Table of Contents
- Top Real Estate Lead Generation Strategies in 2024
- Word of Mouth Lead Generation, Testimonials and Reviews
- Lead Generation Software
- Social Media Lead Generation
- Gaining Leads via Networking Events
- Using Your Website to Generate Leads
- Purchasing Real Estate Leads Lists
- Target for Sale by Owner Listings
- Run Community Real Estate Educational Events
- Create Partnerships with Local Businesses
- Develop Relationships with Great Home Improvement Independent Contractors
- Direct Mail Marketing to Generate Leads
- Generating Leads with a Door Knocking Strategy
- Frequently Asked Questions
Without lead generation, no real estate agent can be successful. Generating leads is important in any business. It’s the most important aspect of creating a successful real estate agent business, which is why we created Home Value Leads.
The bottom line is that if real estate agents can’t generate leads, they can’t sell homes. If they can’t sell homes, they can’t make money.
Lead generation is so important that before real estate agents consider anything else, they must know how they will generate leads. Never forget.
Nothing else in the home selling process, staging, working with a client on sale price, or closing a deal, happens unless there’s a lead at the beginning of the sales process.
For agents, everything starts with real estate leads. In this article, we go over almost every aspect of generating real estate leads.
We start by explaining why the main questions about generating real estate leads exists. Then, we get into the nuts and bolts about the best way to get real estate leads.
Before starting, it’s important to understand that the ways of getting real estate leads don’t exist in a vacuum. Real estate agents should incorporate as many ways of generating real estate leads that they can without losing effectiveness.
Let’s get to it!
Top Real Estate Lead Generation Strategies in 2024
Just as a reminder, no one way to generate home sales leads is any better than any other way to generate home sales leads. All listed lead generation strategies work. Some might work more than others.
That depends on how much effort an agent spends towards each lead generation strategy.
Real estate agents should utilize all strategies listed here. Experiment with each strategy, discover which ones work best for you, and then utilize and improve upon that strategy more than any other.
1. Word of Mouth Lead Generation, Testimonials and Reviews
When it comes to how to get real estate leads, nothing beats word of mouth and testimonial lead generation. Word of mouth lead generation is gaining leads via one person speaking to another about your real estate agent services.
In today’s world, just counting on previous clients, friends, and family, to spread the word about your real estate agent business might not be enough.
You should promote word of mouth marketing by asking satisfied clients for testimonials. Testimonials and word of mouth marketing go hand in hand.
Most definitely ask your friends, families, and clients to spread the word. Also ask for testimonials from your clients. Put the testimonials on your website and share them on your social networks.
Ask your clients to rate and review you, whether it’s on Yelp, Google reviews or even Facebook reviews, every positive review counts.
Yelp has had great success helping individual business owners get the word out. Yelp is a word of mouth marketing, testimonial, lead generation social media site.
Ask your clients to go into Yelp, Google Business or Facebook and leave a review of your real estate agent services.
Once positive testimonials are on these platforms, they can stay there forever.
If you do utilize them, make sure to understand that clients can post any reviews they wish to post.
All reviews mustn’t be positive. Be wary of bad reviews. We keep repeating how fierce real estate agent competition is for a reason.
When potential customers that hear about your real estate agent company heads to your website, or search for your reviews, they’ll see testimonials from real clients.
Because real estate agents provide a service, testimonials and reviews can help agents generate quality leads much better than most other forms of lead generation.
2. Lead Generation Software
Real estate agents can choose to utilize lead generation software. Before doing so, it’s important to find lead generation software that works best for you. Not all lead generation software is equal.
Check out this excellent article written by Kiah Treece back in 2018. The article discusses the six best lead generation software available:
- Real Geeks
- Zurple
- BoomTown!
- Zillow Premier Agent
- Freshsales
- Zoho CRM
All 6 provide exactly what they say they will provide. Lead generation software isn’t cheap, though. Not only that, but it’s not necessarily the best course of action for every real estate agent.
As with everything that has to do with your real estate agent business, using software to generate leads in real estate isn’t a magic pill.
It’s all about cost versus value. For some agents, the cost to sign up with Real Geeks and Zillow Premier Agent doesn’t coincide with the value received.
An alternative for those agents could be Home Value Leads. HVL helps real estate agents generate leads via Seller Landing Pages and Facebook Advertising. Just like Real Geeks and Zillow Premier Agent, Home Value Leads also provide a CRM.
It even goes further by providing automated SMS follow-up as well as optimizing for mobile while costing much less than a company like Real Geeks.
3. Social Media Lead Generation
Social media remains a force for real estate agents to generate leads in 2023. HVL’s Facebook Advertising program that leads to clicks on real estate agent landing pages is effective at generating leads.
Other forms of social media, including Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube, can help generate leads.
The name of the game with Facebook and Instagram is engagement. Engage with your customers. Always be positive and never, ever post anything or make a comment that could appear offensive.
4. Gaining Leads via Networking Events
Networking events happen all the time, so there’s plenty marketing ideas for realtors. Just look for local mixers wherever you live, sign up, and then attend. Make sure to be natural when networking.
People don’t just want to hear about what a great real estate agent you are. Get into real conversations while letting people know what you do for a living.
The goal with networking events is to get the word out as well as discovering people you can put into your sphere of influence.
You want to get to know as many people as you can. Networking events help you quickly meet people.
5. Using Your Website to Generate Leads in 2023
Generating leads via their website used to be the way to go for real estate agents in 2023. That was back in the day when not every real estate agent had a website.
Now that every real estate agent has a site, putting up your site and even marketing it in some way, might lead to disappointment.
It’s not that website real estate lead generation doesn’t work. It’s that website lead generation by itself doesn’t work.
Home Value Leads has created real estate landing pages that optimize lead generation straight from your website. HVL even offers website creation.
The idea is to create a website, utilize Home Value Leads Facebook Advertising to push potential leads to the site, and then once on the site, use specific, optimized landing pages to generate leads.
Real estate agents looking to see how it works, should sign-up for HVL’s free trial. Even if real estate agents don’t wish to sign up for HVL, they must find a way to optimize the landing pages on their site.
Again, your website alone won’t generate leads. There’s too much competition for a single real estate agent website to stand out from the pack. Utilizing a company like Home Value Leads can help real estate agents step out of the shadows.
6. Purchasing Real Estate Leads Lists
You can purchase real estate leads lists. Do your research before purchasing any leads list. Don’t forget that anyone selling a leads list gets paid once you purchase the list.
Leads list sellers might not have an incentive to keep you on as a customer. Therefore, their lists might not be nearly as effective as you think they are.
7. Target for Sale by Owner Listings
We recently wrote an article on For Sale By Owner (FSBO) leads. Check out that article to find out how to generate some of the hottest real estate leads available.
FSBO clients want to sell tomorrow. That makes them terrific customers.
There’s a way to generate FSBO leads. There’s also a way to communicate to FSBO clients. Make sure to check out the article on For Sale By Owner leads after you’ve read through this article.
8. Run Community Real Estate Educational Events
Real estate agents are constantly looking for ways to stand out from their competitors. A great way to do that is to run community real estate educational events.
By giving back to your community, you can become the real estate agent that everyone turns to. Not only that, but you build your reputation as a real estate industry expert.
You might even sign clients at the event. If anything, you can build your sphere of influence. Also, it feels good to give back. Create a community real estate educational event and see how quickly your name spreads.
Real estate agents are constantly building their reputations. Make sure you build a good one. Running educational events for your community can go a long way in doing that.
9. Create Partnerships with Local Businesses
All local business owners are part of a select club. That club understands each other because whether the business owner runs a dry-cleaning company, a landscaping company, or a real estate agent company, the goal is the same, to maintain good cash flow and make profit.
Use the fact that all local businesses are similar in this aspect to get to know your fellow local business people. Visit every restaurant in your real estate agent area.
Get to know the owners of those restaurants. Utilize local businesses for your dry cleaning and any other service you might need.
Eventually, you will develop a strong relationship with other local businesses. This can help you in your real estate agent career. You can even partner with local businesses to send referrals.
Perhaps, a local mechanic is willing to hand out your business card to his customers if you’re willing to hand out his realtor business card to your clients.
10. Develop Relationships with Great Home Improvement Independent Contractors
Independent contractors, people with companies that work on houses, can make your real estate agent career. Most homes that you sell will need some work.
Just like the real estate agent industry, the home improvement industry and construction industry is rife with competition.
Independent contractors in the home improvement and construction industries are always fighting for jobs.
If you partner with a very good plumber, a great roofer, and a fantastic appraiser, you win a couple of ways.
First, those excellent independent contractors will provide amazing services to your clients. That keeps your clients happy. Happy clients spread the word about what a great real estate agent you are.
Second, those independent contractors will send leads your way. Just like you, they’re small business owners. If you have their back, they will have your back.
Develop strong relationships with great independent contractors, and watch your real estate lead generation explode.
11. Direct Mail Marketing to Generate Leads
Real estate agents have shunned email marketing and gone back to direct mail marketing. You should give this a shot.
However, be aware that direct mail marketing, because so many real estate agents have begun to employ it, isn’t nearly as effective now like it used to be.
Also, you could be wasting your time if you don’t do the homework to find out if the residents are owners or renters.
Renters will just throw away your great piece of direct mail marketing into the trash. If you do your homework, most definitely try this out. But, don’t go crazy with it.
A better way could be to create leave behinds and place them onto welcome mats as a part of a door knocking strategy.
12. Generating Leads with a Door Knocking Strategy
We already published a set of articles on why every real estate agent should consider a door knocking strategy. Make sure to check those articles out.
Although those articles go in depth into the door knocking strategy, we’d be wrong to not at least mention a few words about this method of generating real estate agent leads.
The reason the door knocking strategy works so well is because it’s a face-to-face marketing strategy.
It breaks through the noise on social media. It doesn’t depend on friends or family spreading the word that you are a real estate agent.
It only requires a list of the value of homes in an area, leave behinds, and the willingness to spend a few hours a week canvassing a neighborhood.
Don’t just create leave behinds, though. Also create home value reports. Home Value Leads provides automated home value reports.
Make sure to have those home value reports in hand just in case a decision-maker answers the door after you knock.
Agents can only thrive if they generate real estate leads. We’ve listed and answered the most pertinent questions real estate agents have about generating leads.
All real estate agents should try as many lead generation strategies as possible. They’ll quickly discover the ones that are most effective for them.
Real Estate Lead Generation Frequently Asked Questions
We look at each question listed below from the point-of-view of why do real estate agents ask the question. We’ll then answer the questions throughout the rest of the article.
How do new real estate agents get leads?
Check out some of the ways real estate agents can get leads:
- Word of Mouth Lead Generation, Testimonials and Reviews
- Lead Generation Software
- Social Media
- Networking
- Real Estate Agent Website
- Real Estate Lead Lists
- For Sale By Owner Lists
- Door Knocking
The most basic question might be the most important. If you’re an experienced real estate agent, you might be asking yourself, “Why would anyone become a real estate agent without knowing the answer to this question?”
Hindsight is 20/20, meaning that because you have experience as a real estate agent, you might have forgotten how scary it probably was right after you got your license.
The fact is that no matter your level of real estate expertise, you aren’t the only real estate agent in your area of expertise.
In 2017, there were 2 million active real estate agents in the United States. That’s a ton of competition. Competition for beginning real estate agents causes fear. That fear festers.
Also, all real estate agents know that the answer to this simple question could be the difference between being a successful real estate agent or not.
How can I get real estate leads fast in 2024?
In real estate, it’s important to be fast more in 2024. Homes fly off the market when the U.S. economy is hot. Homes fly off specific markets, like in Los Angeles County, even if the U.S. economy isn’t hot. It all depends.
Some of the fastest ways for real estate agents to generate leads are listed here:
- Realtor Facebook Ads
- Networking
- Door Knocking
- Word of Mouth
This question exists because it’s the natural partner to, “How to generate leads for my real estate business.” Once you know how to generate real estate leads, the next thing you want to know is how quickly you can generate those leads.
The more leads you generate, the quicker you can generate multiple leads. The quicker you generate multiple leads, the quicker your chances are of finding houses to list. The faster you list houses, the faster you sell houses.
How much are real estate leads?
It depends on what type of real estate lead you wish to buy. There are different types of real estate leads. You can choose to go with a real estate lead generation company, purchase a book that tells you how to generate leads on your own, or purchase actual leads.
Check out a quick list of how much each may cost you:
- Lead generation software (CRM): $50 – $80 a month
- Lead generation books (do-it-yourself): $5.99 – $19.99
Purchasing actual leads depends on your goal. For example, Bold Leads might charge up to $299 for monthly lead generation. Zillow’s cost is anywhere from $20 to $60 per lead while REDX costs much less than that.
Using lead generation software, as opposed to actual lead purchases, can often times be the best way to generate leads. A word of caution, though. Not all lead generation software is the same.
The three things that real estate agents must insist from their lead generation software is that it provides: lead follow-up, lead enhancement, and instant lead verification.
What is the best real estate lead generation company?
Home Value Leads is the best lead generation software. Before getting into why, it’s important to understand the difference between a lead generation software company like Home Value Leads and actually purchasing leads.
Purchasing leads means that you have someone else do the work for you. Although this sounds great, the fact is that you have no idea about the true quality of the leads you purchase.
That makes purchasing leads sort of like throwing darts. You might hit a bullseye. There’s no guarantee you will.
Working with a lead generation company provides advantages that agents that don’t work with lead generation companies simply don’t have.
One of those advantages is using a client retention management system like what Home Value Leads offers.
Other advantages that a great lead generation company might offer are mobile optimization tools, automated SMS follow-up, and in the case of Home Value Leads, a Facebook Advertising program.
All of the things that the best lead generation companies offer provide advantages to real estate agents.
Now that we’ve answered the pertinent questions about lead generation, let’s turn our attention to the best real estate agent lead generation ideas.
Sign up for a free trial on Home Value Leads and start generating real estate leads for your business!
