The Biggest Mistakes I See Agents & Lenders Make
- Having a poor followup
One of the most important things in any type of sales journey is the follow-up. A Lot of agents have the ability to generate or purchase leads, but that doesn’t do any good if you don’t go through a very good follow up process. Most sales never happen on the first contact, to begin with. Some try a few more times and move on to the next one. Some give up after just one attempt. Then there are some that don’t even reach out at all. I hear many excuses from, “I don’t have enough time or I forgot.” to other excuses that most of the leads from that source aren’t really that good anyway.
Yet they continue to pay these lead sources thinking this is the best way to get deals because they sometimes actually come across one that they contact and it turns into a closing. You should never purchase leads until you have a strong follow-up process in place so that you can help increase your conversion rate. A great follow up process not only can help from day one but more so over time as it helps you build up an incredible database. This can potentially turn into much higher conversions because you will be nurturing your potential clients with a follow system that is educating them with information and answering questions and concerns that they may have about buying or selling a home. The formula isn’t a secret. It’s simply follow up, nurture and gain a client for life.
2. Depending on a single lead source
You should never depend on one flow for your lead source. The most obvious thing that should be on an agent’s mind is “what if that source goes away” or “I can’t afford that source anymore”. This will put you in a bad spot. You should always be working with multiple sources. Here are a few that will help.
- Referrals
- Your Database
- Organic leads from your social (always have a landing page link on your social post)
- Paid Facebook & Instagram ads (this way it’s your exclusive leads only)
If you work all four of these the right way with a strong follow-up system, you should never need to depend on any single source for leads. Minimize black swan events like the COVID-19 situation from affecting your pipeline and lead flow.
3. Not branding themselves
Branding yourself is the most important thing you can do to have a long successful career in the real estate industry. You are a brand. Your brand is your reputation. People make decisions sometimes based on brand alone. Too many agents and loan officers put too much emphasis on the company name over their own names. It’s never been more important than ever to promote your own name and brand. You should be remembered by what you do and offer, not necessarily what the company offers. If you decide you need to change companies one day for different reasons, your personal brand needs to be so strong that most won’t even care where you went. They only care that you are still there for them when needed with the same great experience and ready to help. So, think about all the ways you can brand yourself with all the current things that you do. Social posting, running your own lead ads, videos, Facebook group, just to name a few. A famous comedian once said, “Be So Good That They Can’t Ignore You”.
