Real estate agents:
Your pipeline is waiting for you to call them.
Many agents tend to have an attention problem. You may get distracted by that new shiny lead, that new inbound, that new client that is ready to transact right away.
But your pipeline is already full of people who are ready. They may be a little scared of the market or concerned about interest rates. But with the right approach, you can engage worried buyers and sellers in four steps.
Consumer Concerns
Think about all the objections we hear from sellers and buyers. (Side note: I lead with sellers because a lot of people tend to go right to the buy side. Seller-focused businesses are the ones that win in this industry.)
So back to the objections we’re hearing:
‘The market’s moving too fast for us right now.’
‘Rates of going up, and I don’t want to jump into that kind of climate.’
‘I’m not waiving contingencies to buy a new home.’
‘I have nowhere to go if I sell this home.’
We’ve heard all these things from potential sellers and buyers over the past 26 months. And now we are seeing the market change. We’re seeing price adjustments and more active listings. We also know that prices continue to rise.
Those are reasons to pick up the phone and call your database. Think of all the leads you already have, the ones you’ve been nurturing, all those folks that were a little hesitant. It’s time to call them and educate them on the current market.
Here’s the four-point strategy to engage with them.
1. Pick up the phone and call them
Number one, pick up the phone and call them. Calling your leads works.
A lot of folks want to send the perfect email or the perfect text. That is not the move here. You must pick up the phone and communicate with these folks.
2. Start with a personal question
When you pick up the phone and call them, start with a personal question. Ask, ‘How’s your summer going? How’s your family?’ Use one of your sphere F.O.R.D. scripts to find out how they feel. Make it about the relationship, not about the property.
A year ago, it was all about the property. If people weren’t ready to waive contingencies and go above the asking price or sell their home without having a place to go, there wasn’t time to talk to them. But now there is.
3. Bring the conversation back to real estate
Once you have a bit of back and forth and have learned how they are doing, bring the conversation to real estate. Say, ‘Okay, so the reason for my call is I’m following up like I said I would.’
Don’t deviate from that language: ‘I’m following up like I said I would because I know we’ve talked about you upgrading into a bigger property / downsizing / relocating because of a job.’
Be sure to bring it back to their motivation. This is where your note-taking in the CRM is critical. It should all be in there, making it easy to remind them of their motivation and ask, ‘Are you still thinking about doing that?’
Then stop talking. And listen to what they have to say.
4. Educate them on the current market.
After they tell you what’s on their mind, show them what’s actually happening in the market.
Talk to them about interest rates and inventory starting to bubble up a bit. Talk to them about price reductions and time on market increasing. Talk to them about what we know is happening in the market to give them confidence—or at least the correct information—to make a decision.
This is an easy four-step process. It works because these leads are ready to transact—they’ve been thinking about buying or selling for months. Often, people put an inquiry in, or you talk to them very early in the process. You have to call and nurture your leads.
The people that focus on long-term nurturing, educating, and bringing the conversation back to the consumers’ motivation will be the ones doing the lion’s share of the transactions for the rest of 2022.
