Perhaps the most crucial part of building your real estate business as a new agent is finding (and nurturing) leads. And, we’ve heard you — it’s downright tough. In fact, as part of our recent #ThrivePastFive initiative, we learned that a whopping 70% of new agents say that finding leads is their top business challenge.
But, new agents aren’t alone. Even tenured agents feel the struggle when finding leads, with over 60% of all agents saying it’s a challenge.
So, how can new agents overcome this challenge and find new leads?
We’ve compiled a list of 5 different ways new agents like you can generate leads in the first 6 months of your career. So, get ready to roll up your sleeves, put your game face on, and perfect your elevator pitch. Let’s start building your business.
Here are 5 ways to get leads in your first 6 months:
#1. Network… and then network some more
Did you know that client referrals and repeat business are the primary sources of clientele for real estate agents? NAR’s 2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers uncovered that 85% of sellers would recommend their agent for future services, while 47% of first-time home buyers found their real estate agent through recommendations from family and friends.
That is a lot of potential business through word-of-mouth, which is why it’s so important to develop and nurture your network. Networking is what opens the door to meeting new people, who can turn into clients, and can also lead to you getting referrals. This is known as your sphere of influence, or SOI.
How can you actually develop a sphere of influence?
Your action plan:
Start locally — your community is everything. There are countless ways to get started with networking in your market, such as:
- Joining local community groups like the Rotary Club, Lion’s Club, or Business Network International (BNI)
- Getting involved and volunteering in a non-profit organization
- Being a part of your local Chamber of Commerce and attending meetings and events mixers
- Host events at a local business like a cafe or coffee shop
These options just scratch the surface. Another great approach is to make networking part of your weekly routine. Set a goal to visit several local businesses, attend various community group meetings, and designate some hours for volunteer work.
Your sphere will grow before you know it.
#2. Leverage the power of social media
We can’t emphasize this enough: your online presence is everything. For a new agent, social media is one of the best tools to take advantage of. It’s free, everyone already has some degree of knowledge of how to use it, and it’s a great way to establish and build upon your brand.
NAR’s 2022 Member Profile highlights the importance of social media for real estate agents, with the top three social media platforms that agents use for professional purposes being Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. There’s also a ton of opportunity on popular platforms not as frequently used by real estate agents, like TikTok or YouTube.
If you’re not already using these platforms to create a presence for your business, it’s easy to get started. Create pages for your real estate business, write your bio, and include photos of your listings, local events, and other businesses or clients you’re partnering with.
Your action plan:
Post consistently —it’s the key to getting more eyes on your brand. Social media algorithms tend to favor active users, meaning they’ll show your posts to more people across their platform.
Here are some ideas of things you can post about:
- Upcoming open houses
- Community events that you’re going to attend or even sponsor
- Seminars that you’re hosting or attending
- Tips and tricks for home staging
- Exciting updates from your team or brokerage
The possibilities are endless with your expertise. You can even use a free tool like Canva to quickly and easily create fun, flashy graphics for your posts. If you’re hitting a wall of what to post about, put yourself in buyers’ or sellers’ shoes: what would they need to know about before beginning the buying or selling process? And, why should they trust you to help them?
Answering these questions and having an active presence through social media is a powerful way to establish yourself within your community and expand your network.
Pro Tip: Put yourself on a posting schedule. Download a social media calendar template and commit to posting on a regular basis. You can also set a weekly goal for yourself of new friend requests and connections that you send to keep your connection count growing.
#3. Offer to host open houses for other agents
Veteran agents tend to have jam-packed schedules and a volume of listings that can stretch even the most seasoned real estate pro thin. By offering to host their open houses for them, you’re not only taking it off their plate —you’re seizing the opportunity to grow your network.
Hosting an open house for another agent is a common practice and one that can be an excellent networking strategy for you as a new agent. It allows you to meet potential buyers, strengthen your communication skills, get comfortable with the flow of open houses —and you’ll get your name and brand in front of buyers. By hosting an open house, you can also familiarize yourself with the local area and community.
Your action plan:
Level-up your Open House strategy — The first step is finding and connecting with an agent to let you host their open house. Once you’ve made this connection, it’s time to get into gear:
- Make sure you have plenty of business cards, and if you don’t, get some made and printed ASAP.
- Print out listings similar to the open house you’re hosting that you can give to buyers who stop by.
- Leverage the social media presence you’re crafting and advertise that you will be hosting the open house across your platforms.
- For even stronger engagement through social media, consider going live on your platform of choice from the open house.
Another pro tip? Follow up with the agent you helped and nurture that relationship, too. You never know —they just might be game to offer advice or even become a mentor.
#4. Engage in consistent follow-up
As we covered in our social media section, consistency is key. It’s not enough to send off a text or call your client once in a while when you remember — you must create a regular cadence of reaching out.
Think about it this way: you want to stay top of mind. And, when combined with in-person meetings and a strong social media presence, consistent follow-up will keep your network aware of you and your brand as a real estate pro.
Your action plan:
Be engaged: Not sure what to say when you follow up? Take advantage of the communication templates we’ve created here. But make sure you put your own personal spin on whatever you are sending: your brand is what represents your business, so you want it to truly feel and sound like you.
Take the guesswork out of follow-up: With ConnectionsSM Plus, not only do you get quality online leads, you also get automated follow-up. That’s right — the platform that delivers leads to you also allows you to customize text messages, emails, and even nurture from one central app to keep these connections engaged.
By automating your responses and letting ConnectionsSM Plus take care of the rest, you can use your freed-up time to grow other parts of your network while ensuring your prospects and clients are getting timely, quality engagement from you.
#5. Purchase your leads
Last, but certainly not least, a great way to get leads in your first 6 months as a new agent is to purchase them. Roughly 32% of all agents generate business by purchasing leads via a third party, while seasoned agents (meaning those in the industry for 16 years or longer) generate business most often by buying leads.
Taking this approach helps you get up and running fast. By filling your pipeline with active, serious buyers ready to start the home-buying process, you can shift your focus towards doing what you do best. Doesn’t it sound so much better — and easier — than spinning your wheels trying to find leads?
Your action plan:
Find a trustworthy lead supplier —We’re kind of a big deal when it comes to getting ready, active buyers in touch with real estate pros like you. ReadyConnectSM Concierge is another great way to free up your time and get right into helping buyers find their dream home. With ReadyConnectSM Concierge, you can get access to live-transferred, pre-screened real estate leads — all with no upfront cost. Because these leads are screened before getting to you, they convert between 3 to 5 times higher than the industry average.
Stop wondering how you’ll find your next lead and get to the closing table faster with our help.
The first 6 months as an agent are important for building a strong foundation for a long-lasting career in the industry, and we’re here to support you every step of the way. We’re going to be offering plenty of new educational resources and tools to help agents find and build upon success in their crucial first handful of years.
If you’d like to learn more, visit our resource center here.
