You must nurture your relationships with your leads through the entire sales process. If you’re looking to further your career as a real estate agent, expanding your client base is key. How can you develop a process for generating leads? How can you identify high-quality leads?
Here are 20 tested ways to get real estate leads…
20 Methods On How To Get Real Estate Leads
20. Get a Big Stack of Business Cards—and Hand Them Out Freely
You’ve just met someone who could potentially be a client.
Not until they get your business card, they’re not.
Giving someone your business card is a personal way to generate leads for your real estate business. After you’ve met someone and given them your card, you can let them know that you’re in the business.
Of the people you meet in a year, only one in a hundred might be looking to buy or sell a house.
When creating a business card, make sure to include all your contact information, social media accounts, and email address. The more eye-catching and attractive your card is, the more likely your leads will stay in touch with you.
19. Start a Social Media Account, Such as Facebook or Instagram
A lot of people follow Realtors on social media today, so creating an account and posting your listings is a good way to start. But you should also post other homes in the area to become a trusted real estate professional.
You, as a Realtor, should share information a potential real estate seller or potential buyer would need. Such information includes details on mortgage lending, fixing up a home, and the local real estate market.
Facebook and Instagram allow you to respond to comments and connect with potential leads directly. You can use the direct message function to communicate with a potential lead and find out more information. You can even qualify leads online.
18. Create a Website—And Fill It With Content
A website is a content marketing platform, which is a type of inbound marketing.
People who are actively looking for a Realtor are the ones who will find your website. That means that every lead you get from your website will be qualified because they were actively searching for your services.
Outbound marketing, like cold calling, can be less successful because you don’t know if the person you’re talking to is interested.
If you want more leads, add more content to your website. You can also get leads by putting a live chat interface on your website. Learn More Here
17. Reach Out to Those You Work With Professionally
Consider talking to those you work with in a professional capacity, such as colleagues you work with as a Realtor.
If you are looking to start a side business or work with clients frequently, you should discuss this with HR or your supervisors first. For instance, if you tell them you have become a real estate agent, they may be more understanding of your schedules.
You never know who might be interested in buying real estate or who knows someone who is. Even if someone isn’t interested themselves, they might know someone who is.
16. Advertise in Local Businesses
If you want to promote your small business, consider contacting local businesses and asking if you can put up flyers or business cards on their bulletin boards or displays. This is a great way to get your name and information out there in the community.
You may be surprised to discover how many businesses are willing to advertise your real estate business in their windows or at their front desk.
Many small businesses are happy to give referrals in the hope that you will do the same for them. You could try a swap – put their event flyers or business cards in your office in exchange.
15. Find a New Niche to Work Seller Leads
If you’re not getting any seller leads, it could be because you’re in the wrong niche. Instead of working in a shrinking market, try finding a niche that is growing. This could help you get the leads you need.
Be sure to do your research before transitioning to a new niche. Choosing the wrong niche could be a costly mistake.
14. Work With Real Estate Investors & House Flippers
If there are dozens of investors and house flippers buying, renovating, and selling houses every day in the city you are working in, it is likely that many people don’t realize that these investors have a lot of experience. They know that if they want to get the most money possible for their listing, they should hire a listing agent who will market the property well.
If you have the experience and expertise to get sellers great prices, then you should list their properties. You could have a steady stream of listings to close every month.
13. Create Postcard Campaigns for Your Sphere & Farm
Getting personal mail can brighten someone’s day, so why not use that to your advantage by sending postcards to your past clients and sphere?
Do not try to come up with something new, a simple message expressing good wishes for their birthday, Merry Christmas, or a postcard with a nice picture as a greeting will suffice. You never know when that postcard will end up on their refrigerator and be there for months or even years.
Somebody sees your postcard on the fridge and asks about it. If they liked you, why wouldn’t they recommend you? Congratulations. You might have just picked up a seller lead for 50 cents.
12. Work Open Houses to Find Seller Leads
Many agents believe that open houses are not useful for finding seller leads, but they can be useful. You will get people who are not seriously interested in buying, but you will also get people who are interested in selling their home and want to see what other homes in the area are selling for. This is a good way for buyers to become familiar with the real estate market.
Open houses are a good way to find potential customers in wealthy neighborhoods where people do not socialize with their neighbors.
11. Build a Library of Local Service Providers to Drive More Referrals
A good way to generate leads from sellers is to create a network of local service providers. This way, you will be known as a local resource. If someone in your network needs something, they will know that you have the connections to help them.
Many agents believe that positioning themselves as a helpful resource, rather than immediately trying to list a property, is the best way to earn a potential client’s business. In today’s age, with all the online resources available, people still want someone they can trust to give them good referrals. If you can show a potential client that you can save them time and money, they will remember you when it comes time to sell.
10. Join and Interact with Facebook Groups
Facebook groups provide an excellent opportunity for real estate agents to connect with their local community.
A lot of people use Facebook groups to trade goods, get advice, and even sell houses.
If you want to get your name out there, becoming a Top Contributor in Facebook groups is a good way to do it. Add as many friends as possible, and get them to follow you, and you’ll be able to reach more people.
Twitter is less personal than other social media venues, while LinkedIn is good for networking with other professionals, Facebook is better for finding clients.
9. Consider Sending Out Mailers to Your Zipcode
Many real estate agents do this because it is beneficial to them.
You can create targeted mailings for specific zip codes that you are interested in. Some people may be interested in selling, but they may need a little additional encouragement. Use a personalized landing page so you can track which of your mailers are getting responses.
Organizing your website in a way that allows visitors to easily input their information into a lead capture form will result in more leads. You can further increase the number of leads by sending mailers specifically to distressed properties.
8. Contribute to Local Magazines and Guest Blogs
How do you plan on getting your next client? Local magazines can help increase your circulation.
Publishing articles in local magazines will make people more likely to connect with you. For example, if you write about the local real estate market, people will see you as an expert and look up your website, email you, or follow you on social media.
It’s part of a real estate professional’s job to make sure their online presence is strong. Before people do business with someone in the industry, they will almost certainly look that person up online.
If you want to improve your reputation, you should publish content. This will show people that you are an expert on the subject and make them more likely to trust you.
7. Create Live Content and Invest in Paid Advertising
It’s a great way for people to see what you’re up to and to feel like they’re part of your life. Many real estate agents have realized that by streaming live content (such as on Facebook) is an effective way to garner interest. Live content allows for a very personal connection. It’s a great way for people to see what you’re up to and to feel like they’re part of your life.
You could try hosting a Q&A on your Facebook page to answer any questions people have about the current real estate market. This would help you keep in touch with anyone following you, enforce the relationship, and figure out what your users are thinking.
Although paid advertising may seem unappealing, it can be quite effective. For example, Facebook ads can be customized to target a specific demographic, such as people within specific age groups and live in your specific zip code. Consequently, these ads have the potential to bring in a significant amount of revenue.
6. Create an Action Plan for Lead Nurturing & Automate It
Even if a lead is very likely to convert, it can still take months for that to happen. Therefore, listing agents who are successful create action plans to keep those leads active. Once they have found a plan that works, they automate as much of the process as possible. This makes the leads feel like the agent is still interested in their needs even when they are busy finding new clients.
Here’s a quick example of a nurturing plan:
- Text message: Once per week
- Newsletter: Every 15 days
- Coffee: Once per month
If you use Realtorfuel, a CRM that is affordable, you can automate tasks such as market analysis drips, sending birthday and holiday texts, and setting up meeting invites. Realtorfuel also has a website tap to call or text feature, auto missed call text back, and reputation marketing features, so you won’t need to do busy work.
5. Work With and Sponsor Charities and Fundraisers
One of the best ways to meet people in your community is to volunteer with local charities and fundraisers.
You may want to consider hosting a pet adoption event. This not only allows you to connect with people who own pets, but also provides a good service to your community. Your name will also be seen on the sponsorship list by everyone who attends the event.
If you want to be successful in real estate, it’s important to be someone that potential clients can trust. Building this trust can be done by being involved in your community through volunteering, charity work, and fundraisers. This shows people that you care about more than just yourself and your business.
4. Look for Expired Listings
Expired listings present an opportunity to find a motivated seller.
Look at listings that have expired to see why they didn’t sell. Did the seller ask for too much? Was it in a bad location? Or was the timing just off?
If you can market the property well, you have a great prospective client.
You should get in touch with sellers of listings that have already expired. They may be willing to change their marketing strategy now that their property didn’t sell. This could involve lowering the listing price or trying out some less conventional methods. There’s also a chance that the issue that prevented the sale from happening in the first place has been resolved (for example, if there were previously problematic tenants).
3. Talk to Divorce Lawyers and Estate Liquidators
It is difficult to ascertain who knows that a property is being sold faster than anyone else.
Divorce lawyers and estate liquidators, of course.
If you want to generate leads for real estate, it can be helpful to talk to divorce lawyers and estate liquidators. They may have information about who is selling property in your area.
It’s not just about you. You can also help others by referring them to people who need a lawyer or liquidator. It’s possible you may meet people who need help but come to you first.
In order to generate leads, you must establish a connection with motivated buyers and sellers before they connect with anyone else. This might require thinking outside of the box.
Who else could be involved in lead generation for selling or buying a home?
2. Pay for Leads through Zillow and Other Similar Companies
Zillow.com is a website that publishes the estimated value of homes and provides information on homes for sale and homes for rent. Many lead generation companies are venturing into the real estate industry. This website provides users with estimated home values and information on homes that are for sale or rent.
For a price, Zillow will send leads directly to your inbox. This is the same as other third-party marketplaces where you pay for leads. I may be biased, but would recommend using Realtorfuel instead of Zillow, but I digress.
Although you may be questioning if these companies are worth the expense for real estate leads,
Most real estate agents find this to be a very easy and low-cost way to advertise their properties.
However, this is not the case for every area. You can test how effective it is to pay for leads in a specific area. Your results may differ depending on the lead generation tactic you use.
As third-party marketplaces such as Zillow and Trulia grow, it is increasingly difficult to succeed without understanding and being aware of them.
1. Reach Out to Former Clients
No matter what the reason, if you have a former client interested in selling their home or buying, you have the chance to earn their business. It’s a good idea to stay in touch with your past clients. They may be interested in buying or selling property in the future. Keep in mind that they may not be in their forever home yet and may want to move soon. If you stay in touch with them, you’ll be the first one they think of when they’re ready to buy or sell.
It is beneficial for you to contact a former client instead of waiting for them to reach out to you. There is a chance they may have lost your contact information.
If the people you gave your information to have not thought about you in a while, they may be able to give your information to other people.
Sending people yearly calendars is a great way to stay in their thoughts. They will frequently refer to the calendar, and every time they do, they will think of you. This will especially be the case when they need your services.
Is it worth it to pay for real estate leads online?
For the most part, yes. But it does depend.
If you choose to work with a well-known marketplace, such as Trulia, you can expect to pay low costs in exchange for a large number of real estate leads.
If you’re thinking about buying a lead list from a company you don’t know, it’s probably not worth it.
Want some help? Have some questions? Get in touch any time at (720) 358-8508
