Test, Iterate, Win Leads: How One Brokerage Perfected Their Lead Gen Program

What do you do when your brokerage's lead generation program is not where you want it to be? If you're like Coldwell Banker Wallace & Wallace, Realtors (CBWW), you don't get discouraged. Instead, you try something new, test it and tweak it until you hit your desired lead conversion goals.

When CBWW's self-run lead generation program was getting low agent buy-in and few quality leads, the brokerage turned to realtor.com. They started with a pilot run in a handful of offices, and expanded company-wide as the leads rolled in. Agent buy-in and lead conversion rates have "gone up dramatically because of the quality of leads," says George C. Wallace, CBWW broker/owner.

We spoke with George to find out how CBWW implemented and perfected their lead generation program with realtor.com. Read the interview below to find out how they not only increased the number and quality of leads coming in, but also how it's also helped them retain agents and even rescue the foundering careers of other agents.

How did you hear about realtor.com's lead program?

We were part of the peer group within the Coldwell Banker franchise with 20 other likeminded, similarly sized companies from across the country. We first heard the presentation at that meeting about 18 months ago. We first had a couple of managers try it at their offices as a pilot test case just to see how it would go, and how it worked, and so forth.

Once we saw the results and began to investigate it more, we decided to launch it company-wide.

How did you educate your agents—was there a learning curve?

We decided to bring in realtor.com to do the training, and we started with about about 50 people who went through the orientation. We learned from our mistakes and made corrections, and more agents got involved.

We're also offering additional training beyond what realtor.com does. We like the rules and the set-up and the training. I think it has led to increased conversion rates with these best practices, and we also created some of our own.

So you have the leads pre-scrubbed by realtor.com. Where are the leads coming from?

We weren't putting any in—they were just coming direct from realtor.com.

Did you have leads coming to you prior to using this service?

Yes, from several sources. We had it set up where we had our own internal department with ISAs who would chase leads, with that person calling and trying to make those contacts. We tried to scrub the leads ourselves and set them up on drip campaigns. But our conversion rate was not what we wanted it to be. Nor was buy-in from the agents where we wanted it to be.

We tried a couple of different models; one of the models we tried was where we charged an agent a referral fee. They wouldn't have to pay anything upfront to belong, and we tried it that way for a while. Agents said, "Wow, we had to pay a lot of money."

We just didn't get the buy-in having us administering this instead of realtor.com. As a third-party administering, there was more pushback.

How did the changeover impact the buy-in and conversion?

It has gone up dramatically because of the quality of leads. Customers are further along through the process with realtor.com capturing the lead compared to when we're doing it ourselves.

It boosts morale and it has helped a lot of people. Those in the program are very positive about it and they're very exuberant about it and they're willing to tell their story.

Does having success stories with the program help in your recruitment and retention efforts?

Yes. They are saying, "I'm getting these leads. I'm converting these leads. I'm having fun with it."

They're sharing that and it certainly has helped us recruit.

It's helped us retain. In that regard, it's helped save some agents—there is no question. We have had agents that are resurrecting their career. Some weren't involved in lead generation programs and their business was sliding and they didn't have momentum going to win back customers or capture new business.

We've been able to infuse this new opportunity to get them some leads. It's helped generate good outcomes each month and get their moxie back. They are building their sphere of influence and that helps generate some other business. I've heard this story several times and that's been a great added value.

It gives them new life and new hope and new confidence, and they're like, "Wow, it's just fun business again."

They're building their career or they're trying to build back their career, so it's quite a real, key role. It's a good way for them to brag on social media about how busy they are.

Learn more about realtor.com's lead generation opportunities here.