Sales qualified leads are the holy grail of any business. 

And in real estate, that’s people who are seriously thinking about listing and selling their properties in the near future.

But the truth is this: very few leads on Facebook are ready to sell right now.

So why then did they click on your ad and why did they give you their contact details to call them back?

Here’s why: they are thinking about it. But they may not be ready to sell immediately. And you need to know that.

People browsing Facebook are not in active buying mode; they are browsing what their friends and family are up to.

And when your advert crosses their feed, they may interact with it. And when they do, they may or may not be serious about selling their home right now.

So, how do you turn Facebook leads into sales qualified leads?

The short answer is there is no shortcut.

You see, what’s generally missing in most Facebook ads is lead qualification.

You need to know when they intend on selling, if they’re currently using an agent, if they’ve tried to sell previously but were unsuccessful, or if they simply do not have enough knowledge about their options and the process of selling their property.

So, how do you answer their questions and how do you get these answers to your queries?

The best method is to use a sales questionnaire.

If you’re already using Facebook ads, then you have the option of creating your own sales questionnaire.

Otherwise, you could drive leads to a funnel that will allow you to create a multi-step form that includes your questions and sends you the answers as soon as a lead fills out the questionnaire.

Now that you’ve got the answers to the questions you need, what about helping your leads answer their questions?

There are two ways to do this:

1 You could phone each lead and simply answer their questions

2 Or you could use automation software to nurture them and use it to answer their questions (which essentially does the same thing as method 1, but it’s more efficient)

This is what sales qualified leads look like: sales qualified leads, people who have filled out a questionnaire and annotated you as someone they want to do business with.

Read also: The only 3 real estate automation tools real estate agents need to win

Sales qualified leads who indicate that they’d like to sell within the next 3 months should be the ones you personally call and continually follow up with; while those who indicate they’re just curious or only want to sell in 6+ months from now should be placed in your automated long-term nurture campaign.

Your nurture campaign can take the form of emails, texts and Whatsapps, and should do two things: help fill in any knowledge gaps they might have about the sales process and get them comfortable with who you are and what you do.

As they respond, you will start to see sales qualified leads emerge based on their level of interest in actually doing business with you rather than just wanting to learn more about what you do.

Agents and agencies using Facebook for sales prospecting can get sales qualified leads by nurturing prospects through a series of automated messages with clear calls to action to book an appointment or request a call-back.

Here are the five steps you should follow to nurture sales qualified leads using Facebook.

1) Introduce yourself

Your sales prospects have probably heard of your company, but they probably have no idea who you are or what you do. Your goal is to help them fill in any knowledge gaps they might have about you and your agency.

2) Identify and empathise about their problem

Showing that you care about them and understand how confusing the sales process is can help your prospects feel at ease. After all, people who believe you care about them, are far more likely to trust you.

3) Provide a solution

In order to give your sales qualified leads an opportunity to move forward with the deal, you need to tell them exactly how your agency can resolve their problem. Make sure to personalise what you say so it feels as if you’re speaking directly to each person individually.

4) Ask for the sale

So many agents are scared of actually asking for the business, and instead hope their prospects initiate the deal. This is a mistake because you need to set the tone and terms of engagement upfront.

5) Don’t be a salesperson (be a person)

Remember, you’re not pushing a sales pitch. You’re simply conversing with prospects to help them make informed decisions about their financial future. If they don’t seem interested in your services, move on without any hard feelings.

Good luck!