In real estate, a brokerages inability to respond to leads in a timely manner can be a death sentence. And all too frequently, agents lose out on key commissions simply because the brokerage does not manage the lead process correctly, and install immediate response processes and action plans. In fact, when surveyed on the house purchasing / selling experience, the number one complaint from home buyers is “the agent never got back in touch with me.”
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Recently, an online MIT study revealed some amazing results regarding lead generation and response time. The Lead Response Management study was done over a period of 3 years, and focused on 6 different companies across a variety of industries. Much like real estate brokerages, each of the companies utilized the internet and their website as a key channel for incoming lead generation. They measured over 15,000 leads and more than 100,000 call attempts, and the study focused on one question:
When should companies call web-generated leads for optimal contact and qualification ratios?
The short answer – as quickly as possible. The study found that responding to web-generated leads within 5 minutes of receiving them created a 900% increase in contact rate. A similar study done by Harvard found that responding to leads within the first hour generated a 700% increase in conversations.
The visual below represents the chances of a lead becoming a qualified opportunity, based on the amount of time that passes between when the lead is received and when the lead is contacted. As you can see, getting back within the first 5-10 minutes carries a significant advantage.
So what does this mean for broker owners and their agents?
Set a company goal to receive and respond to leads within 5 minutes of their arrival on your website.
Getting new business is something we all strive for and with today’s real estate CRM technology, responding to leads and managing your prospect database has never been more important.
But for brokerages to meet a goal like this, they have to invest in proper technology that will create tools and processes that make lead response quick and manageable for all agents. New Lead alerts, tracking communications and demonstrating client service are crucial to a successful lead gen strategy for any brokerage.
CRM’s like Propertybase give brokerages the necessary technology and processes needed to fully manage a brokerages leads and contacts from lead-to-close. Per the MIT study, 74% of all buyers and 76% of all sellers will work with the first agent / brokerage they speak with!
If you’re interested in learning more about Propertybase Real Estate CRM technology, installing better lead tracking and response tools and processes, or have questions on how to streamline your brokerage, please contact us! Visit us at www.propertybase.com to sign up for a free demo trial, or contact us via email at marketing@propertybase.com.
