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Top Strategies for Real Estate Lead Generation: Boost Your Sales in 2024

Published April 30, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

Top Strategies for Real Estate Lead GenerationFor a real estate agent the entirety of everything they do will be measured in homes sold or homes purchased through them. There’s no getting around that, because when you are working as a realtor your earnings are entirely gained by having clients do one or the other, and if there’s none of either then you haven’t generated any income from working as a realtor. Some realtors who enter the profession later in life may be more insulated against that, but for new realtors it is very much a sink or swim scenario and this makes real estate lead generation strategies important.

You will want to have a stream of new clientele coming in and having these people either listing their home with you or buying one with you as their realtor. Those clients are out there at all times but the fact is other realtors will have their sights on them too and this has always been a very competitive business, especially in major metro areas of Canada. Every agent will be looking to drum up new clients at all times, but there certainly aren’t enough of them to go around and this is why there is so much focus on lead generation techniques for realtors.

Each new year brings different market conditions for real estate, and despite median home prices have come down somewhat over recent ones there hasn’t been a major uptick in homes coming onto the market. When it is more of a buyer’s market there will be greater numbers of people willing to make offers on a home, and this is always going to be true of first-time homebuyers. They are just one type of client, and your real estate lead generation strategies should include ones that will be tailored to focus on all the different type of interests people will have in real estate.

So what will do with entry is share some 2024 real estate marketing tips, with the idea that you can incorporates some of them yourself and bring more of these people into the fold as part of your client base. You need them, and you will do have the mindset that they need you just as much if they’re going to get the best return on the sale of their home or be put into the perfect home if they’re aiming to buy one.

Promote Results

Real estate is a fast-paced and competitive world, and there is a real need to get the most out of your lead generation efforts so that you have success as an agent. This is equally true if you’re a seasoned agent or just starting your career, but with some effort you can come to understand the ins and outs of lead generation and they are so important for building a thriving PREC and staying ahead of the competition.

What will follow here are real estate lead generation strategies, best practices, and tools that can promote you having more success as a realtor with the way you have greater number of leads, and then converting those leads into clients who eventually buy or sell a home through you. From capturing leads to nurturing and converting them into loyal clients, we’ll provide a solid overview of the best lead generation techniques for realtors.

This will all be done with a focus on lead generation not being just about acquiring contacts. Instead the bigger-picture focus will be on building meaningful relationships, providing value, and delivering exceptional experiences to potential buyers and sellers. A strategic approach is required here, involving personalized communication and your ability to show you have an understanding of the real estate market and its unique dynamics.

Given the competitive nature of the business we talked about earlier, it’s not difficult to see how lead generation is the foundation of success in the real estate industry. When you are able to attract, engage, and convert potential clients, it makes sense that you’ll be closing greater numbers of deals and growing your real estate business.

Building relationships and establishing trust are essential in lead generation. If you can come to understand your leads, provide valuable content, and personalize your communications then you will be off to a strong start with real estate lead generation techniques.

Start with Your Site

Optimizing your website and landing pages is so necessary for a self-serving means of gathering real estate leads that is working all the time, 24/7 bringing in people who are considering buying or selling a home. Implement clear and compelling calls-to-action, provide high-quality content, and optimize lead capture forms to attract and engage visitors.

It’s also important to ensure mobile optimization for your site because most people will be browsing via their smartphones and you want to make that good first impression with your real estate website. From there you will want to be measuring key metrics to track the effectiveness of your real estate lead generation strategies. By monitoring conversion rates, cost per lead, lead source attribution, engagement metrics, and ROI you will be able to have insights and make data-driven decisions for continuous improvement.

There is good CRM software that can help you do this, and designed specifically for real estate professionals. They will offer lead management, automated personalized communication, analytics, and reporting, enabling you to centralize your leads, automate communication, and optimize your lead generation strategies for improved efficiency and success.

Keep in mind as well that integration with other real estate tools and platforms can further enhance your real estate lead generation efforts. Many of these software suites will seamlessly integrates with email marketing platforms, website analytics tools, and social media management tools and provide improved automation, data flow, and tracking capabilities.

Mastering lead generation requires a strategic approach, consistent follow-up, and displaying to would-be clients that you provide value. When realtors implement best practices and leverage technology they are able to drive their real estate business to new heights and achieve greater success. Often this is the most direct correlation between their efforts and having real estate be the profitable career these people envisioned for themselves.

Foundation for Lead Generation in Real Estate

Continuing with our 2024 real estate lead marketing tips, we can see that lead generation serves as the foundation for success in what is a fast-paced and competitive real estate industry. The process will always involve attracting, engaging, and converting potential clients or leads who have shown their interest in buying, selling, or investing in real estate properties.

When you understand the nuances of lead generation and its profound impact on your business, you can effectively position yourself ahead of the competition and see your work as a real estate agent become increasingly profitable.

Real estate lead generation strategies will involve using a range of techniques and tools that are proven effective for capturing the attention and contact information of individuals who are beginning to see the need to work with a real estate agent. These leads can originate from various sources, including online platforms, referrals, networking events, and marketing campaigns. And lead generation should always be seen as building relationships.

This is because the working relationship between a realtor and a client tends to not be a sterile one like it would be in any other business arrangement. There is a very personal nature that develops when a person is buying or selling homes, and that’s because these are decisions of such huge magnitude for people. This is not the purchase of a car, or a new kitchen appliances set.

Real estate lead generation techniques are so important because they are the first and most formative part of connecting realtors with potential clients and build valuable relationships. By generating a steady stream of qualified leads, real estate professionals can significantly increase their chances of closing deals, growing their client base, and expanding their business.

Establishing Yourself as a Market Authority

Another element lead generation allows you to showcase your expertise and establish yourself as a trusted authority in the real estate industry. It enables you to demonstrate your knowledge, skills, and understanding of the market, thereby instilling confidence in potential clients. As you repeatedly develop value and expertise, you will increasingly be seen as the go-to professional in your area and this is very conducive to being more able to nurture relationships with real estate clients.

So from here we’ll switch over to tactics for capturing and converting leads. You will need to have a strategic and targeted approach to capture the right leads and convert them into loyal clients. Realtors who have the most success with this will be utilizing various marketing channels and tactics to attract potential clients, such as online advertising, content marketing, social media engagement, and email marketing, and SEO optimization of their real estate website.

Personalization is a big part of effective real estate lead generation strategies too. If you are able to tailor your communication effectively and more specifically for needs and preference the majority of your lead types will have then you will be increasing the likelihood of converting leads into clients. Especially if they can see that you identify with any pain points they have and are also attuned to their goals and the best way of helping them realize those goals. You can provide relevant and valuable solutions that resonate with them on a deeper level.

Nurture & Convert: Best Practices for Real Estate

Successful realtors always do well with nurturing and converting leads into loyal clients. In what is a highly competitive and crowded real estate market, a strategic and personalized approach is always required. So what we’ll do know is look at best practices for that, and start with building relationships. This is very much a relationship-driven industry and building strong connections with your leads is vital. You will do well to take the time needed to understand their needs, preferences, and goals. Engage with them through various channels, such as phone calls, emails, social media, and even in-person meetings when possible. When you effectively establish trust and rapport the chance of converting them into satisfied clients is increased.

Next will be providing valuable content, which is increasingly import as buyers and sellers are hungry for information. Done right you can position yourself as a knowledgeable and trustworthy resource for real estate sales that prospective clients will gravitate to because they see your expertise. Create informative blog posts, videos, or podcasts that address common questions and concerns in the real estate industry. This content not only attracts potential leads but also demonstrates your market knowledge and establishes your credibility.

Personalized communication:

You are almost certainly going to have leads go cold or lose them if you go with generic and impersonal communications. It is so much better to personalize your interactions by addressing would-be clients by their names and tailoring your messages around their specific needs. Customer relationship management (CRM) software can be leveraged to organize and manage your leads effectively. You’re better equipped to track interactions, set reminders, and automate personalized communications.

Prompt and responsive:

It’s so important to be speedy with return replies in real estate, and this is such an under heralded part of real estate lead generation strategies. If a lead reaches out to you then there’s no excuse for not getting back to them within a reasonable timeframe. This may be with a phone call, email, or social media message, and you should always be replying within one day. A timely response demonstrates your professionalism and dedication to serving your clients’ needs, and you’ll enjoy a competitive edge because of it.

Follow-Up and Persistence:

The decision-making process in real estate can be lengthy and complex. Don’t be discouraged if a lead doesn’t convert immediately. Consistent follow-up is key to staying top of mind. Implement a systematic follow-up strategy to maintain regular contact with your leads. Use email campaigns, newsletters, and personalized messages to provide updates, offer value, and gently nudge them towards making a decision. With FiveCRM’s automation features, you can streamline your follow-up process and ensure no lead falls through the cracks.

Optimizing Website and Landing Pages for Lead Capture:

Your website and landing pages serve as virtual gateways to attract and capture leads. Optimizing these online touchpoints is crucial for maximizing lead generation in the real estate industry. Here are some effective strategies to enhance your website and landing pages for lead capture.

Clear and Compelling Calls-to-Action (CTAs):

A strong CTA is the cornerstone of lead generation. Use clear and action-oriented language to guide your visitors towards taking the desired action, whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, requesting a free consultation, or downloading a valuable resource. Place your CTAs strategically on your website and landing pages to ensure they are highly visible and easily accessible.

High-Quality Content:

Engaging and informative content is the backbone of lead capture. Create compelling blog posts, e-books, guides, or videos that address your target audience’s pain points and provide valuable solutions. By offering valuable content in exchange for contact information, you entice visitors to become leads. Be sure to optimize your content for relevant keywords to improve search engine visibility and attract organic traffic.

Optimized Forms:

The lead capture process should be seamless and frictionless. Optimize your lead capture forms by keeping them short, simple, and easy to complete. Only ask for essential information, such as name, email address, and phone number, to reduce the barrier to entry. Consider using conditional logic to tailor the form fields based on the lead’s previous responses, making the experience more personalized and engaging.

Mobile Optimization:

With the increasing reliance on mobile devices, optimizing your website and landing pages for mobile users is essential. Ensure your website is responsive and mobile-friendly, providing a seamless experience across all devices. Mobile optimization improves user experience, reduces bounce rates, and increases the chances of lead conversion.

A/B Testing & Optimization:

Continuous improvement is necessary if you want to maximize returns from lead generation efforts. Implement A/B testing to experiment with different variations of your website and landing pages, and proceed to test different headlines, layouts, color schemes, and CTAs to eventually determine what resonates best with your target audience. Analyze the data and make data-driven decisions to optimize your lead capture process continuously.

Best Means of Evaluating Lead Generation Success

You likely won’t see maximum results from real estate lead generation techniques if you are not measuring and evaluate your efforts. By tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and analyzing data, valuable insights into the effectiveness of your lead generation initiatives can be gained and then weighed against what you’re already doing to get warmer leads in real estate. Here are some essential metrics for consideration.

Conversion Rate:

The conversion rate measures the percentage of leads that successfully convert into clients. Track this metric lets you determine the overall effectiveness of your lead nurturing and conversion efforts. A higher conversion rate indicates that your strategies are resonating well with your leads, while a low conversion rate may signify the need for adjustments or improvements.

Cost per Lead:

Calculating the cost per lead delivers an understanding of the efficiency and profitability of your lead generation campaigns. Divide the total cost of your marketing efforts by the number of leads generated to determine the cost per lead. This metric allows you to compare different marketing channels and campaigns, identifying the most cost-effective strategies.

Lead Source Attribution:

There are valuable insights to be had when you understand the sources of your leads and how they may or may not have resulted from your marketing channels’ effectiveness. Track the origin of each lead, whether it’s from organic search, paid advertising, social media, referrals, or other sources. This information can then be used to better allocate your marketing budget and focus on the channels that are generating the most qualified leads.

Engagement Metrics:

Engagement metrics include time spent on site, page views, and bounce rates, and monitoring them helps you gauge how effectively your website and landing pages are conducive to having more real estate leads coming in through your online portal. High engagement indicates that your content is resonating with your audience, but a high bounce rate may be a sign that your website or landing page needs improvement.

Return on Investment (ROI):

Successful realtors will always measure the effectiveness of real estate lead generation strategies with a dollars-and-cents evaluation of how they are contributing to their bottom line. Calculate the ROI of your marketing campaigns by comparing the revenue generated from your leads against the total cost of your marketing efforts. Weighing them this way lets you identify the campaigns or channels that provide the highest return on investment. Armed with this information you are better able to adjust your strategies accordingly.

We can conclude here by saying that mastering lead generation is a crucial aspect of achieving success in the competitive real estate industry. When you understand the fundamentals of lead generation, implementing best practices for nurturing and converting leads, optimizing your website and landing pages, and measuring your lead generation success, it is more likely you can start outdistancing the competition and building a more profitable PREC.

FAQs

Q: What is lead generation in real estate?

A: Lead generation in real estate entails the process of attracting potential clients or leads who have expressed interest in buying, selling, or investing in real estate properties. It involves various strategies and techniques to capture contact information and then reaching out to these leads with tailored communications to determine if they are cold, warm, or hot leads for either selling or buying a home. Agents will ultimately aim to convert them into clients.

Q: Why is lead generation important in real estate?

A: The importance lead generation cannot be overstated and that is why so much emphasis is put on real estate lead generation strategies. They allow professionals to connect with potential clients and build relationships. By generating a steady stream of qualified leads, real estate agents can increase their chances of closing deals and growing their business. Done right the realtors have the opportunity to showcase expertise, nurture relationships, and then be the realtor who first comes to mind when potential buyers and sellers make the decision to move ahead and put their home on the market or start submitting offers to buy a new home.

Q: What are best practices for nurturing and converting leads in real estate?

A: Realtors see best results with their leads when they are building relationships, providing valuable content, personalizing communication, are prompt and responsive with inquiry replies, and implementing a consistent follow-up strategy. By focusing on these practices, real estate professionals can establish trust, demonstrate expertise, and guide leads through the decision-making process.

Q: What is best for optimizing my website and landing pages for getting more real estate leads?

A: To optimize your website and landing pages for lead capture in real estate it is advisable to have clear and compelling calls-to-action (CTAs), providing high-quality content, optimizing lead capture forms, ensuring mobile optimization, and going through A/B testing for continuous improvement that promotes more leads for real estate coming in. These strategies can help attract and engage visitors, encourage them to provide their contact information, and increase the chances of lead conversion.

Q: What key metrics should I track to measure lead generation success in real estate?

A: Measure lead generation success in real estate by tracking metrics like conversion rate, cost per lead, lead source attribution, engagement metrics (e.g., time spent on site, page views, bounce rates), and return on investment (ROI). These metrics provide insights into lead generation effectiveness, and often lead you to better allocate resources. Plus you are more able to identify areas for improvement.

Q: How can a CRM benefit my real estate lead generation efforts?

A: Most new real estate CRMS have lead management, automated personalized communication, analytics and reporting, and streamlined workflow. Agents that use them are better equipped to centralize and organize their leads, automate communication, gain real-time insights, and optimize their lead generation strategies for improved efficiency and success.

It is common for realtors to make their CRM software and even bigger part of their real estate lead generation techniques as they start to see very measurable improvements and more leads being converted into clients.

Ultimate Sales Lead Management Guide: Strategies for Winning More Leads in 2024

Published April 23, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

Ultimate Sales Lead Management Guide: Strategies for Winning More Leads in 2024Going the extra mile may be optional when it comes to Realtors selling a home or helping clients buy one, but that’s only going to be true in hot market where homes tend to sell themselves. That’s always been the case to a certain extent, but one aspect of working as a real estate agent in Canada where you need to go that extra mile and hustle to the best of your ability is with real estate lead generation. Improving sales lead management is a part of smart workplace methodology for anyone in sales of any sort, but with real estate the viability of your career may depend on it. Especially in its early stages.

Lead management strategies are necessary and extremely valuable, but of course that has to be preceded by getting more real estate leads in the first place. There’s no substitute for genuine hustle there, and it’s a part of why many realtors will tell you this is a profession where you’re working 7 days a week if you’re successful in your career choice. Anyone who thinks they’re going to get rich quickly as a realtor is likely in for disappointment.

But we won’t sway off track here – what we’re looking at today is effective lead management in real estate and what you can do to have a better understanding of lead tracking best practices. As always using a paid real estate lead generation service like ours here at Real Estate Leads is advisable, but once you have a lead on a new real estate client it is only an opportunity. What you do next with the lead will determine if you can convert real estate leads into clients.

Goal is Always Conversion

We should preface here by saying that the entirety of what will follow in this blog entry is not going to be exclusive to lead management in real estate, and instead it takes a more bigger-picture look at it from the focus of sales in business of any sort. Improving sales lead management is something where there is extensive crossover between industries, although we can also agree that there are always going to be certain aspects of it that are more closely tied into working in real estate.

Sales lead management is the process of turning sales leads into sales opportunities. As a realtor, you want to build up momentum in the pipeline to ensure that your commissions from homes sold or bought through you are increasing all the time. But generating sales leads can be one of the most frustrating parts for agents because many leads fall through the cracks or aren’t even qualified for sales contact.

Real estate sales engines run more smoothly when you optimize major processes, including real estate lead management. What you ideally will be doing here is building up momentum in their pipeline to ensure that revenue growth is steady. Managing sales leads will have your organizing and identifying the stage your leads are currently present in, and then following up accordingly with these prospective clients until the point where it becomes clear they will list with you or agree to work with you to buy a home in Canada.

If it becomes oppositely clear they’re not going to do that, knowing when to dismiss a sales lead in real estate is also a very important understanding for you to have. It’s not an easy on to acquire, because defining what a sales lead actually is can be overwhelming although in real estate it is less so because you can define client prerogatives much more naturally. The prospective client is considering either the sale or purchase of a home in the area of the country where you’re working as a realtor.

Anytime someone comes across any piece of information where you are presented as a realtor with your contact information, there is the potential for developing a real estate sales lead. If your lead management strategies are solid then there is a greater chance you convert that lead into a client. But you need to be judicious in the way you evaluate them and proceed with them, because you can’t have everyone who comes across your information being considered as a real estate lead.

More Informed Determinations

There will always be plenty of ‘feelers’ out there who are more just sniffing around the local real estate market, but that’s not to suggest you shouldn’t be in contact with them and bringing them into your potential client lists. But as always a big part of effective lead management in real estate is being able to discern warmer leads from cooler ones.

The good news is that real estate agents can now turn to tools like real estate CRM management software to work with their real estate leads more effectively. More and more realtors are doing this, and you should be too. If you’re not tech savvy enough to use them, it may be a good idea to hire a real estate agent assistant who can handle this part of your business for you and social media marketing for real estate too. But you will need to be the one who decides which leads go into your CRM for real estate catalogue, and so you will do well to have a better general understanding of sales leads.

A sales lead is a potential customer, and yes that’s a very obvious fact for anyone. Sales leads are people who have shown interest in what you have to offer, but what distinguishes one from the other is that they might not be ready yet to buy or sell a home in Canada through you at this time. Any agent will know there are many different factors that go into determining the readiness of people to make that big move in the real estate market.

And after cool / warm/ hot designation is made then it becomes about evaluating sales opportunities and keeping smarter track of your leads and how they may be progressing in one direction or the other, or staying where they are. Real estate agents will be just like other sales managers for businesses with the need to evaluate sales opportunities and trying to close them as quickly as possible. That’s made more possible with understanding the 5 stages of a sales lead management system, and this also part of lead tracking best practices in real estate.

Sales Lead Management 5 Stages

All of this starts with obtaining the lead, and this is why there’s a lot of value in using a paid real estate lead generation service online. The leads you receive will be qualified first, so there will be at least some degree of fire behind the smoke as the expression goes. You then have the opportunity to reach out and do so in a manner that allows you to judge whether a lead is on the warmer or cooler side, but it needs to be said that online generated real estate leads aren’t the only way of doing this, and at times they may not even be the best way.

There are many different ways you can capture a lead. Marketing campaigns, social media advertising, lead magnets, and others will also qualify. Some realtors will offer downloadable checklists and guides in exchange for a lead’s contact information, and when you’re offering incentives to list or buy through you then what you’re doing is offering a real estate lead magnet.

This is a good way of gathering leads that are more likely to convert, as the incentive will be appealing and perhaps what convinces a ready-to-buy / ready-to-sell to contact you rather than another realtor they may have already had some level of contact with. But even still not every qualified lead will convert, and conversion rates for real estate sales will be lower at certain times based on market conditions and other ones.

To combat your sometimes-low conversion rates, having many leads as part of your lead gen process is crucial — and increases lead qualification rate.

Real Estate Lead Tracking

Once you’re done gathering the contact information for your first group of leads you will move on to the second phase of the management system. What comes next is lead tracking as part of improving sales lead management. Your approaches to real estate lead generation will likely have provided you with cursory information on the lead, and often with their first and last name, phone number, home address, email address, and you may have also been able to gather their occupation too.

Good information for sure, but more is often needed. It is helpful if you can gather behavioral data on your leads too and lead tracking in real estate is good for this too. When you track leads effectively, you over time become better with your approach to these leads. Take any assistance you can get with behavioral data, lead source information, and other metrics so that you can better figure how likely it is that person or couple is going to sell their home and / or buy a new one.

Lead Scoring is also a part of this and it should be incorporated into you lead management strategies. Scoring a lead is just as it sounds; you assign the lead a value that determines how likely they are to be converted from lead into client. Having a common lead scoring system that the entire sales team can use is of the utmost importance to ensure all leads are scored on the same criteria.

You then create your own lead-scoring system based on contact information, opportunity size, lead behavior, etc. Regardless of any design strategy, lead scoring is a means of salespeople with prioritizing certain leads over others, and it’s equally applicable to sales in real estate too.

A lead that signs up for your newsletter and gives you their contact information earns one point. Leads that receive an email and respond get two points. A lead that agrees to speak to you on the phone might get five points. You get the idea with this, but of course it will work the opposite way too. Say a lead unsubscribes to your newsletter – subtract three points. Schedule an in-person meeting with you and then don’t show up – down 10 points.

Eventually you’ll tally up all the lead scores and see which quality leads have the highest scores. This is the group you want to target first while managing sales leads as a real estate agent.

Lead Distribution

Continuing with effective lead management in real estate, what comes after lead scoring is lead distribution. Some real estate agents may also call this lead routing, so you can go ahead and call it whatever you like as long as you utilize the approach.

You can execute a drip campaign if you’re still unsure about your leads. Most qualified leads, especially sales-qualified and marketing-qualified leads in real estate (SQLs and MQLs, respectively) should react positively to a well-executed drip campaign. This is a always part of a conventional sales funnel, but it can apply for realtors too. The information and education the lead will receive via this marketing campaign can push them toward either buying from your company or ending the customer journey early.

Lead Nurturing

Lead nurturing involves putting greater focus on a rea estate lead’s pain points, and putting less of one on why you’re a better choice for them to work with. This is encompassed in lead tracking best practices too because sometimes the client needs to see certain obstacles removed, and more often with clients that are looking to buy a home rather than sell the one they’re currently living in.

This is best done by building a relationship with the lead and understanding their issues and expectations. You can then present a solution through products and services that are more tailored to the lead. Nurturing and engaging with leads does not only have to be done on the phone. In-person meetings, as is email, are one such way to push the professional relationship along.

Use SEO for Real Estate Lead Generation

Every realtor should be aiming to have their personal real estate website coming up high in search engine result pages when certain keywords are entered into it. Quite plainly it’s of critical importance these days. Search engine optimization, or SEO, determines which websites get to the top and it’s a big part of improving sales lead management in real estate.

Best practices surrounding SEO continue to change as Google algorithms update. If you can learn about which factors most determine your rank as a company, that’s best, as you can make the necessary changes to boost your site. Implementing the following SEO tactics is also always a good idea if you’re not already doing so while managing sales leads.

You should also have an active social media presence and be posting valuable content regularly. And have an expert looking into the page loading speed of your website too, because prospective clients there are going to be just as impatient as everyone else.

Advertising online is advisable to if you want to get more leads for real estate as an agent. Pay-per-click campaigns through Google AdWords is an especially strong and effective avenue for you to look into. You design your ad and determine where it goes and with PPC you can track where your ‘clicks’ are coming from.

But online advertising has to be directing prospects to an attractive and professional looking real estate website. The site has to be ready to capture the information of these leads so you can move on to the second phase of managing sales leads. Consider advertising and redirecting them to your site through social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have their own paid advertising programs.

Adding live chat to your real estate website is a good idea too. A chat widget will greet your leads as soon as they arrive at your website. If the lead has a question about your company, what you do, and what you sell, they can ask the chatbot and get an informative answer.

Social Listening Too

If you have a good grasps of the key search words that your leads associate with your PREC, you can use social listening tools to generate leads. Lead management software offers various social listening tools that you can use. Monitoring conversations around the local real estate market is a way to be more attuned to which leads are more worthy of you attention and nurturing efforts. Add good email marketing practices to this and add these better leads to priority mailing lists and you will be doing well.

Use lead management software helps you create email sequences to reach customers at the right time, and all email communications should be equally focused on the service advantages you offer as a realtor plus addressing those ‘pain points’ we talked about earlier.

Initiate a Referral System

The greater your array of lead management strategies for real estate, the more likely it is you’re converting ever-greater numbers of leads into clients. With this understanding remember that word-of-mouth marketing still remains the most persuasive form of advertising. This process doesn’t involve the leads directly, but rather, your customers.

More experienced real estate agents are increasingly likely to have long-term, loyal clients and if that’s you then you can ask that they turn to their social circle and recommend you as a local realtor. As a way of showing appreciation for their assistance, you could consider offering the customer something in return, such as an exclusive discount code or even a freebie, as part of your efforts in managing sales leads.

CRM software for real estate is best here too. It involves many different people with their own processes and workflows and prevents any part of the process from going off track or being messier. You can edit, update, and track all pertinent information from one common dashboard, for thousands of contacts. CRMs will also work well for helping you score your leads in the way we talked about earlier.

When you’re choosing one look for key lead management features as:

  1. Call integrations
  2. Sales team leaderboards
  3. Sales reporting and analytics
  4. Lead scoring
  5. Email syncing
  6. Customer interaction records
  7. Automated data entry logging, follow-ups, meeting scheduling, and more
  8. Contact management
  9. Advanced view of the deal pipeline

Choose not go with some type of CRM software for real estate and you won’t be getting the best returns out of your lead management strategies. Not to say you’ll be wasting your time and money on ineffective lead management, but it is very likely there will be legitimately strong real estate leads that are getting past you. There’s nothing to like about that, and especially if you are a new realtor who very much wants to see yourself creating a good income for yourself working as a realtor.

Nothing is guaranteed in this business, and there are going to be peaks and valleys for all realtors depending on market conditions and so many other factors. Effective lead management is going to mean you get more out of those peak times, and of course that make the times when the market swings the other way that much more tolerable. You need to be aiming to convert as many real estate leads as possible, and how you first evaluate and process your leads is going to go an integral part of doing that as often as possible.

Effective Advertising Strategies for Real Estate Agents: From Google Ads to Social Media

Published April 16, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

Effective Advertising Strategies for Real Estate Agents: From Google Ads to Social Media Maximum visibility is important for any service provider in any industry, but in real estate it is absolutely huge and it’s why real estate agents in Canada spend so much on advertising and that’s precisely the reason most bus stop benches or shelters will have a realtor’s face and contact information shown on them. Traditional targeting strategies in real estate will continue to include conventional means, but these days there is increasingly value in real estate digital marketing and no one is going to need an explanation as to why that is.

You need to be most visible online now, as that is where the vast majority of people looking to work with a real estate agent are going to be searching for one to reach out to. But that’s in the face of the reality that most people wanting to sell their home will already know a realtor or have had one referred to them. Referrals have always been a huge part of getting new clients for realtors, and that’s hugely beneficial and the way it should be. All of your real estate marketing efforts should be undertaken with the aim of facilitating this for you too.

All of this is where you need to be making investments too, but they need to be smart investments and much of what will determine that is the area of the country where you’re working as an agent. In smaller locales where there a fewer realtors (but also less business to be had) you may be able to get by without using Google Ads for real estate for example, but you’ll still need to have some measure of hustle in ensuring you’re one of the most visible realtors in that area. Conversely, if you’re working as a Vancouver realtor or a Toronto realtor then utilizing social media marketing for realtor is going to be essential.

And that’s because of A) the competitive nature of working in an area where there are thousands of similarly-minded realtors, and B) the way that urban individuals are more likely to be making connections of this sort through social media platforms.

There’s so much more to this topic related to promoting yourself as a realtors and being super visible to prospective clients, and with this blog we’re going to dig right into that.

Go to Google

We’d be remiss if we didn’t put our first and foremost focus here on Google Ads for Real Estate, and what will follow here is a few proven-effective ways that using Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising quickly becomes one of the best ways to generate instant traffic to your real estate listing or website. It’s ideal if you do come up in the first page of SERPS when someone searches ‘______ real estate agent’ and while there’s no guarantee of that you can increase the chances of making it happen with PPC google ads for real estate.

Here are some tried and tested Google Ads strategies that realtors can put into place today and see new real estate client generation in shorter order:

Geo-targeting to Reach More Realistic Buyers

Geo-targeting works with targeting strategies in real estate. You can use the geo-targeting feature inside the Google Ads platform to solve the localization problem and prevent your ads from showing up in irrelevant locations.

Here’s the basics of how to do it. After logging into your Google Ads account, click on Location options and move to the Target column where you will select People in, or who show interest in, your targeted locations. This setting will make your ad to become visible to only those people in the locations you have selected. Select People in, or who show interest in, your targeted locations under the Exclude Column.

Your ads will become more visible to people who might be interested in relocating within the same city, along with those considering to buy or sell sin your primary locations. The last thing to do is set location bid adjustments. The goal is to increase the bid even as searches get closer to your targeted areas and decrease the bid as the searches move further away.

Filtering Out Irrelevant Exposures with Negative Keywords

Using negative keywords in your ads is a means of telling the Google Ads algorithm to avoid having your ads shown when certain keywords are searched or typed into the Google search bar. An example could be you don’t want to target condo buyers, so ‘condo buyers’ is added as a negative keyword. This will prevent your ad from showing when a potential homebuyer searches for a condo in your targeted areas or locations.

Assuring that your ads are seen more often than not by people who’s buying or selling prerogatives make it more likely they will contact you as a local real estate agent is hugely beneficial, and indicating negative keywords is easily done with Google ads for real estate.

Maximize Clicks to Bid for Top Ad Positions

Ad Position shows the order of your real estate ad in the auction results with respect to other ads. Consider these 5 factors to increase the chance that you get the highest volume of clicks possible:

  1. Bid amount
  2. Ad Rank thresholds
  3. Searcher intent
  4. Quality score

Done correctly you’ll increase the chance your ad shows up at the top of the page and in ad position 1 for higher CTR (click-through rate) and a high CPC (cost per click). There was a study that the most profitable average ad positions are 2.1, 3.5, or 4.6. The goal with your bidding should to hit that sweet spot between CPC and CTR – meaning the #1 position or a spot or two lower in the ad positions. But no lower than that.

Focusing On The Right Keyword Match Type for Real Estate PPC

Realtors working with Google Ads for real estate will 3 different match types for each target keyword they bid on – broad / phrase / exact. Broad match is mostly the default match type, and many newer real estate professionals are inclined to use it exclusively. With broad match keywords selected and ads appear whenever a search phrase contains that keyword is used.

You can gain maximum exposure here and that is always a central aim with real estate digital marketing, but what can happen is that the resulting traffic is low quality. The best keyword match types that can help you make more money from your ads are phrase match and exact match.

Tracking Conversions From the Start

The time to start tracking your Google real estate ads is right away. And you shouldn’t choose to wait until you have started making money before setting up the conversion tracking code. Knowing what percentage of users click your ad and what days generated the most clicks is important. You need to be clear on the fact that ‘clicks’ don’t always equate to sales or real estate client generation down the line.

Keyword-Based Ads Created in Multiples

Running real estate ads online effectively is done best when you target keywords that homebuyers are searching for in a specific location. As specific the location as possible, the better. You should focus on optimizing multiple ad copies based around those specific keywords you where you hope your property listings will show up when a user enters those keywords. And remember that ad copies should also be relevant to your ad group.

Good tips:

  1. Highlight benefits as much as you’re highlighting features
  2. Use numbers in copy
  3. Come up with more eye-catching and appealing headlines that are also formed around your expected local real estate search query terms

Ad Spend & Conversions

Realtors who do well with Google Ads for real estate never run ads blindly on Google blindly. And well they shouldn’t, because this avenue of real estate digital marketing is not inexpensive. You need to be aware of how much you’re spending and what results you’re getting or it’s likely you won’t be getting anywhere near the value out of what you’ve invested in real estate agent ads online.

Yes, Google Ads is a great way to get consistent leads but you also want to prevent or minimize irrelevant clicks and attract only qualified leads. This is always a very important consideration, and it makes it a smart idea to spend an adequate amount of time on your ads’ analytics. Also, invest in improving your knowledge of Google Ads. It’s a data-driven advertising platform — that combines science and art.

We’re going to move on to social media marketing for realtors now, but before we do we’ll stress again that there’s no better time to use Google ads to get leads and buyers for your real estate listings. In a competitive industry you need a consistent flow of quality leads where the chances of them being converted into real estate clients is more likely.

Spending an inordinate amount of time trying to get free traffic from social media and organic search results is never very useful it seems. Use Google Ads to level up and grow your real estate business.

New King

Social media is very much the new king of marketing potential, and if you’re new to working as a real estate agent you’re going to quickly see that nearly every realtor is very active on social media, and entirely by design. There are over 4 billion monthly active users across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and there’s no denying social media channels are an increasingly integral way for real estate agents to broaden their reach and connect with potential clients. In many ways it has revolutionized real estate digital marketing.

Getting the most out of it required the right approach, and there’s no getting around that. What will follow here are social media marketing for realtors strategies that can be used to build top brands in the luxury real estate space plus advice about which platforms might be the best fit for you as your promote you real estate business to the best of your ability. It tends to be a point that gets hammered on, but without a strong social media presence there is the risk of missing out on major opportunities.

Smart social media marketing strategies help you connect with your target market, establish yourself as a local real estate expert, expand your reach, and grow your real estate business. Keys to lasting success as an agent are definitely wrapped up in this.

Top real estate social media tools include Facebook and others, but Facebook is a good one to put a lot of emphasis on. It offers real estate agents an effective way to reach and meaningfully engage with potential clients and targeting strategies in real estate can definitely be incorporated here. There is an average of2.9 billion active monthly users here and you are able to pinpoint specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.

For getting your real estate business in front of the right people, Facebook is a wonderful social media resource and it is the most popular platform for people of the age and socio demographic that are more likely to be buying or selling a home. But there’s a lot more to it too, as Facebook can be utilized as revenue generator for your business by:

Showcasing properties and creating posts or albums that are complete with photos, videos, and detailed descriptions

Engaging with prospects through Facebook’s commenting and messaging so potential buyers are able to immediately reach out with questions or requests for more information

Building relationships with clients by sharing helpful real estate tips, insights, and updates, you can build trust and rapport with potential clients, which can be beneficial for long-term relationships and referrals.

Keeping up with industry trends with content that makes it natural to follow and engage with other real estate professionals, industry news sources, and professional organizations that have valuable information on the latest real estate trends and developments.

LinkedIn for Real Estate Agents

LinkedIn is also a very valuable resource for realtors looking to promote their real estate businesses and be identified as market leaders in their area. With its powerful network of professionals and potential clients, LinkedIn can be equally good for generating real estate leads and connecting with key people in the industry. It is always best to optimize profiles with relevant keywords, accurate descriptions, and engaging copy speaking directly to your ideal clients.

By doing so you can position yourself as an expert in your field and attract more prospects. Investing in sponsored social media posts or ads on LinkedIn is also a proven real estate social media strategy that’s helpful for multiplying your visibility and fast-track results. Career promotion is not the only use case for this platform, and you’ll quickly see how it is conducive to effective real estate digital marketing too.

Instagram for Realtors

Some do consider Instagram to be the best social platform for realtors looking to make connections with legit client prospect, and that has everything to do with the way the algorithm distributes content. But not just any content – very visually-oriented content and as you’ll know a huge part of marketing a home for sale is making attractive images of the home and property available. With over one billion active users, of course top real estate agents will look to Instagram to build relationships with customers and boost their businesses.

You can create stunning visuals that capture potential customers’ attention to connecting with influencers who have a following in your niche, and there are several Instagram strategies you can add to your real estate social media plan to accelerate your growth.

TikTok for Realtors

TikTok’s focus is on video content, and this type of real estate digital marketing approach is the very reason that so many realtors have bought drones to take high-view panorama video of the homes they are selling and the property around the dwelling. It can definitely help you reach more people and generate buzz around your listings, and with the way it is less focused on people who already know you’re a realtor it becomes a good place to find brand new viewers and build a real estate clientele base.

YouTube for Realtors

Maximizing their online presence is a key part of self-promotion for all Real estate agents these days. looking to Creating a YouTube channel as part of their real estate social media strategy is a good means of doing that. YouTube has over 1.9 billion active monthly subscriber and is the 2nd-largest search engine in the world.

A survey found that 51% of home buyers use YouTube for their research and 73% of homeowners stated their increased likelihood to list with a real estate agent who uses video to market homes for sale locally.

Overarching Real Estate Social Media Marketing Tactics

Social media marketing for realtors needs to be more than simply creating and posting content and hoping it ends up providing traction. Real results come from having a plan and being intentional in your approach. Consider these proven strategies used by industry leaders who’ve built their PRECs with effective approaches to real estate with social media.

High-quality photos

Your focus here needs to be on more than just beautiful pictures. The images you put on your real estate website and the social media platforms you use should build trust with clients, increase engagement, and drive sales as best as possible.

Client testimonials & success stories

You can do really well with optimizing your online presence as a realtor on social media by posting testimonials and success stories from past clients. It is great for showing potential buyers that you’re an experienced and successful agent, and also makes you come across as more genuine and approachable.

Company milestones

Having company milestones marked on social media can be an effective and relatively easy way to build authority and trust. You may even have the ability to turn this into a promotion.

Market & industry news

Posting industry and market news on social media shows that you stay informed, establishes you as an authority in your space, and promotes much more trust with your followers as they consider which Canadian real estate agent they’re going to choose to work with.

Home tips & renovation ideas

Realtors can take their experience in the business and what they’ve learned from clients to offer home tips and renovation ideas on their real estate social media platforms. This is a time-tested strategy that can add more value to your social media content and that value is then transferred over in the form of an increases likelihood of viewers thinking ‘this might be the right realtor for use to choose to work with when we are ready to buy a home.

Real estate event coverage

Leveraging your involvement in industry events is also a smart practice on social media. Not only does it demonstrate your commitment and expertise, but it leaves a positive impression on prospects, too.

Dos& Don’ts for Real Estate Digital Marketing via Social Media

Let’s now move over to some best practices for real estate social media and ways you can avoid common missteps:

  1. Do be yourself – Agents often choose to portray themselves in a certain way on social media and often one that’s not an accurate reflection of themselves or the way they’re inclined to help clients sell or buy a home. Being your authentic self is a much more effective way to resonate with current and potential clients.
  2. Do educate buyers – Real estate social media marketing is an essential tool for connecting with and sharing information with buyers. By educating your audience, you position yourself as an expert and build relationships that increase sales.
  3. Do post regularly – Realtors who create valuable content and share it regularly are more likely to be educating prospective clients about the industry and showcasing their expertise to the extent that they will have greater numbers of real estate leads generated.
  4. Do respond to comments – By responding quickly and kindly to comments, you show prospects and clients that you are engaged, timely, and on top of your game.
  5. Do share contact details – Contact info should always be clearly listed on all of your real estate social media profiles, as if potential clients have difficulty contacting you they’re going to be less inclined to make further effort to find a means of being in touch with you and getting the local real estate information they need.
  6. Do promote landing pages – Sharing your landing pages on social media is a proven way to drive more traffic to your website. This both increases visibility and promotes more real estate leads and leads that are eventually converted into clients / sales / commissions.
  7. Do build your brand – Having a consistent presence across online channels gives you credibility, visibility, and reliability, which builds trust between you and potential clients.

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  1. Don’t exclude video content – The right strategies are always going to allow real estate agents in Canada to use videos to engage with prospects, highlight properties, and showcase their expertise. Done correctly you are much more likely to stand out from the competition and enjoy greater success as a realtor.
  2. Don’t assume clients are first-time buyers – Social media marketing for realtors provides an opportunity for real estate agents to reach potential clients from all different backgrounds. Take advantage of that and you’re nearly guaranteed to have more of the success with new real estate clients that you’re hoping for.
  3. Don’t be self-centered – Excessively focusing on yourself will limit your success as a real estate professional by alienating current and prospective customers, possibly harming your reputation, and likely seeing reduced engagement between followers and your local real estate content.
  4. Don’t ignore existing clients – Real estate social media is a powerful tool for connecting with current and past clients, and making the most of it will always involve ensuring engagement with existing clients as well as prospects.

Real Estate Social Following Generation Tips

We’ll conclude this entry by talking about specific tips that can draw more prospective clients toward you vial the social media platforms you use for real estate. Agents often forget to include their real estate social media accounts on their website, marketing collateral, Google Business Profile, and other client-facing assets. This is never good, as you want to make it as easy as possible for people to see and recognize the best way to get in touch with you.

You can start by keeping your social accounts active. Simply creating a social media account for your real estate business is not enough, and you should stay active by consistently monitoring for comments and messages, as well as regularly posting content. This is all tied into targeting strategies for real estate too, because prompt replies and being seen as someone who is ‘at the ready’ to discuss real estate sale / purchases is big-time beneficial for you.

Letting your personality shine through is good too. There is always going to be a lot of competition, so you need to ensure your content is seen and appreciated. Every realtor will be hoping to establish their services as something of a brand that’s uniquely theirs, and you can create an online presence that will help you reach more clients and grow your business.

The last consideration you may want to look at is to hire real estate social media experts. The ever-expanding number of social media platforms and ever-changing algorithms make it definitely for laypeople to do as well with all this as they’d like, so it’s easy to start to lag with your real estate social media strategy. Hiring a real estate lead generation expert – someone who’s likely much younger and social media savvy than you – may be a good investment when you can see how social media marketing is so big in real estate nowadays.

How Automation Can Supercharge Your Real Estate Lead Generation

Published April 9, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

How Automation Can Supercharge Your Real Estate Lead Generation Automatic is the opposite of manual, and when it comes to automotive transmissions you’ll be able to get into top gear at least somewhat faster if you’re monitoring the RPM gauge and using your left foot and right hand to shift up. But if we’re to swing that around to real estate lead generation strategies then you may get your new client prospecting into top gear and producing greater numbers of quality leads if you go with automation rather than manual approaches. That’s what we’re going to look at with this blog entry, as there are real estate automation tools now that are accessible to realtors ready to invest in their success.

The one constant that will continue to apply even with more technology in real estate and ways for realtors to be more successful is that you still need to have hustle. That initiative may not be channeled into door knocking or other meet-new-client approaches like it used to, but you need to be pushing yourself and having a hungry eye on the prize with automated lead generation in real estate too. You need to see these tools as complements to your existing effort mainframe, and you’ll see that’s what best realtors do.

For some realtors a paid real estate lead generation service like ours here at Real Estate Leads will be the most valuable one at their disposal, and that’s more likely to be true for real estate agents working in hotspot locations in Canada like the Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto areas. But the tradeoff in all of that is that real estate is a much more competitive businesses in major metro areas like these ones. You may well need to expand real estate lead generation strategies simply because there’s less of the pie to go around.

So let’s get into this look at real estate automation tools with an eye to helping you determine which ones might work best for you.

Exceeding Competition

It certainly isn’t easy for real estate professionals to achieve the career success they envision for themselves these days. And yes, that has everything to do with the competitive nature of the industry. It is not so simple to meet the needs of building a client base, finding listings, and establishing a strong reputation in a competitive market. Even in escrow, you’re never going to have a guarantee that a deal will close. In that event a lot of time, effort, and potential income are all squandered if it’s seen from the realtor’s perspective.

But real estate automation tools can help you both better gather leads, identify and classify them, as well as learn to convert real estate leads better if you spend enough time working with them. Real estate marketing automation can help you develop your network, follow up on leads, and ultimately grow your business and there is software agents can use to get started in the best way possible.

Real estate marketing automation aids realtors with the completion of repetitive tasks like sending emails, updating prospect profiles, and tracking website activity. And as you will already know all of this is tied into real estate lead generation strategies. Used correctly these tools can also help with moving leads down the sale funnel, and specifically by:

  1. Creating, scheduling, and implementing lead nurturing campaigns
  2. Streamlining appointment scheduling
  3. Doing lead management
  4. Creating automation for core processes in real estate businesses

Lead Generation

Automation impact on real estate sales is undeniable, and especially with the way we are increasingly seeing real estate professionals using automation to capture leads from more sources, including websites, social media, and MLS listings. Lead capture forms, targeted landing pages, and chat history are all excellent for allowing you to gather contacts into your database.

Lead nurturing is always going to be a huge part of combining real estate automation tools effectively, as ones like those listed above can help nurture leads through workflows by timely and relevant communications combined into those workflows. What you will see successful realtors do here is segment contacts into groups, such as ‘first-time buyers’, ‘investor buyers’, ‘referrals’ or ‘ready to buy’ types and then possibly having a real estate CRM software suite or something similar create content and tips that target them more naturally and effectively.

Good ideas can include tools that send personalized emails to first-time buyers with realtor insider tips from past buyers, detailed information about listings, or general market updates that apply to the area where you do most of your business as a real estate agent in Canada.

Oppositely, automated lead generation in real estate can also involve crafting different approaches to contact and stay in communication with leads that aren’t so warm and for homeowners who intend to sell but are not in a hurry to do so. These individuals or couples can receive email campaigns with property recommendations and market updates and you may also want to include satisfied client testimonials to build your reputation.

Remember that relevant and timely content keeps leads engaged and also builds trust in your services, and real estate lead generation strategies should always incorporate them.

Time-Consuming Tasks

Real estate automation tools are both powerful and rangy these days, and capable of handling tasks that were much more time consuming up until now. This includes the back-and-forth of scheduling appointments to sending follow-up reminders, and when you use them effectively you gain time – which is perhaps the most valuable resource of all no matter what profession you are in.

Meeting scheduling, follow-up messages, and reminder emails or text messages are all examples of tasks that automation workflows can handle for you, freeing you up to address the other priorities you have in growing your real estate business and establishing yourself as recognizable real estate professional in your part of the country.

Solid Automated Real Estate Lead Generation Strategies

Each of the ones listed below have the ability to improve your marketing efforts and enhance customer experience to the point that new clients will return to working with you for future real estate sales and purchases. Ones that are compatible with real estate automation tools should be given priority if you are already using certain tools that are conducive to finding new leads for real estate agents.

Email-Marketing Automation to Nurture Leads

Email marketing is a staple in this business because it is an effective way of staying in touch with prospects. You’ll struggle to find any established realtor who doesn’t have it as a core part of their real estate marketing strategy.

Email marketing makes it possible for you to automate welcome emails, drip campaigns with monthly tips and insights, and the creation of other engaging content for your audiences to enjoy and – ideally – participate and interact with via social media platforms or through your real estate agent website. Sending automated emails following open houses is standard practice, as is keeping your leads in the loop with real-time market updates and property listings. The automation impact on real estate sales is as prominent as possible here, because establishing a communication line between yourself and prospective clients that can go the distance as necessary is hugely advantageous for obvious reasons.

It is 100% a key tool for staying in touch and promoting better real estate lead conversion rates.

Signup Forms for Automated Lead Generation

Signup forms allow easier collection of contact information online in exchange for information. Obtaining someone’s email address, phone number, or other means of contact becomes much more doable when you offer them something of value in an email newsletter.

You can put signup forms on your website, landing pages, or link in bio on social media. Use them to get information specific to your goals, like what neighborhood a buyer or seller is located in, or if they already have a real estate agent or not.

With every new signup that person then automatically goes into your contact database, where ideally you’ll be using some sort of CRM to conduct smart, timely, and genuine communications with these prospective real estate clients.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software

CRMs are simply invaluable as tools for finding high-quality leads. Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms offer realtors powerful automation features and come with plenty of integrations for tools you’re already using. We’ve seen how they’ve become a must-have for real estate professionals over recent years, and there will be better and more effective ones likely arriving in the not too distant future.

With a CRM as one of your real estate automation tools you are able to segment your leads into groups based on the needs and preferences they told you about on your signup form. Agents can then easily maintain segments with automation. Using real estate automation to manage deal pipelines, email campaigns, and lead scoring models is also entirely possible.

Targeted Social Media Ads

This will qualify more as an extension of one of these tools, but it needs to be highlighted too as social media is a powerful way to share listings and widen your reach. Did you know that 92% of realtors use Facebook? Not surprising considering it is increasingly more of a social media app for older people and more often it’s these people who have the means to buy a home or will own one that they are looking to sell. Use real estate automation tools like Brevo CRM to launch targeted ads and also engage in effective retargeting so that you also have ads for audiences that are similar to existing contact groups.

Automate Scheduling

Agents using a CRM for real estate will do well if they can incorporate a meetings tool with a booking page. Booking pages sync automatically to your calendar so leads can see when you’re available. Prospect clients are then able to book on their own, and this removes the need for constant back and forth coordinating. Set up automated reminders so that your prospect never misses a video call, and remember that anything that frees up time is going to be super beneficial for you as a realtor.

Follow-up Automation to Earn Referrals

Following up with clients after a purchase or a sale has equal importance to it in comparison to meeting new leads, and perhaps even more. Follow-up relationships present the opportunity to grow your network through referrals. 36% of sellers use a referred real estate agent, and automated lead generation in real estate can help you get those referrals.

In much the same way as it works for regular lead-nurturing workflows, referral automation helps you turn past clients into future business. This can be as simple as having a thank you and congratulations email automatically sent after a client does business with you. Along with a satisfaction survey they can choose to participate in. You can automatically segment satisfied clients into a contact group. Send that group a gentle request for them to recommend your business.

Good Real Estate Automation Platforms

Relying on spreadsheets and searching for past conversations in your email isn’t the worst thing, but it increases the chance that you might miss messages or type in a formula wrong. Using real estate automation software streamlines your lead management and communications so you never lose track of a potential lead. This makes it a smart choice for incorporation into real estate lead generation strategies.

Here are a few of the ones that are very highly regarded in the industry right now:

Brevo

Brevo is a CRM suite that serves as a real estate marketing automation builder complete with multichannel and email marketing, customizable automation workflows, plus contact and deal management. It’s an equally good fit for both solo realtors and teams most o the time. With it you can easily set up real estate marketing automation workflows and move prospects to a deal with triggered actions. Target audiences with Facebook ads, launch lead nurturing campaigns, and streamline your appointments and follow ups. The free version of Brevo is actually quite generously equipped and contact storage is free with it too.

Paid plans for Brevo’s Marketing Platform start at $25/month. You can set up automation workflows for 2,000 contacts and create email campaigns using the drag and drop template builder. You also get a visual workflow builder, if/then logic, multichannel steps, performance tracking and ready templates to use.

Wise Agent

Wise agent is a beginner-friendly CRM that allows you to track leads with a contact dashboard and set up lead management. The automation impact on real estate sales can be seen here too as being able to send SMS messages and create a couple of landing pages as add-ons is just one of many ways in which you’re more likely to sell greater numbers of homes when you are using a well-designed real estate CRM.

Instead of creating automation workflows that leads enter automatically, you can go to each individual contact and assign a lead rule from there. If all that is required for you is a bit of an upgrade from a spreadsheet, Wise Agent will be an easy transition for you.

HubSpot

HubSpot is probably the best known CRM around, with features for sales, marketing, service platforms and more. It makes it easy to create and design emails and landing pages to use in your automation workflows. And like all CRMs, HubSpot sets you up with a contact dashboard for easy reference. There you can assign tasks to your team and keep track of notes and upcoming actions for your leads.

HubSpot has various plans you can start with. The Marketing Hub Starter plan is $20/month for 1,000 contacts and 10 automated email actions. For multichannel automation and upgrade to the Professional Plan at $890 per month will be required. But as we know, in business of any sort you need to be spending money to make money and investing in the best CRM for real estate is always going to be a good idea.

This will be just as true for new realtors in Canada as it is for ones who are more well established and having been real estate agents for a long time already. Hopefully what we have done here is started you down the road of understanding of how real estate marketing automation can be a part of you real estate lead generation efforts too, and there are so many other real estate automation tools that we haven’t had time to mention here yet that are also really well designed and effective.

It really is true that automation can do wonders for real estate agents. It can be just what’s needed for finding warmer or even hot real estate leads, plus letting you have a better understanding of the needs those would-be clients might have, and then converting real estate leads into sales. Always keep track of the fact that when leads are nurtured with the right content at the right time, they become more likely to convert.

5 Tips for Practicing Better Real Estate Scripts

Published April 4, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

 

There are many different characteristics that the most successful real estate agents will have in common. One of them is that they practice their scripts, and do so on an ongoing basis. As most of you will already be very much aware, this is a business where first impressions are everything. The way you present yourself is very much tied to how effectively you communicate yourself, and it’s a fact that a realtor who delivers the same old ‘I’m so and so and this is what I can do for you… yada yada’ isn’t going to get very far at all most of the time.

A meeting with a prospective client is always one thing, and one thing only – an opportunity. What you do with the opportunity is entirely up to you. Here at Real Estate Leads, our online real estate lead generation system is an excellent way to put more of these opportunities in front of you, but in order to turn the majority of them into real estate clients you need to have the skills and know how related to convincing these prospective home sellers or home buyers that YOU are the best man or woman to help guide them in making the best choices and getting the best results.

Back on topic – what are the best ways to practice your scripts as a real estate agent? Read on, here are a handful of concepts to better make use of your scripts.

  1. Have confidence, while being 100% honest

This means moving forward with confidence and not ‘faking’ it at all. People will sniff out dishonesty or exaggeration, and they will then lose their trust in you. If you have a lot of confidence but there’s some aspect of their situation that you’re not knowledgable about, it’s best to say ‘I don’t know, but I will find out.’ These prospective clients will appreciate that more and then respect you more, despite what you might think to the contrary.

  1. Listen Well

Some of you may be surprised to learn that when it comes to scripts, it’s more about listening and reacting right rather than memorizing lines. Listen to what your client is saying, so you then know which script to turn to for building the best rapport. This also involves matching your conversation style based on the type of person you’re speaking to. Is this prospective client focused more on statistics? Numbers and facts should be front and center in that script.

Are they talking more about their emotional ties to a future home? Your script should have a very personal and sentimental slant to it. Listen and respond accordingly. Another big thing is catering to the person’s opinion rather than your own – if you present in a way that’s a lecture, it’s the agent’s (your) opinion. If you present in a question, it’s now the client’s opinion.

  1. Know the Why

To put it plainly, determining buyer motivation should be at the heart of any script. You need to understand the why, before responding to the what. Some buyers will be just curious and ‘window shopping’ of sorts, while others will be determined to buy a home in the very near future. Ask questions so you understand how to move forward. Take more of a ‘why’ rather than a ‘what’ approach, and move forward very incrementally in uncovering that.

  1. Practice

The best agents practice their scripts, and do so regularly. Their practice audience may be their team, their friends, family members, or just about anyone who’ll give them the time. When you put in the time with this, you get the results, and it’s really as simple as that. Further, no realtor is too busy to practice if they want to get the most out of their real estate client prospecting online efforts. Schedule the time and make it happen.’

  1. Always be On

Right then, you’ve practiced your scripts, know the material inside out, and you know you have the ability to be flexible and adaptive with them as need be. However, when you show up to meet with a prospective client, you come out sputtering rather than purring nicely.

You need to see yourself as a paid performer here, and paid performers either perform well or they aren’t ‘paid’ performers for much longer. Any specific client you’re talking to is going to expect you to be on. Real estate agents meeting clients after making use of internet generated real estate leads need to have the confidence that comes with knowing their material inside out to the 1000th degree, and you need to do what it takes to make it so that you’re the same way. For most people, that means one thing – practice – and LOTS of it.

Sign up for Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated buyer and / or seller leads delivered to you exclusively and for your very own region of any city or town in Canada. It’s a proven-effective and very potent way to supercharge your client prospecting efforts and then – when done right – building your client base much more quickly than your competitors in the business.

1/3 of National Mortgage Debt in Canada Found in 2 Cities

Published April 3, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

AdobeStock_133974291Read the title here and we imagine that nearly all of you will correctly guess which 2 cities those are. Toronto and Vancouver have had grossly inflated real estate markets for years now, but it’s equally clear that homebuyers continue to wade into them just as they always have. The difference now, of course, is that in doing so they’re taking on mammoth levels of mortgage debt and collectively they are making it so that the vast bulk of mortgage debt in the entire country is for property in those 2 cities alone.

Here at Real Estate Leads, we’re keenly aware of how market dynamics influence the decisions realtors make regarding the best interests of clients. The current picture of what many will have to take on to buy a home in Canada’s 2 most-desirable locations is definitely something worth considering. Fewer ‘qualified’ buyers means less in the way of opportunities for realtors to gain legitimate clients. Our online real estate lead generation system for realtors is an excellent way to get more out your prospecting efforts there, and ever more advisable given this current state.

Impetuses to Buy

As the incentive to buy real estate increases – and most commonly because prices are seen to be rising fast – more buyers charge into the market. Many of them are determined not to ‘miss out’ on the profits that can come from home ownership. Many of these same people will turn to private lenders if they don’t meet the banks lending criteria. It’s certainly not advisable, but the numbers indicate that hasn’t deterred thousands of homebuyers from going this route.

Private lenders don’t report data to anyone, so the full extent of this form of ‘shadow banking’, if you will, isn’t entirely known. As a result, the numbers that Canadians owe 1.2 million in mortgage debt may be lower than the truth, and therefore a more rosy evaluation of Canadian mortgage debt.

Mortgage Debt Addiction

Canadians may have a bit of problem. Reliable data shows them collectively having $1.208 trillion in mortgage debt as of the end of 2017. And yes, the highest concentrations of that big mortgage debt are in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Toronto households in particular owe more than $268 billion, which works out to roughly 22% of outstanding mortgage debt.

Vancouver households come in at $133 billion, accounting for 11%. Montreal households owe more than $118 billion, working out to 9.79%. The sum of all 3? 42.79% of all mortgage debt.

All of which requires a massive amount of cash to keep going. Canadian homebuyers with mortgages make $7.32 billion in payments each month. This is also likely less than the real number for what’s required to service this debt.

Expensive Servicing

Looking at that more critically, it’s the same 3 cities topping the list for mortgage servicing:

  1. Toronto has monthly scheduled mortgage payments of $1.52 billion – 20.7% of the total payments scheduled
  2. Montreal – $731.9 million – 9.99% of payments per month
  3. Vancouver – $731 million – 9.84% of payments per month

Note that while Vancouver having more debt but lower payments scheduled is a reflection of a preference for longer amortizations.

The concentration of mortgage debt puts these 3 local markets in a vulnerable situation. Toronto and Vancouver are both considered “overvalued” by the CMHC, and thus might experience a price correction. If so, that would devalue large amounts of equity that homeowners there have built up over the years.

In a best case scenario interest rates will rise, and with them the amount of money going towards to servicing debt. The result would be lower amounts of available capital for productive investments, and consumer spending. However, that also tends to lead to higher rates of unemployment, and lower home sales. The result of that? Again, a loss of equity. It’s not a particularly promising scenario if you are a homeowner.

Sign up for Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated leads delivered exclusively to you, and for your similarly exclusive area of any city or town in Canada. It’s a smart investment in seeing to it you make connections with homebuyers and home sellers, and especially valuable given the fact that there will be fewer qualified buyers out there all the time.

Mortgage Liquidity Looking to be On Way from Canada’s Central Bank

Published April 3, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

The dynamics of the homebuyer landscape in Canada always have a great deal of undercurrents beneath them, and it’s been a long time since we’ve had those currents rippling quite the way they are these days. Another one seems to be on the near horizon as last week the BoC (Bank of Canada) announced its plans to buy government backed mortgage bonds.

The move is designed to increase the bank’s assets, and arguably assist the housing market. The assistance will sound really good to would-be homeowners, and the realtors like you who would assume the correlation between that and a surge in the number of prospective clients out there. For realtors who are new to the business, anything that will both increase the numbers of these types of people and help them get in touch with them first is going to be a huge benefit.

Here at Real Estate Leads, our online real estate lead generation system for Canada is one such resource and it very much does help realtors get more out of their prospecting efforts, putting them in touch with greater numbers of potential clients who are genuinely considering selling or purchasing a home in the near future.

But back to topic here; while this buying of government-backed mortgage bonds might seem to be a plus, when you look deeper you’ll see that’s not exactly how these things work. In truth, the situation is very similar to the one the US Federal Reserve created ten years ago that contributed in part to the country’s housing crash.

A Brief Overview of how Central Bank Balance Sheets Work

The balance sheet at the Bank of Canada is like any other, filled with assets and liabilities. Assets are anything they pay for, and Government of Canada bonds make up the Lion’s share of them. Liabilities are anything given out, every bit of money put out into the national economy. When a central bank buys asset, it is done by crediting the account of the seller, and typically with money that’s ‘created’ for the purpose of doing so. This is referred to as a ‘print’. In the simplest sense, doing this is a strategy for inflation.

All Central banks, ours included, buy assets to increase the money supply, and they do so because these ‘prints’ are required. Done right and used with interest rates, this maintains inflation at target. In some instances, however, a central bank can’t find enough assets to buy. Or they need to provide market liquidity. When this happens, they’ll expand their mandate or the types of assets they line up for acquisition. This is currently what’s happening at the BoC, and is dictating the course of action they’re about to take

BoC Will Buy Canada Mortgage Bonds

The BoC announced plans to buy government guaranteed debt issued by Crown corporations. Canada Mortgage Bonds are first on the list, on a non-competitive basis in the primary market. This buying will commence early in 2019. They are stating that this is for ‘balance sheet management purposes’ and that there will be no implications on their monetary policy.

While this may be true in the most basic sense, with an understanding of what exactly Canada Mortgage Bonds are it is easy to perceive it might not exactly be like that. So what are Canada Mortgage Bonds, and more importantly what’s the primary purpose?

Understanding the Significance of Canada Mortgage Bonds

Canada Mortgage Bonds (CMBs) serve many financial interests, but the main one is to allow lenders access cheap funds for mortgages. Investors pony up cash for a CMHC guaranteed loan, backed by the Federal government. These loans are considered to be secure. The appeal of secure investments is that they don’t pay all that much, which is great for lenders and the borrowers. Low cost funding means more profits for lenders, and less interest paid by borrowers.

Relevance

Depending on who they are, and the amount of CMBs bought via their mortgage lender, which may suppress rates from rising too fast for your clients as a borrower. That would translate into lower funding costs, some of which are passed on to the borrowers, who again would be the homebuyers you’re helping purchase the home

The overarching problem with all of this is it’s a sign of market weakness. The fact is that, time and time again over our history, the central bank only provides liquidity when liquidity concerns are seen on the horizon. Mortgage credit growth in Canada recently fell to multi-year lows, and is likely to drop further as they hike to a ‘neutral’ policy rate. Further, any time we see a government institution step in to address liquidity concerns, it’s regarded as having an ominous feel when it comes the housing market.

We should note as well that this is the second mortgage liquidity tool proposed just this year. Earlier this year the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) said they’re looking into expanding the BoC’s covered bond program. It is another tool designed to provide low cost financing for mortgages.

These moves should be a cause for concern regarding the housing market in Canada and all the industries that are tied into it. As realtors, any type of significant downturn will have ramifications for us as well.

Sign up with Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated buyer and / or seller leads delivered to you exclusively, and for your own privately-served region of any area or town in Canada. It’s a proven-effective way to boost your client prospecting efforts in a big way and you’ll almost certainly come to see it as a smart part of your business promotion budget.

 

Being the Results Agent: The Fast Track to Converting Real Estate Leads and Closing More Sales

Published April 3, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

Happy realtor woman showing keysMost experienced real estate agents will agree that a buyer or seller leads is little more than an opportunity, and the farthest thing from any guaranteed generator for your business. What you do with your leads – and more specifically whether or not you convert them into clients and then close them as home sold / bought – has always been what’s distinguished the average realtor from one’s who regarded as being especially successful.

Here at Real Estate Leads, we know the value of our service for getting more leads as a real estate agent but we also understand that, again, we’re only providing you with more in the way of those opportunities.

So the objective becomes clear; how do you maximize your conversion rates? The first question you need to ask, though, is to what extent are you making that a priority? If you’ve been in the business long enough you’ll know that there a great many realtors for whom a high conversion rate is regarded as ‘nice if you can have it’ and not an absolute necessity. They’re usually fortunate to have a reason for such indifference, but if you’re one of the majority for whom it’s absolutely essential to be successful with your business then you’re well advised to read on.

The F Pairs are Everything

Converting real estate leads and closing more sales all come down to two things – follow-up and fulfillment. As regards the first of those two, one of the things a realtor needs to understand and embrace is that you must follow up with you clients, and that’s working with the understanding that 8+ of every 10 clients is not going to be the one taking the initiative for second contact.

If you’re not the type who feels comfortable being the one that initiates a follow up with a client, especially ones that didn’t seem particularly ‘warm’ to begin with, then you need to get over that and quick or you’re in the wrong profession.

Apparently follow-up is so hard, it’s believed that somewhere in the vicinity of 48% of agents never even follow-up once with a prospect. Not a single time. Never. Needless to say, that’s just not going to cut it if you want to be converting real estate leads more effectively.

So the question then becomes if that means that 52% of agents follow-up with a prospect at least once. It’s true, but that stat isn’t an impressive one. Fair to wonder why that other 48% of agents are in the business to begin with, and particularly as every realtor is somewhat at a disadvantage to begin with due to the fact there’s never really been enough of the pie to go around.

If you’re not ‘competing’ with your business generation efforts, you’re probably not going to get a sufficient return on your investment of time and effort, even if that time and effort isn’t what it should be given the nature of your chosen profession. Think about that.

Alright, so what about realtors who follow up twice? That statistic is even worse. Only 25% of agents contact a prospect a second time. After 1st contact, approximately 75% of them let their prospects drift off. Sure, it may be that they’re not interested, or that they’ve changed their mind. But more troubling is that it seems that in many instances the inquiring realtor is simply not managing their database effectively enough to keep track of who to contact and when. If you’re skills aren’t up to snuff there, it’s perfectly acceptable to go ask someone for assistance. Do you want – or perhaps need – to be successful in this profession?

3rd Time CAN Be the Charm

Let’s look at this a little more deeply. What about a 3rd contact? Only 12% of agents make three or more contacts with the prospect. That means 88% of agents didn’t bother trying to follow-up with a prospect after the 2nd contact. Again, we can safely assume that if the contact remains a ‘warm’ lead that any realtor would of course follow up with them.

It has long been understood in this business that the process of coming to a decision to actually go ahead and sell a home (or buy one, albeit to a lesser extent) is often a drawn-out one where couples are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests and not show that they’re leaning one way or the other. That is, until you follow up until they’ve made that decision – whenever that may be and whatever amount of time has passed before you made your original introduction to them.

Here’s the biggest kicker…

3% of sales are made on the 1st contact

2% of sales are made on the 2nd contact

7% of sales are made on the 3rd contact

9% of sales are made on the 4th contact

76% of sales are made on the 5th to 12th contact (a real eye opener for many!)

Further; 88% of real estate agents share 10% of all sales, and 12% of everyone who shares the same profession as you are sharing 90% of the sales, and in large part because they have no hesitation to be contacting their prospects three or more times.

Simply put you’ve GOT to get over your fear of offending a prospect by contacting them “too much.” It’s the nature of the business, and if you don’t do it, then another realtor will be. Plain and simple. That fact in itself should dispel any reasons you’ve had in the past for not following up in a timely manner and doing so as many times as necessary until you can make a sound determination on the status of your prospective client.

Don’t think you are badgering them. And even if they do think that way, again that’s the nature of the business and they’re likely to be participating in it the same way you are, just in different roles. When they are ready, willing, and able to consummate a transaction, you need to still be there.

So there it is, in all its simplicity – you can never follow up too much!

Also, if it’s too much for someone, they’ll tell you. They might tell you directly, or unsubscribe from your email list, or some other method of implied refusal. The key is to not stop following up until they buy, sell or tell you clearly and definitively that they’re not interested or that your ‘pushiness’ is not welcome.

That’s the reality of it, and you need to have an attitude and perspective that’s in line with it. Again, it’s a big part of the very nature of the business within which you’re making your living.

Fulfillment

Fortunately we don’t see the need to go as extensively as we did regarding the need for follow ups. Fulfillment refers to the entirety of what you are giving them, the full sum of everything you do to be of assistance to them in their selling or buying of a home.

The most successful realtors have learned the best ways to anticipate their questions and other needs, and provide answers, resources, and resolutions.

Fulfillment is much easier than follow-up, but the important point to grasp here is that fulfillment requires follow-up in order to accomplish it. Simply by following-up, you are meeting their number one need. By following-up you are there to answer their questions as they arise. And if they’re going through that deliberative process, you can be 100% certain there will be questions, and significant ones at that. By following-up you are anticipating their needs. By following-up you are able to provide answers, resources and resolutions.

Right then, so are you willing to do what it takes to be a part of the 12% who close 90% of real estate sales in Canada. We imagine the answer to that is yes, and in the interest of generating more ‘opportunities’ we recommend you register with Real Estate Leads here and enjoy qualified online-generated home buyer and seller leads that are delivered to you exclusively and for your own protected region of the country.

Get onboard now, and lay claim to your region of choice. And once you’ve established contact with those folks, make SURE you follow up sufficiently!

Taking on Mortgages More Financially Demanding Than Ever

Published April 3, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

AdobeStock_44279157_PreviewFor many decades and a good number of generations now, getting a mortgage on your way to owning a home was something that vast majority of people did almost as a given part of working your way into adulthood. The fact that following a similar path in places like Vancouver and Toronto is quite a daunting prospect nowadays is well understood, but the reality is that it’s fairly daunting no matter where you’re buying a home.

 

Here at Real Estate Leads, our online real estate lead generation system has really done wonders for new realtors who need to get more out of their client prospecting efforts. Being a knowledgeable and market savvy realtor is a must, but so is the need to be receptive to the way clients will want to really look at the entirety of what will go into their buying a home.

When we look at the new statistics coming out about just what is required to ‘service’ a mortgage, on average, in Canada it is really quite something with the way it forecasts how so many prospective homebuyers would be assuming a punishing financial burden to see their mortgage through to term.

Ain’t Like it Used to Be

Baby boomers will really need to stop saying that buying a home was harder in the 1990s than now. Stats Can numbers now show mortgage debt service ratios (DSRs) at the end of the first quarter of this year have reached levels not seen in more than 26 years. Despite near record low interest rates, the size of loans given for mortgages have pushed the lack of affordability for homes to similar levels. Today this is more of a concern however, as interest rates start to rise and the debt becomes decidedly concentrated.

Mortgage Debt Service Ratio

A mortgage debt service ratio (DSR) is the term given to the amount of gross income dedicated to servicing a mortgage. Understand here that gross means before taxes, so then a good part of the buyer’s income that is not going towards the ratio is now spoken for. Only the principal and interest payments are officially measured here in Canada, and so this means other required payments like property taxes, etc. are not included. Debt service ratios are deceptively low as a result, and especially so when the number comes from the government. Mortgage brokers will of course prefer to advertise those less-than-factual fees.

Debt service levels are very relevant when considering the general outlook of the economy. The more money that goes towards servicing debt, the less money there is for spending on consumer goods and services. And of course the less money floating around your economy, the harder it is for the economy to continue to grow. It’s for this reason that a sudden boom in housing often leads to a slowing of the rest of the economy, and the opposite is also true. When less money is servicing debt then more money is available to push other components of the national or provincial economy.

New Highs

The mortgage debt service ratio (DSR) has this year risen to new highs. The mortgage DSR rose to 6.67% at the end of 2018’s quarter 1, up 6.89% from the last quarter of 2017. Huge jumps like this are seasonal, but the number is still up 1.83% from the same quarter last year. We’re now sitting at the highest ratio since the fourth quarter of 1992, and it’s interesting to note that the 1990s were the last time Canadians showed similar levels of exuberance for real estate.

Distributing Mortgage Debt Is Key

That number may not sound like all that much, but understanding distribution is key to really putting it into perspective. The 6.89% mortgage DSR is split across all households, but that’s not really how it actually breaks down. Census 2016 showed that only 41.2% of households have mortgages. Older households also tend to have higher incomes, along with considerable equity in their homes. By this we can see that younger households are taking the worst of these record DSR levels.

The Bank of Canada issued a caution about the debt concentration just last month. Their estimate is that 8% of households hold more than 20% of all household debt in this country, adding further that these households stand to be at risk in the coming years when rates continue to normalize – as they are expected to. Since we’ve achieved record high mortgage DSRs at record low interest rates, we can certainly expect some serious disruption and more than few wildfires as rates normalize.

Sign up with Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated buyer and / or seller leads delivery to you exclusively for your protected region of any city or town in Canada. It’s a proven effective way to supercharge your prospecting efforts, and nearly everyone who’s taken advantage so far now sees it as a very worthwhile investment in their real estate business.

 

 

7 Powerful Strategies: Leveraging Content Marketing for Lead Generation Success

Published April 3, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

25 years ago or so you would need to have any type of content printed on some material and physically in your hands if you were to read it. The Internet has changed all of that, of course, and definitely for the better if you ask pretty much anyone. Those of us who’d still prefer to read the news rather than watch a video sharing it won’t be doing so with a newspaper anymore, although there are some folks who still have one on their front step each morning. Enough about that, we discuss the best ways to generate leads for real estate agents here and the reason we talk about this is those collections of written words viewed digitally make up what is known as content.

We won’t go into too much detail about the technical workings of it all, but the way search engine algorithms are wired nowadays there is a great deal of value in having genuine and quality content related to your business or venture. As a realtor your business is helping clients buy or sell homes, and that’s the entirety of why real estate lead generation is so important for you in the first place. Yes, it will be beneficial to higher search engine rankings for realtors if you have blog on your real estate website and place entries there frequently. But leveraging content marketing for lead generation success effectively goes much deeper than that and that’s what we’re going to look at here.

All of this is go on top of the existing suggestion that realtors will do very well for themselves by taking advantage of our online real estate lead generation system here at Real Estate Leads. But success with lead generation requires you to have a multi-tiered approach to it, and this is definitely in line with that. So let’s get right into it.

Plant Seeds First

We will get to the 7 powerful strategies shortly here, but before we do it’s important to understand what quality content is. As a real estate agent content creation should involve putting together informative pieces of writing along with photo and / or video content that puts your expertise on display. We will also say this; there are plenty of other professions where you can have someone contribute to your lack of extensive know-how on whatever subject matter it may be, and make it seem like you’re an all-knowledgeable one.

That’s not as doable in real estate. If these clients who see your content and choose to contact you after reading / viewing it then they are going to expect to see that same level of expertise reflected in you and the services you provide to them. Might that be more difficult for a newer realtor as compared to a more experienced one? Absolutely, but as it is with everything in life you start at the start. Gain knowledge and expertise and then start to place it into quality content made available through your website and social media channels along with any other professional networking avenues may have.

Have the expertise and knowledge already but don’t document it very well? Pay someone to do it for you, and you may even be able to find a writer who is equally capable with A/V stuff too. It’s fairly common to need to invest in ways to generate leads for real estate agents, and content generation may be a part of that for you.

The 7 Strategies

  1. Quick Responses to Inquiries

You need to snap right to it when a lead comes in and respond to the individual in a speedy manner. Ideally no more than a day should pass, and that includes weekend days. Time is of the essence in the real estate business, and delayed responses mean you risk losing the lead to a competitor. If you’re able to respond to the lead within an hour you’ll be doing a whole lot of good in getting your connection with this potential client off on the right foot, and that is a huge part of the best ways to generate leads for real estate agents.

  1. Have a Personalized Follow-Up Ready

If you reply to them with any type of generic follow-up email or message you’re not going to create the impression you want, because someone who is considering making such massive life purchase is going to be looking for a realtor who will take this as seriously as they do. Any type of conventional form-like response is NOT going to create that impression for them at all. Take the time to personalize your communication with the lead. Reference specific details from their inquiry or conversation, and address them by name if they have shared it with you.

  1. Provide Value

It is imperative that lead clearly sees the value proposition in working with you. Simply stating you’re a real estate agent and you’d be happy to help them with real estate purchases or sales isn’t going to be at all conducive to them looking further into listing with you, or using you as their buyer agent. Real estate lead generation certainly isn’t so simple. What you need to do instead is present relevant information and then move to ‘based on _______ information, this is what I believe is your best approach to marketing your home for sale in order to both speed the sale and get you the best price on the home you’re selling.’ Of course, this will be different if they are prospective homebuyer client.

  1. Employ Different Communication Channels

Different leads will be reached better with different communication channels. Some may prefer email, others may be more likely to get your contact if done by phone calls or text messages. Use a mix of channels to reach out to the lead and determine which method they prefer. A common approach is to suggest a means of contact in the content you publish on your site or social media channel and then make it a 1-click process for them to utilize it.

  1. Stay Consistent with Prospective Clients

No smart and intuitive realtor is ever going to see real estate lead follow-up as 1-time events. It’s important to stay consistent with your communication with the lead. Follow-up calls or emails should be very firmly scheduled and you need to adhered to that scheduling and contact them at that exact time and by the means of contact they’ve indicated they prefer. This will show the lead that you are committed to helping them and will increase the likelihood of conversion after you’ve done what you need to do to generate leads for real estate agents.

  1. Patience is Important

It is very rare that a lead is converted into a client quickly and easily. Realtors who choose to not continue their follow-up after being disappointed with results from their first attempt are not doing themselves any favors. Keep at it and be patient. Consistent and persistent follow-up is key to converting real estate leads, and many times there are would-be clients who are testing the commitment, diligence, and resolve of a realtor by doing this as a means of testing whether or not they are the dedicated real estate professional they want to be working with going forward.

  1. Offer Tangible Incentives

We’ve made quite clear how effective real estate lead generation can naturally be quite a drawn-out process, and the last of our strategies we’re sharing here today it to make incentive offers to prospective clients when they first respond and show their interest in working with a real estate agent. One of the most common ones is to offer a free market evaluation if they’re considering selling their home, but there are other things you can try. Some realtors will have their own moving van that they offer to allow people to use if they agree to list with them.

It’s okay to have monetary value attached to these offers, provided you are strongly convinced there’s a good chance these leads can be converted into clients. Be creative and think about what type of offer would appeal to YOU if the roles were reversed and you were the person being contacted by a real estate agent.

Sign up for Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated buyer and / or seller leads that are delivered to you exclusively as the only realtor registered to receive them. It’s a proven-effective way to get more out of your client prospecting efforts, and a look at our testimonials page is enough to make clear how many realtors like you are very happy they’ve already made the decision to sign up.

The 3 Factors Keeping the Toronto Housing Market’s Healthy – With High Prices Intact

Published April 3, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

One of the things that a Real Estate Professional will understand more naturally than others is that there always needs to be a balance between there being increasing values in residential properties and homes providing the values they need to in the community. What many of them will know is a reality that goes against the thinking inclinations of many who decry the fact that housing is unaffordable for too many people.

That being that there is a very unique dynamic in Canada that is not seen in any other country in the world. When you have a country of this size and yet the vast majority of the population live in 3 or 4 Greater City Areas, you’re going to have a situation where supply and demand economics are going to make real estate unaffordable in those regions for most people. This is going to be true at ANY time, not just now or in reflection of whatever the reality of the day is in that year, decade, or century even.

It’s a tough reality, but one that is always true and if you want to live in Vancouver and Toronto while owning a home then you’re going to need to have the financial resources necessary to do so. One of the things my father told me when I was young is that there’s ‘a difference between need, and want’ and that’s rung true for me in so many instances in my life. You likely don’t need to live in Vancouver or Toronto, but that’s in much the same way you don’t need to live in Tuktoyaktuk either.

You may want to live in any of these 3 places, and that’s fine – but you’ll need to pay more (or less) accordingly. And yes, a LOT less if you’re someone who wants to live in the far north.

But the point here is that you don’t just get what you want because you want it, and no one owes anyone even so much of an ounce of any of that in the same way you don’t owe them anything. The market is what it is, and that’s the way it should be. It’s the same reality for realtors who are struggling to build their real estate businesses into what they’ve envisioned for themselves. Our online real estate lead generation system here at Real Estate Leads is an excellent choice to give you a leg up in that regard, however.

But let’s turn back onto tack for discussing today’s topic. Real Estate in Toronto continues to see gains in home prices and nice returns on investments for people. That’s good news and here’s what’s behind that good news.

Land Transfer Taxes and Fees

Land transfer taxes and fees have recently been denounced as among the most onerous consumer-side burdens that put crimps in homebuyer plans when all the additional costs become apparent. However, as is always the case there are prospective buyers who are able to take on these additional expenses in the interest of buying a home where they want to live.

Land transfer taxes and fees represent an additional $54,000 to every detached residence sold in Toronto on average, and it’s a situation where the dissuasion to buying that creates for certain buyers makes it so that you have an even more consolidated pool of buyers who can afford to pay the prices that the market is currently bearing.

Development Charges and Property Taxes

Next is the role of Development Charges and Property Taxes. In much the same way and with much the same ramifications about who’s a qualified buyer and who isn’t, these charges and taxes add a further $150,000 per transaction if you’re buying a home in Toronto.

One reason for high Land Transfer Tax and Development Charges is that provincial legislation restricts how the City of Toronto is able to generate cash flow. Unlike many North American cities, Toronto cannot add a surtax on income or a sales tax on products. Same goes for tax education or health care facilities. Those funds are augmented by charges and taxes based on property development that are passed on in sales, and again it does its part in creating a very particular type of prospective homebuyer.

Baby Boomer Influence

Another part of the engine pushing the continued normal with home prices in Toronto is the baby boomer cohort. This fortunate generation that was lucky enough to have been able to invest in Toronto homes back when prices were nowhere near the stratospheric levels they’re at now.

We need look no further to support this view than this statistic – for homeowners (and homebuyers) in the 65 to 74 age group it is single-family detached homes are the preferred housing option. These homes fit families well, but the types of people who are able to afford them have a built-in protection mechanism just based on the economic realities of what this group bring to the equation.

Is it fair? Probably not. Is it what it is? Yes, it most certainly is.

And yes it’s also true that the foreign buyer presence has been a factor too. But even if we were to assume that didn’t factor in to the extent it has we need to understand that Toronto home prices have nearly tripled since 2000. Even if they were to only have doubled+ without foreign buyers being an influence it still speaks to how there are innumerable influences that work to keep this real estate market in the condition that most homeowners would prefer it to be in.

Sign up for Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated buyer and / or seller leads that are delivered exclusively to you for the region of any city or town in Canada where you are working in real estate. You’ll quickly see how it puts more opportunities in front of you to be directly in touch with people who are genuinely considering making a move in the local real estate market.

Half a Million or More Mortgage Deferrals in Canada since April

Published April 3, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

We’ve all heard the expression ‘rainy day’ to describe a period of unexpected adversity, and the truth is that most people see the value in having some finances on tap in case that rainy day does come around. However, we’ve also heard how over the years that many Canadians are ‘mortgaged to the hilt’ when it comes to how precarious of an arrangement their ability to own a home and pay the bills really is. It’s something economists have been warning against for the average consumer

And truth be told a lot of realtors are very proactive with advising their clients on what they should afford as compared to what they can afford in as far as for what they’ve been approved for with a mortgage. Well, turns out the economic fallout of COVID-19 is a ‘rainy day’ in a big way, but recent stats coming from the 6 big banks in Canada suggest that a LOT of Canadians are putting themselves in precarious situations by taking them up on mortgage deferrals.

Now, to be sure, it’s good that the major lenders along with the Federal Government were sympathetic to the plights of those who couldn’t afford to pay, but this needs to be a big time wake up call to homeowners. Part of being a qualified buyer is knowing what you’re really suited to be spending on a home, and that’s part of what realtors can help their clients with. Clients that are, however, not as easily found these days as they were before.

Which is why our online real estate lead generation system at Real Estate Leads is such a good choice for real estate agents who are keen to have the power of Internet Marketing assisting them with getting more of that ever-shrinking pie. The thaw in the real estate market is happening, but fewer homebuyers is the reality – for now at least. Do what it takes to keep your real estate business in good vitality moving forward and make the name you envision for yourself.

But back to topic, let’s have a look at just how many household deferred mortgage payments recently, and why that’s not necessarily a good thing.

510K + To Be Exact

At the Big 6 banks alone, Canadians have put somewhere in the vicinity of 510,530 mortgages on payment deferral as of the quarter ending July 31, and that’s down by a considerable 17.53% from the previous quarter. Now of course we know why this has happened, but the principle of the wise nature of being prepared to handle these unexpected bumps in the road remains.

Part of being a homebuyer is being able to afford to be a homeowner, and most people understand that there is a time and place in your life when that should happen. And no earlier.

Royal Bank of Canada had the most of them, with 138,830 payment deferrals (down 30.18% quarterly). Next up was TD Bank at 107,000 deferrals (down 15.08%), followed by Scotiabank at 99,000 deferrals (up 5.32%).

The value of all of these deferrals totalling up some nearly $136.27 billion, to the tune of a 15.38% quarterly decline. RBC’s total stood at $41.27 billion (down 23.66% per 1/4), while the second largest volume of mortgage deferrals was at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which had $33.3 billion (a 6.2% drop).

The question then becomes how did the banks handle missing out on some 136 billion? Well, the answer to that is because they were able to set aside approximately half of their provisions for bad loans and, without going into unnecessary detail, they had the funds to buffer themselves that way.

But that money WILL be paid, and that leads us to what’s the danger in deferring mortgage payments in Canada during COVID. It’s a real risk and it’s something we’ll touch on in another blog post shortly.

Sign up for Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated buyer and / or seller leads that are delivered to you exclusively every month. They’ll be for the region of any city or town in Canada where you’re working as a real estate agent, and again you’ll be the only realtors who’ll receive them. It’s a great way to supercharge your client prospecting efforts.

Housing ‘Bubbles’ Expanding Around Big Cities in Canada

Published April 2, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

Rising house sales conceptThe immense disparity between supply and demand when it comes to real estate in Canada’s biggest cities is well understood, and most people are similarly aware of the potential for a bursting of the housing ‘bubble’ in both the metro regions of Vancouver and Toronto most notably. Recently, however, economists have pointed out a trend where the bubbles – and the exorbitant prices on real estate fueled by speculative purchases – are now encompassing the satellite regions of these cities as well.

Here at Real Estate Leads, our primary focus is on providing a way for realtors to get more business leads but we’re also keenly aware of the extent to which the market and its dynamics factor into the success of the very people we’re marketing our product to. Accordingly, developments like this are of interest to us, and we think this particular one is especially deserving of some note.

Big Time Heat Up Around Toronto

Average home prices in some regions surrounding Greater Toronto have jumped by 40 to 50% in the past year, and with it has come a rapidly-spreading price bubble: The fastest price growth was seen in the areas surrounding Toronto, rather than in the metro area itself. This of course is a result of prospective homeowners who’ve been priced out of the GTA now looking increasingly farther in search of more affordable housing.

Prices have been inflated due to more bidding throughout the Golden Horseshoe. and with that comes the same trend that’s always attached to such phenomena. Homes and properties that are selling for more than they are truly worth, and individuals and families assuming dangerous levels of household debt.

Insiders report prices in the areas surrounding the GTA increasing at an even faster pace than they have within the GTA. And this article from the Province in Vancouver indicates that the same super-inflated status applies to the suburban areas around Vancouver too.

In both areas, strong fundamentals are holding up the region’s housing market. Mortgage rates are low, job growth is strong and there is considerable added pressure coming from foreign buyers. Still, these fundamentals cannot readily explain the pace of the price increases seen in the satellite cities of Toronto and Vancouver over the last 18 months.

What it is, quite plainly, is a ramping up of the real estate speculation that the foreign buyer taxes were supposed to temper. There are rumours that certain provincial governments (and it’s not hard to assume that BC and Ontario are the ones in discussion) are considering a speculative buyers tax to complement the existing foreign buyers taxes brought in by each government within the last year. Each has had a positive effect in cooling the market, but those who said it would be a temporary reprieve seem to have been correct – the market is now picking up again, and particularly for condos and town homes.

Of course, the question becomes how effectively such a policy could be enforced, unless whether or not the home was lived in or rented was vigorously verified in each case.

Prices Outstripping Rents

Look no further than condo prices as signs of speculation in these cities’ housing markets. Property prices have been handily growing faster than rents, making real estate investments less lucrative. Despite this, the pace of investing has sped up immensely. This creates a potentially “destabilizing” environment and something that gives the banks considerable concern.

That concern, defined specifically, is this; when expectations reverse and prices recede, investors may quickly sell their assets, possibly leading to fire sales with adverse consequences for the rest of the market. Should a correction to Toronto’s and / or Vancouver’s housing market occur, it’s’ bound to have negative ramifications, and in particular with its connection to household indebtedness and how homeowners could find themselves disadvantaged big time with the value of their home having dropped significantly.

Banks say there is a “moderate” chance of a housing correction in Toronto and Vancouver. It would hurt the country’s economy and destabilize the financial system, and would also be a drawback for real estate agents and the vitality of the industry as a whole.

Sign up for Real Estate Leads here and have qualified online-generated buyer and seller leads delivered to you exclusively for your similarly exclusive region of the country. It’s a great way to build your business with the power of the Internet.

 

Maximizing Lead Quality: How to Filter and Nurture Your Real Estate Leads

Published April 1, 2024 by Real Estate Leads

Maximizing Lead Quality: How to Filter and Nurture Your Real Estate LeadsSome have likened generating leads for real estate to fishing, and there is some legitimacy to that as you will ‘catch’ more of them if they’re biting and your lure happens to be where they are in the lake. There will be times that your real estate lead generation efforts will go nowhere, but if you’re a fisherman you’ll know that there are days you go home without catching anything too. This makes the real estate leads you do drum up all the more valuable, so what we’re going to do here with this entry is talk about real estate lead quality.

Making a determination on the quality of a real estate lead is a much deeper process that simply putting leads in the cold, warm, or hot baskets. Ideally the lion’s share of them would be hot leads, but that’s also not how it works most of the time. Real estate agents tend to busy people nearly all the time, and that’s not surprising considering this is one business where if you’re not legit hustling you’re going to get left behind to see others eating your slice of the pie.

So maximizing lead quality is something that makes a lot of sense, and it’s done by filter and nurturing your real estate leads. This is the way you can improve lead quality in real estate, and it is something that is very conducive to making better use of your time as a real estate agent. What we’ll share with you here is not a definitive summary of how to do this, but we image long-experienced realtors will see that these approaches are fairly tried and true.

Be Lead Savvy

Successful real estate agent will be the ones with the savvy to know how likely a lead is to be converted, along with an explicit understanding of how to make that happen. When you’re not able to attract quality leads through digital and offline marketing it becomes significantly difficult to scale up a real estate business.

If you’re a real estate agent who’s a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of options and ‘how-to’ marketing articles, we’re here to simplify lead qualification criteria real estate with 15 real estate lead generation ideas that are proven effective.

Local Lead SEO Optimization

Optimizing your Google My Business profile and incorporating local SEO keywords is first on the list here because it means you are more likely to be attracting clients who live in your area or are planning to and are more serious about buying a home. This will apply the same way for home seller clients, as while most people have a realtor referred to them by family or workplace acquaintances there are some who will not have these resources and be looking for a local realtor online.

Something to keep in mind is that a recent Moz SEO ranking factors survey determined a good Google My Business profile was the single biggest factor for a real estate website that ranks higher. So setting up your Google My Business profile is the place to start here if you haven’t already. It is best to have it updated with the latest professional pictures, contact details and addresses.

You will also need to optimize your website and Google My Business account for local SEO keywords so that these contribute to real estate lead quality too. An agent working out of Edmonton, for example, will want to be incorporating local Edmonton real estate search keywords and nearby localities for maximum leads. What this does is whenever someone searches Google with keywords like ‘real estate agent Edmonton’ or ‘Edmonton best realtor’ or ‘realtor near me’, your website and listing are more likely to be showing up on the first page.

Consider the searches that include the keyword ‘near me’ have gone up by around 900% since 2017-18. Local SEO optimization is a way to improve lead quality in real estate.

Optimize Landing Pages for Conversions

Real estate landing pages are a standalone pages, where visitors land first when they visit your Canadian real estate website. A landing page usually has a clear goal and a very visible call-to-action (CTA) button. Would-be real estate clientele that end up at your landing page by clicking on a link in your email can then be mor readily put in front of listings that you have.

Real estate landing pages maximize lead conversions best when they complete the following checklist:

  1. A clear headline that is ideally creative too and highlights your value as a realtor
  2. A prominent call-to-action (CTA) button
  3. Accomplishments, recognitions, client testimonials, etc.
  4. No unnecessary or loud graphics
  5. Attractive, up-to-date photographs of properties
  6. No excessive amount of form fields
  7. Marketing Automation Software to Segment and Score Leads

It’s not possible to say enough good things about CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software if you are focused on improving real estate lead quality, and particularly when your CRM is integrated with marketing automation so that it is optimized to score and segment your leads. Lead scoring may be a new term for some, and what it means is just the process of assigning a certain value or score to your contact list based on their interactions with your real estate business.

Lead scoring promotes lead qualification criteria real estate in the following way. Let’s say you have a prime property for sale and you want to close the deal as soon as possible. 2 clients are your top leads for this week and the ones you see as most likely to submit offers on the home that will be accepted by the owner.

Your CRM indicates that one of them has recently unsubscribed from all your newsletters and email updates. While the other has recently filled out a form expressing interest in a property in the same area. You obviously then assign a higher value to that lead. This makes it easier for you to reach out to them to discuss the property you have for sale and automated lead scoring makes that a fairly simply and straight-line process.

It is true that real estate lead generation providers like us do a lot of the heavy lifting for you, with lead scoring potentially included in that. And most realtors will be very pleased with the fact there are no cold calls involved. Leads coming in from these sites will usually be warm but some may be hotter.

Create Virtual Home Visits for Out-of-Town Prospective Buyers

Staging virtual home visits is a must for realtors these days. A recent study found that approximately 80% of buyers would switch to a real estate agent who offers virtual home walkthroughs or 3D virtual home visits. That same survey indicated that 50% of buyers would consider an in-person sight-unseen purchase if they have a virtual walkthrough and it is enough for them to determine it is the right home for them and they’re ready to put in an offer.

Here are some other benefits for realtors hosting virtual walk-throughs:

  1. Realtors, buyers, and sellers all save more time
  2. Agents are able to communicate in real-time with clients online via smartphone
  3. Targeting more long-distance buyers becomes possible
  4. Prospects can take the tour at their convenience anytime and from anywhere
  5. Sellers are not pressured to keep their homes spotless at all times

You can use virtual reality software like Lumion or Kuula to upload images and videos of the property to create a virtual tour of your property. This can definitely be a part of real estate lead conversion optimization and you will do well to take advantage of it.

Use a Lead Magnet to Capture Higher Numbers of Leads

What is a lead magnet in real estate? It’s essentially a freebie offer given if the individual agrees to exchange their email address. Lead magnets can go a long way in promoting better real estate lead quality. It should be something that offers real value to prospective clients so that they are fine with agreeing to give you their email ID. This could be a checklist like the example above, or perhaps an e-book, a link to a webinar, or an email newsletter.

Effective real estate lead magnets will include all of the following :

  1. A high-value freebie that appeals to would-be clients of any type
  2. A captivating and clear headline
  3. 1 or 2 form fields (like name and email ID)
  4. A clear call to action button
  5. A clear image of the freebie
  6. A close button
  7. Hosting Real Estate Webinars

Webinars are not simple to put together, but if you want to be have success as a realtor you would do very well to learn how to make them and then start using them to position yourself as the local authority on real estate and the type of professional people will be inclined to work with as they buy or sell a home in Canada.

Hosting a webinar on real estate-related topics is a sure way to improve lead quality in real estate. When people sign up for your webinar, they will provide an email ID and this creates a new lead for you plus helps establish you as an expert in real estate in the minds of your prospects.

Create Blogs with Interesting & Helpful Content

Content is king in marketing, and that certainly applies for real estate marketing too. When your write and publish real estate blogs and articles you are not only adding value for your customers, but also promoting you staying present in your prospects’ minds as an expert in real estate and someone they will keep in mind if and when they come to a time where they’re ready to work with a realtor to buy or sell a home.

The benefits of content creation for a real estate website are extensive, and you can expect to obtain:

  1. More visibility in Google search results
  2. Superior cost-effectiveness
  3. Long-term real estate lead generation
  4. Added lead generation potential when people share blogs and articles on their social media channel

Optimize Social Media Pages & Post Regularly

These days it is not surprising that social media remains the top source for generating high-quality leads in the real estate industry and over time as you get good at it you can also use it as part of lead qualification criteria in real estate. The top social media channel for realtors is Facebook, with a 97% share of social media leads in the real estate industry. Instagram comes in at 39% and Linkedln at 59%. So be sure to put some focus there too.

Begin by ensuring that all your social media channels are up-to-date with pictures and other important information. Once your pages are fully prepped, these social media content marketing ideas are ones you should consider if you want to grow your real estate business through social media:

  1. Post content that highlights your USPs and company values
  2. Clarify common misconceptions about home buying or selling
  3. Respond politely and professionally to both positive and negative comments
  4. Share videos of some prime properties
  5. Share customer success stories in creative and interesting ways
  6. Share your thoughts and opinions on the latest industry and market news
  7. Share inspiring client and employee stories
  8. Pay for targeted Facebook or Instagram ads

Join Online Homeowner Groups for Your Area of Canada

Find those local homeowner groups for the areas that you service. This will be a great way to stay connected with the issues and problems experience in the local community, and when you post relevant and helpful content on these groups it also ensures that you are viewed as an expert. But it is always best to not be too pushy and you should never post unnecessary or promotional material on these groups.

Social Media Contests and Giveaways

Another strong way to engage with both prospects and long-term clients on social media is to host contests or giveaways, but how might these social media giveaways and contests work for real estate? Here is an example. Let’s say your aim is to target buyers who have already purchased one home and are looking for a second one. Investor buyers tend to have deeper pockets obviously, so this may well be something you want to do.

In this scenario you might host a contest where you ask your prospects to write about their biggest challenges while buying their first home. The person who receives the most likes receives a $___ gift card. You can also aim to be as creative as possible with your contests too with what you are willing to offer as prizes to participants. When your idea is more unique and engaging then prospective leads will be more likely to participate.

Be on the Look Out for Old, Expired Listings

Expired listings are an ongoing reality in the real estate business but you can certainly target these homeowners as a means of improving your real estate quality. When a listing expired you can safely assume that the property has been on the real estate market for some time, but it has not sold. Theres’s going to be a reason for that, and this is where a realtor can approach them and say, hey – I have an idea how we might be able to get your home sold. You will need to have that idea of course, but you are the real estate agent here.

The best source for realtors to find expired leads is going through a multiple listing service (MLS). Filter the listings by their expiry date and location on most MLS services. After that, this list can be manually or automatically imported into your CRM software. Then with your CRM software you’re able to score these leads based on their interactions.

You can reach out to these expired listings through email or a call. But it is always best to first build a natural rapport because you can also be fairly sure they are being contacted by other realtors in the area.

Target FSBOs (for sale by owner homeowners)

You will have times when you find FSBO deals that are just perfect for some of your clients, and this is another way to improve lead quality in real estate. Most FSBO listings already feature the owner’s email and contact details directly, and there are stats that indicate the average open rate for emails in the real estate industry is just 19%! But there also stats indicating that that only 5-10% of prospects would even answer a realtor’s cold call.

While reaching out to prospects with an FSBO listing, these are your best gridlines:

  1. Avoid being aggressive with your sales pitch
  2. Tell of what you are able to do differently as a realtor
  3. Make cold calls for no more than 2 minutes
  4. Send email first before calling the prospect directly

Feature Video Walk-Throughs and Client Testimonials

It’s also advisable to warmup leads by using real estate video marketing in your strategy. If you need convincing for that a study found that real estate listings that feature a video received more than 400% inquiries. This means that featuring videos on your website is a great idea to make leads warmer. Here are some kinds of videos you can consider featuring:

  1. Virtual walkthroughs of listings
  2. Client testimonial videos
  3. Useful tips for sellers and buyers
  4. Hosting of a live Q&A session on YouTube or Instagram Live
  5. Interview videos
  6. Contact Clients for Birthdays and Other Events

Real estate is the one industry where more than any other client referrals are extremely important for you to find new leads. It is also equally important to periodically reach out to your existing clients, but of course not with a new sales pitch or listing. Try reaching out with a friendly email or call on your clients’ birthdays, anniversaries, or other milestones. It’s effective for building or maintaining a rapport with these clients and keeping you fresh in their minds.

As you likely can appreciate, it is equally important that you nurture every lead in the right way at the right time. But of course moderation is key. These are just a few examples of what you can do to improve real estate lead quality, and what you will likely find is that as you gain experience and build your real estate career you will become aware of other good ways to maximize your return from them. That’s the way it is for most real estate agents in Canada.