“How do I find new prospects?” I hear this so often from agents that I decided to jot down some ideas. While some/many might seem obvious or even redundant to you, I guarantee some of the variants of these ideas are mind-blowers to some agents. Put everyone you know of into a database and contact them.
And before you try to do 20 of these, go back to the Paths lesson and refresh yourself on that. Select things that are part of your path and that you are willing to do consistently for 3 months.
- Call your sphere (people who know and like you)
- Call your weak ties (people you haven’t talked to in years)
- Message your sphere (Facebook, text, email)
- Have get-togethers (dinner, happy hour, BBQ)
- Popping by a sphere of influence’s home
- Join the local chamber
- Join networking groups
- Partner with a good lender
- Produce a monthly newsletter
- Create your own networking group
- Housewarming parties for buyers
- Run Google ads
- Open Houses (multiples in a day, all day, several a week)
- Run Facebook ads
- Postcards (Just Listed, Just Sold, Market Update, What’s My Home Worth)
- Farm a neighborhood (Postcards, flyers, doorknocking, FB ads)
- Build a Social Media presence
- Comment on 90 posts a day
- Put content on YouTube (market, local business, common real estate questions, news)
- Figure out your perfect client and then target them online
- Call expired listings
- Call For Sale By Owners
- Wear a nametag
- Call around neighborhoods
- Doorknock neighborhoods
- Website presence (IDX, blogging)
- Visit businesses and introduce yourself
- Podcasts (Real estate, separate field to get to know more people)
- Be the real estate expert through classes, social media, news
- Send hand-written notes
- Build a network of out of area agents to generate referrals
- Give presentations to groups
- Get more involved in charities
- Build trusted alliances – business leaders, politicians, lenders, etc
- Get your car wrapped in messaging
- Offer free home valuation
- Sponsor events close to your heart to meet like-minded people
- Run ads in school programs
- Get to know divorce lawyers
- Use Slybroadcast to get voicemails out to your known contacts
- Connect w/ busier agents to get their extra leads (usually cheaper homes)
- Give gifts for referrals (not when they close, when they are given)
- Get to know local news personalities
- Contact absentee owners
- Pumpkin Pie giveaway
- Organize a neighborhood wine crawl (trick or treat for adults)
- Frequent the same places so they get to know you
- Have a top referrer dinner every quarter
- Build SEO on your website
- Do seasonal drop-offs (flags, seeds, pumpkins)
- Tap into investors
- Teach a first-time homebuyer’s class
- Visit banks (mortgage officer turnover is high)
- Be the expert in online groups
- Sponsor someone else’s booth at a farmer’s market
- Wear branded clothing
- Build up reviews on Zillow, Google and Yelp
- Billboards, park bench, grocery store advertising
- Give referrals to others (Law of Reciprocity)
- Work a niche (garage agent, cul-de-sac agent, biking agent)
- Facebook sale groups
- Meet up groups (often people new in town finding their tribe)
- Create a community Facebook page w/o real estate focus
- Be on the board of group or business
- Do a local radio show
- Organize a neighborhood garage sale
- Send monthly market updates – Corefact or other website tools
- Deliver door hangers
- Give out swag – pens, sunglasses, hats
- Support schools/police/firefighters with lunch or supplies
- Pay it forward at a coffee shop/have cashier let them know you paid
- Speak at career day for schools
- Participating in local online real estate discussions (Nextdoor, Reddit)
- Write a book and sell it/giveaway (you can buy ghostwritten books)
- Donate to friend’s charities
- Donate to kid’s fundraising
- Volunteer for local fundraising and charities
- Search/answer questions on Reddit
- Offer something of value in return for their contact information
- Become an advocate for seniors
- Partner with delivery service to add your flyer (like on a pizza box)
- Host a neighborhood concert
- Offer a moving truck to your clients on move day
- Connect with real estate attorneys
- Find absentee owners through title or tax records
- Radio ads
- Write a book about real estate (self-publish or ebook)
- Be the business connector (“I gotta guy”)
- Advertise on a local Podcast
- Run an area community Facebook page
- TV ads
- Have a booth at home and wedding shows
- Donate a part of your income to charities and advertise it
- Build your reviews on Zillow, Google, Yelp, etc.
- Get interviewed by news stations and podcasters
- Host movie night at a theater
- Build community websites with resources
- Teach real estate investor classes
- Create custom signs for each listing
- Hold exclusive twilight or other uniquely timed open houses
- Be opinionated (polarizing) – it’s risky but your tribe will find you
- Become well-known by being everywhere (retargeted ads)
- Make a hype video about you, your team or brokerage
- Get unique business cards – odd dimensions or with offers
- Organize a food drive
- Adopt a street, get your name on the sign
- Search/answer real estate questions on Twitter
- Publish a recurring article/column in magazines and newspapers
- Get a memorable style to stand out (bowtie, unique hat, hairstyle, etc)
- Consistently blog
- Get season tickets and give them away or share with a client
- Send home anniversary notes or make calls
- Send birthday cards or make calls
- Recent transplants often go to meetup groups to connect with the community
- Add an 800 number to your listing sign
- Run a coming soon launch for your listings
- Sit at a coffee shop while your laptop is adorned with real estate stickers
- Stand on the street corner with a sign that says will sell homes for food – Story to come later
- Teach a course at a local college
- Get a professional website
- Use landing/squeeze pages
- Make it easy to contact you by having your contact info on everything
- Offer a guarantee to buy the listing if you don’t sell it
- Three-foot rule – everyone within three feet of you learns you are a Realtor
- Just ask for business.
Exercise: Figure out which ones fit your path. Don’t pick too many as that will stretch you too thin.
Do the work, get the results.
Next Lesson >> Authenticity
125 Prospect Generation Ideas