Listings are your first and most important way to generate real estate leads but it brings up the question “How do I get listings?”.
In this article, we share six actionable tips to secure yourself listings that you can market on Bayut & dubizzle.
Before you start targeting homeowners, accept that you will have to get out of your comfort zone and accept rejection. Not all homeowners want to sell or rent out their property, and that’s alright. Working to gain seller leads is quite different from getting buyer leads. It takes a different approach to create a well-organised marketing plan, resources, sales strategy and arguments to convince homeowners to work with you and stay top of mind when their need to sell comes up.
Using Social Media To Your Advantage
Creating a social media account won’t automatically attract sellers to you however, it will help you create your name in the market and build your personal brand. This is just the start of slowly having potential sellers recognise your presence and identify you as a knowledgeable and trustworthy agent, making them want to work with you. Social media is a powerful tool; you have the capability of building your brand and communicating with your target audience just by using your phone. Present yourself as the top agent in your area of expertise and landlords won’t want to miss out on the opportunity to work with you.
In addition to building your name online, you can also join community groups to get in touch with your target audience. Now be careful; you don’t want to spam your listings on these groups – rather, share your recommendations, answer community questions and when the opportunity arises, give your advice too.
This helps you come across as knowledgeable and engaged before you bring your real estate business into the conversation. But how does this help you attract landlords and sellers specifically? When landlords see your messages on community groups, your image is already being built in their minds. So when the time comes, and they want to sell, they will go with an agent they know has been active and competent rather than picking someone completely new to work with.
Expanding Your Network
We know you’ve heard it before, but the saying stays true, “Your network is your net worth”. As a real estate agent, you have to live, breathe and dream about real estate and this includes spreading the word among your network.
Networking takes time and patience. You can start by picking up the phone and reviewing your contacts individually. Call everyone from your best friend to your yoga instructor and plant the seed that you are an active and competent agent. Make sure the conversation is about real estate and try to set up coffee meetings for people who want to get to know you better. This helps you build trust which is critical to making a lasting connection. Even if the people you call do not have an immediate need to work with you, you want to make sure you’re the first person they think of when this need arises.
Warm Calling
Cold calling is intrusive and of course illegal. Warm calling, on the other hand, involves contacting prospects who you or your company have had prior contact with. This makes the process more effective as you contact people who have already shown interest in working with you. Warm calling lists can include people who:
- Have subscribed to your newsletter
- People who DM you on social media
- Attend your open houses
- Filled out a ‘Contact Us’ form with your agency
So what do you do when warm calling? First, start by introducing yourself and showing how you can add value by representing their property. The market is flooded with real estate agents, and you need to convince your lead why they should work with you and not someone else. This can be by sharing your advice, walking them through the sales process or offering free personalised home valuations and comparative market analysis (CMAs).
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Hosting Open Houses
While the main objective of hosting open houses is to attract property seekers, it also shows other owners in the area what’s happening in the market, what prices are and what working with you looks like. Open houses are a great way of showing potential sellers in the area how you take the initiative and make things happen by serving your client’s needs.
To make the most out of sellers in the area, share your open house invites on social media and on community groups; that way you can reach property owners in the area. They may not need to buy your property; however, this is a great way to make connections and give sellers a sense of what’s happening with prices in the market. Inviting owners to an open house and having them show up eases them into the thought of selling their property and, since you sparked this thought, they’ll be more likely to work with you.
Referral Leads
Satisfied clients are sure to share their experience of working with you with their circle using word of mouth. If you are confident you have delivered value and high-quality service, do not hesitate to ask your clients to refer you to their family and friends. Referrals are a great source of business; they bring in high-quality leads and are more likely to convert.
The wider your client base, the more people your service will reach as clients start to talk about working with you.
Approach FSBO (For Sale By Owner) Listings
FSBO listings also present an opportunity to capture seller leads. You can find FSBO listings online and reach out to contact them. Here’s the important part: you do not want to ask for their listing directly; that is a guaranteed path towards rejection. Instead, introduce yourself and be prepared to provide valuable information to assist them, we suggest starting by saying something like this:
“Hi, I’m (Name) with (Agency Name)! I noticed you have a house/apartment for sale in (Area). Is it still available? As an area specialist, I aim to know about all the homes for sale in the marketplace for the buyers I am working with. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about your property?”
Once you get the owner talking about their property, you can pitch for a meeting; remember the owner will rarely ask to meet you; hence, you have to initiate contact yourself.
Try saying “Can I schedule some time to come by and see if your property would work for any of my buyers? I’d also like to share some of the things I do to help FSBOs like yourself. Does tomorrow at 4 pm work for you?” and booking a time to meet them face to face.
Securing property listings takes time; owners want to be confident that they trust both the agency and agent representing their property. However, do not fear – consistent effort is sure to be rewarded. Stay on top of your leads and regularly follow up to ensure that when the opportunity comes up, you’re the agent they want to work with.
For more insightful articles like this, check out our Content Corner. We also recommend signing up for one of our many interactive workshops at Bayut academy where our training team is dedicated to helping you acquire all the skills needed to succeed in the competitive real estate market.