As discussed in a previous post, real estate seller leads are very valuable to agents because they offer a number of benefits:

• You can take on more clients
• You have more control over your time
• You have the opportunity to represent both sides of the deal
• Bidding wars in a low inventory market can mean higher commissions

But how do you go about attracting, converting and closing seller leads?
You need to match your marketing to your potential seller leads' experience - from the moment they begin to consider selling until they're ready to call an agent.

When it comes to making a purchasing decision, consumers go through a process – coined by inbound marketing company, Hubspot, as “The Buyer’s Journey.” That term may be a bit confusing when you're talking about a seller, but it represents the seller's process of deciding whether it is necessary to buy real estate services from an agent or broker.

This journey is made up of three stages:

• Awareness
• Consideration
• Decision

Stage #1: Awareness

Most people know and acknowledge that technology adoption is happening at a dizzying speed – but do you know how it is impacting your real estate business?

If you take a look at consumer research data, a very clear image of today’s tech-savvy home shopper begins to emerge. Technology adoption has facilitated a dramatic shift in consumer behavior – one that requires businesses (e.g. real estate agents) to adapt their marketing strategy in order to keep pace with evolving consumer demands. If you’re not on board with harnessing technology to optimize your marketing efforts, you're almost certainly losing real estate leads to more tech-savvy agents on a regular basis.

Let’s think about smartphones for a moment, and discuss the impact they’ve had on the day-to-day behavior of a prospective homebuyer. Smartphones are so powerful that everyone who owns one (which is to say, almost everyone) is walking around with a mini-laptop in his or her pocket.

“Phones” are used for much more than just making or receiving calls. In fact, I so rarely use my phone for calls anymore that sometimes when it rings, I just look at it quizzically and forget what to do for a moment. 

Time and time again, you've been told that in order to effectively convert leads, you need to stay on top of your real estate lead follow-up - but there's a problem... actually, there are three problems:

1. The busier you are, the more leads you get:
   The real estate market is more active in the spring and summer months, which means you're extremely busy. Naturally, that also means you get a larger influx of leads because more buyers and sellers are entering the marketplace.
   
   
2. Lead follow-up is time consuming:
   Even when you're not slammed, it can be challenging to quickly follow up with every single property inquiry or generic question that floods your inbox - and it's even more difficult when you're in the midst of several transactions. 
   
   
3. Leads move on quickly:
   Potential buyers and sellers are anxious for answers, so if they reach out to you and don't hear back quickly, they will move on to the next agent without hesitation. 

So how do you manage an influx of leads, a chaotic schedule and a modest budget?

Consider these 3 real estate lead management options:

When you are trying to build rapport, engage real estate clients in a conversation or influence an action, you need to be conscious of how your approach is impacting clients. Awareness of what you’re saying is just the tip of the iceberg. Words are important, but you also need to be aware of how you’re saying it and what your body language is communicating. 

In today's Agent Insights - Susan Emo, a Real Estate Agent in Gananoque, Canada, talks about how marketing has shifted since she started out in real estate in the late '70s.