14 days of pain

Step 1. The first step you need to take is to research the lead. Attempt to verify if at least one piece of contact information is valid. Use Google, WhitePages.com, and Xobni to both verify information and search for additional means of communication.

Step 2. Call immediately if the lead provided a valid phone number, and leave a message if there is no answer.

Step 3. Send a text message to their cell phone, if provided.

Step 4. Email an introductory message—include a list of just-listed properties attached to the email. Sending the email from Fathom’s lead system allows you to use pre-written email templates, insert listings and track your communications. This is significantly more affective than sending emails from your personal email system.

Step 5. Mail business cards if address was provided.

Step 6. If you are able to locate a Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter profile, attempt to establish communication by sending a direct message and requesting to connect or become a friend.

Step 7. Record the results of each one of the above steps in your lead management system. This may sound tedious but it is a very important step.
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day two

By this point, the lead has been contacted in a variety of ways. As you proceed through this process, it is important to note that there are far fewer tasks each day, and for the remaining “less painful” days, you are trying different tactics to evoke a response.

Use information that you gathered during your day-one research step to make an educated guess if the lead is relocating or if they may need to sell locally first. If unsure, attempt to send a combined email that offers either a free CMA or a relocation package.

Step 1. Send the free relocation package email and/or the free market analysis of their home offer. Attach a list of properties that match their criteria to every email. If the lead has not provided any search criteria, send a list of properties that represent the average prices for your area.
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day three

Day three is dedicated to determining what price range and neighborhood the buyer is interested in. We use offer-and-response messaging to gather this information both in writing, phone message, and on the first video email. Make sure that you are consistent with your messaging. The reason that we use the foreclosure and best-buy scripts is because everyone wants a good deal, even if a very small percentage actually go on to buy a distressed property.

Step 1. Send a “Foreclosure, Bank Owned, and Short Sale Teaser Email.”

Step 2. Make first follow-up phone call and leave message if no one answers (use the foreclosure teaser script located below in Figure 7).

Step 3. Send your first video email.
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Figure 7: “Foreclosure, Bank Owned, and Short Sales” Teaser Email and Script




“I just heard about a great foreclosure deal. Can you remind me what price range and neighborhood you are looking in? These properties normally go fast, so let me know as soon as you can. When are you available to view this great deal?”


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day four

If you have not made contact by day four, it is time to start the research all over again and try and locate additional ways to communicate. Try searching other social networks by email and name, then follow the steps below:

Step 1. Attempt to make contact on another social network like LinkedIn.com or Plaxo.com.

Step 2. Send the “Price-Reduced Properties Email” and make sure to attach a list of properties that have reduced their prices recently with it.
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Figure 8: Price-Reduced Properties Email




“I am sending you a list of the properties that have just reduced their prices. These homeowners tend to be more motivated sellers. If you are looking for a good deal, we should schedule a time to view some of these homes. Could you give me a call as soon as possible to schedule a time to get together? Please click on the link below to view the attached price-reduced properties.”


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day five

You must continue to provide value throughout the entire lead conversion process, since there is a really good chance that your buyer has already registered on multiple real estate agents’ websites. In the end, it will be the agent that provides the most value that will win the client’s loyalty and their business.

Step 1. Send the “Best-Priced Properties Email,” which we outlined at the beginning of this chapter.

Step 2. Copy the “Best-Priced Properties Email” and send via Facebook or LinkedIn.
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day six

Even the best agents need a day off. Let the break in communication come during the times you normally take time off. The potential client will appreciate it as well. We normally take one or two days off during this process. If you miss more than one day, consider extending the 10 Days of Pain another day.
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day seven

It is very important throughout the lead conversion process to express to your leads any openings you might have to show homes, any open houses that you might be hosting, and most importantly, that you are in fact a real person that is taking time each day to provide them this service.

Step 1. Send the “Free Home Inspection Offer” described in Figure 9 and attach a limited list of bank-owned or short sale properties to the email.

Step 2. Make the third follow-up phone call that restates the same message: that you have an opening to show homes on a specific day or time.
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Figure 9: Free Home Inspection Offer




“My boss just gave me two free home inspection certificates that I can give out ‘this week’ to two separate buyers that are interested in viewing homes on this Saturday or Sunday. This is a huge savings that doesn’t happen very often. Are you available this weekend?”


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day eight

Many of us can get motivated by a little competition. On day eight, we create an offer that is time sensitive and “limited” to only a few winners to generate some buyer urgency.

Step 1. Send the “Contest Email” in Figure 10 and make sure to attach a list of just-listed or price-reduced properties to it.

Step 2. Send the “Contest Email” and attach just-listed properties to a message sent via Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter.
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Figure 10: Contest Email




“Time for another great Fathom Realty contest. Congratulations to ‘Jonathan K’ for winning last month’s challenge! This month, we are giving away a free home appraisal from one of our preferred lenders to the first three people that can answer the following questions correctly: question #1, #2, #3. They are a little tougher this time, but all the answers can be found on my website ‘www.AgentWebsite.com.’ Please include mailing address so that we can mail the vouchers to the winner.”


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day nine

By this time, you will have a pretty good idea if you are going to be able to make contact with the lead or not. Something to consider is that it is not uncommon to get your first response from a lead on days 9 through 11. Day nine is just about maintaining contact and being consistent. Remember when making your phone calls to mix up the time of day that you call. Try calling once in the morning, lunch, night, and once on the weekend.

Step 1. Send the “Price-Reduced Properties Email” (Figure 8) and make sure to attach a list of properties that have reduced their prices recently within it.

Step 2. Make a fourth follow-up phone call, and make sure you leave a message if there is no answer.
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day ten

By the last day, you will have made more than fifteen different attempts to contact, which might have gotten a restraining order placed against you—or with any luck the potential client has decided that you are the hardest-working real estate agent of all time and hired you. All joking aside, our experience has shown very few people respond in a negative manner if the quality of the content was present. The people that do respond negatively were not going to use you anyway so there’s no real loss.

At the end of the ten-day time period, you will need to take one of the following courses of action:
If the contact information is invalid (like your email has bounced back and the phone number is disconnected), your only option is to change that lead’s category to “Trash” in your lead system.
If you have made contact with the lead and established a motivational level, then you need to classify the lead as an (A, B, C buyer or Hot, Watch, or Nurture) and continue your normal follow-up plan.


If you have made no contact with the lead but the contact information appears to be valid, change their category/status to “Nurture” and establish a follow-up plan with automated e-alerts, long term email campaigns and attempt make contact a minimum of once per week (or two weeks if your contact list begins to grow out of control).

Things to remember: Internet lead generation is another form of long-term investing. If you are not disciplined enough to email and call leads systematically over a 2–24 month time period, you will never realize your true return on investment.

This process might seem tedious because it is—but leads cost money, plain and simple. The lower your conversion rates are, the lower your margin and the higher your cost per transaction. Now is the time that we must focus on reducing our expenses, increasing our lead conversion ratios, and capturing more people in our Web.