by Bernice Ross
Inman News Features
The number one customer complaint about real estate agents is we simply don’t follow up. Failure to follow up on leads costs us new business. Failure to follow up with a seller can cost us the listing. Failure to follow up with past clients costs us referral business. If you’re serious about increasing your production this spring and summer, examine how well you follow up with new prospects in light of the suggestions below.
1. Prompt follow up to sign calls.
Brokers literally spend millions of dollars each year to make the phone ring.
Sadly, in most offices, the person taking “floor time” is one of the least qualified people in the office to convert the lead into an actual prospect.
Ideally, sign calls should go to a call coordinator or directly to the listing agent. Call coordinators do not give out information on the property. Instead, they obtain the caller’s phone number so either the listing agent or the floor broker can call the lead back within 30 minutes. The call coordinator also calls the lead within 24-48 hours later to make sure they were contacted by an agent. If you don’t have a call coordinator, a great alternative is to use an 800 phone number on the name rider for all of your listings. This number can be forwarded to your cell phone, assistant, or voicemail system. Also, the 800 number will generate the phone numbers of everyone who has contacted you.
2. Prompt follow up to new e-mail inquiries.
Last week I heard a seller discussing his experience with relocating to a new area. To begin his search, he sent e-mails to the three top agents he found on the Web asking for information about the area. He also left his name, phone number, and price range ($500,000). One agent did call him back eight days later apologizing that he “wasn’t very good at this e-mail thing.” The other two didn’t even reply. When the buyer didn’t hear back from these three agents, he searched for and e-mailed other agents. He ended up purchasing from an agent who was savvy enough to follow up on his e-mail the same day.
3. Follow up on all buyer calls, even if you don’t work with buyers.
On a recent coaching call, one agent said she hated working with buyers so much she never returned their calls. She estimated this cost her business almost $50,000 last year alone. If you hate working with buyers, team up with an agent who loves working with them. Take a 20-25 percent referral fee for generating the lead. Alternatively, hire a buyer’s agent.
4. Open House follow up. NAR says only two percent of all agents follow up on open house leads.
As difficult as it is, pick up the phone after every open house and call the people who left you good phone numbers to thank them for attending the open house. If you didn’t do so at the open house, you can also ask if they would like to receive your monthly update of what has sold in the neighborhood.
Use this script:
“Good evening, this is Jane Agent from ABC Realty. You visited my open house today at 123 Main Street and I was just calling to say thank you on behalf of my sellers, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. If you would like to receive a monthly e-mail update of what has sold in the neighborhood, it would be my pleasure to add your name to my e-mail newsletter. Is being updated on the sales each month something you want?”
If they respond with “yes,” ask for their e-mail address. If they say “No,” say, “Thank you again for your time and for visiting our open house today at 123 Main Street. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
If you’re having difficulty getting good phone numbers, hold a contest where open house visitors estimate the price and date the property will sell. The winner gets a gift certificate to their favorite department store. When the house does sell, follow up with a phone call, e-mail, and/or hand written note letting them know the property has sold and who won the contest.
While following up on new business is important, follow up with your existing business including new business generated from your referral database is absolutely critical.
— Bernice Ross is an owner of Realestatecoach.com
and can be reached at
[email protected]. Byron Van Arsdale contributed to this column.