Leads can be tough to categorize. You might think a FSBO is a hot lead and ready to sign, just to be rudely rebuffed when you go to seal the deal.
Fortunately, there are easy indicators that reflect how much effort you should spend pursuing a lead.
Not all leads are worth going after with the same effort. It’s frustrating to pursue an expired for weeks, only to find out they aren’t ready to sell again.
These signs are a sure clue that a lead is interested in what you have to say or even just interested in learning more about you.
If you get any type of phone call from a homeowner asking about real estate, save their information and categorize them as a lead.
They may not be a hot lead, but just by reaching out, they’ve show interest in what you offer and have to say. If they ask about the market and if homes in the area are selling, they could be a warm lead.
If they ask about your history and selling expertise, they’re probably a hot lead looking for a Realtor in the near future. These calls could be someone calling you from an advertisement or email, or even someone returning one of your calls. The fact that they spent time returning your call makes them a warm lead.
What if a FSBO calls you to ask a question or even just calls you back to say they aren’t interested in listing with an agent?
Classify them as a hot lead. They value your opinion enough to speak with you. The success rate on FSBOs are so low, if they trust you after good advice, they’ll almost always come back and list with you.
If you’re using any email software system, you can see who opens the emails you send. Your open rate will vary based on what type of email you’re sending, so don’t look too far into that.
However, you can see if someone is opening most of your emails. Even if you only send them from your email account and not an email marketing platform, you can get an extension that alerts you when and if your emails have been opened.
If a homeowner opens most of your emails, whether they’re about community events, listings or just current market trends, you can assume they don’t mind hearing what you have to say. You can pursue these leads without much pushback.
Take time to reach out to them and find out their current situation. They could be looking to sell soon if they open emails about the market and current selling climate.
You can pursue these owners even harder than someone who just reads your emails. If someone replies to what they probably can tell is a mass email, they probably expect an agent to reach out to them.
This is when you should email, call or mail them something with more information about yourself. It can even be your pre-listing presentation packet.
This applies to all emails, but an email about a community event or something local is a good opportunity to ask if they’d like to learn more about you. But don’t throw everything at them at once. They could realistically only be interested in information about the event.
If the person’s response is about real estate, you can assume they’re probably interested in learning more about you and your services. If someone frequently responds to mass emails, call them as soon as possible.
These by no means are hot leads. However, they are a perfect example of a warm lead. If they are looking at any of these platforms, they have a certain level of interest in you.
If they like or comment on anything, reaching out to them is acceptable.
If you reach out to a lead and they say they’ve seen your profiles or website, they could be interested in working with you. Ask if they’d like to meet about selling their home.
If a FSBO or expired mentions they’ve been on your pages, you should immediately consider them a hot lead.
This could be a case of the homeowner not wanting to show their hand. If someone recommended you to reach out to them, pursue them with as much effort as possible.
Even if they say they don’t want to sell, you were still referred by someone to either inform them or help them sell. Send them your pre-listing presentation packet and treat them as the hottest of leads.
This could be from your website or through an email. These leads should be your biggest priorities. They are directly asking you to contact them.
Make sure you get to them in a timely manner. They may forget after a week or so which agents they’ve contacted.
You want to be the first agent they speak with. Homeowners are more likely to list with the original agent they spoke or met with.
Most of the time, there isn’t much downside to reaching out to both cold and warm leads.
The only people you shouldn’t contact are FSBOs and expireds who have specifically said to give them some time. Letting a FSBO figure out the pitfalls of selling on their own is often key to pursuing them. If you don’t over-pursue them and try to help with no strings attached, when the home doesn’t sell, they’ll call you up.
With warm and hot leads, it's often just a matter of finding the right strategy to seal the deal. At Smart Agents, we've made closing the deal simpler than ever.
Imagine giving one of your hot leads a copy of a book that you personally wrote. Think they'd be impressed?
Just take one of our members, Mariano, as an example.
Mariano was knocking on doors and happened to meet someone who wanted to sell his house FSBO. He gave the homeowner his book and asked him to take a look at some useful tips on how to sell his house on his own.
The client was so impressed that he immediately expressed interest in listing his house with Mariano!
Check out his story below, and grab a free sample copy of the book that's changed his business!