How to Convert Real Estate Leads into Appointments

Every real estate lead is precious. It costs you time and money to generate that lead, so you need to make sure you capitalize on each of them. 

To ensure you never leave leads dangling or ignored, set an automated process for each lead campaign. These processes fall into two buckets: automated drip campaigns and task scheduling. 

From there, you can optimize your sales funnel to convert more leads into appointments and then closed deals. Get the most out of each real estate lead with these best practices. 

Automated Drip Campaigns

With REsimpli’s real estate CRM software, you can create automated drip campaigns for each marketing channel. 

For example, if someone calls in and leaves a message for you after receiving one of your probate postcards, REsimpli can automatically tag that marketing channel based on the unique tracking phone number they called. You can create a customized drip campaign for those probate leads, such as them immediately getting an SMS message thanking them for calling in, and letting them know you’ll be following up with them by phone within the next eight hours. 

From there, the drip campaign pings you a task reminder to call the lead. Once you do that, the drip campaign might follow up with the lead by email or ringless voicemail or another SMS message — you get to set up the campaigns however you like.

Human Task Scheduling

Automated outreach works wonders, but it’s no substitute for human communication. Somebody still needs to pick up the phone and call each lead, to hear their story, to schedule an appointment to physically meet them at the property and walk through it. 

In the example above, the automated drip campaign started with a confirmation text message, but then it created a human task to call the lead. You or your team member get a notification to call the lead, and a task appears in your queue on REsimpli. You can click a button to call the lead back, log the call, schedule an appointment, enter any new information (such as the lead’s email address), and mark the task either Done or Not Done. 

That last is critical: to keep the campaign moving, and convert leads into appointments, tasks must be completed. If you try calling the lead several times unsuccessfully, you might send them into a different drip campaign, such as one for periodic outreach and long-term nurturing. 

Scrutinize Every Touch Point

As a real estate wholesaler or investor, you have a sales funnel like every other business. The better you advance leads along at each stage of the funnel, the more leads you’ll ultimately convert into profitable deals. 

Start by looking at each contact point in your drip campaigns. How personable are your automated SMS messages and emails? Are they friendly and compassionate or do they read like they were spit out by an AI? How frequently do you reach out to leads? Do you need to scale it up or dial it down? 

Pay particular attention to the way you or your team interact with leads in each phone call. Remember, distressed property owners are, well, distressed. Many have recently lost a loved one, or gone through a divorce, or lost a job. This may be a business for you, but it’s their home. 

You and your team need to bring plenty of compassion to the conversation. It leaves a sour taste in the prospect’s mouth if you completely brush over it when they share that they just lost a parent or spouse. Listen in on your lead manager’s phone calls with leads and coach them to create a human connection as quickly as possible. 

Do that, and they’ll convert more real estate leads into appointments. 

Have a Clear Qualification Plan for All Leads

Not all leads are created equal. A lead on an upside-down property is worth less than a lead on a free-and-clear property. 

Create a crystal clear plan for qualifying leads. For instance, that might include a maximum LTV that you can work with, before scheduling an appointment. It probably includes a geographical radius, and perhaps a minimum price point. 

When you first start out as a solo operator, perhaps you could get by on case-by-case discretion. But as you scale and build a team, you need clear rules on what types of deals you can do, and which you’ll either need to refer to someone else (such as a bankruptcy attorney) or scrap entirely. 

Track KPIs

Whether you work solo or with a team, track your most important metrics. In the context of converting real estate leads into appointments, these KPIs include:

• Calls Made: How many calls did your team make each day over the last week? Over the last month? Did every lead receive a phone call promptly? The more lead response calls you make, the more appointments you’ll book.
• Appointments Booked: How many prospect appointments did you make? 
• Appointments Completed: How many appointments did you and the prospect actually keep? You may need to revisit your process for confirming appointments if you find yourself stood up more than occasionally. 
• Pending Tasks: How many tasks pile up on the “Pending” list? If you and your team start falling behind, leads slip through the cracks. 
• Leads on a Drip: Every inbound lead should be on a drip campaign at any given time. Shuffle them to a new drip as needed, such as a long-term maintenance/outreach campaign if the lead goes cold. 

Consider Hiring a Lead Manager

You can only be in so many places at once, complete so many phone calls in an hour. At a certain point, you’ll reach the limit of how many leads you can service well. 

When that day comes, consider hiring a lead manager. This person can run comps for you, call back leads, schedule appointments, and eventually perhaps go on appointments themselves. 

In the beginning, just have them listen in on your phone calls and run comps. They can start part-time, and then potentially go full-time as you scale your business. Read up on when to hire a lead manager, and how to get them up to speed. 

Final Thoughts

If you want a more profitable real estate business, start by eliminating waste. And that begins with scheduling an appointment with every qualified lead. 

By scheduling appointments with two leads instead of one for every $100 spent on marketing, you could literally double your profit.