With a busy schedule, growing your property management business can quickly fall to the bottom of your to-do list. Yet growing your business is exactly what you want to do.
So how do you reconcile the numerous demands on your time and doing what’s needed to grow your business? One answer is to find a method for acquiring new properties that isn’t too time-consuming but is also effective.
Online leads are one of the fastest ways to grow your business, but often among the most underutilized. To be sure, working with online leads has its challenges, so to help you be most effective, we’re bringing you a five-part series on how to make the most of these leads. In this first part, we’re covering how speed wins when it comes to following up with leads.
When you’re reaching out to a new lead, punctuality is always important. Property owners typically evaluate multiple property management firms, so showing that you’re eager and professional is beneficial to closing the deal, and the numbers clearly show that speed wins.
According to a study by Harvard Business Review, if you contact leads within an hour of their query, you are 7 times more likely to have a meaningful conversation with the lead than someone who reaches out after the one-hour mark (and compared to someone who waits 24 hours to contact a lead, you’re 60 times more likely).
What is remarkable is how few property managers actually follow up with leads this quickly. LeadSimple, a lead tracking company for property managers, conducted a study of over 3,000 property management companies and found that the average response time to a lead was 39 hours. So if you follow up faster, you’ll have a competitive advantage — and an even bigger one if you follow up first.
In real estate, 64% of buyers and 66% of sellers end up working with the agent they speak with first, according to the National Association of Realtors. Those who are first-to-the-draw have a tremendous advantage.
While punctuality is important, also consider what day and time you contact the lead. According to a study conducted by InsideSales, the best days to make your first phone call are Wednesdays and Thursdays. You’ll be 49% more likely to make contact on first dial on these days than on Tuesdays. And the best time of day to call? 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., or 8:00 a.m.to 9:00 a.m..
You may be more successful making initial contact with a lead midweek, and at the end of the business day, but always remember that being first is the most important part of your follow-up. There’s a first-mover advantage when you contact a lead quickly, while also showing your professionalism and enthusiasm.
Next in our series: Pursue and Persist, the Importance of Following up with Every Lead
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