The real estate industry has been growing and evolving at a fast pace. Investing in the right kind of property can give your clients great returns. But this can only be achieved if you can convince your potential client, or leads, to buy from you. If everything goes as planned, your lead, or “future client” will be likely to close a deal with you. But how is this done and how long does it take? Is there a process to convert your lead? Keep reading…
Understanding the process
Lead generation is based on a well-organised process, best practices, and continuous testing along with improvement. Smart marketers focus on every step of the process, in search of ways to make it more efficient. Hence, property leads may take time to convert but, if done right, pays off in lower costs and higher conversion rates to sales in the long term. However, this means that the process begins with an incubation period, during which the process of trust-building takes place. It can be defined as a period in the beginning of the lead generation journey where you stay in contact with your potential lead until they are well-nurtured (we’ll touch on lead nurturing later) and transformed into a client. The marketing team will need this incubation period to make sure they can give you visible results.
Research has proven the average incubation rate for online real estate leads can take around 6 to 24 months. According to The National Association of Realtors, the average conversion rate for online real estate leads is close to 0.4% to 1.2%. Lead incubation is a gradual process, but very effective when it comes to conversion. If you can understand and make the most of the incubation period, you will see visible positive results in lead conversions in the long run and this will lead to successes with you long-term return on investment (ROI).
So, how do we enhance ROI through lead conversion? What do we do next?
We streamline the process of lead conversion and turn our leads into closed deals through a simple three-step method.
Here’s how:
1. Time is of great value!
The early bird catches the worm. This works for lead conversions too! Always remember that the time taken between the lead showing interest and your response plays an important role in whether that lead can become your next client. The critical time to reach out is within 5-15 minutes. In a study conducted by BoomTown, it was found that the average response time for an online lead was nearly 90 minutes - Oops! The longer you take the higher the chances of your lead losing interest or finding a better deal elsewhere. Therefore you must respond on time to kick-start the process of lead conversion.
2. Categorize, filter, and narrow down
The next step is to make sure the qualification process goes as planned. This is the process of narrowing down or filtering your leads by categorising them correctly within your CRM.
Get all the information you can at the right time to understand exactly what it is that your potential client is looking for and how you can help. You can do this by asking the right questions like the location and price range of the property they plan to invest in.The right questions can make all the difference! MostAnd importantly, ensure you are feeding back your potential leads and sales success with your ad agency.
3. Nurture your lead
Nurturing your lead ensures that you keep them interested, involved, and aware of what you have to offer so that the lead does not lose interest. Give them helpful information that will encourage them to come back and invest in property with you. Lead incubation will not work with occasional emails or a couple of unplanned marketing campaigns. It can only happen over time, gradually, with
consistent contact and honest communication about valuable information. While it may seem tempting to bombard your potential buyers with more and more properties, you must focus on taking some time to think about various pain points of your buyers along with frequently asked questions and convert this into useful content. Answering their questions will keep them engaged; it will also position you as a trustworthy source of information. R
emaining persistent (but not annoying) will show that you are dedicated to your client, making it much more likely for them to buy from you.
Having a Seamless System to help you with lead conversion is a great idea!
Investing in a good software for lead generation can make your life simpler and ensure quicker positive results. Your team needs to also monitor the database for meaningful lead behaviours and keep them engaged at the right time with the right message – communicating with the potential client is crucial.
Always keep in mind that the conversion rate is dependent on the sales team as well; the generation of leads and successful conversion can only happen when there is collaborative feedback on the leads along with having experienced sales agents. This might be a difficult process and it may take a while for you to find your unique balance, but the sales and marketing teams need to wo
rk together in order to generate useful leads. Feedback is especially important to filter the quality leads from the lesser; this will help us target the right kind of audience or make amends in our lead generation process depending on the requirements. Building your own system or knowledge base to get an in-depth understanding of what your potential clients are looking for will allow you to work toward gaining their trust.
So, does lead generation on Facebook and Instagram work for property professionals? The answer is a clear yes! But do not put your eggs in one basket, diversify your marketing channels, set a clear strategy and most importantly, be patient. If done right, it can give you great results and help you attract the right property clients. First, build trust, then make sure you nurture your leads, and finally convince them to invest in your property, thus sealing the deal.
We specialise in lead generation through Facebook and Instagram and we're a Meta Business partner. If you’re looking to generate more leads then contact us for a chat.