7 Real Estate Prospecting Ideas
One of the greatest disciplines all top producers have in common is their commitment to consistent daily prospecting and lead generation in their business. Agents are always looking for the best methods of prospecting and trying to find the methods that have the easiest methods or the highest return on investment activities.
The top methods are not a silver bullet, the magic pill or the path to least resistance like so many agents hope to discover. Here are what I feel are the best prospecting methods all top producers implement into their daily lead generation. It is getting harder and harder to find phone numbers for the faster, voice to voice prospecting calls but knocking on the doors works just as well when we prospect today.
7 Tried and True Real Estate Prospecting Methods
1) Past Client Calls – Always start with the people that already know you, like you and trust you. Why focus on strangers and people that you don’t even know if you like or would want to work for? The goal is to deepen our relationship and add value to our past clients to be invited in to do business with the 200 to 250 other people that each of your past clients know and remember the husband and wife both know different people to refer. Make the business calls to the past clients and ask them “Of all the people they know, who do they think will be moving next?” The ideal time is right when you are just finishing up with a purchase or sale of a listing it is said they are most open to refer you then. I challenge you to make the calls 4 times a year and see what happens to your leads and business. Always ask when they plan on moving and make note of their response
in your CRM.
2) Center Of Influence Calls – After we have asked for the business from our past clients we then contact the other people we know but have not had the opportunity to serve in real estate. Another great source is all the business owners and service providers we know and do business with on a regular basis. I am a huge fan of what I call “B2B” calls and the opportunity to leverage the people I know and the service I provide with other business owners, service providers and help generate and leverage some business to theirs. Always ask when they plan on moving and make note of their timing into your CRM.
3) For Sale By Owners – This is obviously a seasonal part of the business when we see a lot of them and then we don’t. I always love this form of prospecting when they already own a home and they know they want to sell but they just want to try and save and do it themselves. If we help them try to sell themselves then they will buy with us or they will sooner or later list with us. It is all about the follow up and being there when they are ready to list and your persistence will pay.
4) Expired Listings – Nationally we know that 24% of listings expire annually. This again is an amazing prospecting source that already owns a home and they want to sell, work worth an agent and pay the real estate commissions. It really doesn’t get any better than these prospects. Your approach is to remind them of why they wanted to sell in the first place and let them share why they feel their home did not sell. Let them knock the competition without you even knocking them. Listen carefully to their reason for selling and why they felt it didn’t sell and ask if you can accomplish their goal and not repeat the mistakes they experienced in the past, would they let you apply for the job of selling their home next.
5) Just Listed – Making the calls or knocking on the doors around your own new listing or your companies recent listing. Letting the residents know about the newest listing in the area and you’re wondering if they know someone that would like to move into the area and don’t forget to ask them when they plan on moving.
6) Just Sold – Making the similar call or door knock around your own sale or companies recent sale. Letting the residents know about the recent sale and we know that when someone sells a home usually two more in the area sell right away so you were wondering when they plan on moving.
7) Bona Fide Buyer – Create a listing, even better double end sale and use any of your bona fide buyers that you represent and call or door knock the area or complex that they are looking in and let the residents know you have a bona fide buyer and made a commitment to them to go and find a home for them to buy rather than sitting and waiting for one to come onto the market. This prospecting method is amazing if done well for getting in the door and creating the listing appointment opportunity.
Consistent daily lead generation and prospecting with these top methods have for decades proven to be the most profitable ways top producers in this industry stay on top. They are not something exciting or something easy and fun to do every day but these are truly the best ways to generate real estate business for any agent. I challenge anyone who is experiencing a low or lack of production to hit the phones or doors hard with any or all of these methods and let me know what happens to your business.