5 Effective Ways To Get Real Estate Leads

As we all know, businesses aren’t able to survive without one very important feature; customers. As competition continues to increase across most industries, this means that knowing how to generate leads is pivotal. Not only do we need prospective leads to see our name, we then need to follow up in the right way and ensure that leads become genuine customers.

For us, this is something that becomes much easier after choosing a real estate CRM as a partner. With this support, we have the ability to own more lead sources and qualify all leads effectively. As soon as we’ve optimized the leads finding our business, this is half the battle!

Owning Leads

At any given time, a single lead can interact with several agents and even more websites. How do we ensure that they interact with and act on your information exclusively?

First and foremost, it starts with your own website being connected to your CRM’s back-end. By doing this, you will attract high-fit leads and see them through the process that ends with them as customers. By owning leads inside the CRM, there’s no chance of each customer getting distracted or attracted to another real estate agent’s information (something that seems impossible to avoid on Realtor, Zillow, and other third-party services!).

Additionally, the value also comes from seeing whether or not people are responding to your listings. The more you learn, the easier it is to source leads that are more likely to convert. Wherever they may be in the buying journey, you can hit them with the right resources and guidance.

 

5 Winning Strategies

With all of this in mind, it begs just one question; how can you get these leads into your database in the first place? For us, you can’t go wrong with classic ‘boots-on-the-ground’ marketing. Here are our five of our favorite ways:

1. Door-to-Door: – You may think this is this most ineffective and archaic way to get leads, but wait! Consider going to the homeowner’s door to AFTER they’ve filled out a home valuation form on your website! This way the home owner has already gotten valuable information on your website and a confirmation email from you. You visiting them to deliver a more comprehensive CMA is a reinforcement of the high value service you can provide!  If they aren’t sellers who need to sell immediately,  ask if they know anybody who may want your services. Of course, you should be willing to offer more information about yourself at all times. They may have had a simple one-minute conversation with their partner about selling, so make sure your name is in their minds when it actually goes further.
2. Open Houses – Real estate agents have been holding open houses for decades…because they work. Originally, the idea was introduced because the dream was for somebody to walk in and make an offer immediately. In reality, you know that this isn’t quite how it works. Yet, it still provides opportunities to meet with buyers.Just through the fact that somebody has turned up to the open house, you can be sure that they have an interest in buying (it’s not your average Saturday morning activity!). Therefore, you can get their information and start a relationship. Thanks to technology, you can even set up a tablet at the entrance for people to enter their information. With this directly linked to your CRM, you’ve got yourself a lead (and potential client).
3. Phone Calls and Visits – No matter what success you find along the way, you CANNOT ignore time on the floor. When somebody phones the business, this is as good as it gets; we haven’t had to work at all to get this lead. Answer some calls, be professional, and boost the reputation of your service.
4. Home Buyer Seminars – People who need to buy or sell want an expert for help. One way to position yourself as a thought leader is through hosting home buyer seminars. If your budget is small, team up with a broker or lender. Also, don’t feel disheartened if there’s a poor turnout for your first seminar. Just keep advertising on social media (and through radio ads and flyers) and keep holding the events.  Many states also hold their own home buyer seminars. For example in the state of Washington, the Washington Housing Finance Commission sponsors many home buyer seminars which you can view by city and date. Eventually, you’ll get a reputation in the community and you become a reliable source of information.
5. Online Leads: Finally, online leads. Since everyone is now on the internet, this form of advertising and getting leads can no longer be ignored. Many buyers and sellers turn to the internet to start their search and it’s important to capture these leads during their initial stages. Once you capture this lead make sure you provide them with knowledge, information and property alerts. Follow up often and make sure you stay top of mind. Facebook ads, Google/Microsoft Ads are just a few avenues you can look into to start getting online leads!

Value of Leads – Qualifying

Before we let you get on with your day, we want to talk a little about the value of leads. What do you need from a lead? Perhaps above everything, they need to be interested in buying or selling, right? With the insights we get from a CRM, you can learn lots of valuable information. This includes;

• How frequently people are engaging with listings
• The source of leads
• Which listings get the most views
• When they last appeared on the website

Rather than shooting in the dark and hoping for the best, these insights allow you to refine your approach. While competitors lack this level of service, you’re reaching out with information pertinent to each lead. After opening the conversation, the next step is to create a saved search for your leads and tailor your service so that they only receive homes that match their requirements. Suddenly, they’re receiving homes with the right lot size, number of rooms, location, price range, and more.

Furthermore, this information helps team leads to route leads to specific agents. Since you know the strengths of your own team, you’re the best person to approve of leads that come into the CRM and then assign an agent. This way, you have the right people on the right cases.

Conclusion

As we all know, the aim of the game is to sell homes. These days, how we achieve this is dramatically different to many decades ago. With the right lead gathering methods and a brilliant CRM solution, you can get leads likely to close and achieve those sales (while also becoming a reliable and trustworthy member of the community!).