Follow Up: Nobody’s Doing It, What About You?
Send a message to your competitor and tell them, “I’m going to follow up with your leads.”
Thanks to the super expensive ($199) video equipment and a steady hand, I have a few clips to share from the International Builders’ Show. Might be a bit raw but the sound is good. Here we are behind the scenes at the International Builders’ Show talking to a crowd about follow up.
In today’s market it’s very important to find out what happens to your leads. In the following clip you’ll get a graphic view of what really goes on with lead management.
Don’t pull a Tommy Boy. There are many ways to nurture and grow that relationship. We do this by implementing a specific process.
Nicky Joy says it best, “Follow up is your first customer service test.” This is how people see what it’s like to do business with your company. Most people can’t make it past this first test. When we talk about follow up we need to be fast.
Check out the video and tell me what you think. What is one thing you’ve learned about follow up?
This is the first of a 4 part series of from IBS if you’d like to see the whole play list, here’s the link.
Or keep an eye out for my next post!
How Fast Do You Respond? (video)
In many cases, the real issue is not about generating MORE leads. It really boils down to doing a better job with the ones you already receive. This quick video talks about the response time that “internet shoppers” expect.
Think about your own experience shopping online. If you placed an order or transfered money in your bank account and didn’t receive a response back immediately…you would start to panic right?
It seems like a delayed (or no) response is the status quo for many in Real Estate. I hope you break that mold!
Buildtopia Launches BT Lead
Buildtopia is launching BT Lead – a scaled “light” version of their BT Sales product (which is fantastic).
Here’s the quote from Beau Engman:
“With BuildTopia’s BT Lead, companies have a powerful sales and marketing tool, accessible any time, anywhere, at an effective cost,” said Beau Engman, President of BuildTopia. “Once the current cycle in the building industry has passed, BT Lead can be added to BuildTopia’s full sales and option management section, then to the construction management system for a fully integrated program. No lead management system in the home building industry has ever had that kind of scalability with one company.”
Hats off to these guys for shifting their product and providing a low cost solution. It’s a great sign that we are all in this together and the strong will survive.
You can view the full press release here >>
Q.A. How to get a response from “generic” leads
Q.
Mike,
We get many internet leads from Move, New Home Source, etc., which often come with only email addresses. We promptly respond to these emails, with, what we feel is a “wet the appetite” response. We rarely get a return call or a visit. How do we convert these inquiries to traffic?
Alan
A:
Alan,
That’s the million dollar question and here’s the million dollar answer: the goal of your follow-up program is to invoke a response from these prospects and build trust! Not everyone will respond, that is to be expected. The intention is to find the serious prospects (who are right for your business) and focus on moving them to the next stage. Here are some tips to get a response from the leads that are best suited to you:
- Begin your email with something directed at this specific person. If people think they are receiving a form letter, they tend to move on.
- Long emails are overwhelming to people, so keep it concise and specific. Consider the source and use their name.
- Add a “Call Me Now” graphic or text in the center of the email and make sure they know they can talk to a live person.
- Offer them something they can’t get from anyone else—limited time “special incentives” are great. Set yourself up as the one they need to talk to.
- Remember the 80/20 rule. Don’t lose site of the 20 perfect matches because you are focusing on the 80 that might not ever contact you.
- Ask one strong open-ended question at the end giving them a reason to respond!
Shoppers are spending longer looking for a home—the research phase for an internet buyer can average six months to one year. Just because they don’t respond immediately doesn’t mean they’re not interested. It simply means they have not yet bought in. Follow-up like they are an “A” lead and you stand a better chance of turning them into one. That will give you the edge over your competition and boost your conversion ratios. And be professionally persistent and personal—people buy from people they trust and trust is built over time. You’ll be surprised how many people will contact you a year or two later.
Keep up the great work and keep converting those browsers to buyers!
If you have a technique that helps you get a response—let us know by posting a comment.
Follow-Up. Your First Customer Service Test
I recently attended a Nicky Joy seminar. What a powerful speaker! Nicky had a phrase that was extremely relevant. “Follow-Up is your first customer service test.”
How true! So many sales executives have trouble following up after a motivated buyer has graced their doorstep. With that being the case, one can only assume that all of those internet and phone leads are not getting the royal treatment they deserve.
Buyers are more than a little reluctant right now to walk through that door considering the economic climate. But they are still shopping! Add that to an already busy schedule full of soccer games, dance recitals and limited family time and it becomes obvious why doing their initial research on the web has become so prevalent. Your new customers are using the internet to shop, research, compare and narrow down their choices. Ultimately, they use the process of elimination to narrow down their selection to an average of 2-3 builders or homes. Then, they’ll probably reach out to you digitally and ask those final comparison questions.
It is at this critical moment that you have an opportunity to gain—or lose—a customer. You are being tested. How you follow-up is setting the standard for both you and your company. Do you follow-up immediately? Do you follow-up professionally? Do you follow-up with a friendly and assisting tone? Consider these questions and then ask yourself if you would pass or fail the follow-up test.
I know that managing your current clients as well as new leads is time consuming. But I guarantee, that if you respond in a timely, friendly and consistent fashion, you will pass the customer service test and convert more of those internet shoppers into satisfied customers.
