In the past, I've written articles about consistently generating a good quantity of new leads each month. For my business, this quantity was 400 leads every month. This article will shift the focus from the quantity to the quality of these leads.
In this day and age, agents seem to be putting all their eggs in the basket of inexpensive leads. I have found, however, that inexpensive leads tend to be of lower quality.
Here's a telling finding from my own business:
Lower quality leads are attractive because you don't have to spend a lot on the "front side" to generate the leads. However, you end up having to spend more on the "back side" trying to convert these lower quality leads into clients. The "back side" is the marketing you deliver to the leads once generated. This would include special reports, sales letters, and more.
In my own business, the quality of leads is ranked as follows: (Ranked from high to low)
1. Referral
2. Endorsement from a joint venture partner
3. Registrants for a special class
4. Leads responding to an advertorial-style ad
5. Leads responding to a "solo" email or "pay-per-click"
6. Leads who respond to a classified ad or home buyer magazine ad
7. Leads responding to a craigslist (or similar) advertisement
So many agents seem to be focusing on these free or cheap ads that attract lower-quality leads. What ends up happnening, then, is major effort required to convert these leads into appointments, showings and sales.
I believe a successful agent is the one who includes in a marketing campaign components from each of the above categories. Frankly, spending more on the top four or five categories makes the most sense. The higher-quality leads captured will mean more of a marketing investment, but it will mean less time, effort and money invested in turning them into clients/buyers.
If you want to see less competition in your area, heed this advice. The majority of your competitors will continue to put the emphasis on the inexpensive ads that bring in the lower-quality leads. Let them work with those leads. How many agents in your market are putting together joint venture marketing campaigns? How many are running advertorial advertisements? I would guess there probably aren't too many.
Why is this?
It's a downward spiral for these other agents. Focusing on lower-quality leads means not selling very many homes. And with limited home sales, funds will get tighter and they won't be able to afford marketing that does attract higher-quality leads. You can gain a long-term economic advantage just by turning your focus to high-quality leads now.
Bottom line: A lead is not a lead. Different quality levels exist in the leads you generate. A comprehensive marketing campainng that stresses generating higher-quality leads will mean more sales for you, while your competition fights over the lower-quality leads.
In this day and age, agents seem to be putting all their eggs in the basket of inexpensive leads. I have found, however, that inexpensive leads tend to be of lower quality.
Here's a telling finding from my own business:
Lower quality leads are attractive because you don't have to spend a lot on the "front side" to generate the leads. However, you end up having to spend more on the "back side" trying to convert these lower quality leads into clients. The "back side" is the marketing you deliver to the leads once generated. This would include special reports, sales letters, and more.
In my own business, the quality of leads is ranked as follows: (Ranked from high to low)
1. Referral
2. Endorsement from a joint venture partner
3. Registrants for a special class
4. Leads responding to an advertorial-style ad
5. Leads responding to a "solo" email or "pay-per-click"
6. Leads who respond to a classified ad or home buyer magazine ad
7. Leads responding to a craigslist (or similar) advertisement
So many agents seem to be focusing on these free or cheap ads that attract lower-quality leads. What ends up happnening, then, is major effort required to convert these leads into appointments, showings and sales.
I believe a successful agent is the one who includes in a marketing campaign components from each of the above categories. Frankly, spending more on the top four or five categories makes the most sense. The higher-quality leads captured will mean more of a marketing investment, but it will mean less time, effort and money invested in turning them into clients/buyers.
If you want to see less competition in your area, heed this advice. The majority of your competitors will continue to put the emphasis on the inexpensive ads that bring in the lower-quality leads. Let them work with those leads. How many agents in your market are putting together joint venture marketing campaigns? How many are running advertorial advertisements? I would guess there probably aren't too many.
Why is this?
It's a downward spiral for these other agents. Focusing on lower-quality leads means not selling very many homes. And with limited home sales, funds will get tighter and they won't be able to afford marketing that does attract higher-quality leads. You can gain a long-term economic advantage just by turning your focus to high-quality leads now.
Bottom line: A lead is not a lead. Different quality levels exist in the leads you generate. A comprehensive marketing campainng that stresses generating higher-quality leads will mean more sales for you, while your competition fights over the lower-quality leads.
About the Author:
Rob Minton, who reinvented his real estate sales business to sell 269 homes to a limited number of clients, has written a very practical book on how real estate agents can sell more homes For a limited time, you can download his entire book for free by visiting Renegade Millionaire Strategies for Real Estate Agents
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