Inbound lead management is a vital part of ensuring long term success with any online real estate broker’s presence. Unfortunatley, with the average online lead closing ratio at 0.1%, many agents and brokers are struggling to learn how to handle these types of inquiries. Some brokers choose to use “lead concierges” to handle all information requests until such time a potential client is ready to view property. These highly trained individuals are tasked to follow up with a lead as often as possible to make sure they use that company. Other brokers send leads directly to the agent from the first moment. Their hope is that the agent, who will see the commission from the sale will do their best to manage the request.
But any brokerage should take time and really consider their options before implementing a lead strategy. There are so many nuances to the process that need to be considered:
- Should I distribute leads to every agent in the office?
- Should I charge a different commission split for leads I refer?
- Which Realtors are qualified to receive leads?
- Are there ramifications if an agent doesn’t respond to leads?
Many questions should be asked before handing out leads. But the ultimate question is:
Which agent will respond to leads the fastest?
According to a 2007 MIT study, your brokerage is 618% more likely to close a lead if you contact them within the first hour as opposed to in the second. You are a whopping 61,000% more likely to to close a lead if responded to within the first hour as opposed to after the 10th hour. A California Association of Realtors study, found that an amazing 54% of clients chose their agents not based upon professionalism but instead speed of response to a primary inquiry. 
The National Association of Realtors says you are 236% more likely to gain someone as a client if you are the first brokerage to speak with them. Finally, the most telling stat that a real estate brokerage should care about is immediate speed really does make a difference, an agent is 2100% more likely to close a client if they contact them back within 5 minutes, as opposed to just 30.
How do you manage to respond this quickly?
TribusAlert
When a lead comes in, within seconds, it is routed to an agent. Brokerages have the ability to create a criterion as to how leads are distributed. Have a team of approved web agents? Easy. Want to hand them out in a round robin format? Done. Have a lead coordinator to handle them? TribusCRM can handle that.
Agents receive lead notifications via text message and email. They can accept the lead right on their web enabled cell phones. After accepting, they can get contact information and can see any listings or requests the potential buyer has. TribusAlert also can be configured to pass along the lead to another agent if no response occurs within your allotted time. Furthermore, you as the broker will get detailed reports on the productiveness of your agents. You can see just how fast agents are accepting and contacting leads, as well as their long term closing ratio.
Download a datasheet about TribusAlert Realtor Lead Routing and Management
Key Realtor Lead Response Statistics
- 61,000% more likely to close if called within the first hour than after 10 hours
- Clients are 236% more likely to close with the first agent they speak with
- Over 50% of all online information requests go unanswered after 48 hours
- 2100% more likely to close a client if contacted within 5 minutes as opposed to after 30
