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As the leads multiply you’ll notice that a portion of the leads generated by your site are not in your area you service. In your gut you know that all leads are assets and that you should be referring these leads in order to capitalize on your advertising investment. You know you should, but for one reason or another, whether past efforts were fruitless or there wasn’t a viable network, you haven’t been doing so. These excuses are valid, but they ultimately result in only one thing: less money in your pocket. If the goal is to maximize profit then you absolutely cannot complacently accept that these assets float un-used into oblivion.
You will want to refer your unused lead assets! Recognizing just how integral this is to your business, we have created a platform through which you will be able to confidently and effectively refer and find referred leads, ‘Lead Exchange’.
By using the new ‘Lead Exchange’ feature you can network with other likeminded SuccessWebsite® members throughout the country, and literally exchange a lead for a referral fee. Imagine transforming even 5% of your out-of-area leads into profit, and imagine the impact this additional revenue will have on your overall business profile. Calculate what will happen when you are picking up qualified, easily convertible referrals from other agents. Now you know why you have to use Lead Exchange.
 WHAT EXACTLY IS LEAD EXCHANGE?
Lead Exchange is a platform through which you will have access to an invaluable network of like-minded real-estate professionals. Through this network you will connect with agents in all corners of the country and bilaterally share leads; post your leads for other members to catch and convert into clients in exchange for a referral fee; or search the postings of other members to find leads that interest you. Because these are referred leads, they will usually be verified, often pre-qualified, sometimes the existing clients of the referring agent and always more easily convertible.
To better understand how posting a lead makes you money, it may help to think of it as casting the lead (or bait) into a vast pond of hungry real estate agents. If an agent bites and succeeds in converting a lead into a client, you will receive a pre-arranged and agreed upon referral fee.
Typically, referral fees range between 20% and 30%. What this means is that, should another agent pick up one of your posted leads and make a commission of $5,000, you will receive at least $1000. That’s $1000 more you’ve earned by putting in a little effort to make something of a lead asset that you weren’t going to pursue.
There are, without a doubt, different quality levels of lead you can put in the pool. High quality leads will command a higher referral fee than normal. If, for example, you are posting an existing client who is moving out of area you can ask for a referral fee above 30%. If your lead is of unknown quality you may want to discount your fee and make your lead more attractive for other agents. Even if you discount your fee to a miniscule 5% you are still, on a hypothetical $5000 commission, going to make $250.
Posting these leads will cost you only a few seconds of time and left-clicks of your mouse.
YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE AND EVERYTHING TO GAIN!
SOCIAL CAPTIAL AND THE VALUE OF NETWORKING...
Human capital – the productive value of an individual, generally understood as being a combination of talent and effort – is always limited by time. Though there are certainly more limitations (task distribution, specialized training), time is the most obvious; no matter how good you are at your job, there is a ceiling to how much any person can do in any given day.
These limits act as boundaries to profit beyond which one cannot travel. Working in real-estate, you have probably already felt the walls of these limits and reluctantly resigned yourself to a life within them. You need not and should not do so. Though your human capital itself is finite, you can grow beyond these limits by the addition of SOCIAL CAPITAL.
Having already formed working relationships with affiliates, you are already enjoying the results of active networking. By sharing information and mutually referring clients requiring the unique services of both you and your affiliates, you have seen how such social-professional relationships work to grow your business. This is all that social capital is – it’s working with others for the benefit of all.
Lead Exchange is an easy and effective way to do just this. Through Lead Exchange you will be able to add to your store of social capital by developing productive professional relationships with other SuccessWebsite® members throughout the continent. By simply exchanging distant for local leads you will produce a larger percentage of useful leads and convert more leads into clients.
After an Exchange, A Little Extra Effort Goes a Long Way...
It would seem to go without saying that upon catching a lead you should as soon as possible call that lead, introduce yourself and explain that they were referred to you by the agent who posted the lead. The content of this phone call should echo the universal follow up script, but be sure to emphasize the fact that you’re located close by, mention your own website and make it clear that you can provide the same services as the agent whose website they visited. In all likelihood a lead will appreciate the special attention of having been referred as well as the familiar services you offer.
There is, however, one thing which I think must be done if you want to make the most out of Lead Exchange. When a lead of yours is picked up by another agent, make note of who has picked it up, and then give that lead a call yourself. This is not to take the place of the preliminary follow up call you place as soon as you receive the lead, but a secondary call. Though this may seem strange, being that you have just exchanged the lead with someone else, it is actually an extremely productive step and one that makes perfect sense. Just think how much more receptive a lead will be when a receiving agent calls after they’ve been preconditioned for that call by you with a ‘pre-call’. Since you will make money only after a lead is converted into a client, it makes perfect sense for you to help the process along in this small but effective way.
The content of a pre exchange call can be either substantive or not; you can go into detail and get more information from the lead which to share with the receiving agent or simply inform them that you’ve referred them to a particular agent working in their area. The point is for you to plant a seed of recognition in the lead’s mind so that when the receiving agent calls, the lead will remember their name and be more willing to move quickly through the conversion process. In time you’ll probably develop a rhythm for these calls, but until then just be sure to always emphasize the name and locality of the agent you are referring them to.
Undoubtedly there are many more small steps you can take to facilitate easier lead conversion and better cooperation across the Lead Exchange network. While I can not hope to think of them all, as you use Lead Exchange I am sure that if you are an active and enthusiastic member, these steps will become clear in due course. |
