra “No lead left behind.”

The truth is internet leads spend hours, days, and weeks scouring the web before you get their contact information. They leave a trail every time they want to see more photos or get more information on a home. This creates the competition, because they generally leave their contact information on multiple websites, not just yours.

Agents are in constant competition to call the lead immediately because of the popular “speed to lead” being drilled into the industry. I am not going to disagree, but I would also like for you to see each lead as more of a marathon than a race. It is equally important to focus on being at the right place at the right time when the lead is actually ready to make a move.

So stop sweating so much over that first phone call. The money is made in the follow-up.

2. You Only Need to Be a Little Better at Long-term Nurturing Than the Competition

I always say, “The agent who has the conversation is the one setting himself up for future success.” This is because an actual conversation with your lead will let you know their situation and what has to happen for them to need your services.

Thinking long term and bigger picture is what gives you the competitive edge. I promise you the leads are not getting followed up within your competition’s databases. How do I know this? Because I see it every day with the brokerages and agents I train: One phone call and the lead goes into the Bermuda Triangle of their customer relationship manager (CRM) to be forever lost.

The First Call: Learn Their Needs & Set Expectations for Long-term Follow-up

Earlier, I mentioned the importance of keeping the lead in your database instead of expecting them to come back to your website on their own. After all, it is so much easier for leads to ask Google, Alexa, and Siri “Hey, how much is the home on 123 Main Street?” than it is for them to come back to your site and search for the home.

This is why it is imperative to learn the lead’s expectations on that first call and to let them know they have ALL the listings they will ever need on your website.

The following script is an example of what a first call conversation should look like to learn their situation and set expectations for long-term follow-up:

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Agent: I totally understand your timing and that you are not ready and in the process of educating yourself on the market. What information is most important for you to know in the meantime?

Lead: I am not sure, I am just looking right now.

Agent: The best thing is to really be able to see what you get for your money and start the process of eliminating locations based on what you are seeing in the market. I can set up a general search to update you on new homes coming on the market and we can review them and work on specifics over time while you are studying the market. How does that sound?

Lead: That would be great, yes.

Agent: Great, I have your email address as lead@email.com, is that the best email?

Lead: I don’t check that one very often, use this one __________.

Agent: Got it, how often would you like to receive updates? Daily or weekly?

Lead: Weekly.

Agent: Perfect. I am going to send an email out as soon as I set it up. Please make sure you receive it, as it may go to spam. We have been having problems with email servers marking the emails as spam because of the links within the email. I will touch base with you in a week or two to make sure you are receiving them and see if there are any changes you would like to make. How would you like me to contact you, phone, text, or email?

Lead: Text would be great!

Agent: Wonderful, will do. So in the meantime, how often would you like to hear from me? I know homes may come up and your time frame may change. I don’t want to be guessing on when to communicate with you, but really would like the opportunity to earn your business when that time does come. Is there anything else I could currently be doing to make sure we communicate when you are ready?

Of course, most of the time, the lead will have no idea what their actual needs are. That’s OK—just setting the expectation of follow-up sets you apart and builds your value proposition. Just remember to set a reminder in your CRM to do exactly what you said on the day you said you’d do it.

It is imperative to monitor these leads as emails do get lost, communication gets forgotten, and the lead gets left behind … and there you have a missed opportunity. So set yourself a task to check in with these leads at least once a month.

Of course, before setting that task, you need to make sure this lead is worth your time. Agents these days have a tendency to overtask everything, so their CRM is filled with tasks that they never seem to have time to complete.

We all know agents who are constantly overwhelmed and let important tasks slip through the cracks. That’s why I want you to think about the quality of the lead when you are creating a task. Do you have a 70% or more chance of sitting at the settlement table with this lead? If yes, then that is a task-worthy lead!

This is your future pipeline of business. Treat it like it is your only deal!

Setting Expectations With Lower-priority Long-term Leads

We all have leads that we don’t know what to do with. We set a task with every intention of following up, but well …. you know what happens. We get “busy.” Yet with all the demands of real estate, these longer-term leads take a backseat because they are such low priority and seem to take so much of our time. The tasks add up into a tidal wave that makes us want to poke out our eyeballs. Follow-up inevitably gets forgotten.

Actually, this is my personal favorite category of leads to work. These leads are important BUT don’t really qualify for time on your calendar. Think about the following scenarios and having the ability to mass communicate via text and email. With this strategy, you can follow up with hundreds of leads at one time! Here are a couple examples:

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Lead: I am really a year or so out. I am in a lease for another 10 months but would really like to own a home and not have to sign another year lease.

Agent: OK, great!

Lead: My job is looking at relocating me. It will be at least six months before I know anything for sure, but want to get an idea of the market now so I’m more prepared.

Agent: Not a problem. I’m not going anywhere and I want to be a valuable resource for you in the meantime. Is your email address lead@email.com? And what will be of most interest to you in regard to style of home, price, and must-haves? What is most important to you in regard to location?

Create a tag in your database as “Monitor Activity.” You will use this tag to group leads that you want to be sure they are receiving your emails and staying active with property alerts. The benefit of this tag is having leads grouped together, eliminating tasks and having to work them one by one.

When you search the leads that have this tag applied, you get a group of leads that have confirmed emails with home searches created. At a glance, you will be able to see if they are opening emails and staying engaged with the new listing alerts.

You primarily want to be looking for the last contact call and last login activity. Remember that we cannot depend on emails going through. The majority of all emails go to spam. If we set and forget, they will too! It is all about branding yourself with the new property alerts and making it easy for them to access.

Automate Mass Follow-up for Lower-priority Leads

Your mass follow-up text or email to the leads who have not opened an email or looked at a property since you spoke last could be something like:

Hey [first name], I just wanted to check in with you about the homes I have been sending over. Anything of interest to you?

OR

Hey [first name], I have a list of newly listed homes to get over to you. Is lead@email.com still the best email? I don’t want you to miss them.

You can send this out to one or hundreds of leads at one time. The name of the game here is to keep them engaged so you stay top of mind. Remember the importance of making their home search easy and convenient and being there at the right time.

The Real Secret to Long-term Nurture: Tagging by Situation

Let’s make systems work for you. It’s all in the “tagging” process. Hopefully, you are having several real conversations with the leads in your database and you may be noticing there are a lot of conversations that are repetitive. We’ve all heard these before: “I am working on my credit, I am in a lease until next year, I am retiring in two years, I am going through a divorce, I am on hold, I have an agent, I am looking for someone else.” And the list goes on!

These are real situations and quite frankly, you probably have already paid for the lead—so don’t lose them! Think about each lead as a retail product on the shelf in a store. You need to organize your leads’ situations into groups to keep the ones together that have a similar story.

This gives you the ability to be very intentional with directly targeting the leads with mass communication at a later date. Here are some ways you might want to start tagging leads by situation in your CRM:

• Buyer lost (already purchased)
• Seller lost (already sold)
• Lender lost (can’t get financing)
• On hold, has agent
• Looking for a friend
• Just looking (1+ years)
• Retiring
• Divorcing
• Renting
• Relocating

When leads are categorized according to their specific situation, it eliminates the need for an actual task!

You have just taken an entire database of potentially lost leads and organized them methodically. Now you know exactly who needs what to happen with all the leads you have spoken to without having to look at each individual profile and read notes. What a time-saver.

Now what to do with them? You should create your database with a list of tags as I mentioned above. Here is my personal list of all the tags that we use.

I like to refer to these leads as “the extra credit” of working the dashboard. Just think if settlement has been rescheduled, a showing canceled or rescheduled, and you had the time blocked out on your calendar. Instead of taking the day off, you now have the ability to sit down and work hundreds of leads at a time to stir up some new potential business.

The big picture to remember is it is our responsibility to attempt being at the right place at the right time. Just about every one of your leads is going to be moving at some point. You just have to be the one that “gets lucky,” and the more organized you are, the more efficient you are, the higher your chances of being the agent who “gets lucky.”

Text messages are a great way to automate outreach to a large number of leads you have organized in your CRM by situation. Just try not to blast out too many texts at once. The follow up can be overwhelming for leads who are not high priority. I like to keep mass texts to no more than 100 at a time. Here are a few text messaging scripts for leads in different situations.

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Leads that are “just looking”

Hello [first name], Last time we spoke you were just watching the market. So much has changed lately, do you have any questions?

Hey [first name], How’s your home search going? Am I sending you properties you like?

Hello [first name], Just checking in to see how your home search is going. Has anything caught your eye yet?

Leads that “have an agent”

Hello [first name], I was just checking in on your homebuying process. How is it going?

Any of your leads who have been receiving the update alerts or opening emails

Hello [first name], Are you still interested in receiving a list of homes that are for sale in [location]?

Any of your leads

Hello [first name], Are you planning on a home purchase in 1, 2, or 5+ years?

Rental leads

Hello [first name], If we were able to find you a home with about the same payment a month, would you be interested in purchasing a home?

Leads that have not been opening emails

Hello [first name], Have we dropped the ball?

If you want more text messaging scripts, check out my 6-Day New Lead Text Messaging Campaign + Agent Texting Scripts article here.

Over to You

Have a great strategy for long-term lead nurturing or ideas for organizing leads by situation? Let us know in the comments or join our Facebook Mastermind Group here.

The post Long-term Lead Nurturing: Tips & Scripts to Avoid Overtasking appeared first on The Close.

What if I told you there is a way to minimize these common objections and never get hung up on again? Full disclosure, you will still get hung up on … obviously, this isn’t magic. However, my team has used these simple scripts for years to deflect the objections that lead to the most hang-ups. The key is to use them before the objections even come up.

Download Beverly’s Scripts

Of course, different leads require slightly different strategies, so I organized the scripts by lead source. Remember to let me know what you think at the end of the article, and happy cold calling!

1. Building Rapport Quickly With Zillow Leads

Love them or hate them, Zillow dominates our industry. Anyone who has even thoughts about buying a home has probably registered on Zillow, most likely early on in their search. Most of them are looking for something specific and very likely just want to talk with the listing agent. Did you know that the average registered lead has the potential of getting up to three phone calls almost immediately?

This is why the most repeated term in the real estate industry, “speed to lead,” is so profoundly important for Zillow leads. The lead’s information goes to the listing agent, to the Premier Agent who pays for the lead, and Zillow Concierge. No wonder Zillow leads are pissed off when we call, right?

So how do you break through and come away with a win? It is surprisingly simple. You just need to identify with the lead’s problem and be prepared for the two most common objections they will have: “I’m not really looking” and “I only want to work with the listing agent.”

Here’s a quick example script for your opening line to get as much info as possible without even talking about the home they registered for. The objection here is “I’m not really looking.”

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Agent: Hey [first name]?

Lead: Yes?

Agent: I see you were on Zillow and requested information about 123 Main Street. What was it about that home that interested you?

Lead: It was near my mother’s home and in the perfect location.

Agent: Oh great, while I am looking for more information on the home, let me ask. How long have you been looking?

Lead: We were not really looking, I just saw this home and was thinking about it if it worked out.

Agent: Great, so do you rent or own currently?

Lead: Rent.

Agent: Are you in a lease term or month to month?

Lead: Month to month.

Agent: So if you found the perfect home, you could move at any time? Let me ask you, what would have to happen to make a move possible?

Don’t make the mistake most agents make and say “that home is already under contract.” If you do that, they will have no reason to continue the conversation with you. Instead, practice the script I just gave you and dig into their situation. In order to empathize and build rapport quickly, you need to understand their situation.

Here’s a script to handle the “I want to work with the listing agent” objection. This one is a quick conversation ender for many agents. If they get hung up on, it’s usually going to come after this objection.

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Agent: Hey [first name]?

Lead: Yes?

Agent: I see you were on Zillow and requested information about 123 Main Street. What was it about that home that interested you?

Lead: Are you the listing agent?

Agent: No, I am not. Why is that important to you?

Lead: They know more about the house and I can get a better deal working with them directly.

Agent: I totally understand what you are saying. Just a quick question. Do you know that the agent was hired by the seller to make them the most amount of money? And that is a conflict of interest for them to save you the most amount of money and protect you from anything that does not require them to disclose?

Of course, this is not how the conversation ends. You will probably get one of two responses to this question:

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Option 1:

Lead: Yes, that is fine, I have bought before. I don’t need an agent, I can do this myself.

Agent: So if you were going through a divorce, you would be OK using the same attorney?

Option 2:

Lead: Oh, I knew something of that but didn’t realize this, no.

Agent: Well, it’s my job to not only save you the most amount of money, but to protect your future investment. What is it exactly about this home that you wanted to know?

Note: Zillow Leads Require Multiple Call Attempts

The dirty secret to success in real estate is that you just have to be a little bit better than your competition. Scripts help, but if you have trouble getting people on the phone in the first place, you’re sunk.

So when the speed-to-lead approach doesn’t work, meaning they don’t answer the phone on that first attempt, try and try again. Staying consistent with multiple call attempts is crucial to converting Zillow leads to customers.

The rule I train my inside sales agents (ISAs) to follow is a minimum of six to eight call attempts within two weeks. This is how you beat your competition because with this consistency you increase your chances of having a conversation. Meanwhile, the other agent lost because of the lack of attempts. They tried once, maybe twice, and then they gave up. Always remember that real estate is a numbers game!

If you’re looking for a smart ISA solution, check out REALQuaified. REALQualified’s team of highly-trained ISAs will follow up with your leads on your schedule.

Visit REALQualified

2. Building Rapport Quickly With Google PPC Leads

Leads from Google Ads are among the most common leads generated in the industry. I like to think of these leads much like they are walking into a store and the sales clerk asks, “Is there anything I can help you with today?” Like most of us in a store, they usually say something like, “No thanks, I am good” OR “I am just looking, thank you.”

Yet many agents get mad with leads who respond similarly. Why? That philosophy of speed to lead in my opinion isn’t relevant with Google or any pay-per-click (PPC) lead. These leads aren’t ready to be pounced on like a Zillow lead. That means your strategy to build rapport with Google PPC leads should be a little different.

As long as there is a call attempt within 12 hours, depending upon what time they register, that should be enough. Remember what I said about the Zillow leads and the amount of phone calls they get? These leads have their defenses up and are on high alert because more than likely, they didn’t just start and stop with your website. They probably registered on a few websites and probably registered on Zillow too. There is a large chance you are not the only phone call they are receiving. That means being too aggressive can result in a straight-up phone block.

In my personal experience with calling these leads, most are genuinely just looking. Who doesn’t like to look at homes? Your main goal calling them is to simply find out where they are in the process. Sure, the appointment is the ultimate goal, but you are more likely to get results from them long term with proper nurturing. So don’t get too aggressive. Save that for Zillow leads.

The way these leads usually find you is by literally typing “homes for sale in [city]” into Google and clicking on whatever comes up. Unfortunately, that means they might register on more than one website.

When I am training agents I always tell them, “He who has the conversation wins!” Keeping that in mind calling these leads and knowing they are “just looking” in several of your competitors’ databases is key.

Now that you understand where they are coming from, it makes talking to them so much easier. Here’s a quick opening script as an example:

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Agent: Hey [first name]?

Lead: Yes?

Agent: I saw you were online looking at homes in [city] and wondered what your future plans are, or what you may be looking for.

The reason this opening line works so well is that it’s a laid-back approach. This helps drop their defenses of not wanting to be sold to. It’s quick and to the point. It also leaves less room for an immediate objection because you are directly identifying the fact they were searching online for homes … which they were! This is the first phase of breaking through with Google leads, dropping their defenses, and building rapport.

3. Building Rapport Quickly With Realtor.com Leads (& Others)

These leads can be in a variety of situations. Just looking, wanting more information on a specific property, or wanting to see a home—and don’t forget those strange people who say, “I wasn’t looking for homes online!!” Yeah, right! Then how did I get your phone number?

Just like Google PPC leads, always frame your opening question with how they were routed into your database. Here’s a good example script for your opening line:

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Agent: Hey [first name]?

Lead: Yes?

Agent: I saw you were on [Realtor.com / Trulia / and so forth] looking at homes in [city] and wondered what your future plans are, or what you may be looking for.

Don’t worry about putting much focus on the name of your website or the company you work for. Most leads will remember registering on at least one website, but might not remember every site they registered with. These leads have been web surfing in so many places so they probably don’t remember the exact sites they registered or didn’t register for. Instead, what really matters are the questions you ask finding out where they are in the process to gain a sense of urgency.

Finding the lead’s intention, urgency, and current situation is paramount to converting these leads into customers as well as building your pipeline of future business.

4. Building Rapport Quickly With Facebook Leads

Facebook ad leads—like Zillow leads, we either love them or hate them. When everyone first started with Facebook ads, they were pretty much only advertising listings to make the sellers happy. I know I was.

In fact, with one listing I advertised on Facebook back when Facebook ads were new, the seller shared my post with everyone in their family, extended family, and friends. That meant a ton of inquiries. Of course, most were just curious and wanted to see more photos.

So yes, I got tons of leads from that ad, but they were all over the country with no real plans for moving. That meant a lot of phone calls resulting in nothing but frustration.

It is important to understand your market dynamics and be the solution to the problem your leads have in your market. This tactic is what is going to produce more quality leads.

Here are a few Facebook ad headlines that will actually get you leads and not random people from all over the country:

Always use headlines that grab attention. Once you choose your audience, you are then targeting to their interests, creating a higher-quality lead. The most important thing to remember with Facebook leads is that they will have a longer turnaround time. Speed to lead is less of an issue for Facebook leads.

Of course, when calling them, you should still always remind them that they were on Facebook and clicked on an ad that indicated they were interested in receiving a list of homes. Just remember to ask what specifically they would be interested in with respect to location.

Here’s a good script for Facebook leads:

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Agent: Hey [first name]?

Lead: Yes?

Agent: I see you were on Facebook and were looking to receive a list of homes [ad specific]. Just wondering what exactly you would be most interested in; is there anything in particular that would interest you more?

Lead: I just want the list of homes. I am not seriously looking yet.

Agent: OK, great, not a problem. I can certainly do that. Let me ask you, what would be the reason for a move if you were to move in the future?

Lead: We have been thinking about downsizing.

Agent: Great, how long have you been in your home?

Lead: 20 years.

Agent: That is wonderful, so you probably have some great equity?

Lead: Yeah, our home is just about paid off. Not sure we want to get into a mortgage.

Agent: If it would be possible to trade homes and little or no mortgage, would you consider moving sooner than later?

Lead: I suppose so.

Agent: Would it be helpful to just look at numbers? No obligation. I can come out and tell you what a buyer would pay for your home in today’s market. Then we have a solid number that will allow us to see what is out there within those numbers and see what happens.

You have just taken a lead that “wasn’t that serious” and by digging a little deeper, were able to turn it around to an appointment. Will this work with every lead? Of course not. However, if you want a chance of converting any leads, you need to always be thinking about solving their problem. The first step is to equip yourself with the right questions to identify their problem. The next step is to propose your solution to that problem. Simple!

5. Building Rapport Quickly With Home Valuation Leads

Using a tool like Real Geeks to create home valuation landing pages? The first lesson I learned with these leads is that they don’t necessarily own the home they are looking to get an evaluation on. Weird, right? Also, quite a few of these leads are more curious about the value of the homes they do own for refinancing purposes and not actually selling.

The best thing about these leads is that you are building an arsenal of potential sellers in your database. I want you to think long term and big picture about these leads. My best advice for new agents is this: You are in the database-gathering industry, whether you know it or not. The biggest value you have in your business is your database. Anyone who tells you differently is lying or not very successful. Contacts = contracts. It’s as simple as that!

Now let’s learn how to have a conversation with these leads.

Option 1:

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Agent: Hello [first name]?

Lead: Yes?

Agent: I saw you were online and were curious about the value of the home on 123 Main Street.

Lead: Yes, I was.

Agent: Did you find what you were looking for?

Lead: Pretty much. I was just talking with my neighbor and we were just discussing our neighborhood and a home that has gone up for sale, and we were wondering what our homes were worth.

Agent: Were you happy with the number?

Lead: Yes, for the most part.

Agent: I just wanted you to know that what you received is very general number and more than likely a pretty broad range. How long have you been in your home?

Lead: 10 years.

Agent: Are you thinking about maybe selling and making a move?

Lead: No, not until our kids graduate school and our youngest is 13, so we have at least five years.

Agent: Just wondering—do you think there would be anything that could happen that would make you move sooner?

Lead: Very doubtful, as our next home will be our last home and will probably be near the water somewhere.

You could also run into the situation that they were looking at the value of a home they were interested in purchasing that may be a FSBO or former childhood home. This is why I always open up with the next option:

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Agent: I saw you were online and were curious about the value of the home on 123 Main Street.

Lead: Yeah, I drove by the home and saw a sign in the yard, but couldn’t find it online.

Agent: What is it about this home that interests you?

Lead: I pass it every day going to work and it is so much closer for me. I have always liked it and was just wondering what is going on with it.

Agent: I can certainly find out for you. Are you looking to make a move closer to work?

Lead: No, I just saw this home and was curious.

Agent: Is there a price range of interest? If there would be something we could make happen for you, would you be interested in exploring or potentially making a move?

Taking conversations this far gives you a great indication of time frame. Remember we can’t make people move—we can only offer suggestions and see if it piques an interest.

Over to You

How do you build rapport quickly on the phone? Have a great tip or script? Let us know in the comments.

The post How to Build Rapport With Inbound Leads, Quickly [+ Scripts] appeared first on The Close.

They always ask, “Why won’t these leads just talk to me?”

Luckily, getting leads to raise their hands via texts is as simple as asking the right questions. So today, I am giving you text messaging scripts from my personal text campaigns along with follow-up emails that have been tried and tested over the years by my coaching clients.

Download Beverly’s Campaign & Text Scripts

By the way, you’re going to need a good customer relationship manager (CRM) if you want to use this text messaging campaign properly. LionDesk has everything you need (and nothing you don’t) and starts at just $21 per month. So there’s no more good excuse to not have a CRM! Check out our in-depth review of LionDesk here.

New Lead Registration: My 6-Day Texting Script + Email Follow-up Campaign

The goal of a NEW lead campaign is the attempt to engage with a lead in one of three ways to discover their preferred method of communication as well as eliminating bad emails and phone numbers.

One benefit of starting with texts and email follow-up is that if you discover the phone number cannot receive text messages, you have it covered with the email. If the email is incorrect, you have the chance of connecting via text. Follow-up emails after your text also gives them a feeling that they have missed something. Never underestimate the power of FOMO.

Here’s the script:

Day 1

First Text Message (Send Immediately)

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Hi {lead_first_name}, this is {agent_first_name} with {site_name}, and I am looking forward to talking with you about your home search. I will try calling as soon as I can, but in the meantime, are there any homes you were wanting take a look at? {agent_first_name} {auto_login_link}

First Follow-up Email (Send 10 Minutes After First Text)

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Subject: Did you get the text?

Hello {lead_first_name},

Did you receive the text we sent about your home search? Just making sure in case it didn’t come through, it was sent to {lead_phone}. Is that the best number?

We want to be your go-to resource to assist with your real estate questions. What homes are of most interest to you and how can we help?

{agent_signature}

{auto_login_link}

If you haven’t heard from them yet, the next day is designed as another check-in and also telling them to check their spam. With email privacy settings constantly changing, we find a lot of emails going to spam and the leads never get them. Remember leads don’t want to be sold to—they just want to look and they hate that they have to register to do so.

  Pro Tip

Marketing emails sometimes get through to the inbox because it is not as spammy as the property alert emails

Day 2

First Follow-up Text Message (Send First Thing in the Morning)

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Hey {lead_first_name}! It’s {agent_first_name} from {site_name}. Did you get the email of the homes we sent over? If not, check your spam folder, as they like to go there from time to time. We don’t want you to miss the new listings. Let us know if there are any homes you would like to see. {auto_login_link}

Second Follow-up Email (Send in the Afternoon)

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Subject: Did you receive it?

Hi {lead_first_name},

Did you get the text about the new listings that may be going to spam? If you have not seen property alerts from us, you might want to check your spam. You can log in here {auto_login_link}.

Warmest regards,

{agent_signature}

{auto_login_link}

On to day 3. Notice that we are asking the same question again, but also asking if they are the right properties. This is a way to subtly ask what they are really looking for. We just need them to raise their hand to engage in the conversation. Then we have the link to the website, which is a natural click after prodding them to think about if this is really what they’re looking for.

With the third email, we are being sensitive to their busy schedule and when we are calling. The whole goal is to find out where they are in the process, and if they can give us better time to call, we can have that conversation and find out their situation.

Day 3

Third Text Message (Send Late in the Morning)

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{lead_first_name}, This is {agent_first_name} with {site_name}. Just checking in to make sure you are receiving property listings via email. Are we sending you the right properties? {agent_first_name} {auto_login_link}

Third Follow-up Email (Send in the Early Afternoon)

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Subject: Are weekends better?

Hello {lead_first_name},

I understand the work week can be a bit hectic with long work days and busy evenings.

I haven’t been able to connect with you yet, so I was wondering if weekends are a better time for you to chat about your future home buying plans?

Have a great day,

{agent_signature}

{auto_login_link}

Now it’s like, “OK, we have really been trying to reach you!” I really want to know your time frame, which will tell me if I don’t get a hold of you, how to rate you in the future as potential or not. And yes, mixing up the email and text a bit. Also, notice the similarity between the text to the email. We are hitting the same points in different ways.

At this point, you might also want to mix a phone call into this campaign. Remember, the goal is to get them to raise their hand. How you do it doesn’t matter.

Day 4

Email (Send Mid-morning)

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Subject: A quick question about your home search…

Hello {lead_first_name},

We have been trying to reach you about your home search. How soon would you like to be in a new home?

Looking forward to connecting,

{agent_signature}

{auto_login_link}

Text (Send Late Morning)

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Hi {lead_first_name}. I have been trying to reach you regarding your home search. Are there any specifics you’re looking for in a home? {agent_first_name} {site_name}

And here we are on the last day of the campaign. Yes, we skipped a day and no, we are not sending a text today. Less is more. If you hit too hard in the beginning and they unsubscribe, you just chewed off your own foot. Give them space and time. Now we are asking about their future, because more than likely a new lead is really just looking for their future plans.

Day 6

Email (Send Late Morning)

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Subject: Future plans for a move?

Hello {lead_first_name},

We are still trying to reach you about your home search. When would you be ready to make a move? Even if it is sometime in the future, we want to be your resource during your housing market research time. Just let us know what your future plans are and when.

Looking forward to connecting,

{agent_first_name} {agent_last_name}

{site_name}

7 Crucial Text Messaging Tips for Agents

Of course, knowing the right questions to ask and when is important, but there is also an etiquette to text messaging that is important to follow if you want to convert. Here are seven tips to make sure your texts increase your odds of connecting.

1. A Good CRM Will Make Your Life Much, Much, Easier

Obviously, if you have a decent number of leads, campaigns like this would be impossible to send manually. You would be glued to your phone 24/7!

In order to be efficient, it is crucial to have a CRM that lets you build a blended campaign with dynamic tags (autofill of names and certain information that is set once and automatically pulls the info from the system to fill in the blanks). A good CRM also gives you the ability to structure the time and dates your texts and emails get sent. If your CRM doesn’t do texting, a good CRM will still be a lifesaver for scheduling the emails.

2. Make Sure Your Phone Is Connected to Your CRM

This is probably my most important tip that I cannot stress enough. Be sure your phone is connected to your CRM so you can respond from your phone when a lead texts. That is the whole purpose of having a campaign in the first place, right? You want the lead to respond so you can be reactive.

3. Less Is More

As I said earlier: “Less is more.” Future text communication will be more successful and you will have fewer people unsubscribing. This is just my opinion—I see SO many unanswered texts it makes my skin crawl. Think about it: You are interested in getting information about something you were looking at online, you get a text asking you a question, you answer and expect a response, and then nothing? What does that do for your credibility as a professional?

I like to have control of what is going out based on the lead’s activity in the system. It is important to have a site that is always ready for mass texting, meaning you can group 100 leads and blast out one message at the same time. And it is like a Vegas slot machine—you can just sit there and respond.

4. Don’t Send Too Many Texts at One Time

Don’t text more than 100 at a time—take it from the experience of accidentally sending a text to an entire database of thousands. Lesson learned!! And keep the message short and simple!

Let’s talk about your leads who are actively looking at properties. Try something like:

For leads that haven’t been active within the last couple of months, try:

5. Use Emojis to Help Personalize Your Texts

Sometimes, using emojis helps personalize your texts. With so much automation going out through drip campaigns and artificial intelligence, this takes the automation feel out of it for the recipient.

6. Keep Engagement to One Subject/Question at a Time

Have you ever noticed when you text a teenager they come back with one-word responses? I mean, if I’m lucky, I get the tbh or wbu. Well, sadly, many adults do the exact same thing these days. Some are actually worse because they can’t type as fast as a teenager!

So keep your messages simple whenever you can, and never try to jam too many questions or ideas into one short text. If you have longer messages, break them up into multiple, shorter texts. Here’s an example:

7. Don’t Ask to Talk Right Away

Respect how the lead is responding to you. After all, they are probably texting because it is more than likely their preferred way of communicating. If you ask for a phone call too quickly, you just might get the ghost response. You need to build rapport slowly and steadily.

Act like you are going on a date with someone you haven’t met yet. Be gentle and respectful with your conversation. And NEVER assume! Just because they are looking doesn’t mean they are ready to buy. Your goal is to find out where they are in the process in a few words, WITHOUT annoying them!

Over to You

Have any great real estate text messaging scripts or tips you swear by? Let me know in the comments!

The post My 6-Day New Lead Text Messaging Campaign + Agent Texting Scripts appeared first on The Close.

“I’m just looking.”

“I already have an agent!”

The funny thing is we get angry with leads who say “No, I am just looking.” But let me ask you this question. What do you do when you walk into a retail store and the salesperson says, “Is there anything I can help you with today?”

Exactly. You say “No thank you, I’m just looking!” Why? Because you don’t want to be sold to, right?

Calling leads is no different. We just have to get a little more information and focus on the details and we can overcome objections like this. In this article, I am going to tell you exactly what to say to overcome this and five more common buyer objections.

1. “I’m Just Looking—I’m Good.”

This is the most common objection inside sales agents (ISAs) hear.

There are several ways the conversation can go, but remember, the most important objective is to find out where they are in the process of making a move.

The best way to achieve this is to keep asking questions. Here are a few key questions to get more information from your lead and deal with their objections before they come up.

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Lead: No thanks, I was just browsing.

Agent: Do you have any future plans?

Lead: I don’t know, maybe next year.

Agent: Oh, when do you think, spring, summer, or fall?

Lead: Probably fall.

Agent: Perfect, what would be the reason for the move if you were to move?

Lead: Kids will be out of school and we will be downsizing.

Agent: Are you going to sell or keep your current home?

Lead: We are not sure yet.

Agent: No worries. What information can I be getting into your hands while you are in the information-gathering stage? We want to be your resource to stay up to date with the market.

Lead: We would be looking for a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, probably around 300 or 400 thousand.

Agent: Great, I will make sure to keep you updated. Do mind if I just check in every now and then in the meantime to see if you may have any questions or want me to revise anything within the search? Oh, and your email address that I have is _________?

Notice the focus was finding the time frame and reason for the move. These two points are the most important because it helps the lead tell their story, and everyone secretly wants to tell their story.

We need to know their pain (the reason for the move) and also understand their urgency (if any), as well as the timing and reason for the move to qualify the lead based on priority.

Let’s take a look at that same conversation if they had answered your question about future plans differently:

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Lead: I really don’t know, I really was just looking.

Agent: What about future plans?

Lead: Well, yes maybe future plans.

Agent: What does the future look like 1, 2, or 5 years from now maybe?

Can you see the difference between conversations and the priority of nurturing a lead? The more questions you ask, the more layers of the onion you are able to peel back to know how and when to follow up with them.

Of course, this was just a hypothetical conversation. Here is an example of how I handled the “I’m just looking” objection on a recent phone all with a lead:

2. “I Already Have an Agent.”

This is my favorite objection! Of course, if they are angry or impolite right away, I just let them go with an: “OK, thank you!”

However, most people are not angry or impolite right away. Here’s how that conversation usually goes:

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Agent: Hello, [First name], this is [Your Name]. I saw you were online looking at homes in [where they were looking]. I am just checking in to see what your plans are, or what you might be looking for.

Lead: Oh yeah, yes. I am looking.

Agent: What is your current situation right now? Do you own, rent, or live with family?

Lead: I am renting.

Agent: Are you in a lease term? Or month to month?

Lead: Month to month.

Agent: So, when would you like to be in a home?

Lead: ASAP.

Agent: How long have you been looking?

Lead: 3 months.

Agent: Have you just been looking online, or have you been in any homes?

Lead: We have been in a few homes.

Agent: How did you see them? Are you calling the listing agent, or are you committed to someone?

Lead: This agent has shown us a few.

Agent: And how has that experience been for you so far? Why haven’t you found anything?

Lead: By the time we see it, it already has offers on it.

Agent: I don’t want to step on toes, but let me ask you. Has that agent sat down with you and asked you what your expectations are in a home, what you are comfortable spending, and helped you understand the market?

Lead: No, she just shows us what we want to see.

Agent: Again, I don’t want to step on toes or take business from anyone, but this is a big investment you are taking on, right? Don’t you owe it to yourself to know you have someone who is working proactively for you in your best interest? When would be a good time for us to just meet and talk? I would just appreciate the opportunity to earn your business.

Now if someone says “I have an agent” right away, it may go much differently. My favorite go-to line for that conversation is:

Try it! You will be surprised at the responses

Please remember just because they say they have an agent, it doesn’t mean they really do! Ask questions like they are doing business with the worst agent in your market and you have to save them from a bad experience.

Here is an audio recording of exactly this conversation, and my agent followed up with me after this call and said she had a buyer agency agreement signed the next day! Success!

3. “I Just Want to See This One Home.”

Don’t be the Real Estate Taxi Driver! These Zillow leads will be the death of you. They don’t understand the process when they request information and almost none of them know their phone number goes to multiple agents. They think they’re contacting the listing agent! It is the ISA’s job to educate and qualify.

Here’s how an “I just want to see one home” conversation usually goes:

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Lead: I was just interested in seeing that one home. Why are there not any more photos online?

Agent: What is it about this property that makes you want to see it?

Lead: It is the right price and a neighborhood I like.

Agent: How long have you been looking?

Lead: A while.

Agent: And why haven’t you found anything yet?

Lead: It hasn’t been the right home.

Agent: And what makes you think this one will be?

Lead: I don’t know, I have to see it to know.

Agent: Well, tell me, what is your current situation? Do you own or rent?

Lead: We own.

Agent: Are you going to be selling your current home, or keeping it?

Lead: We are not sure yet.

Agent: In regards to financing, will you be paying cash or obtaining financing?

Lead: Financing.

Agent: If this is the perfect home for you, are you prepared to write an offer with a pre-approval letter?

Lead: My credit is fine, I am not worried about that.

Agent: I completely understand and respect that. However, the market is moving so fast and most homes have multiple offers I don’t want to get you into a situation where you fall in love with a home and are not prepared. And also, if I found any other homes that met your specific criteria, would you be interested in seeing those too?

Lead: Yeah, I suppose.

Agent: I will tell you what, I have to make arrangements to get into this home anyway. In the meantime, do you mind if I have my lender contact you to get that process started just in case this is the home that is perfect for you? This way, we will be a few steps ahead. I promise there is no obligation and I am not trying to push you. I just don’t want to see you potentially lose something that works perfectly for you. It’s rough out there! All I want to do is protect your investment and have the opportunity to earn your business.

The key to handling this objection is to take it away from them. What I mean by that is to make it clear there is no obligation, and that you are not forcing them into anything. Make it about them; convince them you want to protect their money and their future investment.

If they don’t see that, you probably don’t want to work with them anyway. Take it from me, the leads you force end up being your biggest nightmare and you can’t wait to say goodbye at the closing table.

4. “I Am at Work, I Can’t Talk Now.”

This one drives me absolutely bonkers. Finally someone answers the phone, AND they are in a hurry. There are a couple ways to approach this objection. Of course, no matter how you choose to handle it, just remember the most important objective:

Find out where they are in the moving process!

The last thing you want to do is to call someone back who may have NO intentions of making a move.

Here are my two favorite ways to handle this objection:

My second approach relies on the assumption that if they can answer the phone, they can answer a few quick questions:

5. “I Just Wanted to Look But I Had to Sign Into Your Website to Look.”

Leads get really aggravated with the process of having to register to look at homes. Remember, most don’t understand the process. So don’t fall into their unhappiness or feel guilty for capturing their information. Just go with it and have empathy for them.

OR

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Agent: I totally understand. I know it is so annoying; we just want to make sure you find what you are looking for. Our job is to make your online experience as easy as possible. How can we continue to help with market information so you don’t have to register anywhere else again? What exactly might you be looking for?

Lead: I don’t know, I am just looking for now.

Agent: Awesome! What kind of homes would interest you most?

Lead: I have to have a single family. I don’t want any HOA.

Agent: Got it, and do you have a price range in mind?

Lead: 250-400K.

Agent: Perfect! Oh, and one last thing, do you have a timeline that you would like to be in a home?

And there you go. It is really not difficult to shift the conversation off the negative. Just roll with it and empathize with their frustration.

6. “I Am Just Looking to See if There Is Anything I Can Afford.”

The main objective with these leads is convincing them to meet with a lender ASAP. You can show homes all day long, but if they don’t have any buying power, what’s the point? Here are a few strategies to do get them interested in talking to a lender:

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Agent: Have you spoken with anyone about how much a mortgage payment would be on a particular price property?

Lead: No, I haven’t.

Agent: I want to make sure we are staying within your budget, and that is the best place to start. We can look at homes all day long, but I want to be sure you are comfortable with the payment first. Does that make sense?

Lead: Yes, it does.

Agent: Great, do you mind if I have (either my lender or agent) reach out to you? What is the best time for them to reach you?

Here is a great example of a call helping her understand the process and how to get them talking to a lender before seeing a home. Qualifying and setting expectations is the key to a successful close.

Bonus Cold Calling Video: Asking the Right Questions Will Get You Everything

Don’t be afraid to dig deeper with questions and have real conversations with leads. Everyone wants to look at homes, but you don’t have time for that. I wanted to share this conversation as an example of just having fun with leads and have a conversation like you would with your friend.

My favorite questions:

• If I had a magic wand and everything aligned perfectly, what would a move look like for you?
• What has to happen for you to make a move?
• What are your future plans?
• If I could make something happen for you that met your expectations, would you move sooner rather than later?
• What can I be doing for you in the meantime while you are educating yourself on the market? What is most helpful for you to know?

Here is a live conversation of a lead that truly is a ways out from a purchase and how to dig a little deeper.

Over to You

Have a buyer objection you’re not sure how to handle? Let me hear it in the comments! I’ll tell you how I’d handle it.

The post [Video] 6 Buyer Objection Handlers + Examples From Real Cold Calls appeared first on The Close.

The first few inside sales agents (ISAs) I hired were basically just thrown into the fire. There was no manual, no how-to guide, no blueprint for success. I just hired them and said, “Here is the log in. I know there is gold in there, now just start calling and get me some appointments!” What a disaster!

After a year or two, I slowly began to realize that their lack of success wasn’t their fault. I had set my ISAs up for failure.

That’s when I decided to get serious and build systems for my ISAs. And that is what you are going to learn today. My five top tips to train ISAs for success with a system I call the buyer blueprint.

If you would like my ISA scripts, help organize your customer relationship management (CRM) software, and set up basic systems for your own ISAs, you can download it all here.

1. The Devil Is in the Details

The goal is working smarter, not harder, right? Paying specific attention to details when a lead first registers can not only save time, but it customizes the experience for the lead and increases the chances for conversion. Here are two great examples of small details that can have a huge impact on your ISAs’ success:

Verify Bad Phone Numbers

In my 13 years of experience calling leads, I’ve found that no matter what CRM platform your ISAs are using or what kind of leads you are generating, 30% of phone numbers are going to be either wrong numbers or disconnected.

So make sure to have your ISA confirm phone numbers on the first call attempt. This eliminates wasting time in the future calling numbers that are not good.

Look for Typos in Email Addresses

Train your ISA to scan the email address and look for any possible typos while the phone is ringing and they’re waiting for the lead to pick up. An example of this would be .con instead of .com, maybe a name typo, or @gnail instead of @gmail. I have even seen typos in their name within the email, such as Sara but the email is Sata. The R and T are right beside each other on the keyboard—easy mistake. Fix it.

Most CRMs mark it as a bad email when the first email bounces, but why not try to fix those mistakes before you start getting returned emails in your drip campaign?

Confirm Their Voicemail

Allow the first call attempt to go entirely to the voicemail to listen if the correct name is on it. Make a note and update the lead profile if they only gave a first name when they first registered. This is an important step for emails going to the lead with the autofill feature. How do you feel when you get an email with your name spelled wrong?

The devil is in the details!

Make Sure to Mark Leads as Night Calls When They Request It

If the lead requests to have them call back when they get home from work, make sure to have your ISA mark the lead as a night call in your CRM and have a separate filter to call on evenings and weekends. There’s nothing worse than calling a lead at a time that doesn’t work for them when they specifically request you don’t.

2. Build Automated Call Filters for Leads You Have Not Reached Yet

I always said if I could make calling leads like playing Candy Crush, we could get ISAs addicted to making calls. So I built call filters to crush the dials! Building call filters in your CRM of choice can help gamify cold calling for your ISAs and keep them engaged.

As an ISA or anyone calling leads, the main objective is to have conversations. Yes, we want appointments, but you can’t get appointments without the conversations. Building call filters saves a ton of time not having to think about who to call when.

If you’re not sure where to start, here are four main call lists (filters) that should be your priority.

New Leads

These are the leads that have recently registered that have no attempted calls yet. Create a filter just for these leads. It is easiest if you can put them into a “new” status; that way, they are designated as new and easily recognized.

Leads Registered in the Last 14 Days That You Have Not Reached Yet

Be clear on keeping leads you have never spoken to in an “attempting contact” status to separate them from the new leads and those leads you have already spoken to—the filter should consist of:

• Leads who have registered in the last 14 days
• Status of attempting contact
• Valid or unknown phone numbers

Set your CRM up so that leads automatically fall out of this filter after the 14th day of registering or when the ISA moves the lead status to “contacted.” As the new leads are coming in, your filter is always moving out with the old and in with the new. The more conversations you are having, the smaller this list becomes. You should set and reward goals of a minimum of six to eight call attempts within the first 14 days for your ISAs.

Talk about motivation to have conversations!

Active Leads

This is one of my favorite filters because older leads you have not spoken to who decide to start looking at homes again automatically fall in this filter. If they have been dormant from looking and all of the sudden start again, don’t you want to know?

This filter should consist of:

• Leads registered 15 or more days ago
• Leads active within the last 30 days
• Leads needs to be in a status of attempting contact
• Valid or unknown phone number

They will fall out of this filter if you move the status to anything other than the status it was in OR if they have NOT been active within the last 30 days. These leads should be called every seven days. Yes, at different times each attempt.

Just note that you’ll need an IDX website with an integrated CRM like Propertybase in order to know when your old lead becomes active again on your website.

Inactive Leads

These are the leads that have NOT been actively looking at homes or logged in for 31 or more days. These leads are moving further down the priority call list because by now, they should have had a minimum of six to eight phone calls at different times.

If they haven’t answered the phone in that many attempts, they need to drop way down in your ISAs priority call filter. This list should consist of:

• Lead active 31 days to 5,000 days
• Lead needs to be in a status of attempting contact
• Valid or unknown phone number

As you might already know, this is going to be the majority of your database. Remember these are ALL leads you have NEVER spoken to. They do not need any reminders or extra attention.

You could technically break this large list of leads out into months of inactivity if it is too large. For example, inactive 31 to 120 days, inactive 121 to 180 days, and so on.

These leads should be called monthly, and the longer they go inactive, the less often they need a call. This is where mass texting or emailing is great to get them to raise their hand without taking up too much of your ISA’s time with too many phone calls.

3. Organize Conversations & Build the Pipeline

This is where the rubber meets the road if you want to know why your ISA’s conversion level is not where you want it to be. LISTEN UP

All conversion is lost after the first conversation.

SAY WHAT? Yes, it is true. Stop overtasking! I know you are overwhelmed with overdue tasks. Agents and ISAs task everything because they don’t want to forget anything. Then everyone is forgotten because the task list becomes endless and there are only so many hours in a day.

Follow these steps and I promise you will convert more leads without overtasking your ISAs.

Your ISA should be asking detailed questions to determine what needs to happen for the lead to make a move or not, knowing their motivation and timeline, and finding out when they are in need of an agent.

I like to rate these conversations based on their chances of sitting at the settlement table in the near future. Is there a 70% chance this lead will be sitting at that table in the next few months? If so, then you better believe that you should assign tasks to your ISA for these leads.

Here are three basic steps to follow with three main kinds of leads you’ll have in your CRM:

1. The agent has a 70% chance or higher of sitting at the closing table with that lead IF there is proper follow-up. THIS IS THE AGENT’S PIPELINE—treat it like future business. These get a reminder/task/follow-up with a specific date.
2. Based on the conversation and information received, the lead is not a high-quality lead, but you don’t want to forget them. They are in the research phase; they want to be updated on prices and what’s going on with the market. These leads can get a tag/label to monitor their activity on your website or drip campaign. Confirm their email address, set their home search criteria, and check in with them every now and then. This process streamlines follow-up because you can view the entire group of leads from the dashboard and call those that are not active.
3. These leads are so far down on the priority list that you really don’t have high-priority needs to check in. Those who really have no plans, just curious because maybe someday. Those who are a few years out because of retirement, kids school, bad credit—the list goes on. Label them with their situation. Examples: Already Purchased, Retiring, On Hold, Has an Agent.

4. Make Nurturing Your Leads Easy by Asking the Right Questions

After years of coaching ISAs and agents, I have heard variations of this next question nearly every day:

What do I say when I follow up?

This is actually a surprisingly complicated question, but I am going to keep this simple. Stop overthinking what to say and focus on having your ISAs ask questions instead. Remember, she who asks the questions controls the conversation!

Asking the right questions helps keep the ISA on track with getting the right information, and also lets the lead feel more confident in the conversation because you are asking them questions and letting them talk. Who doesn’t love to talk about themselves?

If you’re looking for specific questions to ask, get a copy of my questions here.

Example Question-based ISA Script

Scripts in my opinion are good for reference, but not a one-size-fits-all solution. That’s because they sound too … well, scripted. The lead can tell. Believe me when I say that. Just have a conversation like you are talking to your best friend about them buying or selling a home. That means actively listening and responding with insightful questions that help set expectations.

Here is an example of active listening and responding with insightful questions:

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Lead: I am not going to be able to do anything until my company makes a decision on their move. We are at least six months away from anything happening.

Agent: Totally understand. In the meantime, what could I do for you that may be helpful for you?

Lead: I would really like to get an understanding of what prices are where and what homes are going for.

Agent: Great. Let me set you up to receive listings (get their criteria). This is a general search just to give you an overall idea. How often would you like me to check in?

Lead: Oh, I don’t know.

Agent: I’ll tell you what, how about I just check back in a couple of weeks, make sure you are getting the listings and just see if you have any questions or need me to make any changes. We can just take this month by month until you know what is going on.

And always feel free to add: We are here as a resource for you and look forward to the opportunity of earning your business.

Ask, then set the expectation. It’s as simple as that! Sadly, this is where so many ISAs and agents fail so often in their nurturing. But if you can have them master the follow-up, and master active listening and asking great questions, your ISA will convert more leads than you ever thought possible.

5. Get Your Own Buyer Blueprint in Writing: Create a Detailed ISA Training & Best Practices Manual

Do you want to attract talent? Do you want to get high-level results? Then you need to always remember that the system is only as good as the person who designed it. It is great to have effective systems in place, but that system needs to be built from experience and managed. The more organized you are, the more organized your ISAs will be—and the more they will convert. It’s as simple as that!

Having proper guidelines spelled out in a training manual will ensure everyone on the team will be working the system the same way. This way, it’s much easier to figure out if you have people problems or system problems. With any change to the system, you should see results from every single ISA on your team. If not, you likely have a people problem and not a systems problem.

Is Your Business Ready for a Mack Truck?

One thing I always tell my coaching clients is to treat their business as if they would be hit by a Mack truck tomorrow. Could your business or company run if something happened to you tomorrow? If the answer is no, you better get busy with systems and best practices. A comprehensive training manual should mean your business can run smoothly with or without you there.

A Comprehensive Training Manual Makes Accountability Easier

Before I had my systems and training manual in place, when I hired an ISA who disappointed me, it would weigh on me heavily. My first thought was to just fire them. But I always had to pause before firing them because I knew it was mostly my fault for not setting expectations or explaining my values. Of course they weren’t accountable—because I never set concrete expectations for them!

When I finally had systems in place and in writing, they would actually know exactly why and how they weren’t meeting expectations and knew exactly what they needed to improve. That awful confusion and guilt of having to fire an ISA for what were essentially my own shortcomings as a manager was eliminated. They already knew my best practices and exactly what to do every day to succeed.

The amazing thing is that best practices are nothing more than a written manual of how-tos. We love to overcomplicate this process by overthinking everything, but what could be simpler than making a record of everything you do? Write down your steps of the process, make it a video tutorial, give it to your ISA and voilà, you have a manual of best practices that will keep your ISAs accountable and on the path to success. So why do so many team leaders not do it?!

Over to You

Have a great tip for training ISAs? Having trouble getting your own ISAs to convert? Let me know in the comments or call me for a private coaching session.

The post 5 ISA Training Tips for Cold Calling & Lead Nurturing appeared first on The Close.

Today it seems like every real estate agent who generates leads wants to hire an ISA (inside sales agent) to call and manage their leads for them. Seems like an easy enough concept, right? Just find someone to call leads and set appointments for you. Unfortunately, as too many agents learn the hard way, it’s not that easy.

To help you avoid the hiring mistakes I made early in my career, I’m going to share my five tips for hiring ISAs that can actually convert.

1. Make Sure You’ve Done the Job Yourself

Let’s face it, picking up the phone isn’t fun for most people.

But if you can’t conquer your own fears of the phone or get your own appointments, how can you expect someone to do it for you?

Yes, you can delegate, but understanding exactly how hard the job is (from experience) is crucial to hiring someone to do it for you.

I remember when I first started calling leads. I would look at the profile, the list of homes they viewed, and use multiple excuses to talk myself out of calling them.

My palms used to sweat at the thought of picking up the phone and calling someone I didn’t know. What if they hang up on me? What if I am bothering them? And then there’s the big one: I don’t know what to say.

What does this have to do with hiring an ISA, you may be asking?

Having been through the process yourself helps you calibrate your expectations. After all, you have already been through the objections and overcame them. You have figured out who the most valuable leads are and who to spend your time calling.

I have hired myself and have seen so many teams simply hire to delegate something they didn’t want to do. How can we expect to hire someone to solve our problem for us if we don’t even know how to do it? If you don’t have any experience with keeping track of an overwhelming amount of conversations and developing a process not to lose future opportunities, you will have a much harder time finding and training someone who can solve these problems for you.

2. Hire Slow, Fire Fast

It’s not easy to hire the right person for an ISA position. I am not trying to be a Debbie Downer here. Skilled ISAs are hard to find. When I was hiring my first ISA, we sifted through hundreds of applications, but only four made it through the interview process.

Why only four? Well, we were very specific with our directions of how to respond to the email. What to type in the subject line and how to structure the email. So what happened next?

You guessed it, only four could follow simple directions! We did hire one and she only lasted a couple of months. The term “hire slow, fire fast” is a great rule to follow for this position.

To make hiring easier, consider working with REALQualified’s team of highly-trained ISAs to follow up with your leads on your schedule. 

Visit REALQualified

3. Remember That You Can’t Train Someone to Have a Great Personality

When I am looking for an ISA or any hire, talent is exactly what I am looking for. I don’t care about their work history. I care about their goals, their drive, and their reason why. I can spot talent and train skill.

Personality assessments, or DiSC assessments, are a great way to identify a person’s strengths and weaknesses in regard to administrative or sales skills. For the ISA position, it is good to have a mix of organization and people skills, and neither can really be taught.

The fastest way to confirm if a personality is right for the job is to role-play the most common objections with the potential new hire. See if they are solutions-minded. Do they give up at the first sign of an objection, or do they ask more questions to engage the lead in further conversation? If the ISA remains curious and understands the benefit of the lead to work for the company they represent, and genuinely cares about the lead’s experience, you have a winner.

If someone is merely looking for a paycheck, keep interviewing. This position is much more than paycheck.

4. Set Realistic Expectations for Your ISA

Ahhhh, expectations. I think we can all admit that the most difficult challenge to overcome with hiring for any position is finding someone to meet our expectations.

Before you even think of hiring someone, I want you to ask yourself a question right now:

Can you explain your expectations in detail to your new hires? Do you even know your expectations?

Seems simple enough, but if you are honest, you probably just realized why your last hire may not have worked out. Most of us just assume that everyone will treat their job like we do. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The most successful people I know are successful because they are clear on their objectives and know exactly what to do. They set their employees up for the same success by setting up clear expectations for the role before they even start.

5. Hire & Fire Based on Core Values

This may seem a little out of place here, but knowing what you are willing to tolerate and not put up with is truly like a piece of magic in the hiring process. Making sure the new potential ISA is in alignment with your culture and ethics is critical.

I had an ISA one time who would overpromise the leads just to get them to commit to an appointment. When we would meet them at the appointment, they would say, “Well your ISA said it didn’t matter what my credit score was,” or, “Your ISA said it didn’t matter what price I was looking for, she said you would be able to find me a home!”

A great coach once told me that every disagreement is a result of lack of communication. So make sure to communicate those values to your new ISA and fire them if they don’t live up to them.

Bonus Tip: Build Your Business to Be System-dependent, Not People-dependent

Without proper systems in place, your ISA is shooting in the dark. Remember, the system is only as good as the person working it. So keep it simple!

If you don’t think systems are important, think again. Why do you think more people invest into a franchise versus starting their own boutique brokerage? The simple answer? Because the systems and the processes have been proven to generate income.

Business owners and employees can perform at a much higher level when hired with an easily duplicated system. Expectations are clear, the job description is written out, and accountability is present.

Why do you think McDonald’s does so well? Because they have repeatable systems that they hire, train, and fire to. Have you ever received a bag of burned fries from McDonald’s? I will guess no. Yet, I bet you have had unsalted fries from McDonald’s. Why is that? There is a clear system to drop the fries in the fryer, push a button, and when the buzzer goes off, take the fries out. There’s no buzzer to remind a person to salt the fries. That is what happens when a person doesn’t follow the system.

This is the biggest missing component in the real estate industry. It is easy to get caught up in delegating responsibility, but if not properly handled, it can quickly lead to disappointment. Remember, don’t simply throw someone into a position to fulfill a duty with no chance of it being successful. Use these tips to set your new hire and yourself up for success.

In the next article in this series, I’ll share my detailed Buyer ISA Conversion Blueprint.

Over to You

Have a great tip for hiring an ISA that can actually convert? Let us know in the comments.

The post How to Hire ISAs That Can Convert: 5 Tips From the Conversion Queen appeared first on The Close.

Fast forward 12 years and many thousands of calls later, I learned some hard lessons about leads. My leads didn’t suck—I just wasn’t working them properly.

To save you from learning the hard way like I did, here are the top five excuses agents make when they can’t convert leads (and why they’re wrong).

1. My Leads Don’t Answer the Phone!

The phrase “speed to lead” has been drilled into the industry for years now. Industry leaders claimed that the first person a lead spoke with is the agent they ended up working with. But is that really still the case?

Fast forward to today and look at how our own responses have changed to the ringing of the phone. Heck, when we’re in public and hear another person’s phone ring, we all cringe. No wonder our leads don’t answer the phone. Do you answer the phone if you don’t recognize the number?

If you think only the “good leads” are going to answer the phone when you call the first time, no wonder you think your leads suck. Instead of thinking your leads suck when they don’t pick up, why not change your approach?

Yes, speed to lead is still important, but so is consistency. So when you receive a new lead, yes, reach out immediately. But don’t stop there.

When a new lead registers, make your first call attempt. Organize your leads that registered over the last 14 days into a call filter so you don’t have to think about who to call. Just keep making at least six attempts within those 14 days. Ideally, you want to schedule your time to call at different times of the day to maximize your chances of them answering the phone.

People do business with those who make it convenient for them. It is up to us to be convenient for them and build loyalty.

2. My ISA Isn’t Good Enough!

Don’t even get me started here. Early on in the beginning of my training days, I used to think the same thing. When I started my company, I was on a mission to create a certification for inside sales agents (ISAs) to help them be more of an asset to the industry. While I was beta testing teams, I came to the realization that it wasn’t so much about the person making the calls, it was more about the expectations that were created and not met.

Picture writing your shopping list, then going to the grocery store with your list in hand. Once you get in the store, you realize the shelves are empty and there are no signs in the aisles telling you what is in each aisle. You ask a sales clerk where you can locate the items on your list, and they tell you to go back to the storage room and there are a bunch of unmarked boxes to sift through. Your first thought would be run, your second thought would be: “Are you kidding me?”

Well, let’s face it, this is how most agents’ databases work. A hot mess. How can we expect anyone to get results when they are diving in blind? Even some top-producing teams have databases that are a mess. The leads don’t have proper notes, they are in the wrong category, and we give up on the leads with bad phone numbers.

Having proper systems is imperative to setting an ISA and database up for success.

You can’t give someone a phone, sit them down with thousands of leads, and say “get me appointments” and then blame them when they fall short. Could you come home with groceries successfully if you had to rummage through the storage room?

So instead of sending your ISA to the storage room, organize your database, make sure it’s up to date, and create a system to follow with sensible expectations so your ISA will be able to convert.

3. My CRM Isn’t Good Enough!

Which customer relationship management (CRM) software is the best? This question is asked almost daily in most real estate Facebook Groups—along with that smart-ass response of “the one you use” being one of the only real answers agents get. I have worked with many of the best CRMs in the industry and actually trained for a CRM company for a few years, so trust me when I say this: There is no perfect CRM.

What I have learned is that every CRM, from the cheap ones to the most expensive ones, require some kind of work-around. Let me repeat this, there is no perfect CRM, so stop looking!

Instead of complaining about your CRM, focus your attention on the lead’s value and quality and how to have more actual conversations with your leads. It is more about how you are working the leads than having the best CRM.

Get into the mindset of having more conversations instead of focusing on your conversion percentages.

Always remember: The conversion can only happen after the conversation.

The problem is usually more about lack of conversations and actually working the leads than it is the wrong CRM. Before investing hard-earned money into yet another CRM, really consider your intentions. If you are already invested and you think your leads suck, start working them and you may be pleasantly surprised.

4. I Don’t Have the Right Lead Source

There are a ton of companies to buy leads from in 2022. Agents today can choose between real estate websites like Zillow and Realtor.com, community platforms like Nextdoor and Facebook, pay-per-click (PPC), remarketing, home valuation landing pages, expired and FSBO—the list goes on.

What do all these lead generation sources have in common? The truth is that leads from any source need to be worked and organized if you want to have a prayer of converting them.

It is so easy to blame the leads, when in reality there is high potential that the lead source you’re using may not be the right lead source for the market. One agent may be killing it with Zillow leads and tells another agent in a different market. That agent in turn takes on the expense with great expectations and it’s a flop.

Before you blame your leads, know what is moving in your market. Is it a buyer’s market or a seller’s market? Are there expireds and FSBOs? Are you in a move-up market, first-time homebuyer market, relocation market, or maybe even a destination or luxury area?

A great way to determine the problem is proper tracking. This involves conversations with the leads. The more conversations you have, the more you can understand the need in your market. Focus on the customer’s problem and how you can provide the solution. That will give you the highest return on leads generated.

5. I Need Better Scripts

As a real estate coach, I hear this all the time: “Do you have scripts you can share? What are the best scripts?” I have to be honest here. Active listening is the best “script” you can have. Always remember:

She who asks the questions controls the conversation.

Most of you have probably heard the acronym LPMAMA: Location, Price, Motivation, Agent (working with), Mortgage, Appointment.

While this system works well, I would like to add one more: Situation. It’s important to know their current situation to identify their needs. Situations like, do they own or rent? If they own, how long have they been in their home? If they rent, are they in a lease term or month to month?

So if you want more success with your conversations, learn the process of active listening, ask great questions, then pause to listen. I am not downplaying scripts here, I am just saying scripts make you focus more on what you are supposed to say next rather than actually listening to what is being said.

There is no one-size-fits-all conversation; everyone’s needs are specific to their situation. We should be looking for their problem and figuring out how we can be the solution to that problem.

Here is an example of how to easily break into conversation and ask the right questions to get your leads engaged in conversation.

Get them talking and let the conversation flow, and you might finally start to realize your leads are way better than you thought they were.

Over to You

What are some common excuses you or your agents make about leads and why they suck? Let us know in the comments.

The post 5 Excuses Agents Make When They Can’t Convert Leads (& Why They’re Wrong) appeared first on The Close.