Before I get into how to use email to follow up I must tell you that making voice contact via telephone is far more effective and a very important milestone in the conversion process. In fact, every email you send should have a call to action where the focus is to get the lead on a full on interactive phone call.
Here is why:
- Making voice contact humanizes the process and begins the rapport building. Prior to the lead hearing your voice, you are a faceless email address or a headshot on a website.
- Making voice contact gives you a better shot at qualifying the lead. A better understanding of a lead’s needs are communicated via voice.
- Lastly, the most important reason to make voice contact is so that it creates a better opportunity for you to demonstrate your sales skills. Good emails are one thing, but a good sales call has a much better impact.
If phone calls are so great then why email?
Sometimes the web lead info contains bad numbers or we end up getting voicemail. In addition, too many phone calls may seem overly aggressive and set a bad tone. Using email keeps a lead in contact with you and provides a form of communication that is received at a time that the lead is ready to receive it (opposed to a phone call during dinner).
What you should say in your email
I used to send out 100% unique custom emails to every lead. After doing a lot of follow up, I found that I was sending the same 10-12 emails over and over and it was taking a ton of time. As I went back over these emails, I discovered that there were really only about 12 different types and that regardless of the situation, I could choose one of these 12 types and have them match the current sales situation almost perfectly. So I searched back through all the emails I sent to my customers and found 12 of the best emails and rewrote them as perfectly as I could. I dissected each email word for word creating what I thought to be the 12 best sales email templates possible.
Don’t send out templates as is
Even though I have what I thought to be the 12 of the best email templates around, I merely use them as a starting point. I find it very important to still right a 100% custom subject line and opening paragraph PER LEAD. In the subject line and opening paragraph I try to use some information from the submitted lead information to make it look even more custom and unique.
The subject line
The subject line is arguably the most important part of the email. If the prospect doesn’t open the email your efforts are in vain. The key to a good subject line is to keep it short and unique. Try to stay away from subject lines that are look like spam or are vague. Use language that speaks to their specific needs as a real estate consumer e.g. “The farmhouse information you requested” or “New Paltz Farmhouse”. A subject line that uses words like “Great Deal” or “Low Price” will be flagged for spam in a lot of cases and may never reach the prospect.
The opening paragraph
The opening sentence of your first paragraph should never be about you rather it should be about addressing the needs of the prospect. Use your opening sentence to confirm that you understand the needs of the customer by repeating the request back to them in your own words. The following sentence should be a full and complete answer to the customer’s inquiry. If you can, incorporate a personal experience in effort to create a connection with the prospect while demonstrating expertise and knowledge.
Here is an example of a good opening paragraph in response to a customer that inquired about a listing that is in a certain area:
Opening Paragraph: I received your inquiry about the farmhouse in New Paltz and wanted to get back to you as soon as possible. To answer your question, The median home price in New Paltz is $265,000 and has a New York State Thruway exit making commuting to NYC easy. New Paltz is a great little village, me and my family often hike there.
The second paragraph
This is where the template mumbo jumbo comes in. If the email is in response to a land customer I have a couple of quick (previously written) sentences about our land sales expertise as a company and my qualifications specifically. I also have templates for new construction, investment property, luxury, first time home buyer, foreclosures, short sales, etc. As I used them I found that I sometimes needed variations in for each of my original 12 expanding my library even more.
The third and last paragraph
The last paragraph is designed to create a call to action. Always use language focused on setting up a meeting or asking when would be a good time to call. I sometimes used the phrase that “I can show you any Ulster County listing usually within 24 hours”.
The signature
The signature should contain as much information as you are willing to give, including name, desk phone, office phone and website. Try to stay away from extra formatting like bold, italics and hyperlinks. Some email programs interpret formatting differently and can sometimes show up as gibberish on the receiving end. If you spell out full website names, good email programs will sometimes convert them to hyperlinks automatically.
More email tips
- Focus more on the need of the prospect and less on how good you are as a REALTOR
- Keep it short and simple.
- Even though we are dealing with the most sophisticated real estate consumers in history, avoid using industry terms and acronyms like MLS, DOM or Pending.
- Use a relaxed but professional tone
- Double check it for spelling
- Try not to use images or graphics in the body of the email (spam blockers/junk mail filters sometimes mistake them for malicious content). Attachments usually work best.
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