Working Zillow Premier Agent Leads

Types of Zillow Premier Agent leads

The strategies and tools outlined in this course are valuable for working the leads you get as a Zillow Premier Agent. To convert more of those leads into transactions, you need a clear understanding of each type and how to deliver the best experience for them.

Let’s start with how Zillow Premier Agent delivers your leads and connections:

In summary, Zillow Premier Agent delivers three primary types of leads:

1. Direct contacts — Leads who select you to contact specifically 
2. Connections — Agent-ready leads we connect you with
3. Nurture leads — Leads who may not be ready to speak with an agent

Working each type of lead

For any lead, your engagement plan will be based on where they are in the home-buying process. With that in mind, let’s take a look at specific ways to work the different types of leads you get from ZIllow Premier Agent.

Direct contacts 

When a prospect specifically selects you to contact from a Zillow Group site, we deliver their message to your inbox in the ZIllow Premier Agent CRM with a notation that says, “This lead selected you. Follow up now.” You also get their contact info and details about the properties we know they’re interested in. 

Tips for converting direct contacts

• Be responsive — 80% of home buyers who bought within the last year say their first impression of an agent’s responsiveness was very or extremely important.¹ When you receive a direct contact, text them within two minutes to let them know you saw their message. To get alerted instantly when we deliver a new lead, be sure to enable push notifications on your mobile device.

• Make a plan to talk — Being responsive helps make a strong first impression, so use that momentum to move toward your first meeting. Follow up with an offer to talk on the phone or, optimally, face-to-face. 
• Recommend properties using the Zillow Premier Agent mobile app — When we deliver a lead, you also get a dynamic list of properties in the CRM. Those properties are similar to the ones catching your lead’s eye on our sites. You can use the mobile app to text your lead a link to any of those properties — even if you don’t have an exclusive My Agent relationship. 

Texting your lead property recommendations is a great way to strengthen your rapport, showcase your market expertise and drive the conversation about their home search.

Connections 

This type of lead has inquired on Zillow or Trulia about a specific property listing in your area. Once we verify that they’re ready to speak with an agent, we connect you. In your Zillow Premier Agent inbox, you will receive their contact info and a note that says, “We connected you.” 

We also automatically establish an exclusive My Agent relationship between you and your connection that initially lasts for 30 days.

Tips for converting connections

• Focus on the person, not the property — This is especially important with connections, who are reaching out about a specific property. Buyers rarely buy the first property they inquire about, so focus on understanding their needs to help them find the perfect home.
• Get an in-person appointment — Our data shows better success for agents who spend two minutes or more on their initial call. Be prepared to answer questions about the property, then deploy the ALM strategy (Appointment, Location, Motivation) by asking your lead when they’d like to see it.  
• Take actions in the CRM — Immediately after your first conversation, update your lead’s time frame to move in the Zillow Premier Agent CRM. Add detailed notes about what you learned, and set up a task to follow up at the right time for their needs.
• Leverage your My Agent relationship — From the CRM, text your connection a follow-up message with your contact details. Also, let them know you’ll text them any properties that may interest them. Every time you exchange text messages through the app, your exclusive My Agent relationship gets extended for another 30 days.

Nurture Leads 

Nurture leads have indicated that they are not ready to speak with an agent. This may be because they’re interested in renting, they haven’t responded to our inquiries or some other reason. Regardless, we deliver the lead to your Zillow Premier Agent inbox marked with information about why they might need a bit more time.

Tips for working nurture leads

• Make the right first impression — Reach out to introduce yourself and let them know about the expertise you can provide. Be friendly, respectful and helpful so they’ll remember your name when friends ask if they know a great real estate agent.
• Focus on the long game — These leads have shown an interest in at least one property on Zillow or Trulia. That’s a good sign. Place them in your long-term follow-up plan, and be patient. You never know when you can nurture them into an active home buyer.
• Keep your eye on the prize — Make sure all your leads’ and connections’ statuses are up to date in the Zillow Premier Agent CRM. By keeping track of where they are in the home-buying journey, you can prioritize your clients who are actively looking, submitting offers and under contract.

Lead reporting

Zillow Premier Agent lead reports show you at a glance how many leads you or your team received during a selected time frame. The data is categorized by lead type (i.e. direct contacts, connections and nurture leads) then sliced by time, ZIP and property price. We also show you how many times you answered when we tried to connect you live with a prospect. View your lead report. 

Now you’re ready to deliver a stellar experience to every lead you get from Zillow Premier Agent, and we’re here to help. Your dedicated business consultant is always ready with personalized advice and strategies to grow your business.

1. Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report 2018.