How to Approach the CRM 'Pond' 

Every week, Greg Harrelson, head of Harrelson Group, breaks down a new industry strategy for our Real Geeks mastermind group.

In this article, we'll summarize the biggest takeaways from his latest episode on: How to Approach Real Estate ponds.

Expect to learn what the 'pond' really is, and how you can work it so you can find some low hanging fruit opportunities.

And remember, if you'd like to access personalized coaching from Greg and learn his exact steps for generating over 500+ organic leads every single month, join his private coaching community for Real Geeks users, RGMastery.com for less than $200/month.

What is an Realtors' CRM 'Pond'?

First off – what is a real estate 'pond'?

A real estate pond is simply a subset of the CRM that agents use to categorize their leads. Commonly speaking, agents will refer to their 'pond' as the least active group of leads from their database, with whom they haven't been able to effectively engage with. 

These might be leads who have never replied to any of the agents' emails, they haven't answered the agents' calls, or have overall been inactive on the agents' website.

Because of this, the agent will categorize them as 'dead' and will not set them up in any workflows, and will not even attempt to call them again.

"The challenge," says Greg, "is that people believe there's nothing in 'the pond' that's worth anything. And that's just not true."

Now, yes. The 'pond' tends to be an accumulation of old leads. 

But that doesn't mean there's nothing to be gained from calling them. Old leads still convert.

Why? Because your active leads right now are in someone else's 'old leads pond'. Think about that.

Almost every lead that's being generated right now through different marketing channels are leads that are being retargeted. That means that they've opted into another agents' website before, and they've become an 'old lead' for them.

And now, they opt into the CRM of another agent, and they become their 'new lead' to which the agent is paying huge attention to. 

So why is it that when they're considered 'new' for an agent they tend to convert more? Is it all about the agent's mindset?

Greg certainly thinks so. And he's basing his conclusions on a sample of 400,000 leads he has across his real estate sites (so we tend to believe him).

When you approach a new lead, he believes, you do so with hope and enthusiasm. And this affects the way you speak to them, the way you interact with them, and the way you conduct your activities to engage with them.

You call them more often. You text them more often. You email them helpful resources more often.

But you are also doing your best to prove that you're the best agent for them, so you offer more value from the get-go, and you're more patient with them, because you think they're brand new – even though they aren't.

And because of all these activities, the agents get further along in the process of working the lead – they set more appointments, they close buyer-agency agreements faster, they need to show less properties.

Which then reinforces the belief that "only new leads are valuable – I would've never been able to move this fast with an old lead".

Every time this happens, remind yourself: this person is in some other agents' 'old lead pond'.

What Should Your Approach with 'The Pond' Be?

Okay. So you've decided to embody Greg's mindset of "every new lead is someone else's pond lead". What does this look like in practice?

Well, this is what it doesn't look like: it doesn't look like you calling them and saying "Hey, I just wanted to follow up and see if you were still interested in purchasing".

Don't say that – that sounds slimy. In Greg's words: "it sounds like you're just trying to get a commission check."

This is also not effective. More often than not, the lead will say 'no' every time you use this line. The real problem lies in the question we're asking.

Here's a better approach: instead of following up, think checking in:

"Hey, this is Greg Harrelson from Harrelson Group. Listen, I just wanted to check in with you – we traded some information about properties for sale in the Myrtle Beach area a couple of months ago. I just wanted to check in with you and see how your real estate search was going!"

This is a much softer approach.

Now, we encourage you to see Greg in action on the actual mastermind to see how he delivers this, but here are the three main takeaways from this script:

1. It feels personal and unrehearsed. Phrases like "a couple of months", or even "Gosh, I want to say, maybe 2 months ago?" make it sound a lot more casual and not pushy.

2. It establishes a connection from the get go when you mention that you guys have traded information before.

3. It approaches the question with curiosity. You want the lead to feel that you care if they've been successful in their journey, whether it has been with another agent or not.

"The reason they can't say no to this approach is simple: you didn't ask them a yes or no question." says Greg. Simple, but brilliant!

You're asking an open-ended question that leads to a conversation.

Now, you might get an answer like: "Yeah well, we haven't really put too much effort on it. I look at Zillow properties from time to time but not much more."

This is a way better answer than: "No, we're not interested in buying. Thanks."

You can easily continue the conversation if you get the first answer. Here's an example from Greg's personal experience:

You - "Oh, that makes sense. Are you getting some of the updates I've been sending out on Myrtle Beach?"

Them - "Well, you know. I was getting so many that I think I may have unsubscribed, I'm sorry."

You - "Oh, no worries at all. I can always make sure I send you something that's more interesting to you specifically. Tell me, is there anything in Zillow that may have caught your attention?"

Them - "Yeah, there were some things, but nothing definite yet."

You - "Got it, got it. Hey, I noticed this is a different area code I'm calling – I take it you're not locally in North Carolina?"

Them - "No, no. We actually live in Connecticut."

You - "Oh – getting cold out there soon!"

Them - "Yes, it is getting cold already!"

You - "Haha, I love it. Listen, do you have any plans to visit us anytime soon and escape from this cold a bit?"

Them - "Well, we were thinking maybe around the holidays, some time in December. Not sure if it's before or after Christmas."

And then you can start making appointments for that time to tour some properties.

But Greg's point is that when you start approaching these conversations with curiosity rather than with a pushy sales script – like you do with your new leads!– they will typically be much more open to a conversation with you.

When you get people to expand on their answers (by asking the right questions) their guards start coming down, and that's when you can convert.

This is the difference between building a relationship and trying to sell to someone. "Remember," says Greg, "all you're doing is bridging the gap between wherever they are right now and where they want to be in the future with a new property."

Greg's Challenge To You

If all of this advice sounds too good to be true, we're happy to be proven wrong.

Over the next two weeks, we challenge you to do two things:

First, dedicate two hours every morning to calling your pond. Use Greg's script, along with the mindset that every one of these old leads is someone else's new lead.

"Maybe you won't make a sale immediately." Greg says, "But I want you to see how your connections and your conversations go much further when you approach leads from your pond with the same enthusiasm as you do with new leads."

So drop the term 'follow up' from your dictionary and replace it with the term 'checking in'. Make your goal building rapport instead of earning a commission check. And start engaging with these people from a place of curiosity and positivity.

The second challenge is to take each of these leads that you call and take some sort of action after the call. Whether it is putting them on a long term nurturing workflow, or setting up a viewing, or updating their information on your CRM based on what you learned about them.

"Set an activity of some sort – just make sure you identify your next step before the first step (the call) is over."

We hope this was a helpful mindset shift for you, and that you follow through with Greg's challenge. We have a strong feeling you won't regret it.

Remember, if you want more personalized help from Greg on anything Real Geeks, whether it's SEO, link building, conversions, advanced search filters, workflows, or any of the tools the platform has designed to help you grow your real estate business, join his private coaching community at RGMastery.com, for less than $200/month.