Real Estate Prospecting: Tips to Maximize your Leads

Effective lead generation keeps you away from the dreaded “feast and famine cycle.” When high-quality leads pour in one month but dry up the next, your sales pipeline becomes wildly unpredictable. It’s a stressful position to be in, as you can’t grow when your business is unstable.

It’s great when a high-quality lead appears out of thin air, but you can’t count on it. Real estate businesses need a steady flow of quality leads to grow, so real estate prospecting should always be on your mind.

What is prospecting in real estate?

Real estate prospecting is the process of identifying potential clients for your business.

If your niche is helping first-time buyers, everyone attending a webinar on how to buy your first home is considered a prospect. Those who show interest in your services after you contact them become leads. And if they decide to work with you, now they’re clients.

Real estate prospecting doesn’t stop there. Nurturing former clients will allow you to build a thriving network.

Getting good at prospecting helps generate high-quality leads over and over again. It’s essential to your business, like property showings and negotiating. A systematic approach to real estate prospecting invites more ‘feasts’ and fewer ‘famines’.

There are many ways to prospect, so let’s explore some…

Real estate prospecting ideas and tips to increase lead generation.

1. Define your client personas.

The first step to regularly attract your ideal clients is to identify them. Revisit your client personas or create new ones to establish who your ideal clients are, what they want, and what marketing messaging resonates with them.

You can update client personas as you learn more about them. For example, you might learn that hosting open houses is a great way to find luxury property prospects. Noting findings like that in your client personas will help you create an effective real estate prospecting strategy.

2. Learn the fundamentals of marketing.

Edging competitors on marketing and communication could be the difference between a deal or no deal. Reading highly-rated marketing books could save you from learning some lessons the hard way.

Knowing marketing fundamentals will also help you negotiate better deals, improve your copywriting, and be a more persuasive and effective communicator—both online and in person.

Popular marketing books we recommend:

All of these books are available as audiobooks too.

3. Build your personal brand.

Real estate is one of the least trusted industries in the US. While that’s unfortunate, there’s lots of room to win people over. Being an online authority (or “influencer”) helps you get seen, gain followers, earn trust, and build a reliable source of leads.

You’re in a much better position to turn prospects into clients when they know who you are.

You can build a personal brand that sits comfortably alongside your company brand. Sharing industry insights, stories, and free content on your personal social media pages can turn you into an influential voice in your space. Interact with commenters and subscribers to prospect them.

Popular ways to build your personal brand:

Post short-form content on your personal LinkedIn page.
Create a newsletter.
Sell books/eBooks.
Start a blog.
Share content on social media and engage with followers.
Engage in public speaking.

4. Master your CRM.

Knowing your CRM inside out makes real estate prospecting much simpler. Once you can create lists, use templates, assess data, and work perfectly on your laptop and mobile device, you become much more effective.

Watch YouTube tutorials and contact your CRM’s customer service team for assistance on workflows and features. You’ll move faster and convert more customers once you can do exactly what you want without delay.

5. Prospect on social media.

Facebook has long been the go-to social media channel for sales reps, with 66% using it for research and prospecting purposes. However, Facebook is losing ground against other platforms.

Instagram and TikTok have made video content incredibly popular, and younger generations are drawn to them more. TikTok has 73.7 million monthly active users but only 12% of realtors use TikTok. There could be plenty of opportunities for realtors on platforms like TikTok to secure the customs of younger generations.

There are many social media channels to experiment. Creating paid ads targeted at your audience personas, high-quality content, and engaging with your audience will help you generate more leads.

6. Attend industry events.

While 52% of realtors generate high-quality leads from social media, meeting people face-to-face has its advantages. You can build trust immediately and learn more about people’s needs.

Check the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Inman, and local Meetups, and follow popular real estate hashtags to learn about other events.

7. Host open houses.

It’s not a groundbreaking suggestion, but certainly not one to forget. Hosting open houses helps you connect with people and identify prospects quickly.

Make sure your presentation is on point (fresh flowers, a welcoming scent, etc), exchange business cards/LinkedIn accounts, and enter information into your CRM ASAP. Note the key details that could help you turn prospects into leads.

8. Start a referral program.

A referral program can do the heavy lifting for you. Sharing your referral program with leads/clients may help you secure more just like them, as they’ll share your program with their circles.

9. Always follow up with prospects.

Following up is a major part of real estate prospecting, whether you’re trying to reach a new lead or checking in with an old client. You might speak to people at inconvenient times or get their voicemails, so following up is essential. 60% of customers say no four times before saying yes; follow up more than once.

How SignMore can help realtors and agents to maximize growth.

A quarter of property sector calls come outside of regular 9-5 office hours. Missing calls means missing opportunities as callers will likely phone a competitor if they can’t speak to someone. Simply answering every call could generate as much as a 54% increase in new business.

A team of property-focused receptionists taking calls on your behalf ensures you never miss a call again. You can turn your phone off when you want to, knowing every caller will get 5-star customer service.

Want to see how SignMore can help capture more leads and provide 5-star customer service around the clock? Book a free 15-minute consultation today.