Don’t be discouraged if you’ve seen your leads dry up during the holiday season. It’s not you…it’s the holidays. Most people, if they’re not pressed to buy or sell a home within a specific time frame by a new job/new family situation, take a break from their buying and selling quests during this time of the year.
One way to breathe new life into those leads is to connect via text messaging now…immediately before and/or after the holidays…to let them know that you are and will be ready, willing and able to help them execute their real estate goals whenever it’s doable for them. They’ll be glad to hear from you, glad you remembered them and their goals, and glad to have something to look forward to once the holiday chaos is over.
Why text messaging instead of emailing? According to Dynmark International, a leader in initiating and maintaining mobile connections, people open 98% of the text messages sent to them while people only open 20% – 30% of the emails sent to them. And, of those opened text messages, 90% of them are read within 3 seconds of being received.
Obviously a phone call is more direct and personal than a text but if you come across as an upbeat, empathic human being, not a robot, who is offering your leads specific and relevant information, chances are that your dried up or dying leads will be reinvigorated with your contact.
Here are some examples (courtesy of Barry Jenkins, owner of Friends in Real Estate Team with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate) of texts sent from you via an automated template system to your leads that get results…
A new search signup generates a 65% reply rate….eg. “Happy holidays, Sally Sue. Sending some hand picked listings to you that match your initial “must have’s” when we last spoke. Your thoughts? I’m here whenever it’s convenient for you.”
Everyone wants a good deal generates a 66% reply rate…eg. “I now have several foreclosure opportunities for you to consider just after the holidays…”
Mentioning a specific day of the week generates a 52% reply rate…eg. “Happy Thursday, Sally Sue……”
Connecting to a lead’s current activity generates a 44% reply rate…eg. “I noticed that you were browsing and saving homes on my website…any you’d like to see and/or may I send you some information/photos on homes not yet posted to the site?”
Market update texts generate a 35% reply rate.
Texting a list of upcoming open houses generates a 24% reply rate.
Still interested? texts generate a 20% reply rate.
