Every Real Estate Office will usually have one realtor who stays in the office during weekdays and weekends. Being the attending realtor gives you the advantage of meeting clients who don’t know a realtor in the city and are coming into the office because they are planning to sell their home. Or the may be looking to buy a home, and either way the attending realtor who meets them at reception has every opportunity to secure them as new clients. It’s among the best ways for new real estate agents to get leads, and there’s real value in that.
Another thing new realtors in Canada can do is take advantage of private digital real estate market analysis, something that’s a part of the big picture of Internet marketing and something that real estate agents who were just starting out didn’t have in earlier generations. Our online real estate lead generation system for realtors is an excellent way to do the same thing and have you pointed in the direction of people who would likely welcome the opportunity to speak to a realtor about selling a home or buying a home.
The only difference of course would be you’d be reaching out to them rather than them popping into your team’s real estate office to have a talk with a realtor about that. There are other answers to the best way for new real estate agents to get leads anywhere they may be working to build up a clientele, and so let’s get right to them here.
1. Door Knocking
The old tested and true standard that’s been in employ by realtors for generations. If you’re a gregarious, outgoing, and confident person then you can certainly do well canvassing a neighborhood and seeing if anyone would be willing to have a brief chat at their door before you leave them with your card and wish them a good day. You may well hear from them in the near future for a longer talk about what they may be planning to do with their home.
2. Cold Calling
This is another oldie but goodie that’s still a valid tactic but one thing we all need to keep in mind is that people often don’t want to talk as much on their mobile devices anymore and text communications are greatly preferred. If you do try cold calls please be courteous and do not try to keep people on the line if they don’t want to continue talking to you.
One thing that is true about cold calling in real estate is that if a male realtor has a mellifluous, enchanting voice it is very helpful. The same goes for female realtors if you can speak in a smoky, sultry voice when asking about the best way for new real estate agents to get leads. Realtors will use sales scripts too, so write one for yourself and practice your delivery. Be confident and this may be a way for you to acquire new clients in real estate.
3. Direct Mail
If you live in a desired part of a city in Canada you can be sure your mailbox is going to see mailers from real estate agents who are working in that area of the city. That’s because there is always a demand to buy homes in neighborhoods like that, and realtors know that having them made up is a good investment in a situation where the odds of it getting into the hands of a legit prospective client is higher. You probably don’t have an email mailing list of any size to send a monthly e-newsletter, so direct mail may still best option to reach a mass audience / prospective client base.
4. Former Clients
Far and away the best way to generate new clientele is when past clients meet others who need a realtor’s services and are happy to recommend you based on what you were able to do for them. Providing great service to your clients and sharing all your insight into the market is only half of it, as it is important to stay in touch regularly, or at least via a monthly or quarterly e- newsletter so you’re always top of mind.
5. FSBO Listings
Most realtors come to know this acronym pretty quickly once they start working as a real estate agent in Canada. If you haven’t yet then FSBO stands for ‘For Sale by Owner’ and while there have always been people selling a home without a realtor there are many more of them know that services like Purple Bricks and others are getting big in the States.
You can approach people who are ‘Fizbos’ (industry lingo) with the same focus that you have when you would meet them when door knocking. But it’s important to be patient and respectful of their decision to sell their home via this route. But you also want to be confident about showing them your value so if they decide to hire an agent, they’ll likely choose you.
6. Expired Listings
Real Estate listings will expire, and there are times when the home will not have sold during that time period. When this happens there is the possibility the homeowner will not relist with the same realtor. Take a similar approach to these prospects as you would with FSBO prospects, but don’t speak badly of their prior agent, be critical of the way the home was marketed, or begin by saying you’ll be doing things in a better way. If they’re agreeable to talk with you, simply explain what you can do for them and here’s where you feel the focuses need to be.
7. Retired Coworkers’ Client Lists
Establish a good working friendship with another realtor in your office and it’s quite possible they might be willing to share all or part of their client list with when they’ve decided to retire from the real estate business. This could be a ready-made list of people who are likely already interested in employing an agent’s services, and the good word they may also put in for you could help with getting your foot in the door there.
8. Social Media Marketing/Advertising
Every realtor has a social media profile nowadays and some will say that social media is the best way for new real estate agents to get leads. That’s debatable, but many realtors use it well to promote themselves and market homes they are selling for clients, and many realtors have profiles on multiple different channels. This can be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms and it is very beneficial for realtors to be regular contributors on LinkedIn as well rather than being a passive user.
9. Traditional Marketing/Advertising
The power and reach of social media is significant, but traditional marketing and advertising channels still have a place in your search for leads. Again, talking about areas where there is demand for housing and limited supply it is common in these parts of Canada to see realtors who take out advertising on bus benches and bush shelters, or even on the transit buses and / or trains themselves. Granted, this is a more expensive way of promoting your real estate business compared to others.
10. Social Search
We’re suggesting you consider social searching the new version of door knocking and cold calling. Twitter is now X, and its search function makes it the best social media platform for real estate cold calling in social media. Some examples: Search “(city) condo,” “(city) house” or “moving to (city).” You’ll find plenty of ready-made prospects; all you have to do is learn how to use social search for real estate.
11. Open Houses
Although their success in selling the home is negligible a lot of the time, open houses have always been a fantastic way to realtors to meet prospective new clients. A lot of the times when you give people your card it will go nowhere, but there are exceptions to this and if you are hosting an open house you should be proactive in talking to visitors who are looking to buy a home and are volunteering the information that they’re not currently working with a realtor.
12. Builder and Lender Business
Think about other professionals you interact with within the larger real estate industry, such as home builders and mortgage lenders. If you recommend their services to your clients or others in your sphere of influence, chances are they’ll remember you and recommend you as a realtor to the people who come into their circles. Another consideration with the best way for new real estate agents to get leads.
13. Frequent Yacht Clubs
A real estate agent needs to be ambitious and there is nothing wrong with aiming for the bigger fish right from the get-go once you’ve become a realtor. It will help if you can hold your liquor and have the gift of gab to begin with, but wearing a sweater vest and spending an afternoon being charming at the yacht club could pan out into you making valuable connections with people who like likely live locally in multimillion dollar homes.
14. Volunteer with Community Events / Initiatives
Most cities and towns will have plenty of events where volunteers are needed and there can be civic initiatives too where a new realtor might be able to present themselves as a very civic-minded professional who cares about the community where they live an work as a real estate agent. Give up some of your time to do good and you may develop connections for your real estate business interests too.
15. Purchased Leads
This is the type of online realtor business leads service we have here, and there are others new real estate agents can look into where you pay for a real estate lead generator to give you the contact details of people who have provided them voluntarily when taking a survey about their interest in buying or selling real estate in that part of the Province. Definitely something to consider and often a good investment in building a real estate client base.
