So You Got an Online Inquiry. Now What?
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Figuring out exactly what to do with an online inquiry can be tough. These are the people who reached out after seeing your ad on Facebook or listings online, but, because they don’t really know you yet, they aren’t very likely to convert.
At Buffini & Company, we wouldn’t consider these folks “leads” just yet. Customers that come to you from online sources follow a specific path:
- Impressions: Eyes on your content.
- Inquiries: Person responding to an offer/ad.
- Prospect: Captured email/phone number.
- Lead: Qualified opportunity.
- Customer: Someone you do business with.
When someone contacts you about a potential transaction, they are in the inquiry stage. They’re more than just a view, but not quite a vetted lead. Once you get their contact info, they get bumped up to a prospect. It’s then up to you to do a bit of legwork to turn those prospects into leads, leads into customers, and eventually, customers into lifelong advocates of your business.
To successfully begin this process, you need to rely on a real estate CRM to keep track of each person’s status. Ideally, you should be able to send and track communications with prospects through your CRM to keep everything in one place.
Referral Maker® CRM from Buffini & Company streamlines the process of turning inquiries into leads. Once you add that name to your database, Referral Maker CRM allows you to rank that person based on how likely they are to refer you (or how warm of a lead they are). A+ is the highest rank, while D’s, the lowest, should be deleted. Online inquiries would go into your database as “O” for online. Once you’ve established contact, you’ll either adjust their rank to a “C” or delete them from your database if they will not be working with you.
There are a few steps to follow to help those C’s level up to become actual clients and top referrers of your business.
- Get in touch. Don’t let the inquiry sit in your inbox! Send a timely response to show care and attentiveness.
- Provide value. Mail or email a value-add marketing piece with information on the real estate process, and mention that you’ll follow up.
- Set up a meeting. Hold an intro meeting to introduce yourself and how you work. Use this time to learn more about the client, and whether they’re someone you want to work with.
- Track it. Update your real estate CRM after each communication and adjust lead rank when necessary.
When you follow this process, you’ll be able to turn every online prospect into a vetted lead and loyal customer. The right real estate CRM can help. The easy-to-use Referral Maker CRM desktop and mobile apps let you import contacts, sync your calendars, send calls and texts in-app, track transactions and keep tabs on your lead generation. Sign up for a free trial today!
