Aiva
Qualifying Leads
What is LPMAMA in Real Estate?
Learn why real estate agents should text leads as a complementary strategy to engage and qualify leads better.
Real estate agents generally dismiss texting as a potential medium for communicating with clients, leads, and prospects. Phone calls and live in-person meetings are much more preferable by agents than texting since those mediums feel more personal. However, our experience at Aiva has shown the exact opposite -- if used correctly, texting can be a powerful medium to engage with leads.
Leads prefer texting
A recent study conducted by Zillow found data that between 16-18% of Millennials and Gen X buyers prefer text messaging as a way to communicate with their agents. If you can’t reach a lead by phone, why not try text messaging to give it another try. We all often find ourselves in situations where taking a phone call might be hard, but a simple text can be quite easy to send.
Time to contact is key
A study from MIT about lead response management highlights the 5-minute rule to convert leads: the odds of qualifying a lead is 20 times higher if you call him or her within the first 5 minutes of outreach versus in 30 minutes. Texting allows you to do this in a scalable fashion especially if you use a contact management system that allows auto-responding to new leads via SMS like Wise Agent. You can easily send out 30 texts in 30 minutes but it’s hard to make the same volume of calls
Texting leads can help test seriousness
Texting a lead is low commitment activity both for the agent and the lead. If a lead does not reply to your texts nor picks up phone calls, maybe they’re not qualified or serious about working with someone. Their non-response can be a leading indicator that they might not be fully qualified or just kicking tires.
It’s easier to show than tell on text
By texting a lead, you can share a link to your website, an area report, and past sales to add legitimacy to your brand much easier than when making a call. When you call someone on the phone, you’re limited to talking about yourself and you’ll end up likely agreeing to follow up via email and share the same information anyway, but with a worse chance of the lead clicking on any of the links or let alone opening your email.
Leads may be reluctant to answer calls
Some leads can be reluctant to chat on the phone because they don’t want to be “sold” to, but they might be okay texting and sharing what they’re looking for since it’s a lot commitment for them.
So there you have it, five good reasons why real estate agents should text leads. Texting is not meant to replace your primary follow up strategy by email and/or phone, but can act as a powerful complement to your strategy. If used effectively, texting can be a good way to increase your lead engagement and conversion rates.
