Having worked with dozens of real estate businesses, primarily in the investment side of the real estate realm, we gathered 7 real estate lead tips that will help you gain more business.
How to Get Free Real Estate Leads (Checklist)
Here’s a short checklist of free to very low-cost lead generation ideas. How many of these are you already using? Which ones would be the easiest to integrate with your current real estate lead generation system?
Past clients
SOI
Referrals
Reviews
FSBOs
Partner with a lender and attorney
Open House
Use landing pages + Drip email sequence
Start a blog
Contribute to articles, podcasts, and publications
Create a social media presence
Answer questions on Quora
Door knocking
Cold calling
#1. Cold Calling - Great for Cold or Warm Buyer Leads
Sometimes old school is the best school.
David Luther, VP of NewQuest knows a thing or two about using old-school methods in a new age. After trying out a Client Concierge and live call transfers with less than impressive results, one of his senior agents suggested they try good old-fashioned cold calling to generate real estate leads.
David had his doubts. “I'd never considered it because it seemed too old school. I know that agents hate traditional cold calling because they have to sit in the office and make calls all day. One reason agents become agents is so that they're not chained to a desk,” he explains.
But, the results were undeniable.
“We found that people that getting yourself into the door with a phone contact can change the dynamic and speed of the sale.”
“We saw our conversions go through the roof. We were converting around 12% of our lead list. It's been a great success,”
With an outcome like that, it’s not surprising NewQuest is building a system around this tried-and-tested lead generation tactic.
#2. Video Content - Best Way to Consistently Generate Free Leads
Video is quickly becoming a winning formula for real estate marketing.
Tim Woodbridge, Owner of Woodbridge Capital, has been a huge advocate for video content for a long time now.
In 2009, his company shot a video of a city in Florida that showcased what the area had to offer. This introduced them to a host of international clients who have each bought two to five properties from them over the years.
And Tim knows exactly how to leverage and repurpose that content for maximum results.
“I have already filmed over twenty videos with my videographer for my team to put in my email drip campaigns, channel, and throughout the client process.
So, what’s their secret formula for creating irresistible video content?
“Everyone should have a YouTube channel and create playlists that focus on the community, sellers and buyers, and quick tips. Create both professional and iPhone videos.”
Tim acknowledges that not everyone is comfortable with staring into the camera, but the way he sees it, we’ve already spent most of 2020 living through an uncomfortable reality.
#3. Smile, Dial, Email, Repeat - Or Hire Someone to Do This
The burden is on you to build the most targeted list of people to contact so you’re not wasting time on every contact figuring out whether you can help the person who picked up.
You’re going to get rejected a lot less if you’re smart about who you reach out to. Be sure that you are only adding companies and contacts to your prospect list who you believe you can help.
Common company traits to look for:
Industry
Size (revenue, employee count, # of locations)
Geography
Related technologies
Common contact traits to look for:
Role/title
Tools they use to perform their job
Who they report to
Who reports to them
If you call someone who doesn’t fit your ideal criteria, you’re stealing their time. If you call someone who can benefit from your offer, you’re helping improve their life and business. Don't forget to put those warm leads in an email drip campaign so you may not lose them!
#4. Reviews - The New Word of Mouth for Real Estate Leads
Targeting millennials or real estate investment buyers? Reviews are the way to go. According to Consumerist, almost 70% of consumers check online reviews before making a purchase, and real estate experts like Justin Seeby of The Seeby Group have experienced the power of reviews firsthand.
The Seeby Group's review strategy resulted in 100 transactions in 2017, and countless free leads. But just like everything else, it's all about your level of commitment. Here's Jacob on how and why reviews work for them.
"Millennials make up a third of the buying population. A millennial goes to 8 to 12 different sites before they pick up the phone and talk to a business. What do they do when they get to 8 to 12 of those sites? They read the reviews."
"I watch people coming to my site in the analytics—they log in, and then they go to the review page and read every one of my agents’ reviews before they even pick up the phone and call. We start by educating agents that this is something that has to be at the forefront of their minds. The conversation on getting reviews starts on day one when you meet the client," he says.
If you're targeting millennial buyers, general real estate investors, or if you just want to set up a truly future-proof system for generating free leads, make sure you gain leads on any channel that may showcase them. Everyone loves social proof.
#5. Blogging - Best Way to Attract Quality Leads
"One of the best decisions I ever made in my real estate career was to start a real estate blog," says Maria of RE/MAX Realty.
Blogging is one of those free lead generation tools that are not utilized correctly —when you’re blogging the leads seem to magically drop from the sky. But free doesn't mean easy. It all comes down to intention and commitment.
Here's Maria on how and why she and her partner started her blog, Maximum Real Estate Exposure.
"Maximum Real Estate Exposure was designed to provide a wealth of knowledge to buyers and sellers to help make sound business decisions. Buyers and sellers love working with knowledgeable real estate agents. By having a recognizable blog you are able to readily show off your expertise to those who are buying or selling a home. Over the years our blog has brought a substantial amount of yearly business. In fact, it is one of my top lead generators."
A blog as a top lead generator? This website brings in thousands of website visitors all around the world.
But as Maria, herself will tell you, "Real Estate blogging is certainly not for everyone."
"Like anything else, it takes time and dedication. It is not a get-rich-quick deal that will bring significant amounts of business unless you put in the effort. This means you need to have exceptionally good content combined with a strong grasp of both search engine optimization, as well as solid social media promotion. Without proper digital marketing, your blog will be lost in search engines,"
Another option is to hire a digital marketing company that will be substantially more affordable than hiring someone full-time. look for one that has marketing and or blogging experience with an affordable content writer. You'll still need to set aside time to generate relevant content ideas, proofread and promote the work but a great company can significantly cut down on the time you spend researching and writing, making it way easier to stick to a consistent publishing schedule.
Last but definitely not least, if you're determined to make a go of blogging, make sure you set up a drip campaign to capture and nurture any leads that come in via the blog.
Be open, but stay consistent.
At the end of the day, if you try to cold call every lead and attend every local flea market, you'll only end up spreading yourself thin.
No matter how crazy or uncommon, focus on the real estate lead generation activities that can be easily integrated into your current lead management system.