Imagine this: a potential buyer reaches out, excited about building their dream home with your company. You answer their questions, help them navigate all their options, and learn about their wants, needs, and desires. You’ve become virtual besties, and they seem ready to move forward. Then…**poof** THEY’RE GONE! They've vanished into the online abyss, leaving you wondering what went wrong.
Customers ghosting us is not uncommon. If we know anything about our buyers, it’s that if they’re not ready or don’t need to move forward quickly, they continue to research, let fear creep in, and settle for their current situation (likely, secretly wishing someone would give them that nudge to spark that interest again). So, just like anything else, we need a process. Otherwise, the lead that marketing has worked so hard to acquire will go missing in your CRM.
So, Jessie… What's the process?
Before we get started, make note that as long as the lead is still engaging with you, you should continue to set manual follow-up tasks until they either:
1) move forward with that hard-earned appointment
2) ghost you (then you start the process below) or
3) tell you they’ve bought elsewhere or are no longer interested
Once your customer officially goes cold, you should manually follow up with them 3-5 times within about a month before changing their rating to a nurture rating, which will allow them to fall into your long-term monthly prospecting! Below is an example of what I did, but make it your own! Remember, you should cater your process to the most recent conversation between you and your prospect.
The Multi-Touchpoint Dance 💃
Silence is the enemy after the initial contact. Here's your multi-touchpoint strategy to stay top-of-mind. This process continues as the lead remains unengaged in your outreach attempts.
Touchpoint 1: The Follow-Up Phone Call (1-2 days)
- Briefly recap your conversation and end with a clear call to action to invoke their response.
Touchpoint 2: The Piggy-back Text Message (3-4 Days)
- Because we look at our phones so often, text messages are an efficient way to engage with customers. Make sure your text reminds them who you are, why you’re reaching out, and what’s in it for them!
Touchpoint 3: The Targeted Video Email (7-10 Days)
- Utilize a personalized video email to discuss specifics about what you talked to the customer about, like specific homes in their preferred location or price range! Bonus points for their name displayed on a whiteboard or phone app to increase clicks to opens.
Touchpoint 4: The Last Dance - Expectation Setting Email Template (14-30 days after initial touchpoint)
- Here, we are using a template to let them know that moving forward, you’ll be reaching out to them monthly, but to reach out anytime!
If they still haven't responded after your fourth touchpoint, move them to a "responded nurture" rating. Here, they'll still receive your monthly prospecting emails, which still look personal but are sent in mass with valuable content during their decision-making process.
By implementing this multi-touchpoint strategy and tailoring your outreach to the specific needs of online home buyers, you can turn those “ghost” leads into engaged prospects and, ultimately, (hopefully) proud homeowners! You’re the experts in lead nurturing; make sure you have a process for ALL leads, even those who leave you on “read!”
