Agents, Try These 6 Lead Generation Ideas to Drum Up Some New Business

Though it may not be the most fun activity on a real estate agent’s calendar, lead generation is an essential part of acquiring new business. And while you should make brainstorming lead generation ideas a permanent fixture on your schedule, it’s especially important heading into the spring market.

With that in mind, we have brought you six real estate lead generation ideas to try. Read them over so that you have a better idea of which ones will be the best fit for your business.

Lead generation ideas for real estate agents

1. Write thank you cards to your referrals.

To start off, this lead generation strategy is fairly easy. If someone referred a client to you in the past, simply take the time to write them a quick thank-you note. It doesn’t need to be anything over-the-top. You just need to take the time to say that you appreciate them recommending your services. Of course, you will also want to remind them that you are still in business and you would appreciate referrals again in the future.

In this case, if you can, try to write the notes by hand. Handwritten thank-you notes look more personal and it shows that you took the time out of your day to think of each client individually.

2. Offer a free CMA.

Next, offering a free comparative market analysis is a tried-and-true lead generation idea. Here, your goal is to get potential clients in your area to put their homes on the market by telling them how much their homes could be worth.

You can get the word out about offering free CMAs in a variety of ways. For example, you could send a postcard, make a door hanger, or create a Facebook ad.

However you choose to do it, just make sure to include your contact information so people know how to get in touch with you if they want to take you up on your offer.

3. Give a pop-by to past clients.

In the real estate industry, a pop-by is a small gift that agents give to past clients. Usually, the gift comes attached to a small card that reminds them that you appreciate referrals or are otherwise available for business. Typically, pop-bys are appropriate for the season and can be bought in bulk for pennies on the dollar. They’re one of the most fun lead generation ideas out there.

For instance, in the summer, you might give out pop-by that is an ice cream scoop and comes attached to the saying, “Call me for the scoop on the real estate market.”

Likewise, in the winter, you might give out some hand warmers that come attached to the slogan, “The real estate market is heating up! Call me to find out how much your home is worth.”

4. Level up your social media strategy.

Next, consider taking to social media in order to find clients. Every real estate professional knows that social media marketing is important, but not all fully take advantage of it. While you certainly don’t need to be active on every social network, picking one and posting consistently is a solid real estate marketing strategy for maintaining a presence. However, beyond just posting on a consistent basis, you will also want to interact with those on your feed regularly.

In addition, once you’ve picked your preferred social network, it’s a good idea to do some research on its algorithm. Ideally, you should find out the best times to post during the week and the strategy behind how content is distributed across your followers’ feeds.

In this case, the more you know about how the algorithm works, the better you can fine-tune every strategy and lead generation idea you have.

5. Send a ‘Just Sold’ postcard.

If you’ve been lucky enough to sell a lot of listings lately, consider taking advantage of that momentum and sending out a ‘Just Sold’ postcard. As the name suggests, this type of postcard will go out to the neighbors of your former clients and make it clear that you have just sold a house in their area. The real estate industry is usually hot or cold, so capitalizing when the market is hot is very important.

Often, when people see that their neighbor has sold their home, they instinctively wonder how much they could get for their biggest asset. You could combine lead generation ideas like this with an offer for a free CMA in order to give potential clients extra incentive to give you a call.

6. Ask for client testimonials.

Additionally, if you haven’t already, it’s a good idea to start thinking about asking past clients for testimonials. In marketing, a testimonial is essentially a review of your services. Once you have a few good reviews in hand, you can post them on your website and on your social media channels so that new buyers and sellers can see them. Client testimonials are an easy content marketing strategy because your past clients do most of the leg work as far as producing the actual content.

Often, if people can’t get a referral for a service provider, they turn to internet reviews instead. If you have enough good reviews on your pages, it will give new leads confidence in your ability as a real estate agent to provide them with excellent service. In short, a potential client will be more likely to call you when they’re looking for an agent than someone who doesn’t have any reviews to their name.