Real estate seller leads can be purchased online, but research shows that most real estate seller clients come from referrals and relationships. A staggering 63% of sellers find their real estate agent from a referral. So instead of dumping time and money into random online seller leads, there are money-saving and time-saving ways that are more effective for getting real estate seller clients. Check out some of the best ways to get real estate seller leads for free.
An unfortunate selling opportunity comes during divorce. Never will an agent find more motivated sellers. And while it’s hard to find leads who are breaking up their assets on their own, divorce attorneys and mediators make it easy. By forming a relationship with a local divorce attorney or divorce mediator, agents can reap the benefits of referrals for years to come.
Puzzled about how to walk into an attorney or mediator’s office and make a business ally? Ask for a lunch meeting to learn more about serving this market segment. After forming a relationship, a simple trick would be to offer marketing materials specific to divorcing couples.
An important note: divorce mediators are often unsung heroes with more free time than attorneys and often spend more time with their clients than attorneys do. It is best to start with mediators and then move onto the attorney’s office.
This is probably the easiest way to drum up real estate seller leads. Over the past few months I have watched the same real estate agent snatch up lead after lead on a Facebook Denver Mom’s group. It’s a great place to hang out online since women make up 70%-80% of all purchasing decisions.
Women in the group ask for advice about moving or home valuation, and the agent swoops in and picks up the lead with a PM. It’s so brilliant and simple. Using the group search function allows agents to look for anyone talking about moving, even when they were offline. As long as an agent participates regularly in the group and builds relationships, joining local lifestyle groups is an easy way to get seller leads. Using Facebook doesn’t always have to mean using Facebook ads.
One of the biggest missed opportunities is past clients. More than half of real estate sellers use their old agent when they sell. This number goes up when a strong relationship is maintained. There are plenty of great ways to engage past clients. This includes giving great closing gifts, making sure past clients have current contact information, and making sure to add past clients to a tailored drip campaign.
However, the relationship shouldn’t stop there. Every year agents should take their past sellers out for dinner (if local) and invite them to events. Additionally, drip campaigns should contain questions like “How are you enjoying your first holiday in your new home?” Spam messages have no place in communication with these valuable members of your client family. Some agents go so far as to send bi-annual gifts, but the focus on relationship and keeping in touch should be the focus.
The highest percentage (23%) of sellers are empty nesters, age 55-64. And most sellers make between 100-124k a year. Firms like Edward Jones and Fidelity specialize in serving and partnering with this same demographic and are often aware when their client wants to sell their home. These planners advise their clients on how to handle their assets, including when it’s time to downsize.
Forming a relationship with a financial planner is an excellent way to get referrals, especially as these professionals are involved in the financial decisions of their clients. Asking for an educational lunch or coffee is a great way to learn about the empty nester/downsizing demographic and how advisors counsel their clients during the selling process.
Offering value, like partnering for a home valuation and selling educational event is a great way to get leads. These types of leads are often methodical and think ahead, so offering tips for improving their home to sell and getting a greater ROI on their sale is always welcomed.
Real estate seller leads don’t just grow on trees but some are better than others. Data shows that most real estate seller clients come from referrals and relationships, not from being purchased online. There are many options for generating leads. Clients can come from facebook, divorce mediators/attorneys, financial planners, past clients and more. Agents who focus on building relationships see the highest ROI.
Once seller leads have been generated, an easy way to seal the deal is with Single Property Sites. The number one service sellers look for in an agent is a great marketing plan. Single Property Sites are the best way to showcase any listing.
It is all-in-one marketing including listing websites, custom sign riders, and automatic listing videos. Best of all, using Single Property Sites during a listing presentation is free. Agents only pay once they want a listing to go live, online. Get a free account and check it out.
About the author: Paul
Paul Eastwood is the CEO of UltimateIDX and founder of it's parent company Blue Fire Group that has been helping Real Estate agents with online marketing for over 15 years.
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