It’s said that you need to spend money to make money, and even children would guess that realtors spend a lot on advertising when they see so many of them on benches at bus stops. So this saying is very true here in the same way it is for any business with a lot of competition where you need to be immediately visible to prospective customers. These days many realtors are adding to their marketing arsenal buying paying for real estate leads, and it’s something that wasn’t available to previous generations of agents because we didn’t have the internet until 25+ years ago.
There’s a lot of buzz about real estate lead generation, but some realtors may wonder how much they’ll really get out of it. What we can say to that is this; there are pros and cons to buying real estate leads but the pros outweigh the cons by quite a bit IF you can meet one condition as a realtor. And that’s that you can be a confident, knowledgeable professional with a strong understanding of the local real estate market who presents themselves well and is at least relatively well spoken. That’s what you need to be when you’re working to convert a real estate lead into a client.
What we can tell you is that the leads realtors get from our online real estate lead generation system here are genuine and come with contact information that’s been voluntarily provided based on a survey and while there’s never any guarantees with them being ‘hot’ leads it is likely that these couples or individuals will be open to speaking with you and what that does is give your first crack at presenting yourself as an excellent choice as a realtor. Get good at it and you’ll be growing your real estate business faster.
So with this entry we’ll explore the pros and cons of buying real estate leads and help you decide if it is worth it to buying real estate leads?
Buying Real Estate Leads – 4 Pros
- Fast-Tracked Lead Generation for Warmer Leads
One of the biggest advantages of buying real estate leads is the way it saves time and effort compared to real estate lead generation through conventional channels. Leads provided will already pre-screened and qualified, and that means you spend less time trying to find potential clients that are this level of genuine when it comes to the possibility of their buying or selling a home.
- Building a Wider Pool of Potential Clients
Buying real estate leads means your pool of potential clients will expand faster, and as you’d expect you will often be making first contact with potential clients who are very receptive but will be making their move in the near future and not just right now for whatever reason. Good realtors know that you can keep those leads warm by reaching out just once afterwards with the right message at the right time.
Make a good initial impression on these people and you won’t need to do any more than that. Give them their time and space and they’ll contact you when they are ready. Online real estate lead generation means you are going to enjoy a higher chance of finding clients who are interested in your services, compared to relying solely on referrals or marketing.
- Increased Sales and Revenue
This one will go without saying to some extent, but particularly for new realtors it is true that buying real estate leads is going make your new career more lucrative right from the get-go and for a lot of people who go into real estate as a career change that is really what they want to happen . By having access to a larger pool of potential clients, you can increase your chances of closing real estate deals and generating more revenue for your business.
- Subject Matter Expert
It’s entirely true that realtors also build their careers from the rapport they establish with other realtors working in the same brokerage. There are often career development workshops and other similar learning opportunities and talking about your success with real estate leads can help others who are newer to the business go through this same process you have when weighing to buy real estate leads or not. Keep in mind as well that over the years realtors who have a lot on their plate may even farm out a lead here or there
Buying Real Estate Leads – 4 Cons
- Higher Expense
The cost is likely one of the drawbacks that make many realtors hesitate with buying real estate leads. Lead providers charge a fee for their services, and it’s while it’s somewhat expensive you need to keep in mind that a significant amount of work goes into the Internet Marketing framework that allows lead providers to give you leads that have substance to them and legit potential to turn into a client. If it didn’t lead providers like us wouldn’t be retaining realtors who have signed up with us.
Still though, it can be a significant cost for some realtors and where you live and work may also factor into this decision around the expensiveness of signing up.
- Leads Go Cool
If every warm lead turned hot and was converted into a client then every realtor in North America would be willing to pay whatever price to be signed up to receive real estate leads. As we said, a good realtor can turn most of their warm leads into conversions, but there are always going to be periods when a number of those warm leads go cold and it ends up that you don’t convert the lead into a client due to factors entirely out of your control. This is the nature of everything in business, but there will be periods where you don’t have as many leads converting. Ebbs and flows.
- Lack of Control
You are essentially relying on a third-party provider when you are doing real estate lead generation online. This means you do have the have more trust in the validity of the service, and especially in advance of first signup. There are also may be times when it would be even more of a need to have leads becoming conversions but you’re in one of the period we talked about in #2 above and they’re not converting like they usually do for you. That’s the nature of it, and yes you don’t have any control over that aspect of the process.
- Added Associated Costs
Realtors working in more rural and less urban areas of the country may find that pursuing the real estate leads they receive from the service may mean they need to travel further than they usually do when working as an agent there. This can become a consideration, as if your lead is warm to the point that you’re ready to start traveling longer distances that’s investing your time and productivity and there’s real value in that. Added success getting clients from the lead may mean this trend is furthered, and it means added expense in operating your smaller-scale real estate business.
It’s fair to say that the cost of buying real estate leads varies depending on the lead provider and the quality of leads. Lead providers typically charge per lead, with prices ranging from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars per lead. Some providers may also charge a monthly fee for access to their database of leads. It’s important to consider the cost of buying real estate leads in relation to your business budget and goals.
Sign up for Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of leads for potential clients who are showing themselves to be ready to buy or sell a home in the city or town where you are working as a real estate agent. Only ONE realtor receives these leads – you! That means you have the exclusive opportunity to reach out to them first.
