The Most Useful Guide on Real Estate Text Lead Capture

Imagine this: A potential buyer or seller sees your sign, texts the number, and instantly receives property details. That’s a real estate text lead capture!

Pretty cool, isn’t it? 😁

That’s the power of real estate text lead capture. Such a real estate text lead capture is also called the ‘text-for-info’ method. But how do you do it? 

The following section will help you understand this.

How does real estate text lead capture work?

Think about it: Would you rather fill out a 7-field long form or just send a quick text?

Like most people, your audience also chooses the easier option. That’s why real estate text lead capture is so effective. It uses SMS opt-in campaigns, where prospects text a keyword to a number to receive instant information via automated replies, called autoresponders.

No wonder then that 73% of them have already started using text advertising for business. 

There’s a good reason why people and businesses prefer texting. 

Primarily, texting is a form of conversational marketing. And 82% of consumers say getting an immediate response is very important when they have a question. Also, businesses already automating lead management using conversational marketing have seen a 10% increase in revenue.

So, how can you be one of them? 

1. The first step is to start using texting for capturing real estate leads. You set up an SMS opt-in campaign with a unique keyword for each property or a general keyword for all listings.
2. Prospects see your keyword on signs, ads, or your website and text it to your number.
3. Autoresponders send back property details or ask follow-up questions, thereby starting the lead-nurturing process.

With real estate text lead capture, you can automate responses and streamline your lead qualification process. This approach not only saves time but also ensures every inquiry gets a fast, accurate reply.

With CallHub’s SMS opt-in tool, all your prospects have to do to get more information is text you a keyword. They get an automatic response. This is possible with a feature called ‘autoresponders’.

Autoresponders are automatic replies set up on a text software and go out when a prompt response is received from the other end. The campaign creator sets expected responses as ‘prompts’ and drafts replies that go out when triggered.   Here’s an example of how this works:

Why do you need autoresponders? 

Well, your prospects don’t necessarily text you when you are expecting them to. Autoresponders ensure your leads receive immediate acknowledgment or the information they were looking for.

For instance, if they’re interested in your property in Riverdale, your follow-up question could ask them for a date to set an appointment. 

Let’s see how the whole process takes place. 

1. The first step is to create an SMS opt-in campaign. Here, you would assign a keyword to represent your properties and rent a number. This is the keyword your prospects will text to your defined number. 
2. Now, how do you know which property your lead is interested in

Here’s what you do: 

• Assign a unique keyword for each property you own.

OR

• Set a common keyword for all your properties and use follow-up prompts to collect further information from your leads.

(We’ll show you how to set up such a campaign later in this article.) 

3. Now, you can promote this keyword through yard signs, on your website, your marketing collaterals, through digital ads, etc. When an interested party sees this, they will text you the keyword.

4. When someone texts the keyword, the autoresponders you’ve set up will direct your audience to the information they were looking for, and you have got yourself a lead! 

Read also: Here Is Text Message Advertising Guide For Better Success

Why is real estate text lead capture, especially using SMS opt-in, so powerful?

Unlike other lead generation methods, SMS opt-in leads are pre-qualified. Prospects identify themselves by texting in, showing real interest in your properties. This makes your follow-up more effective and increases your chances of closing deals.

With real estate text lead capture, you’re not chasing cold leads. Instead, you’re responding to people who have already taken the first step. That’s why this method is so powerful for agents and agencies.

Doesn’t that make SMS opt-in a powerful lead generation method?

Well, certainly it does.

Watch the video below which expalins how you can maximize your lead genereation using SMS marketing in just 3 minutes!

Real estate text message scripts

When sending a text, make sure you don’t sound all salesy. The goal is to get them to the next stage and collect the required information. But what do you text them? 

Before we jump into the scripts, here are some rules of thumb:

1. Keep it short and crisp: Ask only one question at a time rather than bombarding them with everything you have.
2. Keep it friendly: Use emojis and text abbreviations depending on the nature of your target audience.
3. Stay on track: Do not distract your prospect with too many call-to-actions.

Your first goal is to collect the lead’s name for personalization. Personalization matters: 80% of consumers are more likely to buy when brands offer personalized experiences.
With the kind of messages we’ve illustrated here, you give your prospect a chance to

• Consume the information quickly.
• Reply with bare minimum words.
• Move directly to what they need.

All right, then. We won’t keep you waiting. Here are a few scripts that’ll help you in the process of capturing real estate leads through texts. 

So, here’s what your first response would look like: “Hi, it’s great to see you here. Could you tell me your first name?”

(We have a section in this article later on, which will show you how to personalize conversations automatically.) 

Now, once they send in their name, you can either collect other required information similarly or directly jump into the questions as below: 

These scripts are designed to maximize your real estate text lead capture efforts. Adjust them as needed for your audience and property types.

Pro tip: Assign different keywords for different stages of the funnel. For example, use one keyword for initial interest and another for scheduling a visit. This keeps your conversations organized and relevant.

But, if they are directed from your property listing or website, high chances are they already know the details you displayed there and are ready to jump into the visit, or need some other piece of information.

CallHub provides a real estate text lead capture solution for easy set-up of these scripts using ‘Brachning scripts‘

How to use CallHub for real estate lead generation

Setting up real estate text lead capture is easy with CallHub. If you’re using a CRM, then the details your leads text automatically get synced with our 2-way syncing mechanism.  

Let’s see how you can set up a campaign to capture real estate leads through texts. 

Step 1: Create an SMS opt-in campaign.

Step 2: Rent a number and enter your keyword. (The keyword may take a few days to get approved. This is necessary to ensure your chosen keyword doesn’t clash with another active one. 

Step 3: Choose whether your opt-ins go to an existing contact list or a new one. 

Step 4: Type the first response, which focuses on collecting their first name. Set the ‘Choose expected response’ dropdown to ‘first_name’. Now, add the next prompts and personalize them by using merge tags. 

Step 5: Publish and promote the keyword and your number online and offline. For example, your website, property listings, social media, signage boards, yard signs, and more. 

Step 6: Finish.

Try CallHub’s SMS opt-in tool here.

Compliance best practices for real estate text lead capture

Texting leads is powerful, but you must follow compliance rules to protect your business and your clients. Here’s what you need to know:

Get started with real estate text lead capture

Conversational marketing is one of the best marketing tactics, and SMS opt-in is a key to it. Your real estate text lead capture objective can be optimized with this tool.

Here’s how:

Through an SMS opt-in tool, you can collect the required information from your leads using autoresponders. Once you have enough details on them, they can be a part of your nurturing list and, thereby, your future marketing campaigns. 

Our mass texting tool and peer-to-peer texting tool can help you stay on track with your conversational marketing efforts. Businesses use mass texting tools to reach leads with offers, promotions, emergency alerts, reminders, updates, and more. Similarly, peer-to-peer texting tools are used to persuade audiences to attend your events, answer their queries, and nudge them down the funnel. 

With this detailed guide on capturing real estate leads using texts, we hope you’re all set to get started. Sign up today and get access to our SMS marketing tools.

Featured image: Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

FAQs: Real estate text lead capture

1. What is real estate text lead capture?

Real estate text lead capture is a process in which buyers or sellers text a keyword to a dedicated number to receive property details. This method collects their contact information and starts a conversation, making it easier for agents to follow up.

2. How can I promote my text lead capture campaign?

Promote your keyword and number on yard signs, property listings, websites, social media, print ads, and digital ads. The more places you share your call-to-action, the more leads you can capture

3. Can text lead capture integrate with my CRM?

Yes, most SMS platforms, such as CallHub, offer CRM integration. This means lead data from texts is automatically added to your database for easy follow-up and tracking.

4. What is real estate call capture?

Real estate call capture is a system that collects lead information from phone calls or texts.

5. Are there free real estate text lead capture tools?

Some SMS platforms offer free trials or limited free versions for real estate text lead capture. For example, CallHub provides a free trial with credits, and Agent Text offers a 30-day free trial. Free versions may have restrictions on the number of keywords, messages, or features

Sindhu Prabhu

A marketer with 5+ years of experience. Loves sharing insights on making campaigns work better, connecting with your audience effectively, and using smart communication strategies that deliver results.