Real Estate Agents: Are Prospects “Ghosting” You When You Follow Up? Here’s What To Do

Imagine you recently had a first meeting with a new seller prospect. You got along well with them and had a great conversation. They seemed interested, even eager, to work with you. When you got back to your car, you could barely resist shouting out a celebratory, “Nailed it!”

But then, a few days later, when you try to follow-up, they don’t return your calls or emails.

What happened?

There could be many reasons why a prospect doesn’t respond to your follow-up attempts. It could be as simple as that person being busy at work. It could also be that they’ve needed to delay listing for some reason. And, yes, they might have decided to go with another agent.

It’s important to find out.

One way is to send an email with a list of possible reasons and have the prospect pick one. Some sales experts call this the “multiple choice” technique, and it can be effective because it leverages the natural instinct to choose from a list of options.

Here’s an example:

It was great meeting with you and Carol, earlier this month. I hope I was able to answer all your questions about selling your home.

 By the way, I’ve been trying to reach you but have been having difficulties. Could it be for one of the following reasons?

•  You’ve been busy.
• You’ve put your plans to sell your home on hold.
• You’ve went with another agent.

 Please let me know. That way, I’ll know how best to be of service.

Often, an email like that will yield the answer you need. It might even get that real estate agent lead back on track and moving toward becoming a new listing.

That brings up another issue. What can you do to avoid being “ghosted” by prospects in the first place?

That’s easy. Generate better quality real estate leads!

For example, say you’ve got a terrific real estate marketing system in place for staying in touch with past clients. Each month, that system enables you to communicate with them in a way that builds trust and loyalty. As a result, more and more clients are recommending you to their friends and neighbours.

Those client referrals are high-quality real estate leads that are likely already motivated to work with you. The chances you’ll be “ghosted” is low. In fact, in many cases, you’ll probably land the client during the listing presentation.

The same holds true for your geographic farming leads. Again, assuming you have a good real estate marketing system in place, which keeps in touch with those homeowners monthly, the leads you generate are going to be strong.

So, deal with “ghosting” as best you can with current prospects, but also be smarter with your real estate marketing, so you attract higher quality leads that won’t give you the silent treatment.