Real Estate: How to Get Qualified Leads

In the real estate world, leads are your bread and butter. Without them, you can’t sell homes, which ultimately means you’re not making any money. Of course, earning leads is a science that combines excellent people skills with just the right kind of marketing to attract your target demographic. That’s why our focus is getting leads for real estate agents like you.

Need a little help getting new real estate leads? Skip Realtor.com ads and Zillow leads; here are six real estate marketing ideas to help you attract new business:

1. Optimize for SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, is an absolutely critical marketing tool in today’s world. SEO is basically the way your real estate business makes friends with the major search engines. By strategically using keywords and phrases people in your market are searching for, the search engines are more likely to put you at the top of their list where people will actually see you in their search results.

Search engine optimization encompasses everything you have online, including your website, social media pages, blogs, newsletters, and guest appearances on industry publications. You need to create fresh, relevant content that people will view as valuable. In the real estate industry, it’s also important to talk about housing trends and local information that’s pertinent to your specific market with hyper-local posts.

2. Invest in Paid Search

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is an important part of an overall lead-generating marketing strategy. Well-placed ads will put your ads right in front of people who are already looking for the services you’re offering. Similar to SEO, paid search is based on key phrases; when someone searches for the words you’ve purchased, your ad will appear before to entice them.

Paid search is great for budget-conscious Realtors because not only can you control the expenditure, you can also expect lower costs per lead than other areas of advertising. You only pay for the people who actually click on your ad, and you can set limits to cap the amount of money you spend in a day or month so you’re not hit with an unexpected bill that didn’t generate profit-producing leads.

Paid search has another benefit: You can track conversions. In other words, you can easily see which phrases are producing the most interest and causing people to click on your ads. This is vital information you can use in the rest of your marketing strategy, like in Facebook ads, as well. Once you know the words that pique your prospects’ interests, you can integrate them into your landing pages, blog posts, and normal website pages.

3. Offer Something Awesome on a Landing Page

People love to get free stuff, and they’re more inclined to give you their contact information if you’re offering some helpful tidbits they find irresistible. Landing pages are the perfect places to offer your awesome free stuff. This is where you’ll entice your audience with phrases like “Download our free guide” or “Get your must-do checklist.”

Here are some ideas to consider:

• Moving day checklists

• White papers about the real estate industry’s current condition

• A detailed guide about things to do when someone moves to the city you represent

• Helpful how-to manuals that prepare sellers to put their homes on the market

The key comes by offering something your audience will find absolutely valuable as they try to buy or sell a home, including action-oriented words that incite action.

4. Reward Existing and Prior Clients for Referrals

Referrals are imperative in service industries such as real estate. A friend or family member’s word means a lot when people are considering major life changes like buying or selling a home.

Touch base with prior clients by sending feedback surveys that offer referral incentives shortly after they close on their homes. If you haven’t talked to them in a while, re-up your relationships with direct mail that offers discounts to local restaurants. This simple act will keep you on the top of their minds when they hear someone talking about buying or selling a home. Of course, they’ll also think of you first when it’s time for them to make their own next moves.

5. Network With Area Vendors

Do you know what’s great about HVAC people, electricians, plumbers, and handymen? You all have the same customer base, but you’re not competing with each other for business. Rather, your goals are unified in helping the people you serve to realize the happiest home environments possible.

Take care of your local service vendors, and they’ll likely take care of you. If your sellers need to upgrade their outlets before the buyers will bite, call your favorite electrician personally to take care of the situation. If your recent buyers discovered a problem in the bathroom that needs to be remedied immediately, contact your favorite plumber.

Not only will your clients appreciate your proactive approach to handling their problems (which will likely lead to positive referrals down the road), the vendors you work with will probably keep you on their lists, too, enabling them to drop your name when their customers mention the need for a great Realtor.

6. Search for “For Sale By Owner” Listings

Most people who try to sell their homes themselves aren’t able to complete the transaction. Maybe they’ve overpriced their property, or they’re simply too inexperienced to handle the complexities and stresses that come with selling a home. For Sale by Owner (FSBO) listings present a great opportunity for you to sell your services to someone who may have taken on too much. Consider offering a free consultation to get your foot in the door. From there, your charm and real estate expertise will shine when you meet your prospective new client in person. Be sure to bring concrete examples of your success, particularly if you’ve handled FSBO listings previously.

It’s not always easy to get new real estate leads, but the task is much simpler when you have a team of lead-generating experts by your side. That’s why Lead Horse Marketing is here to help! If you’re ready to connect with the buyers and sellers who are ready to make moves in your market, we’re ready to create a strategy that’ll work for you. Reach out to Lead Horse today!