No leads from my agency
The short answer
Start with four checks: how much lead flow the firm has, how enquiries are assigned, whether new joiners have a starting allocation, and whether the enquiries you receive are suitable and progressing. Compare what you find with what you were told to expect. More than one issue may be involved, so use a short enquiry record to agree the next step with your manager.
"No leads" can be answered in two unhelpful ways: the firm is at fault, or the agent is not working hard enough. Neither is reliable until the facts are checked. The useful first step is to separate supply, allocation, suitability and follow-up, then compare them with what you were told to expect.
By House Of Orange editorial. A licensed Dubai real estate brokerage, ORN 49865, at The Opal Tower, Business Bay. About the firm
Key points
- First thing to establish
- Whether enquiries exist in the business at all, or exist and are not reaching you
- The evidence you already have
- A short enquiry record over a defined period, written down rather than remembered
- A risky misdiagnosis
- Assuming the problem is either the firm or the agent before checking supply, allocation, suitability and follow-up.
- When supply is the issue
- If the firm has little lead flow, ask what support or sourcing arrangements are realistic and compare them with what you expected.
Four checks to start with
These checks can overlap, and more than one may apply. They are a way to organise what you know, not a verdict on the firm or on you.
How much lead flow does the firm have?
If everyone at the office receives few enquiries, the question is what support or sourcing arrangements are realistic, and how they compare with what you expected.
How are enquiries assigned?
The firm receives enquiries, but you cannot establish how they are assigned. Ask whether there is a rule and how it applies to you before concluding why some agents receive more.
Do new joiners have a starting allocation?
Where assignment depends on past performance, a new joiner has no record yet. Ask whether there is a defined starting allocation and when it is reviewed.
Are the enquiries suitable, and are they progressing?
Check whether they suit the areas and price ranges you can work, whether the people can be reached, and how long each has had to progress, before judging how they are being handled.
What were you told to expect?
Before you compare yourself with colleagues, look at what the firm said in writing: the offer or contract, and any message that described the role or how enquiries are assigned. Firms differ. Some supply enquiries, some expect agents to source their own, and some combine both. Do not assume which applies to you.
If the documents you have say nothing about leads, that does not establish what was agreed or where it was recorded. Ask the firm to clarify its expectations and confirm the current arrangements in writing.
Does the firm supply enquiries, expect agents to source their own, or combine both?
Ask for the current arrangement that applies to you, not the general model.
How are enquiries assigned here, and how does that apply to a new joiner?
Ask for the rule, or whether there is one.
When will we review it?
Agree a date and what you will both look at.
How do you compare what you find?
Your record is most useful beside some comparison, and comparisons need care. Ask your manager what agents in the office typically receive in aggregate, and what a new joiner can expect in the first weeks.
Similar enquiry counts do not establish that agents have equivalent opportunities. Compare suitability, contactability, areas, price ranges and the time each enquiry has had to progress. Then review your replies, conversations and follow-up with your manager. Use aggregate comparisons without sharing other people's client details.
If you and others receive very few enquiries, that suggests a supply question. If you receive fewer than others and no assignment rule has been stated, ask how enquiries are assigned. If the answer depends on past performance, ask what a new joiner receives before there is any record.
Asking colleagues in general terms what they typically receive is a reasonable question to put politely. If asking feels difficult at your firm, note it, though it does not by itself tell you why.
What can you ask for?
Depending on what the checks show, these are requests you can make. None is guaranteed, and the firm may have good reasons for its current arrangements.
If the firm has no stated rule for assignment, you can ask for one. A specific, neutral draft, such as a rota for portal enquiries or a rule that an unworked enquiry returns to the pool after a set time, can be easier to respond to than a complaint.
If assignment depends on past performance, ask whether new joiners have a starting allocation. You could propose a defined ramp: a set number of enquiries a week for a defined period, against a measure you understand. Get anything agreed in writing, and check how it fits with your contract before you accept a target you are measured on.
If the enquiries are unsuitable or hard to reach, show your record and ask whether the sources or the assignment can be adjusted. If they suit you and are not progressing, respond promptly with a useful answer and keep a dated follow-up record. The pipeline guide covers how to keep that record.
If the firm has little lead flow, ask what support or sourcing arrangements are realistic, what agents are expected to source themselves, and when the arrangement will be reviewed. What the firm can realistically provide, compared with what you expected, is what you need to decide how to proceed.
Assignment
Ask whether there is a rule, and offer a specific, neutral draft.
Starting allocation
Ask whether new joiners have one, and when it is reviewed.
Suitability and follow-up
Show your record. Reply promptly and keep a dated follow-up record.
Supply
Ask what support or sourcing arrangements are realistic.
How fast do you reply, and how long do you follow up?
A prompt, useful reply gives a conversation a chance to start, because the person who sent an enquiry may be comparing replies. A quick reply that does not answer the question helps little, so track the time to a first meaningful reply alongside whether the enquiry suited you and what was agreed next.
An enquiry that does not progress on first contact is not necessarily finished: the person may not be ready yet. Keep a dated follow-up record, and contact people only in line with the rules your firm has confirmed.
None of this answers for a firm that supplies little. A change of firm may alter the support available, but it is still worth identifying which parts of enquiry handling need attention.
What if the answers do not match what you were told?
Three signals can help you decide how to proceed. They are prompts for judgement, not proof.
The firm cannot describe how enquiries are assigned when you ask directly. That may mean there is no rule. Whether that matters depends on what you were told to expect, and the firm may expect agents to source much of their own business.
The firm gives you a figure and it is low for everyone. Compare it with what you were told, and ask what the firm can realistically provide and when that will be reviewed.
You have put a specific proposal, with your enquiry record, more than once and nothing has changed. That is worth noting, though the reason may not be unwillingness.
If the arrangement is not what you expected, you can ask for it to be clarified in writing, agree a review date, or decide whether the role still suits you. The guide on leaving a brokerage covers that decision.
Questions about this
The ones that come up most often, answered without a pitch.
There is no reliable benchmark, because it depends on the firm's model, its portal spend and how enquiries are assigned. A more useful comparison is aggregate: ask what agents in your own office typically receive, without sharing client details.
It can happen where assignment depends on past performance, because a new joiner has no record yet. It is worth raising specifically, with a proposal for a defined starting allocation, rather than waiting for it to resolve.
First establish whether the gap is supply, suitability or follow-up. If you already receive enquiries, review their outcomes and costs before buying more. If you have too few to judge, say so rather than treating an unstable conversion rate as evidence. Before paying, clarify the source, pricing and permitted use with your firm. The guides on advertising permits and prospecting explain the relevant rules.
It describes an expectation rather than a mechanism. Ask what specifically is measured, over what period, and what a new joiner receives before there is anything to measure. If those questions have no clear answers, ask whether a rule exists and agree a date to review it.
Read next
Written by House Of Orange, a licensed Dubai brokerage that also recruits agents
House Of Orange Real Estate is a licensed Dubai brokerage, ORN 49865. We publish this because we recruit, and we would rather you put the questions on these pages to us than take our word for anything. If a firm cannot answer them, that is the answer.