Never be so prideful to think you don’t need to prospect. Further, never run the risk of only focusing on one strategy or channel for all your leads.
You need to diversify.
I went a little crazy in my pursuit for world domination, but here is what I’m doing (or at least have tried in the past) to get new business:
1. LinkedIn
It doesn’t matter if you only have 14 contacts. Just get started with a high quality profile picture and some relevant keywords. Customize the header, introduction and begin adding people in your industry. I never cold message someone unless I know them personally, but if you’re the bold type, you can start posting and messaging people instantly.
LinkedIn is the best national and international networking tool out there (right now), so make sure you’re on it with your best foot forward.
2. Directories
Everywhere real estate agents are, you need to be also:
- Experience.com
- FastExpert.com
- HomeLight.com
- Homes.com
- NorthernAgents.com
- RateMyAgent.com
- RealEstateAgents.com
- Realtor.com
- UpNest.com
- Zillow.com
Don’t just join the top 5 and be done with it. Invest in ALL of them. Search engines look to all of them for consensus and co-citation, so it’s absolutely worth the time and effort.
3. Press
Journalists, publishers and editors are constantly writing about real estate and the nuanced topics they overlap with on a frequent basis. They *need* commentary from experts like you and I to weigh in and give our two cents.
Sign up on platforms like:
- DotStarMedia
- Featured
- HARO
- Help a B2B Writer
- Howler
- JournoLink
- Qwoted
For a minimal investment of time, you can get mentioned on some major publications (like I have) and use it as a springboard to larger opportunities. It only takes one feature to transform your career into the juggernaut you know it can be.
4. Nextdoor
If you’ve decided to focus on a certain city or town, you absolutely need to be on Nextdoor. It will connect you with the most active and invested members of the local community, helping you get your name out there while having genuine conversations regarding your neighborhood.
Without needing to promote yourself, people will naturally (and eventually) turn curious as to what you do. When they notice you’re a realtor, you’ll be top of mind the next time they discuss the sale/purchase of a property. They might even recommend you to a friend, relative or neighbor, even if they’ve never met you in person but had genuine interactions with you on the platform.
5. Reddit
This needs a little more finesse than other social networks, but it can work in your favor if you’re not trying to directly promote yourself and simply providing value over an extended period of time.
Obviously, you’ll want to join relevant subreddits, such as:
- r/RealEstate
- r/realtors
- r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer
- r/REBubble
- r/RealEstateTechnology
- r/LuxuryLifeHabits
- r/Apartmentliving
- r/DINK
But beyond that, you should look for ordinary topics where the opinion or insight of a real estate agent would be helpful. This might be difficult to gauge, seeing as how there are thousands of subreddits to scour, but with some pattern recognition and intentional targeting, you can filter your results down to a handful of threads per day to analyze and assess.
It goes without saying, the major problem lies in finding prospects that align with your target market, but if you’re going to be on Reddit anyway (as hundreds of millions are), you might as well use it to your financial advantage.
6. Facebook groups
Similar to Nextdoor and Reddit, local online communities are the go-to place to make yourself a mini celebrity in your town, especially as the expert real estate agent.
Find groups like “[CITY] residents” or similar. And if it doesn’t exist, create it! You’ll attract people relatively quickly (consider running ads to boost membership faster) and you can be the admin, which means you can control the direction the group goes in.
7. X
Normally I wouldn’t recommend a social network like X for prospecting, however, the live search function enables you to find people who are *actively* looking for a real estate agent.
A timely reply (even to a semi-relevant post) is sufficient to get a conversation going. Most agents are not executing simple marketing tactics like this, so it’s easy to stand out and clean up.
8. Cold calling
This, probably (no…actually…) is the most effective way for most real estate agents to generate business, especially if you’re new.
It has a few things going for it: It’s direct. It’s free. It’s efficient. And it’s probably the only strategy that can have you talking to multiple sellers in the span of an hour from the comfort of your own office/home.
The other good thing about it is you can start today as a novice and be on the same page as a veteran. No one knows you’re young or old, or if you’ve been doing it for 20 minutes vs. 20 years.
Lastly, there are new leads to call every day. Between expired listings, FSBO (for sale by owner) and rentals, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more sustainable lead source.
9. Door knocking
It’s true: face-to-face interactions are the most powerful and therefore door knocking sales seems like a no brainer. The main issues lie with scale and logistics, of course.
Realistically, you can only knock on so many doors in a day. Depending on the weather, that number could drop dramatically. Further, most people could not be home or not want to open their door to a complete stranger.
The other factor to consider is you won’t always be talking to the homeowner. Some residents are renting, and wouldn’t want to help you sell the house they are currently living in. They may even take offense to your presence.
Door-to-door a good way to build sales experience and learn how to handle rejection, but it may not be the best use of your time.
10. Direct mail
A quick and easy way to advertise to an entire geographical area is through direct mail. There are many services that will deliver your postcard or flyer to every resident in a certain zip code or city, but it’s common knowledge these types of strategies need to be executed to a wide array of recipients over a long period of time (at least 12 months) in a consistent manner for prospects to recognize, resonate and ultimately reach out to you.
While the content of your direct mail is subjective, make sure it provides some sort of value so as not to be dismissed as just another commercial and thrown in the trash.
11. Partnerships
There are many professionals in parallel careers who need to refer their clients and colleagues to real estate agents. Why shouldn’t it be you?
We’re talking about divorce attorneys, CPAs, probate lawyers, insurance agents and wedding planners just to name a few. Make an effort to reach out to a few from each profession (most of them area already working with an agent, so you need to diversify) and get yourself on their radar.
This may take some time and finessing, but will result in a predictable, steady stream of warm referrals you don’t need to spend any time, effort or money to acquire. It’s as close to growing money on trees as I can imagine.
12. Organic content
Content is king. But only when it’s sustainable and consistent. And you don’t have to go crazy with it, however, you must decide what type of content you’ll create, then go all in. Here’s my blueprint:
First, pick your medium. I’d recommend either:
- Social media posts on Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
- Videos for YouTube, Facebook and X.
- Blogging on Tumblr or your own website (like I’m doing now!)
Next, outline a schedule and stick to it. Something like:
- 3 stories a day.
- 1 video every Monday and Thursday.
- 2 blog posts a month.
Lastly, just keep at it and never deviate from it.
Don’t worry about ideas; the ideas will come. The magic is found in the consistency of your content schedule. Stay disciplined and after a while you’ll be getting listing inquiries on autopilot.
13. Pay per click (PPC) advertising
I’m not a huge fan of advertising in the traditional sense…mainly because it’s expensive, interruption-based and hard to attribute sales to. PPC, on the other hand, is a more iterative and intelligent approach.
If someone searches for “real estate agent in [CITY]” or something similar on Google, you want to appear in the results. And you can, for free, until they actually click on your ad. So, you only pay for a genuine visitor who is looking for what you’re selling. Billboards, TV and radio ads can’t offer anywhere near that kind of targeted buyer intent or cost efficiency.
Facebook is another option. While the user is not searching for anything per se, you can target them on a demographical capacity that is unrivaled and only pay for the ads that were clicked. And yeah, you take advantage of Facebook ads again when you’re gauging for interested home buyers (after you’ve secured a listing.) It’s a win/win.
14. Lead buying
Most of your ideal clients are searching for properties on the big sites like Zillow, Realtor and Redfin. And when they’re interested, they fill out a form, which these websites sell to agents like you and me.
Some agents advise to stay away from these types of leads because they are often sold multiple times (i.e. you will contact a lead who has already been contacted by multiple agents already), so you may want to experiment with them and be relatively quick in responding to incoming inquiries.
There are also lead generation companies that will find motivated sellers through their own marketing efforts and sell their contact information to agents: services like KeyLeads, Offrs and MoveLeader.
Not all leads are created equal, so I’d advise to try them all for a set period of time and see what works best for you.
15. Meetups
You can’t do everything behind a desk. Networking in person is sometimes the only way you’ll cross paths with someone who is interested in doing business with (or referring others to) you. So, you need to put yourself out there. And one of the best ways would be using Meetup.com
You can find an interest group for almost anything, and it doesn’t have to be real-estate related. In fact, it may be more effective to avoid real estate groups and seek out alternate passions, letting the real estate conversation happen naturally over the course of your interactions. And if there’s not a whole lot going on in your area, you could even start your own meetup group for a small monthly fee.
The local Chamber of Commerce is another source of networking, however, it may be limited in terms of membership, barrier to entry and cost to join. Either way, the phrase “you need to network to get work” exists for a reason.
16. Lifestyle referrals
One of the first bits of advice you receive as an agent is to source your “sphere of influence” — friends, family, coworkers — for referrals. And while it’s not the worst tip out there, it’s not the best either.
Most of us have small circle of people we interact with. Relying on family and friends for referrals just isn’t going to be enough. That doesn’t mean we can’t start expanding that circle, seamlessly weaving those referral opportunities into our lifestyle.
How?
- Joining a gym and consistently going before or after work.
- Frequenting the same coffee shop nearby.
- Finding a barbershop and going back at least once a month.
- Attending a church every Sunday.
Tweaks like these should (ideally) have minimal impact on your lifestyle but ultimately allow you to meet hundreds of new people you otherwise wouldn’t have. And the referrals will come with it. Find what works for you and stick with it.
17. Open houses
This is technically a gray area and generally frowned upon, but attending open houses can be an easy way to pick up clients. While other agents do the work of preparing and hosting the event, you can simply show up and talk to the prospective buyers.
I would only advise doing this if you get the OK from the lead agent and the prospects have already decided they aren’t interested in the particular property you’re at the open house of.
Also, most agents don’t like doing open houses because they take up most of your day and you never know how many people are going to show up (if they do at all), so you can potentially “take over” many open houses if you can make yourself known as the agent who enjoys doing them.
And there’s more to come
I never stop trying new ways to generate leads. And neither should you. This short list may be a good start, but it is by no means exhaustive.
Go out there and take some risks. The worst case is you won’t get new clients. But the returns on just one home run can be worth 1000 failed swings.