How to get leads in Real Estate

Being a successful real estate manager basically mean you need to maintain the whole process from finding potential clients to converting them into your regular income. There are times when you could easily find dozens of clients, especially when the market reached its peak or people have money and willing to spend them in your area. At the same time, cases like the latest World Financial crisis would prove you wrong, you should always be ahead of time and think forward to avoid any market’s ups and downs.

Contact the owner of an expired listing

Most of the multiple listing services will allow you to collect the expired listings data with ease. Always remember that the reason why the house is not sold yet is probably that the previous realtor did not do the job well, leaving the owner in a stress loop and under a lot of pressure. Be polite and professional, saying what would you do differently to find the right buyer for the property.

Get a website

Most likely, your intermediary will not go unnoticed but it is highly important to become the owner of your own website. Nowadays, people rely on someone’s digital footprint more than ever, thus your personal brand, specialities or happy client’s reviews have to be present somewhere. Even in case, you start a whole new development vector your online presence will not be affected.

Optimizing the website for search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo is a growing trend nowadays: create engaging posts and answer the questions people ask, launch a Youtube channel and upload how-to videos on your website. Creating an irresistible email newsletter will save you thousands of dollars on ads only.

Focus on FSBO offers

Less than 5 per cent of FSBO listings end up being finalised within the desired timeframe and a mere 18% get the fair price for their property. Craiglist is a goldmine for such listings, simply reach out to convince that people will maximise their profit with your help. In case the owner didn’t state the contact phone number, it is quite easy to find almost anyone’s phone number or email, simply by putting the data into the search form

One of the working methods is sharing a blog post with some statics data why working with you is beneficial for both parties and if they have any questions you could answer.

Become a niche expert

Want to specialise on anything in particular? Vintage homes, specific area of the city or maybe you can throw in a perfect design plan for free? Turn it into the strong points that differentiate you from competitors. This will narrow your target audience and help you build a tighter connection with certain buyers and will help you become a ready-to-go option as well.
Here’s the list of most common niches that you can dive into:

Vintage properties
50’s housing options
Top-notch luxury homes
Specific neighbourhoods or areas
Student rentals
Close to the best schools in town
First-timers
Condominiums, private homes or apartments
Homes for senior people
Distressed properties
Summer vacation spots
Land
Enterprise real estate
Industrial buildings
FSBO properties

You won’t become an expert within the flip of a switch. Do your own research and dive deeper into the topic. For example, in case you want to become a trusted person in senior housing you should pay a visit to local retirement houses, talk to them to understand what they really want and what you can provide. Later on, connect with personal financial planners to get the idea on the specific requirements that seniors in your area of interest tend to have.

Get leads from social networks like Linkedin

Linkedin is a great place to widen the area of your interest. There are plenty of local professional groups containing your target audience, whether it’s a group of realtors or first-timers that are looking for a perfect house. Jump in there but don’t overpromote yourself, you should be able to keep up the meaningful conversation before pitching your offer.

Depending on the group you’re posting at your behaviour there should be accordingly fine-tuned. For example, being a part of a professional you can post a great post on the upcoming houses for sale, explaining why everyone should have a look at your list. In contrary, first-timers usually seek professional help from the realtors, thus providing them with a response increases the chance you will convince them to use your service.

Always follow up potential clients once you feel confident in that group and have some cool local insights through direct messages or calls.

Give a second chance

How many times did you show a house to a buyer that later on turned down your offer? Dozens if not hundreds of times. Don’t wipe off the number from your contacts list. Instead, send an occasional email or letter showing the newest developments in the area, make sure they subscribe on your newsletter or better leave a voicemail, saying you’re always eager to help if any questions arose.

Most of the experts agree that bringing the leads from the dead-end is one of the most underrated practics on the real estate market. Never follow up with the same offer, show something different or something that costs less. Try to stay away from being too pushy or over promotional, clients would be grateful for that.