Real Estate Lead Generation Ultimate Guide
Advice and Guidance for Real Estate Lead Generation
Let’s start with the obvious. What is a real estate lead? It is someone who wants to sell, buy or rent a home/property. The more leads you get, the higher your chances of closing a deal. After all, not all leads end up as a deal. Your career as a REALTOR depends on the steady and healthy flow of leads. Real estate lead generation is the practice of expanding and improving the quality of leads you get for your business.
When the weather is nice and business is going well it doesn’t take much effort to have a decent flow of leads but during a harsh winter with people curling up at home you need to be the one reaching out.
In the Pre-internet days realtors were limited to cold calling and door knocking. Once practical (like there were any other options) these methods won’t work anymore, people have grown tired of and resent being directly sold to. Modern times require modern measures.
In this article we will explore real estate lead generation thoroughly and suggest ways to maximize lead flows to expand your business.
What is Lead Generation for Real Estate?
Leads can be generated organically. When you meet people and realize they have plans to buy a home or sell or rent one. But this will not be enough and there is no guarantee you will get one. After all, one does not build their business solely on chance and luck.
Lead generation for real estate is the process in which you try to attract and convert the people who are considering buying, selling or renting a house in the future into leads:
Someone who’s interested in using your services
Now these people are divided in two groups at this stage:
- Unqualified Leads: People who are considering buying, selling or renting a property but are not definitive about it.
- Qualified Leads: people who are contemplating doing business in real estate in the near future and will do it.
There is another group who are not thinking about buying, selling or renting a property. Marketing these people does not make sense. Why waste time on people who are happy where they are? The bulk of people reached using older methods like door knocking and cold calling are in this group.
Real estate lead generation focuses on finding the 2nd group of prospects. People ready for business who are looking for the best REALTOR: You.
Free Vs. Paid Leads
Leads can also be divided into two categories of free and paid:
Free real estate leads are the ones you won’t be directly spending money for. They can come from any source. They can be the result of your marketing efforts or can be connected to you by a friend. However, the free leads may not be qualified meaning they may not be ready to buy, rent or sell a property anytime soon.
Paid leads come from paid services like Zillow. Such companies collect contact information and sell them to you. Such services can connect you with active home shoppers in your target ZIP codes. The pricing on these leads depends on the property prices in the area and the number of agents asking for leads.
Lead Generation Process
Real estate lead generation fall into two categories:
Inbound Marketing:
Where you attract PROSPECTS to contact you, through creation and promotion of valuable and compelling content: Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), real estate Social Media Marketing, real estate Landing Pages, Search Engine Marketing, all fall into this category.
Outbound Marketing:
This is referred to as traditional marketing by some people and they may be right to some extent. In this type of marketing, based on some limited and basic knowledge on the audience YOU approach prospects directly. TV/Radio ads, print ads, direct mails, cold calling are a few examples to name.
A few years back it was all outbound marketing. Little to no attention was paid to content creation (inbound marketing) as it was expensive to produce content (paper and print). But now the internet has made it easy. You don’t have to be the Wall Street Journal to produce content.
We do not mean to suggest paid media and ads are bad. In fact, to get the best results in real estate lead generation you need a combination of both outbound and inbound marketing.
Real estate lead generation focuses on qualified leads. People out there looking for a realtor to do business with. There are different steps to take to achieve such important goal which can be summarized with the chart below:
However, these steps are not set in stone and depending on your needs there can be less or more steps in this process:
Audience Research:
Who is your audience and what they care about? What is their biggest pain? What keeps them awake at night?
Content Creation:
Based on the personas in your audience, the buying process through which your audience makes purchases, and the sales process in which your business makes sales, you select the types of content required to educate, convince ,or entertain your audience.
Content Promotion:
Based on your real estate marketing strategy you select the best channels to promote the content you have produced. Content which is not promoted is not seen and does not exist. You need to promote the content you produce on all your social media channels if possible. Before sharing them make sure you have tailored them to fit the standards of each social media platform.
CTA Lead Capturing:
Each piece of content needs to have a clear call-to-action, which in this case is asking the audience for its contact information by subscribing, filling out a form, joining a website, etc. this stage is crucial to real estate lead generation.
Lead Nurturing:
Once the leads database is ready, you need to nurture them further to turn them into clients and customers. Provide them with more informative content. Send follow-up emails and make sure they are on the right path towards your sales funnel.
Sales:
The sweet part. They are ready to do business with you.
Best Lead Generation Strategies
Customers go through different stages when they are buying something. This is called the Customer Journey and looks like this:
Through these three stages customers realize they need a product or a service, evaluate their options and compare and finally make a purchase decision. You need to adjust your marketing, as customers slide through the different stages of their journey.
Real estate lead generation can happen in a variety of ways which we will go through briefly in the next sections.
1. Website
A realtor’s fundamental asset in promoting their online presence is their website. This is the place where you create value and attract prospects. All leads, lead here. However, many realtors fail to use their websites effectively. It is not a place to tell people how great you are or at least you will not be the one talking about that.
Your website is the best weapon in your sales arsenal. When people have been directed to your website you need to show how you can help them. How you can add value and make their lives better.
2. Blogging:
Blogs can be integrated in your website and serve as a source of valuable and compelling information for your visitors. The ultimate goal of the blogs is to prove your expertise and offer help in order to build trust.
Keep it steady
Just like other areas in content marketing maintaining a consistent flow of content is a must in holding an audience. Try to post at least one blog post a week and increase it if possible. Going silent or incorporating an irregular pattern in posting content will disappoint your audience.
Add Value
Visitors have not visited your website to learn about what you think of yourself. In fact, they couldn’t care less. They care about themselves and if you are not offering help, you are useless and you will be clicked away from in a time span as little as 15 seconds. Yes, 15 seconds is all you get to convince a visitor to keep reading. It is not about saying “we” on the website; it is about saying “you”.
Include CTAs
Each piece of content should have a goal and that goal should be aligned with directing visitors in your sales funnel. Subscribing, leaving contact information, joining a website, commenting or sharing, whatever it is, you have to ask your audience clearly.
Landing Pages with Built-in Lead Capture
Landing pages are pages on your website with the single purpose of getting visitors to submit their contact information in return for some valuable information or services.
Roomvu offers a branded Agent Profile which acts an alternative to the traditional agent website. This convenient and hassle-free solution will allow agents save hundreds of dollars on creating a website from scratch.
The Agent Profile has all the important features that an agent would need if you were to get your own Real estate website. As a matter of fact, we have already built it for you. Sign up today and start using it now!
2. Social Media
People spend a lot of time online on social media these days. In fact, according to Statista, 3.81 billion people use social media worldwide. Moreover, 3.76 billion people are active mobile social media users with Facebook being the leader as the most popular social network. Social media is where your prospects will spend most of their time and you need to be there too.
By promoting your content and using targeted ads platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer, you can pinpoint your marketing messages and generate quality leads. Social media can be leveraged to drive and direct your audience to your website and at the same time get your name out there.
Facebook:
As mentioned above, currently, Facebook is the king of social media with 2.5 billion monthly active users. The platform offers a great reach to your audience as most of the online users are already on Facebook.
Set up a Facebook business page and start sharing valuable content and show them why they should do business with you and not the competition. Remember proving you are a worthy REALTOR happens by proving your expertise and knowledge not by bragging.
a. Post Valuable Content
- Differentiate your page and yourself by posting valuable and compelling content like testimonials and reviews. Younger generations and Millennials need proof to decide if a service or product is worthy. Provide testimonials of your recent clients and post them on your page.
b. Take the Best out of Live Videos
Facebook allows you to share live videos where you can have direct meetings with your audience. Live videos can be used for many purposes like home showings, FAQ sessions, interviews with recent clients, etc. and the great thing about them is that the audience can comment and ask questions on the go!
c. Use Facebook’s Targeted Ads
Aside from regular demographics like region, age, gender, etc. Facebook provides some data on homeowners which can be used to create super specific ads.
Targeting:
Criteria like interests, behaviors, and demographics can be used to target a specific niche. For instance you can use age ranges, income, etc to narrow down your ads’ target.
Objective:
Choose the objective of your campaign form Lead Generation, Brand Awareness, Engagement, Reach, Conversions, etc.
d. Join and Participate in Facebook Groups
Facebook groups serve the purpose of sharing information between group members. By participating and creating value for the other members you can stand out in the crown and attract those wandering leads online.
However, you need to be careful when choosing groups. Joining irrelevant groups in terms of topic or wrong niche will not only work but it probably will have a negative impact on your reputation.
Once a simple image sharing platform with cool vignette filters, Instagram now is one of the leading social media platforms. It allows users to post high-quality images and videos. Instagram holds a good share of the online audience with 1 billion active monthly users in 2018 with 120 million active users just in the U.S as of April 2020.
The visual nature of the platform makes it a perfect avenue to share images and videos of listings for real estate agents. By promoting quality content on your business account on Instagram, realtors can build a solid audience base and attract some qualified leads. If you want to know more about Instagram read out article about about Instagram for real estate
A very effective method for using Instagram which is quite popular these days and produces wonderful results is using the LIVE feature of the platform. Click on the link below to learn more:
Most social media platforms are designed for the general public with the purpose of connecting people and sharing information. However, LinkedIn serves as a professional space and is doing great these days. Although LinkedIn’s active monthly users’ count pales in comparison to that of Facebook or Instagram, its users have some valuable characteristics in common:
- 77% are 30 years old or more
- Close to 50% make more than $75.000 a year
- Almost half of the users on LinkedIn are college graduates
- 90% are the main decision-maker at home
These facts make LinkedIn’s members a perfect pool of prospects which should not be ignored. One can say when looking to do business, LinkedIn is your best shot at finding professionals. Many people are aware of this and are using LinkedIn to find a Realtor.
Find LinkedIn groups you know your audience would be members of. It can be a group for first-time buyers or real estate investors. Share valuable content and contribute to the group. If a member has a problem or asks a question, offer help. In later stages offer a phone call for further help and guidance. Read our about Linkedin for real estate to know more about it.
YouTube
YouTube the leading platform of video sharing is a great tool to increase the reach of your videos. It is owned by Google and is the 2nd most popular search engine. Based on stats provided by Statista, the number of online video platform viewers will increase to a staggering number of 1.86 billion in 2021, up from 1.47 billion in 2017. Here is more:
- It now has 2 billion monthly users, who watch 250 million hours of videos daily.
- It hosts over 30 million visitors every day.
- Almost 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube every single day.
We have published a dedicated and exclusive guide for using YouTube in real estate marketing in the link below:
There is much more to say and learn in the world of social media and real estate marketing. We have covered the topic in another comprehensive article. To learn more click on the links below:
3. Referrals
It is hard to trust which choosing who to do business with. People find it hard to know who to believe. That’s why they resort to asking people who already have done business with a company or a realtor. They find their peers more trustworthy. That’s why testimonials work well in generating leads.
Another form of peer suggestion is implemented through referrals and that’s when someone gives you a positive recommendation. According to NAR, 64% of sellers found a realtor through a referral from a friend, family member or someone they knew or did business with a realtor they had done business in the past.
When you have just started a career you have no network. Ask your friends, family members and others you know to share your name with anyone who is thinking of buying, selling or renting a property. Later as you do business with clients you ask them the same thing.
This is how it works. You keep in touch with people you know and make sure they remember you well when they want to buy, sell or rent a house. Referrals cost you nothing and don’t require you to do anything else. A solid list of satisfied past clients is all you need to get this easy and free marketing source for real estate lead generation.
There is also another form which is called agent-to-agent referral. It means you can cooperate with other agents in other markets. Connect an agent in another market with a lead you know. Once a deal is closed you can expect a percentage as a commission. In the other way around other agents will connect you with a lead for your market and you will pay a commission if a deal is closed.
4. Videos
Recent research indicates real estate listings that include a video get 403% more inquiries. That’s partly because people prefer images and visuals to text. Incorporating videos in real estate lead generation strategies is a sure way to get more quality leads and increase revenue. In fact, videos attract 300% more traffic for nurturing leads.
Once considered an expensive investment, now videos can be produced within almost any budget. Videos have many benefits for realtors, including but not limited to:
- Efficiency: You can show how big and spacious a property is better using video.
- More Listings: Sellers prefer to work with agents who use videos on their marketing.
- More Meetings: People have more tendency to open and click on video messages (in emails or social media) and videos get a response three times more than written marketing.
- Time Saved: Realtors create the video once but can use it many times.
Types of Videos to Use in a Real Estate Lead Generation Strategy
Real Estate Listings Video
Real Estate Market Update
Testimonials and Interviews
Home Buying/Selling Tips
Videos can be challenging to create but do not worry as You can always ask for professional help to get you started. In fact, Roomvu offers creation of high-quality real estate videos for an affordable price.
Once your videos are created, you can promote them on different social media platforms and increase the number of leads you get.
Using videos is real estate marketing is a whole new world and a few words don’t suffice. For a complete and comprehensive guide on videos in real estate marketing follow the links below:
5. Virtual Tours
Complementary to the videos, real estate virtual tours are a new technology to create 3D simulation of properties, allowing visitors of your website to browse and virtually walk around a home with a few clicks.
Virtual tours are free from the limitations of videos and offer extra value as they can be controlled at the visitors pace. In fact, according to Matterport, 95% of people are more likely to call about properties with 3D virtual tours and viewers are found to be 300% more engaged with a virtual tour than they are with 2D imagery.
Explore a virtual tour here.
Roomvu offers remarkable 360 virtual tours with 24-hour turnaround time with affordable prices.
6. SEO
You can create the best content in the world and still not be seen. How is that possible? If no one sees your content, it is as good as having none. That’s why producing valuable and compelling content is just part of the process. SEO and promoting the content in social media platforms are just as important.
SEO is so important these days that not optimizing your content for search engines will make your content non-existent. Almost all the well-established websites in the world incorporate SEO into their content online.
Google has a limited number of slots for search results on every page and the fact is most people consider only the 1st page of search results as acceptable choices. The number of people who continue to the second and next pages drops relevant to the number of the page.
Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short is the process of tweaking and modifying content so it is found on search engines easier. It is implemented for websites and even social media which feature a search engine. The Ideal SEO strategy is about doing some research on the keywords your niches use in search engines and deliberately using them in your content in a natural way to increase your chances of ranking in search results.
7. Influencer Marketing
Influencers are people with large audiences and influence in their field. The idea behind influencer marketing is finding people who are popular in your niche and then partnering with these influencers on advertising campaigns.
This will allow a higher reach in a short time and increases awareness on your brand alongside a short time burst in lead generation.
Generate Real Estate Buyer Leads
Apart from the best practices that apply to real estate lead generation in general there are a few ideas that can be considered best for generating real estate buyer leads. Read on to learn more:
1. Host an Open House:
An open house is when an agent opens a property for the public to visit. No appointments are needed for the visiting of the property and anyone who walks in the door is welcome and is considered a possible lead. But if you think you will generate leads by asking for random visitors’ names and contact info, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Once people walk in, you can assume they are at least thinking about buying, selling, or renting a house. They could be pretty serious about it and ready to take action in the near future or they could still be just contemplating. You can follow up on these prospects with open house feedback questions.
Either way, it is your chance of engaging with them and showing how helpful you could be. By answering their possible questions and providing them with your knowledge and experience you have a chance of leaving a good impression and proving yourself as an expert who can be trusted. That’s the kind of deal we are talking about.
2. Attend Open Houses
Many open houses do not have an agent. Heading to open houses will bring you close to these possible leads without agents, who are desperately trying to figure out if the property is worth it or not. These leads can really use some help and guess what, the help is already there! Start conversations. If you find any visitor who does not have an agent, offer tips and if welcome, offer a meeting.
3. Host Educational Events
To create awareness of your brand and gain quality leads you can organize some educational seminars in your community where you offer free advice on topics like hope buying tips, market status update, etc. People who show up probably have some sort of interest in doing business in real estate and can be considered leads worth spending time on. After the seminar invest some time to answer questions and offer a further private meeting to the more enthusiastic ones.
Get Real Estate Seller Leads
There are some things you can try to get some real estate seller leads out in the market. If you get creative, you can come up with many more ideas on how to get those leads and close deals with home sellers. Here we have gathered a few practical ideas to get you started.
1. FSBO’S
It is not uncommon for the home sellers to get disappointed or burned by an agent to the extent that they decide to handle the marketing of their property themselves. For Sale By Owner (FSBO) listings are quite common these days.
The idea that the owner is trying to sell the property themselves might be indicative of the fact that agents are not welcome but on the other hand, it also suggests that you have a lead that is definitive about selling their property.
Around 3% of FSBO listings manage to sell within the initial set time and around 18% of them receive the proper offers so they might seem like an easy score. But the fact is these leads can be tougher to convert as they likely have a solid reason to have decided to be on their own. They might have done so to save on commission fees.
Whatever their reason it is not a good idea to directly offer your services. Let them know you are an agent, offer help and provide tips for them to help with marketing their homes. Chances are they will grow tired of going alone and if you have done your job of being helpful they will be thinking of you first.
When hunting for leads on FSBO listings keep an eye out on the ones with a long day count. The longer they are trying to sell their property, the higher your chances are of convincing them to get professional help.
2. Home Evaluation Landing Page
One of the best ways to generate some quality seller leads is a Home Valuation Landing page. This page is designed for the sole purpose of picking out those who might have a home to sell among the traffic of your website or your social media channels.
In Home Evaluation landing pages, you ask the visitors to tell you where their property is and you will tell them how much that property can list for. The fact that this is done free of charge for the homeowner increases the chances of them making an inquiry.
However, aligned with the purpose of this section, this is not completely free and you will gain as much as you give. You provide a professional evaluation in return for their contact info. The info of someone who has a home and might be thinking of selling it or is wondering how much their property can list for.
The valuation of the property has two varieties. The instant and the delayed valuation. In the instant valuation the platform uses algorithms to compare the property to the existing data in terms of location, price etc. to estimate a rough number for the property in question. This method is not very accurate but has a greater conversion value.
Roomvu offers branded home evaluation landing pages for you. This free feature is a type of lead generation landing page and allows you to have your own home valuation page and get some sellers’ leads with ease.
3. Hunt for Expired Listings
Browse MLS for any expired listings. These are the listings that did not sell within the defined time and the chances are the owners are disappointed with their current agent and are not feeling on top of the world.
You can approach homeowners, express your empathy and suggest a few ways you would do differently to sell their property. The key point to have in mind here is that expired listings’ owners are not in the trusting state of mind and need to be treated differently. Offering practical help might restore some of the lost trust in the real estate agent.
4. Present Seller Success Stories
People get inspired by others’ success stories and agents have this to be quite motivating. When homeowners see a happy couple with a sold sign in their hands, a desire for the same feelings sparks from deep within.
As you sell more homes let the home sellers be the star of your story. Present them in a photo where they can express their gratitude and satisfaction from doing business with you. Better yet, sit with them in a video and ask them how they feel.
Investing in seller success stories is a sure way of inducing a sense of trust to the other homeowners in your niches.
5. Convert Rental Leads Into Seller Leads
Rental property owners are potential seller leads:
- They grow tired of short or long term rentals with little profit
- Market conditions can motivate them to think of selling their property for a decent profit
- They would rather work with their current agent (You). They trust you because you already know their property well and you may already have some potential buyers for the property.
So keep an eye out for all your existing and new rental leads. Provide tips and facts on the market and if they are interested list their property for sale.
Real Estate Lead Generation Tips
1. Showcase Already Sold Listings
When you sell a property in a specific neighborhood, showcase it and let your audience know. This will prove your expertise in the field and generates trust. Other leads in the region will know you know what you are doing and may contact you for business.
2. Segment Your Leads
The leads you generate are not all the same. On the contrary, they have distinctive differences. As a result, you cannot treat them the same. You need to consider them as different types of people who require different strategies:
- What they are interested in: buying, selling, renting
- How you collected their contact info: downloading an ebook, signing-up to your email list, etc.
- How eager they are: how much they interact with your website, social media channels, etc.
- Their buyer persona or demographics: their age, gender, etc.
Furthermore, lead segmentation allows you to divide your leads into high-grade and low-grade leads (qualified and unqualified as mentioned in the beginning of this article). After all, you don’t want to spend time on leads with little chances of closing a deal. On the other hand, high-grade leads who are actively searching the internet for homes to buy or rent are definitely worth your time as they provide a much higher chance of a successful deal.
3. Don’t Cross Out Leads for Good
Sometimes you spend a lot of time for a lead and show them some properties and then they turn to you and say they are not ready to make a purchase. Your first reaction naturally would be to throw them off your leads list. We highly recommend that you avoid such impulsive reactions.
Leave them alone for a while but follow up later with an email of some new listings. Offer help as to how you could help them make a wise decision. Leaving hard-earned leads like that will do you more harm than good. Leads who are sitting on the fence are far better than those who are not considering buying a home at all.
4. Go Mobile Friendly
The mobile search has surpassed the desktop search for quite a while now. Cell phones are now the pivotal medium to connect people online.
This significant fact suggests that websites that fail to show properly on mobile devices will be set aside. People don’t want to struggle with scrolling and tapping on their screens.
If you have not done it yet, it is about time you redesign your website to a responsive structure which will show perfectly on both desktop and mobile devices.
5. Count on Your Sphere of Influence (SOI)
Your SOI includes EVERYONE you know: friends, family members, relatives, colleagues, acquaintances, teachers, bartenders, salespeople, even your hairdresser. Further to this list, after you meet anyone new you need to keep in touch with them and make a habit to collect their contact information.
People may know who you are and what you do but they may not remember you once they need professional services. They might think you are in a different market or don’t do what they need.
Always offer your help to these people. Tell them to feel free and ask their questions. It is a long investment so don’t get disappointed if nothing shows up in the beginning. Just give it some time and it will pay off.
6. Go Networking
Networking, a complementary strategy to SOI is actually a fun way to generate leads. The purpose behind it is to maximize your exposure to as many people possible in the field of real estate and other related fields.
To do it, you just need to make a habit to attend as many social events as possible. Local charities, art galleries, concerts, fundraisers you name it. Wherever people gather is your destination.
However, it is not all just fun. Do your homework and keep yourself updated so that if anyone asks a question regarding the real estate market you have something to say. This way you will be generating some quality and local leads ready to be nurtured.
7. Focus on Your Neighborhood
Recognition and brand awareness for realtors are like water to the fish. Without them you will have a hard time generating leads. Recognition will automatically send some quality leads right to your door.
If you are a beginner, you need to increase your brand awareness by involving in the community. Going out and letting people get to know you.
Read More: Best Real Estate Lead Generation Ideas for 2020
The Takeaway
Real estate is all about generating leads. The focus needs to be qualified and high-grade leads. After all, time is the most valuable asset for realtors and should be spent wisely. Investing on low-grade leads will drain your energy and motivation and will produce no results.
The tips provided here are just the tip of the iceberg. The mentality and mindset you need to take based on these ideas exceed a thousand more tips. This is what allows you to get creative, come up with your own ideas to create awareness for your brand and expand your network to generate decent leads. Roomvu is here to help you. Sign up today and convert your audience to leads with ease.
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