Easy Tips to Convert More Seller Leads

Seller leads are once again on our collective minds, so we talked to some experts to hear what they have to say about not only attracting seller leads, but actually converting them. Here's what we learned:

Buyers Buy Houses. Sellers Buy Agents.

Buyers and sellers are apparently quite a bit different. Buyers are more interested in seeing houses, and less concerned with who shows them. Sellers are very concerned with who is representing their home to the larger market. As a result, many agents say that making a good first impression, gaining their trust and building your own credibility is incredibly important.

A Good First Impression

Sixty-seven percent of home sellers will end up using the first agent they come in contact with when starting their real estate search. Making sure you are that agent is very important. Using tools like social media, landing pages and Automated Valuation Models are a great place to pull in those leads and ensure they know who you are while they are still dreaming of selling their home or seeing what's out there.

Get to them before anyone else does. If you wait until they are ready to make a decision, someone will likely be in front of you.

Become a Trusted Source

The number one thing home sellers look for when choosing their agent is "responsiveness." So returning phone calls and responding to emails is important here. The second most important thing? "Trustworthiness."

So how can you build your credibility? By relaying important information when needed and by staying in front of them with your local knowledge.

Capturing seller leads is great because it makes you first in line, but unless you're nurturing that lead, you won't gain their trust and might still lose the deal. The average home seller takes 11 months to consider selling their home and three days selecting an agent. If you are staying in front of your leads with information on their property, community, and market, you will be not only building your credibility, but will be ensuring you are first in line when they're ready to move.

It's not enough to just capture the lead. Make sure you have a plan in place to effectively nurture that lead as well.

Tips on Getting a Better Response

So you know you have to be first, but also be awesome and be consistent. But what types of communication get the best results? First, you want to vary your communication. Try a phone call, then a text, then an email.

When writing an email, emails that end with "sent from my iphone" or "sent from my Android" get a better response than ones that don't. People don't want to feel like they're getting a marketing email—they want to feel like they're getting your personal attention.

Simplify your messaging. Emails should be punchy, short, and contain some type of valuable information. Things like: "I just checked my numbers and there are 832 active buyers in your market today. Let me know if you are ready to have a conversation." Boom! Builds credibility, makes contact with your lead and lets them know you're there when they need you.

Language like "I have great news about your home" also gets a great response.

A Different Approach for Home Sellers

When you are trying to land a home seller, you are not selling a home, you're selling yourself. Here are the three things that will help you land more listings:

1. Be first. Get out in front of their process by generating leads through social media, landing pages, and valuation estimates.
2. Be consistent. Have a system in place where you will reach out to them in a variety of ways over a long period of time. Know that it may take months, but it will yield a good return.
3. Be simple. Keep your messages personal (or personal-like), straightforward, short, and relevant. You want to stay in front of them, but you don't want to bug them.

Good luck getting those seller leads!

To view the original article, visit the Onboard Informatics blog.