Lead handling policy:response times, statuses, handover
The policy is the same for every broker and market: who answers an inquiry, how fast, and what goes into the CRM. Here are the key rules in short form; the full document is attached at the end.
A lead is a person who has already spent time leaving an inquiry. The faster and more carefully we respond, the higher the chance they become a client of our agency rather than of whoever called back first.
The policy is mandatory for every broker. Below is what you need to remember every day.
Lead sources
Inquiries come from property portals, the agency website, social media and messengers, client referrals, calls from signboards, events and exhibitions, and our own database.
Every lead is created in the CRM with its source. We use this field to see which advertising works, so "other" without an explanation is not an option.
Response time
- In working hours — first contact within 15 minutes of the inquiry arriving: a call and a short message.
- Outside working hours — a message within 30 minutes and a call at the start of the next working day.
If you can't take a lead — you're at a viewing, driving, in a meeting — hand it to the duty broker through the CRM. Not in a personal chat and not verbally: that is the only way the lead won't get lost.
CRM statuses
Every lead goes through the same chain:
- New — the inquiry has arrived.
- Qualified — all four parameters are known.
- Viewing — a viewing is booked or done.
- Offer — the client has made a price offer.
- Deal — the contract is signed.
If the client walks away, the status is Lost — always with a reason. The status changes on the same day the event happens. Every open status has a task with a due date — a lead without a task counts as forgotten.
Qualification
A lead is qualified when the budget, timing, purpose of purchase or rental and payment method are known. Without these four parameters no viewing is scheduled: otherwise we waste the client's and the owner's time on properties that may not fit.
Follow-ups
The client didn't answer — send a message with a specific question, then try again in 1–2 days. After three attempts without an answer, the lead moves to "Lost" with the reason "no answer".
The client has postponed the decision — set a task to contact them at the time they named themselves.
Handover and lost leads
When you hand a lead to another broker, write a short summary in the CRM: what the client is looking for, what was agreed and what was promised. The new broker shouldn't have to ask the same questions again.
"Deal" closes a lead successfully. When you move a lead to "Lost", always state the reason:
- bought elsewhere;
- changed their mind;
- no answer;
- not a target lead.
The policy isn't about control — it makes sure no client gets lost between brokers. If a lead is in the CRM with a status and a task, someone can always pick it up.
A must-read — mark it when you’re done.
