Should I Require Leads To Input Their Phone Number?

Whether to require a phone number is always going to be a business decision based on your needs. That being said, it is important to understand potential ramifications of requiring a phone number

When working internet leads, it can be easy to sit back and say "If I only had a phone number, I'd be able to close more of these deals". Unfortunately, it is just not that simple.

Here is an article that goes pretty deep into the thought process:

https://vtldesign.com/web-strategy/conversion-rate-optimization/phone-number-form-field-case-study/

In their study (not real estate related), requiring a phone number decreased conversion by 48%. 

Because the goal for most consumers is to see Active Homes in your market and there are 100s of other sites, most expect this number to be even worse with real estate leads. What's tough is requiring a phone number doesn't actually guarantee that individual wants to speak with you or guarantee they provide the correct information.

Here is an Inman article on how all leads are valuable: https://www.inman.com/next/no-1-mistake-real-estate-agents-make-in-lead-generation-thinking-a-lead-is-a-dead-end-if-it-isnt-ready-right-now/

Lastly, one thing to consider is kvCORE does a really good job of putting you in a good spot to convert a lead over time even if they just provide an email address. They offer things like multiple ways to follow up, text code call to actions, property alerts, and the benefits of a mobile application all to potentially entice someone to reach out via phone down the line.

Should you? That's another question entirely. In general, we tell Agents that if the goal is to generate leads they SHOULDN'T add this constraint. For those that do, we hope this article provides some insight into how it might change the results you see. 

Regardless of what you decide please remember that it can take a few hours for anything you do for your website to update!