Brandon Doyle

By Brandon Doyle

In this day and age, it’s likely that a significant contingent of your leads originate online. Since many apps and websites cut out the need to pick up the phone or initiate conversation face-to-face, it’s increasingly common for first-time home buyers and veteran home owners alike to explore their real estate options online. With that in mind, here are a few tips and tricks to help you can cash in on internet leads, converting online interest to real world sales.

1. Follow up, and follow up fast.

From social media to basic email, the internet is built around immediacy and instant gratification. Don’t let page visits, comment forms, or follow-ups go unchecked in your inbox. Keep track of your online portals and follow up with efficiency. Even a tiny amount of interest from an online real estate search can be transformed into a sale. Treat interested individuals for what they are: potential clients.

 2. Ask open-ended questions.

When a conversation goes stagnant, back-and-forth communication drops off quickly. Whether you’re following up via email, social media, text, or by phone, it’s important to keep the conversation focused on the potential client. By asking open-ended questions, your lead has the opportunity to open up and engage on a personal level—all of which cements your connection to your potential client.

@janeb13, 2016. pixabay.com

3. Follow up, again!

Sometimes it takes a few tries before a follow-up interaction will stick. People are busy, and often inundated with promotional emails and spam. A lead may not remember to respond without a little prodding, and don’t forget that it’s the greasy wheel that gets the oil. Staying committed to your lead is an essential component in converting it to a sale.

4. Provide value.

Anyone can send out an impersonal, automated email in response to an internet inquiry, but establishing a connection—providing a potential client with something of value—makes all the difference in translating internet interest to real world sales. Whether you’re forwarding a property that fits the lead’s interests or sending personal correspondence, value is what separates your follow-up response from internet spam.

5. Remember that this is about them, not you.

Don’t forget—that internet lead you’re chasing is a person or family with real needs, vision, and hopes for their future home. While converting leads to sales is about growing your business, the services you’re offering are all about the client.

Tailoring your treatment of internet leads builds for yourself a wealth of potential clients. Like mailers and open houses, the internet is a valuable tool—so keep these steps in mind as you grow your online presence and mine the world wide web for an endless flow of potential clients.

Brandon Doyle, ABR, e-PRO, is a second-generation real estate pro with RE/MAX Results in the Twin Cities. He is also coauthor of the book M3 – Mindset, Methods & Metrics: Winning as a Modern Real Estate Agent available now on Amazon. Learn more about Brandon at www.doylerealestateteam.com.

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