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The Postcard Book

Real Estate Leads

Real estate leads are the life's blood of any real estate business. With a steady stream of leads coming in, you're able to acquire new clients and steadily grow your business. Of course, the opposite is true as well — without enough real estate leads your business will begin to wane.

But in spite of how important this topic is, many real estate agents don't fully understand the concepts of lead generation. They know leads are important in terms of building their business. They're just not sure where or how to obtain them. This section of the Marketing Encyclopedia will help you understand where real estate leads come from and what you can do to get more of them.

What is a Lead Anyway?

Let's start by defining what real estate leads are in the first place, just so we are on the same page. In this context, we are talking about the name and contact information of a potential client.

For example, if somebody emails you through your website regarding your real estate services, then you've just captured a lead through your site. You would then follow up with that person to see if you could help them. So a real estate lead is often the first step to gaining a new client.

The process through which this happens is called lead generation, and it's a crucial part of your real estate marketing program.

Where Do Leads Come From?

There are many ways to generate real estate leads from potential clients. Some techniques are better than others, as explained below. Here are some of the most common methods for producing leads from prospective clients:

• Website Lead Generation — In my opinion, this is one of the best ways to generate leads because people will know a little about you. If a person visits your website and fills out a form for more information, or subscribes to your newsletter (or any other form of real estate lead capture), then they will expect you to follow up with them. It sure beats cold calling!
• Referrals — This is another common source of leads for real estate agents. If you do a good job helping a client, they will likely refer you to friends or family who might need your help. When those people contact you about your real estate services, you've just acquired what's known as a referral-based lead.
• Direct Mail — When used properly, direct mail postcards and letters can motivate people to contact you. Of course, it's easier to fail with this strategy than it is to succeed. So if you plan to use real estate direct mail to generate leads I recommend that you download our book on the subject.
• Buying Leads — In this scenario, you would pay a fee to have access to real estate leads. These programs vary in several ways. For instance, you might pay a monthly fee for an unlimited number of leads, or you might pay on a per-lead basis. One of the disadvantages of this option is that you are contacting people "in the blind," since they did not specifically ask you to contact them.

Clearly, there are other ways to acquire real estate leads to grow your business. These are just some of the most common techniques used by agents and brokers today. The first three options listed above are the best methods, because you are something of a known quantity when you follow up with people.

With the third option listed above (buying leads), the people may or may not be expecting some kind of follow up. So you could be cold calling (or emailing) people who did not ask for it. Some agents have gotten themselves into trouble for violating the Do Not Call list by purchasing real estate leads from less-than-reputable sources.

If you choose a reputable lead aggregator, you can avoid such problems. For example, when a person visits a website and enters their information into a form of some kind, the website should give them the option to be contacted by real estate agents in their area, or not. A check box is often used for this purpose, allowing the person to "opt in" to receive more information. This is the right way to go about it, because it respects the person's right to privacy. It's referred to as permission-based marketing, and it's best practice to follow.

A Real Estate Marketing Essential

How you generate leads will vary from how other agents do it. You have to experiment with different techniques to find one that works for you. Regardless of the method(s) you use, here's what you should take away from this article. Real estate leads are the first step to the agent-client relationship. They come from different sources, and some are better qualified than others, but all leads represent the potential for new business.

In fact, I feel so strongly about this topic that I've written a book on the subject:

Conclusion and Going Forward

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial on real estate lead generation, and I hope it serves you well in your future marketing ventures. Remember, this is a critical component of your business, so you should take it seriously and put a lot of effort into it. If you plan to use direct mail postcards for lead generation, I recommend that you download a copy of the Postcard Marketing Book before leaving this website!