In the digital age, a real estate website is no longer a passive showcase of listings. It is a live lead-generation engine, a filter for buyer intent, and a test of an agency’s professionalism. At Gupta & Sen, our website is designed not merely to attract traffic, but to attract the right kind of buyers — buyers whose behaviour signals intent, seriousness, and readiness to engage.

This article examines the types of buyers we attract through our website, the difference between direct inquiry leads and forced registration leads, and why speed, persistence, and intelligence in response matter more today than ever before — especially in the Indian real estate market.

Online Search Reveals Intent — Not Just Interest

The ebook makes a critical observation:

Search behaviour reveals what a buyer wants, when they want it, and how close they are to taking action.

A person searching “luxury apartments Mumbai” is very different from someone searching “4 BHK sea-facing apartment Worli price”. The second query reflects intent, not curiosity.

At Gupta & Sen, our website attracts buyers across this spectrum — but not all leads are equal. Understanding who is behind the click is the foundation of successful online lead handling.

Searching Property Online

The Four Primary Buyer Types We Attract

1. Early-Stage Browsers (Low Intent, High Curiosity)

These visitors:

  • Are researching locations, lifestyle options, and price bands
  • May be months or years away from transacting
  • Often arrive via broad search terms or social discovery

Crucially, they do not want a phone call yet.

One of the biggest mistakes in Indian real estate marketing is forcing these users into:

  • Mandatory contact forms
  • Aggressive call-backs
  • Endless follow-up sequences

This leads to:

  • High bounce rates
  • Frustration
  • Brand damage

At Gupta & Sen, we allow browsers to consume content freely — neighbourhood guides, market insights, curated listings — without forced registration. This builds trust and keeps us top-of-mind when they are ready.

Researching Property Online

2. Research-Driven Buyers (Medium Intent)

These buyers:

  • Know what they want (budget, location, configuration)
  • Are actively comparing projects and micro-markets
  • Click on floor plans, specifications, amenities, and price ranges

They will voluntarily engage when value is offered.

Instead of forced registration, we use:

  • Contextual CTAs (“Request detailed pricing”, “Get floor plans”)
  • Value-based exchanges (guides, reports, insights)
  • Soft WhatsApp or email entry points

These buyers convert best when engagement feels earned, not demanded.

3. Direct Inquiry Buyers (High Intent, Buyer-Ready)

This is the most important segment — and the one most agencies mishandle.

These buyers:

  • Click “Schedule a site visit”
  • Request pricing or availability
  • Initiate WhatsApp chats
  • Use click-to-call buttons
  • Submit direct property enquiry forms

They are not browsing.
They are not researching.
They are ready to talk now!

Buyers Making Property Inquiry

Direct Inquiry vs Registration Leads: A Critical Distinction

There is a sharp line between:

  • Registration leads (forced forms, sign-ups to download brochure or pricing sheet/floor plans)
  • Direct inquiry leads (voluntary, intent-driven actions)

Registration Leads

  • Often do not want immediate contact
  • May be exploring anonymously
  • Frequently submit fake or secondary contact details
  • Respond poorly to cold calls

Direct Inquiry Leads

  • Expect a response
  • Want clarity now
  • Are evaluating the agent, not just the property
  • Judge professionalism based on speed and quality of response

This distinction is often ignored in Indian real estate marketing — where every form submission is treated the same. That is a costly mistake.

Speed Is Not Optional — It Is the First Test of Competence

The attached study data is unequivocal:

  • If an agent does not respond within 20 minutes, online consumers form a low opinion of that agent.
  • Direct inquiry leads want a response now, not later.
  • Registration leads often don’t want a response at all.

An MIT study on online inquiry leads revealed something staggering:

Responding within 5 minutes results in a 100× higher contact rate compared to responding after 30 minutes.

Yes — 100 times!

This is not a marginal improvement.

This is the difference between winning and losing the client.

At Gupta & Sen, our internal benchmark is under 5 minutes for direct inquiries — because anything slower signals:

  • Disorganisation
  • Lack of seriousness
  • Commodity-level service

In luxury real estate, speed communicates respect and competence.

Property Consultant Making Phone Call to Client

The Harsh Reality: Most Agents Never Respond

The WAV Group — a leading real estate brokerage consulting firm — conducted a secret shopping study across 76 real estate companies, posing as online buyers 7,700+ times.

Their findings were alarming:

Over 47% of online buyer leads were never responded to at all!

Nearly half!

Most agents were more interested in:

  • Adding the lead to an IDX feed
  • Placing them on email drips
  • Sending generic listings
  • Hoping something sticks

This behaviour reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of online buyer psychology.

Why Call Persistence Matters More Than Ever

The below point is uncomfortable but true:

The need for call persistence has never been greater.

Buyers are busy.
They may miss the first call.
They may be in meetings.
They may be comparing agents simultaneously.

One call is not follow-up — it is a token attempt.

At Gupta & Sen:

  • We persist intelligently
  • We vary channels (call, WhatsApp, email)
  • We personalise every interaction
  • We stop when the buyer signals disengagement — not before

Persistence is not harassment.
Persistence is professional responsibility.

Female Realtor Negotiating with Seller

Forced Registration: The Indian Market’s Biggest Lead Fallacy

Forced registration is rampant in Indian real estate micro sites made to look like fake real estate developer websites:

  • “View price only after submitting details”
  • “Download brochure after form fill”
  • “Unlock floor plan with mobile number”

This approach assumes:

More captured leads = more business

In reality:

  • Lead quality drops
  • Trust erodes
  • Engagement declines
  • Buyers disengage

Forced registration creates weaker leads, not stronger ones.

Gupta & Sen deliberately avoids aggressive forced gating because:

  • Luxury buyers value discretion
  • High-net-worth clients expect control
  • Trust precedes contact

How Gupta & Sen Handles Online Leads Differently

1. Lead Type Segmentation

We distinguish between:

  • Browsers
  • Researchers
  • Direct inquiry buyers
  • Investors
  • NRI clients

Each category has a different response strategy.

Couple Posing in their Dream Apartment with Home Cardboard Cutout

2. Speed-Based Prioritisation

  • Direct inquiries: Immediate human response
  • Research leads: Timely, contextual follow-up
  • Browsers: Content-driven nurturing

3. Persistence with Intelligence

  • Multiple attempts
  • Varied channels
  • Clear value in every message
  • No spam, no automation-only responses

4. Agent Accountability

Every inquiry is tracked.
Every response is timed.
No lead disappears into a CRM black hole.

What This Means for Buyers

If you contact Gupta & Sen through our website:

  • Your intent is respected
  • Your time is valued
  • Your inquiry is treated as a conversation, not a data point

We understand that when you reach out directly, you are not “browsing”.
You are interviewing us.

The Right Buyers — Handled the Right Way

Our website attracts many types of buyers — but our systems are designed to identify, prioritise, and serve serious intent.

These are the lessons we have learnt from over a decade of real estate excellence:

  • Online search reveals intent
  • Direct inquiries demand speed
  • Forced registration weakens lead quality
  • Persistence wins trust
  • Response time defines perception

At Gupta & Sen, we don’t chase volume.
We respect intent.
We respond fast.
And we follow through.

Because in real estate, the buyer who reaches out today may choose their advisor in the next five minutes.

And we intend to be the one who answers!

Chloe Dodd
Chloe Dodd
Real Estate Agent at Gupta & Sen
Chloe is a real estate advisor with Gupta & Sen. With a combined experience of over 15 years in varied industries, she is a vocal and knowledgeable ally for buyers and investors who want to make informed choices when buying a property in India. With superlative communication and marketing skills, Chloe handles our PR, real estate marketing strategy and client management.
Chloe Dodd
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