Build Rapport With Prospects By Nurturing Your Leads

In my last post, I talked about the importance of getting permission to keep marketing to prospects. Once your prospects have given you their contact information and permission to keep in touch, the ball is in your court. Now, it’s up to you to build rapport with them by offering valuable information that educates them and guides them through the fundamentals of the home buying and selling process. This stage is about demonstrating your expertise in real estate while starting to build a relationship with them. The goal for this stage is to position yourself as a good fit for their needs when they decide the time is right to contact a real estate agent.

Keep in mind that prospects in this stage are currently in the information gathering process so this can take awhile - but don’t give up on them! Just because they aren’t yet ready to buy doesn’t mean that they won’t be ready sometime in the future.

Don’t Give Up - Follow Up
It never ceases to amaze me how many people would rather give up on these prospects - who are close to buying - in favor of mass marketing because they think someone out there somewhere might be looking for a real estate agent.

Prospects who have given you permission to market to them are a much more targeted group of candidates for your services. These people have already raised their hand to let you know they were interested. They’ve already told you they’d like more information. Why would you quit now? Yet so many agents do because they don’t get that instant gratification of an immediate client.

The failure to follow up with leads is costing you big bucks! Sales studies show that 70% of leads aren’t followed up with regularly. In order to reach these prospects consistently, you must have a follow up system in place.

Put yourself in your prospect’s mind. Making a real estate purchase is a big decision for most people, so not only must your prospect understand the real estate laws and jargon, he/she will also want to know:

• Is this real estate agent credible?
• Can he/she do what he/she says?
• Can I afford his/her fees and still get the price I’m asking for my home
• Is there another agent that can do the job better?
• Can I trust this real estate agent?

It’s your job to convince your prospects that you can do what you say you can - and that’s what you need to prove in this stage.