Real estate agents need to generate new seller leads as often as possible. whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been an agent for years, finding new leads is just a part of the job. Home seller leads are the lifeblood of any real estate business.
It can feel overwhelming when you first start out, but it gets easier. When you need a new way to generate new seller leads, you can use one of the many options below.
Top 11 Ways to Generate New Seller Leads in Real Estate
1. Get Referrals
While it might not be the easiest way to generate new seller leads, the best leads are referrals. These are leads that come from someone you have already established a relationship with. They might come from another seller you’re working with, a family member, a friend, a colleague, or a business contact.
No matter who refers the new lead to you, this type of lead is one of the best you will find. In fact, a report from the National Association of REALTORS stated that 64% of sellers were referred to the agent they chose and another 25% used the agent they worked with before to buy or sell a home.
Getting referrals can be done in many creative ways. You can throw house warming parties for your buyers when they find a home, send out mailers, or simply ask. No matter how you go about it, some of the best new seller leads will always come from referrals.
2. Work Your Contacts
If people don’t know you’re a real estate agent or you’re looking for new leads, they cannot refer people to you. You want to work your contacts and make sure they are aware of what you do. Something as simple as handing a business card to your server at a restaurant could lead to a new seller lead.
Make sure you reach out to everybody you know and come in contact with. The more people that know you’re a real estate agent, the better. While it might take many months or years to see this strategy pay off, getting the word out to the people you know is a huge step in the right direction.
3. Use Social Media
One of the most incredible ways to gain new seller leads is through social media. There are several platforms to choose from including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Gab, and LinkedIn. No matter the platforms you prefer, you can find new leads with social media.
There are two main strategies you can use:
- Pay for advertising to help build an audience and drive traffic to your website
- Become very active on social media to build an audience and a following
You don’t have to choose one or the other. Many real estate agents will use both strategies. The best part is, if you’re sharing good information regularly, your followers will share it with their followers. This can help you find new seller leads from places you never thought you could reach.
4. Use Your Website Correctly
Many real estate agents throw up a website or use the one given to them by their brokers, but they don’t do much with it. Sure, they add the URL to their business cards, social media profiles, and email signature. This isn’t enough.
Your website is a direct link to you. It’s a great way to find new seller leads if it’s used properly. Custom landing pages can help with online advertising campaigns and the right content can help you grow your traffic.
There are many strategies you can use with your website to find new seller leads. The best real estate agents have an endless supply of leads due to their online marketing efforts.
Whether you choose search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, or another form of online marketing, your website is the key to it all. A well-designed, user-friendly website can ensure visitors turn into leads.
5. Direct Mail Still Works
While it might seem a bit old school, one of the tried-and-true marketing strategies for real estate agents is direct mail. You can have a beautifully designed postcard in every mailbox in a specific zip code. This is a great way to target people that might be thinking about selling their home.
You might not be using direct mail right now, but you should. With more businesses abandoning this strategy for online marketing, you will have less competition and higher response rates. Plus, it’s a very inexpensive way to reach a large number of people in your local area.
6. Create Online Content
One of the best strategies to find new seller leads online is creating online content. Content is king and allows you to do so much more online than you might realize.
When you create a blog post, buyer or seller guide, downloadable eBook, videos, or even a podcast, you gain access to many ways you can reach potential leads. Not only will you be able to gain ranking in the search engines with your content, but it also gives you something to share on social channels. You will also be able to share your content on many other sites and channels across the internet.
While a good online content strategy won’t provide you with a ton of leads today, it’s a great way to create a steady flow of new seller leads. Building up your content library allows you to reach a larger audience online. This can really pay off if you create content consistently for your audience.
7. Use Remarketing Online
Another very powerful online strategy is remarketing. Facebook and a few other platforms allow you to use this type of marketing to re-engage past visitors. Those that have visited your website and left will see your ads, which can help bring them back.
8. Build a List
Those in the field of internet marketing say often that the money is in the list, and they are right. Creating a list of subscribers for a newsletter or by using a free gift (downloadable eBook) can be a very powerful way to find new seller leads.
Every single time you send out an email/newsletter to your list, you can include information they can use, along with your contact information. Driving people back to your website that subscribed is a great strategy. Sometimes, people will sign up for a newsletter knowing they are not looking to sell. Then, when they are ready to sell, they are familiar with you and become a new lead.
9. Expired Listings
When a home was put on the market and the listing expires without the home selling, it means you have a unique opportunity. This can be a huge source of new seller leads. The agent that listed the home the first time may have made a mistake. After all, the home didn’t sell.
Sellers with unsold properties are prime candidates for a new real estate agent. If you can show them how you can get their home sold quickly, they might just hire you.
10. For Sale By Owner Listings
It’s not always easy to convince someone to hire an agent to sell their home if they are dead set on doing it themselves. However, if you can become very good at showing these types of sellers how they can benefit from hiring you, this can be a great source of new seller leads.
11. Open Houses
As a real estate agent, you probably already know the power of an open house. While it might attract buyers, mainly, many potential buyers will also be selling a property. Open houses, when done correctly, can lead to many new seller leads.
There are several great strategies you can use to generate new seller leads. These are just some of the most popular and most successful options to consider.
