There are so many ways to generate new clients.
I have seen agents succeed in some of the craziest ways so don’t be bogged down thinking there is just one way to build a real estate business.
You can call them levers, switches or paths. I like lead generation paths because it’s not something you just turn on and off. It is a journey to master these methods. I suggest picking two paths and doing them at a high level. There’s an urge to jump from idea to idea because it’s not happening fast enough. Trust the process. Be urgently patient.
Here’s a brief synopsis of each path. We will go deeper into these later.
Path One: Sphere
Your Sphere or Circle of Influence is often the main path people take or at the very least, it’s the goal. These are the people who know and love you. What surprises many new agents is that they often don’t get many deals from their sphere. They knew you were doing this yesterday and it can be hard for them to trust one of the biggest transactions in their life to you. Eventually, they will just keep in touch.
Your sphere needs to be reminded of what you do and that you know what you are doing. We’ll take a deeper dive later in this.
Path Two: Open Houses
This has changed with COVID but many careers credit Open Houses as the source of their success. You get to meet people face to face in a world that’s gone digital. It’s much easier to gain rapport and read people when you are standing in front of them. Open Houses are one of the most powerful lead generation tools out there.
For those that don’t know, Open Houses don’t sell homes. The last statistic that I saw showed that it only accounts for .5% of the homes sold. If you held and Open House 50 weekends a year for four years, you would sell one house. Open Houses are about finding new clients and putting your signs everywhere so people learn your name.
Path Three: Networking
Networking involves meeting with new people to grow your database. You are purposely going out to connect with new people and nurture those relationships over time. The more well-known groups are city chamber of commerce, BNI, LeTip, and Toastmasters.
You can create your own networking group but some find the structure of the above groups helpful. The professional networking groups usually have some standards and expectations of handing out referrals. These groups have a purpose. Be careful about joining a group that is just an excuse to get together and shoot the breeze. Many business people get stuck into looking busy rather than productive.
Path Four: Cold-Calling
Cold-calling has a lot of rejection and is avoided by many. It takes someone with resolve and the right mindset to go through it daily. The highs are pretty high when you can land a client this way and it’s a pretty powerful option to have new people to call every day to find business instead of waiting on people you know.
The three versions of cold-calling are For Sale By Owners (FSBO’s), expired listings and calling around a neighborhood. FSBO’s are the hottest because they want to sell. Expired are warm to hot depending on why they are no longer on the market. And calling around a neighborhood to see who is looking to move is the coldest call you will make.
Lastly, and the toughest more agents, door-knocking. You walk around neighborhoods and do what you would have done on the phone. There’s a small but hardy group of people who have been successful with this.
Path Five: Social Media
I feel like this is it’s own source because it takes certain skills that the other paths don’t. You have to be personable, have some market savvy, be consistent and be engaging while staying up on the trends in social media. I know of some people with huge follower counts who get zero business. I know of others with a much smaller group of followers but they have deeply connected.
Path Six: Online Ads
This is the path many people go, especially teams. It seems simple enough; just throw money at your need. I can’t remember that stat but I recall that one company sold twice as many leads as there were sold homes one year. A “lead” isn’t just reaching out to one agent. When you get that lead, you have to answer instantaneously or your money is down the drain.
You also need exceptional follow-up skills for this path to work. The average online lead is 11 months away from buying a home. They are rarely calling up to have you help them write an offer today, but it does happen. And generally online leads are buyer heavy.
While I’ve seen people try to do something they just hated, for most, you just end up avoiding it or finding some reason to procrastinate. You got into real estate for a reason. Money is great unless you are constantly miserable. Unless you have a history of pushing through something you hate for a goal, I suggest finding the one you don’t hate. I suspect you will be happier and more effective.
Exercise: Look at these paths and think hard about which one or two is the easiest for you to get up every day and enjoy doing.
Do the work, get the result.
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