How to Handle Lead Quality Issues

February 6, 2018

BoomTown Lead Quality

How many times have you called a lead only to find out it’s the wrong number? How about when you realize the lead contains all bogus information, names like “Hugh Jass.”

It’s frustrating to deal with, and it’s hard to not think of it as a failure. Everyone knows lead generation is important. It’s the lifeblood of real estate, of growing your business. But why does it have to generate so much $#@&%*! Can’t you just generate “hot” leads, people who are ready to buy?

Unfortunately, you can’t be there to strong-arm people into filling out their personal information correctly. Sure, you could only do business with referrals and family friends. However, it only works if you have a strong network and if the economy is doing well. If you don’t have a large sphere of influence (SOI), it can be hard to stay afloat. And it makes it even harder to grow your revenue.

So, does it mean you have to filter through the trash leads everyday? No. Lead quality issues are not unique to real estate, and they’re not new. AND there’s one advantage you have over previous real estate agents in decades past: Technology.

Let me show you a few, easy ways to handle lead quality issues …

To generate leads — other than using your network — it requires a few things: 1) Digital marketing & advertising 2) A website to convert visitors into leads and 3) A CRM database to house a lead’s information.

The typical path for a homebuyer “lead” is this;

Searches on Google; something like “Denver homes for sale”
Google filters results. The person clicks a link, visiting a real estate website.
After viewing homes, the website asks them to “register” and get more info.
A lead is created in your CRM.

To have your website shown ahead of others, some real estate agents elect to advertise on Google and other search engines. Even on Facebook as well. People click those ads, register on websites, and become leads. It’s the same path.

Here comes the tricky part. Not every lead is going to have legitimate contact information. A good portion will be filled with bogus info. That’s natural. BUT, just because the contact info is fake, it doesn’t mean the lead is trash. There’s a real person who is searching for homes, otherwise they would have never visited your website.

This is when lead quality becomes a focal point. Agents need to convert leads. It’s part of your job, but what happens when you can’t? You point the blame somewhere else, typically at the lead.

Common threads sound like:

“The lead is 6-9 months away from buying! So far out, it’s trash!”
“The lead isn’t responding to my emails, texts, and calls. Trash!”
“This lead isn’t looking in my area. I can’t help them. Trash!”

HERE IS EASY SOLUTION #1 … Prioritize.

At BoomTown, we examine lead quality issues on a daily basis. We understand leads are key to an agent’s success. So, I’d like to share some data we found. We added a question to our website forms — we asked, “What’s your timeline for buying?”

Below you can see the breakdown.

BoomTown Homebuyer Timelines

As you can see, a quarter of home shoppers are looking to buy within 6 months. 23% are further out than 6 months. And finally, over half aren’t sure yet.

Obviously, we could go into the percentages and talk about insights we’ve learned, but I want to stay focused on what you can control. By knowing when a lead wants to buy (or sell), it helps you understand when you need to help them the most.

Leads who are 6+ months out probably don’t need to see homes yet, saving you time and work. This is where you can automate communication, like emails and texts, via a CRM (like BoomTown’s). Have the CRM send out an email (from you) every few months, checking in. Your website can also keep them up-to-date on the market with e-Alerts — which are computerized notifications about recent listings. You don’t need to personally focus on these leads yet. Instead, turn your eye on to people who want to buy now, and let technology handle the rest.

By prioritizing, you can focus your efforts and not worry about “lead quality.” Example: If you’re constantly trying to convert someone who is 6+ months out, you’re going to have a hard time. You’ll start thinking about lead quality as an issue, when it’s really not.

So, prioritize. Who needs your attention now and who needs it later? Create a folder or audience segment based on that qualification.

Not every lead is going to be a quick win, but you do need to play the long game. Real estate is a huge transaction … meaning it’s a huge decision for a person. Time is needed.

When problems arise, you look into them. The same applies to lead quality issues.

To examine lead quality, you need a few things in place.

What is your lead nurture (or follow-up) plan?
How are you measuring the impact of your lead nurture?

These two things seem simple, but oftentimes when asked, most people don’t follow through on both items. They don’t need to be complex or creative either. You just need a system that helps you pinpoint what’s going on. It can be as simple as keeping a spreadsheet.

Most real estate teams have a 14-day nurture plan, where they follow up with a lead every day for 14 days. Usually, a CRM automates most of that work. Now, this is where you become a “scientist.” If you’re noticing leads are not at the quality level you want, ask yourself:

Am I reaching out to leads at a good time? Is it within a reasonable amount of time?
Am I doing a good job communicating my value to the lead?
Are my conversations (and objection handling) working? What can I do better?

These questions give you options to play with. Maybe you switch up the time when you contact leads or need to improve your call scripts. Testing and measuring the results helps you pinpoint whether it’s your process or the lead quality.

MOST OF ALL — you need a well-thought out nurture plan. You can’t convert leads without follow-up (and a sprinkle of perseverance).

Lead quality is a symptom of bad lead conversion. As I mentioned before, a website is a tool to collect info on homebuyers. In real estate, there’s no hard definition of a “lead.” Is it someone who has converted on a website form or by responding to an agent’s email/phone call?

This is why I wanted to mention a key item: You have to sift through raw inquiries and accepted leads.

Raw Inquiries include every lead registration on your website
Accepted leads are a subset of these inquiries and typically contain legitimate contact info

In real estate, I like to classify these two distinctions between the leads who respond to you and the ones who don’t. In my book, an accepted lead is someone who responds, validating their contact info.

The next step: use a lead nurture plan. Most people automate this through a CRM like BoomTown. All it does is automate your communication — the emails, texts, and reminders to call — so you don’t have to think about it.

If you want to do it manually or want to build out your own templates, here’s a few ideas to use:

Introduction Email Example – [Send within 1st Day of Lead Registration]

Hi Cindy,

I noticed you recently registered for e-Alerts on my website. I’m glad you signed up! This is one of the quickest ways to receive up-to-date information on listings in your area. Since our website is refreshed every hour on the hour you will be the first to know when a home that fits your preferences hits the market.

Over the past 7 years I have worked in the area selling homes and helping buyers find the perfect property. But we’ll have enough time to get to know me. I’d like to hear from you — i.e. what are you interested in and what’s your timeline? Is there anything I can help you with or prepare you for?

Buying a home is an exciting transition and I am here to help you navigate the process. You can contact me at (803) 456-7890 or by this email address any time of the day.

Have a lovely day,

Annie Agent

This email template ^ helps establish the first elements of BANT: Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing. Narrowing down these elements helps you qualify the lead without overburdening them.

Of course, most times it’ll take more than 1 email (or contact attempt) to get a response. Here’s an email you can use as your second follow-up touch:

2nd Follow-Up Email Example – [Send within 1st Week of Lead Registration]

Hi Cindy,

I hope all is well with you and your home search. As of now, you are set up to receive emails when your preferred listings come on the market, but I will send along important market information as well to help in your search.

If you would like to see a home please don’t hesitate to reach out at (###) ###-####. Our doors are always open at the office as well!

Continue Searching For Homes

I’ll be in touch,

Annie Agent

This email reaffirms why you are reaching out to this specific lead and then follows up with another Call-To-Action. These are important steps in your emails. If you achieve three things in every email you send they should be:

Provide a Valuable Offer of information or a service to your lead.
Make it easy to take action within each email.
Do NOT make it all about you. This completely defeats the purpose.

Remember, you have to EARN your way into their Inbox. Just as any other business or service earns their way into your readership. Kevin Smits, a broker in Colorado, likes to say: “With every email you send, you’re teaching the recipient if they should open your emails in the future.”

Now, let’s talk about handling the most commonly used objection: “Now is not the right time.” When you come across this, whether in email or on the phone, your sole goal is to hammer down an exact date … for a “right time.”

Depending on the context you can ask:

When is a good time to follow up with you? Also, do you mind if in the meantime I send you relevant updates on the market? Real estate changes daily and you never know what opportunity arises.

If you can’t nail down an exact date, follow up when you have something interesting to show. Like I mentioned before, you want to show them you have value, not that you’re a spammer.

Assist Lead Quality with Technology

Converting leads takes time and effort. Sometimes you don’t have either of those. It’s easy for top brokers and team leaders to tell agents to follow-up with leads every day — while they tout their own success doing it. Unbeknownst to everyone, they’re really leveraging technology to handle the follow-up.

This is where systems like BoomTown come in handy. They can automate the communication, so you never have to worry about it until someone does respond. And even now, websites can qualify leads before they’re sent to your CRM database.

Here’s an example of how BoomTown’s website does it:

As you can see, we ask about timeline, if they have a home to sell, and if they’re pre-approved. These give agents an idea for how good the lead is and which ones they should prioritize. In the CRM, they can even automate tailored communication plans to specific groups (based on these qualifications).

If your website and CRM are tied together as one system, you should be able to see analytics on lead behavior. Items like which homes they’re looking at, when they were last active, etc.

By using technology to automate the communication grunt work and having a website capture information you’d normally get on the first phone call, it eliminates tasks … saving you time and money. That way, you can stay focused on tasks the put money in your pocket, like showing houses and signing contracts.

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