Sales Leads for Realtors
Because real estate is such a market specific industry, it can be risky to say which rules and strategies are most instrumental to realtors. However, as the business shifts to an even greater emphasis on realtors and listings having a strong digital presence, I have chosen some tactics that hopefully have a broader appeal. No matter if you’re working in NYC, or Anytown, USA, there should be some insights that can help you raise your realtor profile.
- Get Local: There are few things that can get on a realtor’s nerves any more, then when a neighbor lists their home with a competitor. Worse yet is a neighbor whom YOU know. If you want to be working the area where you live, then making sure that neighborhood knows you sell real estate is a must. Mailings, face to face & digital marketing should be focused on whatever specific region this includes.
- Sphere of Influence: An extension of Rule #1. There are so many clever ways to steer a conversation with an acquaintance, harmlessly toward the direction of “Remember, I sell real estate” (ex: “I was sorry to see the Andersons sell”). Greater emphasis on creatively bringing up your occupation to people whom you come into contact with regularly, is a proven tactic to boost your profile locally and instill confidence in customers, since you are actively touting your expertise.
- Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: As marketing property shifts more & more to the digital sphere, because of practicality, or restrictions on house showings like we experienced during the health pandemic, having a strong digital imprint has become an even greater asset. Social media is a perfect platform for realtors to non-invasively let their sphere of influence know about recent developments in their business.
- Lifestyle Guru: To piggyback off Rule #3: It can’t be all work, all the time. While social media is great for paid ads featuring “Just Listed,” “Under Contract,” & “Just Sold” announcements, your pages should ideally have a mix business and non-business posts. I live in a market featuring many lakeshore vacation home offerings, so I try to make sure my page reflects my passions for boating, fishing, hiking, sailing, and just plain exploring. These interests are many times shared by potential customers, and by linking to my page, they will hopefully see me as someone who will be compatible in addressing their real estate needs.
- Website: While home buyers will continue to conduct their searches through Zillow, and a few other non-broker search engines, there is still the question of how sellers will go about choosing a realtor to list their home. A freshly designed, user-friendly homepage with great photography, reviews from satisfied home sellers, and content that is focused on establishing yourself as the insider people can trust…this is a guaranteed means of differentiation other agents, who are likely using a brokerage-produced website with few customizable features.
- Client Reviews: If you haven’t noticed, businesses large and small are asking for feedback and reviews from customers via digital links, more than ever. I recently got updated face shots for my business cards and social media, and the small photography company that produced them, sent me links to four different platforms for client reviews, within 24 hrs. I was really impressed by how he was set up to leverage those reviews into greater customer confidence in his skills, and there are obvious parallels to how this process could be useful for realtors. Personally speaking, I am looking for satisfied clients to provide reviews to my Zillow profile, Facebook business page, and my agent website as well, in no particular order.
- Expired and FSBOs: While it’s great engaging with new buyers and sellers, if you’re truly watching the market closely, there are usually opportunities with pre-existing sellers as well. Whether it’s a listing that’s having trouble getting sold and had it’s term expire, or a homeowner trying to sell without realtor assistance, there are always creative ways to engage these sellers, most of whom just need someone with the market expertise to get their house sold. For example, try asking the expired seller “If they’ve seen the price/sq. ft. for recent sold homes in their neighborhood, and if their asking price reflects that data?” Or discussing with a FSBO seller “Are you aware of the median sale price and days on market of realtor-sold homes, versus that of FSBO sales.” If they aren’t aware, the statistics show that homeowners achieve far better result in those two important metrics, when listing their home with a realtor.
