How Do You Know When A Lead is Dead

In the real estate industry, and in business in general, time is the ultimate resource. Real estate agents are different from other professions because they work on their own clock. Successful agents differentiate themselves from average agents by optimizing what they do with their time. These agents maximize their time by prospecting for new leads, showing houses, and closing deals. Buyers are plentiful in the market and agents need to distinguish committed leads from lackadaisical ones. Knowing when a lead is dead is essential for maximum efficiency as an agent.

Signs that a Lead is Dead

Agents who market themselves properly and come across a sizable amount of leads know that not all leads are equal. For instance, an agent may have two potential buyers. Buyer “x” is committed, pre-approved, and has laid out a strict budget that he or she wants to buy in. On the other hand, there’s buyer “y”. This person has not given you a distinct budget or zip codes in which he or she wants to buy in, is not pre-approved and gives you wishy-washy feelings on potentially buying. You constantly show houses to both buyers, but after a few months, only buyer “x” comes to a decision.

Buyer “x” yielded commission, while buyer “y” yielded a chunk of your time and expenses. If the agent showed discretion throughout the showing process, then they would have known that buyer “y” is a dead lead. Knowing when a lead is dead is a matter of screening the buyer and is different case by case. With that being said, agents can pick up on behaviors of lackadaisical leads such as not having a definitive timetable, not being pre-approved, and generally not communicating with you frequently.

Situational Awareness

Successful agents know when a lead is dead and instead use that time to follow new leads. With that said, there is a fine line between a dead lead and one that just needs to be nurtured. Through a matter of intuition and prior experience, agents need to screen their leads and categorize those leads to be committed or uncommitted. By doing so, agents can gain more of that all-important resource, time.