Recently, I highlighted the first system needed for your business. This system was lead generation.
Leads are great, but what do you do with them?
This is where the second system comes into play for your business. You need an automatic way to convert the leads you generate into clients. Remember, the leads generated are "warm" leads. They contacted you first through your direct response advertisements. Now, you need to have a process that turns these "warm" prospects into clients.
There are numerous ways to convert leads into clients. I'll touch on a few of the strategies you could use in this article. Here goes:
Outbound phone call - You could call the prospect back and offer them something of value. To get the item of value, they have to make an appointment with you. The appointment gives you an opportunity to sell your services. An example of this would be the free home evaluation. In order to get the free home market evaluation, the seller would have to make an appointment with you. This is the typical way you'll see agents market to generate new listings. There are many other ways you can use this strategy to build your business. What would your prospects find valuable? Put yourself in their shoes. Who are you trying to attract to your business? Don't copy other agents. Be original. Do the opposite of what everyone else is doing. Here are a few ideas you could use in conjunction with other professionals:
How about a free will? Most people don't have updated wills. Or a free estate planning consultation? Free tax analysis? Could you partner up with your attorney and CPA to make this special offer to your leads? These free meetings give you and the other professionals the opportunity to build relationships with your prospects. These relationships lead you to new clients.
This approach to converting prospects to clients works. It works in other businesses, too. The challenge becomes the manual outbound phone call. You either have to make the call yourself, or hire someone to make the calls on your behalf. If you're making the calls yourself, your system isn't automatic. To make your system automatic, I would recommend hiring someone to make these calls. You then simply manage the outbound call person.
Offer a free class/seminar/workshop - You could invite all of your prospects to attend a free workshop. This workshop allows you to display your expertise and leverage your time. To attract buyers, use the media to your advantage. Here is an example of a workshop you could host: "7 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Home in Today's Down Market!" For sellers, how about this workshop: "The Best Strategies Sellers Can Use To Sell Their Homes in a Down Market."
At the end of your workshop, you could make a special offer to those attending. Once your class/workshop becomes effective at moving prospects into clients, you could then have someone else teach it. In my business, I designed the class and then had my agents teach it. Remember, I wanted my business to operate with my involvement.
Write a compelling sales letter - You could prepare a sales letter to mail to each of your warm prospects. This sales letter would basically give your sales presentation in print. At the end of the sales letter, you could include a "test-drive" special offer. The prospect could sign up to "test-drive" your real estate services. Maybe they get a 14 day risk free listing opportunity. Or they have access, risk-free, to your special home buyer program for 14 days.
These sales letters become little sales robots for your business. The more letters you mail, the more clients you receive. I did this in my business. The challenge with this system becomes the administrative task of mailing the letters. You can hire someone part-time to help process these mailings or you could outsource it to a printer. I've done both in my business.
Before I wrap up this article, I want to suggest that you do all three in your business. Your system to convert prospects into clients should include all three strategies I referred to above. By combining all three strategies, you'll attract more clients, more sales and more income!
You can read my previous posts on systems at:
Can you create a dream real estate business?
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