Floor Calls - The Most Wasted Lead Generation Tool Available to Agents

Mitch Ribak shares the following on his blog . . .

According to what I have read, the national average of floor calls converted to customers is a whopping 2%. You ready that right, 2% of the consumers who call a Real Estate office are converted to a customer.

When I first got into Real Estate I was told not to waste my time doing floor time. I was told that they never turn into a customer and that you could be out marketing yourself versus sitting in the office waiting for the phone to ring. That's what I was taught by Realtors who had been in the business for 20 years or more. Of course when I heard that, I realized there was probably a great opportunity to gain business by their lack of abilities.

First I had to analyze a floor call. It was easy. Almost every floor call that came in was from a consumer wanting to know the price or the address for one of our listings. The average Agent gave them the answer immediately and then said good bye. I listened to almost every Agent in my office "do" floor time and found they all did it the exact same way. The Agents really wanted to get off the phone so they could go back to doing...whatever they were doing!

So how do you convert a phone call to a customer. It's actually very easy. My first year in business, 2001, I had 36 sales...28 were floor calls. All I had to do was to figure out how to keep the customer on the phone long enough to get them to like me...I think I had about a minute to accomplish my goal.

The first thing I did was to take my time giving them the info. Instead of writing how this works, I'm going to demonstrate with a scenario below.

Mitch: Thank you for calling Tropical Realty, this is Mitch, how can I help you?

Caller: I would like to know the price of MLS# 333333.

Mitch: No problem. I have to look it up on my computer, hold on a few seconds for me while I open the program. So are you having a fun day today?

Caller: Sure, it's ok.

Mitch: I hear ya! Where are you calling from?

Caller: Vermont

Mitch: So you finally are making the decision to get out of the cold eh?! I'm from Boston so I know exactly what you are going through. I have to say, I don't miss the cold and the snow!

Caller: Yes, I have had it with the snow.

Mitch: Did you just start looking? Are you working with a Realtor already?

Caller: No, I just started looking.

Mitch: What are you looking for?

Caller: Just a small 3 bedroom house under $200k in the Melbourne area.

Mitch: Cool. Ok, I have that listing pulled up for you. I also plugged in your criteria while we were talking and there are another 45 homes that fit your criteria. Would you like me to email them to you?

Caller: Sure that would be great!

Mitch: The listing you called on is $225k. It's a great house. Whats your email address so I can send you that list?

Caller: It's [email protected]

Mitch: Could I have your phone number too so I can verify you got my list. I"m also going to set you up in an update system so I will notify you of any other listings that match your criteria.

Caller: My phone number is 902-333-5555. I'll look forward to those updates, but you realize I'm not buying for a while, I'm just starting to look so I don't want to waste your time.

Mitch: Its' not a problem at all. Let me know if you have any questions about the listings I send and if you need me to change anything in your criteria let me know. If you don't get the list give me a call. I'll give you a shout in a month or two to check in and make sure you don't have any questions.

Caller: Thanks alot. I appreciate the help.

So what did I accomplish here. Firstly I kept the caller on the phone for a lot longer than the average floor person. By doing this I was able to spend some time learning about his needs while making sure they weren't using a Realtor already. (always ask this as you don't want to do someone elses work) Once I understood what they needed I asked him if he would like a list of properties emailed to him. The answer is ALWAYS yes on this question. Once you have done that, you have created another possible customer for life!

I have used and taught this system to many Agents around the country. Anyone that implements this and practices it, does great! I don't think I have any Agents that haven't done a good job converting phone calls to customers.

As always, if you need help or have questions about this very easy to use system, don't hesitate to call or write me. I'm always here to help!