In our last post, we discussed the imperative of being the first to call, and of making contact with qualified leads quickly while they are still searching for properties, and not hours or days later. This action alone can dramatically increase the number of qualified leads which convert into valid prospects and clients.

We are often asked by our new customers for advice on which lead management process is the best. Our answer is, "It depends." It depends on your company's culture, your promises to agents regarding leads, your willingness to initiate new processes, the quality and experience of your sales staff, and the resources available to manage leads.

If I were a broker and setting up an automated lead management system, one of the decisions I would have to make is whether to send leads instantly to my agents, to qualify them first in-house to filter out the obvious tom-foolery, or to have my in-house staff incubate leads until they are hot and ready to buy or sell a home. Let's look at the pros and cons of these three options in more detail.

Send all leads immediately to your agents

By sending all leads immediately to the sales staff, a company is able to put the lead into the hands of a qualified expert that can answer any questions posed and move the lead along the sales pipeline. After all, this is what you pay your agents to do. This process has no out-of-pocket cost, and smaller companies may not be able to afford staff committed to lead qualification and incubation.