Being a real estate agent is an exciting career. You get to meet new people and set your hours while helping people realize their dreams of homeownership. Pretty exciting, right?
You also have unlimited income potential. That is as long as you have many clients buying and selling through you. Finding new clients can be tough with a competitive landscape, so you need new strategies to attract business.
Here are some of the best ways to get clients in real estate:
1. Make Real Estate Connections
Ships are safest at the dock, but that’s not what they were built to do. Like a ship, you need to get out in open waters and start getting your name out there. You must make new connections in your community to think of you when someone wants to buy or sell a home.
Get involved in community events and start introducing yourself. Speak to people at your gym, the local bakery and even your kids’ school. Approach lenders and builders to look for beneficial relationships and always be available to get together.
2. Keep Working Your Social Circle
Family and friends were probably the first people you approached when starting. Make sure to remind them often about your role as an agent. Remember, they have extended family and friends beyond you, and you want to tap into that pool of people. Offer incentives for connecting you with new clients. It could be gift cards or even cold, hard cash. This will motivate your circle to recommend you in their circles.
Real estate agents work hard to get clients and then lose them when they get them into or out of a home. You need to constantly be attracting new clients to be profitable. Use these ideas for building your client list and watch your business take off.
In addition, use CRM for real estate agents to nurture these client relationships. CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, a practical tool that lets you organize and coordinate data efficiently. With CRM, you will manage your customers more successfully.
3. Have a Strong Website
If you don’t have a great website, you miss the boat. We live in a digital age, and everyone turns to the internet for whatever they want to buy, including homes.
Your website needs to be interesting and exciting so people can navigate it and spend time there. Take advantage of interactive media, including an introductory video, testimonials, virtual house tours and neighbourhood videos. Start a real estate blog with great articles about buying, moving and other house-related content. Be sure to update it regularly and use SEO tactics to make your search relevant.
4. Harness Social Media
If the internet is where people get information, social media interacts. You need to have a consistent presence on various platforms to be your area’s go-to real estate agent.
Use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even YouTube and put out great content for people to absorb. Be part of the conversation on other people’s pages and let clients see who you are and how you do business. You can also advertise on Facebook with paid ads to attract clients. The more people see your consistent brand across all platforms, the more likely they will contact you when ready to buy or sell.
5. Work In a Real Estate Niche
While you can always represent clients for any real estate transaction, try to hone in on a specific niche. If you can be known as the #1 condo agent or first-time buyer person, you may attract more business. This sets you apart from your competitors.
Make sure you are well-versed in your area and gain experience backed with lots of sales in it. Build it into your brand, and soon, you will be the expert for that niche.
6. Put On Special Events
You need to find ways to stand out, so be creative in your community. Put on a free BBQ in the park and attract as many locals as possible. Organize a community garage sale and take care of all the advertising. Get everyone involved and then go visit each house throughout the day.
This interaction is less formal, so you don’t need to dress in business, pitching them your sales line. Just be friendly and have a good time at your events, and the people will be able to connect with you and gain trust. This takes more work, but it will pay off when people are ready to move into the real estate market.
7. Start a Real Estate Newsletter
Whenever you speak to people, have a way to collect emails. You are building a potential client list that you can market to later, and the best way to do that is with a regular newsletter.
Sending out a weekly newsletter will allow you to share content with prospective clients and give them pertinent information about the market, new opportunities and real estate hot spots in your area. Don’t over-sell to them, though, because you can’t turn people away. It’s better to be interesting and informative, so they get value from you.