Are you new to real estate and wondering how you'll grow your business? It all starts with becoming known as a helpful and honest local expert that can help buyers and sellers in your area. But how do you get the word out? Here are 5 ways newbies can start generating real estate leads.
Why Are Leads Important in Real Estate?
A real estate lead is the name and contact information for someone who may need help buying or selling a property. Leads are important because they can become clients who, in turn, pay you for your services. The more leads you have, the more opportunities you gain to earn new clients and grow your business.
5 Ways to Generate Real Estate Leads
As a new real estate agent, you may be wondering how to get the ball rolling. Where can you find clients so you can start closing deals? Here are five ways to help you start the lead generation engine.
1. Start With People You Know
A great place to start is with your existing network. Your friends, family members, and old co-workers are all people who may be wanting to buy or sell their homes. Plus, each contact you have has a social circle that can expand your reach exponentially.
Being so, be sure to get the word out to people you know. Share that you are in real estate and that you're happy to help with buying or selling homes. Hand out business cards. You already have a major foot-in when people know, like, and trust you.
2. Build a Social Media Presence
Next, jump on social media and start building profiles for your business. Instagram, Facebook, Linked In, YouTube, and even TikTok can all help you raise awareness of your services and attract new business.
It's important to start by optimizing your profile on each platform. Be sure to post a professional profile photo, a cover image that promotes your business, and bio information that speaks to your audience and how you can help them.
Once your profiles are set, it's time to formulate a strategy for creating content. You'll want to regularly post across your platforms to help educate and help your audience. And be sure to respond to all comments and direct messages.
This will help to keep you top-of-mind when your followers need a real estate agent. Remember, don't be overly promotional. Instead, focus on creating a community you can help to better understand the local market and real estate topics.
3. Host Open Houses
Open houses are a great way to connect with prospective buyers in your local market. You can plan an open house at a property you're currently representing and promote it on and offline (put signs out and post in on social media).
When prepping the open house, be sure the house is looking its best. Also, ensure you have a check-in sheet for visitors to enter their contact information (hello leads!). Setting out refreshments can help to attract visitors to the lead sheet.
As people arrive, introduce yourself, start conversations to find out more about them, and be sure you collect their contact information so you can follow up.
4. Subscribe to Real Estate Lead Services
Another important step in generating leads is signing up for the many real estate lead services that exist today. Sites like Zillow, Trulia, and StreetEasy have insane amounts of traffic each month, so you definitely want to throw your hat in those rings. How? Join the sites, create a profile, and add your listings to the sites. Further, ask your clients to leave you reviews to help build your reputation and encourage more people to contact you.
5. Ask Happy Clients for Referrals
When most people start to think about buying or selling a home, where do they look for a real estate agent? Most will ask their friends and family! Being so, you want to be the name they refer. How do you do that?
First, you have to deliver a great experience to the clients you get. Then, be sure to provide them with a business card and ask for referrals. You can help to incentivize your clients to send people your way with a referral bonus program where you offer rewards for each referral that ends up being a client.
Earn Your Real Estate License Online!
As leads start rolling in, it's only a matter of time before you begin closing sales and earning commissions. However, before you start, you'll have to earn your license. If you haven't taken your required courses yet, Aceable Real Estate School makes it easy with our 100% online, state-approved courses.
You can get your license at your own pace, and if you don't pass the test, you'll get your money back! Ready to get started? Check out our online real estate school!