Real Estate Follow-Up Sequences
Are you a real estate agent looking for smarter ways to follow-up with leads and close more deals? Here are the 10 best follow-up sequences that top-producing agents use to stay relevant, provide real value, and turn prospects into loyal clients.
Most real estate agents spend a lot of time generating new leads, but it's the follow-up that actually drives conversions. The truth is that 80% of real estate sales require at least five follow-up touchpoints after the initial contact to close a deal. This means that instead of giving up after just one follow-up, successful agents have a follow-up strategy in place to keep leads from going cold.
Following up with real estate leads is crucial because not only did you work hard to generate that lead, but it also builds trust and keeps agents top of mind in a competitive market. Consistent follow-up converts long-term prospects and essentially maximizes your marketing return on investment.
The good news is that you do not have to manually chase down every lead. Thanks to AgentLoft and the right automated follow-up sequences in place, you can stay relevant, provide genuine value, and build trust that turns potential leads into lifelong clients.
Let's discuss the 10 most effective follow-up sequences that top-producing agents use today.
1. Automated Responses
Speed is everything in real estate, which is why it is so important to provide instant responses to inquiries. Contacting leads within five minutes delivers a 400% boost in lead qualification compared to waiting 10 minutes. This means that as soon as someone fills out a form, requests a showing, or sends any kind of inquiry, they should be contacted.
Luckily, with the help of automated systems and CRM strategies, sending out fast responses has never been easier. The best instant responses feel personal, use the lead's name, reference the specific property or search they inquired about, and set a clear expectation for what happens.
The best automatic responses combine SMS and email since different people check different channels first. Since every lead will have different needs and priorities, avoid using the same template response for every lead type. You can segment your leads based on data, which allows you to deliver personalized communications that increase conversions.
2. Value-First Emails
If you approach your follow-up sequences like a sales pitch, the more likely a lead is to ignore your messages and find a different agent. Instead, the agents who tend to convert at the highest rate and have the most success provide genuine value and let the relationship with a lead develop naturally.
Once contact has been established and the lead has been added to your email list, provide value-first follow-up emails that provide useful information to your lead over a series of days or weeks. The idea is to position yourself as a trusted resource who can help them through their buying or selling journey rather than a salesperson.
These follow-up emails build trust by providing relevant market data and actionable advice rather than just asking for a meeting right away. A follow-up email sequence might include information about what to know before making an offer, how the mortgage pre-approval process works, and what happens during a home inspection.
Once valuable information has been provided over a series of days, then you can send a gentle check-in, reminding them that you are there to help. The key to this follow-up sequence is to mix up your formats and include clear, low-pressure calls to action.
3. Hyper-Local Market Updates
Providing hyper-local content is one of the best ways to build trust with leads and position you as a neighborhood expert and go-to real estate agent. While broad homeownership advice is great, most leads are looking for specific local insights about a certain neighborhood or city before deciding to move.
Not only is hyper-local content a great way to generate leads, but continuing to provide this content in your follow-up sequences will help with conversion. Send out monthly updates highlighting neighborhood sales, price trends, upcoming listings, and even information about the best restaurants or parks in certain areas to help leads make informed decisions.
These updates also create a reason to stay in contact with leads who are not ready to act yet. Even if a potential buyer is still months away from being ready to purchase, your content is still appearing in their inbox, which keeps you top-of-mind when it comes time for them to buy.
4. Social Proof Through Testimonials
Social proof and testimonials from past clients are a great way to show what it is like working with you. Most leads rely heavily on social proof since it reduces risk and validates an agent's experience. Ask past clients for written reviews or video testimonials to use in your follow-up sequences.
Not only do client testimonials help build your personal brand, but they are often more persuasive than a pitch you can write yourself. The key is matching the testimonial to where the lead is in their journey. For instance, a first-time home buyer might want to hear from another first-time home buyer whom you helped find their dream home.
In fact, about 72% of people say they trust a business more after reading positive reviews and testimonials. Use this to your advantage by emailing or texting testimonial links to leads as a natural follow-up.
5. Property Alerts Tailored to Their Exact Search
Personalization is key when it comes to building relationships with clients in real estate. Instead of sending out generic listing emails to everyone in your database, personalize property alerts to not only keep your lead informed but to remind them that you are actively working for them even when they have not reached out yet.
To accomplish this, gather detailed search criteria at the very start of your relationship. This could mean asking about price range, bedroom count, school district preferences, commute considerations, neighborhood priorities, or any other non-negotiable features. The more specific your criteria, the more precisely you can target your alerts. This can be fully automated using a CRM platform.
6. Personalized Video Messages
Video marketing is a wonderful tool, and when used correctly, it helps you connect with your audience more deeply. It has been revealed that more than 50% of consumers want to see videos from brands since it helps them make better purchasing decisions.
In a world of generic auto-replies and email newsletters, a personalized video message will stop a lead in their tracks and gain their interest. Video messages that reference their specific situation and show genuine warmth and enthusiasm will create an instant connection.
As a perfect addition to your follow-up sequence, sending out a quick and authentic video message filmed on your smartphone is one of the best ways to stand out and stay top-of-mind. Consider sending one introducing yourself as your very first outreach, followed by check-in videos to re-engage.
7. Long-Term Drip Campaigns
A drip campaign is an automated set of marketing messages sent to users on a scheduled basis or triggered by specific user actions. These campaigns "drip" over time to nurture leads and re-engage inactive ones, making them perfect as a follow-up strategy.
Since not every lead is ready to buy or sell immediately, a long-term drip campaign is an automated sequence of touchpoints delivered over weeks, months, or even a full year to stay relevant and maintain a lead's interest. A well-thought-out drip campaign might include monthly market updates, seasonal guides, neighborhood spotlights, video messages, and periodic personal check-ins.
Drip campaigns are mostly sent via email, and the most effective drip campaigns are personalized and segmented accurately. A lead interested in buying their first home needs completely different content than a move-up buyer who is looking to sell their current home.
8. Social Media Re-Engagement
Social media is one of the best tools a real estate agent can use to network, grow their client base, and conduct follow-ups. While Facebook is a favorite among real estate agents, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn content are just as important and are a great way to engage with current clients and re-engage with leads.
If your current follow-up strategy relies only on email and text messaging, social media is an amazing opportunity to connect with clients where they spend a lot of their time online. The most effective social media re-engagement is subtle and focused on the relationship rather than promoting your business.
Instead of sending direct messages to leads that you follow, genuinely engage with their content by liking their posts and leaving thoughtful comments. Post valuable content yourself about the local market and other real estate tips so that you are constantly showing up in their feed. The goal is that they think of you when they are ready to make a move.
9. Virtual Tours and Video Walkthroughs
According to the National Association of Realtors, about 97% of home buyers start their home search online. Since buyers are forming strong opinions about properties based on digital content alone, real estate agents who understand this can position themselves as the go-to expert by providing online immersive experiences to leads.
Virtual tours and video walkthroughs are effective tools to follow-up with leads, specifically if the new listing closely matches a lead's search criteria. This shows that you actively want to help them during their home-buying and selling journey, and it indicates that you are willing to go the extra mile for your clients.
10. Re-Engagement With Cold Leads
Every agent has leads that have gone cold. They showed interest, maybe even had a conversation or two, and then disappeared. Most agents write these people off, assuming they are no longer interested, but the best agents realize that most of the time, these leads just got busy or simply did not feel compelled enough to reach back out again.
To successfully re-engage with cold leads, keep things low-pressure and make sure to offer something new and valuable in your follow-up. Open with a relevant market update, follow-up a few days later with a personalized property listing, and a week after that send out a video message. If you continue to receive no response, move them back into your long-term drip campaign and let automation keep them in the loop until they are ready to take action.
Methodology
To determine the best real estate follow-up sequences that convert real estate leads into clients, data was sourced from the National Association of Realtors, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Promotional Products Association International, The New York Times, and Medium.
FAQs
What is the best way to follow-up with leads?
The best way to follow-up with leads is to stay consistent with communication, personalize every message, and offer value during each touchpoint.
What are the stages of lead conversion?
Lead conversion is the process of nurturing prospective customers from initial interest to closing. The lead conversion lifecycle typically includes lead generation, lead qualification, lead nurturing, sales engagement, and final conversion.
What are lead follow-ups?
A lead follow-up is the process of reaching out to leads who have shown interest in a product or service but have not yet decided to purchase.
Real Estate Follow-Up Sequences - Final Thoughts
The key to a successful follow-up is to stay consistent, provide genuine value, and personalize every message. If you focus on building a relationship with each lead rather than pressuring them into making a sale, the more likely they are to convert.
The vast majority of the leads you generate will buy or sell eventually. The only question is whether they will do it with you or with the agent who followed up more thoughtfully.
Are you ready to streamline your follow-up sequence and close more deals? Get started with AgentLoft today.