Relationships Rule: Building Leads Through Conversation

The secret to a long, successful real estate business isn’t through how many posts you publish on your social media page or how many mailers you’ve sent out, it’s what’s behind your marketing that will make or break how long your business is viable and profitable.

What’s the secret? What’s the one element that the success of your entire business pivots on?

Conversation.

That’s right! Good old talking, meeting-and-greeting, handshakes and “how-do-you-do’s” will get you everywhere you want to be with your real estate business. But before you can apply your tech-savvy marketing tactics to boost your customer base, it’s important to understand why and how interpersonal conversations need to happen first and what it takes to do it right.

Talk Isn’t Cheap

Those who claim it is aren’t doing it right. When you strike up a conversation with a stranger or someone you aren’t very familiar with, you’ve just broken a barrier and created a relationship. Since your real estate business is built on relationships, this is something you should be doing all the time. It can happen as organically as chatting up the person next to you in line or as orchestrated as meeting them through an event you’ve hosted in the community.

If You Said It, Do It

Nothing is worse for the relationships you’ve just built (or for those that already exist) than not following through on what you promised you’d do. This is just bad business and will get you nowhere. If a conversation with a new lead wrapped up with exchanging information and a promise that you’d send over the neighborhood comps, do it.

If you don’t trust yourself to remember what you said, write it down as soon as you can, text it to yourself or enter it into the notes section on your phone. Make the effort to be successful with these new relationships and you will be. Henry Ford said it best, "You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."

You’re in the home stretch; don’t stop now! You’ve talked a good game and you’ve over-delivered-- keep the momentum going with another conversation-- this time, wrapping up all the moving pieces you’ve put into play. Instead of reaching for your keyboard, try reaching for the phone.

Verbal communication (a.k.a. talking) will get your further than sending an electronic message ever could. However, a “paper trail” isn’t a bad idea, either. As a follow-up to your follow-up, an email might come in handy. The point is, with each verbal or in-person conversation, you’re nurturing the relationship you’ve established into one that will bring you success now and in the future.

Using face-to-face conversations to generate leads isn’t a fly-by-night solution to growing your contact list. But what you do get are real relationships and benefits of these can’t be bought, they have to be earned. People in your community want to associate with those that have integrity, trust and honesty. And these traits don’t come from good marketing, these traits come from great conversations.

For ideas about how to get in front of people in your community, how to get the conversation moving and what to do with the leads once they’re on your list, watch “How to Own the Mindshare of a Community” with Cole Realty Resource.