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How do you currently generate real estate leads? Do you farm neighborhoods, publish a newsletter, have a lead generating realtor web site? Well, no matter how you get them I’m willing to wager two things;

1. They’re not so easy to get, and

2. You can always use more

While you struggle with trying to fill your leads pipeline, you can probably think of at least one agent who makes prospecting for leads seem like child’s play. But what is it exactly that they do so efficiently that you are not?

Of course the answer depends on lots of things, but let’s draw some ideas from an agent I know who worked with a builder of kiddie condos who did quite well at it.

Let’s call her Evette, which is not her real name, but it allows me to personalize the story in a way that you’ll be able to relate to.

Evette was a spark plug dynamo; full of energy, self driven and highly successful at what she did. And what she did best was market and sell lots of student housing units- mostly condos from what I could tell.

Hers was a 5 step process

1. She’d find raw land for her builder developer to purchase and develop

2. Try to set up partnerships with the seller of the raw land and her developer to offset the developers out of pocket costs while gaining controlling interest of the land

3. Would then list for sale all of the units the developer built as a result of the partnership

4. Then be positioned to resell the units when the students gradutaed from college and moved out of the area and

5. In some instances would be positioned to also get referrals to out of town agents for the relocating students.

As you can see, Evette had it going on. So, when I say meeting and working with Evette was a career changing experience you’ll know what I mean.

My attitude was the first thing that changed. I got over being paralyzed with awe by doctors, lawyers, judges, dentists and other high income earning professionals.

Initially, I felt inadequate when it came to marketing real estate to them. I just didn’t think I knew enough about real estate in general to come off as a competent professional.

But you know what? It turned out I knew more than all of them, and more than I needed to know to help them with their real estate needs.

I went on to find doctors, dentists, college professors, judges, insurance agents and garden variety investors to work with and had some mutually beneficial relationships for many years.

So, what does this mean for you? Actually, there are several things to take from this article.

If you’re not marketing to people with money you should. Some agents self sabotage by not aggressively pursuing leads with the financial wherewithal to buy real estate.

Instead, they market to folk who can barely qualify for mortgage loans and/or who have related and other difficulties to overcome before they can qualify at all.

Don’t let that be you – anymore.

Another thing to learn from this article is that one lead can multiply into 3 to 4 different income generating opportunities.

So, no matter how insignificant a client might appear to be treat them all equally well.

You never know when they might refer a friend or acquaintance to you, or ask you to help them purchase some investment properties, or seek you out to help them sell the first property you sold to them and help them buy another one.

It’s a well worn cliche’, but it’s true; there’s no shortage of real estate leads for agents. You just have to know how to spot them.

Generation of real estate leads has gone digital. With different lead generation tools and some mobile marketing apps, you might feel overwhelmed. So, how can you decide which tools to add to your strategy on lead generation to attract or nurture potential prospects?

Concentrate your core strategy on the basics to real estate marketing. Methods that are tried and true are ageless and should still part of your plan even if they are dressed up for the digital consumers.

Video

It’s absolutely worth investing in high quality professional videos to showcase yourself as a real estate agent. Buying a house is often the biggest purchase an individual will make in her or his lifetime and he or she likes to work with the one who has traits they trust like personality and authenticity. They’re also looking to see if you’re the agent they like to work with, so make sure to put your best face forward. Some agents create YouTube videos to show expertise and knowledge blended with their relatable and honest style. Videos may humanize an individual much more than the static site profile. Numerous realtors showcase the area’s beauty they specialize in on videos. Videos also bring a high ROI and have proven to be important marketing technique to generate leads.

Client Testimonials

You cannot beat a passionate, heartfelt statement from satisfied clients. Reviews and testimonials must definitely be part of your presence online. Video testimonials are a perfect so some potential sellers and buyers can resonate with that individual. If you do not have video capability, there are lots of ways to show your happy customers. Make a page on your social media or website to share testimonials and share them to bigger sites as well. Sellers and buyers will appreciate the customer’s honesty and have high probability to reach out.

Social Media

It is highly recommended to use social media. Facebook is one of the most dominant communication forms across the globe and the paid ad platforms are cost-effective way to generate some real estate leads. Use this when targeting your core demographic. Majority of marketers include Facebook strategies in marketing plans and you should also. It is a worthwhile, practical advertising investment that would pay off when generating some new leads. Although you do not spend money on the ads, you may still improve generation of leads on Facebook with the use of fresh content, engagement, and optimization.

Real Estate Lead Capture Forms

Majority of people used to look for homes for sale in a newspaper, yet now a lot of consumers start their home search over the internet. Having some forms on your site for lead generation is a good way to bring in the new business. It’s one of the best lead-generating strategies, yet never forget to ensure that your site is fresh and updated so people would keep visiting and you can boost your repeat traffic.

Blog

It can really improve your online presence and show your expertise as a real estate agent. Use this to communicate your grasp of everything related real estate consistently. Never forget to end your blog with effective call to action fill out the form for lead generation or make phone calls.

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, it is important to understand how a luxury brand is born and how it is developed. Here is an example of the challenges in developing the first Chinese Luxury Jewelry brand, Qeelin.

The founder Dennis Chan knew that he could not launch Qeelin in China. The Chinese marketplace would perceive it as a local brand regardless of the quality of the product. He knew that the Chinese marketplace would accept the brand if it was successful in other countries.

The brand was launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. Maggie Cheung, who won the Best Actress award, wore the jewelry. Because she was the first Asian actress to be given this honor, she received worldwide coverage. And, so did the jewelry!

The first sale was made in Paris. They chose Paris as the first point of sale because the world of jewelry in Paris demands the very best. That challenged the partners to strive for and to achieve their potential.

The Results:

“We are currently perceived as an international luxury brand originating from China, and we have a good portion of our clients who are mainland Chinese.”

Qeelin’s target market is women who love haute jewelry (highest quality) from luxury brands. They have a discerning eye and look for handmade pieces with special stones. They do not follow trends; they follow what they consider to be the best.

The style of the designs reflect Chan’s Chinese heritage. One of the standouts is the Qin Qin (kiss-kiss, in Mandarin) goldfish pendant with magnets embedded within the golden lips. Chan explains, “The design has the ability to surprise and give our customers a little bit of a thrill through the unexpected.”

As you launch and build your own personal brand as a luxury real estate marketing professional it is important to understand your target market, i.e., their demographics. It is also important to understand their psychological preferences-their psychographics. By offering the unexpected such as a remarkable closing gift, you too can surprise and thrill your clients and trigger word-of-mouth advertising.

In today’s world telemarketing can be very effective. It can help a business generate leads, make sales, and increase profits. BUT, is it a good idea to do this in the real estate market? This article will examine that concept by looking at advantages and disadvantages of doing it.

One big advantage to using telemarketers in real estate is that it is more cost-effective to use a minimum wage staff as opposed to a higher-priced sales staff. It is also useful in reaching out to other geographical areas, when attempting to solicit new business. Likewise; it is necessary to keep up with current clients, having a telemarketing staff is a great way to do this; as the work is dispersed efficiently to them.

In more recent times real estate developers have begun to use telemarketers as powerful tools to reach a broad range of customers. As we mentioned, it is more cost-effective than using direct sales methods. Your telemarketing crew can reach more people in a short time span. You can always subcontract this work to an outside telemarketing firm. Then; on days where there is not much business, there are NO employees sitting around wasting time AND getting paid for it. You can also get an idea of the potential clients’ interest in your real estate services and receive feedback from them one way or another; thereby eliminating people who are NOT interested at all.

Let us now look at some DISADVANTAGES of using telemarketing for real estate businesses. Whether it is fair or unfair, most people regard telemarketers as a nuisance and want nothing to do with them. A lot of consumers have had bad experiences with telemarketers. Even though these had nothing to do with YOUR business, this will negatively impact people’s view of you.

Another big disadvantage of using telemarketers is the cost of training each person. Even though you are saving money salary-wise, you still have to train the telemarketers. That can be very expensive; especially since most of them will not work out, then that money is wasted.

The real estate business requires its professionals to be extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of the business. Before doing business with you, a consumer wants to know complete details of whatever property they are interested in. If they are talking to a telemarketer, odds are high the telemarketer will not have that information available. Therefore; you most likely have lost them as a customer, as well as any referrals they might have given you.

Then there is the fact that; with a telemarketer, your potential customer is not very likely to receive the face-to-face contact with you that they prefer. People can be quite put off by that. Even though the majority of your communications with them will be via phone or Internet; most people like the OPTION of meeting you and speaking with you in person. If that cannot be done, you will probably lose them to somebody else who can accommodate their wishes.

For Sellers:
“Home prices may fall 25 percent to 30 percent from their peak in 2006 and not hit bottom until 2010, with greater drops still in subprime mortgage debt markets.” – Peter Acciavatti, credit analyst and managing director at JP Morgan Securities Inc Source: Reuters 6/11/08

“Home prices, based on the S&P/Case-Shiller data, have fallen about 15 percent and I am expecting them to drop another 10 percent before reaching a trough in the spring of 2009.” – Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com Source: Reuters News 6/26/08

What these two quotes tell me about the Long Island real estate market is that if you’re in a position where you’re really going to need to sell, you’d better get it on the market now, rather than wait until next year or even the year after.

I am all for people not selling their homes now. Really! You may think and ask, “Yeah right, how would you make money?”. The truth is people will always need to sell and their will always be people looking to buy. If less people put their homes on the market, that would be a good thing – but only in large numbers. Supply and Demand dictate the pace of the market. When there’s an over supply, the more dramatic it gets, the more prices will come down. So, really in that scenario, I, as a real estate agent, will do well in the business, whether the homes are priced high or low.

If the Long Island real estate market shed about 50% of the houses currently for sale (about 17,000 homes), this would drastically improve and stabilize declining prices and, again, as a real estate agent, I would fair well because this would help even out supply and demand would increase (more buyers).

However, I really don’t like being in a position where I’m working with someone (seller) who is frustrated and dissatisfied with the results of “market feedback”. Market feedback is what buyers tell you, simply by their actions. If their actions are to avoid your home and not see it, either by themselves or with another agent, this says one thing loud and clear, “The price is too high.” It may also signal the fact that the home:

A. Is not photographed well.
B. Is outdated or in need of updates in key areas of home.
C. Is cluttered in the pictures (see A).
D. Is not differentiated from other homes.
E. Is not advertised fully or in high traffic areas (i.e. internet – and not just MLS).
F. Lacks a real estate agent managing the listing correctly.

Now, of course, some of these items are outside the real estate agent’s overall responsibilities (to an extent). Sellers must be willing to do “their share” in order to increase the sale-ability of the property.

Market feedback can also tell you the home has all “the goods” (i.e. move-in condition, updated, etc), but priced too high. How so? Simple. No offers. A lot of showings with no offers should tell an agent that the price is a bit too high and only a slight price adjustment and remarketing of the property is needed to get buyers to the table. Now I highlight the word “should” because it’s not a foregone conclusion that every agent will hear the market talking to them.

Homeowners working with real estate agents like to focus in on “a lack of marketing” by their respective real estate agents. And I will definitely say, that in some cases, they are right. But more times than not, especially in this market, it has little, if anything, to do with the marketing of the property. Why would I say this?

There are approximately 34,000 homes for sale in Queens, Suffolk, and Nassau Counties.

Now hiring an agent who works full-time and thus – has a vested interest in selling your home because it’s food on their table – is probably a good idea. But here’s a tip for prospective sellers – use google.com. Search the name of agents you’re interviewing. See how involved they are in the field. If they’re not involved…chances are they’re a nonentity in the business. The selling of real estate is a business. It’s not who’s the nicest person (although that goes a long way) or who has a good recipe for chocolate chip cookies (although they’re very yummy). It’s about who sells real estate. Who is apart of the 7% of agents that make 93% of the business? See Teammusso.

For Buyers:
Now with the interest rates rising, buyers may want to actually come out and play or they risk being priced out of the market for years to come. I wrote about the effects of higher interest rates on monthly payments and total interest paid on a mortgage. The effects are startling.

Now, more than ever, it is wise for any buyer to consider working with a Buyers Agent like myself. Why pay 3% of the money you bring to closing to an agent who works for the seller? That makes no sense. I specialize in Buyer Representation. It’s one of the reasons I use cutting-edge technology to help my buyer clients achieve the dream of homeownership.

I look forward to doing business with you!