5 Mistakes That Kill Your PPC ROI: Insights from Greg Harrelson

Today, we break down Greg's ROI knowledge, based on his latest live coaching.

If you want to learn more on how he generated over 500 leads in less than one month, join him and Abe Safa in their private community, RGAcademy.com

Without further ado, here are the 5 mistakes that, according to Greg, are killing most agents' ROI (in no particular order).

Mistake 1: Delaying Lead Engagement – The Illusion of "Calling Later"

You've heard of Speed to Lead - it's real. But this is why it's real:

Buyers, when they're online and they're searching, especially if they have some urgency, are searching online multiple times throughout the day.

In Zillow, in Realtor.com, everywhere. When they're motivated to buy, they're searching real estate listings like children scroll through social media.

So delaying your response only results in them reaching out to other agents who are faster to respond. Harrelson stresses that the belief of calling a lead later is a fantasy – timely engagement is critical for capturing their interest.

A seller lead? Sure. You can call them a little bit later. The seller lead might actually get freaked out if you call too fast.

"Thinking you can call a lead later is a fantasy."

Mistake 2: Assuming Leads Will Call You Back – The Power of Follow-Up

If the lead doesn't pick up the phone - that's totally normal.

"Of course they're not gonna pick up, it's an unknown number" says Greg.

But he also dispels the misconception that leaving a message will lead to automatic callbacks. In reality, expecting leads to return calls is a huge mistake. While leaving a message is beneficial for creating a positive impression, it's crucial to follow up promptly.

In fact, Harrelson advises agents to assume that leads will never call back on their own.

Consistent and persistent follow-up significantly increases your chances of setting appointments and converting leads into clients.

"If you knew in your mind that the lead would never call you back, how many times would you follow up? Probably a lot, right?"

Mistake 3: Waiting for Engaged Leads to Initiate Contact

Engagement from leads, such as property saves or clicks on sent reports, should not be mistaken for a cue to wait for them to reach out. 

When you see all this activity on your database, don't stay in the observing phase.

"Sometimes we watch our leads perform all of these engagement actions as if we were watching a show, and we don't do anything about it!"

Don't be the observer - be the responder.

Harrelson emphasizes that waiting for leads to call when they're ready is a passive approach. Instead, agents should use engagement signals as a trigger to initiate contact and build urgency around their interest.

"Engagement in your database is YOUR cue to reach out."

Mistake 4: Giving Up Too Soon – The Persistence Pays Off

Many agents give up after a few attempts to contact leads, assuming that unresponsive leads are uninterested. Harrelson advises against this premature abandonment. 

Maybe we called a few times and didn't answer. We left a voice note and they didn't call us.

So we give up.

"Look- these leads have their own life. They put something in our form, and then they moved on with their life." Greg reminds us.

They don't answer right away because they're busy - you do that too.

They didn't pick up their phone because they didn't know your number - you do that too.

But suddenly, one agent who called them over and over and over again gets the answer, and those leads don't need another agent ever again.

"Keep calling. And even better - change the scripts in your voice notes."

Build a relationship through your messages, and give them a reason to call you back. For example:

"Hey Tom, I'm Greg.  Listen, I've got some interesting information on the property you clicked on. Call me back to this number so I can share it with you"

So instead of thinking: "this lead is no good.", put the responsibility back on yourself.

"I didn't follow up enough with this lead."

Most agents quit after 2 attempts. Watch what happens if you started quitting after 6 attempts.

"The number of leads you connect with will increase by 100%. And I challenge you to prove me wrong."

Mistake 5: Relying on Automated Alerts – The Lost Art of Personal Engagement

Automated alerts for new property listings are essential, but they shouldn't replace personal engagement.

Because, guess what? You're not the only one sending these alerts.

"I promise you, nearly every buyer in your CRM is getting the same alert from another website - whether it's a competing agent or Zillow."

As a matter of fact, they're getting so many alerts they've become numb to them.

So if you see them clicking on one of your alerts - call them.

Because they're probably gonna click on another agent's alert, too. They're going to see that same property on multiple portals.

So it comes back to which agent calls them first, and follows up the most.

Greg emphasizes that personal calls set you apart from the competition and remind leads of their genuine interest in the properties.

We have to stop relying on the thought that we're doing great because our leads are looking at our alerts. So many people are on your website right now looking at your alerts, and looking at the actual property with your competitor.

This isn't cold calling. These are the leads who voluntarily opted in your website to know more about certain properties.

"The alerts should be alerting YOU to call them."

Final Thoughts

You can probably see the trend here. Greg believes that as an industry, we've lost the art of the call. 

"We're hiding behind technology."

So in order to stand out in this always-connected, constantly informed world, be the agent who actually engages, human-to-human.

Embracing timely calling, persistent follow-up, proactive responses to engagement signals, resilience in outreach efforts, and a return to personalized engagement can significantly enhance lead conversion rates.

As a final thought experiment, consider this:

We often get angry at companies who sell lots of leads. But what if we are the ones who created this problem?

The only reason Zillow can sell the lead over, and over, and over again is because real estate agents are not calling those leads over and over and over again.

Therefore leads keep signing into new websites several times. 

But they only buy once. So make sure they're buying with you.