Lead generation: more and more realtors are turning towards the buying of leads (information of people who do or potentially want to buy/sell) in order to acquire more clientèle.

What is the best way to work with this new method of client attainment?

First of all, when choosing a lead generation company, it is best to pick one that has the best way for you to get all of your money´s worth. Which sounds like a better deal?: buying X amount of leads from a company for one set price (a package deal) with no type of return policy, or purchasing from a company that only provides leads when they are validated (hence quality over quantity) that also has a lead replacement return policy. Sounds like a pretty clear decision.

Once you have chosen your company and are set up with your lead plan,  how many should you sign up for? Generally if you are trying something out, you have to look at the odds. If you only try 2 leads and then base your decision whether to continue or not on that, is your decision going to be rational? The answer is no. You must remember that these leads are people and are not like buying cut and dried objects at your local grocery store; with people all kinds of variables can pop up. Therefore, at the most you should give it a good trial run and go with 10. If at least one of those 10 leads have merit or add to your pipeline, it would be worth it.

Once you have your lead set up and they are starting to be delivered, how should you work them? First call them right off; it doesn't matter if the note says to call at 10 pm. Give them a quick call just to let them know that you will prepare a quick bit of info for them and get back with them at their preferred time. Also, when you call make sure to introduce yourself by giving some of the info provided with the lead (they get a lot of calls: who knows how many other companies they went to for help, and also they have a lot of things not realty related in their life: so people can forget.) It also helps if you make sure to tell the person that the company which provided the lead info, may have spoken to the other spouse or someone in the home.

Here is a short example:

You get a lead, John Smith, and the info given says he wants to buy a home that is near the river, and he wants to be called at 8 P.M. and it is now at this moment 1 P.M.

If you call the lead and John answers:

Hi John, this is Jane Brown. I work with X realty and a company, LeadToRealty let me know you are looking to buy a home near the river. I know you wanted to be contacted later on today, but I just wanted to give you a heads up that I will be pulling up some things that could be of interest for you.

If you call the lead and his wife answers and he is not there or busy, etc:

Hi Amy (John´s wife). That is ok if John is not in. Anyway, my name is Jane and I work with X realty, and John recently spoke with an affiliate of ours LeadToRealty and he was wanting some information or possible assistance with buying home, one that is maybe near the river. He had wanted a call around 8 or so, but I just wanted to give him a heads up that I was on this. Is there anything else you had in mind for this home? Any details you might want to add could help me find what you are looking for.

These are just some short examples; do whatever you feel comfortable with. The most important thing to know is that with generated leads, the best bet is to try, try again, and just keep trying. Don´t call once and leave a message and then wait for them to get back to you. Call everyday, remember these people are busy with their non realty related lives and may not remember to call you, as picking up or dropping off their kids at X activity is more pressing. Also, be polite and friendly. Bad moods project over the phone; at that first moment of contact you only have your voice and phrase choice to go on.

Of course none of this is a guarantee; the leads are not a sure chance, but any chance is better then none. In today´s market you cannot sit back and wait for the clients to come to you; you have to search for them and really work for it. So get to work on getting some clients now and good luck!