More than 3 million people have an active real estate license in the United States. That’s a lot of people when you consider that there are just over a million homes for sale.
Being a real estate agent is a great career if you want to help people fulfill their financial and homeownership dreams. It’s a tough career because you work on commissions-only.
You need to know how to get clients as a real estate agent. That’s the only way you can beat the financial insecurity that comes with being a real estate agent.
Once you have systems in place, you’ll have a full pipeline and plenty of clients to work will. You’ll make the list of the top agents every year.
Keep reading to find out how to get new real estate clients and grow your career.
Table of Contents
1. Get Clear on Your Market
You’re at a networking event full of 100 people. You get to present your real estate business to the room. Someone asks how they can send business your way. They want to know who they should refer to you.
Your response is, “Anyone buying or selling a home.”
You don’t want to limit your opportunities. You think it’s best to be as general as possible.
This may sound good to you, but it gives the 100 people in the room no clear direction.
Let’s change your answer to, “Empty-nesters who want to downsize and find the perfect downtown condo.”
People have a clear picture of who you’re looking for. Some of them might have people to refer right away.
That’s why you need to get clear on your market. Real estate is broad, and there’s room for everyone. You have to figure out your niche.
Here are some examples of niches:
- First-time homebuyers
- Condo buyers
- Luxury Homes
- Geographic/Neighborhood
- Commercial real estate
- Investment and Rental Properties
Once you have your niche, own it. Become the expert in that niche. People in your community will recognize you as the expert and you’ll get more clients.
2. Prospect Leads
Prospecting real estate leads helps you stay ahead of the pack. It’s important to keep your pipeline full of leads and know where they are in the buying or selling process.
Where do you prospect for leads? Check For Sale By Owner properties, foreclosure listings, and contact homeowners where listings are active.
You can let referral partners do some of the prospecting work for you. Partner with a mortgage broker who knows of homebuyers getting prequalified and don’t have an agent yet.
Life changes are financial stresses are reasons why people sell homes. Work with a divorce attorney who can refer leads that need to sell after a divorce.
A financial advisor can connect you with people who want to buy a home or need to sell quickly.
You can get moving leads and partner with moving companies to give clients a concierge experience. You’ll become the one-stop shop for their needs. That leads to a better overall experience and more client referrals.
Use a CRM to stay in touch with prospects. You might come across a first-time homebuyer who wants to buy in the next year. The CRM gives you a reminder to check in with them every couple of months.
You’ll build a relationship with that person and they’ll trust you to guide them through the home buying process.
3. Have a Sales Plan
It’s one thing to get a ton of real estate leads. It’s another to turn them into real estate clients.
You’ll compete with other agents to earn the trust of buyers and sellers. Prepare to make a presentation that states your case to prospective real estate clients.
If you’re presenting to sellers, have a marketing strategy ready to go and share the details with prospects. With homebuyers, you’ll tell them how you’ll manage the process and get their offer accepted.
4. Build a Referral Engine
More than 40% of home buyers select a real estate agent based on a referral. Your clients are a goldmine for new real estate clients.
Have you ever heard of appreciation marketing? It’s a simple way to show appreciation for your clients. You send them cards and thank you notes.
You can also send out cards to celebrate the anniversary of the close of their home, birthdays, and other milestones.
This keeps your real estate business in front of clients and keeps the relationship going. Most agents drop off after a transaction or only call for referrals.
Appreciation marketing shows how much you value clients and they’ll reward you with referrals.
5. Don’t Forget About Digital Marketing
Real estate is a personal business where face-to-face contact matters most. Even if you make a great first impression in person, people are going to look your business up online.
You need to make sure you have a thriving online presence.
Have a professional website with your latest listings. You can use IDX to connect your site to MLS listings. Buyers can search for listings in the area.
Invest in SEO so your real estate business ranks high in listings. Keep in mind that you’re going to compete with a million other real estate agents.
You can be effective in search engine marketing by targeting buyers and sellers at various points before listing or searching for homes.
Buyers will have a lot of questions about getting a mortgage and how to compete in this market. Sellers will want to know if this is a good time to sell.
Create content that addresses those questions. You’ll build trust with them and you can get them to sign up for your list. When they are ready to sell or buy, they’ll contact you.
How to Get Clients as a Real Estate Agent
It’s not easy to be a real estate agent. If you want to be one of the top agents in your office, you need to have a plan to get real estate leads and new real estate clients.
This guide showed you how to get clients as a real estate agent. Turn these tips into action and you’ll transform your real estate business.
Head over to the home page of the blog for more tips and advice today!
