The Five Principles of Demand Generation

Start with the absence of frustration.

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Before you can impress anyone, you need to stop repelling them. Most brokerages are losing leads before they even get started. The top of the funnel is where the bleeding begins, and it’s because of friction, confusion, or delays in follow-up.

 

Case in point: At a major brokerage, we raised conversion on company-generated leads by 90 percent by focusing on three basics:

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·       Speed to Lead: A clear round-robin system. If no one jumps, it gets reassigned fast.

·       Transparency: A simple way for agents to update lead status. ​

·       Incubation: A real nurture plan that doesn’t feel like spam.​

Create fans instead of leads.

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Nobody gets excited to fill out a lead form. But people do get excited about lifestyle, aspiration, and identity. That’s where media comes in.

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Hagerty Insurance figured this out. They insure classic cars, and built a media company around car culture. They publish shows, articles, and videos. They built an audience of car lovers and turned them into loyal customers. Their customer acquisition cost is a fraction of the insurance industry average. Their retention is elite.

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That’s the game. Show up with content that’s actually fun to watch or read. Real estate is entertaining. After all, HGTV is the #1 non-news, non-sports cable network in prime time. Build loyalty before the transaction. Let the funnel start before the lead form ever appears.

It seems cheapest, but it’s the most expensive way to go.

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Most real estate websites and campaigns push hard for the appointment right away. But the average conversion rate on these leads is only 2 to 2.5 percent. That number has barely changed in 25 years, since it was newspaper and homes magazine ads generating the call.

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Some companies are doing better. They’re getting to 6 or 7 percent by understanding where the buyer or seller is in their journey. But Rocket Mortgage is the high-water mark. They qualify intention up front. They ask smart questions. They frame next steps based on readiness. That’s why some of their lead paths convert at nearly 20 percent.

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The pitch has to match the moment. Don’t go straight for the win. Set the stage first.

Give consumers a reason to choose your company.

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If you can put your competitor's name on your marketing and it still makes sense, your falling into the sameness trap. Find points of differentiation or create them.

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The strongest offer I’ve ever seen in real estate today is coming from Rocket. They are presenting a bundle of services, an integrated experience, and savings. A better mousetrap.

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Rocket is already proving that a rebate offer erases consumer loyalty to the agents they were previously working with. 

Move multiple needles a little at a time and create revenue on demand.

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Running demand generation without data is like flying blind. The companies that win treat this like a mixing board in a recording studio.

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Turn the dial on conversion. Then lead quality. Then mortgage attachment. Then split optimization. Each one ticks a little higher. The overall volume of the business rises.

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You don’t have to fix everything at once. You just need to track what matters and keep making small gains across the board. That’s how the whole thing starts to hum.

Once You Start, You’ll Wish You Started Sooner.

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It’s easy to think you’ve got time. That your model is safe. That your value prop is solid.

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Our industry prints money when 6,000,000 homes sell in a year.

 

Make a little when 5,000,000.

 

And bleed when 4,500,000 sell.

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What if the new platform competitors scoop 20% of the market off the top? The pie shrinks and the profits don't come back. Now is the time to become a rainmaker.