This Guest Post was written by Marc Rasmussen who specializes in Sarasota FL Real Estate

Let’s assume you have done a good job promoting your website and you now rank well in Google. The leads are starting to come in more consistently.  So, how do you handle these internet leads?

It is much like leads from other sources except now the quantities are probably much higher. The odds of wasting your time on unqualified buyers goes up dramatically.

If you have a website that is producing a good number of leads, your pre-qualification skills become much more important. You need to do your best at figuring out who will turn into a successful transaction and who will waste your time.

It is not uncommon for a prospect to see a home on your real estate website, call you to ask a very specific question like, “are there walk in closets in the third bedroom?” -  and then you find out that they are either working with another REALTOR®, need to sell two homes prior to buying, or plan on purchasing in 18 months. These sorts of calls and emails can disrupt your day and prevent you from working with qualified clients.

Making Initial Contact with an Internet Lead

You have to be delicate with some internet leads. If you beat them right over the head with tough questions they might get turned off and call another real estate agent. Initially, I like to ask about the type of home they want and then start asking  questions that I need to know.

I vary the questions up, and the order in which I ask them,  just to test out the responses. Here is a sample of some of the questions I ask the internet prospect:

1.  Are you looking to buy a home or condo?

I could add land or some other property class to this question but I figure the prospect will tell me. This is just to get them thinking about what they want to buy. I make sure to add “to buy” to the sentence. It seems like some people think REALTORs® are showing services.

2.  How many beds and baths do you require?

Again, I like to add the property related questions up front. The prospect won’t put their guard up.

3. When are you looking to purchase?

This tells me how to handle the lead. Obviously, I will handle a buyer that needs to buy in 30 days differently than one who is looking to buy in 12 months. Again, I mention “to purchase” in the question. I want to instill the “buy” mentality in their head and not a “let’s look around” mentality.

4. What is a comfortable price range for you?

5. Are you represented by any other REALTORs®?

You would be surprised at how many people contact me about real estate who are already working with another REALTOR®. Many people do not know how REALTORs® are compensated. It is your job to make sure they know.

6. Have you arranged financing or do you plan on paying cash?

This helps reiterate that you are not showing service and that a successful transaction is your goal.

7. Have you been to Sarasota before or is this your first trip?

I love prospects that have been vacationing in my area for years. They are already sold on the area. I get nervous when someone wants to see real estate but have never been to Sarasota before. I like to know this ahead of time. Most potential buyers need to get sold on the area before being sold on a house.

8.  What neighborhoods/areas interest you the most?

This one tests their market knowledge and determines how much education they need. I get much more excited if a prospect answers, “we love Lakewood Ranch and University Parkway” versus, “we really don’t know the area at all and just want you to show us around.”

9. Do you have any other needs or wants that I should know about?

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This is a good representation of the questions I ask an Internet lead. I test different variations of questions as well as how many are asked. Some REALTORs® ask way more questions and that is fine. I don’t know if there is a right or wrong way to do this. It boils down to personal preference.

It is ok if you don’t mind taking on every prospect and showing all of them property. I won’t do it because it will just burn me out. I am probably losing transactions for over-qualifying, but to me that is a small price to pay for sanity.

Note from Kathleen: Marc has had a real estate website since 2004.   He has built his website to rank #2 on Google for Sarasota Real Estate and #3 for Sarasota Homes for Sale.