Websites are a great way for real estate professionals to advertise their services and get their name out there. While getting more visitors to your website is a great goal, it’s ultimately not going to help your business unless you’re able to translate that website traffic to qualified leads.
So how do you encourage people to make the jump from passive visitor to client? We asked the members of Forbes Real Estate Council to share their best strategies for real estate professionals looking to convert website traffic into qualified leads. Their top answers are below.
Members of Forbes Real Estate Council share ways to generate leads from website traffic.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Create An Audience Persona
Take some time to figure out your target audience. Create a fictional persona representing your dream client and figure out as much as you can about that person. Decide what their goals, aspirations, pain points and more are and use that to guide everything in your brand from your website messaging to your emails. This will help potential leads build trust in you and thus seek to work with you. – Annie Dickerson, Goodegg Investments
2. Reply Quickly And Listen
First and foremost, reply immediately. Once you get them on the line, listen, ask questions and show true interest in the person as a whole. Ask about hobbies and lifestyle, discussing more than just the property the lead called about. Making a connection and showing I care about more than the sale is why over 60% of my leads call me back. – Coni Dean, Venture Realty & Investments
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3. Provide Relevant Insights
It’s important to provide clients with relevant insight and information that is of value to them. We let our clients know we are the best resource for them in the segment of the market they are looking in. We also use data-focused prospect targeting, which allows us to ensure the traffic we are driving to our site is interested in our value-add service. – Cody Vichinsky, Bespoke Real Estate
4. Implement A Chatbot
A great approach is having a chatbot. This alerts you to new traffic and visitors to your website can speak with you directly. If they have a question, they can immediately initiate a chat and somebody on the team can jump in, reducing the barrier to conversion. It’s an effective strategy because you’re actually capturing the lead while they’re on the site instead of waiting for them to reach out. – Kellie Rastegar, Rastegar Property Company
5. Use Remarketing Techniques
The absolute best thing you can do is to utilize remarketing techniques through Google, Facebook and Pinterest. A website visitor might come to your website, consume your content and then move on, but they are now somewhat familiar with your brand. Keep getting their attention with remarketing so they will develop an attraction to your brand, come back to your website and contact you. – Kris Lippi, ISoldMyHouse.com
6. Meet Them Where They Are
It’s 100% all about your messaging! You must meet the client where they are currently at in their journey of home buying or home selling. It’s about listening to their needs and their situation and not being all about the sale. How can you help? You should be direct, honest and crystal clear on exactly what solutions you can offer and why your services are what they need. – Don Wenner, DLP Real Estate Capital
7. Fine-Tune Your Message Based On Traffic Sources
Website traffic should be monitored to determine the source of the traffic and you can then fine-tune the source to increase the “quality” of the lead. For example, if you’re getting 50% of the traffic from Facebook with very little success, modify the messaging until it starts to work. Eliminate any advertising on sources that don’t generate traffic and spend on those that bring qualified leads. – Ken McElroy, MC Companies
8. Have A Clear Call To Action
Make sure you have a clear call to action, especially above the fold or the point before you have to begin scrolling to see the rest of the page. The call to action should be repeated multiple times across the site. This is effective because wherever they are on the page, they can immediately contact you when something resonates. – Melissa Johnson, webuyhousessanantoniotx.com
9. Encourage One-On-One Meetings
Real estate professionals who are able to establish a meeting or video conference with a website lead have a much higher conversion rate. Leads are more likely to interact and maintain correspondence with real estate professionals that they have met at least once. – Adrian Provost, LEVEL
10. Segment Your Sales Funnel
There needs to be a sales funnel for digital leads. Once an inquiry comes in, break them into two different lanes: income-producing inquiries and non-income-producing inquiries. Depending on which lane an inquiry falls into, it determines who the inquiry is sent to for a response. It matters who is responding to different inquiries. Being personal and authentic also matters a lot. – Carrie Bobb, Carrie Bobb & Co
11. Share Your Unique Story
Especially in today’s world, residents and tenants want to know what the compelling reason is for living or working in your property. What makes you different? Sharing your building’s authentic story can make all the difference. This could include highlighting your local community, the story behind your building’s name or the people who make your community vibrant. – Benjamin Pleat, Cobu
12. Offer Valuable Content
Offer something of value, such as a downloadable PDF that tackles a particular topic, such as the top 10 things you should do before you put your house on the market or the top 10 things you should do when you move to a new house. Giving value to potential clients sets you apart and sets the expectation that you are someone who is knowledgeable. – Nancy Wallace- Laabs, KBN Homes, LLC
13. Understand What Your Audience Wants
To convert website traffic to qualified leads, understand what your audience wants. Set up email campaigns and chatbot automation to deliver property information that best serves your prospects. Send downloadable PDFs, industry news, webinar links, recommended properties and available appointments to nurture your leads. Doing this consistently will qualify your leads by nurturing campaigns. – Chuck Hattemer, Onerent
14. Outsource The Process
You may be able to tinker around with site traffic but why not outsource this function? Write down what you would like to see regarding your traffic and hire the appropriate firm/individual to process it. If you want added levels of interaction, such as vetting any leads, there are companies that can offer custom-tailored approaches. How much is your time worth? – Michael J. Polk, Polk Properties / Matrix Properties