Stop Throwing Leads in the Garbage

The way you manage leads is one of your most important business rules as a brokerage. In the most common model, the listing agent receives a lead that comes in on one of their listings. When a lead is generated on another firm's listing, that lead goes into a rotation for all agents. However, rule-setting shouldn't stop there. Many brokers use solutions to add complexity to their lead management so that the leads that come in are responded-to in a timely fashion and don't go to waste.

We talked to the team at Quantum Leads as our lead management experts. They offered several recommendations for improving lead routing.

1. Set a "time to live" for incoming leads.

With this rule, if an agent doesn't respond to a lead within a set period of time, the lead is automatically redirected to another agent.

2. Take unresponsive agents out of rotation.

For example, you could set it so that if an agent fails to respond to 10 different leads within 15 minutes or less, they will be taken out of rotation for a set amount of time or until they have completed training in lead follow-up. This will help you get rid of "deadbeat" agents.

3. Monitor agent performance in lead-to-close ratio.

If an agent is delivered a bunch of leads but never closes them, they either need training or you need to take a different approach. It might be helpful to find out if they're using a CRM or drip marketing solution to keep the customer engaged. Quantum Leads has found that it takes 10 touches to get the average consumer engaged. So a single touchpoint just isn't going to cut it.

4. Re-assign leads that are marked as "dead."

According to Quantum Leads, "a customer should never be considered 'dead' until they buy real estate or actually die." Even though they may not be immediately buying or selling, they are still a potential future customer. You need to do something to keep your name at the top of their mind. Marketing collateral focused around market trends and how to maximize their current home's value.

In order to generate leads and to set sophisticated rules for lead routing, you'll need a great tool. Quantum Leads can help you generate leads with a VOW (Virtual Office Website). There are also plenty of options for lead management. You can learn more in our product directory.