Hi there,
Thanks for getting in touch. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on this situation with your friend's real estate business and the ads they're running. It sounds like a common problem, especially for small businesses just starting out.
The core issue you've hit on is absolutely spot on: they have no clue what's actually working because they can't track where leads are coming from. This is honestly the biggest mistake you can make with any kind of paid advertising, whether it's Facebook ads, property portals, or even local flyers. If you can't measure the result of each activity, you're just throwing money away blindly.
Understanding Why Tracking is Everything
Think of it like this: they're spending across maybe three, four, or even more channels. Let's say they spend £500 on Facebook ads this month, £1000 on a property portal listing, and £200 on local newspaper ads. They get 10 new enquiries this month. Without tracking, they have no idea if all 10 came from the expensive portal, or if five were from the cheap local ad, or if Facebook brought in zero. If the cheap local ad brought in the most *qualified* leads, they should probably spend more there next month and cut back on the portal. If Facebook brought nothing, switch it off. But without tracking, they simply cannot make these decisions. It's impossible to optimise your spend when you don't know your cost per lead (CPL) for each channel. We always focus on CPL per campaign/channel for our clients because it's the only way to compare effectiveness and see where the valuable leads are actually coming from. It’s fundamental.
This lack of tracking means they can't identify which specific ads or portals are giving them the best return. Are the leads from Facebook just tyre kickers, or are they serious buyers/sellers? Are the portal leads converting into clients, or just wasting time? Until they know this, they are completely in the dark about where to invest their limited budget effectively.
The Website and Lead Capture Process
Before even getting to the CRM, it's worth quickly thinking about *how* the leads are currently coming in. Are people calling? Filling out a form on their website? Emailing? Visiting the office? For online ads like Facebook or property portals, usually people will end up on a website or a specific landing page. This page needs to be designed to capture the lead's information clearly. A simple contact form, a request for a valuation, or a booking request for a viewing. The website itself, even if simple, needs to look trustworthy and professional enough that someone will feel comfortable submitting their details. Poor photography or a confusing layout can put people off straight away, making any ad spend wasted. The example with the handcrafted products shop is a good one here, where the website wasn't trustworthy looking and lacked basic info, meaning ads wouldn't work well no matter how much was spent.
Once that form is filled out, or that call comes in, *that's* where the tracking needs to start.
Getting Tracking in Place with a CRM
You mentioned they need a simple, affordable CRM for lead source tracking and basic notes/follow-ups. You are absolutely right. For a two-person business, they definitely don't need an overly complicated or expensive system. The good news is there are simple, even free options that will do exactly what they need right now and can scale up as they grow.
Something like HubSpot CRM Free or Zoho CRM Free are excellent starting points. They are designed specifically for tracking leads and managing relationships. Here’s why they fit:
- Lead Source Tracking: When a new enquiry comes in, they need to log it in the CRM immediately. Crucially, there should be a field (or they create one) to note exactly where that lead came from. Was it the Facebook ad? Which specific one if they are running multiple? Was it Rightmove? Zoopla? A sign in the window? A referral? A local newspaper ad? This is the single most important piece of information to capture initially. Both HubSpot and Zoho have ways to add this information easily when creating a new contact or deal.
- Basic Notes and Follow-ups: These systems allow users to add notes about conversations, schedule tasks (like "call back next week" or "send valuation info"), and track the status of the lead (e.g., "New Enquiry", "Viewing Scheduled", "Offer Made", "Client Lost", "Client Won"). This helps them stay organised and ensures leads don't fall through the cracks, which is vital when leads might come from various places at odd times.
- Affordability & Scalability: The free tiers are powerful enough for basic needs. As the business grows, they can upgrade within the same platform for more advanced features like email marketing, sales automation, or deeper reporting, without the headache of moving to a completely new system.
Implementing one of these systems and being disciplined about logging *every* lead and its source will provide the data they desperately need to make smart decisions about their ad spend. After a month or two, they can look at the CRM data and see: "Okay, we spent £X on Facebook and got Y leads. We spent £A on the portal and got B leads. The portal leads resulted in 3 viewings, while the Facebook leads resulted in 0. Clearly, the portal is working better right now." Or maybe they see the leads from local campaigns are cheaper but the portal leads are more likely to convert. This information is gold.
Recommended Actionable Solution
Here's a simple plan they could follow to get this sorted:
| Step | Action Required | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Choose a simple, affordable CRM (e.g., HubSpot Free, Zoho Free). | Provides a central place to manage all leads and client interactions. |
| 2 | Set up 'Lead Source' tracking (or a similar custom field) in the CRM. | Allows clear recording of where each and every enquiry originated. |
| 3 | Implement a strict process for logging *every* new enquiry into the CRM immediately upon contact. | Ensures no leads are missed and the source data is accurate and complete. |
| 4 | Use the CRM for basic follow-up tasks and notes on each lead's progress. | Improves organisation and increases the chance of converting leads into clients. |
| 5 | Regularly (e.g., monthly) review the CRM data to see which Lead Sources are generating the most enquiries and, more importantly, the most qualified leads or actual clients. | Enables data-driven decisions on where to spend advertising budget most effectively, stopping the waste. |
By following these steps, they'll move from guessing to knowing. They'll be able to see which property portals are worth the cost, if the Facebook ads are generating anything tangible, or if the local efforts are punching above their weight. This understanding allows them to shift budget to the best-performing channels, which should significantly improve their overall return on ad spend and marketing efforts.
Refining the Ads Based on Data
Once the tracking is in place and they have some data coming in, they can start to refine the actual ads and activities. If Facebook leads are low quality, maybe the targeting is off, or the ad creative isn't appealing to the right audience. If portal leads convert well, maybe they should double down on listings or premium placements there. The data from the CRM is the compass that guides all future marketing decisions.
This process applies whether it's a small local service business like real estate, or a larger software company; the principle of tracking leads back to their source to calculate CPL and ROI is universal and essential for effective advertising. We've seen this work for countless clients in various sectors. For example, getting tracking right for a B2C service company drastically improved their cost per lead, similar to the HVAC client we have who needed to understand where their high CPL leads were actually coming from.
Putting all this into action, especially while also running a small business, can feel overwhelming. Deciding on the right CRM, setting it up correctly for their specific needs, ensuring everyone actually uses it consistently, and then interpreting the data to make advertising adjustments takes time and expertise. It's not always straightforward to integrate tracking across different online and offline channels effectively. Sometimes having someone experienced guide you through the initial setup and analysis can save a lot of trial and error (and wasted spend).
If they'd like to chat through their specific situation in more detail and see how best to implement this, we're happy to offer a free consultation. It could help them get tracking correctly established from day one and start making smarter decisions about their marketing budget much faster.
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
