Dr. B. J. Fogg is a Behavior Scientist at Stanford University. His Fogg Behavior Model (FBM) describes…
That three elements must converge at the same moment for a behavior to occur: Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt. When a behavior does not occur, at least one of those three elements is missing.
What Causes Behavior Change
Model Applied to Real Estate Lead Generation
Can this behavior model be applied to generating real estate clients. I believe so.
As he states, the elements of motivation, ability and a prompt or trigger must be present at the same time for a behavior to occur. The specific behavior most real estate agents seek is converting a lead into a client. How the three elements relate to a lead conversion is detailed in this post.
Cell Phone Ring Prompt
Before I review the corresponding real estate elements, please review Dr. Fogg’s explaination of behavior change. He uses an example of why you might not have the ability or motivation to answer your cell phone when it rings. Basically for you to answer your phone when it rings (the prompt or trigger), you must have the ability and motivation. Here is the quick 2:30 minute video…
Motivation
The first element is motivation. When you develop a lead, your natural inclination is to convert that lead into a client. Many times, though, your lead is not ready to buy or sell a home. So if they are not ready for you to represent them in a transaction, they may not have the proper motivation.
There are 100’s of reason why your lead may not be presently motivated. Here is a my short list.
- Waiting to get married.
- Too young.
- Waiting for baby to be born.
- Waiting to retire.
- Not ready to invest.
Perhaps your top 5 reasons why your lead is not motivated to buy is different from mine. That is fine. There are any number of reasons why a lead is not currently motivated to become your client.
The point here is they must be motivated.
Ability
Ability is the second element that must be present before your lead will become a client.
In a real estate transaction, ability most certainly must be present. Without the ability to enter into a transaction, it simply will not happen. Here are the top 5 reasons why your lead may not have the ability:
- Doesn’t have the down payment
- Credit score too low
- Doesn’t understand the process
- Locked into a lease
- Debt-to-Income Ratio too high
Perhaps a few more might be added to this list, but I believe that you will agree that ability must be present.
Prompt or Trigger
In my previous post, Lead Generation RainMaker, I mentioned using autoresponders or nurture campaigns. I also provided a list of actions from one of KVCore’s library of campaigns. Using these actions as a prompt or trigger can be very effective by gently nudging your lead to action.
The reason for the effectiveness of the campaign is due to two factors. Over time you lead’s ability to purchase a home will typically become easier. Also their motivation will likewise increase. By using an automatic response engine, you will stay in the forefront of your prospect’s mind.
For example, some the prompts from the autoresponder include:
- Direct Messages, e-mails, texts, Instant Messages
- Market Reports
- Financing information & offers
- Webinars
- Virtual Tours
Right Place, Right Time
Being at the right-place at the right-time is crucial for connecting with your prospect. The right-place at the right-time is essentially contacting them when their motivation and ability intersect.
Using an autoresponder will keep you in front of your prospect. So when the timing and ability is right for your prospect, you will be positioned to represent them.
Right Thing
The title of this post is Right Place Time Thing. So far I have discussed being in the right place at the right time.
The right thing is your next steps. If you are not using technology, such as Inside Real Estate’s KVCore platform, to generate and nurture leads, you will want to consider that as a next step.
