Step 1
Put every lead in one place
Portal inquiries, website forms, social media DMs, calls, and open house sign-ins all go into one CRM. A lead that lives anywhere else, such as your texts or a notebook, is a lead nobody else can see and nobody will follow up if you're busy. Pick the CRM, and make it the only place a lead counts.
You do
- Choosing the CRM, and making it the only list
Hand off
- Adding each new person to your CRM with the lead source, tags, and your notes
Step 2
Record where every lead came from
Set a short list of lead sources, such as sphere, referral, open house, social media, portal, and cold call, and record one on every lead. Six months from now, the source field is how you know which spending brought closings and which brought nothing.
You do
- Setting the list of sources
Hand off
- Recording the source on every new lead, the day it arrives
Step 3
Sort leads by stage, not by date
Give your pipeline a few stages that say what happens next: new, talking, appointment set, active, under contract, closed, and nurture. After every conversation, move the lead to the stage that's true. A list sorted by date tells you who wrote first. A list sorted by stage tells you who to call today.
You do
- Moving a lead to the right stage after each conversation
Hand off
- Opening a deal when a lead names a property
Step 4
Give every new lead an owner and an answer time
On a team, decide who answers each kind of lead, and by when. A new lead that two people can see and nobody owns waits for both of them. Decide the same for calls you miss: where the summary goes, and who is tagged to call back.
You do
- Deciding who owns each kind of lead
Hand off
- Answering the calls you miss, and posting each one where the owner will see it
Step 5
Review the pipeline once a week
Once a week, go through every lead in the new, talking, and active stages. Each one needs a next step with a date. A lead with none gets one, or moves to nurture with a follow-up plan. Leads in nurture aren't lost; they're on a slower schedule that you set once.
You do
- The weekly review, and the calls it turns up
Hand off
- Drafting the follow-up for each lead that moves to nurture
Set it up once
Send Reddy this message once, in your own words. Reddy saves it as a playbook and follows it each time that work comes up. You can read and change it in the Workspace.
When I send you a note about a new buyer or seller, add them to Follow Up Boss with where the lead came from and tags, save my note on the contact, and open a deal when they name a property. When a new lead emails me, draft my reply in my mailbox for me to review.
Where Reddy fits
Reddy keeps the pipeline current. Tell it about a call, and it adds the person to Follow Up Boss with the lead source and tags, and saves your note. A routine can do the same when a new email arrives or a call comes in on your Reddy line and it matches a check you confirmed. Connect the comment-to-DM tool you already use, and each lead it collects lands in your pipeline, and Reddy tells you in chat.
Give out your Reddy line, and every call rings your phone first; Reddy answers the calls you miss, asks your own questions, and posts each call to the Slack channel you pick. It writes replies as drafts in your own mailbox, and you send them. Who owns each lead, and every conversation, stay with you.
Questions agents ask
What is real estate lead management?
It's the system that takes every lead from wherever it arrives into one place, records where it came from, shows what happens next, and makes sure one person answers it. A CRM holds it, but the rules you set are what make it work.
What is the best way to manage real estate leads?
One CRM for every lead, a source on each one, a short set of stages that say what happens next, one owner per lead, and a weekly review where every active lead gets a next step with a date.
What stages should a real estate pipeline have?
Keep it short: new, talking, appointment set, active, under contract, closed, and nurture. Each stage should tell you what happens next, so a glance at the pipeline tells you who to call today.
How fast should I respond to a new real estate lead?
As fast as you can, and the same day at the latest. Decide who answers each kind of lead and by when, and make sure calls you miss reach a person who calls back.
Should I pay for real estate leads?
Only if you track them. Record the source on every paid lead, give a new source 90 days, and compare the closings it brought with what it cost. Keep paying for the sources that close.