How to Generate Real Estate Leads
3 Ways to Get Leads in Real Estate for FREE
There are tons of ways to get leads in real estate, however the one’s you’ll most frequently hear about often require you to spend money, and the quality of those leads aren’t usually worth the cost in the long run.
This article is for those who aren’t afraid to put in a bit of work and want to learn how to generate real estate leads, leads that can more easily be converted to clients, without spending any money.
In my time working as an agent before I made the transition to coaching agents, I learned some great tips and tricks and today I want to share some of those tips with you to help you grow your business!
Social Media.
As the world becomes more digitized, so many agents out there aren’t taking advantage of the great opportunities this provides us. Social Media is an amazing way to reach your target audience, get more leads and expand your business.
To do this you need to really know who your ideal client is and have an effective content strategy aimed at reaching the type of people you want to do business with. You need to be consistent with your posting, but you also need to be providing actual value with your posts. Just posting alone is not enough.
We all know the saying that people will do business with those they know, like a trust, and your content strategy needs to be aimed at hitting each of those points. Let your audience get to know who you are, show them why they should trust you by providing them with valuable information, and hearing from others who have worked with you. Through hitting these marks, your audience will begin to like who you are and become more likely to work with you.
Rather than sending out cold messages to people who you don’t know and don’t know you, make sure you frequently include calls to action to invite people to start a conversation with you. Respond to people who react to your stories and reach out to people who comment on your posts. You’ll find that the people who most often engage with your content are the one’s who are the most eager to work with you.
For more in-depth information and to learn how to create your own effective content strategy download my Social Media Guide.
2. Open Houses
This method has the potential to be exponentially profitable, but many agents never get a single sale from holding open houses because they don’t know how to do it effectively.
I was lucky enough to have an amazing mentor early on in my career who taught me how to successfully hold an open house and it’s how I got my first ever sale. Now I’m going to teach you some of the best tips I learned so that you can do the same!
When you decide to hold an open house it’s very important to do your research and be as prepared as possible. You want to find a home within your brokerage, in a location where your ideal client might live or want to live, and in a spot where you can get a good amount of traffic coming in. A good rule of thumb is the home should be within 3 turns of a major road.
You need to also be prepared for the types of questions you may get asked. Really study the listing and get as much extra information from the listing agent as possible.
When holding an open house, the number 1 thing you want is to get EVERYONE to sign in. Don’t be afraid to let them know you need them to sign in but also don’t be overly pushy about it.
When someone first walks in the door you want to get the conversation started, and after chatting for a minute it will come across a lot more natural when you say, “and real quick before you start looking around I just need one of you to sign in and then I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have!”
Another great tip is to follow up with everyone right after the open is over, or even before if you have any free time. Offer to show them other homes if this one didn’t fit their needs, let them know you have some other properties in mind they might really love!
For a step-by-step guide on how to hold an effective open house as a way to get real estate leads, download my Open House Guide.
3. Door Knocking.
This may seem like a really old school way of getting leads but the fact is that when done properly, IT WORKS. Door knocking can be a really effective way of getting all kinds of leads, from sellers, to buyers, to renters, or even all of the above!
As with anything in real estate, the key to making this method work for you, is being PREPARED. This means doing your research on the homes in the area that are for sale and have recently sold, knowing how to navigate the conversation when someone opens the door, and being ready to handle and overcome the questions and objections you’re most likely to hear when talking with these potential leads. You want it to be apparent when speaking that you are the expert and know what you’re talking about, without actually having to say those words.
One thing that often phases agents when it comes to door knocking is not knowing how to start the conversation or what to say when someone actually answers the door. To overcome this it’s always good to be ready with a reason as to why you’re knocking on their door in the first place. If they can tell you’re just out there to solicit clients, they won’t want to talk to you.
By having a reason, such as; you’re holding an open house down the street and you wanted to make the neighbors aware there may be increased traffic or invite them to stop by, or you wanted to introduce yourself to the neighborhood as the local expert and get some information that only people who live here would know, they are going to be more likely to talk to you because the conversation will be able to flow more naturally and they won’t be quite as defensive. This is also a great way to begin establishing trust and a connection.
For more information about how to door knock efficiently in a way that gets you real leads, and how to navigate the conversations and objects you may hear, download my Door Knocking Guide or Scripts today.
These are just 3 of the lead generating strategies I used during my career as an agent, but in my experience they were by far the most profitable and cost-effective. When done properly, they can have the same result for anyone that’s willing to put in the work.
As an agent, you are constantly evolving and learning more every day, it’s how we stay on top of our game to remain experts in our field. If you tried these tactics in the past and they didn’t work for you, don’t be afraid to try again. When implementing a new strategy, it can take up to 60 days to start seeing results so don’t let yourself get discouraged. Practice makes better, and every time you go door knocking, hold an open house or even make a post on social media, there’s an opportunity to learn how to improve from the last time. Don’t give up and don’t be afraid to keep trying and keep learning. Every day is another step closer to your next sale!