It can be hard to decide when and how you follow up with the leads you get from your website and advertising. Here are our tips on how you can leverage the tools here at Avenue to help to turn more of your leads into clients. Most leads will require numerous touch points to become clients, so make sure that you are using a variety of strategies to nurture leads into becoming clients.
Online advertising is a great way to expose your listings and your business to a wide net of potential clients. When these people go on to submit a lead capture form on your website they become leads. You should treat them as you would any other type of lead, get in contact, build their trust and showcase their expertise. Do they want to meet for a coffee to find out what kind of home they are looking for, or to chat on the phone about how much their home is worth? Online leads are leads at the first stage in their journey with you. They have registered some kind of intent to buy (or sell) property and have given you their contact details. How you then turn this lead into a client, is down to you!
Tailor your response.
You should always start by checking which of our lead capture tools your new contact chose to fill out. You can read this article breaking down how each lead tool works, and this should inform your follow up.
The 'View Source' button on each of your contacts is the first place to start with any new lead. This shows you exactly what page the client was looking at when they filled out their details, and should inform your response.
Some examples:
– If someone was browsing a specific listing, then you can follow up with more information about that listing, or arrange to book a showing of the property.
– If someone 'saves a search' on your website, then you can use the information they have provided about their house search to suggest other similar properties that they might like.
– If someone fills out a 'what is my home worth' form on your website, you can get in touch to offer your advice/services to sell their home.
Showcase your expertise.
Offer to sign all your new contacts up for your monthly market updates. For some of these leads, this may be the first time they have visited your website. By signing them up to your monthly newsletter, you are giving them a chance to get familiar with your brand and character.
From their perspective, these monthly updates give an insight into the market's performance, local events and new listings. This offers your potential clients some value, while you have time to showcase your local expertise.
This also nurtures leads that perhaps aren't ready to buy, and keeps them in your database for further outreach. It's important to stay front of mind, even for leads that are just in the exploration phase of their buying process. Your newsletter also builds trust with leads who have just encountered you for the first time online, and are yet to meet you in person.
Use for: all lead sources!
Be generous.
Most of the leads we generate here at Avenue are linked to property searches, and many online leads are often early in their property journey. When following up with these leads, make sure you reference the specific property they were looking at.
Find out if there are any upcoming open houses and how long the property has been on the market. Offer suggestions for similar properties and upcoming open houses that may match their search criteria.
The more generous and thoughtful you are, the more value you appear to bring to the potential client. If you offer guidance and information at an early stage, it builds trust with these contacts and they are all the more likely to think of you at a later date. Leads are potential clients, and should be nurtured just like any offline relationship.
If you're carrying active listings, and it fits their criteria, remember to showcase your own listings first. Even though they came to your site as a buyer, it doesn't mean they can't help you sell your listings more quickly! Your site and your advertising should work in lots of different ways for your business. Finding buyers and sellers to represent, as well as buyers for your listings are all ways that Avenue helps to bring you new business.
Use for: 'Saved Search', 'Predefined Search Lead Capture', Home Finder Form, Arrange Showing Button
Not getting enough leads? Have you tried our Google Ads services? Click here to book a demo of all our online advertising options.
Expand your offerings.
Most realtors, and most website providers, use a free home evaluation to capture the attention of people considering selling their home. How you follow up with these 'seller' leads is a great way to set yourself apart.
Add a brief introduction to your marketing techniques and mention that you have a team of digital marketers behind each of your listings. This could give your evaluation the edge over competitors and convince sellers that you are the right agent to represent them.
If you have active listings, encourage these contacts to check out your 'Prompted Lead Capture' feature. If not, offer some examples of similar homes that you have sold in the past, and point towards the testimonials on your website for more information.
If you are a Google Ads client, running a buyers campaign, why not explain all the work that is being done to drive buyers towards your site?
Use for: 'Home evaluation form'
Use a personal touch.
Online leads often haven't spoken to you personally, and don't know a great deal about you as a person before they fill their details out. Whether they appear to ask a specific question, or show interest in a property, you'll need to make sure that you're showcasing your personality.
Many realtors outsource their follow-ups to a CRM, so if you are following up personally, you want to make sure the client knows that. Try and make your messages seem personal, and definitely written by a human!
References to the weather, upcoming events or real estate tidbits can all help to make sure that your potential clients know they have your full attention. If it's close to the 15th of the month, check out your newsletter preview to see what's going on in your area!
Use for: all lead sources!
To learn more about how to follow up with your leads, check out Avenue's free webinar series.
