June 10, 2021
Ginger Crosbie
Stop being ghosted and increase your show-up rates.
“Dang it! Ghosted again…”
It’s defeating when a lead doesn’t show up for a scheduled call.
Even a seasoned real estate agent, like yourself, starts to wonder where they went wrong.
It feels personal. Did you say the wrong thing last time you spoke? Did they change their mind about working with you? Did they read a mixed review? Do they not like you? What could it be?
Stop it.
You’ll drive yourself mad considering all of the possibilities. And truthfully, the answer to why they didn’t show up is a lot simpler and less personal than that.
Our ISAs at Smart Alto help thousands of real estate agents get responses from real estate leads and convert those leads into 15-minute appointments (with a 90% show-up rate) every day.
How?
Here are three simple ways you can get buyers to set and keep appointments using our strategies.
One tool that can drastically improve your appointment show-up rates is reminders.
If you use software like Calendly to book and set appointments, you can create reminders to be sent to invitees at set times.
At Smart Alto, we’ve found three reminders to be crucial to increase appointment show-up rates.
Each of these is very intentional and serves a specific purpose.
Consider yourself…
How many times have you missed an appointment or been late because you forgot you even set the appointment?
Think about the dentist. Often your regular cleanings are scheduled 6 months in advance. Sure, you plugged the event into your calendar before you left the dentist’s office, but chances are you still forgot about the appointment until the day or week of the appointment because you didn’t have reminders created for it.
Your leads are no different. Their lives are filled with work responsibilities, deadlines, kids’ soccer games, family events, etc. They barely remember what they had for breakfast.
Help them show up for your appointments by creating reminders for them.
The 24 hour reminder lets your lead know that they have an upcoming appointment. This helps them plan out their day accordingly.
The 30 minute reminder lets your lead know that they need to be wrapping up any tasks or conversations they may be working on.
The 5 minute reminder lets your lead know that it’s time to find a quiet spot so they can hop on the call.
Texting appointment reminders alone is a game-changer. And for those agents that have a ton going on, if you’re a Smart Alto customer, you can use Appointment Boost to send yourself appointment reminders so you never forget an appointment with a lead either.
(Check out all you can do with Appointment Boost Here)
Look, if you aren’t getting responses from your leads when you call them, text them.
We’ve written multiple articles on how effective texting your real estate leads is. Here are a few:
These are great places to start if you’re having trouble getting leads to respond to you in general.
But you should also text leads you have booked appointments with.
Most people screen their calls. And if they aren’t screening them, their phone is doing it for them.
If a lead didn’t answer when you called, instead of double dialing, try texting them a screenshot of the appointment on your calendar.
Along with the screenshot, you could say, “Hey! Are we still on for the call you scheduled with me today at 2 PM? Thanks”
This is what we call the Screenshot Motivator.
It’s a simple way to remind the lead that they wanted to talk to you. It also plays into the fact that most people like to maintain their commitments.
No one likes to be perceived as unreliable. That’s why saying “... the call you scheduled with me…” is so powerful.
The majority of leads you call a second time after sending that message will answer.
Before you end any appointment with a lead you should be setting up the next appointment.
By setting up the next appointment with a lead you begin the process of turning a lead into a client.
Think back to the dentist. As I said before you leave they make sure to set up your next cleaning. That commitment to see you again helps solidify the next step in the process of becoming a client.
You want to always be thinking about the next step in your real estate leads home journey and make a commitment to help them achieve their end goal.
So, if you’ve just wrapped up a conversation with a new lead and you have some BANTAR to work from, your next appointment should be taking them to see some listing that meets their needs and wants.
After you take them to see the listings you should set up a follow-up appointment to discuss their thoughts.
If you wait until your leads decide they are ready to reach back out, you will always be waiting.
Part of your job as the trusted expert - the real estate authority - is to help guide your leads and clients thru the process by always being prepared for the next step.
You are a great real estate agent. You just need a little help getting your buyers to set and keep appointments with you.
Learn from our years of experience.
Our ISAs have set hundreds of thousands of appointments for real estate agents just like you by implementing these 3 simple tools.
Send SMS Reminders. Test out our three reminder approach. See if it increases your show-up rates (we are confident it will). Remember, your leads reached out to you for a reason.
Follow-up With A Text. If someone doesn’t answer when you call them, shoot them a quick text to remind them of their scheduled appointment.
Set The Next Appointment. Show your leads and silence that you’re the authority when it comes to real estate. Always be ready to guide them thru the next step in the process of the home journey.
Want more? Check out our Appointment Show Up Rate Checklist. We cover exactly what to do and when to do it in order to maximize your appointment show-up rates!
The Smart Alto Appointment Setting System guarantees your team never misses another sales opportunity.