“Rapid Response System” for their Internet inquiries

Everyone is talking about response rates, and how that improves conversion from Internet inquiry to closed home sale. However, it seems that only a few large brokers have embraced a “Rapid Response System” for their Internet inquiries, and those that have done so are reaping the benefits.

If you’re a large broker and your response time is greater than 30 minutes (or worse yet, you don’t know what your response time is), here are three reasons large brokers should make sure each and every Internet inquiries are responded to immediately:

Higher Lead Conversion: Brokers who are responding to each and every lead within 10 minutes have a 250% greater lead to close conversion rate than those who are not responding quickly. Conversion rate increases translate directly into more revenue on the same amount of leads, so this has a much larger impact on large brokers’ margins.

Here is some interesting math. Let’s say that for $6 per inquiry, you can have a Rapid Response program implemented. Let’s also assume that broker revenue per closed transaction is $2,000. By dividing $6 by $2,000, you get 0.3%, the conversion improvement you need to completely cost justify a Rapid Response System.

This means that if you can get three additional closed transactions for each 1,000 Internet leads, your investment in the system costs you nothing. This is a no-brainer, as you’ll likely improve your conversion by 1% - 2%, which means 10 - 20 additional closings per 1,000 Internet leads.

More Satisfied Agents: Agents who get pre-qualified leads, rather than being fed raw Internet inquiries are much more satisfied with higher quality leads, and are more productive, since their time is spent working with qualified prospects, than dialing leads with a high propensity to be bogus, or looky-loos.

Improved Brand Reinforcement: Imagine you went into the local Bank of America branch, to make an inquiry of some sort, and then you were ignored (as 48% of your Internet inquires probably are, right not). How would that make you feel about the Bank of America brand? When prospective buyers come onto your website, they are experiencing your brand, and when your agents ignore their requests, or respond days later, it is tarnishing your brand.

In this market, where buyers have more choice, it’s especially important to show the value of your services and respond quickly to your Internet inquiries. It’s especially important for large brokers, as it can not only improve your revenue and margins, but benefits large brokers with increased agent satisfaction and brand reinforcement.