Top 5 Tips To Get Real Estate Clients
Landing new real estate clients can be tough for even the most experienced veterans, but especially for those barely starting their careers. In a competitive market, the ability to secure clients involves strategic planning, effective communication, and leveraging various channels. In this blog, we'll unveil a helpful guide for agents, presenting five tips to get and keep clients and boost your real estate business.
Tip #1: Build a Strong Online Presence
Building a strong online presence is an essential part of effective real estate marketing. Prospective clients will look for you online. In fact, it’s where you’re likely to make most of your “first impressions.”
As a result, it’s a critical part of a real estate agent’s client acquisition strategy.
And it should be multi-pronged. You need a professional website, as well as business pages on social media. Gather and display reviews from past clients prominently, and consider demonstrating your knowledge by publishing helpful content, whether that’s in the form of articles, videos, or graphics. You can target the content to your ideal client.
Online advertising is something to consider. Facebook, in particular, has a great return on investment (ROI) and exceptional targeting. Lead magnet content can be a great draw. Just make sure you’re providing value in return for the lead information.
You can tie together your online presence by crosslinking active accounts and using consistent names, headshots, and other branding.
Tip #2: Conduct Cold Calls
Cold-calling can be a useful way to connect with potential real estate clients; just be aware that it’ll be a grind. You can’t expect it to pay off quickly. According to Baylor University, you’ll need to put in an average of over 200 calls for each appointment, listing, or referral you gain. That’s roughly twelve hours of cold calling.
That means you need to do it consistently and for about 15 hours a week to be successful.
Who are the best options for cold calling? Expired home listings are the best place to start. These are high-quality leads because you know they’re serious about selling, and they’re probably looking for new representation. Listings that are For Sale by Owner are another good option. You can check in on their progress and see if they’re ready to get some professional help.
Tip #3: Host Open Houses
Open houses are a great way to drum up interest in a property when you already have a client, but they can also be an excellent client acquisition strategy. Everyone who walks through the door is a potential buyer who may need representation.
If you’re a new agent, you don’t even need to have a client in need of an open house to take advantage of this strategy. Many experienced real estate agents are too busy to host all their own open houses and would appreciate a hand. You’re doing them a favor by handling the legwork, and you get a chance to practice your communication skills and get to know motivated buyers who may be trying to go it alone.
Bring business cards to hand out and use a sign-in sheet to gather leads. Be sure to follow up with these prospects. Make it personal and offer useful information or advice to prove your value.
Tip #4: Ask Existing Clients for Referrals
Soliciting referrals is one of the most effective tips for getting real estate clients. Referral leads are low-cost and high-quality. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 63-68% of clients find their agent through family or friends.
Step one for gaining referral business is to provide excellent service to your clients so they’ll want to recommend you to anyone who’s looking. Easier said than done, but when you prove your worth as a real estate agent, clients will refer business to you without any prompting.
That said, it’s worth asking satisfied clients for a referral when you conclude your business. It’s also a good idea to keep in touch with past clients and nurture the relationship in the long term. This can result in not just referral business but repeat business!
Tip #5: Network With Other Agents and Professionals
On the surface, other real estate are competitors, so you might not think of them as a way to get clients. However, more experienced agents at your brokerage may have more prospects than they can handle, and it benefits them to keep the business within the brokerage.
It can also be useful to network with real estate agents from outside your market in other states or cities. You have clients who are selling their house to move away, and so do other agents all over the country. Find a referral network that can connect you to clients moving into your area. You’ll also be providing value to your clients by connecting them with a quality real estate agent on the other end of their journey.
Real estate agents aren’t the only real estate professionals worth building a network for mutual referral business. Local contractors, home inspectors, appraisers, mortgage brokers, and other related professionals can all benefit from mutual client referrals for real estate agents.
Continuing Education for Real Estate Success
The most versatile tip for real estate success is to continually build your skills and knowledge. That can come in many forms: reading tips to get clients in real estate, sharpening your neighborhood knowledge, researching effective real estate marketing tactics, and even making the best use of your state-mandated continuing education hours.
Online real estate continuing education courses like those offered by AgentCampus can be a great solution when you get them from a respected provider like us. You can customize your package and work through courses at your own pace, whenever and wherever it’s convenient. We also offer pre-licensing coursework online for most states.
