How Many Times do I Follow Up?
One of those age-old questions that is always a topic of discussion and various different viewpoints is this: once someone requests information, how many times should I attempt to follow up, before giving up?
Is it three times, five times, ten times? The answer actually lies with you and your current situation. Let me explain…
What is the best use of your time? Is it dialing for dollars to try and find out if someone has received or read the brochure they requested? Is it finalizing the contracts for a new buyer? Or is it spent visiting with guests already on your property? What does your day look like?
The answer to how many times you should follow up for lead response for real estate is directly related to two things:
Your priority plan dictates what events or activities are most important at any given moment on any given day. For example: if you have a brand new lead that comes in right when you are working on completing a contract addendum for a new buyer, which one takes priority? Reaching out to the new lead or completing the contract addendum? The answer is… the new lead, every time, no exceptions. (See Mastering the Prioritization Game)
Now, overlay your priority plan with the time available in your day. If calling leads back to try and establish a connection sits in fourth place on your priority plan and the first three are complete and you still have the time left in your day to make those calls then you have the green light.
If you have put in two follow up calls to Mr. Smith and only one two Mrs. Jones then another follow up call to Mrs. Jones will obviously take priority over another to Mr. Smith. So make a call to Mrs. Jones and then try Mr. Smith. This all falls in your priority plan.
The simplest answer to the question of how many call backs is this: there is no firm answer, if you have the time and your other priorities are taken care of then make another call. Of course, this can’t go on forever, so at some point you need to hand-off the unresponsive lead to marketing and let them nurture with monthly marketing communications. But this really should be determined by time, rather than a specific number of attempts. But that’s another blog post in itself right there!
Blatant Plug: Use better tools to help you prioritize whom to call next. Clearview Elite does exactly that! It tells you who is reading the materials you sent so you know who to put higher on your priority plan when prioritizing your day.