This week at our Agent First Summit our guest is Brian Burds, real estate extraordinaire from El Paso. Brian has extensive experience in converting leads by connecting deeply with them in real relationships.
Our Agent First Summits happen every Tuesday morning! It’s a perk for all our real estate team members and any of their guests who want to grow their real estate business. To get an invitation, RSVP here: Save Your Seat!
In this session, Brian shows us how to connect with leads and clients to win more real estate transactions!
Converting Leads
From spending thousands to master Zillow leads, Brian shifted his focus to creating relevancy through television programming and a strong referral program. It was through that process that he discovered how to convert leads the right way, and he has only expanded on his knowledge over the last several years.
It’s really pretty simple to convert leads as long as you’re willing to do the work. Once you realize that you can’t just sit and wait for clients to come to you, you’re already halfway to success. Now, all you have to do is reach out!
It’s crucial that you can reach out to leads right away. If you aren’t comfortable with that process, be sure to partner with someone who is. In addition, always call a lead twice—while they likely won’t answer the first call from an unknown number, there’s a good chance they will pick up on the second call.
You must also realize that you’re going to have to communicate after-hours. Sometimes, you’ll have to call people on nights or weekends. If people reach out in the middle of the night, you can use an AI bot to reach out and make appointments even while you’re asleep.
Just know that real estate is a full-time job—sometimes more than full-time! You have to put in odd hours if you want to build enough success to have more freedom and more income.
Non-Responsive Leads
If leads don’t respond immediately, don’t immediately write them off. They reached out, which means they are interested. However, it might take them a long time to commit and truly begin the real estate process. Keep reaching out so that when they’re ready, you can make things happen for them.
Often, leads will ask you to reach out again in a few weeks or months. If they do, definitely do that, but keep in mind that the timeline they’re imagining is not the real timeline. If they say “Call me in six months,” call them in one month…they’re likely going to be ready a lot sooner than they think, and even if they aren’t, that way you can still stay top of mind.
Getting Referrals
Getting referrals may seem like a huge challenge, but it’s really not that difficult if you invest in creating relationships. Start with your initial sphere of influence, especially as a new agent, then expand into your community and keep meeting and connecting with new people.
Sometimes, you get referrals from people you’ve never even worked with in real estate. It’s all about building relationships with people in the community—if you have good relationships with people, they may recommend you to friends or family even if they have never used your services themselves.
Don’t forget that relationships take time. You can’t work just a few hours a week and get business. You have to build relationships, you have to call leads, and you have to know the inventory.
Impressing Clients to Earn Referrals
When you’re working with a client, it’s the perfect time for you to really shine. You must stand out if you want to get referrals or repeat business from those you’re working with. Work to make the real estate experience memorable and to provide value wherever you can.
When helping clients find homes, for example, don’t rely on Zillow alone. Go out there and preview the inventory. Find inventory and bring it to clients so that they grow to appreciate your care and your desire to support them beyond what online services can do. Be willing and ready to do extraordinary things for them.
In addition, it’s extremely important that you build good, strong relationships with other agents. If you’re looking for someone to work with or if you’re working as a buyer’s agent with a seller’s agent, make sure you build a healthy relationship with that agent by showing them respect and communicating with them regularly.
Finally, it’s crucial that you adopt the neighborhood. Visit new buyers and residents. Go to sports games and get involved in the schools. Do something fun like hosting a food truck in the local park for a day. Make sure that you know and connect deeply with the neighborhood you want to work in.
If you build these types of relationships and work to impress people, you’ll find that referrals come to you a lot more often and more naturally. Instead of begging for referrals, you can win them by your dedication to relationships and hard work. With these simple tips, you can convert leads and earn referrals to keep your business growing every day!
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