Top of the real estate sales funnel approaches

January is real estate sales pipeline month here at Easy Agent Pro and if you haven’t a clue as to what we’re talking about, check out our previous posts to get caught up.

Today we’re going to dive into how to get those malingerers at the top of your real estate sales pipeline off the edge and into the actual funnel – in other words, to convert them from lead to prospect. From lookie-loos and tire kickers to people who want and need to be converted into clients.

The approach to those sitting along the rim of the funnel is quite different from other marketing approaches and for several reasons:

• You don’t know these people
• These people don’t know you
• They may be at stages in the buying and selling process that range from “just thinking about it” to ready to pull the trigger.

Although it’s tempting to want to blast all your bona fides to them, it’s not wise, at least at this point.

It’s a big, diverse audience you’re addressing here and the best way to catch their attention is through content that resonates with them, not your sales stats.

Your real estate website

If you haven’t visited your website lately, now may be the time to do so. Go page-by-page, viewing it as a visitor would.

Your home page deserves the closest scrutiny, unless you’ll be driving traffic to a squeeze page or another page on your site.

First, localize it. Ensure the above-the-fold area mentions the name of your market.

Generics don’t cut it when you’ve only got seconds to impress a visitor

Let them know immediately that they’re in the right place, visiting the website of an agent who sells property in their area.

Next, if you don’t have your best testimonial above-the-fold, work on putting it there. This helps you begin building trust as soon as someone lands on the page.

Localize your blog posts as well. Don’t think this is important?

Ask yourself how much value they offer your visitors when they’re not specific to your market. You don’t need to ask yourself how much SEO value they hold if they aren’t localized. The answer is, most likely, zero.

If you don’t have time, hire someone who does. You can find inexpensive virtual assistants at Upwork.com.

Social media

Do you have a social media strategy? It’s time to tweak it to appeal to these top-of-funnel leads.

Use your business goals to guide your social media strategy. The folks at Hootsuite put together this handy chart to help you out.

 

Since your two main goals at this point are to create brand awareness and convert leads into prospects, numbers one and three in the chart fit the bill.

Branded videos

They don’t sell anything. In fact, you remain in the background. Branded videos are short, entertaining, authentic and they should, most of all, target the leads at the top of your real estate sales pipeline.

Their purpose is to humanize your business and give your brand a voice.

For inspiration, check out Farmers Insurance “15 Seconds of Smart” videos and Budweiser’s brilliant Super Bowl branded videos, “Lost Dog” and “Puppy Love.”

Online ads

Finally, consider buying ads to reach this segment. Facebook ads are ideal for catching the attention of those leads at the top of your real estate sales pipeline who may not be actively searching for real estate information.

The platform’s ability to laser target audiences can’t be beat. There is, however, a huge learning curve.

We aren’t done with your real estate sales funnel yet. Check back soon to learn about how to put together a brilliant email drip campaign.

Need more top-funnel leads? Use these 16 real estate website hacks to draw more leads and listings to your site

What type of landing pages get you leads? In this video, Chris explains how to build a landing page that works (with examples!):