A Complete Guide To Real Estate Prospecting

You can make more money in real estate, but only if you have leads in your pipeline. If you can generate new leads and convert them into paying clients, they can become your agency’s long-term customers. To achieve this, you might want to consider real estate prospecting. 

Unlike other real estate tactics, real estate prospecting takes discipline and effort. Aside from the traditional methods, such as door knocking, cold calling, and networking, you also have to get inventive to generate new leads into your funnel. If you prefer getting new leads by voicemail and text marketing, consider using the services of Drop Cowboy and other platforms that allow businesses to stay connected with clients.   

Content marketing, creative social media campaigns, and involvement in your community are some ways to take your real estate prospecting game to a new level. However, you will need a solid prospecting plan to get better results. 

To know more about real estate prospecting, read the guide below.

What Is Real Estate Prospecting?

Real estate prospecting is reaching out to relevant potential clients or finding new contacts and turning them into leads. Typically, it’s done through phone and email outreach, meeting people in person via networking and community events, and increasing social media engagement. To help you manage time efficiently when reaching out to your prospects, you can use dialing tools like Power Dialer to contact more contacts in an hour. 

The key in real estate prospecting is being proactive. You should always be at the right time and in the right place. Most methods, such as direct mail, door-to-door, and cold calling, are beneficial to securing more sales contracts, acquiring prospects, and increasing your visibility.

Best Ways To Do Real Estate Prospecting

Some typical real estate prospecting methods like sponsored events and open houses may require modifications or be out of bounds depending on the laws of where you live. That said, below are more common ways you can get new leads from real estate prospecting:

• Cold Calling 

It’s an activity of messaging, calling, or emailing possible clients to try to sell them something without being asked by clients to do so. Real estate agents could go door to door in new neighborhoods introducing themselves and their services. They can also pick up the phone and solicit new business using the contact list. 

If you’re new to this, you can use scripts. However, if you have the experience, you can do more of these in a day. Agents might get such contacts through mining expired listings or scouring the new directory of new areas where they’re farming. 

Among other industries, good phone services are necessary for real estate professionals. Clients expect to reach you at all hours. Therefore, ensure you use reliable phone services with features such as voicemail, call forwarding, business caller IDs, etc.

• Word-Of-Mouth Marketing

It’s a free form of promotion in which highly-satisfied and happy customers tell others how much they like a product, business, or service and recommend it to them. However, there are instances when a company intentionally elicits word-of-mouth marketing through referral marketing and publicity drives. 

The best thing about it is that it’s organic and doesn’t require effort on your end. It’s also one of the sources of referrals.

• Direct Mail

It’s a kind of marketing that is delivered physically to the prospect’s mailbox via courier or post. Real estate agents who use direct mail marketing may send pamphlets, postcards, old-fashioned letters, and coupons. 

Although direct mail is an old marketing tactic, it works effectively in today’s age and is well-received by many people. In fact, some people may prefer direct mail over digital media because several emails tend to be spammy.

• Open House

An open house is another old practice where sellers open their doors for a certain period to interested homebuyers. It works like a live advertisement of the property. To get results, properties for sale should look their best, and drinks or appetizers must be available as potential buyers look around every corner. 

If you think face-to-face open houses aren’t feasible, you may opt for a virtual open house. It’s an excellent alternative that offers the same lead-generating perks.

• Advertising

It’s a paid type of marketing, which is often distributed through different media channels to sell or promote an idea, service, or product. Real estate agents may publish ads in newspapers, flyers, billboards, or television. Social media ads and banner ads are also popular options.

Benefits Of Real Estate Prospecting

There are several benefits of real estate prospecting, and these include the following:

• Get Quick Results

Writing blogs gets results, but it takes a while before seeing such results. It might be months before you can get a return on your investments in inbound marketing. However, with real estate prospecting, it’s possible to get results within a five-minute conversation, allowing you to maximize your business growth.  

• Build Up Your Contact List

Even though you’re not getting immediate work from leads, you’ll be able to expand your contact list with real estate prospecting. If you have an extensive contact list, you’ll have better odds of finding clients from your current network. 

• Qualify Your Leads

Once you interact with potential leads, you’ll know more about them. This approach will help you determine whether they’re ready to sell or buy and how motivated they are. Moreover, you’ll learn if they’re the right clients for you or if you’re the right professional for them.

• Cost-Effective

One of the best advantages of real estate prospecting is its cost-effectiveness. To get leads, you only have to send a text message or email to somebody interested in your listing. Unlike spending a hundred dollars on ads and some marketing strategies, real estate prospecting is an affordable alternative to generate leads.

Top Real Estate Prospecting Tips To Consider

From cutting-edge software to tried-and-tested tactics, here are other real estate prospecting tips you can consider to gather the best-qualified leads:  

• Establish Goals And Stick To Them

Setting up a goal to know how many contacts you want to reach out to is crucial. Remember that not all the contacts you reach out to will be your clients. Since real estate prospecting is a numbers game, you should set realistic goals to ensure you’re giving yourself better odds. 

For example, aiming for five contacts per day is an excellent way to start if you’re new to the real estate industry. However, if you’re a seasoned agent, consider targeting up to 15 contacts daily, especially if you’re confident about your experience and skills.

• Get Active On Social Media

Online presence is essential to get leads. One of the ways to improve your online presence is to be active on social media.

Social media platforms work hand in hand with your official website because you can cross-promote your blog posts, photos, listings, and other content. It’s also a great place to connect with your prospects and some real estate professionals.

When using LinkedIn for real estate prospecting, you can consider joining bigger groups in the real estate market to stay updated on the industry trends. For Instagram, you can use it to highlight your open listing with engaging photos. Moreover, you can research new prospects with real estate-focused hashtags.

• Reach Out To For Sale By Owner (FSBOs)

FSBOs are clients that look for brokers or listing agents to sell their homes. To find an FSBO, you must look through websites like social media platforms because they don’t often appear on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). You may also find them by driving within your neighborhood and other areas to spot for sale yard signs. 

When trying to reach out to FSBOs, never expect to get a conversion immediately. An excellent strategy is to present yourself as a dependable resource. Provide your services with sales tips that you think they’ll benefit from. After that, stay in touch until they agree to work with you when selling their properties.

• Engage In Community Events

While contacting prospects online is today’s norm, nothing beats an in-person connection. A great way to personally meet new potential clients is to engage in various community events whenever possible. 

In such events, you never know who you’ll meet and if they could know somebody who might be interested in your services. Participating in these events may also provide you with content for your social media accounts and show your followers that you’re involved and active in the real estate market. 

Some of the ideas you can consider for community events are as follows:

• Give free lectures at community centers or local libraries
• Donate time to local charities
• Sponsor neighborhood food and culture festival

• Have An Updated Website

In today’s modern world, not having a website is never an option for businesses. Real estate websites are inexpensive and easy to set up. Moreover, they add authenticity, legitimacy, and authority to your brand. 

While you can stick with a simple website with contact details, it’s wise to include as much content as possible to showcase your brand or business. It means displaying real estate listings and advertising various properties on your website. 

In addition, most people expect real estate agents to have their own website with search tools that will allow them to look at or sell a property quickly. So, if you want to get new leads, invest in a website and do your best to optimize it to stay ahead of the competition.

• Spend Time Wisely

In real estate prospecting, the more leads, the better the chances of getting opportunities. However, spending time wisely is critical because you might not want to waste your time focusing on dead ends and cold leads. If your prospects aren’t ready to make real estate decisions, never make them a priority. 

During the initial conversations with prospects, ask them how motivated they are to sell or buy a property and when they prefer to make a final decision. Then, focus on those willing to do so in a short timeframe.

• Ask For Referrals

A referral is a cost-effective way to get leads. It could be as simple as asking for a referral in person via email or on the phone. You may also use customer relationship management (CRM) automation tools to trigger referral requests when the deals have closed. 

Other than that, ask for referrals from your previous clients and other contacts, such as former colleagues, family, and friends, who had a satisfactory experience with you. Just make sure to do it pleasantly so your contacts won’t feel awkward, mainly if you use email marketing. 

Naturally, your satisfied previous clients would want to refer you to others searching for professional real estate assistance. If you get referrals, thank them by sending a letter or a gift. 

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Real Estate Prospecting Efforts

Real estate prospecting may involve a lot of work, but it may generate lasting rewards. So, ensure you track your data to make the most of your efforts. It includes any money you invest in prospecting, whether running giveaways or hosting events. 

You must also ensure that new leads are properly tagged in your sales system so you may know where they came from. It’ll help you measure your return on investment (ROI) in your real estate prospecting efforts. Plus, you’ll know which methods suit you and which do not. 

Another way to get the most out of your efforts in real estate prospecting is to focus on follow-ups. While other leads you generate are ready-to-buy clients, some aren’t. But if you want to invest in real estate prospecting and don’t want to waste your efforts, do your best to nurture your existing contacts. 

If possible, nurture your new and existing contacts until they become genuine relationships. This way, it’ll be much easier for you to convert them into your clients over time. Just avoid being promotional and provide assistance to your contacts.

Bottom Line

All in all, the best approach to real estate prospecting is to combine both digital and traditional tools. The right combination will let you understand your prospects’ needs. Once you know them, you may tailor your prospecting and marketing strategies to their needs. Beyond that, it’ll help you secure a face-to-face meeting, putting you on the map and giving you a jump start towards signing contracts.