Wanda Tineo studied political science at the University of Scranton before working as an underwriter for Allen Block Insurance Agency. For the past 10 years, Wanda Tineo has worked as a real estate agent in New York.

Specialty search engines have enabled potential home buyers to perform research on their own. Buyers today can access listings they might not have formerly been able to see without a real estate agent. Because of that, it’s especially important for agents to follow up on online leads in a timely manner in order to convert them into clients.

A recent study conducted by Zurple found that one-third of leads reply to agents in the same day, while nearly 30 percent respond within 85 days. Those who fall in the latter category are generally still in the initial phase of their search for a home. Agents should nurture those leads until they are transaction-ready.

However, there are methods real estate agents can take to expedite the response time of potential clients. The most important thing to consider is to immediately follow up on those leads, as time-consuming as it might be.

The average home buyer generally visits multiple websites before seeking out an agent. This means that your first goal upon generating a lead should be to stop their search and redirect them to your website. You should also utilize an intelligent customer relationship management software program and integrate marketing automation into your lead generation process.