Following up with real estate leads after your listing presentation requires a unique touch for each one. Every consultation you provide will be a new experience — because each seller is distinct in terms of their preferences, time constraints, and a myriad of other factors.
But what every real estate listing presentation follow-up requires is an effective inbound sales approach that, regardless of the specific details of the pitch, needs to effectively nurture your seller leads. New and experienced agents alike can enhance their lead follow-up by putting into place the sound strategy below.
Use the first post-presentation touch point to express gratitude and gauge interest.
From the moment you shake hands with your real estate seller leads to thank them for their time, think about how you will contact them following the presentation to see where they stand.
Regardless of how the listing presentation went, email leads hours after your pitch.
Your optimism after your real estate listing presentation may vary. There’s the “I-really-hope-they-sign-on-with-me-today!” mindset, which obviously means the consultation went smoothly and the lead seems like a perfect (or near-perfect) fit. There’s the “I’m-pretty-confident-they’ll-choose-me” outlook, which denotes a mostly positive vibe coming from the lead in question — working with them is a likelihood, but nothing is written in stone. And then there’s the “I’m-not-sure-I-even-want-their-business-now” disposition, which, in essence, signifies the lead appears to be a tough cookie (e.g. stubborn on setting a realistic listing price or inflexible regarding showing their listing) who may not be ideal to work with.
A study conducted by Velocify found more than 60% of online buyers indicated they would question a brand’s attentiveness to its customers if they failed to reply to an inquiry within a day of submitting an online form. This same mentality applies to leads to whom you pitch your services.
The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter what your thoughts are regarding the home seller leads: An immediate follow-up, preferably via email, is a must. You never know when you’ll earn your next client, so even if the next prospective business opportunity is one you’re not too thrilled about, getting a commission is far better than not getting it. Moreover, even if a hot lead turns cold following the real estate listing presentation, they could still represent a referral opportunity, so keep the door open for working with them — or, at the very least, keep in touch with them — so you don’t miss any revenue potential.
Include any information you neglected to share during the presentation.
Positioning yourself as the go-to agent in your market means providing a wealth of information. Fail to do this and you will fail to impress leads during your listing presentation.
You need to quickly answer any questions your prospects have following your consultation. If sellers want to see more comparable deals you’ve closed for nearby properties, share some of your past work with them. If they want to know how you plan to market their listing, give them a more thorough rundown of your online and offline promotional strategy. In short, be ready to put in the same amount of time, effort, and resources post-presentation to win over your real estate seller leads as you would during the actual sales pitch.
Sure, there will be times when a 30-minute consultation is all you need to win new clients. But anticipating new questions, concerns, and comments from your prospects in the hours, days, and weeks following the presentation and figuring out how to respond to them will only help you make your case that you deserve to represent them.
It’s okay if leads don’t reply quickly — lead nurturing is the “long game.”
“Start with the soul and end with the sale. Not the other way around.” This tidbit from marketing consultant and author C.C. Chapman is sage advice for the modern inbound marketer — including agents who adopt the inbound philosophy and methodology. However, this piece of advice can go one step further.
You nurtured leads to the point where they wanted to hear your listing presentation, but even after your sales pitch is over, that nurturing mentality needs to stay. You have to continue to implement your online marketing tactics knowing that you haven’t earned their business until they sign on the dotted line. Assuming the business is in the bag will only lead to neglect toward these possible clients — something you can ill-afford to do given all of the work you put into prospecting for them.
Determine whether or not the real estate seller leads are still likely clients.
There are only three possible outcomes for your real estate listing presentations — each of which will take you down a different path in terms of your next marketing and sales steps, so it’s paramount to understand how a “yes,” “no,” or “maybe” can set your plan in separate directions.
If they say “yes,” you’re golden — it’s time to get the paperwork and pen ready.
There’s no consistent reason why certain leads instantly give the thumbs up to working with you. But this is the best possible circumstance following your listing presentations, so take 5 minutes to celebrate your “win” and then get right to work.
Once the newly earned clients have officially signed on, it’s time to lay out your specific plan for getting the best offers for their home. During your presentation, you likely shared comparative market analysis (CMA) reports that relay what price point your clients should aim for regarding list price. Aside from going with the agreed-upon list price, though, there are other things you need to do to ensure you’re on the same page as your sellers. For instance, an open house schedule needs to be pitched and approved and client consent needs to be given so you can stage and alter the residence accordingly.
So while you will undoubtedly be excited about the new business, keep moving forward at full speed with your real estate marketing scheme so you hit the ground running right after your consultation.
If they say “no” (or “no for now”), set up CRM reminder to follow up down the road.
You can’t win ‘em all. Despite putting in a great deal of effort to convince leads you’re the right person for the job during listing presentations, one or more of a million reasons can derail your potential new business … but that doesn’t mean prospecting these leads has ended.
A hard “no” can be disconcerting on a number of levels, but even with a firm rejection, the best course of action is to stay in touch: Set up a reminder for a couple months post-presentation to see if your seller leads’ stance has switched. From there, you can revamp your pitch if they have a change of heart or you can abandon them altogether if there’s no chance of landing them as clients.
If they say “maybe,” read between the lines to consider if they’re worth prospecting.
As Real Estate Champions CEO Dirk Zeller notes, “We often beat ourselves up when we don’t convert a high enough percentage of maybes. I would rather get a ‘no’ today than a ‘maybe.’ In my studies, most low-grade maybes eventually turn into nos.” This may not prove entirely true for all agents, of course, but if hesitation is strong with your leads and no amount of free collateral is nudging them from their indecision, it may be time to move on — for now.
Just as when you’re spurned altogether, consider “maybe” a reason to communicate again down the line. Use your real estate drip email marketing campaigns for lukewarm and cold leads to stay in touch so you don’t close the door all the way on winning their business.
A personalized email, for example, that explains who you are (yes, they may forget about you after six months — don’t take it personally), asks if their housing situation remains the same, and notes something to show you remember their housing needs (e.g. if they mentioned they were looking for a spacious ranch with lots of acreage, mention that in your message) can turn them from “never-gonna-happen” prospects into potentially revitalized, very hot leads.
Assess what went well and what can be fixed for future real estate listing presentations.
From learning how to master your speaking skills, to knowing which sales history to include in your pitch, there are many facets to listing presentations that require attention to detail so you can better connect with leads. Yes, transforming yourself into the ultimate salesperson is important to securing new business, but if you don’t humanize your brand and relate to people one-on-one by just talking their language and understanding what drives their decision-making, your presentations won’t last more than a few minutes.
One of the best ways to discover your areas for improvement are to survey your real estate leads. Ask them what you did “wrong,” and what can help make your presentations more effective, your personality more relatable, and your general presence more accepted.
Before you can turn your attention to reaching out to home seller leads from your listing presentations, you need to spend ample time on your real estate lead generation strategy — which this Academy post can help you perfect.
What’s your process like for following up after listing presentations? Do you use real estate email marketing campaigns? Do you primarily call a day or two later? Share how you follow up with real estate listing leads with us below!
