Customer acquisition strategies are more crucial in real estate than in almost any other industry – it’s key to building a successful business. However, whether you’re just starting or looking to expand your agency, learning how to find clients in real estate can be quite challenging. The industry can be competitive with ever-evolving housing market trends constantly changing the game, and businesses must be adaptive and current.
It entails more than just attracting clients for your real estate agency. You need to work hard to identify them, nurture them until they convert, and maintain strong relationships with past clients and those still contemplating the purchase.
Ahead, we’ll talk about 6 proven strategies to help you find clients in real estate. From leveraging online marketing and SEO to hosting open houses and more, you’ll learn everything you need to know on how to grow your real estate business!
How to Find Clients in Real Estate
Real estate agencies face an ongoing challenge of finding new clients. However, even if you’re starting from square one, there’s a way to build a thriving client base for your business if you’re determined enough.
Combining traditional methods and modern strategies, you can seamlessly attract high-quality leads and convert them into valuable clients. Here are the most impactful strategies we’ve gathered over the years:
- Leveraging online marketing and SEO
- Networking and building relationships
- Utilizing real estate platforms and listings
- Hosting open houses and community events
- Offering valuable content and resources
- Cold calling
At CLICKVISION Lead Gen, we specialize in inbound lead generation marketing through SEO. Our goal is to help businesses like yours rank, ensuring that potential clients who are actively searching for services related to your industry find you first.
By partnering with us, you can confidently focus on what you do best – closing deals – while we drive traffic directly to your website. Below, we’ll break down each strategy that will skyrocket your agency to new heights:
Leveraging online marketing and SEO
There is no way to talk about a successful real estate business without a strong online identity. It’s essential for finding potential prospects and converting them into valuable customers. But how do you create a strong digital presence?
Your online footprint begins with a professional website that showcases your listings, client testimonials, and services. Ensure this site is user-friendly, mobile-friendly, and has compelling, informative content.
Moreover, utilize social media platforms to engage and interact with potential clients and related businesses. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram are a great way to start. Make sure you’re active and responsive to create a community around your real estate agency.
Local SEO is another crucial component you don’t want to overlook. By optimizing your website for local search terms and keywords, such as “real estate agents near me,” you ensure that your site will be the first result on SERPs for your potential clients to see.
That said, we excel in SEO and inbound marketing. With our help, you can stand out in a crowded market and attract new, high-quality leads to fill your customer base.
Networking and building relationships
As a real estate agency, networking and relationship-building are critical for securing new clients and generating quality leads. Referrals are not limited to just friends and family of past clients – they can also come from various companies and businesses within the real estate industry. For instance, you might form partnerships with these types of professionals:
- Mortgage brokers
- Attorneys
- Contractors
- Appraisers
- Inspectors
Cultivating relationships with them often means that they might recommend your services to clients who need help purchasing or selling properties. This referral program is arguably the most powerful tool for growing your client base.
In addition to this, tapping into your Sphere of Influence (SOI) – people who already know and trust you, including your friends, family, colleagues, agents in different locations, or community business peers – can help you find more clients. By maintaining your relationship with these connections and letting them know about the services you offer, you may uncover many potential leads.
Utilizing real estate platforms and listings
The next strategy that could increase your client base is utilizing real estate platforms and listings, including sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, and the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
These platforms and listings allow a real estate agent to share information about properties for sale in a particular area. Local MLSs can also provide prospective buyers with detailed information on each property for sale, such as features, square footage, and prices.
Moreover, such platforms allow real estate agencies to view one another’s listings. This can lead to more referrals, as realtors may connect you with buyers looking for properties you have listed.
However, to position yourself as an accessible and responsive agency, it’s important to regularly update your profile and actively engage with inquiries from these real estate platforms. The public trusts these platforms, so maintaining a strong presence is pivotal for building credibility and capturing potential clientele.
Hosting open houses and community events
When you’re looking for a way to attract real estate clients, open houses are an age-old marketing strategy that has helped agencies grow their business for decades. Today, it’s still as impactful as ever.
These events allow you to connect with highly interested home buyers. We recommend including a sign-in sheet where house hunters can write their contact information, such as names, email addresses, and phone numbers, which you can then use to contact them.
Yet, open houses are not the only events where you can meet clients in one place. Other examples include participating in community events, charity functions, and local real estate shows or fairs to meet potential leads.
This type of opportunity cannot be undervalued. It allows you to get face-to-face time with potential clients and expand your customer base significantly.
Offering valuable content and resources
One of the most effective ways to attract and engage clients in real estate is to provide valuable and resourceful content. In today’s information-driven world, people are more likely to trust agencies that offer insightful and relevant content that helps them make informed decisions.
So, when you position yourself as a knowledgeable resource, you can win over these leads and make it easier for them to choose you when they’re ready to buy or sell. Here’s what you need to do:
- Regularly publish market reports on your website or blog, providing insights into current trends.
- Create comprehensive home-buying guides that walk visitors through each step, from securing financing to closing.
- Offer neighborhood insights to showcase your knowledge of local communities.
- Frequently post informative blogs and video content on topics like real estate trends, home maintenance tips, and the buying/selling process.
- Provide interactive tools and resources like mortgage calculations, property valuation tools, or neighborhood comparison charts.
By offering such valuable content and resources, you educate the public, enhance your online presence, and build credibility. We understand this capability and help businesses like yours optimize their content for search engines so that they get the visibility they deserve.
Cold calling
Though it’s an older technique not everyone is quite fond of, sometimes, cold calling can be an extremely valuable asset for tracking down potential leads in real estate. This approach is especially effective in reaching FSBO sellers trying to sell their property on their own or engaging with those whose listings have expired without attracting any takers.
Many lead-buying services can provide you with contacts, but if you’re someone who prefers to do things by yourself, Zillow is a great place to start. But how can you find these numbers? Here are the steps:
- Go over to the “Buy” page and choose your region.
- Click on the “Other listings” button.
- Open a listing and scroll to the end of the “Overview” section.
- Find the seller’s phone number.
Before you contact potential leads, be sure to have a well-prepared script so that you’re prepared for any objections sellers may have, and they may have a lot. Focus on how you can help the person on the other end of the line.
Often, you may reach people who are considering buying or selling but haven’t yet taken further steps. So, while many real estate agencies shy away from this method, it can yield results correctly.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to find clients in real estate, you’re ready to take action. Whether you’re a newly established agency or have been operating for years, expanding your client base entails various strategies and finding the right ones is crucial for a successful outcome.
Consistency and persistence are key from leveraging the power of online marketing and SEO to networking and offering valuable content. Hosting open houses and cold calling are two more traditional methods, but they remain as effective today as ever.
However, with any scaling business, many companies are bound to face challenges on their way to the top. That’s why we’re here to help. At CLICKVISION Lead Gen, we understand the importance of inbound marketing through SEO. We capture and directly deliver high-quality leads who are searching for services like yours and are ready to take the next step into purchasing or selling.
So, if you’re ready to grow your real estate business, contact us today and learn how we can be your key to success!
Dimitar is a seasoned marketing specialist and the visionary behind CLICKVISION. With over 10 years in digital marketing, he excels in crafting marketing strategies that boost rankings, which in return increase leads, conversions, sales, profits, and ROI.