The life of a real estate agent can be tumultuous.
From meeting with home inspectors and other brokers to conducting client tours, earning continuing education certifications, and – not to mention – maintaining a fulfilling family life as well, an agent’s work is never done.
But on top of everything else, if you want to thrive in the real estate biz, you’ve got to be more than adept at running your business as well.
And one of the most trying parts of doing so is generating leads.
Finding new leads is often at the top of the list of concerns for today’s real estate agent. Not only is it absolutely essential to keep the money coming in, it can also be particularly time consuming – a bit of a double whammy.
But thankfully, there is one strategy in particular that can help cut down on your time investment while still bringing in the lifeblood of your agency.
And that’s email marketing automation.
Knowing how to automate emails for real estate can free up your valuable time for other activities and boost the effectiveness of your email marketing sales strategy simultaneously.
5 Expert Tips on How to Automate Emails for Real Estate Business
Constructing the perfect email drip campaign can be tough for a real estate agent. But adding a bit of automation into the mix can make the process both much easier and far more lucrative than going it alone.
Below are five tips for marketing automation for real estate agents to help you get the most out of your automation efforts.
#1: Take Full Advantage of the Welcome Email
The “Welcome” email is not only a simple component of marketing automation for real estate agents, it’s also one of the most important.
This email is typically the first engagement you’ll ever have with a customer.
As such, it sets the tone for the rest of your relationship and how you choose to handle it can directly lead to a successful sale or a lost customer.
Try catering your welcome strategy specifically to the expected timeline of their purchase. For leads that indicate they aren’t yet ready to buy, tone down the sales side of your communication too.
The quick suggested video script below is a great start to a welcome message that’s helpful, friendly, and not too pushy.
Hi there!
My name is John Doe from Doe & Associates Real Estate. I’ll be sending over the info you requested in a minute but I just wanted to take a second to reach out to you to personally say hello, face-to-face so to speak!
I’ve been in this business for fifteen years, so I know that buying or selling a home can seem a bit overwhelming at first. But with the right agent on your side, it can truly make all the difference.
I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about a specific property or the process in general so give me a call at [(XXX) XXX-XXXX] or feel free to respond directly to this email whenever you have time.
I look forward to hearing from you!
For more qualified leads who are ready to buy, you may want to offer content immediately. Maybe a case study from a happy customer or a personalized video explaining the process a bit more completely.
And finally, a more aggressive call-to-action will help push them to engage sooner rather than later.
#2: Lead Nurturing is Crucial in Real Estate Marketing Automation
While you probably pride yourself on having exceptional interpersonal skills, not all customers want to engage with a real estate agent directly – at least not at first.
Don’t take it personally, of course.
Everyone’s buyer journey is a little bit different. Some customers might come to you directly without having any prior knowledge on say, the area their interested in or what kind of property they’re looking for. Others, however, might want to do a bit of research on their own before calling up an agent.
No matter what kind of lead you’re engaging with, enough can’t be said about the importance of lead nurturing.
This process entails feeding your leads valuable content that help usher them down your sales funnel and giving them the information they need to make the leap towards a purchase.
And when it comes to conversions, lead nurturing is incredibly beneficial.
In fact, a nurtured lead typically comes with a 20% boost in sales opportunities compared to an un-nurtured one.
Beyond that, lead nurturing can also be remarkably cost effective.
Evidence from Forrester Research, Inc. actually shows that a proper lead nurturing campaign lead to a whopping 50% in sales at two-thirds of the cost among surveyed companies.
The takeaway here is that when you feed your leads with valuable, informative content that they’re interested in (whether it be blog post, case study, or a helpful and communicative video), you’ll start seeing sky-high sales with record-low investment.
Automation software like Prompt that streamlines your real estate lead nurturing (while retaining your personal style and voice, of course) can be incredibly helpful in this regard. Not only can they make sure your audience stays engaged with valuable content and keep you top of mind, they can also do it all automatically.
This one’s a real time saver.
#3: Build Up Your Content Base
Going along with the last point, one of the most helpful marketing choices you can make is to start building up your content reserves.
In fact, you should be doing that immediately.
Taking the time and effort needed to fill up your site with valuable content not only gives you more to work with when it comes to crafting your real estate marketing automation strategy, it’ll also provide a hefty boost to your organic SEO score, making you easier to find for potential leads.
That means it’s time to start investing in filling out your company blog.
Start with common questions and concerns that your past clients may have had before buying and then move into more detailed topics like home value predictions for next year or little-known tips for remodeling your house.
Collecting case studies and testimonials is also key, especially in real estate. The number one asset for an agent today (especially after the collapse of the housing bubble) is building trust. And few types of content inspire trust quite like reviews from past customers.
Finally, producing quality and personalized video can add a whole new level of engagement, even if you aren’t quite sure how to do it yet (it’s easier than you think).
In fact, video has been shown to grow revenue almost 50% faster than non-video strategies.
Those are numbers you simply can’t argue with.
#4: Keep Your Leads Organized for Better Content
One of the most exciting reasons to add automation to your real estate follow up emails is because it can create a whole new level of lead organization within your agency.
For instance, if one lead chooses to interact with a specific piece of content, a sophisticated sales funnel will categorize them in a different group than if they had not interacted with that content. Your leads will get lumped into various categories, each with different characteristics and ultimately, different content and interaction needs.
Say, for example, one of your leads is interested in buying a property but has also engaged with a blog post you’ve written on tips for selling a home. This might indicate that they’re also interested in selling at the same time as they’re buying a new house.
Not only will these individuals be attracted by a particular kind of content than non-sellers may not care about, they’ll also likely have a much different buyer’s journey timeline as well. They may not be looking to buy for months in fact, while a motivated buyer who rents could be looking to purchase in the coming weeks.
These types of customer insights can mean a world of difference in terms of how you engage with them (with regards to marketing aggression, communication frequency, call-to-action) as well as what type of content to send in your real estate follow up emails.
#5: Personalization Is Key
Selling a great product and top-notch customer service are essentials when it comes to keeping your clients coming. After all, who’s going to buy from you if you’re peddling low-quality wares or properties – especially if you don’t do it with a smile?
But research has shown that a connection with the brand may actually be more influential in overall purchasing decisions. That connection can be emotional, value-based, or even simply on a personal level.
That’s why it’s so important to truly connect with your clients every chance you get. Use language that reflects your real-life personality. Don’t be afraid to put some humor into your correspondence. And of course, be sure to send over a personalized email on their birthday (this is far more effective in building relationships than most people may know).
By far, one of the best means of personalizing your email automations is using video correspondences. While dry text may get the message across alone, including a personal video response (for a lead welcome message, a walkthrough follow up, or even a quick answer to a question) leads to better engagement.
And since these video responders can be automated just like any other campaign content, adding video personalization to your business can truly change the way you communicate.
Email Marketing Automation for Real Estate Agents Is A Game Changer
Injecting a bit of automation into your email strategy is one of the best ways to streamline your marketing efforts.
Now that you know how to automate emails for the real estate business to get the most out of your messages, you too can take advantage of the boundless efficiency that automation can offer.
Plus, when you combine this marketing knowhow with BombBomb’s canned responses, advanced analytics, steadfast reminders along with scheduling, and (best of all) the powerful integration with video, you’ll have more qualified leads than you know what to do with.