Customer Acquisition and Property Recommendation in the Residential Real Estate Sector: A Study of Lead Qualification and Follow-up at The House of Real Estate, Pune

If you ask most people about the process used to sell properties, they’ll probably give the same answer. There are three key steps; showroom, brochure, negotiation. However, looking into the residential sales team at a Pune channel partner over nine weeks really shows how quickly a sale can be made or lost. This case study looks at how The House of Real Estate, a consultancy selling projects from partner developers in Wakad and Kharadi, convert leads from enquiry to site visit and onwards. It also considers where the real effort comes from when dealing with sales front-line. Using descriptive and one group methodology, this case study uses data collected from the intern’s call log, lead tracker, site visits and four two-week progress updates. Data from industry sources and academic literature was also included. Three key findings were identified. Firstly, there were more steps in the process than the funnel model in textbooks. Requirement analysis and qualification were done before any site visit. Secondly, referred leads and developer generated leads went further through the process. There was less calling effort required to qualify these leads. Finally, price and possession concerns were the main barrier. Often follow up after the site visit would determine if the interested customer would stay in the funnel. No data was available on the financials of the company or full booking details so no conversion rate can be claimed. This paper highlights that the quality of leads and strict follow up is the key to making the funnel efficient. Lead scoring, old fashioned follow up and having a reference pack for common objections is recommended.