If your CRM is unorganized, you’re at risk of losing two very important things: time and opportunity. Have you ever had a prospect tell you that they were looking to buy, but not until next year? Were you able to convert them into a client, or are they still sitting in your database gathering dust?
A messy database allows leads to slip through the cracks. Leads that will find another agent.
The beauty of the CRM is when you invest a little time into maintaining it, you save a lot of time in return. It automates grunt work, and operates as a third arm for your business. But in order for your database to deliver the highest ROI, it needs to be organized from the get-go.
Here are some quick tips for turning your database into a well-oiled machine. That way, you can convert leads at all stages of their home search (even the ones you labeled trash and too far out).
Wrangle Your Database into Workable Lists
Have you ever stared at the hundreds of leads in your database and scratched your head? Where do you even begin? It’s hard to feel motivated contacting all your leads when there’s a big blob sitting in front of you.
Transforming your database into workable lists will make the most of your valuable time. And it starts with categorizing and segmenting leads. Whittle down your database into a small group, one you can act on immediately. Example: Sift leads by those who have actively searched on your website this week. Take the database from 1000 to 100 in seconds.
If you tag leads according to their demographics, what they’re looking for, where they are in the communication process, etc., you can quickly filter within your CRM to find the best leads to pursue at any given time. An intelligent CRM will have custom tagging tools to help you segment efficiently.
The name of the game is making your CRM more user-friendly by eliminating time spent digging for leads. BoomTown, for example, allows you to get super granular with custom segments and tagging, so you feel totally in control of your pipeline.
Create Action Plans for Your Segments
Once you have a system for organizing your leads, you can go after prospects in a strategic way to close more deals. Every agent should be treating nurture leads differently than hot leads.
Focus on the easy wins! Prioritize. Dedicate time early in the day to go after your most promising leads, while leaving a chunk of time during the week to nurture your lukewarm leads. Stay organized by keeping all of your notes in the CRM with each lead. Be detailed! Have you ever had a promising lead that changed their mind at the last minute and fell out of contact? That lead will eventually be ready to take the plunge … and the agent that stays in touch and remembers details about their search is the agent that will close the deal.
The best CRMs take the guesswork out of prioritizing leads. Below, you can see a graphic at how BoomTown highlights opportunities they should act on today. You can see if a lead is newly registered on the site (contact immediately!), if they have high interest in a particular property, or if they have renewed interest by revisiting your site (time for a follow-up).
It’s important not to forget about your archived leads! Slow and steady wins the race, right?
Every lead has the potential to buy, it’s just a matter of when. If someone’s not quite ready to buy, don’t be so quick to throw out the lead. Archive it, and that lead will become a part of your nurture plan.
Leads can easily be segmented into appropriate categories:
1. Ready to buy or sell immediately
2. Looking but not quite ready to act
3. Searching for a few months out
4. Searching for a few years out
Set reminders to get back to the leads that fit into buckets 3 and 4. Leverage automated marketing campaigns to send personalized emails to all of your lead segments. For leads searching a few years out, schedule a drip campaign that sends an email once a month. This will make sure that you’re not bombarding them, but you’re still providing relevant soft-touches so when they are ready to buy, they’ll come to you.
Schedule Time to Tidy Up Your Database
Schedule time to show your CRM a little TLC, and stick to it.
Depending on the size of your business and how many leads you are juggling, come up with a schedule for when you’ll clean up your database. If you’ve got high numbers of leads in your pipeline, you may want to schedule 30 minutes every month to organize any undefined contacts, browse through your tags, spruce up your drip emails, etc.
Remember, there’s no point having hundreds of leads sitting in your database untouched and unorganized. It’s literally money sitting on the table, and it makes it harder for you to focus on the right people.
About the Author
Meet Joanna Harrison. She creates content to show people how BoomTown can make their real estate business more successful. BoomTown provides world-class lead generation, consumer websites, and CRM technology all in one platform. To learn why 40,000 of the industry’s best real estate professionals choose BoomTown, visit our website: boomtownroi.com
