The First Step Toward Improved Lead Generation: Do More of What’s Working

September 7, 2017

It’s one of the questions I hear most from agents:
“Tom, I’m currently doing A, B, C and D for lead generation. What should I do next?”
First off, I love the ambition this question shows.
But second — Whoa Nellie! Pump the brakes a little. You might be skipping a crucial step in the process.
Let me explain…
Adding another tactic or strategy to your marketing mix has costs associated with it, even if the tactic itself is free or low cost.
Introducing new strategies to your business requires a lot of effort — if you’re gonna do it right. You must learn the concepts, master the tasks associated with it, train your team and THEN battle your way through the growing pains associated with integrating any new system.

Your Solution Might Be Right Under Your Nose

So when someone asks me the “What else should I be doing?” question, I always tell them the FIRST place to look is inward. Ask yourself three critical questions:

What are you doing already?
What is working best?
Can that activity be scaled to produce even greater results?

I say it all the time — track and measure everything! Now do you see why? If you’ve been tracking and measuring all your lead generation tactics, you can answer these questions in a minute. But if you haven’t been tracking, these answers might take some effort.
(Or worse yet, instead of finding the answer, you’ll act solely on intuition.)
Once you identify what’s working best, run with it. You know it’s already proven successful, so now the question becomes can it become even more successful?
Begin a test or trial period of doing 150% of that activity for the next 30, 60 or 90 days. If the results match or out-perform the increase in effort or cost, ramp it up even more.
Keep pushing your strategy until you see evidence you’ve completely maximized each tactic:
Test it. Measure It. Analyze the results. Make a decision. Repeat.

Add Only When It’s the Right Time

I want to make this crystal clear: I’m not advising against increasing your lead generation methods.
To continually grow your business, it’s critical to add to your lead-generation tactics. Studies show that agents who rely on between 1-3 methods typically don’t achieve much success. With 4-6 methods in place, you can build a nice, predictable business. With 10+ tactics in your marketing mix, you can cast a huge net and truly excel.
There are plenty of options out there: geographic farming, open houses, direct mail, expireds, FSBOs, door knocking, cold calling, referrals, Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, BoomtownROI, Facebook ads, Google pay-per-click, YouTube videos, mobile marketing, email marketing, text marketing. The options are seemingly endless.

Operate at Mastery Level

Here’s the catch — all of these activities need to be done well or they will just waste your time and money. That’s why starting with what you are already doing is always the best strategy.
Only after you’ve stretched and maximized all of your current lead generation methods is it time to look to introduce “new” ideas.
If you need help developing or fine-tuning your lead generation strategy, there’s no better opportunity than By Design November 6-7 in Brooklyn, NY. Business planning and marketing planning are two of the major components of this event! Click here for more info.