7 Critical Lead Nurturing Mistakes Realtors Make (and how to fix them!)

From interested prospects to active leads, new customers seeking your assistance in finding and selling a home deserve the same level of consistent and dependable customer service every time you engage with them.

However, when it comes to nurturing everyone in the lead funnel, Realtors® often make critical mistakes that hinder their success in converting those leads into clients. Here are seven of the most common offenders and some easy solutions for fixing them today:

Mistake #1: Lack of Personalized Communication

One of the biggest mistakes Realtors make is treating all leads the same. Each lead has unique needs and preferences, and a lack of personalization can make them feel like just another number.

Why Lack of Personalized Communication Happens

In marketing, it’s easy to fall into the “one solution fits many '' mindset. In reality, buying a home is perhaps the most important financial decision a person will make in their lifetime. With limited time and bandwidth, it may feel easy to send a mass email or newsletter to your clients. Active and engaged leads will find this type of communication distracting and potentially insulting.

How Agents can Fix This Mistake

Tailoring your communication and content to the specific interests and requirements of each lead can significantly improve your chances of nurturing them successfully. If you're using a CRM to manage your pipeline, be sure to add specific details about each person’s unique wants and needs, their background, or any other details you discussed in a meaningful and engaging way.

Mistake #2: Failure to Follow Up Promptly

Time is of the essence when it comes to lead nurturing. Delayed or inadequate follow-up can make leads lose interest or seek assistance from other Realtors.

Responding immediately to inquiries, sending timely follow-up emails, and scheduling property showings with urgency are crucial steps in building trust and keeping leads engaged and your pipeline full.

Why Failure to Follow Up Promptly Happens

Offering the best possible customer service to the client in front of you means you're engaged and focused on the activity at hand. Even if you're using the best automation tools, communication with everybody else; the text messages, emails, and voicemails, tend to pile up or drop through the cracks entirely.

How Agents can Fix This Mistake

The lead pipeline doesn’t pause when you're at showings, networking, or sleeping. If you use a CRM to manage your lead nurture process, consider adding a third-party concierge service to respond to web queries 24/7/365 like AIVA from Elm Street Technology.

AIVA’s team of Conversion Specialists can help you qualify conversations to identify and book appointments with empathy, consistency, and immediacy. Best of all, AIVA guarantees a one-minute response time no matter the time of day.

Mistake #3: Overwhelming Leads with Irrelevant Information

Bombarding leads with excessive and irrelevant information can be overwhelming and off-putting. Receiving too much information can also have the effect of making home buyers feel like you're asking them to do the work for them.

Why Overwhelming Leads Happens

As an expert on the local real estate market and your local community, there’s literally volumes of information to share. From financing options to interest rates and local school ratings, it’s easy to fall into the habit of wanting to provide your clients with everything, everywhere, all at once.

How Agents can Fix This Mistake

Once you’ve established a working relationship with your lead, remove them from any marketing campaigns that will hit their email, phone, or mailbox at the wrong point in the pipeline. In providing targeted and valuable information that addresses the current or next step in the buying or selling process, you can help guide them towards a specific action or decision.

Many agents use “what to expect” documents or make high-level checklists to keep their clients informed, trusting you're the expert they hired to walk with them through the homebuying or selling process

Mistake #4: Neglecting Consistent Communication

Consistency is key in lead nurturing. Realtors often make the mistake of reaching out to leads sporadically, which can lead to a loss of interest and staying top-of-mind.

Why Neglecting Consistent Communication Happens

Are you touching your leads at the right time and with the right message? When it comes to frequency of communication, timing and cadence is key. Without a system to know what, when, and how to reach out, agents miss the opportunity to know if their marketing efforts are hitting or missing the mark.

How Agents can Fix This Mistake

Create a nurturing plan that includes regular communication through various channels like email newsletters, social media updates, and personalized messages. The key is to stay top-of-mind without being overly pushy.

Find a good cadence and stick to a plan that works for your business; if you feel like you're communicating too much or too little it’s okay to ask a past client for honest feedback. If bandwidth or lack of content is challenging for you, one easy solution is to enlist the help of a lead nurturing software platform with a CRM.

Mistake #5: Failing to Listen and Understand

Effective lead nurturing involves active listening and understanding the needs and motivations of potential clients. Many Realtors make the mistake of talking too much and not taking the time to listen to their leads.

Why Failing to Listen and Understand Happens

For many Realtors, the excitement around helping new homeowners find their dream space is palpable. It’s easy to let your own excitement overshadow the person you're working for. Or, without even realizing you’re doing it, your own personal bias may incorrectly influence what your client is looking for.

How Agents can Fix This Mistake

To instill confidence in your client that you're all on the same page, repeat back what they have told you in your own words. Allow room for corrections or clarification and repeat the cycle as many times as necessary. At the end of the meeting, send a follow up email with key speaking points from your conversation so you have a record of what you discussed.

If you find yourself missing the mark or feeling your clients’ frustration, it may be helpful for you to provide examples of properties and talk through the pros and cons of the listing together. If you find yourself dominating the conversation, acknowledge, apologize, and move on.

Mistake #6: Giving Up Too Soon

Lead nurturing is a long-term process, and many Realtors give up on leads too quickly. Not all leads are ready to buy or sell immediately, but they may become valuable clients in the future. According to a key sales statistics report published on HubSpot, top sellers spend an average of six hours every week researching their prospects and that 80% of sales require five follow-up calls.

Why Giving Up Too Soon Happens

Understandably, agents can experience frustration when they keep repeating the same activity without tangible results. Especially when your calls are not being returned, you don’t know if your emails are being received, your blog posts are being read, or your direct mail is reaching the right households, it’s natural to feel like you’re wasting your valuable time and money.

How Agents can Fix This Mistake

To find motivation and recharge your business battery, so to speak, reach out to your mentors, your colleagues, and your broker. It’s okay to ask for help and take a break. Sometimes our best ideas come to us when we allow ourselves the time and space to rest and take care of our emotional needs. Sometimes we find what we need in the most unlikely of places.

In the same key sales statistics report, we learn that 54% of sales leaders say CRM usage is one of the most important productivity metrics to track. Automating your follow up and your lead nurturing game can dramatically alter your business and keep you on track when you feel like giving up is the only option.

Mistake #7: Ignoring the Power of Automation and Technology

Automation tools and technology can streamline lead nurturing processes and make them more efficient. Some Realtors overlook the benefits of email automation, CRM systems, and other solutions that can help manage leads effectively.

As counter-intuitive as it may seem, when business is slow and money is tight, there is no better time to implement automation and technology marketing solutions into your real estate business.

Why Ignoring the Power of Automation and Technology Happens

As you build your real estate business, you know every penny counts. In lean times, we prioritize our budgets to keep the lights on and marketing and promotional activities are typically some of the first ones to go. This is where we can fail to think about the value of our time in terms of efficiency, capacity, and return on investment.

How Agents can Fix This Mistake

Begin by identifying the tasks you wish you either had someone or some way to automate. Do you wish you had help writing blog posts, designing email templates, and qualifying web leads? Can you easily update your real estate website on-the-fly without the assistance of a web designer or developer?

Do you have a way to measure and track the performance of your digital campaigns in terms of deliverability, views, and opens? Find an all-in-one, award-winning solution to help meet all of these challenges–including a CRM and concierge service powered by AIVA–with Elevate, by Elm Street Technology.

Bringing it All Together

By maintaining regular contact, nurturing relationships over time, and staying engaged you can position yourself as the go-to Realtor when leads are ready to make their first move. Start today by investing in your business, investing in yourself, and knowing you’re making positive changes today to grow your business for years to come.

Need help nurturing your leads? Elm Street can help! Schedule a conversation with one of our success coaches to learn more.