5 Easy Ways To Generate More Leads
By Paul Esajian on November 3, 2017
Lead generation is one of the foundations of real estate success. If you don’t have leads to work on you won’t have closings coming in. There are dozens of creative ways to attract leads and generate business from direct mail campaigns to social media marketing. The more sources available the better chance you will find good leads to work on. In most cases the lead sources are not nearly as important as the execution. The simple actions you take that can have the biggest result. Posting a blog on social media or picking up the phone to follow up have a dramatic impact. Regardless of how full your pipeline currently may be every investor can use a few more leads. Here are five simple actions you can do to generate more leads.
- Personal website. There is no getting around the fact that we live in a digital society. If you are not on the internet, specifically social media, in many people’s eyes you don’t exist. Any type of marketing you do will filter back to your website. It is essential that you have a website to host your blogs and to provide some information about you and your business. The website doesn’t need to have all the bells and whistles of a big business, but it does need to look current and up to date. Many buyers and fellow investors will search your name online and give your website a quick look. If they can’t find anything or your website hasn’t been touched in years, it changes the way they think of you. There are currently multiple places where you can get a website up and running for just a few dollars a month. Every real estate investor should have a personal website to help enhance their profile.
- Social media. A website should be the minimum amount of exposure you have online. If you want to jumpstart your business, you need to increase your social media presence. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to spend money on Facebook ads or other social media marketing. You need to start by getting on as many social media sites as possible and creating a dedicated business page. This shouldn’t take you more than just a few minutes to establish and a few more to get up and running. From there you should commit to spending some time every day posting about your or your business. The more active you are on social media the more exposure you will have and the more leads you can generate. You may not be able to get direct deals from a post, retweet or share but you will get noticed. If you do this enough eventually you may get a call from someone who saw you online and is willing to see what you can do. It is important not to get discouraged with the results and stay on top of your posts every day. Eventually you will reap the benefits.
- Networking. An online presence is important, but you also need to be active in your local community. One of the best ways to get out there is by making a commitment to network. In every market there are a handful of networking opportunities available. In addition to local networking clubs there are monthly real estate investment groups. In these you will find real estate agents, attorneys, mortgage brokers and fellow investors that can help increase your pipeline. You will shake hands and exchange business cards with dozens of important contacts at every meeting. All it takes is one to change the course of your business. Networking is something that nobody really wants to do but is a necessary evil in the business. If you really commit to viewing networking as an opportunity instead of a chore you will get more out of it and see some results.
- Following up. When is the last time you scoured through your old leads looking for a deal? Do you have a contact you worked with in the past that has drifted away? Is there someone you met at a networking meeting that you haven’t followed up with yet? Meeting people and closing deals is great but if you don’t stay on top of them you will throw away any work you may have done. Following up or reviewing old files is one of the best ways to get business. There are many sellers who just aren’t ready to act when you are. For a variety of reasons they drag their feet, reject your offer or try something different with their property. A few months later things may have changed. It doesn’t hurt to give a quick follow up call to your old leads and new contacts. The follow up will do more to get deals and cement relationships than anything else you can do.
- Do something. You can’t just wait around and expect deals to fall on your lap. Any action you take is better than the alternative. There is always something you can do to help generate business. You can walk into a local real estate agent or attorney’s office with a box of coffee and talk shop. Your local pizza place or car wash are filled with business cards you can call and try to set up a meeting. Craigslist is still a viable way to talk to fellow investors or possibly distressed landlords looking to sell. There are literally dozens of things you can do that may turn into deals. Don’t wait around to see if something works, go out and try it.
There is business out there just waiting to be had. Expensive marketing campaigns may be effective but often aren’t necessary. Try these five lead generation options instead.