To sell your trustworthy realtor service, you first need to find someone interested in buying a property. Therefore, finding a client is always the first step as a real estate agent. There is a high number of people providing real estate services; this leads to strong competition among real estate agents. As a realtor, you must learn the problems generally experienced by helpless homebuyers. This practice will help find and address common problems, increasing your number of customers. Once this is addressed, the realtor may begin searching.
Customer search methods can be divided into two categories: online and offline.
Online methods include:
- Social media blogs
- Real estate sales or rental websites
- Online advertising bulletin boards
- Personal website
Offline methods include:
- Word to word advertisement
- Placement of billboards
- Business cards and brochures
Where Do You Find Clients as a New Real Estate Agent?
The real estate agent needs to learn to put him/herself out there. The methods listed in the section above should all be playing a major role in making one known. There is no magic formula for finding new customers. Real estate agents need to be open to the idea of experimenting. For a month you might want to focus on passing business cards and brochures, and the next month you might be able to pay for online advertising. The advertising options along with the combinations are endless. You never know who you will reach. Everyone you come in contact with is a potential customer. As you keep this mentality, you will notice an increase in real estate clients. The idea makes sense; the more people you reach out to, the more people that can become clients.
With that in mind, here are a few places where you can generate leads and find clients as a new real estate agent:
- Find Areas with Heavy Real Estate Traffic: This method can be considered the simplest and most convenient. Once you find an area with heavy real estate traffic, both from buyers and sellers, you need to focus on that area. This would be the perfect area to try one of the offline methods mentioned above. You may start by going home to home offering your services, leaving brochures, etc. These areas will give your real estate career the jumpstart it needs.
- Using Social Media: You can find customers by advertising via a blog. These are modern and effective tools commonly used by many companies to advertise products. Through this, you can also advertise your services. Many people today come in contact with products and services online, which is why it’s important to have a prominent online presence. Having your own blog and being able to link back to it from other real estate websites will increase both traffic to your website and the number of clients.
- Forums: Forums may be the most difficult of the real estate marketing techniques mentioned here. However, they can be extremely effective. Spend some time looking for real estate related forums. This will guarantee an audience that may be interested in your services. Once you have found a forum that suits your needs, create an account and begin writing your experiences with real estate. Be prepared to answer questions and keep an active presence in the forum. You want to gain people’s trust- only then will they become a client. In the beginning, this might seem like a waste of time, which is why it’s such a difficult marketing technique. However, as you push through and endure, there will be a reward for the time invested.
Finding Your First Client
Look at the people in your acquaintance circle. Perhaps someone you know needs real estate services. Offer your services to the people around you, they may become your first client. People you know are the best way to begin your real estate empire. All you need is one successful sale, which will begin a wave of clients.
Continue Drawing Clients
Once you have found a handful of customers, the next phase is to keep drawing more customers to you. You need to be able to use marketing and sales techniques to increase your client pool. The following list provides some ideas and methods that have been used in the past to keep clients constantly coming to you.
- Discounts and Special Offers: Discounts are an incredible way to attract new customers. People are moved by discounts. They are more likely to make a financial decision if they know they will be saving some money. A good example of a discount that you may provide is free legal consultation. However, you are free to offer whatever seems like it is the most logical thing to do.
- Provide High-Quality Customer Service: Be friendly when you communicate with people. This will help the people you come in contact with trust you. Good customer service is a simple and important gesture that goes beyond the scope of responsibility and the customer will clearly appreciate it.
If you are an experienced real estate agent, there are more and more opportunities to attract customers. As an experienced real estate agent, you have the following possibilities:
- Keep a Professional Image: Once you have gained experience, use that as your advantage. People will hear and know about you, let those people have their expectations met. Provide them with the services you are known for. Keeping a good professional image will maintain customers coming. Also, never forget to share information about your professional experience with potential customers.
- Find Work Partners: Partners in this field may include lawyers, builders, other realtors, etc. These partners may be interested in working with you, since it may also keep their workload in motion. This will create a system of cooperation and mutual benefits for all the parties involved.
Alternative Ways to Find New Real Estate Clients
Credibility is very important in the real estate business, especially since the commission will be thousands of dollars. This is why many customers tend to rely on real estate agencies. Many new real estate agents begin by working with an agency. Agencies offer their employees access to a customer base as well as support, tips, and experience from other employers and colleagues. Customers also have more confidence in real estate agents hired by trustworthy realtor agencies than in the self-employed newcomer.
Do not assume that with just one of the above methods you can quickly gain many new customers. All of the above methods must be applied constantly. You can achieve tangible results and increase the customer base only through extensive activities. Do not be afraid to try something new, but also do not forget the classic methods of attracting customers.
This article has been contributed by Craig Middleton.