When it comes to following up with leads, how do you incorporate mobile tools into the process? As the real estate industry continues to become increasingly mobile, incorporating mobile tools into the follow up process is crucial. Therefore, I take full advantage of my smartphone in order to follow up in a timely manner no matter where I am. In fact, when I get a lead notification, I simply push a button and am immediately connected with the person, without having to take time to look anything up.
While mobile tools make follow up easier, one of the biggest obstacles we, as REALTORS®, have to overcome are consumers who don’t respond. One way to get their attention is to use the MLS, pull up a property they have shown interest in and feed them just enough information to pique their interest. This provides a great opportunity to get in touch and say “even though I’m not representing you at the moment, I would like you to take this information—free of charge—about a house you recently looked at online.” In the end, we’re only as good as our clients make us, and while there’s a lot of competition out there, there’s business for everyone.
I noticed that you use a variety of different systems simultaneously to build and manage lead volume. Considering today’s economy, have you been able to build your business with these tools, or are you keeping even with prior years? I have absolutely been able to build my business—our GCI has doubled—by incorporating both TigerLead and realtor.com® Connection for Co-brokerage into my business. The TigerLead platform, which I’ve been using for the past 18 months, has proven instrumental when it comes to pipeline build, acting as more of a ‘hurry up and wait’ platform. In fact, seven out of 10 sales that come from this platform come from follow up and not the initial contact. While we do get some quick moving leads through the TigerLead platform, for the most part, these leads are typically people who are just starting their search. Therefore, these leads require a dedicated salesperson who will work to build the relationship online and get them into the office to show them homes. On the other hand, Connection for Co-brokerage—which I’ve been using for a year—is the ‘show me this house, and show it to me now,’ platform.