Every business must market themselves and the real estate business is no exception. As in any industry, it is necessary to know how to obtain leads. Of course, these methods have evolved over time and now involve the use of modern technology. So exactly how should a real estate business go about using modern technology to obtain leads? That is precisely what this article will discuss. Also included will be a segment or two on how to ensure you reach the decision-makers directly. Please continue reading this article.
Create a Website for Your Business
This is a must-have for any business in today’s society – you need a website. The average website can generate more than 30,000 visitors each month. Of course visitors can lead to clients if you have the means to collect data on them. Instruct your website designer make your site SEO-friendly. The higher your business ranks in searches, the more traffic you will have. Once your website starts to attract visitors, it is crucial you initiate contact with them. You want to show these visitors you appreciate them checking out your site. This can be done via email or telephone call, but do be sure to do it in some fashion. This is a sure-fire way of generating leads.
Link Your Website to High-Traffic National Sites
There are several nationally-known high-traffic real estate sites in use today. It is a good idea to link your site to one or more of those. We shall expand on this later in the article. For right now, we will say that your website will gain quite a bit of exposure from linking to them. Exposure of any kind is helpful in generating leads. Sites like these are even helpful when you want to increase your breadth of knowledge on real estate in general.
Utilize Social Media Sites to Advertise Your Company
Social media sites are no longer used solely for keeping in touch with people. Nowadays they are also a prime source of exposure for businesses of any kind, including real estate companies. Most of the social sites allow you to place ads on their site for a minimal fee. These social media sites have instructions on how to place your ads, as well as how to begin a live chat with new prospective leads. The more sites your company is on, the more people will know you exist.
Ideas for Addressing Home Sellers
When you are looking for real estate leads, you naturally think of home buyers. However, home SELLERS are an extremely important part of your market. Make sure to have some lead generation techniques to find home sellers too. One way to do this is to utilize online data from sources that focus on home sellers. Do an Internet search and you can find some of these. Not only can you obtain real estate leads this way, but you can offer prospective clients another service. That service is the ability to check the value of their home through YOUR website. That is such a valuable service. You can discover how to incorporate a home valuation site into your company website online. Check into that today.
Make Use of Video Technology
These days videos are such a popular way of attracting business leads. Look into affordable ways to produce informative videos for your real estate company. Start by telling people all about your company and your key personnel. You can then go on to make videos of homes you are already selling. Not only will it help you get leads for that client, it can allow other home sellers to see what you can do for them. Make certain you include a contact method for prospective clients to reach you. Then do not forget to follow up with them.
Use Lead Generation Software
Along with the information age has come inventions that can capitalize on technology. One of those inventions is lead generation software. There is a segment of lead generation software that focuses on real estate. Check into using one or more of those today. Several of them can be found on the Internet market. Do a search for them and a little homework prior to investing to find out which are the best products in this genre. You want to look further than the price, it is important to be able to gain the most use out of it. You want your software to be versatile and comprehensive. Some real estate lead generation software products are geared towards different sized businesses. Select the one that most fits YOUR company. If necessary, call the software company and speak to an expert.
Make Use of Informative Blogs and Articles
There is another way to use modern technology to gain real estate leads other than statistical data. That way is to avail yourself of the plethora of real estate information out there. We are speaking of all of the informative blogs and articles on generating real estate leads. Included are all sorts of general tips on real estate and related topics. You can find the most current material from expert sources. Because it is so critical to understand what you are talking about in order to secure leads, you should check out any general articles on real estate topics. Those are also available on the Internet.
Tips on Reaching the Decision-Makers
In any marketing campaign, one of the keys to success is to speak directly to the decision-makers. This can be difficult. More often than not, you will get the gate-keeper who will do everything possible to prevent that. Therefore, this part of our article will focus on the best tips to reach the boss of the home. This information is completely relevant to the real estate business too. One pertinent tip is to call the home owner later in the day. That way you are more likely to directly reach the decision-maker. When you do, keep your message short and to the point. Do not ramble! Do some research on their home requirements before you call. That way you can tell him or her about all of the benefits you can offer them. Remember, you want to make a positive impression.
Mutual Connections Are Valuable
The best way to speak to the key person at a company or at their home is to find a mutual connection. When you do, arrange for an introduction. Casually mention all of the excellent ways YOUR real estate company can help them. Whether they are looking to buy or to sell a home or business property, be prepared to let this person know what you can do for him or her.
Another way to establish a mutual connection, using today’s technology, is to send them a connection request on your social media site. Not only will this enable you to contact them, but you can build a lasting relationship with them. Many times, you and this person will already have mutual friends on the social site in question. This is even better and will give you more to build on. If possible, arrange to have direct chats with the person on your social site’s direct messaging platform. Keep in mind NOT to immediately try to sell them your services as it might completely turn them off to you.
Become Friends With the Gatekeepers
If it is impossible to avoid the gatekeeper of the home, become friends with them first. Take the time to build lasting friendships with them and get to know them. This will likely lead to an introduction to the decision-maker. You can casually let your new gatekeeper friends know about your real estate business. Who knows, perhaps the gatekeeper needs some real estate services too. If nothing else, ensuing conversations with the gatekeeper will allow you to learn the concerns of the homeowner. That way you can better address these concerns when you do speak to them. These methods we just discussed can be applied to online communications with prospective real estate leads.
Keeping the Attention of the Decision-Maker
Okay, so you have reached the decision-maker of the house, now what? Well, now you have to keep their interest. You ought to be able to do this by being concise and on-topic. Stick only to the points of how you can help them instead of taking up their time with chit chat. You might need to try different approaches. If you fail to keep this person’s interest in the first conversation, try approaching them in a different manner the next time. You may be dealing with someone who hates using the telephone. Therefore, try an in-person meeting. It is better to do this in a social setting than to show up at their front door uninvited. DO NOT make a pest out of yourself. Instead, just “accidentally” bump into him or her at neighborhood gatherings. This will work wonders.
Turning Your Leads Into Clients
First rule, DO NOT make your leads wait!!! You have a hot lead that you just acquired. They are obviously interested in your real estate business. Make sure you follow up with them immediately. Not doing this will result in a complete drop of interest in you, then you will lose them. There is no excuse possible that will regain that person’s interest in your business once you lose them. Contact them exactly at the pre-arranged time and method you discussed.
Utilizing Software to Follow Up With Leads
If you find it difficult to remember the details of all your potential clients, invest in some software. There is specific software available for customer service communication. It is critical to ensure this software has the ability to receive and record communications from leads. You must thoroughly understand how the software works so you can get back to your leads ASAP. DO NOT allow a robotic caller to return your prospects’ calls. Be sure this is done via a live person every time.
Always Ask for the Sale
This may seem obvious, yet you would be amazed how often it gets forgotten. The real estate agent does everything except ask the potential customer for his or her business. How many times have you heard somebody say, “the sales person never asked me if I wanted to be a client?” Do not demand they be your client, but sincerely ASK them if they would like to be. It is incredible how many times they will say yes. Remember, if you fail to ask them, your competitor will.
What Are Some Good National Sites to Link To?
The best kind of a national real estate-oriented database is one in which there are scores of available properties on it. They should feature a combination of residential and commercial properties on them, as well as enable a customer to screen for specific qualifications. An example of such a database is Prospect Now, the address can be obtained by doing an Internet search. Also available on this website is useful information on real estate. Sites like this one are a fantastic resource in today’s information age. Try it for yourself.
Conclusion
It is hoped that you have learned a lot from this article. You can return to this particular website periodically for any new revelations that come along. You can also investigate websites like Prospect Now to learn all you need to know about real estate properties and how to get the best deals. We wish you the best of success!