Have you finally figured out a way to generate real estate leads over the internet?

Congratulations, you are rich!

Except for one little thing, of course: actually closing your leads and generating sales.

Without a robust system, all it will create is a lot of work and heartache. In fact, I’d say it’s best to avoid online leads unless you’re willing to invest the time up front to set up the proper systems.

What exactly do I mean by a system? A proper lead tracking system consists of three parts:

1. Customer Service/Internet Speed ​​Tracking

Everything is faster on the Internet. Think about the last time you bought something online. Were you willing to wait even half an hour for an answer from an online store, or did you just keep going until you found the answer right away?

Online customer service is a whole article on its own, but here are the basics:

• Make it easy for them to contact you: post your phone number prominently and use an online form; just posting your email address is worthless.
• Please reply within 5 minutes; after 30 minutes, you better not even bother.
• ALWAYS provide something of value in every phone call, email, tweet, note about a stone thrown out the window, etc. This could be market news, useful links, answers, etc.

2. Use a CRM system (even if it’s just an Excel sheet).

37 signs, a highly successful software company has a great saying: make half a product, not a half product. The same goes for leads: it’s better to work well with half your leads than to try to work with all your leads and do a half job.

To get it right, you’ll need to keep track of your leads. No frills, make an excel sheet with their info, how/why they found you and what you’ve sent them so far. Don’t forget the most critical part: prioritize your leads (I can’t argue with the time-tested “A, B, C” system, but feel free to get creative if you need a little flair in your CRM).

Personally, my favorite real estate CRM is Highrise, because of the aforementioned 37 signals (just Google “highrise, they’re #1). It’s free up to 250 contacts, very easy to use, and works great with your email.

3. Give people what they want.

Ask yourself why they contacted you in the first place: what do they want? Figure that out, then create or find those resources and put them in a folder called “resources” on your computer. For example: Buyer’s Guides, Statistical Market Reports, Recent Neighborhood Sales, Tips Articles on Choosing Lenders, etc.

That way, every time you send an email to a potential customer, you can attach something useful or link to it in your email. It also gives you a great reason to call them, as you can ask their permission before sending them an attachment.

In all honesty, there is simply no way to get the same success rates from online leads as you do from referrals and personal connections; that is simply the nature of the beast. However, if done correctly, you can generate a solid amount of business without letting online lead tracking take over your life.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to research a condo building’s pet weight restriction to find a random lead that just called… hey, I never said it was easy!