There is a major but often unwritten rule to real estate marketing today. Most professionals know it, but rarely put a voice to it. That rule is that all your real estate marketing should be for the purpose of generating leads. Without leads, you've got no clients, and without clients, no commission checks.
If your real estate marketing doesn't cultivate leads, it is most likely a waste. A waste of time, a waste of money, maybe even a waste of a good idea that with a few tweaks actually COULD generate leads. Whether you're at the beginning of your career or half way through it, if you're not making the kind of income you want, it is most likely time to start beefing up your marketing. The one thing about real estate marketing is that you shouldn't ever stop (with VERY few exceptions). Many agents stop once they feel they have enough leads coming in - that is the wrong way to go about things.
Slow income periods are the best time to increase your marketing. After all, things are probably slow because you didn't have enough leads in your pipeline to convert to clients. Not every lead will turn into a client within months, so it is crucial that your pipeline is full enough so that you have leads converting to clients on a regular basis. No matter how much it might hurt, if money is tight, it is time to increase your marketing to generate more leads.
One of the easiest ways to generate leads with your real estate marketing is via your website. Since 80% of consumers go online to start researching a real estate need, it is important that potential clients in your area can easily find your website. But more importantly, your website needs to pull them in and give them a reason to leave you their contact information.
You can dream up nearly an infinite amount of ways to use your website to get leads. One of the most popular things to offer a visitor in exchange for their contact information is a free comparative market analysis and home value. After all, besides an agent, only a professional (and costly) appraiser can give someone an accurate value of their home. Think of other information a potential buyer or seller may need that you can provide, and offer it on your website in exchange for contact information, and you've got a lead!
Your internet real estate marketing should extend beyond your website though. Another easy way to get online leads is to sign up for a lead selling service. There are plenty of them out there, and they're a good way to get fresh leads every month without having to do anything but provide a credit card number. It's important to look into different services though, as some are better that others.
For less tech-savvy agents, there are more traditional forms of real estate marketing that can garner many leads. Open houses are a great source for marketing your services, if you do it properly and make sure you're talking with people that come. Placing your listings in the local Real Estate magazine is also useful, but you must leave enough information out to make readers call you for more - such as the actual price tag of a home. If you put all the information in the ad, you take away a reason for consumers to actually get in touch with you.
There are plenty of other real estate marketing tactics you can use both online and off. Cold calling, for example, is still a great way to generate leads. The problem is, many agents hate to do it, so they don't. If you want to be as successful as possibly at real estate, you have to be willing to do the things others don't want to have to do, including cold calls. Remember, as long as your real estate marketing is generating you leads, it won't be a waste of money or time. - 16463
If your real estate marketing doesn't cultivate leads, it is most likely a waste. A waste of time, a waste of money, maybe even a waste of a good idea that with a few tweaks actually COULD generate leads. Whether you're at the beginning of your career or half way through it, if you're not making the kind of income you want, it is most likely time to start beefing up your marketing. The one thing about real estate marketing is that you shouldn't ever stop (with VERY few exceptions). Many agents stop once they feel they have enough leads coming in - that is the wrong way to go about things.
Slow income periods are the best time to increase your marketing. After all, things are probably slow because you didn't have enough leads in your pipeline to convert to clients. Not every lead will turn into a client within months, so it is crucial that your pipeline is full enough so that you have leads converting to clients on a regular basis. No matter how much it might hurt, if money is tight, it is time to increase your marketing to generate more leads.
One of the easiest ways to generate leads with your real estate marketing is via your website. Since 80% of consumers go online to start researching a real estate need, it is important that potential clients in your area can easily find your website. But more importantly, your website needs to pull them in and give them a reason to leave you their contact information.
You can dream up nearly an infinite amount of ways to use your website to get leads. One of the most popular things to offer a visitor in exchange for their contact information is a free comparative market analysis and home value. After all, besides an agent, only a professional (and costly) appraiser can give someone an accurate value of their home. Think of other information a potential buyer or seller may need that you can provide, and offer it on your website in exchange for contact information, and you've got a lead!
Your internet real estate marketing should extend beyond your website though. Another easy way to get online leads is to sign up for a lead selling service. There are plenty of them out there, and they're a good way to get fresh leads every month without having to do anything but provide a credit card number. It's important to look into different services though, as some are better that others.
For less tech-savvy agents, there are more traditional forms of real estate marketing that can garner many leads. Open houses are a great source for marketing your services, if you do it properly and make sure you're talking with people that come. Placing your listings in the local Real Estate magazine is also useful, but you must leave enough information out to make readers call you for more - such as the actual price tag of a home. If you put all the information in the ad, you take away a reason for consumers to actually get in touch with you.
There are plenty of other real estate marketing tactics you can use both online and off. Cold calling, for example, is still a great way to generate leads. The problem is, many agents hate to do it, so they don't. If you want to be as successful as possibly at real estate, you have to be willing to do the things others don't want to have to do, including cold calls. Remember, as long as your real estate marketing is generating you leads, it won't be a waste of money or time. - 16463
About the Author:
The author, Carina Healey has been in marketing for over 15 years, with a concentration in real estate and financial services marketing. Her favorite topics include real estate marketing, customer loyalty building, traffic management, SEO and copywriting. You can get more advice on marketing in real estate from RealEstateMarketing.net.
