Whose Lead is This?

PrimeStreet 

The best application of tech in real estate is the one that helps you respond quickly and meaningfully to leads- whether brand new or sitting untouched in your database. Often, the first big hurdle is addressing team members’ concern that they will lose “their leads.”

It’s a serious question because this industry relies on agents to generate most of their own leads. When that happens, and there is an expense to it, it’s fair for the agent to want to keep it for themselves. In addition to this, many teams and brokerages want to distribute new, unassigned leads equitably among their agents rather than have one energetic agent figure out how to get them all.

How do we get the benefits of the technology without causing strife in the organization? There are a couple of ways.

The 30,000-foot view here is important: your business must be customer-first always. 

If an agent is actively working with someone, that customer should be calling, texting, emailing with the agent directly and this effort should not get in the way of that. 

If a customer is standing there waiting to be helped, do not let internal rules about lead ownership get in the way of helping them.

If a customer is not in contact with your business, let your vendor reach out to them and, if they respond with a willingness to talk, do not make them wait for “their” assigned agent.
 

A true story

I bought a new car from a dealership once, but my decision-making process took several days. One sales rep showed me different models, went on test drives with me, and helped me settle on a vehicle on the lot. Over the next several days, that agent answered questions I texted directly to him, another sales agent helped me answer a quick question my bank had while my rep was “on the lot.” Finally, I was ready to pull the trigger and let my rep know I would be there the next day. 

“No problem,” he texted back. “That’s my day off, but I will have everything ready and (another agent) will be waiting to help you out.”

Notice what happened here:

• I was sales rep #1’s “lead” but his priority was me so the inverse happened- he was “my rep.” 
• We all know auto sales is commission based, so I am pleased with (and have more trust in) anyone who puts my schedule and needs ahead of the commission.
• I, as the customer, have no idea how they split the commission and that’s the way it should be.
• I gave both reps a five-star rating but I also gave the business a five-star rating- they fostered a team atmosphere that compensated team members for making sure I got help when and where I wanted help.

Let’s look at some strategies to bring something like this to the real estate industry.
 

Leads databases

The first thing to remember when contracting with someone to do outreach to your database of leads is that you control who they call. Typically this is a spreadsheet of leads and it takes a few moments of care and planning to draw up. 

• Do not send the partner names and numbers of customers your team is actively working, or their family members, best friend, and next-door neighbor. 

• Do send a list of every person who hasn’t been called in a while, maybe met with an agent once, or was acquired and never reached.
• Do send a list of every lead that “belonged” to an agent who retired, moved on, or is otherwise no longer in the industry.

Have a heart to heart with your agents. A customer is in your CRM because agent Jane Doe made notes about meeting them at a homes show booth a year ago, got their number and spoke with them twice. But they decided not to buy. Is that Jane’s lead? Do you send it to your vendor to do outreach? Does your answer change if you learn Jane paid for that booth at the show?

We recommend that you do send it to us to reach out to- it’s a lead with no current activity, it’s aged, Jane has better things to do with her time. If your current model were working well, you probably wouldn’t be talking to a vendor about reaching out to your database. 

Should Jane be compensated if the customer is now ready to buy and the vendor connects them with a different team member? 

That’s up to you, but rule one is never let this question get in the way of showing homes to that buyer. In the auto example above, I assume there was some sort of commission split or bonus system, but I have no idea. It could just be that a team that works well together understands sometimes you gain and sometimes you lose in a system that is customer-forward. Jane might lose this one, but get the next one PrimeStreet re-engages.  The main point is we’re talking about home sales that probably wouldn’t have happened for anyone on the team if you hadn’t allowed PrimeStreet to do outreach. It’s better to argue over a commission split for a sale that happens than to have no sales to discuss.
 

New Leads

These are where it is critical to be customer focused. Waiting time = sales loss. Do not make new leads wait for a call. Once they have been called and are ready to talk to an agent, do not make them wait for an appointment. 

Let’s go back to our example above. A nice young couple finds their way to your website and submits a lead to see a house they are interested in. The CRM says they spoke to Jane Doe at a home show a year ago, spoke to her a couple of times, and then dropped out of their search. Jane went on vacation yesterday. Do you let the vendor call them right away and put them in touch with a different agent today?

Yes. Be customer forward- they want to talk to someone, let them talk to someone now and figure out “lead ownership” internally.

What if Jane Doe had their name and number in her CRM because she paid for Zillow and got them as a lead that way a year ago?

Same answer- be customer focused, help the customer now.

Another common scenario: You have 30 agents, you want to keep them busy and keep things fair, how do you make sure one doesn’t get all the new leads? It’s an important and reasonable question, it’s just not the correct one. The correct question is: “Does the customer care?” They do not, they want to speak to someone now, answer the phone. It is not the most enjoyable part of management, but you need to set internal rules that are customer focused and reduce strife on your team. Coach through problems. In this case, it might be that some agents just aren’t responsive, it could be that some are too aggressive. Both problems deserve attention.