Do You Have a Lead Quality Problem in Real Estate?
Lead Quality is Not the Problem in Real Estate
As a new real estate agent, one of the main challenges that you will face is getting leads. This is a common problem that not only new real estate agents have but also experienced REALTORs. The need for more leads doesn’t end as you move forward in real estate, but your perspective might change. The initial mindset is “I need more leads” or “I need better leads.” There is nothing wrong with wanting more leads but chances are you aren’t necessarily just looking for leads, you want more buyers and sellers in your pipeline. Just a name with a wrong phone number and an unresponsive email is not necessarily what you want. You want true buyers and sellers.
There are “leads” absolutely everywhere in real estate. They are at the grocery store, at the gym, at your book club, at your church, on the internet, everywhere.
In almost all cases, the agent doesn’t have a lead problem. They have a relationship problem.
They don’t have enough strong relationships with people in their community.
The Lead Trap
If the real estate agent just thinks they need more leads, then it becomes something that you need to go out there and “find.” You think you need to “get more leads.” Where in reality, you just need to build more relationships and strong bonds with people you already know.
The Lead Trap is a mindset of wanting more leads because you just want more opportunities to present themselves to you. It’s like a person that wants six-pack abs but doesn’t work out.
The Lead Trap happens to everyone at some point and it’s when you hear yourself saying something like this, “if only I had more leads, my business would take off.”
Just like you can’t get to six-pack abs without working out, you can’t get to a thriving business without daily effort in the form of relationship building.
Real estate is not about getting the lead, it’s about the process in getting the lead.
Experienced real estate agents may have been building relationships for years which is why their phone rings with sellers that just want them to come over and list their property.
Even some new agents who have been in previous jobs that are built around relationships can have an initial advantage. As well, new agents that are born and raised in their market have an initial advantage, but it’s only an initial advantage.
If you aren’t skilled at forming relationships and nurturing relationships, then this should be your absolute highest priority in real estate.
This sublet mindset shift will completely change the way you interact with everyone.
Instead of going out trying to find the next lead generation idea focus on building relationships with people in your community.
Bonus: Prospecting Ideas for REALTORS
We sometimes think that, “if only I had the budget for this program,” or “that marketing campaign” then all my problems would go away. That is not the case, it’s not the person with the newest marketing campaign or lead generation software that wins in real estate; it’s the person builds more relationships.
If you are saying, “well what about online leads and social media leads,” does this mean you shouldn’t use these approaches? No, you can still use them but please stop trying to get each one of them to buy a house and just build a relationship with them. Treat them like your best friend.
Do you need to have use online lead generation sources? Not at all. In fact, it will be much easier and more profitable to build you business through face-to-face relationship build strategies. Online leads have their guard up and the quality has been declining rapidly over the last few years. This isn’t because there are less buyers online; it’s due to all of the options current buyers have and if they have signed up on your site, chances are they have signed up on 10+ others.
How To Build Relationships
Building relationships might be something that has just naturally happened to you over the course of your lifetime. Now that you are in real estate, you need to know how to build relationships.
Here are a few quick tips to help you build relationships
1) Relationships Take Time: It will take time for you to build relationships in your career. A quick “hello” at an event is not enough to form a relationship. Just like an online lead, saying “hello” to someone at an event is just the start. What happens days, weeks, months, and years after this is where the relationship actually forms. Don’t rush relationships in real estate. You can put yourself in situations where you will have a higher likelihood of meeting people (events, open houses, working in public places, door knocking, etc), but trying to force a relationship will get you nowhere.
2) Building Relationships is a Skill: Just like any other skill, building relationships is also a skill. This means that it can be learned and improved upon. Too often new agents think they just aren’t good enough at forming relationships. This moves their mindset into the Lead Trap as they just want opportunities to present themselves. You need to learn and improve on your people skills. My favorite books on building people skills can be found here and I would highly recommend Never Eat Alone and Captivate.
3) Meeting People: It goes without saying but you can’t form relationships if you are staying in and watching Netflix. You need to be out in public increasing the chances that you will meet people. Too many new real estate agents spend tons of time on their websites and Facebook business page and not enough time networking, going to events, and meeting new people.
4) Ask Questions: If you want someone to like you then you probably know that you need ask them questions about themselves. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t respond to what they say and comment as this is part of being a good conversationalist. However, the majority of your efforts should be focused on learning more about the other person
Fast Hacks for REALTORs:
Toastmasters: Joining Toastmasters has been a game changer for me and my business. There are so many skills you will learn at Toastmasters that directly relate to real estate. Yes, there is a public speaking component but there is also the added benefit of communication skills, presentation skills, leadership, critical thinking, and social skills. All of these will help your real estate career plus it’s just another way to meet people in your community.
The Person That Talks the Most: You may have heard me say it before but oftentimes, the person in the conversation that talks the most, thinks the conversation went the best.
The Compliment Hack: People love to be complimented but people also have great BS detectors. If you tell me that you love my organization, my BS meter is going to shoot through the roof. Your compliments need to be genuine. If you want to take it one step further, you can use the compliment hack. All you need to do is compliment a person in front of another person. No only is it very flattering, but it because the compliment came in public, the receiver will feel like you much more. Have you ever had this happen to you? Or have you ever had a person publicly thank you of Facebook? If so, how do you feel about this person? I’ll be you really like that individual!