Running a successful real estate business requires a continuing pipeline of leads. You may have plenty of clients when interest rates are low, but interest rates run in cycles. When they increase, the pool will dry up quickly unless you have a promising pipeline. Here are some tips on how you can generate leads in real estate:
Build Partnerships
Network with local businesses related to real estate, such as personal bankers, insurance companies, landscapers, commercial lenders, title companies, and cleaning services. Consider forming alliances and hosting events together.
Become a Coffee Shop Regular
Hanging out in a coffee shop may seem a strange lead generation technique, but, over time, it can be a good strategy. Begin hosting meetings with potential clients at the same local coffee shop or restaurant. The wait staff will get to know you and give you the best tables. Potential clients will notice the preferential service and respect you for it. You also may get to know other coffee shop regulars who will refer potential business to you. Additionally, leveraging online marketing strategies such as social media, pay-per-click advertising, and search engine optimization can help generate leads in real estate by reaching a wider audience and targeting specific demographics. Networking with other real estate agents and professionals in the industry, as well as building relationships with local business owners and community leaders, can also be effective in generating leads.
Invest in Online
About half of all potential buyers search online first. About 93 percent of buyers searching for a home use website, according to the National Association of Realtors, a professional group in the United States. According to the NAR, about 73 percent of buyers use tablets or apps, and 37 percent use online video sites. An online presence is essential to lead generation in real estate.
An excellent online presence begins with a good agency website. An effective website allows you to show listed properties, promote your brand, and share reviews from happy clients. Optimizing your site for search engines is essential, too.
Online advertising is a broad category. To fully advertise online, an agency will need ads on their region’s most popular social media platforms and joining relevant LinkedIn groups such as a group for local real estate investors can also be an excellent source of agency leads. Agencies can also consider an advertising presence on popular real estate apps and on search engines like Google and Bing. Additionally, agencies can generate leads by leveraging various other online marketing strategies such as pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, and email marketing. Finally, agents will need to write blogs, answer questions on websites such as Quora and also consider lead generation tactics like inviting people to homebuyers education seminar to cover the market fully.
Advertise Coming Attractions
“Coming soon” signs on homes, websites, and apps generate interest in a particular property before it officially comes onto the market. “Sold” signs tell potential sellers that your agency is effective and encourages buyers who may have missed out to give you a call.
Advertising in Traditional Media
Despite the popularity of online advertising, traditional media are still crucial for lead generation in real estate. Billboards, yard signs, and print ads in local newspapers can be excellent ways to find new clients.
Host An Open House
When agents host an open house, almost everyone who walks through the door is a potential lead. However, an agent should do more than just put a signup sheet by the entrance to fully capture the leads available. Agents should engage with people when they walk in and make them feel welcome even if the individuals aren’t in the market right now.
Ask Everyone You Know
Ask everyone you know for leads in person, via text, Facebook messenger, or email. Don’t be afraid to remind family and other close friends about what you do. For example, they may remember that you sell houses but forget that you also handle rental properties when the critical time comes.
Target Expired Listings and For Sale By Owner
Sellers who are becoming discouraged may be excellent leads. First, sympathize with their frustration, then explain how you would market their property differently than their current agent or what they are doing themselves.
Refer to Others
Agencies that are generous in referring customers to related businesses or to other agents generally receive many referrals in return.
Send Texts, Emails, and Direct Mail
If you meet people at an event or spend some time with them but find they aren’t quite ready to do a deal, don’t throw their number away. Instead, keep them on a text, email, or direct mail list and reach out to them from time to time. Being creative with your closing line may help you move the individual closer to a deal. For example, opening an email with “Are you ready to buy yet?” is a non-starter, but inviting them to a homebuyers education seminar may keep the contact going. Additionally, leveraging online marketing strategies such as social media, pay-per-click advertising, and search engine optimization can help generate leads in real estate by reaching a wider audience and targeting specific demographics.
Make Cold Calls
Although texts and emails are popular with many, talking one-on-one still generates a lot of leads. Done properly, cold calling can recreate a relationship that previously has gone dead. The key is an effective and natural-sounding cold call script. If you’re one of those folks who break out in a cold sweat at the thought of cold calls, consider hiring a real estate virtual assistant to make them for you.
Hold Educational Events
Partner with local businesses to hold educational events where you can instruct new investors on the basics or teach customers about buying their first home. Co-hosting with mortgage lenders can make the event an even bigger draw. Almost everyone who signs up to attend an educational event is a good long-term or short-term lead.
Ask Satisfied Customers for Leads
Word-of-mouth advertising is the most successful form of advertising there is. Previous and current clients may be excellent sources of real estate leads. Keep in contact with them so you’ll always be top of mind.
Use a Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Lead generation in real estate is critical, but it’s time-consuming. It’s also probably not what brings you as an agency owner or your agents the most joy. Agents become excited when they can actually meet with potential buyers, sellers, and investors and do deals. Developing websites, sending texts, and handling the logistics of educational events also require a lot of time that could be better spent presenting at the event or entertaining a new client. Marketing is also a specialty; a real estate agent is unlikely to also be an SEO expert, for example. To generate leads in real estate, one strategy is to leverage online marketing by creating a professional website, utilizing SEO to improve visibility in search results, and utilizing social media to connect with potential clients. Additionally, networking, building relationships with other industry professionals, and holding open houses or educational events can also be effective ways to generate leads. Another strategy is to invest in lead generation services or software, which can automate some of the lead generation process and help agents focus on what they do best: closing deals.
A real estate virtual assistant can handle these tasks with ease. Good virtual assistants are experts at marketing, cold-calling, SEO, and real estate terms. The assistant can help ensure you maintain a pipeline of leads while you devote your time to doing deals.
