Beverly Ruffner – The Close https://theclose.com/author/beverly-ruffner/ Your #1 Source For Actionable Real Estate Advice Thu, 09 May 2024 19:45:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 https://assets.theclose.com/uploads/2017/12/theclosefbprofile2-60x60.png Beverly Ruffner – The Close https://theclose.com/author/beverly-ruffner/ 32 32 Mojo Dialer Review: Pricing, Features, Pros & Cons https://theclose.com/mojo-dialer-review/ https://theclose.com/mojo-dialer-review/#comments Wed, 13 Sep 2023 14:54:23 +0000 https://theclose.com/?p=78263 Auto-dialers have the power to triple the output of a real estate agent’s cold-calling outreach and get them in front of leads before the rest of the pack. But is Mojo right for you?

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Auto-dialers have the power to triple the output of a real estate agent’s cold-calling outreach and get them in front of leads before the rest of the pack. I should know—I’ve tried them all, and I can tell you from personal experience that Mojo Dialer is one of the best on the market.

But is Mojo Dialer right for you? In this review I will tell you exactly why Mojo has worked so well for my business over the years so you can make up your own mind. 

The Close Score

Mojo Dialer Scorecard
Pros
  • Triple-line dialer
  • A la carte pricing
  • Lead management tools
  • Easy Integration with most industry software and CRMs
  • Call recording and analytics
Cons
  • No free trial period
  • Low data quality
  • Additional cost for each team member
  • Poor customer support
  • Glitchy
  • Need high-speed internet for triple line
The Close Score
4.8
Pricing
5.0
Features
4.7
Integrations
5.0
out
of
5

What Is Mojo Dialer? 

Mojo Dialer is an outbound phone dialer for real estate agents who want to maximize their cold call prospecting results quickly and efficiently. It utilizes a triple-line dialer and lead management tools to increase the overall success of this tried-and-true business generation strategy.  

My first experience with Mojo was in 2013 when I was utilizing the dialer for circle prospecting. After much success, I recommended the platform to several of my coaching and training clients who were looking to increase their own business with outbound prospecting. Using Mojo Dialer, I was able to customize best practices for their efficiency and organization of leads for easy follow-up. 

Related Article
8 Circle Prospecting Strategies to Boost Lead Generation

My Verdict on Mojo Dialer

I chose Mojo Dialer within my own personal real estate business because of price and ease of use. There are lots of considerations with several variables, including data, pricing, and integrations. 

With a buffet of options for outbound prospecting, why choose Mojo? I can say it in three words: triple. line. dialer. Of course, the most obvious benefit to this is the ability to call multiple numbers at the same time, increasing the number of dials per session. However, this feature comes with some caveats that I’ll discuss further in the key features section below. Although it is more efficient, there are some unavoidable consequences that increase the opportunity for blocked numbers, hence decreasing your ability to connect with more people. 

But my recommendations don’t stop there. The real benefit is how easy Mojo is to integrate with other lead generation software. Every business needs several sources of revenue to be successful. Since Mojo is a one-stop dialer, it gives agents the ability to incorporate several other sources of lead generation into their dashboard. 

I also appreciate the ease of organizing multiple lead sources into groups so no lead is left behind. We all know that follow-up made easy is key to conversion and closing. Mojo has the ability to bring together all platforms into one central dashboard. Housing all contacts in one central database not only allows you to more easily scale your business, but to only train on one platform within a team or brokerage. However, I will caution that you’ll need to understand the best practices around properly setting it up for maximum efficiency. 

Finally, flexibility is worth a mention here. There are a lot of lead generation and conversion tools out there, but many are cost-prohibitive for new agents. In contrast, Mojo is the first platform I’d recommend to an agent looking to break into outbound calling. You can test the waters with a la carte pricing and choose one leg of prospecting to focus on instead of jumping all in with a full-featured service software such as Vulcan.

Related Article
7 Proven Real Estate Cold Calling Scripts for Fearless Lead Gen

Mojo Dialer Pricing for 2023

I am obsessed with the buffet pricing structure Mojo Dialer offers. It truly gives you multiple options. What is even more impressive is if you think you receive better data from another source, they make it easy to integrate it. You don’t have to purchase Mojo’s packages for multiple lead types. They really have positioned themselves to work with other companies, although it may seem like it’s competition. 

I find Mojo to be very competitive with other auto-dialers on the market. Comparing it to the price of Vulcan7 is a little difficult because they only have an all-inclusive option. But by the time you add on the a la carte prices from Mojo, you are about even. 

It is important to determine the size of your market and the location of leads you want to access. Mojo lead types are by county only; if you need multiple counties, the price could certainly increase substantially. But if you are lucky enough to live and market one county, you are set! 

Mojo Dialer Lead Pricing for 2023

Lead TypePricing per Month
Neighborhood search$49
FRBO$25 per county
Expired$50 per county
FSBO$25 per county
Skip tracer$49 per county
Pre-foreclosure$49 per county

Mojo Dialer Software Pricing for 2023

DialerPricing per MonthWhat’s Included
Single-line dialer$99 per monthDialer, answering machine messages, multiple caller ID broadcast
Triple-line dialer$149 per monthTwo additional dialing lines

Key Standout Features

Mojo Dialer is well known for making outbound calls and utilizing a dialer that offers a single, double, and triple line within a customer relationship manager (CRM). However, there are many more features than just the dialer. Call recording, analytics, voicemail drops, SMS text messaging, email templates, and the ability to print branded content are just a few of the important features to evaluate. 

Auto-dialer (5 out of 5)

When it comes to comparing the cost of the dialer, the real question becomes, what lead source are you going to use it for, and how many calls are you planning to make? This can really help your decision in regard to narrowing down your choices. If you are new to prospecting and not sure if you will stick with it, go with the cheaper option first and graduate yourself as you ease into a new habit and make it worth your return on investment. 

The strategy I like to use with the dialer is every other call attempt. I start my first dial to the leads with the single-line dialer. I like to have control of knowing if it is a bad number that I can eliminate out of the call list altogether. But when you use the triple line, you don’t hear ringing, so you don’t know if you’re getting through at all. After you have cleaned up the list, the next time through you can choose the triple line.

📌   Pro Tip

Did you know third-party dialers cannot detect all disconnected and bad numbers? If they are not eliminated, I am dialing at least 30% more numbers than I need to. That translates into wasted time spent on dials that will never connect.

The Triple-line Dialer

I have a love-hate relationship with the triple line. Yes, it is awesome to maximize the number of dials you can make within a short amount of time. The industry has always trained increasing your number of dials because that is the easiest way to track success: X amount of dials means X amount of conversations, and that leads to X amount of conversion. 

I get it, and I am all about scaling. However, I am more excited about improving results. Hey, if you feel like you are doing more with the triple-dialer, then go for it. Hopefully, you will challenge this and prove me wrong. 

Even though the triple-dialer is a head-turning option, I suggest the single-line dialer to most of my coaching clients. Even though you can mass dial, I have tested both ways and found time and again that I get more contacts with the single line. The triple will hang up on the other lines when one line connects and does not redial that number it hung up on when it starts back up. Dialing one at a time gives me more control of verifying bad numbers and getting rid of them instead of just ringing everyone all the time. Remember it is not about how many dials you execute—it is about how many conversations you have. 

Related Article
[Video] 6 Buyer Objection Handlers + Examples From Real Cold Calls

Another disclosure: I never use triple-dialer on buyer leads. Here is why: When you are dialing three at the same time and someone picks up, it disconnects the other two. When you reactivate the dialer, it picks up those two that were dropped. So if someone picks up, it will disconnect them a third time. You are just asking to be blocked. 

That said, if you are dead set on the triple, please test it yourself. I have used multiple systems and dialers in several areas within the U.S., and I can tell you that every area is different when it comes to platform quality. 

Integrations (5 out of 5)

Mojo really shines with its seamless integration with almost any other lead generator and CRM. I touched on the importance of this earlier. Think of having your data housed in one place as the convenience of one-stop shopping. You are not running to multiple stores for several items. If you are lucky enough to have experienced shopping at Buc-ees, the third-largest convenience store in the world, you know exactly what I am talking about. It’s the only gas station with grocery carts—now that is efficient! 

Imagine your database like a shopping experience. Your lead types are the different departments within a store. You can combine your buyer leads, sphere of influence, seller leads, open house run-ins, and door-knocking contacts into groups that allow you to quickly make the calls you want to focus on in any given session. Bonus: You are only training on one system and all of your metrics will tell you what is happening with calls and connections. 

Lead Manager CRM (5 out of 5)

Let’s talk CRMs. Anyone who knows me knows I have a strange passion for organizing databases to increase value in business, especially in the service industry. A CRM is all you truly have of value, and it should be considered one of your most precious assets. In regard to Mojo, hands-down the CRM is a 5 for me. Mojo exceeds in the CRM value department. 

When I look at a CRM, I want to know a few things:

  1. Can I filter my leads with certain criteria (e.g.: lead source, valid phone number, registration date, tags)?
  2. Is there an ability once leads are filtered to mass dial, text, and email them? 
  3. Can I quickly get to my highest-priority tasks and create a group instead of going through them one by one?  

Mojo provides all the goods when it comes to efficiently communicating with your database. Let’s not leave out the magic of Zapier! You can create workflows, connect to anything in the Google Workspace, and access a virtually unlimited number of popular apps. Please, when looking at the competitors such as REDX, Vulcan7, and Espresso Agent, take strong consideration to the CRM portion and how you can connect long term for successful nurture campaigns within your database. 

Related Article
The 11 Best Real Estate CRMs of 2024

Organizational Tools

Your calling lists should be set up based on source: expired, FSBO, commercial, circle prospecting, buyers, etc. You can create folders within the call lists to break down leads into buckets of priority to continue your dials. While most agents make one attempt and keep rolling with new leads, the real conversion happens with consistency. You can filter your folders for leads to automatically fall in within a specific time frame or even with so many call attempts. This makes calling back as easy as a click of a button! 

Groups are best utilized to keep your leads organized after a conversation. Is it a task or a situation? A situation is the reason why they need, will need, or will not need assistance. Some examples of this include refinancing, relocating, first-time homebuyer, and no longer selling. Check out my entire master list of tags and labels here. This is basically taking your inventory and creating the aisles and labels on the shelves within the aisles of your one-stop lead shop. Now you have a quick and easy way to access all leads in a certain situation, without having to look through notes. And that’s not to mention the value you have added to your database. 

Mobile App (4 out of 5)

I don’t know any salesperson who enjoys being tied to a computer. That’s why every agent wants an app so they can keep working wherever they are. Mojo On The Go allows for just what it says: on-the-go prospecting. The best feature of the app is for leads calling back. It will identify their phone number to take the guesswork out of who is calling. 

Do you want to take max advantage of this feature and have your phone ring with inbound leads? Listen up: You have the power to create curiosity that has leads picking up the phone to call you back. Here is the simple equation: 23 seconds or the four-ring rule. Before I tell you what this means, though, I want you to understand the human instincts behind it. 

Let’s face it: In 2023, everyone has their phone in their hands most of the time. The phone rings, and that person has the ability to quickly push that button to send the caller to voicemail. They don’t recognize a number and defer it. I’m sure most of you are guilty of the same! Now let’s flip that and the phone rings and it disconnects before the lead has a chance to send it voicemail, removing their power. Now they are curious, because they wanted the choice to reject it. Interesting, right? Boom: your call back—their curiosity is greater than not wanting to have a conversation. Is every lead going to call back? Of course not. But your chances are much higher. Try it and let me know your results.

Now don’t miss your opportunity when they call back and say, “I missed a call from this number” or “Did you just try to call me?” Here is your easy converting script:

Well, if I like it so much, why did I not give this a 5, you may be wondering? When third parties are dependent on technology, it is never perfect. Cell phone carriers all have different ways of showing data when it comes to the caller ID information. Some may show the name of the owner of the account and not the actual individual’s name with the phone number calling back. The number will be correct, but the rest of the data is not 100% accurate all the time. You just need to be aware not to assume that what is on caller ID is a fact. 

Package Flexibility (5 out of 5)

You may be thinking: How is pricing a feature? Well let me ask you this: Who isn’t looking for the best price on anything? When we start the discovery process, we start by looking at the most affordable and become educated as we compare. Since Mojo Dialer offers the ability to integrate with so many other platforms, they attract just about any agent who wants to power dial, whether they take advantage of the different sources or not. 

In my opinion, Mojo is the best place to start if you are new to dialing. Just choose one lead source at a time until you find your groove. Study your market and understand what the expired listings are like locally, or how many FSBOs there really are in your area. Every market has a season and knowing your market before making decisions like this is key. If there aren’t many expireds, you may choose to go back to older data from one to two years ago that haven’t sold. 

Every market is different when it comes to lead quality and what system is best where. Determine what is most important to you and take advantage of the a la carte flexibility to get what your business and market really need. 

Mojo Dialer Alternatives 

Here’s a quick breakdown of how Mojo’s pricing compares to the competition:

CompanySingle-line PriceTriple-line Price
Mojo Dialer$99$149
REDX$99$149
Vulcan7 $349+N/A

REDX

As you can see, there’s no real price difference between REDX and Mojo Dialer. However, Mojo is more of an all-in-one price. With REDX, you’ll have to pay extra for the ability to upload voicemails, call recordings and call-back messages. You get almost all of that with either option within Mojo. However, they do charge a minimal extra add-on fee for call recording.

Related Article
REDX Review: Pricing, Features, Pros & Cons

I will say that, with Mojo, the easy-to-use platform eliminates the intensity for full training to get started. REDX is not as user-friendly. However, REDX does have a cheaper option with no bells and whistles and limited talk time.

Check Out REDX

Vulcan7

If a triple-line dialer is important to you, then stay with Mojo or REDX, because you don’t have that option with Vulcan7. Vulcan7 is definitely of the highest quality, but you are also going to pay for that quality in a bulk package. Across the industry, they are known for having better lead data. 

But similar to REDX, Vulcan7 can be pretty complex. I have seen many agents sign up for products like this with great intentions—but the learning curve is too great. It just accumulates charges on the credit card and is left, never to be used before getting canceled. 

Check Out Vulcan7

The choice really comes down to preference—what is most appealing to you from the look and ease of calling your leads. What feels right? Absolutely do demos with as many providers as you can. You will see that your eyes will gravitate to a certain view that feels comfortable. If you are price sensitive and know you won’t take advantage of a full package, there is definitely more bang for the buck with Mojo.

Bottom Line: Is Mojo Dialer Worth the Money? 

Yes! I think Mojo offers the best combination of dialer options, pricing tiers, and most of all, the convenient integration to have an all-in-one platform for maximum lead generation and follow-up. 

But as the saying goes, “The product with the best value is the one you use.” It is up to you as the consumer to know your own best practices and how you want to grow your business. It is important to know your goals to create new habits and take advantage of the benefits that any platform offers. If you are committed to making it work for you, it is absolutely worth its weight in gold. But if you are making a decision without a goal and a plan, you might want to ask yourself first, “What is the plan? Am I willing to commit? What do I want to get out of this purchase?” 

Related Article
How to Hire & Train an ISA for Cold Calling & Lead Nurturing (+ Scripts)

Methodology: Why You Can Trust My Review

I have made hundreds of thousands of calls in my 15 years of nurturing leads. I’ve also used just about every dialer and CRM in the real estate industry. I not only cultivated and sourced my own leads—I worked with thousands of agents within their databases, calling their leads and training them to improve their conversion. 

Now, 15 years ago, just about everyone answered the phone, and people were not worn out from the constant buzzing and beeping of our lives. Fast forward to today, where artificial intelligence has automated our lives. It has really changed the prospecting game and made it much more difficult to get people to answer the phone. But auto-dialers can still pay off if you know what you’re doing. I see it in my business and via my coaching clients all the time. 

To evaluate Mojo, I used my 18 years of personal experience in real estate and generating leads from multiple sources. I have been able to experience calling leads across the United States as well as Canada. Experiencing the many different options of CRMs and dialers certainly gave me a broad perspective of efficiency and ease of use for them all. 

Related Article
The 10 Best FSBO Scripts (+ Why They Work)

Over to You

What’s your experience with auto-dialers? Any tips for success, or tough issues I can talk you through? Let me know in the comment section below!

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How to Hire & Train an ISA for Cold Calling & Lead Nurturing (+ Scripts) https://theclose.com/isa-real-estate/ https://theclose.com/isa-real-estate/#comments Tue, 08 Aug 2023 19:08:53 +0000 https://theclose.com/?p=13871 Instead of seeing ISAs as a primary source of business, many agents hire just anybody to make lead nurturing phone calls. They also often fail to put any proper training or systems in place. Here's how to do it right.

The post How to Hire & Train an ISA for Cold Calling & Lead Nurturing (+ Scripts) appeared first on The Close.

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Why do inside sales agents, or ISAs, get such a bad rap in the real estate industry? Is it the failed expectation of not getting enough qualified appointments? Is it the leads, or is it the market? Do real estate ISAs need better scripts? Or maybe they’re just not a fit for the job? 

These are all of the questions that go through the mind of anyone who has hired or is looking to hire for the ISA position. I can certainly claim “guilty” to all the above situations. Seems easy enough, right? Just call all these numbers and get me appointments! However, it really is not that easy. 

Unfortunately, there is no real how-to guide for this position. What I can tell you is that this approach—“Here’s the login to my CRM. I know there’s gold in there; now just start calling and get me some appointments!”—will end in disaster. 

Now that we know what not to do, let’s get you hiring and training. I have 10 years of experience hiring, training, and working with ISAs, which is why my tips, templates, and scripts will fast-track you for success.

But before we get into my training guide, let’s talk about what inside sales agents can do for your real estate business and why you might want to hire one.

What Is an ISA for Real Estate?

The ISA position’s primary role within a team is to make inbound and outbound phone calls and send texts and emails to prospective leads. This includes, but is not limited to, internet leads from Google, social media, and landing pages, as well as circle prospecting and expired, FSBO, and withdrawn listings. 

In my opinion, the acronym “ISA” has been one of the biggest controversies in the real estate industry since online lead generation began. The unfortunate problem with this position has traditionally been the way most agents treat it. Instead of seeing ISAs as a primary source of business, they’ll hire a friend or family member who needs some extra cash who is ready, willing, and able to make phone calls. Agents also often fail to put any proper training or systems in place. 

Related Article
15 Reasons Your Leads Aren’t Calling You Back (+ Scripts & Solutions)

ISA Hiring Guide for Real Estate

When to Hire an ISA for Your Real Estate Business

I often see agents who are thinking about hiring an ISA fall into two different categories: 

  1. Agents who have a ton of leads, but need help converting them into appointments and clients 
  2. Real estate professionals who are building a team and looking to take their business to the next level

This makes the real question, “How can I best leverage my business to maximize my profits?” My years of ISA training experience have shown me that the majority of agents just want to throw money at positions because they think they don’t have the time to nurture leads. 

But the honest truth here is that they just don’t want to do it and use time as an excuse. If you want real results, you must have systems in place to set the position up for success. The person in the “calling leads” position can truly take you to the next level, but you have to take time and be diligent about following the steps I have outlined below. 

ISA Job Posting Template

Your goal with your ad for the open position of ISA in your real estate business should be designed to attract the right person for the job. Not chase them. Here’s an ad that does just that! I use this template for all my ISA hires.

💡 Pro tip: Pay particular attention to the “to apply” section. This was designed to see if the applicant has attention to detail, can follow simple instructions, and cares enough to meet your requests. This weeds out a lot and saves you interviewing time.

Finding the Right Person for the Job 

After years of hiring for multiple positions within the real estate industry, it has become apparent to me that personality is everything. If you have ever taken a DiSC assessment, you’ll know it’s an invaluable asset for hiring for an ISA position. 

First and foremost, you are looking for a people person. Here are a few things to look for in the interview process:

  • Charming and interactive, this personality type loves people, is curious about others, and wants to learn more about who they are talking to. They are more focused on relationships than sales.
  • Structured, they thrive on systems and expectations. This is where your responsibility is to set them up for success. Creating the proper expectations is the magic to this formula.
  • What activities did they participate in while in school? Have I piqued your interest with this question? Well, you want a team player, which is why this one question helps discover their experience playing on a team or being solo. Some sports—for example swimming, tennis, and track—are more centered on oneself and not working as a team. On the other hand, sports such as volleyball, baseball or football are team-oriented, where participants learn the dynamics of working together.
  • You want a problem-solver who’s always looking for solutions. Ask them to recall a time when someone told them something they wanted was impossible. What did they do?
  • Finding someone with experience in the service industry is helpful. Experience working with people in challenging situations gives people a thicker skin and helps them not take things so personally. Because they will get hung up on and be called a few unkind words.

ISA Interviewing Tips

To find the right person, you have to ask the right questions. Also, I strongly suggest interviewing more than one person. This will help you be able to get a perspective of what you are looking for and what you are not looking for. 

First Interview

We discussed above the importance of personality and getting to know if they are a team player or more of an independent. This first chat is a get-to-know-you interview, not a decision interview. 

Let’s call this the discovery interview. Find out their expectations in terms of hours and pay. Is it in alignment with what your needs are? Are they a fit with your mission statement and core values? Let them know what to expect if they are called for a second interview, and that you have other candidates and you will be getting back to them. 

Finally, leave them with homework. Ask them to please email you at their earliest convenience with the subject line of, “Why I am the perfect candidate for this position.” Ask them to tell you why they feel this way in the body of the email. This encourages positive thinking and shows the atmosphere you are creating.

💡 Pro tip: if you don’t have your mission statement and core values written out, do so, as it is necessary for the hiring process. Core values are what you hire, train, and fire to.

Second Interview

At this point, you can test how the candidate might perform in the role. Here’s how:

  1. Review your questions and scripts with the candidate, explaining the objective of each one. Give examples of a few objection scenarios and ask them how they would respond to these objections. You are not role-playing yet. This is just getting their mind into the right state, the warm-up.
  2. I suggest a minimum of five different role-play scenarios. Take turns being an ISA and an agent. Be gentle—they may have never done this before. You’re looking for creativity, their quickness to respond to objections with questions, and their ability to be coached. We are not looking for perfection—remember, you are training that. 
  3. Have them make a few calls to old leads. Give them the opening line. For a buyer lead, it should be as simple as, “Hello, this is {name}. A while ago you were looking at homes online, and I am just checking in to see if you have made a purchase yet, or if you are still in the market.”  For a seller lead, say, “Hello, this is {name}. A while ago you were thinking about selling your home. I was just wondering if you have sold or have you decided to stay.”
  4. Ask them to rate themselves on how they did with the role-play and the calls, as well as how they are feeling about it. 
  5. At this point you should know if they are a go or a no.

But if all this seems like too much work, you might consider outsourcing this to an ISA company like Real Qualified. They’ll take over the job of qualifying and nurturing existing leads for you.

Visit Real Qualified

Training & Systems to Set Up Your Real Estate ISA for Success

Now that we have talked about the perfect hire, let’s move on to efficiency and creating proper systems to train to. The goal is to work smarter, not harder, right? Paying specific attention to details not only saves time, but it customizes the experience for the lead and increases the chances for conversion.

💡 Pro tip: Everyone has been drilled on the importance of speed to lead. Speed to lead is important, but it is more important to be consistent with attempts to connect. The benefit of having an ISA is they give you the ability to continue attempts, which gives you the edge.

Set Up Automated Call Filters in Your CRM

Building call filters in your customer relationship manager (CRM) of choice can help gamify cold calling for your ISAs and keep them engaged in the task on hand. Instead of focusing on how many leads need to be called, your new ISA can see it as the process of elimination. After all, who likes to paint a fence and look at how many more pickets still need to be painted? It’s much more rewarding to see how much progress has been accomplished.

If you’re not sure where to start, here are four main priority call lists (which you can make into CRM filters) that should be a priority for efficiency.

1. New Buyer & Seller Leads

These are the newest leads that have no attempted calls yet. Create a filter just for these leads. It is easiest if you can put them into a “new” status—that way, they are designated as fresh and easily recognized.

2. Leads Registered in the Last 14 Days That You Have Not Reached Yet

Keep leads you have never spoken to in an “attempting contact” status to separate them from the new leads and those you have already spoken to. The filter should consist of: 

  • Buyer leads who have registered in the last 14 days  
  • Listings that have expired or withdrawn in the last 14 days
  • Valid or unknown phone numbers

Set your CRM up so that leads automatically fall out of this filter after the 14th day of coming into your CRM or when the ISA moves the lead status to “contacted.” As the new leads are coming in, your filter should always be moving out with the old and in with the new. The more conversations you are having, the smaller this list becomes. You should set and reward goals of a minimum of six to eight call attempts within the first 14 days for your ISAs. Talk about motivation to have conversations! 

💡 Pro tip: Have your ISA make call attempts at different times of day to increase chances of connecting. Fluctuate from mornings to afternoons to evenings with no particular order. Continually changing up call times will maximize chances of connecting with a lead.

3. Active Leads

This is one of my favorite filters because older leads you have not spoken to who decide to start looking at homes again automatically fall in this filter. If they have been dormant from looking and all of a sudden start again, don’t you want to know? 

This filter should consist of: 

  • Leads registered 15 or more days ago
  • Leads active within the last 30 days
  • Leads need to be in a status of attempting contact
  • Valid or unknown phone number 

They will fall out of this filter if you move the status to anything other than the status it was in or if they have not been active within the last 30 days. These leads should be called every seven days, at different times each attempt. 

Just note that you’ll need an IDX website with an integrated CRM like Propertybase in order to know when your old lead becomes active again on your website.

4. Inactive Leads

These are the leads that have not been actively looking at homes or logged in for 31 or more days. These leads are moving further down the priority call list because by now they should have had a minimum of six to eight phone calls at different times. This list should consist of:

  • Lead active 31 days to 5,000 days
  • Lead needs to be in a status of attempting contact
  • Valid or unknown phone number 

As you probably already know, this is going to be the majority of your database. Remember these are all leads you have never spoken to. They do not need any reminders or extra attention. 

You could technically break this list of leads out into months of inactivity if it is too large. For example, inactive 31-120 days, inactive 121-180 days, and so on.

These leads should initially be called monthly, and the longer they go inactive, the less often they need a call. This is where mass texting or emailing is great to get them to raise their hand without taking up too much of your ISA’s time.

💡 Pro tip: Set seller leads up on a neighborhood watch list to receive notifications of what is selling and coming on the market in their area. If they open emails, this will prioritize the lead quality. This is also great for branding.

Create a Detailed ISA Training & Best Practices Manual

Do you want to attract quality talent? Do you want to get high-level results? Then you need to always remember that the system is only as good as the person who designed it. It is great to have effective systems in place, but that system needs to be built from experience and managed. The more organized you are, the more organized your ISA will be and the more they will convert. It’s as simple as that!

Having proper guidelines spelled out in a training manual will ensure everyone on the team works the system in the same way. This way, it’s much easier to figure out if you have people problems or system problems. With any improvement to the system, you should see results from every single ISA on your team. If you don’t, you likely have a people problem and not a systems problem. 

Is Your Business Ready for a Mack Truck?

One thing I always tell my coaching clients is to treat their business as if they’re going to be hit by a Mack truck tomorrow. Could your business or company run itself if something happened to you? If the answer is no, you better get busy with systems and best practices. A comprehensive training manual should mean your business can run smoothly with or without you there.

A Comprehensive Training Manual Makes Accountability Easier

Before I had my systems and training manual in place, it would weigh on me heavily when I hired an ISA that disappointed me. My first thought was to just fire them. But I always had to pause before firing them because I knew it was mostly my fault for not setting expectations or explaining my values. Of course they weren’t accountable, because I never set concrete expectations for them!

When I finally had systems in place and in writing, they would actually know exactly why and how they weren’t meeting expectations and what they needed to improve. That awful confusion and guilt of having to fire an ISA for what were essentially my own shortcomings as a manager was eliminated. 

The amazing thing is that best practices are nothing more than a written manual of how-tos. We love to overcomplicate this process by overthinking everything, but what could be simpler than making a record of everything you do? Write down your steps of the process, make it a video tutorial, give it to your ISA, and voilà, you have a manual of best practices that will keep your ISAs accountable and on the path to success. So why do so many team leaders not do it?!

Related Article
REDX Review: Pricing, Features, Pros & Cons

Nurturing Scripts to Make Lead Conversion Easy

After years of coaching ISAs and agents, I have heard variations of this next question nearly every day: What do I say when I follow up? 

This is actually a surprisingly complicated question, but I am going to keep it simple. Stop overthinking what to say and focus on having your ISAs ask questions instead. Remember, she who asks the questions controls the conversation! 

Asking the right questions helps keep the ISA on track with getting the right information. It also lets the lead feel more confident in the conversation because your ISA is asking them questions and letting them talk. Who doesn’t love to talk about themselves?

In my opinion, scripts are good for reference, but not a one-size-fits-all solution. That’s because they sound too … well, scripted. The lead can tell. Tell your ISA to focus on having a conversation like they are talking to their best friend about buying or selling a home. That means actively listening and responding with insightful questions that help set expectations. 

Here are three examples of scripts, two for buyers and one for sellers, that use active listening and responding with insightful questions.

Question-based ISA Buyer Script

Question-based ISA Just Looking Script for Buyers

Related Article
7 Proven Real Estate Cold Calling Scripts for Fearless Lead Gen

Question-based ISA Expired Listing Script

Related Article
The 15 Best Expired Listing Scripts & Best Practices

Tasks Every ISA Should Master

Here are four great examples of a few small details that can have more of an impact on your ISA’s success:

Verify Phone Numbers

In my 13 years of experience calling leads, I’ve found that no matter what CRM platform your ISAs are using or what kind of leads you are generating, 30% of phone numbers are going to be either wrong numbers or disconnected. So make sure to have your ISA confirm phone numbers on the first call attempt. This eliminates wasted time in the future calling numbers that are not good. 

💡 Pro tip: When attempting to identify a seller lead, try this opener: “Hello, this is {your name}. I was hoping you would be able to do me a favor? I am looking for the owner of {address}. I had some questions about the property and was hoping to talk to the owner. Can you help me?” It works every time!

The problem is a little trickier with auto-dialing systems like Mojo Dialer and REDX. The numbers attached for expired, withdrawn, or circle prospecting leads will pull any phone number that has ever been attached to that particular address. You may have the number for the owner’s children, parents, or even a previous owner who lived in the home years ago. Family cell phone plans combine family members to one address who don’t necessarily live at the same address. 

Third-party dialers do not detect most bad phone numbers. The call will just continue to ring or simply disconnect immediately. When this happens, have your ISA make a manual dial from an actual phone to verify that it is really a bad number. 

Related Article
How to Convert Leads With Bad Phone Numbers (+ Email Scripts)

Look for Typos in Email Addresses 

Most CRMs mark an entry as a bad email when the first message bounces, but why not try and fix those mistakes before you start getting returned emails in your drip campaign?

Train your ISA to scan the email address and look for any possible typos while the phone is ringing and they’re waiting for the lead to pick up. An example of this would be .con instead of .com, a name that doesn’t quite match up, or @gnail instead of gmail. I have even seen typos in their name within the email such as Sara but the email is Sata. The R and T are right beside each other on the keyboard, which makes this an easy mistake. Your ISA can fix it. 

Related Article
26 Best Email Templates for Real Estate Leads

Confirm the Voicemail 

Allow the first call attempt to go entirely to the voicemail to listen if the correct name is on it. Make a note and update the lead profile with the full name if they only gave a first name when they first registered. This is an important step for emails going to the lead with the autofill feature. How do you feel when you get an email with your name spelled wrong?

The devil is in the details!

Mark Leads as Night Calls When Requested

If the lead requests to have a call back when they get home from work, make sure your ISA marks the lead as a night call in your CRM. You can create a separate filter to call on evenings and weekends. There’s nothing worse than calling a lead at a time that doesn’t work for them when they specifically request you don’t. 

Related Article
15 of the Best Real Estate Scripts That Actually Convert

Why Isn’t My ISA Converting?!

This is where the rubber meets the road. If you want to know why your ISAs conversion level is not where you want it to be, listen up:

All conversion is lost after the first conversation.

Beverly Ruffner

Say what!? Yes, it is true. Stop over-tasking! I know you are overwhelmed with overdue tasks. Agents and ISAs task everything because they don’t want to forget anything. Then every one is forgotten because the task list becomes endless and there are only so many hours in a day.

Follow these steps and I promise you will convert more leads without over-tasking your ISA.

Flow chart showing the steps an ISA should take to determine a marketing strategy after sending a lead a pre-listing checklist

Your ISA should be asking detailed questions to determine what needs to happen for the lead to make a move or not, knowing their motivation and timeline, and find out when they are in need of an agent.

💡 Pro tip: Don’t give steak to a vegetarian. The main objective is to find out where the lead is in the process and what their future plans are. What will keep them engaged? You want them to remember you and keep receiving your branding and messaging.

I like to rate these conversations based on their chances of sitting at the settlement table in the near future. Is there a 70% chance this lead will be closing in the next few months? If so, then you better believe that you should assign tasks to your ISA for them. 

Here are the three main kinds of leads you’ll have in your CRM, along with the basic steps you’ll want to follow up with:

  1. The agent has a 70% chance or higher of sitting at the closing table with this lead if there is proper follow up. THIS IS THE AGENT’S PIPELINE—treat it like future business. These get a reminder, task, or follow-up with a specific date. 
  2. Based on the conversation and information received, the lead is not a high quality one, but you don’t want to forget them. They are in the research phase. They want to be updated on prices and what’s going on with the market. These leads can go on a drip campaign or get a tag or label to monitor their activity on your website. Confirm their email address, set their home search criteria, and check in with them every now and then. This process streamlines follow-up because you can view the entire group of leads from the dashboard and call those that are not active. 
  3. These leads are so far down on the priority list that you really don’t have high priority needs to check in. These are people who really have no plans, just curious because maybe someday. Maybe they are a few years out because of retirement, kids in school, bad credit … the list goes on. Label them with their situation, such as: Already Purchased, Retiring, On Hold, Has an Agent, Decided Not to Sell. 

Over to You

Have a great tip for training ISAs? Having trouble getting your own ISAs to convert? Let me know in the comments or call me for a private coaching session.

The post How to Hire & Train an ISA for Cold Calling & Lead Nurturing (+ Scripts) appeared first on The Close.

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How to Build Rapport With Inbound Leads Quickly (+ Scripts) https://theclose.com/nurture-real-estate-leads/ https://theclose.com/nurture-real-estate-leads/#comments Fri, 04 Aug 2023 20:24:57 +0000 https://theclose.com/?p=14618 Dealing with the rejection involved in converting leads is tough. But there are ways to address common objections and reduce your hang-up rate. We have specific tactics for Zillow leads, PPC strategies, social media, and more!

The post How to Build Rapport With Inbound Leads Quickly (+ Scripts) appeared first on The Close.

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If you’re relatively new to cold calling, getting hung up on or dealing with objections might have made you throw in the towel.

What if I told you there is a way to minimize these common objections and never get hung up on again? OK, so you will still get hung up on… obviously, this isn’t magic. However, my team has used these simple scripts for years to deflect the objections that lead to the most hang-ups. The key is to use them before the objections even come up.

Download Beverly’s Lead-converting Scripts

Of course, different leads require slightly different strategies, so I organized the scripts by lead source. Remember to let me know what you think at the end of the article, and happy cold calling!

1. Zillow Leads

Screenshot of Zillow search page with agents to connect with including listing agent

Love it or hate it, Zillow dominates our industry. Anyone who has ever thought about buying a home has probably registered on Zillow, most likely early on in their search. Most buyers are looking for something specific and very likely just want to talk with the listing agent.

But did you know that the average registered lead has the potential of getting up to four phone calls almost immediately? They may be contacted by the listing agent plus up to three agents who pay for the lead through Zillow Premier Agent. 

This is why one of the most repeated terms in the real estate industry, “speed to lead,” is so profoundly important for prospecting on Zillow. The lead’s information goes to the listing agent as well as to the Premier Agents who pay for leads. No wonder Zillow leads are pissed off when we call!

So how do you break through and come away with a win? It is surprisingly simple. You just need to identify with the lead’s problem and be prepared for the two most common objections they will have: “I’m not really looking” and “I only want to work with the listing agent.”

Here’s a quick example script for your opening line to get as much info as possible without even talking about the home they registered for. The objection here is, “I’m not really looking.”

Don’t make the mistake most agents make and say, “That home is already under contract.” If you tell them that, they will have no reason to continue the conversation with you. Instead, practice the script I just gave you and dig into their situation. In order to empathize and build rapport quickly, you need to understand where they’re coming from.

Here’s a script to handle the “I want to work with the listing agent” objection. This one is a quick conversation-ender for many agents. If they get hung up on, it’s usually going to come after this objection.

Of course, this is not how the conversation ends. You will probably get one of two responses to this question:

Note: Zillow Leads Require Multiple Call Attempts

The dirty secret to success in real estate is that you just have to be a little bit better than your competition. Scripts help, but if you have trouble getting people on the phone in the first place, you’re sunk.

So when the speed-to-lead approach doesn’t work, meaning they don’t answer the phone on that first attempt, try and try again. Staying consistent with multiple call attempts is crucial to converting Zillow leads into customers. In cold calling, I find that it typically takes an average of eight attempts to reach a prospect. So don’t give up too quickly.

The rule I train my inside sales agents (ISAs) to follow is a minimum of six to eight call attempts within two weeks. This is how you beat your competition, because with this consistency you increase your chances of having a conversation. Meanwhile, the other agent lost because they stopped trying too soon. They tried once, maybe twice, and then they gave up. Always remember that real estate is a numbers game.

If you’re looking for a smart ISA solution, check out REALQualified. REALQualified’s team of highly trained ISAs will follow up with your leads on your schedule.

Visit REALQualified

2. Google PPC Leads

Google PPC Leads Dashboard

Leads from Google Ads are among the most common leads generated in the industry. Think of these leads much like someone walking into a store and the salesclerk asks, “Is there anything I can help you with today?” The typical response is something like, “No thanks, I’m good,” OR “I’m just looking, thank you.”

So why do so many agents get mad with leads who respond in the same way? That philosophy of speed to lead really isn’t relevant with Google or any pay-per-click (PPC) lead. These leads aren’t ready to be pounced on like a Zillow lead. That means your strategy to build rapport with Google PPC leads should be a little different.

The way these leads usually find you is by literally typinghomes for sale in {city}into Google and clicking on whatever comes up. Unfortunately, that means they might register on more than one website. These leads have their defenses up and are on high alert because there is a big chance you are not the only phone call they are receiving. That means being too aggressive can result in having your number blocked. No one wants that!

As long as there is a call attempt within 12 hours, depending upon what time they register, that should be enough. In my personal experience calling these leads, most are genuinely just looking. Who doesn’t like to look at homes? Your main goal when calling is to simply find out where they are in the process. Sure, the appointment is the ultimate goal, but you are more likely to get results from them long term with proper nurturing. So don’t get too aggressive. Save that for Zillow leads.

When I train agents, I always tell them, “He who has the conversation wins!” Keeping that in mind calling these leads and knowing they are “just looking” in several of your competitors’ databases is key.

Now that you understand where they are coming from, it makes talking to them so much easier. Here’s a quick opening script as an example:

The reason this opening line works so well is that it’s a laid-back approach. This helps drop their defenses of not wanting to be sold. It’s quick and to the point. It also leaves less room for an immediate objection because you are directly identifying the fact they were searching online for homes, which they were. This is the first phase of breaking through with Google leads, dropping their defenses, and building rapport.

Want to try PPC advertising but don’t know where to start? Agentfire makes it easy. They offer a full library of top performing landing pages and lead magnets you can quickly customize to capture qualified leads from Google ads. 

Sure, there are lots of other marketing platforms to choose from, but with more than 500 verified 5-star reviews and an average rating of 4.9 on Facebook and Google, it seems most Realtors who choose AgentFire never look back.

Visit AgentFire

3. Realtor.com Leads (& Others)

Home search page from realtor.com

Leads from Realtor.com or any other online source can come from a variety of situations. They could be just looking, wanting more information on a specific property, or wanting to see a home. And don’t forget those strange people who say, I wasn’t looking for homes online!” Yeah, right. Then how did I get your phone number?

Just like Google PPC leads, always frame your opening question with how they were routed into your database. Here’s a good example script for your opening line:

Don’t worry about putting much focus on the name of your website or the company you work for. Most leads will remember registering on at least one website but might not remember every site they registered with.

Instead, what really matters are the questions you ask to find out where they are in the process to gain a sense of urgency. Finding the lead’s intention, urgency, and current situation is paramount to converting these leads into customers as well as building your pipeline of future business.

4. Facebook Leads

Top Producer Social Connect creates social media ads that convert on Facebook and Instagram

Just like Zillow leads, we either love or hate Facebook ad leads. But love them or hate them, they’re vital to your business. And it’s no longer only about marketing your listings. You must be intentional with your target audience when posting Facebook ads to generate the right type of leads that will result in new business. 

Related Article
Real Estate Facebook Ads: 8 Best Practices & Examples for Agents

But you don’t have to bang your head against a wall when it comes to Facebook leads. You can let experts take the wheel instead. Many companies offer all-in-one systems that include social media marketing, like Top Producer Social Connect. All you have to do is enter your city and budget, and the pros at Top Producer will get your social media campaign up and running within hours, generating hot leads directly to your customer relationship manager (CRM). And you don’t have to become a Facebook ad expert to do that.

Check Out Top Producer Social Connect

It is important to understand your market dynamics and be the solution to the problem your leads have in your market. This strategy will produce more quality leads and save you from a lot of frustrating calls from lookie-loos.

Here are a few Facebook ad headlines that will actually get you leads:

Get the hottest list of homes in {city} under $____ here

Get a list of new construction homes here

Waterfront homes for sale in {your farm area}

Always use direct headlines that grab attention. Once you choose your audience, you are then targeting their interests, creating a higher-quality lead. The most important thing to remember with Facebook leads is that they will have a longer turnaround time. Speed to lead is less important here.

Of course, when calling them, you should still always remind them that they were on Facebook and clicked on an ad that indicated they were interested in receiving more information. Just remember to ask what specifically they would be interested in with respect to location or housing type.

Here’s a good script for Facebook leads:

You have just taken a lead that wasn’t that serious and, by digging a little deeper, were able to turn it around to an appointment. Will this work with every lead? Of course not. However, if you want a chance to convert any leads, you always need to be thinking about solving their problem. The first step is to equip yourself with the right questions to identify their problem. The next step is to propose your solution to that problem. Simple!

5. Home Valuation Leads

Real Geeks home valuation landing page

Are you using a tool like Real Geeks to create home valuation landing pages? The first lesson I learned with these leads is that they don’t necessarily own the home they are looking to get an evaluation on. Weird, right? Also, quite a few of these leads are more curious about the value of the homes they do own for refinancing purposes and not actually selling.

The best thing about these leads is that you are building an arsenal of potential sellers in your database. I want you to think long term and big picture about these leads. My best advice for new agents is this: You are in the database-gathering industry, whether you know it or not. The biggest value you have in your business is your database. Anyone who tells you differently is lying or not very successful. Contacts = contracts. It’s as simple as that!

Now let’s learn how to have a conversation with these leads.

Option 1:

You could also run into the situation in which they were looking at the value of a home they were interested in purchasing, or perhaps an FSBO, or even a former childhood home. This is why I often open up with the next option:

Option 2:

Taking conversations this far gives you a great indication of the time frame. Remember, we can’t make people move—we can only offer suggestions and see if it piques any interest.


Over to You

How do you build rapport quickly on the phone? Have a great tip or script you’ve been using? Let us know in the comments.

The post How to Build Rapport With Inbound Leads Quickly (+ Scripts) appeared first on The Close.

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