Is prospecting the best way to get real estate business? Well that’s a great question. Let’s look at a couple options for creating business as a real estate agent. Mailers, prospecting, database, advertising, referrals… That’s the primary options. I’m sure you can find business other ways however these are the most common and most other ways you may think of will be a part of one of these categories.
Mailers are a great way to get real estate business. People have been using mailers for years and years in real estate and they have been successful when done right. What does doing real estate mailers right mean though? When you are mailing out letters, postcards, info etc you are typically mailing to a farm, type of homeowner, area of homes or a situation of a homeowners i.e. Expireds, high net worth, high equity. When you’re doing this you are sending your mailers to a majority of people who do not want to sell their homes. You’re also competing with your piece of paper against other agents and their piece of paper. The prospects don’t know you most of the time therefore they often don’t trust you. Over time you build up a recognition with these people, they begin to see you’re selling houses in some cases or that you know the market in others. This eventually (sometimes quickly but more often not) results in some listing appointments for you. Most consistent mailer fans I speak with see a return rate of .05%-2% meaning that percentage of people respond to the add. Then a percentage of the people who respond will result in an appointment which a percentage of those result in a listing. It’s a numbers game just like prospecting however you are constantly mailing to these people often for 1-2yrs before seeing favorable results. This isn’t the best case scenario, just the most common. So long story short you’re gonna spend a lot of money for a long time to see the results you want. Does it work? Yep however you have to stick with it to see your return on investment. I recommend this not be added into your equation until you have an established business that can spare the extra money until you see your return.
Advertising is paying to get your name out there. Buying radio time, Facebook ads, Google ads, magazines etc. This is a great source of business however I would not start here because in the beginning like mailers it often takes time to see the results and it cost $$$$ to make it happen.
Database and referrals is my favorite this should be your number 1 source of business. These people know you, they often trust you, they will be your marketing, your advertising and your advocates to help you grow your business. These people must be contacted by you using mail, phone calls, email or fb and must be contacted at minimum twice per month. Best results are often seen at 3 times per month. You can’t just bug them though you need to offer value. The best way to offer value is letting them know about mortgage rates, local charities, things going on in the market, things going on near the neighborhood, home values etc. Something great on FB is referral groups. Search them out and keep a close eye on them.
So why prospecting? Well Prospecting offers the unique opportunity to set an appointment todaywith someone who owns a house you want to sell! You can pick up the phone make a hundred contacts and set 1-??? listing appointments depending on your level of skill. I’ve set appointments before been at the house 2 hours later, listed it and then sold it to a buyer I knew of on my way home! That’s not always how it works however it’s a very quick result and it’s based on your level of commitment and skill. If you are sitting home waiting for your mailers to work or waiting for your website to bring in a lead, why not just go get an appointment by prospecting?
At the end of the day it’s your call how you wanna build your business and I build mine via Prospecting!