3 Keys for Following-Up on Leads

There’s been a lull in our tech house hunt. We’ve decided to take a short break for reasons too complicated to go into here. However, just as we’ve decided to slow down the search, we’re getting referrals for real estate agents at an ever-increasing rate.

Everyone who knows a REALTOR® has given said REALTOR® a lead – US. And whether it’s with a business card or an email, the agents have acted. Here are two examples, one effective and one ineffective.

• INEFFECTIVE: A friend of my father’s has a wife who is a REALTOR®. She heard from her husband that we were considering a move, and even managed to find out which specific listing we were looking at. She had her husband give my father an envelope containing her business card and a print-out about the house taken directly from the MLS. We were unimpressed by this, as we had already seen the house in person and had already viewed the property details on the MLS. She wasn’t giving us anything we couldn’t have gotten ourselves.

• EFFECTIVE: My husband went to an open house. The property wasn’t right for us, but he had a brief conversation with the listing agent and gave the agent his contact information. Several days later, the agent sent us a link to a single property website with a virtual tour. He said, “I know this house isn’t the one for you, but I wanted to get in touch and offer my assistance when the time comes to sell your current home. This is a link to a virtual tour I created for the property you looked at; I create one of these for every property that I list. If I can be of any assistance to you in the future, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.” The website/virtual tour was slick and the tone was persuasive without being pushy. This is an agent we’ll contact in the future.

There are a few key take-aways from these examples and from the other experiences we’ve had.

1. Give me something I can’t get myself. Don’t just print off a screenshot from the MLS.
2. Actions speak louder than words. If you’re following up on a lead, your first impression is very important. So take the opportunity to demonstrate your value – provide a real example of the excellent work you do for your clients.
3. Don’t miss out on the open house opportunity! Many people who you meet may not have chosen an agent yet.

This may be my last article in this column for a while. However, I’ll keep posting as new developments arise!