With the latest technology at our fingertips, we’re now programmed to expect instant answers. Anyone with a smartphone, tablet, laptop or any other neat technical gadget that has internet access can ask Google a question any time - day or night - and get an immediate response.

But how is the abundance of instant information impacting our communication with others?  At the very least, it’s decreasing our collective patience with wait times. At most, it’s completely changing how entire industries operate – particularly those that have historically relied on client relationships. Either way, the real estate industry is by no means immune to this phenomenon.

Response Expectations: How Fast is Fast Enough?

Online lead generation has brought with it a new set of communication expectations for real estate agents. In particular, buyer leads researching homes and neighborhoods don’t have time to sit around and wait for a callback. Need proof?

More and more real estate marketing activities are rightly focused on the most important aspect of the agent-client relationship: effective communication. As a result, email continues to be an extremely important tool in every agent’s arsenal. After all, there’s really no other method for efficiently communicating with so many leads and clients at such a low cost. As the real estate email marketing landscape continues to expand, it becomes that much more important to focus on differentiating yourself as a top-tier agent. Part of that process is to ensure that you’re not making any ‘rookie’ mistakes that are sure to paint you as a ‘rookie agent’.

Did you know that three times as many buyers prefer receiving emails to phone calls from their agent?

This is just one of many new trends identified in the recently published California Association of Realtors Home Buyer Survey. While the data to support these trends originates from the California market, we believe the inherent takeaways are applicable to agents throughout the country and should influence how you do business.

For many Realtors, the primary goal during a first conversation with a new real estate lead is to uncover when they want to purchase. While this is important, our customers often find that greater success with leads comes from a more engaging and consultative approach. Such an approach is paramount given that each lead is embarking on a major milestone in their financial and personal life. Instead of simply asking “When do you want to buy?” try to engage your leads on a deeper level with the questions below:

At Zurple we coach: “When you send drip emails, you are training your customers to delete your emails.”

If the thought of this alone isn't enough to stop you from using drip emails, consider the new Inman report that explains why agents who send drip emails are being categorized as SPAMMERS by Gmail. Here's a link to the full report from Inman News.