Why “Lead Generation” May Be Damaging Your Reputation

Have you been to a government building lately? Where you had to grab a number, wait in line, and have your number called?

Your number gets called, you walk up, and the employee behind the counter is nearly expressionless. They look at you as if you’re not really there and ask, “May I help you?”

It’s a lifeless interaction that makes you feel kind of like the number on that little slip of paper you just handed over.

Well, I’m going to suggest that your lead generation efforts could be having the same effect on people you would like to do business with.

Agents are implementing highly-sophisticated lead generation strategies that capture tons and tons of “data.” Agents are generating names, email addresses and phone numbers right and left. One agent bragged to me recently that she was “generating over 300 leads a month.”

My response was, “Really? So how much business are you closing from those leads?”

It’s funny, ironic and sad.

I thought we had gotten disconnected. The phone went stone cold dead. I almost hung up to call her back when she quietly said, “I’ve only closed 3 buyers in the last four months from these leads.”

WHAT?

Three buyers?!?

Those three buyers cost her over $12,000 to generate and by the time she was done with broker splits, she had almost nothing to show for it.

See the massive problem our agent didn’t seem to grasp is that she wasn’t having real live conversations with her leads. She turned lead generation into nothing more than “data capture.” She captured a lead, plugged them into an email drip campaign, and somehow expected that system to do the work for her.

It’s kind of like having a drive-through restaurant and not going to the window and saying, “May I help you please?” Customers are in need of help, no one is attempting to engage them in a meaningful dialog, and they drive off frustrated.

Imagine if that were you. If you drove through, saw people inside, yet no one came to the window to see if they could be of service.

Would you ever go back?

Well, consider what’s happening when your leads begin to feel like data, and you’re not engaging them in a meaningful conversation. In fact, the ill effects of that model could be reaching far deeper than you may realize.

In my next post I’m going to shed some light on how this impersonal trend in real estate lead generation could even be costing you repeat and referral business too.

So keep your eye out and we’ll talk soon.