6 Signs It's Time to Rethink Your Referral and Lead Flow

The real estate business is unpredictable. One minute you're riding high with three signed offers and the next, you've lost a major, career-making deal.

In today's market, it's more critical than ever to leave no stone unturned by strategically managing your referrals and leads. As an agent, time is money and spending it following up on bad phone numbers and email addresses is not the best use of your energy.

If any of the below scenarios apply to you, it may be time to rethink how you manage your referrals and lead flow to take your business to the next level this year.

1. You're generating more leads from your online marketing than you or your team can handle.

It sounds like a good problem to have, but buying or generating hundreds or thousands of leads each month can be overwhelming and a total waste if you don't have an efficient process to manage them.

2. The leads you purchase don't always have the correct contact information.

We've all gotten them before: bad phone numbers and email addresses like [email protected]. Pure junk. Having a system or service in place that can help you track and weed out the good from the bad can save you a significant amount of time and money in the long run.

3. You don't have time to properly follow up and evaluate your lead flow.

Prioritizing and managing when and how many times you've contacted a lead can be chaotic and frustrating. Implementing a process that will inform you of which leads are real, right and ready to transact will ensure you don't miss those hot leads who are ready to transact right away.

4. You have leads, clients or contacts who don't match your price range, specialization or market area.

If you generate leads outside your market, have a family member relocating to another state or a friend that wants to buy outside the price range you specialize in, you can still help them by connecting them with a trusted agent in your network.

5. You are retiring or going part-time, but would like to continue generating income from your network.

Just because you're retiring doesn't mean you can't continue assisting the database of clients you've grown over your career with their real estate needs. Utilizing your referral network not only allows you to assist an old client, but also earns you a referral fee at the same time—it's a win-win.

6. You have personal referrals you want to place with a proven agent.

As an agent today, you must be the local expert with global connections. Your clients and sphere expect you to be the "go-to real estate resource." Being part of a nationwide referral network enables you to do just that.

To view the original article, visit the ReferralExchange blog.