PLAYING THE NUMBERS GAME

It is undeniably true that the higher the quality of your leads, the better your conversion rates. This truth is so self-evident that many real estate agents focus most of their lead-generation efforts on getting “quality leads.” But this truth can be misleading. The real issue is even bigger than conversion rates. It is your net results—the number of converted leads you achieve and the sales volume into which they translate. High conversion rates will allow you to generate the same income from fewer leads than if you had lower conversion rates. But lower conversion rates can be just as effective if you can amass a great number of leads.

So while your conversion rates are very important, the number of leads you must generate is even more critical. The octane of your fuel is irrelevant if you don’t have enough to get you to your destination. Big real estate sales destinations need a big number of leads. Highly successful real estate agents will tell you that as far as lead generation is concerned, “the quality is in the quantity.” Whereas most real estate agents do modest lead generation and get modest results, a few do massive lead generation and reap massive rewards. They are the Millionaire Real Estate Agents. Interestingly, many agents are seduced by the search for the perfect marketing image and invest large amounts of time and money in this pursuit. Now, there is no question about it, your marketing look and message are very, very, very important.

However, we must keep them in perspective. Our experience working with top agents has taught us that even as important as your look and message are, there is a much stronger correlation between sales leads generated and the consistency and frequency of your message than between sales and the creativity of the message. No matter how you slice it, lead generation will almost always come down to a game of numbers. For effective lead generation, you need to be systematic (frequency and consistency) and go for sheer volume. Your lead-generation plan must always be more ambitious than your income goals. Emerson was right when he wrote, “We aim above the mark to hit the mark.” And that was never more true than when applied to lead generation; markets shift, conversion rates slide, and things just happen over time that could cause you to need more leads than you originally thought you would need. Your best defense against these unforeseen possibilities is to go on the offensive and build a lead-generation plan that will generate more than you think you’ll need. If you then end up with more than you originally planned, is that a bad thing? No. But the opposite would be. It’s a numbers game—always has been, always will be