17 Real Estate Prospecting Ideas To Boost Your Business (2023 Updated!)

Real estate prospecting is a necessary part of business growth. It involves finding new contacts and turning them into leads in the hopes they will eventually convert. It can be done through various channels including social media, community events, networking and in-person meetings.

This article will discuss the ins and outs of real estate prospecting providing you the solutions you need to make your business a success.

1. Prospecting Letters

Letters are a great way to reach out to potential clients. The letters can be mailed or dropped off door to door. They are an inexpensive strategy that can yield significant ROI.

There are several types of real estate prospecting letters you can create. For example, you can create an introduction letter, a just sold letter, or an appraisal letter. You can also make letters for people going through a divorce, a pre-foreclosure, or a foreclosure.

Do a little research to ensure your letters are customized and personalized. Demonstrate your value and include a call of action to motivate them to pick up the phone.

2. Do Analytics

It’s essential to make analytics a part of your prospecting efforts. They will help you determine what’s working and what isn’t.

Virtual tools and software often have built in analytics that help you keep track of your campaigns’ success. Outdoor advertising, such as billboards, posters, and face to face contact will be harder to trace. But with the right tools and strategies, you will be able to figure out what methods are bringing people to your door.

3. Door Knocking

Door knocking may seem like an old-fashioned method, but it proves to be effective to this day. It is low cost, and it provides a means of personal contact. It adds a personalized touch that will set you apart.

Your door knocking approach should be similar to your letter writing approach. The speech you use should be customized to the needs of the client. You can cater to the rising home prices in the neighborhood  and offer an appraisal to try to get a sale, or you use the opportunity to introduce yourself and discuss your services.

When door knocking, be prepared with notes to leave behind if no one answers the door. This way your prospects will know who to get in touch with if they require home-selling or home-buying services.

4. Cold Calling

Real estate cold calling is similar to door knocking and letter writing in that you should take a customized approach. You can build a cold-calling list based on government resources that will tell you which homes are in foreclosures, which local residents are getting a divorce, and so on. You can also look at the MLS to find people with expired listings and FSBO listings.

Once you have a list together, it’s advisable to have a script in front of you that you can reference to make your spiel, deal with objections, etc. However, it’s important not to stick too closely to the script. Avoid sounding robotic or inauthentic.

5. Set Your Goals Around Your Results

To be successful in business, you must set long and short-term goals to measure your success. When it comes to real estate, short term goals can be about how many calls you make, how many doors you knock on, and how many social media posts you publish. These can be measured on a daily or weekly basis.

Long term goals should be about how many conversions you are making, how many deals you are closing, and how much money you are bringing in. These should be measured on a monthly or yearly basis. If you are finding that your long-term goals are falling short considering your short-term efforts, think about changing up your strategies.

6. Use the Right Tools

In today’s world, there are several tools available that will keep track of your prospects and where they are in the sales funnel. They will also provide analytics so you can improve systems if necessary. Having a trusted CRM (if you don’t have one check out our list of the best real estate CRMs) and using services from the best real estate lead generation companies is recommended.

Another tool you can use is REDX which provides you with owner profiles on expired listings, FSBO sellers, and more. It also offers a power dialer that automates your calling speeding up the prospecting process. The combination of the right tools will make you more efficient, and more organized.

7. Circle Prospecting

Circle prospecting is a strategy that’s been effective for many agents. It involves reaching out to 30 homeowners nearest to your latest just listed or just sold property. It’s called circle prospecting because it involves a one-two punch of sending a real estate postcard or letter and then following up with a phone call to alert residents of the activity.

The biggest problem with circle prospecting is that it can be time consuming. Postcards can be pre-written, but there’s no way to get around the time it takes to talk on the phone. That’s why this strategy may be best handled by a team.

It will work well if you work in a real estate team setting or if you have a group of agents that work beneath you.

8. Create a Website

It may be surprising to learn how many real estate agents don’t have a website. Many of them rely on their brokerage sites. Still others use social media as their main form of communication.

Various methods may work, but having a real estate website is always a good thing. Building the right website is a part of your brand image. It gives people an idea of who you are and it allows you to add a personal touch.

A website is also an effective promotional tool. You can use it to advertise your listings and provide virtual tours. You can also include keywords and other SEO elements in your posts and content to make your site more searchable.

9. Make Use of Social Media

Having a social media strategy is a powerful marketing tool for realtors. You can use it to post listings and general advice relevant to your industry. It helps with online visibility, and it can increase your SEO rankings in general.

To be truly effective in your social media marketing efforts, don’t just focus on advertising your business. Provide advice about the neighborhood you service and/or interior design ideas. Connect with people in groups and use hashtags to promote yourself as a trusted resource and a thought leader in your industry.

10. Plan Your Day to Include Your Prospecting Efforts

To be truly successful in the real estate industry, you need to prospect every day. If possible, do your prospecting early in the day so it gets taken care of before life gets in the way.

It’s essential to make sure you have enough time to devote to your prospecting efforts. Don’t assume it will take just 20 minutes or so.

According to a Baylor University study, it takes about 7.5 hours to make 209 prospecting calls, the average required to yield one conversion. That’s quite a time investment, but when you consider that 7.5 hours can make you thousands of dollars, it’s well worth it.

Of course, you can’t be expected to set aside 7.5 hours each day to prospect. 90 minutes is a more reasonable estimation.

11. Call Expired Listings

There are many types of cold calls you can make but expired listings are the most likely to yield success rates. An expired listing means the home was previously on the market but didn’t sell. This is often due to an inefficient agent who was unable to sell the home within the contracted time frame.

If the seller is still interested in selling (and it’s likely they are) you can let them know what you can do the push the sale through. If you can convince them of your skill sets, you may just land a conversion.

12. Call FSBO Sellers

FSBO sellers are also good cold call targets. These are sellers that have decided to take on the selling process themselves. Many sellers go this route because it allows them to eliminate agent fees and to be more flexible in the contracts they create.

Often FSBO sellers find they have taken on more than they can handle. Your call may come at a time when they are feeling the stress. If you can convey your value in the selling process, you may just convert them.

However, if you come across a stubborn FSBO seller, you may be out of luck.

13. Get Face-to-Face Time with Your Prospects

In this world of technology, scheduling facetime with your prospects can really make you stand out. It will also forge a personal connection which promotes trust and loyalty.

There are several things you can do to get in front of your potential clients. Door knocking is a good strategy because it presents a personal touch up front. You can meet people at home, so they don’t need to go anywhere or clear their schedules for meetings.

You can also make a personal connection by hosting and taking part in community events. You can host real estate related workshops which will also establish you as a thought leader. Or you can offer to take a prospect out to coffee so they can find out about what you have to offer.

14. Use Video Marketing

Real estate video marketing has recently been recognized as one of the most effective digital marketing strategies. It draws people in. it provides video and audio elements to tell the whole story. It is known for making a memorable impression on viewers.

There are many ways you can integrate video into your marketing campaign. You can post an informational video, film a home tour, or host a live event. You can publish video on various social media channels, include it in emails, or place it on your website to reach a good percentage of your target audience.

15. Create and Join Facebook Groups

There are many social media marketing strategies that will help you grow your customer base, but Facebook groups are an effective strategy for yielding conversions.

The idea is to find groups that cater to your target audience. This will include, not only buyers and sellers, but interior design aficionados, people who are interested in your farm area and more. If you can’t find the groups you are looking for, create them yourself.

Once you become a member, remain active by commenting and liking people’s posts, answering questions, and offering advice. Avoid an overly salesy approach. The strategy is to establish yourself as a trusted voice in the real estate industry, so people are more likely to come to you when they require buying and selling services.

16. Nurture Past Clients

It’s advisable to keep working on new leads, but it’s also important not to forget about your past clients. Stay in touch with your clients by keeping them on your email list. You can also send them more personalized media such as cards on their birthdays and personal notes.

Past clients have already worked with you, so they are likely to come back if they need your services again. But you need to stay in contact to keep yourself fresh in their minds. Even if they are not interested in buying or selling, they may refer you to someone who is.

17. Ask for Referrals

Referrals are a great way to draw in clients. A buyer or seller will be more likely to use your services if you were referred by a reliable source.

The best way to get referrals is to ask for them flat out. You can ask for referrals from clients via email, phone or in-person after a deal has closed. You can also ask for referrals from family, friends, and former colleagues.

Be sure to thank the person who made the referral by sending them a direct message, a card, or a small gift. Showing gratitude will make them more likely to refer you again.

Real estate prospecting is essential if you are looking to grow your business. The strategies in this article have proven to be effective in getting the results agents are looking for. Which will you be using in your marketing campaign?