As a real estate agent using text messaging can be one of your best prospecting mediums. In our modern world, most leads will prefer text message to phone calls. That’s not to say we shouldn’t call leads during prospecting time, but you are most likely to get a response over text. In this real estate agent podcast, you will learn some quick text messaging tips and a few scripts for lead generation and touching base with your database.
Text Messaging Scripts
Double Text:
When a lead signs up, you can use the Double Text. Here you send two messages back to back. This shows your ready to start helping them out and the double text increases the response rate considerably.
Message 1: "Thanks so much for signing up. I'm really looking forward to working with you. Is there anything I can help you with right off the bat?"
Message 2: "Let me know when you can."
Follow Up Text:
When you want to follow up with a quick, it’s best to send a quick question to re-engage the lead.
“Hey (Name), how is the home search going?”
This is a low pressure follow up that gives the lead freedom to respond how they see fit.
Moving Lead Through Text:
This text can be used if you have not received a response or have not been able to re-engage a lead. This text allows the buyer/seller to let you know they are no longer looking for real estate services. This is one of the most powerful messages you can send a lead.
"Are you still looking to buy or sell in (whatever market you're in)?"
Database Follow Up Text:
This is a great text message that starts a conversation for someone in your database or a person in your sphere of influence, while also letting them know you are still in real estate.
“Hey (Name), I was just in your neck of the woods showing houses and I just want to see how you are doing”
This works very well because you are reminding them that you are in real estate (i.e. you were showing homes). Plus it starts a conversation.
If you are looking for reasons to text someone, you can use one of these prompts
Just thinking of you
Thank you
Congratulations
Podcast Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to Rev Real Estate School. The podcast with quick tips and actionable advice to help you sell more real estate in today's world. And now your host Michael Montgomery.
[00:00:11] Hello and welcome back to Rev Real Estate School. I'm your host Michael Montgomery. Today we're talking all about text messaging and how you need to be integrating this into your business for success. Now here's the thing most people would rather communicate over text message than by phone. It's just the way the world works. Now regardless of the generation that you're in, most people will still want to communicate by text message. It's convenient it's quick. They can respond on their own terms and it's still very personal.
[00:00:45] Compare that with e-mail where people are getting tons maybe 90 percent of their e-mails that are coming in are unrelated or not personal messages that are said to them they're either on drip campaigns or they're spam messages or something like that e-mail can start to get a little diluted. That's not to say you shouldn't use e-mail for prospecting. It's still my main source of prospecting. However text message can be so much more powerful without being as intrusive as calling people on the phone which a lot of people just do not want to be interrupted. Now again that does not necessarily mean that you can't use the phone or you shouldn't use the phone you definitely should. And there are times when you definitely need to be getting on the phone making calls but there is a lot of power to text messaging in this day and age. And in this episode we're going to start with a few quick tips on how you can start using text messaging and what you need to do within your text messages. And then we're going to hit on a few examples that you can put into place right away.
[00:01:43] Now let's touch on a few guiding principles that you can use when you're thinking about creating a text message campaign whether that be for leads or that just be in your conversation over text with past clients sphere of influence things like that. So first off when you're dealing with leads you have to identify yourself. You can't always expect that people have your number in their phone. I can't tell you how many times I'll get a text message from somebody that doesn't say who it's from. And I have to Google it try and figure out their name and try and reverse engineer who I'm talking to. Don't be that person. Make sure that you identify yourself.
[00:02:18] Next remember that your message matters and it's very easy to misinterpret a text or an email. Anything that's in writing so use complete sentences and avoid sounding harsh. These sort of things will give off a certain impression too. Who's ever receiving the text especially if you're dealing with a lead somebody who doesn't necessarily know you a lot of text message has to deal with familiarity. So if they're not familiar with you and if your message is coming across as being a little bit abrupt are you using too many abbreviations or you're not using complete sentences punctuation grammar then you will be perceived a certain way.
[00:03:02] Next be direct and be brief. Say what you need to say and be clear be precise. If you're dealing with a lead a very long text message will often be seen as somewhat spammy. They may not read it. So being clear and getting to the point right away so keeping the message to one to maybe three sentences is best keep it to sub 250 characters if possible avoid rambling and run on sentences things like that.
[00:03:29] Finally avoid using links within your text message. If you're dealing with leads these can scare off leads people do not want to be clicking on links from people that they're not aware of who's sending them. So just be careful with sending links especially shortened hyperlinks that can't necessarily be traced they just come across as a little suspicious. Now let's jump into a few text messages that you can send right away to your leads and then we'll talk about sending text messages to your database.
[00:03:57] So first off with leads again we need to be very very cautious that they know who we are. So we want to make sure that we're identifying ourselves. And I'm going to give you three quick text messages that you can send to leads. The first one is a double text. So this is when somebody signs up or is showing some interest in your listing or something like that you can just send them a quick text that says.
[00:04:21] "Thanks so much for signing up. I'm really looking forward to working with you. Is there anything I can help you with right off the bat?"
[00:04:27] And then once you send that you send a follow up text that says, "let me know when you can." So, there's two text messages that come in. One quick one thanking them and asking if there's anything you can help with. And then the next one it says let me know when you can. This comes across as very personal like you're on your phone you're texting them your part of the conversation and I see a lot more responses coming from that.
[00:04:52] Next is just asking them very simply this is usually after they've been into my system for a while. I'll just quickly text them let them know who I am and say, "how's the search going?" Now this is very powerful because it's very open ended. They can take it wherever they like but it is a question you'll notice a lot of my texts to leads end in a question because what I want out of it is I want a conversation. I just want to start a conversation. If it is a lead I want to start a conversation with that person to see where they're at to see if I can help. Remember, if you're doing a lot with lead gen then it's not like every single lead that signs up is going to be right in the buying window and ready to start talking to you right away. So instead it's all about nurturing them. So asking them how the search is going seven sometimes you'll get a response and maybe they're ready to start moving quickly. Sometimes you get a response where they say they're not looking for the next year or two and then you can put them into your follow up structure or sometimes they just say look I'm not interested at all. And then you don't have to worry about spending time you can always move them into an email campaign or something like that but you can move them off of the direct prospecting list for that time and you can move them on to more of a campaign that will just nurture them over the course of time.
[00:06:05] The third text message that you can send to leads is basically when you start to move them through. Maybe you haven't heard from them in a while and it's just trying to see if they're still interested in buying and selling.
[00:06:16] Simply I'm saying, "are you still looking to buy or sell in whatever market you're in?" This is such a powerful question because it gives them an out. It gives the lead the ability to say no. Simply responding with a no and say we're not looking to buy or sell any more. Which is great. You want to give the power to the lead to make the decision you don't want to corner them. That pole mentality does not work anymore.
[00:06:40] The mentality of trying to corner a lead into an appointment does not work leads you right through it leads are people just like us and they do not want to be sold to. So by asking a question like this you're asking if they're still interested in buying or selling. It gives them the opportunity to say no we're not. We're not looking to buy or sell anymore. In which case you can then thank them and you can move right along. You want to be there for people that have questions and that need help but you don't want to be over the top with people that don't necessarily want to be communicated with at that point in time.
[00:07:11] That's not to say they won't buy or sell in the future and you don't want to have them on some email campaign. Maybe a monthly email that goes out but you do not want to be contacting them on a weekly basis if they say no to that.
[00:07:24] Finally let's talk about your database people that you know past clients. There's one very easy text message that you can send to these people that will keep you in touch and keep you top of mind as their real estate agent. And it goes like this. You simply say,.
[00:07:39] "I was in your neck of the woods showing homes the other day. Just want to touch base and see how are you doing.?".
[00:07:44] Now you can do this from work if you know where their office is or you can do it from their house if you know where their house is at their past client. This works very very well. What you're doing with this message is you're touching base. You're just seeing how they're doing you're just touching base but you're also in there saying that you were showing homes so you're doing two things at once. You're touching base with them you're starting a conversation plus your hinting at the fact that you're still in real estate you're in their neighborhood showing homes and from there that just triggers them to remember. Oh yes. So and so is in real estate it's a very powerful text message that starts the conversation with your database. It's a great way to stay in touch leads to great conversations plus your staying top of mind as their agent.
[00:08:26] Now if you're looking for things that you can text people you can just use one of these three tricks. One of these three things that you can use whenever you're trying to think of something to text somebody and it's the same thing that you can use for your cards if you're sending handwritten cards to your database or people within your network and you can send these three types of cards or text messages just thinking of you cards or text messages. So that's a perfect example saying that you were in their neck of the woods showing a home just want to know how you're doing. That's thinking of you. The next one is thank you. So anytime someone does something for you. Where do you go over their house. They said you referral whatever that might be. You can always send them a thank you. And the third is congrats. So this is very easy nowadays with social media. If you see somebody got a promotion had a kid whatever that might be. I oftentimes do like to send a handwritten card but you can also send a text. So those three things can be great tips. If you're trying to think of things to send people over text message.
[00:09:24] So those are your tips for text messaging. Feel free to go to the show notes for this episode. I will link up those text messages and what I say in them so you can just copy them and run with it. Thank you very much for listening this episode I really appreciate it. Remember if you'd like to reach out to me you can always find me at revrealestateschool.com All of our podcasts and blog posts are all linked up in there and our free resources. Also feel free to reach out to me on Instagram @the.michael.montgomery. Thanks so much and we'll see you in the next lesson.
[00:09:52] This episode of Rev real estate school has come to a close. Thank you for tuning in. We'll see you back here for the next lesson.
