If you’re not using Gmail, this tip probably won’t apply to you. (Though if you’re still not using any google products, pretty soon the internet won’t apply to you.)
Everyone talks about the importance of generating prospective clients online, but there’s a lot less discussion about what to do with them once they’ve actually contacted you requesting more information. After my resource site www.sfcondosales.com started generating over a lead a day in 2007, I quickly learned how time consuming it can be following up with dozens of prospects, and the relatively dismal conversion rates found with everything online.
When I get repetitve requests for the same information, I use canned responses in Gmail to quickly send the info people want (customized with their name, of course). Write the email once, then just select it from the drop down menu every time you get the same question. To turn it on, click on the Labs tab in your Gmail Settings. In my experience, I’ve had the same response rate with canned emails as I did when I wrote each one by hand (makes sense, as they look exactly the same!)
I can imagine some readers in the industry flinching at the very term “canned responses”, and it’s worth pointing out something I’ve noticed: Not everyone searching for real estate on the internet wants to have a lengthy personal discussion with you right away. They want immediate and accurate answers, and they want you to earn their trust by providing those answers immediately and accurately. The more value I can provide them early in the process, the more likely they are to welcome a personal discussion with me later. And as a matter of course, I only send a canned response when it would be the exact same email I would have written anyway.
