As a real estate agent, finding buyer leads can feel overwhelming and lead to burnout, unless you have a clear strategy.
If you are tired of using the same tactics, it may be time for a fresh dose of creativity and opening your mind to new ways of generating buyer leads. Likewise, if you are a new real estate agent, you might be wondering how you can get started finding clients.
Fortunately, real estate marketing can be fun once you figure out what works best for you. That’s why it’s important to start with a toolbox full of tricks for generating buyer leads. In this article, we are going to discuss how to find real estate leads, so you can create a lead generation strategy that brings you consistent business.
Non-Digital Lead Generation
Before we get into anything fancy, it’s still worthwhile to go over some old fashioned, tried and true methods for finding buyer leads. While some methods of finding buyer leads require paid advertisement, others are completely free, so there is something for every budget.
#1- Cold Calling
One of the oldest strategies for finding real estate buyer leads is cold calling. While it may seem like a long shot to get someone on the line who needs what you are offering, if you make enough calls, eventually you’ll get real estate leads.
This is an especially useful strategy for a new real estate agent who doesn’t have a network or large budget to spend on advertisements.
For real estate buyer leads, try to call current renters. This group of individuals is most likely to want to purchase a home. Some other helpful tips for cold calling include using a CRM (customer relationship management) to help you keep track of the real estate leads you need to follow up with. Also, check the “Do Not Call” registry, as you don’t want to get in trouble with the FTC.
Related: 3 Tips for Writing Real Estate Scripts That Will Help You Quickly Qualify Buyers
#2- Door Knocking
Another time tested favorite for a new real estate agent is door knocking. If you are wondering how to find buyer leads in your neighborhood, the easiest way to start is by asking.
Blocking out an hour or two of your time each day to knock on doors can make for an easy lead generation strategy that you can start implementing right away.
Related: Does Door Knocking in Real Estate Work for Lead Generation?
#3- Business Cards
Your real estate marketing toolkit isn’t complete until you’ve made yourself a business card. These are easy enough to create using free online software, and you can usually have a few hundred printed fairly inexpensively. Business cards provide a way for leads to remember and contact you.
#4- Community Associations
Joining and being an active member of a real estate community association will help you build connections and establish a stronger network. Sometimes, it’s just about who you know, and expanding your network is a proven strategy to get more real estate buyer leads.
#5- Client Gifts
This method of real estate lead generation works off of referrals, so it only helps if you’ve at least gotten your first real estate client.
However, once you do land your first client, gifting them with a house warming present is sure to impress your buyer. They will be happy to tell their family and friends about how thoughtful you were, and they might send leads in their network to you for business.
#6- Newspaper Ads
If you primarily serve a middle-aged to older group of buyers, investing in newspaper ads can be an effective way to reach your target audience and get more real estate buyer leads.
#7- Posters and Signs
This can get quite expensive, but if you have the budget for it, getting yourself on a poster or small billboard in an area with high traffic volume can help with attracting and finding buyer leads.
Digital Lead Generation
#8- Google Ads
This method of real estate lead generation can be highly effective, as are all digital lead generation strategies. Why? You are only attracting the people who are already searching for someone like you.
How to find buyer leads with Google Ads? It requires a little bit of tech-savvy, but anyone can learn it. You will have to do some research into keywords buyers in your area would search for, and then you bid on those words. Essentially, the more money you spend on your keyword, the higher up your website will appear in Google’s search results.
Related: Real Estate Digital Marketing Strategies to Use During COVID-19
#9- Social Media Ads
Social media ads are a great strategy for finding buyer leads because they can be targeted to a specific audience. You can choose where your audience lives and what their interests are, ensuring that your ads are reaching the right people.
#10- IDX Website
If you are using any of the digital strategies on this list, you probably already have a website. But do you have an Internet Data Exchange website? The IDX website is helpful for finding buyer leads because it displays MLS home listings that buyers are already searching for, making them more likely to find you.
#11- Blog
Starting a real estate blog is a great strategy because you can include keywords in your posts that help you rank higher in search engines. This makes finding buyer leads easy because they are naturally finding you.
#12- Pinterest
If you aren’t using Pinterest in conjunction with your blog, you are missing out on a great opportunity to drive traffic to your website. By pinning your blog posts, they will be able to receive more exposure, and you will have an easier time finding buyer leads.
#13- Medium
Medium is a great place for real estate agents to post their blogs for exposure, and even if you don’t have a blog, you can write fresh articles that are relevant to your industry and post them here. Make sure they are targeted towards home buyers and include a call to action at the end that brings them to your website where they can contact you.
#14- Quora
This question and answer based website allows anyone to post their opinions on different topics. You can use this to your advantage when finding buyer leads by searching for questions about your area. You might even be lucky enough to find someone who is considering buying a home in your area. This is an opportunity to praise the neighborhood you serve, offer expert local advice, and provide your contact information in case they want to buy a home with you.
#15- Social Media
Finding home buyer leads on social media is not exclusive to running targeted advertisements. Using social media makes finding buyer leads easy because it allows you to connect with potential leads and flourish relationships by commenting, liking, and sharing. The more you nurture your relationships on digital platforms, the easier finding home buyer leads on social media becomes.
#16- Email List
If you’ve been in real estate for a while, you might already have an email list. You could send out helpful market updates to your list to keep them informed. If it’s been many years since an old client has moved, maybe it’s time again.
Also, you can start a new list by collecting emails on your website in exchange for a downloadable guide of the area you serve. You can then slowly nurture the relationship with follow up emails until your subscriber is ready to buy.
Read also: 16 New Real Estate Agent Tips and Tricks for 2020
Qualify Your Leads with Mashboard
What good is finding buyer leads if they aren’t qualified?
In order to close a sale, you need a buyer who is committed to purchasing a home right now. Window shoppers and uncertain buyers are likely not going to get you a paycheck, and you won’t want to spend too much time pursuing them now.
How can you ensure that you have high-quality buyer leads?
The easiest way to do this is by using real estate software such as Mashvisor’s Mashboard.
Our impressive real estate tool uses AI lead qualification and predictive analytics to qualify your leads, leaving you with only high-quality buyer leads every time.
To get access to our agent dashboard, sign up for Mashvisor now and get 15% off.