As a real estate agent, finding new listings is the lifeblood of your business. However, in a tight market, it can be challenging to find those coveted properties that your clients are looking for. The competition is fierce, and you need to be proactive about finding new leads. Fortunately, there are several tools available to help you navigate this difficult market. In this blog post, we’ll explore five tools that can help you find listings in a tight market, so you can stay ahead of the game and continue to grow your business.
1. GMB + LSA
Google My Business is a powerful tool that can help real estate agents find new listings in their local area. By creating a Google My Business profile, agents can ensure that their business appears in Google search results when potential clients search for local real estate services. This tool allows agents to manage their online presence and provide essential information about their business, such as contact information, office hours, and customer reviews. Additionally, by using Google My Business, agents can take advantage of Google Maps, which can help potential clients find their office location more easily. By optimizing their Google My Business profile, real estate agents can increase their visibility to potential clients, ultimately leading to more leads and potential new listings.
In addition to Google My Business, Local Service Ads are another tool that can help real estate agents find new listings in their local area. Local Service Ads are a paid advertising service provided by Google that appear at the top of search results when potential clients search for local real estate services. These ads include information about the agent's business, such as contact information, customer reviews, and service areas. Local Service Ads allow agents to reach potential clients who are actively searching for real estate services in their local area, making them a highly effective tool for finding new leads. By using Local Service Ads, agents can increase their visibility, generate more leads, and ultimately increase their chances of finding new listings in a tight market.
2. Direct Outreach
Direct outreach strategies such as cold calling and cold email can be the most effective and predictable ways for real estate agents to find new listings. Services like REDX, Mojo, and Vulcan 7 provide agents with access to phone numbers for potential leads, allowing them to make targeted cold calls to homeowners in their area who may be interested in selling their property.
These direct outreach strategies require a bit more effort and persistence, but they can be highly effective in generating new leads and finding listings in a tight market. By using these tools, agents can expand their outreach efforts beyond just waiting for potential clients to reach out to them, increasing their chances of finding new listings and growing their business. And for those looking to outsource cold calling altogether, CallTend is a great service that will handle all of the initial cold calling for you so that you don’t have to sign up for any new technology or train a VA.
Similarly, if you want a more automated approach, tools like Scout can help agents find the email addresses for potential sellers, allowing them to send personalized messages and marketing to homeowners for you.
3. Home Valuation Landing Pages
Home valuation landing pages are a great tool for real estate agents to generate new leads and find potential listings, but can get expensive quickly and take a long time to see results. By allocating an additional marketing budget using Facebook and Google advertising, agents can create targeted ads that drive traffic to their home valuation landing pages. Additionally, these ads can be highly targeted, allowing agents to focus on specific demographics, interests, and behaviors to ensure they are reaching the right audience.
Services that provide valuation pages include BoldLeads and ZipTitan. And if you’re Facebook savvy, you can create lead forms right within Facebook that will drive new leads directly to your CRM. These landing pages and lead forms typically offer a free home valuation estimate to potential clients in exchange for their contact information. Once a potential client submits their information, the agent can reach out to them and start a conversation about their home selling needs.
While home valuation lead magnets have been a popular tool for real estate agents to generate new leads in the past, they may not be performing as well in today's market. This is because there are now many readily available sources of home valuation information, such as Zillow and Redfin, that homeowners can access for free. Additionally, many people are hesitant to submit their personal details in exchange for a home valuation estimate, as they may fear receiving unwanted calls or emails from real estate agents. As a result, agents may need to rethink their lead generation strategies and focus on other tools, such as direct outreach or community marketing, to find new listings in a tight market. However, home valuation lead magnets can still be effective if used in conjunction with other strategies and if agents can offer additional value beyond just a simple home valuation estimate.
4. Mailers and Handwritten Cards
Direct mail and handwritten cards are a more personal and traditional approach to lead generation that can work well for real estate agents. While digital marketing strategies have become increasingly popular, direct mail and handwritten cards can help agents stand out in a crowded market and make a more personal connection with potential clients. By sending personalized cards or letters to homeowners in their area, agents can show that they are invested in the community and genuinely care about their clients. Additionally, direct mail and handwritten cards can be highly targeted, allowing agents to focus on specific neighborhoods or demographics. While this approach may require more time and effort than digital marketing strategies, it can be a highly effective tool for finding new listings in a tight market and building long-lasting relationships with clients. Companies that can help speed up and automate the process include Handwrytten and Addressable, which can replicate personalized messages with a robot!
5. Purchased Leads & Referral Services
Signing up for lead generation services like Offrs or referral networks like Zillow Premier Agent, OJO, HomeLight, and ReferralExchange can be an efficient way for real estate agents to find new listings in a tight market. These services offer agents access to new leads and potential clients who are actively searching for real estate services.
Referral networks connect agents with homebuyers and sellers who are looking for real estate services in their area for a fee (usually 25% or more). By signing up for these services, agents can expand their reach and generate new leads without having to spend as much time and effort on marketing and outreach. However, it is important to weigh the costs and benefits of these services before signing up, as they can be expensive and may not always guarantee a return on investment.
What to do next
In conclusion, finding new listings in a tight market can be challenging, but there are several tools and strategies available to help real estate agents generate new leads and grow their business.
From digital marketing tools like Google My Business and Local Service Ads to direct outreach and traditional methods like direct mail and handwritten cards, agents have many options to choose from.
To streamline the lead generation process and make it more efficient, agents can also sign up for tools like Scout, which can automate the process of finding contact information for potential leads. By using these tools and strategies, agents can stay ahead of the competition and continue to grow their business even in a tight market. So why wait? Sign up for Scout today and start generating new leads and finding new listings in no time!