5 Tips To Soup Up Your Real Estate Lead Generation

Lead generation is absolutely crucial to any realtor, and yet for many agents, this is one of their most dreaded parts of the job. That’s because many of them think “lead generation” has to be synonymous with one of two onerous things: cold-calling and door-knocking.

While those front-line methods are important, and most agents will have to spend some time doing them, there are a number of other options for both individual agents and teams to bolster their ability to collect and follow up with leads. Here are some of those options you may not have considered.

Build your Network

The utility of these methods almost goes without saying, but some realtors neglect one of the oldest, most time-tested lead sources: good old-fashioned in-person networking. Open houses, community events, and even—yes—knocking on doors can all turn up leads in surprising places. Reaching out and making connections in the community will eventually pay off.

Remember to ask for the opportunity to follow up with a lead, and then send them a small reminder of your meeting in the form of a "thank you" card. Some of those prospects may not come around for months, but eventually, the leads will come; more importantly, you'll have a rapport built with the client already, and strong rapport is how you get referrals.

Cast a Wide Net

In this industry, you don't want to let any leads get past you, but sometimes the market is too active to keep up with everything yourself. This is where a team comes in extremely handy, but even a great team can get overwhelmed. If you feel like it never rains but it pours, there are some technology options that can act as digital lead takers, collecting basic information for you or a teammate to follow up with later.

Some real estate teams have had great success using an answering service, and others maintain websites that double as a repository of community information.

Interested parties looking to buy in your area often look first for information like school quality, available shopping, and safety. A website answering those basic questions can collect leads for you without directly requiring an agent's time.

Online Resources

While a community page can collect leads for you, a more proactive online presence can work wonders. Manage your virtual profile carefully. Online reviews are crucial to any business in this era, but doubly so for a service like realty where relationships are crucial.

Unfortunately, it only takes one bad review for customers to start scrolling past you on Google, and it's simply a fact of human nature that people are more likely to leave a bad review if they feel like they received subpar service than they are to leave a glowing review for great service. As a result, it's crucial to ask for reviews. Customers don't usually mind leaving a review for great service--they just need to be reminded that the option is there.

Blogging

At the far end of the engagement spectrum, running a blog requires a fairly significant investment of time, but it can be hugely beneficial for your lead generation. A blog lets you provide a service upfront by running useful articles about real estate that might be of interest to buyers while at the same time generating goodwill and name recognition for your business.

That said, while a blog is a fantastic engagement and collection tool, you need to maintain it with new content at least weekly. If you don’t have the time yourself, you could consider outsourcing (although that does decrease the return on investment somewhat.) Otherwise, you may want to look for other options to bolster your web presence.

Service is Key

No matter what strategy you may use to generate leads, your first priority should be top-tier service. Potential prospects are more aware than ever that their status as a lead is valuable, so demonstrate your expertise and build value from the get-go.

Be genuine. Nothing turns off a potential client faster than a hard sell these days. Instead, focus on building relationships. See yourself as a problem solver for your clients--and work to represent yourself that way as well. Demonstrate your invaluable experience and skillset and you're sure to generate referrals and future business.

No matter what solution you end up using, make sure it’s something you can sustain as part of your business. Burnout is a real issue if you’re not seeing results right away. Luckily, lead generation also rewards creativity. If you’re getting frustrated with one strategy, change it up. Figure out what works in your market and for you, then stick with it. You may not be able to avoid cold-calling and door-knocking entirely, but every lead you can generate without using your time on those methods is burnout saved and dollars earned. Once you have your leads, focus on providing top-rate service to build referrals. If you cultivate the right expertise, soon the leads will come to you.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes