How Carolyn Young Went From Missed Follow-Ups to 154% More Closed Deals in One Year

Carolyn Young's team had Follow Up Boss in place, a solid roster of lead sources pulling from Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, and Redfin, and agents who were willing to work. What they didn't have was a system making sure leads actually heard from someone after the first interaction.

New leads were entering the CRM and going quiet. Follow-up was inconsistent, contact attempts varied wildly from agent to agent, and there was no structured texting or email cadence keeping the team in front of prospects over time. The tools were there, but the wiring wasn't.

As Carolyn described it in her review after implementation, "Our experience so far has been better than we imagined. The two-way integration with Zillow was a large part of our decision-making process. This has been a huge success for our team. This allows us to have a much cleaner and up to date database."

The Turning Point

KTS completed the team's Follow Up Boss build in February 2024. The scope included structured action plans, automated texting drip campaigns, and a systemized follow-up framework designed to keep leads engaged without requiring agents to manually chase every contact.

The expectation was a cleaner CRM and better organization. What showed up in the data was significantly more than that.

Within the first two quarters, calls increased 33%, appointments climbed 51%, and the average number of contact attempts per lead rose nearly 30%. But the real shift came in how leads responded to that outreach.

The Transformation

Quarter over quarter, the numbers kept compounding.

By Q3 compared to Q2 of the first year, lead response rates were up 25.4%, deals closed had jumped 154%, and the conversion rate increased 29%.

By Q4, phone response rates climbed another 60.2% and email responses were up 55.5%.

Then 2025 arrived, and the compounding effect became impossible to miss.

• Appointments set increased 63%

• Overall response rate climbed 173%

• Email response rate was up 123%

• Phone response rate increased 150%

The texting drip campaigns built by KTS were running at 90% engagement for new Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, and Redfin leads, and 87% for new buyer leads from referral sources, PPC, and Facebook.

These numbers didn't come from new lead sources or increased ad spend. They came from systematically staying in front of the leads the team already had.

The Results in Action

The metrics tell one story. The individual lead examples tell a more specific one.

In December, a buyer lead named Ahmed was actively searching for homes but decided in February to pause until his lease ended. In April, he started browsing the agent's website again and responded to an automated KTS Back to Website text. He decided to start viewing homes before his lease ended and is now actively touring properties.

A total of 20 emails, 303 text messages, 69 phone calls about 56 logged minutes, and 3 drip emails were logged to move Ahmed from lead never reached to client.

David responded to a KTS seller texting campaign in February about selling his home. The agent learned he wanted to move closer to family in April. After meeting for a market analysis, the client made property improvements, listed in April, hosted an open house, and is now under contract.

A total of 37 emails, 101 text messages, 62 phone calls about 106 logged minutes, and 7 marketing and drip emails were logged to move David from lead never reached to under contract.

Nate responded to a Back to Website text about a property he'd viewed because of the price. The agent sent more listings, called to gather details, and continued showing homes from September through April. Nate is now under contract.

A total of 39 emails, 245 text message, 26 phone calls about 90 logged minutes, and 18 marketing and drip emails were logged to move Nate from lead never reached to under contract.

In every case, the pattern was the same. An automated message created the opening, and a prepared agent moved the conversation forward.

The Future

With engagement rates at 87% to 90% on new leads and response rates still climbing quarter over quarter, Carolyn's team has moved past the question of whether their CRM works. The system is producing conversations at a pace that compounds over time, and the agents are positioned to capture the long-tail leads that most teams lose to silence.

The infrastructure is built. The data is validating the approach. And the leads that were sitting untouched a year ago are now responding, touring, listing, and closing.

Ready to See What Your CRM Could Actually Do?

If your leads are coming in but going quiet, the problem probably isn't your lead sources. Book a call and we'll look at what's happening between the first inquiry and the first real conversation.

[Book Your Discovery Call → https://calendly.com/kts-consult/30-minute-zoom-discovery-call]