Real estate lead generation for buyers and sellers has two very important parts. The first is running the campaigns to get leads coming in. This is what most people focus on, but this is only half of the equation for successful real estate agents. The other half, lead conversion, is equally as important. When it comes to communicating and interacting with incoming leads, you want to make sure your message is clear and made with the intention to convert the lead into an appointment. In this day and age, we have found that some of the best response rates come from SMS text messages. In fact, we have seen many agents put a heavy focus on their outbound texts. With a message open rate of about 98%, it is no wonder why. We would like to share a few real estate text message scripts and ideas that you can use in your real estate business today.
Texting Buyer Leads
When following up with incoming buyer leads, it is important to understand what information you are looking to obtain from them. At the minimum, we recommend for you to find out the lead’s preferred location of the home, their price range, and their timeline to buy. Other items you can ask about are if they are pre-approved for a mortgage(or paying cash) as well as if they are already working with another agent.
Once you obtain this info through a phone call or text message, we recommend you push for a buyer’s consultation/appointment. This can be done either in person or over a phone call. We have also seen more agents harness the power of video calls to improve their appointments.
Sample Buyer Lead Texts That Will Help You Convert
Keeping in mind the information mentioned previously about buyer leads, here are a few texts to help you uncover the lead’s preferred area, price, and timeline:
First Text
We all know that first impressions are very important. This is why your first text to a lead is especially crucial. You want to not only identify yourself but also ask a pointed question to begin the dialogue. Incom’s intelligent website tracker can detect the area and the properties end-users checked so we use this to our advantage. Here is an example:
Hey {client_name}! This is {agent_name} for {website_domain}. I noticed you browsed properties for sale in {city/neighbourhood} on our website. I’m checking in to see if I can help you narrow down your search and find properties that match your needs and budget. Would you prefer to text or call?
The Follow Up Text
If you’ve been in sales of any kind in the past, you will probably have heard the phrase “success is in the follow-up”. Well, this also applies to real estate lead conversion. We have seen the best response rates after the fifth or sixth text message. So, it is important to always be following up and attempting to contact your inbound leads multiple times.
Here is one great example of a follow-up text to a lead who has yet to respond:
Do you have something specific in mind, such as a certain part of town or price range?
Texting Seller Leads
Just like with buyers, when reaching out to incoming seller leads, it is also important to know what information you are looking for. We suggest that you find out the lead’s home address and their timeline to sell. These are the most important things to obtain, however you can also find out if they have updated the home recently, and if they are already working with an agent.
After obtaining this information, it is time to either set a listing appointment or get a CMA(comparative marketing analysis) completed for the qualified lead. Again, this can be done either in person or over a phone call. Or, you can do a video call.
Sample Seller Lead Texts That Will Help You Convert
Here are a few texts to help you discover the seller lead’s address and timeline:
The First Seller Lead Text
When first reaching out to a seller lead, you must first identify yourself and then find out the location of the property (unless they already provided it for you). At Incom, we already collect the address during lead capture. With our first message, our goal is to get the end user to engage with us. We can achieve this by asking a valuable question.
Here is a sample text used in a home valuation campaign that can help you find out the seller’s address:
Hello {client_name}. This is {agent_name} for {website_domain or brokerage name}. Thank you for registering for a free home evaluation. I’m now in the process of determining a fair market value for your home. To improve the accuracy of my report, I’m checking in to see if there are any damages or upgrades you’ve done that might impact the value of your home. Would you prefer to text or call?
The Follow-Up Seller Text
Just like buyer leads, incoming seller leads can take a few attempts to get a response. We recommend you follow up consistently with them in order to increase your lead conversion rates. Remember, the response rates get better after about 5 text messages.
Here is a text message to send out when your lead still hasn’t responded after a week of entering your system:
Hey just following up on this – Are there any damages or upgrades you’ve done that might impact the value of your home?
Bonus Text That Works Like A Charm:
Let me know 
Sometimes, simple is the best approach. This text message is one we like to call the “nudge” text. Basically, you can send it to any new incoming lead about 45-50 minutes after a previous text that they haven’t responded to. Many of your leads are busy people and they might see your text, but then get distracted by something else. These three simple words and a smiley emoji remind them they should respond back to you. It has one of the best response rates we have seen.
We hope you can take some of these real estate text message scripts and use them to convert even more leads to appointments. Remember, we are here to help along the way. If you don’t want to do it alone, then feel free to reach out to us for a quick strategy session where we can offer some solid advice and information. Good luck with your leads and happy texting!
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