I have done a good number of posts regarding generating leads from your website as well as I have read posts about howto make sure your BLOG or your website is generating leads.  The last time I checked though, I don’t see any realtors making money for generating leads!  For a true real estate professional their money is made in the act of helping a family or an individual in the process of purchasing or selling real estate.  Great, now I said it, so let’s talk about a really important topic: Coverting Leads into Business!Let’s start with some fundamental misunderstandings that real estate professionals have regarding leads delivered from websites and BLOGS.

• Misunderstanding: Internet leads aren’t good leads
  • I wish I could tell what a good lead and a bad lead was because then I really wouldn’t need a team to follow up on all of the leads.  The reality is a lead is a lead is a lead. You know the good ones when you get a commission check.  Having the attitude that any lead is as “good” as the next one will help you to have a consistent follow up allowing you to close business.
• Misunderstanding: Internet leads aren’t ready to buy today
  • From both my personal experience and agents I have coached, I have found that if someone calls or e-mails from your website you certainly can get them in escrow in the same month.  That’s pretty quick!  Likewise there are also people who are starting their research of buying or selling early and won’t do anything for 6 months.  So…from your website, there is today and tomorrow business!

I could go on and on regarding misunderstandings, but we also want to focus on converting leads into appointments, so what is the trick?  Here are the concepts that will get you as many appointments as you can handle.

1. Follow up time – People making requests on website expect a quick follow up time. A study was done by the C.A.R and they found that over 70% of people expect a response in less than 1 hour.  WOW!  Now, I am not saying be tied to your blackberry for response, but set a specific goal of how long it will be before you respond.  Our goal is 7 minutes and often we find they are still on the website when we call.
2. Ask Questions – When you call the prospect your goal should be to get an appointment.  Now I never use the word appointment because that brings to mind a dentist chair or meeting with a lawyer :(.  I ask the same 3 questions every time which gives me a 90% conversion rate on those phone calls to appointments.  I have put up most of my buyer scripts for FREE at OnlineRealEstateSuccess.com
3. Consistent Follow up – There are going to be the leads that don’t provide a phone number or you can’t get a hold of them on that first call.  Set up a consistent follow up plan using your contact management software (we use Top Producer for our team).  We are pretty aggressive with 8 calls and 8 e-mails over 8 weeks (not including the property e-mails they receive).  It will get their attention or get them off your list

Remember, although we are all responsible for lead generation, we have to turn those leads into appointments and escrows!  Concentrating on a quick response time, question oriented conversations, and consistent follow up will have you with as many appointments as you can handle and many closings.

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