15 Proven Ways New Real Estate Agents can Generate Leads

The most difficult thing you can do in every business is to attract paying customers. The real estate industry is no different. As an agent, it is your job to continually generate a stream of quality leads that you can capitalize on.

Without it, your business will fail before it even has time to get off the ground. On top of that, the industry has been going crazy in recent years.

The recent housing shortage has made it very appealing for new real estate agents to enter the market. However, as of 2020, the 5-year attrition rate of real estate agents ranges between 77-87%.

There are a variety of reasons why real estate agents exit the industry within 5 years. In most cases, real estate agents leave because they don’t earn enough money to make a living, and generating leads is the most important factor for REALTORs.

Since leads are the lifeblood of your business, you can avoid being a part of the 87% by building a steady stream of both buyer and seller prospects.

It is quite competitive, but the rewards are well worth the effort you put in. When it comes to generating real estate leads, patience is the most important  factor. It is typically a process that involves many months of work before the fruits of your labor start to reveal themselves. 

Reach Out to Your Sphere of Influence

Your sphere of influence in the real estate universe is all the people you know that like you. You don’t have to be best friends, but they do have to have to know you and like you.

Trust is a major factor in generate leads in real estate, and people who already know and trust you are usually the first transactions a new real estate agent completes. If you conduct your business well, your sphere of influence can dramatically impact the number of real estate leads you receive.

Be the Resource for People In Your Area

As someone just starting out as a real estate agent, it will be difficult for you to get your foot through the door. However, one tried and tested method of improving your name recognition is to become a trusted source of information.

The information you provide to people in your Geo Farm doesn’t always have to be focused on real estate. For example, if a homeowner has a child graduating from high school, you can help them celebrate properly by locating the right bakery for their needs, party supplies, etc.

On top of being an expert, you can also be the person who knows other experts. You can bring together homeowners and the vendors they are looking for. Not only are you helping out the homeowner, but you are also building relationships with vendors in your area.

Those vendors will eventually trust you and send other people your way when they need a real estate agent. This is one of the best ways to generate real estate leads for new agents.

This method of marketing is great because it requires no monetary investment. It is a great way of collecting passive leads with your initial investment of time and networking.

Build a Community Where People Can Network

Another great thing you can do is to be the place where homeowners and other businesspeople in the community come together. If you host local events, people will be more likely to see you as an expert. When they have a question, your number will be the first one they dial.

When you combine this strategy with the previous one of being a resource, you turbocharge your results. Your events will bring people from far corners of your local area, and you will be able to show them that you are the resource and the expert.

On top of that, these events are also an excellent way for you to relax and unwind from your busy working days. You will probably need it with all the work you will be doing during the initial stages of your real estate agent career.

Help Out the FSBOs

Despite the advantages that having a real estate agent brings to the table, there are still many homeowners that decide they should go at it alone. There are many reasons they make this decision, but you have to accept it.

The wrong strategy is to go in and try to persuade them that they need to instead work with a real estate agent to get their properties sold. However, what you can do is offer to help them with anything they need, which will build trust over time.

Of the many FSBO sellers on the market, about 7% of them end up using a real estate agent. It means that there is a small chance that the seller you are working with will eventually turn to you when the paperwork and other legal complications start to overwhelm them. At this point, you can be the helping hand that frees them from the complexity of doing it themselves.

Do Annual Property Valuations

Many people don’t know how valuable the home they live in is until you tell them about it. A great marketing idea is to spend 10 to 15 minutes doing an annual property valuation for the homeowner.

You never know when doing this can entice a homeowner to consider selling. If that happens, you can be confident that you will be the first resource they come to for help selling the property. A great way to keep them coming back is to also offer to do future valuations for them as well.

They might not want to sell right away, but you will get a small percentage to take the plunge. That would mean a lot more business for you, which is why this is a great way to get real estate leads for new agents.

Build a Website

Every real estate agent needs to have a presence on the web. If you don’t have a website, you are losing out on a huge portion of your business. The great thing is that your website doesn’t have to be the fanciest in the industry.

All you need is a simple website that functions correctly. The most important factors to consider for a real estate website are:

  •  Forced registration lead capture
  • Integration with your local/regional MLS
  • Easy to add landing pages and blog posts

A well-designed website, combined with the right lead follow-up strategy, allows new and experienced real estate agents to maximize their marketing potential.

Send Postcards

Although most marketing is now done online, real estate postcards are still one of the most effective ways to generate leads in a real estate farm.

The best part is that you can have everything automated when using this marking method. You don’t have to print or mail the postcards yourself. That takes the work of designing the postcard out of your hands. By sending postcards consistently, you give yourself an excellent chance to be successful as a real estate agent.

Market on Social Media

Social media might not deliver immediate results for your sales. However, social media will provide you with plenty of opportunities to create your brand. It is a great way for real estate agents who are just starting to build a reputation for themselves.

Social media platforms also offer the opportunity to buy advertising. Once you get better at understanding your local area, websites like Facebook allow you to target very specific people around you. That could be a very effective strategy to get the real estate leads that you are looking for.

In general, you can also combine social media and your website to great effect. The beautiful thing about your website is that you will eventually have people visiting without paying for it.

Social media accelerates this, making it possible for you to grow your reach dramatically without a large marketing budget.

Online Advertising

Online advertising opens up a new world, which is quite challenging to get into. However, advertising mediums like Google Ads can provide a great way for you to bring people to your website.

If you build an effective funnel, they will be able to click on your ad and get in contact with you through your website. Online advertising is effective because you can focus your ads on very specific search terms. For example, someone who searches for “Chicago homes for sale” is likely someone interested in buying, and “Lincoln Park homes for sale” is someone who is interested in a specific neighborhood.

The beautiful thing about online advertising is the plethora of options you have. On top of that, you can target very specific demographics, making it possible to reach the people you want.

Sponsor Local Events

The ultimate goal of every successful real estate agent is to build name recognition in their local area. The easiest real estate leads for new agents will come from the name recognition you have built. When you get a call from people who were referred to you, that is when you know you are successful.

Sponsoring local events can be great for you to get your name out there to the wider world. It is also a great way to endear yourself to the community. You can also use some of these events to network, which will elevate your status in the eyes of homeowners and other vendors alike. You can be the go-between contact for the buyers and the sellers.

Use Search Engine Optimization

If you wish to generate organic traffic, search engine optimization is essential. If you do it correctly, it will provide a steady stream of targeted traffic to your website for years to come. The time and effort you put in to build a well-optimized website will come back to you in spades. That is why search engine optimization is now so competitive.

However, you can avoid that competition by targeting local keywords that are specific to your area. When you do that, you only compete against companies in your area that won’t be as good at SEO as you are. You will easily be able to outrank many local real estate agents and team, and that is an excellent way of driving targeted traffic to your website over the long term.

Put Up Local Billboards

If you live in an area with a highway that people use to commute to work every day, it might be a great opportunity for you to put up a local billboard. Billboard advertising isn’t as common nowadays, but it still offers plenty of opportunities for clever real estate agents to gain traction.

You might even be able to monopolize this advertising medium because of the fact that most real estate agents won’t understand its power. The key to having a successful billboard is to remember that people are driving very quickly, so they won’t be able to look at your billboard very long.

It is all about having a good picture that is combined with a short and punchy phrase that they will remember. Once you master those concepts, you will gain a massive advantage over the competition.

Generate Leads on LinkedIn

A major part of generating real estate leads for new agents is being able to network. LinkedIn provides an opportunity, and it is a great way to build your sphere of influence online. You can use it to contact more affluent clients, and you can also contact people in your local area.

This flexibility makes it possible for you to build professional relationships very easily. The nature of LinkedIn is as a social media website for business, and that changes the dynamics. You don’t have to worry about the chitchat and everything else that comes with marketing to people on websites they use to interact with family and friends.

It is a professional setting, and you can easily build a massive network quite quickly in your local area.

Reach Out to Expired Listings

Not every real estate listing will eventually sell. When those listings expire, it is an excellent chance for you to reach out to those people and offer your services to them. You never know how many people will be willing to try something new after failing.

Expired listings still exist, even in a low-inventory market, and it is a great opportunity for new real estate agents to get their feet wet. The key to success is providing value to expired listing homeowners. 

If you have the sales skills, you can do really well with these types of listings, as these people are just coming off a significant defeat. You can be the optimistic cheerleader that comes in and offers them hope.

Wrap Up

There are many great ways for new real estate agents to generate leads. The key is to be patient, find 2-3 methods that suit your budget and skill sets the best, and be consistent with your strategy.

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