When a new lead comes into our real estate orbit, we quickly dial the phone and/or write an email to get the lead before anyone else does. But who’s to say that the person asking just wants to browse Zillow for their million-dollar dream home, or a serious buyer or seller who’s ready to move right now?
The truth is, you don’t really know until you talk to someone. That’s why having a decision framework before talking to a client will help you prioritize each lead in your inbox. This will increase your effectiveness as a real estate agent, and ultimately, put more money in your pocket.
As you read, and to help you when you’re talking to a potential client, we’ve included a decision tree framework to help you identify the highest quality leads.
Why lead eligibility is important
While we want as many leads as possible, we also need to find qualified leads first to maximize our time and energy. That way, we spend more time on sources that will convert in the short term and less time on those with a long-term outlook. There are several reasons why this is so important:
- Time and money: If you own your own business and work only on commission, your time is your money. It is necessary to increase the time you spend on each task. If you work with customers who are not ready to make a buying decision, you end up earning less (think hourly rate based on time spent).
- Lost opportunities: If you focus your time and energy on leads that aren’t ready to convert, you’ll miss leads that are ready to move forward. Focus on inspired sources to expand your efforts.
- Burnout: As much as we would love to work with everyone who crosses our desk, there are never enough hours in the day. If we focus on every lead, this can lead to burnout and burnout.
Framework for leadership and decision making
When you contact someone and start the first conversation, a few relevant questions will let you know if they are serious or not. There are several factors you want to focus on and questions that will help you find the truth behind your leads’ questions.
Inspiration
Figuring out someone’s motivation for moving will automatically show you how serious you are about making the move. This information will provide insight into whether moving is a top priority for the earners.
For example, if the lead is pregnant and looking for a home before her baby is born, the incentive to move before the baby’s due date adds urgency to finding and finding a place quickly. If buying and/or selling is their priority, they will be motivated to work with you. Here are questions to dig into your lead motivation:
- “What made you start thinking about buying/selling now?”
- “Is there anything specific that makes this move important to you?”
- “What happens if you don’t move forward in the next few months?”
- “On a scale of 1–10, how important is it to take this step right now?”
- “What would a successful outcome look like to you?”
A timeline
Motivation and timeline are consistent. If someone has a strong motivation to buy or sell, they will usually have a specific timeline in mind to complete the process, and they usually want to act sooner rather than later. There are really three categories in terms of time: 90 days (high motivation), three to six months (medium motivation) and six months or more (low motivation).
Sure, you want someone who is highly motivated, but that doesn’t mean that average serious clients won’t increase their timeline once they talk to you. Ask the following questions to better understand your directors’ timeline:
- “When would you like to move or sell the home?”
- “Is this timeline flexible, or is it tied to something specific?”
- “What’s the latest thing you’d like to see done?”
- “Are there any fixed times we have to work?”
- “What would need to happen for you to go faster?”
Preparation
Wanting to move and being ready to move are two very different things. Someone may want to move in the next 90 days and have strong motivations, but actually having their financial ducks in a row is necessary to continue the next steps of the housing process.
Don’t underestimate a person who doesn’t have everything ready to go; they may be a first-time buyer or seller who doesn’t know what they need. But, after you educate them and provide resources, if they don’t start right away, that gives you an understanding of their urgency. Try these questions:
- “Have you talked to a lender yet or are you pre-approved?”
- “Are you already working with another agent?”
- “Have you ever sold a house before, even if it was the first time?”
- “Do you have an idea of your budget or price range?”
- “What research have you done so far?”
The decision maker
You will often have multiple decision makers as part of the real estate process. It can be a couple, parents and children or many people living with them. Either way, it’s very important to involve everyone who will be making the decisions to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Also, if you work with a lot of people, you will find that people will have different tastes and preferences in the area. It is important to understand each party’s wants and needs to find a place that satisfies all involved. Get the answers you need by using these questions:
- “Who else will be involved in making this decision?”
- “Anyone need to see the home before you move on?”
- “How do you make big financial decisions?”
- “If we find the right place, what will the decision process look like?”
- “Are there other concerns I should know about beforehand?”
What you need to do is payers who are not ready to move
After obtaining the above information, you will be able to better diagnose whether or not this client is ready to move forward. You will definitely come across leads who are not ready at all, or who want to move forward with the process, but want a longer period of time to buy or sell.
While you shouldn’t prioritize a lead that looks better than a lead that’s ready to go now, it doesn’t mean it was a waste of your time or effort. You just need a different strategy to grow them until they are ready to do something. Adding them to a lead nurturing campaign that provides a list of interests, valuable market information and other resources will ensure that your leads think of you when it comes time to move on.
Full picture
As much as we’d like to, we can’t handle every lead that comes into our inbox. However, we can optimize our systems to ensure that we are working with the customers who need us most at the time. Follow the framework outlined above to prioritize your leads, and ultimately, your time, energy and profit.
