You’ve made an investment to drive leads to your business, but do not stop there! Implementing a strong lead follow-up process is critical to getting a strong return on your investment. This is especially important since the home buying cycle has gotten longer and many shoppers will take 9-12 months before making a purchase decision. Continually nurturing leads throughout the sales cycle is critically important. Read on for helpful tips to connect with buyers from click to close.

Did you know that 48% of sales agents never follow up on a lead that comes in? This is a huge missed opportunity for your sales pipeline! Can you afford to not engage with these potential buyers? 25% of sales agents will only make 2 contacts with the home shopper. If a buyer is not planning to make a purchase decision until 9 months down the road, 2 contacts is simply not going to cut it! 80% of sales are made between the 5^th and 12^th contact. Call and email multiple times – you will thank us later!

Tracking Leads
How are you keeping track of your leads? If you sell more than 50 homes a year, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is a must. There are many cost effective CRM solutions available today such as Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, Sales Simplicity, Sales 1440 and Builder Trend. These systems allow you to track and nurture leads in an efficient and organized manner.

Following Up
Time is money and the quicker you follow up the better first impression the buyer will have of your company. When you respond to leads within 15 minutes of submission, you are 4 times more likely to contact and qualify the lead. Having an internet sales counselor or someone that is dedicated to monitoring the online leads is a great way to make contact in a timely manner.

In your first initial contact make sure you use a catchy subject line, personalize the email by using the customer’s name, include links to interactive media, have a strong call to action (i.e. come to an open house or make an appointment) and include all contact information so the customer can choose any which way they would like to connect with you. Above all else – keep it professional!

Nurturing Leads
As we mentioned previously, since the buying cycle is longer, you will need to nurture the leads that come in for a much longer period of time. BDX has great content and messaging for builder clients to use from the Start Fresh. Buy New. initiative that shows why buying a new home is better than resale. It is important to highlight the benefits that a new construction home provides: the low cost of ownership, quality construction, energy efficiency and better floor plans. Remember, your competition isn’t the builder down the street, it is resale homes.

Interactive content keeps prospects engaged and builds trust in your brand. To accomplish this, use videos to tour the community, highlight company history or showcase green features. Videos don’t have to be of high production quality and can even be done from your phone.

Additional ways to nurture leads throughout the sales cycle include:

• Adding the prospect to your community e-newsletter
• Create social media campaigns targeted to home buyers to get them to engage with your brand
• Invite prospects to open houses/community events

Implementing some of these simple tips will keep your homes and brand at the top of your buyer’s mind when they are ready to purchase. Be sure to check out our recent webinar for more best practices and strategies for following up.  Also, see this article from online marketing expert, Mike Lyon, about how to turn online leads into buyers.

Unsure if your lead follow-up strategy is making the mark? Contact BDX at Info@theBDX.com today for an assessment.