Estate agents: follow up every portal lead, show day and valuation
Estate agents: follow up every portal lead, show day and valuation
Your next listing is probably sitting in last night's enquiries. Estate agents rarely lack leads. Between the property portals, the website, WhatsApp, show days and referrals, they come in from everywhere. The problem is that they go cold in the gaps between those channels, because nobody owns the follow-up.
Here's where agencies lose them, and what a simple system does instead.
Portal leads
Buyers enquire on several listings at once, often on more than one portal. The agent who replies first usually gets the viewing. If portal enquiries land in an inbox that someone checks between viewings, the fastest agent in town wins them instead.
A system replies to every portal enquiry instantly with the listing details and a way to book a viewing. It logs the buyer in your CRM against that property and alerts the listing agent.
After hours
Buyers browse after work and at weekends. You reply after breakfast. An instant reply at 9pm, with a viewing link, can book the Saturday viewing before another agent has opened their inbox.
Show day
Every visitor signs the register. How many hear from you by Monday? A digital register, with a QR code at the door, can send a thank-you the same afternoon with similar listings, and put every visitor into a follow-up rhythm. Buyers who didn't love this house are still buyers.
Seller leads
Valuation requests take months to ripen. Most sellers aren't ready the week they ask for a valuation, and the agent who stops after one call loses the mandate to whoever stayed in touch. A monthly market update, sent automatically, keeps you front of mind until they're ready to list.
One pipeline
The fix behind all four is the same: every lead, from every source, in one pipeline your whole team can see. Each lead has an owner, a stage and a next step. When an agent is on leave, or leaves for good, the buyers and sellers stay with the agency.
Privacy matters
Buyer and seller details are personal information. Only send marketing to people who've opted in, make opting out one tap, and keep a record of both. Done properly, consent builds trust.
Do this week
Enquire on one of your own portal listings tonight and time the reply.
Count last month's show-day visitors, and how many heard from you within 48 hours.
List the valuation requests from the last six months. How many got a second follow-up?
Map your agency's system
The free System Map asks six multiple-choice questions and shows what your business should run on across Reach, Response and Revenue, sized to you. It takes about two minutes, and the map is emailed to you.
