By Dustin Luther
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Most effective lead management systems are ridiculously simple and border on common sense. Regardless of the system, the steps are: tap into a lead generation source, develop a system for prospecting the source and capture the lead as a client.

For example, if you want to earn clients through your Web site's home search tool (often IDX), then you'll need to decide how to:

1. Generate traffic to the home search tool.

2.  Prospect the people who are actively searching.

3.  Develop skills to set appointments so you can turn the prospect into a client.

Regardless of the lead type, all REALTORS® develop a system (hopefully a simple one) designed to help convert prospects to clients, and yet some REALTORS® do it so much better than others. Why is that?

While the systems are common sense, the tools available to track leads are often a mess. Most tools simply don't match the way that REALTORS® do business, or worse, treat all potential clients the same regardless of how they entered a contact database. For most REALTORS®, there is simply nothing that makes a bigger difference in their business than developing and implementing a top-notch lead management system.

Build Off Existing Success

Always start with your existing business. What marketing are you doing that has worked for you in the past? Do you get most of your clients from family and friend referrals? Business networking? FSBOs? Expired listings? Print or online advertising?

Then, of course, we have to look to the future. Where do you see the majority of your business coming from tomorrow and beyond?

 

Referral-based Lead Management

If your business has traditionally come from networking with local business leaders, then build off that strength and look for a lead management system that focuses on client relationship management (CRM) functionality. Some of the features you should look for include:

• Easy contact input from a mobile device.

• A great notes system.

• Easy access to past e-mails.

• A system that prompts you to follow up with contacts on a regular basis.

I have one client whose team did more than 800 transactions last year. As crazy as it might sound, he can track almost all of that business to four business contacts (you read that right: 800+ transactions from four referral sources). Those four people are the key to him getting inside some of the largest organizations in his area as their real estate specialist.

During the next year, we could focus on building out a lead management system that would improve his online conversions (and we will), but even more important, he needs a lead management tool to help him strengthen those four relationships and hopefully add a few more referral sources because that is obviously a strength of his.

Advertising-supported Lead Management

If your business has traditionally come from online advertising that sends traffic to your home search, then you should look for tools that build off of that success. Some features you'll want your lead management tool to have include:

• A clean Web site.

• Great online home search tool.

• Self-registration of prospects.

• Tracking of a home searcher's behavior.

• Insight into appropriate prospecting opportunities.

Another client of mine has built up a database of more than 10,000 people who have self-registered through his home search tool over the past few years. It's virtually impossible for him to reach out to each of these individuals in any meaningful way with a traditional CRM system, so his lead management needs are quite different. His approach is to use a tool that tracks user behavior on his Web sites and prompts him to prospect people who are actively searching for homes.

 

Screenshot from a lead management tool that shows prospect home search activity.

 

Finding Your Lead Management Tool

I started the article by saying that much of lead management is common sense. The tools you use to implement your lead management systems should be full of a similar dose of common sense. The key features you should look for are:

• Supports your existing and future business practices. If your lead management tool requires you to learn a new business skill, such as advertising-based lead generation when you rock at generating leads from business networking, then it will probably not be a good fit.

• Comprehensive and easy-to-use. Make sure the tool is going to cover all, or at least most, of your existing lead management needs. Do you do lots of open houses as well as actively prospect online? Then make sure you'll be able to easily get people you meet at open houses into your online database.

• Prompt valuable activity. If your business is based on successful networking, then make sure your lead management system encourages you to regularly reach out to key connections. If your business is based on actively prospecting a database, then make sure your lead management system highlights active prospects.

Dustin Luther will be speaking at Women’s Council's "The New Rules of Real Estate" Summit in Chicago on how to make social media work for you.

As the founder of Rain City Guide, Dustin is one of the original and most influential real estate bloggers. If you're interested in learning about lead management vendors, check out his Facebook Page. Not only does he regularly host conversations around the latest lead management systems, but people from all the leading real estate technology companies actively answer questions and debate many aspects of online marketing strategies on the page.