Convert Prospects to Clients

The keys to effective conversion of your Powerline™ leads are:

1. Use focused, proven, and effective dialogue.
2. Respond to your Powerline™ IVR calls quickly, ideally between five and fifteen minutes after you are notified of the call.
3. Qualify and build rapport with the prospect by asking the right questions.

Use Effective Dialogue

Using a script template can provide structure to your follow-up call by keeping you focused on using proven and effective dialogue to greatly increase your call to close ratio. Do you want to work with this prospect? Are you able to set an appointment with the prospect?

The Arch prewritten script templates provide a strong foundation on which to build your follow-up process. Remember, a conversation is completely organic. A person can easily tell if you are reading from a script. The scripts are simply templates and suggestions for topics of conversation that provide you with the most information about the prospect as possible while keeping the conversation open-ended. Try not to ask questions that can be answered simply with a “yes” or a “no”.

For additional tips when speaking with prospects, refer to the Neighborhood Marketing Guide.

Respond to Your Powerline™ Calls Quickly

Follow up with your prospect when their mind is on you and your services: within 5 – 15 minutes. Prospects will be far more receptive to your call if they are seeking out your assistance in that moment.

The Powerline™ system has the unique advantage of uncovering prospects early in the home buying/selling process. At least 30% of these prospects must sell a home prior to purchasing a new one. Quickly Making contact with these leads offers you a great opportunity to lock up these listings early.

More than half of all buyers do business with the first agent that they talk to, according to the NAR, so you need to get a jump on your competition. Responding quickly to your Powerline™ leads gives you the best chance at being that agent and greatly increasing your odds.

Additionally, prospects want an agent who will be proactive in selling their house. A quick turnaround shows that you are motivated, organized, and professional.

Call Coordinator Service

We realize that there are times when you simply cannot respond quickly. With that in mind, we created Arch Call Coordinator Service to help maximize your time and ensure that you can quickly follow up with each new lead.

Arch’s Call Coordinator Service (CCS) trained operators call each lead that has accessed an extension number on your Powerline™ IVR System. Using your personal filters, the operators use a series of scripted questions to qualify buyers, list available properties, determine whether or not the prospect has been pre-qualified by a mortgage professional, and obtain a referral. We offer scripts for Realtors as well as originators. Contact an Arch representative to review the available scripts.

Operators generally respond to leads within fifteen minutes of the originating call. If no contact is made, the CCS operator will call back in one-hour intervals, leaving a voice mail message on the third attempt. Once CCS operators have qualified your latest leads, you receive instant notification of the results, including indications of your hottest leads. By identifying potential homebuyers, you also have the lead on a potential seller. This often affords you the opportunity of being the first agent to list their home, often in a non-competitive environment.

With Powerline™, you are able to instantly follow up with your hottest leads. CCS labels a lead as hot if they answer yes to any of the following questions:

• Would you like more information on the property and are not represented by a buyer’s agent?
• Do you have a home to sell but are not represented by an agent?
• Are you pre-qualified by a lender?

You also have the ability to easily manage your CSS settings to suit your needs. You can choose to employ CSS only on your days off or you can cap your monthly CSS expenditures at set limits. Options can be customized using the Arch website.

Qualify and Build Rapport by Asking the Right Questions

People work with agents they like, trust, and from whom they can confidently expect results. Scripts do not engender respect or trust in prospects. A natural dialogue with prospects is crucial to your success. By asking questions that specifically address their needs and wants, you build that rapport. Your questions should accomplish the following:

• Uncover valuable information about the prospect to build trust and rapport.
• Build credibility by positioning yourself as a service-oriented agent.

Uncover Valuable Information to Build Trust and Rapport

With your initial follow-up call, you should build a rapport by cultivating a relationship with the prospect. Building rapport starts with uncovering areas of commonality between the prospect and you. Gaining a better understanding of the prospect exhibits a sincere desire to know the lead personally and allows you to offer real solutions to their needs. With the initial conversation, you should focus primarily on selling yourself, as opposed to trying to sell listings or services.

Some example rapport-building questions are:

• Where did you grow up? In what area of town do you live?
• Do you have any children? If yes, do you plan on having any more?
• Is there a particular school zone you would like to live in?
• Do you have an idea of how long you would like to live there?
• What do you like about the schools, restaurants, parks, etc. in that area?
• What kind of recreation do you enjoy?
• When are you thinking of buying?

Build Credibility

It is imperative that you position yourself as a service-oriented, professional agent who will help them accomplish their goals. This will build credibility and reinforce the connection you have created with this prospect. Creating your service-oriented image requires that you inform and educate first. When you exhibit a genuine concern for the customer’s needs, you develop a sense of trust in them that often leads to business with you. There are several great ways to represent yourself as a credible, service-oriented agent:

• Ask questions about exactly what the caller needs in their new home. This not only positions you as a caring agent, it also uncovers invaluable information on the motivations of the caller.
• Offer a free written report targeting the prospect’s needs or wants. For buyers, consider free reports that outline common mistakes or pitfalls of home buying and how to avoid them. For sellers, consider tips on how to showcase their home to maximize their profit. As the author of these reports, you build credibility as a knowledgeable professional.
• For Sellers: offer a free evaluation of what you would do to position the home for best resale.
• For Buyers: offer a free Comparative Market Analysis.
• Offer a referral list of your professional associates (for example, mortgage originator, lawyer, appraiser, inspector, plumber, exterminator, et cetera).

Manage Fear of Loss

Many agents make the mistake of responding to the prospect’s questions regarding price or specific home details prior to establishing a rapport out of fear of losing a prospect. They feel that if they don’t answer the prospect’s questions right away, and instead choose to engage the prospect with questions on areas of commonality, they will actually alienate and potentially lose a buyer.

This does not make good business sense. You will increase your numbers significantly if you hold out and build rapport with your prospects. The opportunity to bring new leads into your sphere of influence far outweighs the risk taken in potentially losing a few prospects in your attempt to get to know them prior to offering answers to their questions.

Refer to our template scripts for making initial contacts and follow-up calls to prospects that have previously accessed your Powerline™ number. Over the course of the past 15 years, we have tested, tweaked, and fine-tuned these scripts to ensure the maximum conversion rate from your Powerline prospects.

We suggest you use these samples as the foundation for follow-up. Remember, the easiest way to extract information is to build rapport and make them feel at ease with you. Keep the conversation moving forward, and always make the prospect feel that your goal is to understand their goal.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]