The old saying “Nothing happens until somebody sells something” is so true in real estate. Until you sell your services to a buyer or seller, you have no potential for generating commission. Attracting real estate leads is the critical first step in reaching your sales goals.
1. Embrace selling yourself and your business.
Many of the Realtors I talk to believe that selling is a dirty word. They associate sales with manipulation and misrepresentation. If that is what you believe, you are:
- Preventing yourself from being as successful as you could be.
- Doing a disservice to your clients.
When you embrace the fact that you are selling yourself and your services to buyers and sellers, you can concentrate on developing professional selling skills.
With those skills, you can help more people because you’ll have a way to communicate clearly the benefits you bring to homebuyers and sellers. You’ll also be more skillful in helping your clients define their needs and recognize when they’re making a smart move.
2. Make it easy on yourself.
There is a variety of ways to attract real estate leads — here are just a few:
- Internet marketing
- Farming
- Referrals
- Email marketing
- Social media
The real estate agents who are successfully attracting real estate leads know they need to make it easy on themselves. That doesn’t mean that drawing leads is a simple task — it takes time, effort and money.
The key to attracting leads is to choose the methods that come most naturally to you. Do what works for you, not what you think you should be doing or what the latest guru is promoting.
For example, door-knocking in a farm area can be done successfully. But, if you shudder at the thought of approaching strangers in their homes, don’t make that a part of your marketing strategy. You might think you should do it, but here’s what will happen:
- You won’t impress the people you meet because you won’t come across as confident and capable.
- You won’t continue door-knocking on a regular basis.
- You’ll waste a lot of time you could be using to attract leads, thinking you’ll be able to force yourself to get out there.
- You will conclude that door-knocking is a total waste of time and that it doesn’t help attract leads at all.
Well, you’ll be right on No. 4. Although door-knocking can attract leads, it’s just not going to work for you. When you review your alternatives for attracting leads, use those techniques that you know you will do well.
3. Be consistent.
Attracting leads is a process, not an event. It’s not something you do once a year. It’s something you need to incorporate into your daily activities — something that needs to be your top priority.
Ross Perot isn’t one of my idols, but he did come up with this wise thought:
“Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the 1-yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown.”
That thought is exceptionally valid when you think about marketing. The likelihood is that just about any marketing approach you come across is valuable to someone — when they do it consistently and with enthusiasm.
The questions you need to answer, and then, are: What do I have the money, skill and energy to do to attract leads? What things will I incorporate into my daily activities and continue to do on a consistent basis over the long haul?
Once you have the answer to those questions, you’re ready to go out there and get those leads.
Kathleen Allardyce is the founder of the Real Estate Marketing Center. You can follow her on Linkedin or Facebook.