'These estate agent leads are s**t' – Flavin

Since time began, brokers have moaned about the quality of leads. I'm sure there's even Neolithic graffiti on cave walls proclaiming as much.

From a business owner’s point of view, the frustration is multiplied – the brokers don’t seem to realise the effort you put into securing and maintaining introducer relationships. And it’s not only estate agent leads but all purchased or externally generated leads. Basically, anything that’s not a returning customer begging for assistance is considered s**t.

But… I’m calling you out here.

I’ve worked with enough mortgage firms to know that lead quality isn’t the problem – lead handling is. Get this right, and a 20% increase in conversion isn’t optimistic – it’s realistic. Let me explain.

We’ll stick with the estate agent lead for this example.

The eventual customer sees a house online and calls the estate agent. If this isn’t their first enquiry, they’re already a little drained from the experience. The mortgage question comes up in one of two ways. The first is a placid “Have you got your mortgage sorted?” Box ticked for the negotiator – no one will moan now as the question has been asked. Alternatively: “You have to see our mortgage broker if you want us to put any offer forward. If you don’t, you’ll never get past GO, may end up homeless, and after a long, slow death, you’ll be going straight to hell. So what time is convenient for you?”

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Both scenarios are box-ticking exercises. No real buy-in from the negotiator. No real buy-in from the customer.

Begrudgingly, the purchaser’s details are surrendered, and the lead arrives on your broker’s desk. Reaction: a roll of the eyes, a muttered: “These leads are s**t – they’ll have to wait until I have time to call. Probably won’t answer anyway.”

Days pass. Eventually, the call is made. The unmotivated purchaser, whose details were passed on by an unmotivated negotiator, finally speaks to an unmotivated broker. And we wonder why conversion rates are low.

Let’s pause there.

You have the contact details of someone looking to buy a property. They need a mortgage. They need protection sorting. They may have investments and pensions to consider – which, once they trust you, could be coming your way. They have a will to sort or rewrite. Both the protection and the will mean you could be talking to trustees and guarantors.

If this client had contacted you directly, you’d have been over the moon. So why treat them like a nuisance just because they came through an estate agent?

 

Here’s a different way

The unmotivated purchaser passes their details to the unmotivated negotiator, who fills them in on your enquiry form and hits send.

Within seconds, the client receives an upbeat video via WhatsApp – introducing you and explaining how you’re going to take all the stress away from this experience.

Within five minutes, they get a call from your administrator. No point tying up a broker’s time for pre-qualification. The administrator runs through a simple one-page fact find and, if the client is free, keys the call straight through to a broker along with the details.

If the client isn’t free to speak, an appointment is scheduled. Confirmation is sent immediately, with reminders running up to the morning of the appointment.

Same lead. Completely different experience.

Once the broker completes the call, there are only three outcomes:

1. Interested and ready to proceed – Bingo. Straight on to the sales process.
2. Not interested – Add them to your monthly newsletter – one that’s full of genuinely interesting and relevant content, not page upon page of criteria updates and rate changes that interest no one. Haven’t got a newsletter? Get one. It’s the easiest way to keep your name in front of people. “Not interested” just means not yet. They may be interested in the future, or they may know someone who is.
3. Interested but not ready – This is your pot of gold.

These are first-time buyers, homemovers, or landlords. They’ve raised their hands and said they’re looking to purchase. With homemovers, even if they don’t buy, you’ve got their remortgage details sitting there waiting.

You know their intentions. You have their details. But for some reason, they’re not ready to proceed right now. What’s your standard response? “As soon as you’re ready, give me a call and we’ll be straight on to it.”

You think you’re that memorable. You’re not. This is where the nurture journey begins.

Fully automated. Preset for each sub-group. Zero ongoing effort once it’s built.

Here’s what it looks like for a first-time buyer who isn’t quite ready:

You update your notes and tag the client “First-Time Buyer – Interested / Not Ready.” Your administrator gets the update and calls the agent to inform them of the outcome. Yes, actually calls – and backs it up with an email.

The first-time buyer receives a summary of your discussion and next steps.

Then the drip begins:

• Week 1 – ‘A Guide to Buying Your First Home’
• Week 2 – A video testimonial from a first-time buyer you’ve helped
• Week 3 – ‘How to Negotiate on Your First Purchase’
• Week 4 – ‘How to Achieve the Expensive Kitchen/Bathroom Look on a First-Time Buyer Budget’
• Week 5 – ‘Did You Know…’
• Week 6 – A trigger for your administrator to check in with the buyer. They then call the negotiator and update.

Repeat for six months. Then start again.

There’s a workflow like this for each buyer type – all automated, all running in the background while your brokers focus on the deals that are ready to complete.

Are they going to remember you? Yes.

Are they going to go elsewhere when the time is right? Unlikely.

Are they going to share your details with friends and family? Absolutely.

When they’re finally ready, they move into the ‘interested and ready’ workflow. Now they get a call on Friday to see if they’re viewing at the weekend. A call on Monday to find out how it went.

You become part of their journey – not just a name on a business card they’ve long since lost.

 

‘But we haven’t got the time or budget’

I hear this constantly. And I’ll tell you what I tell every firm that says it: the time you’re wasting on cold, mishandled leads dwarfs the time it takes to set this up.

The tools exist. The automation is straightforward. The investment is modest. The return is not. I’ve had this set up for less than £1,000 and a couple of months’ coaching.

If you want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.

Here’s the truth about leads: The lifespan of a lead is two hours. After that, your chance of conversion halves. After 24 hours, it’s pretty much dead.

Estate agent leads aren’t s**t. Your lack of nurture is the real problem.

Accept that, make the change, and watch what happens.