Advice for following up with home sellers that are difficult to track down

 stress businessman sitting at desk

As realtors and investors, we all have that list of leads full of people who never answer our communication attempts. You probably tried calling, email, social media, and possibly even direct mail with no response. You don't want to get rid of your leads, so what do you do? Try these tips for following up with home sellers that are difficult to track down.

Why Your Leads Don't Answer

At a certain point, when clients don't respond to you, it can feel rude. However, you can't take it personally. First, you need to learn the main reasons that people don't answer your outreach attempts:

  • Poor Outreach Timing
  • Ineffective Outreach Methods
  • Stopped By Gatekeepers
  • Lead Doesn't Need Your Services
  • Lack of Personal Connection
  • You Have Outdated or Incorrect Contact Information

Now that you know the main reasons some leads won't answer your calls or emails, you can take steps to eliminate this from happening in the future.

Tips on How to Follow Up With Home Sellers You Can't Contact

Try these proven tips to reach hard to locate leads so that you can make them aware of the opportunities available to them.

Personalized Communications

Instead of sending out mass emails to every lead that doesn't respond, you should write a personalized email to each lead. Do the same when you call by using the lead's name in your voicemail (and leave a voicemail!).

Make Yourself Available

If you want to reach leads, you need to make yourself available to them as much as possible. Make your contact information easy to find. You should also always answer phone calls when you receive them and answer emails promptly.

Get Creative

Your current outreach doesn't work with these particular clients, so you need to try something new. Use communication methods you may not typically use, such as social media. You should also try calling and emailing at different times, such as after regular hours or weekends. Finally, look for alternative contact information for the lead or family members through public records.

Assume They Want to Buy

Many realtors use uncertain language after a long period of hearing no response from a lead in an attempt not to pressure anyone. However, you should move forward with all communications assuming that the lead still has an interest.

Utilize Clear Skip Tracing Services

In many cases, the information you have isn't accurate. Luckily, Clear Skip's Premium Skip Tracing Services can take the information you have and provide you with accurate contact information in just two hours. You can choose between a number of different packages based on the number of leads you need to uncover.

Throw a Party

Some leads will show up when you provide food and drinks. Consider throwing a party for the leads that don't respond. At the very least, you will learn which leads actually do receive your communications.

Know When to Let Go

At a certain point, you need to admit a certain lead won't follow through. Listen for signs that the lead genuinely has no interest in moving forward. Some of the main indicators you should stop pursuing a real estate lead include:

  • Lead moved
  • Lead bought a house
  • Lead doesn't have the finances
  • Lead doesn't respond at all for over a year
  • Lead acts unprofessionally

Tips on How to Prevent Non-communicative Leads

Avoid the need to reach out to silent leads from the beginning by using these preventative measures to avoid the problem from happening from the start.

Establish Ideal Contact Timeline From Beginning of Relationship

When you receive a lead, make a good impression from the start y responding within 5 minutes. If you respond to a real estate lead in five minutes, you will improve your chances of talking to them by 100x compared to responding an hour after they reach out.

During your initial conversation, be sure to talk to your client about their expectations regarding communication so that you are on the same page. Jot down their preferences in a digital file for future reference.

Avoid Pushy Behavior and Language

You want to show assertiveness when selling a house, but you also don't want to push people away. Be careful not to reach out to leads so often that they block your number. You also want to keep conversations light and friendly. High pressure sales pitches or threatens of running out of time will only push leads away instead of making them feel a sense of urgency. You can create a sense of urgency when appropriate, but clients will work on their own time line.

Develop Personal Relationships With Clients

People prefer to buy from a friend instead of a salesperson. Create a personal relationship with your client. Start by learning more about them until you find a common area of interest. Pay close attention when the client talks to learn more about their personal needs. This can give you information to personalize service that benefits them the most. Also, don't be afraid to reach out on birthdays, holidays, and other major life moments just to say hi (whether they are in the market for a house at the moment or not).

Verify Contact Info

Verify the contact information the lead provides you with. Also, ask the lead whether phone numbers and emails are personal or work-related. Ask for alternative numbers or contacts for when you struggle to reach them. Finally, talk about how to communicate about a change of heart so that.

ClearSkip Skip Tracing Package

When you notice a number of bad leads, you need to get contact information that actually works. The best solution is the ClearSkip Skip Tracing Package tat will use the information you have to get better phone numbers and emails.

Try Clear Skip today to learn more!