On the surface, real estate lead generation seems easy. Just work hard and your phone will never stop ringing. Of course in reality, generating enough leads to sustain your business for the long haul is one of the hardest challenges of any sales profession. The key to success in generating real estate leads is finding the right mix of strategies that work for your personality, budget, and skills. To help, Sean Moudry and I used our combined 30-plus years of real estate sales and coaching experience to put together this list of underrated real estate lead generation ideas for 2023.
We’ll show you the best online strategies to get you from first click to closing faster, offline strategies that too many agents ignore, and some creative strategies to fill in the gaps in your database. We also include actionable tips to get started today and links to our deep-dive strategy and buyer’s guides so you can hit the ground running.
So turn off your notifications, grab a cup of coffee, and check out our 37 best real estate lead generation ideas for 2023.
Online Real Estate Lead Generation Ideas
1. Use a Custom Friends List on Facebook to Engage With Former Clients & Prospects
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Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
When it comes to staying top of mind on Facebook, liking and commenting on your former clients’ and prospects’ posts works better than posting on your own profile. Why? The odds of your post showing up on their feed when they log in are slim, but the odds of them seeing your comments are virtually 100%. This is why a custom friends list you engage with every morning can be a powerful (and free) lead generation tool.
To get started, create a custom friends list consisting of past clients and future prospects. Monitor it every morning and like and comment whenever you have something to add. Just don’t overdo it, as it will appear deliberate instead of casual and friendly. One to two comments per week, per friend is more than enough.
2. Learn How to Prospect on LinkedIn
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Cost:
$29.99 per month for LinkedIn Premium
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Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
Intermediate agents – experienced brokers
This strategy makes so much sense, because, as Close contributor Beverly Ruffner notes, why prospect for leads on Facebook or Instagram where you have to compete with cute kitten videos? Instead, use the platform that was specifically designed for professional networking. I am, of course, talking about LinkedIn: the one social media platform agents still seem to ignore.
To start generating leads on Linkedin, sign up for a LinkedIn Premium Account and learn the three key ways to generate leads on on the platform: building your account, creating compelling content, and identifying individuals and companies that are planning a move to your farm area. To get the details on prospecting on LinkedIn, check out our LinkedIn strategy guide below.
11 Ways Smart Real Estate Agents Are Using LinkedIn to Get Better Leads
3. Buy Exclusive Seller Leads Before They Hit Zillow
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Cost:
$20 – $75 per lead
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Instantly
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
Converting sellers who are talking to 20 other listing agents is no picnic, trust me. Even I struggle with it. So if you’re a newer agent who wants more listings, it’s crucial to reach them before they hit Zillow and get snapped up by Premier Agents. Google ads are the best way to do it, but the learning curve is steep and experienced agents usually get all the good leads.
Market Leader makes it easy. They own housevalues.com, one of the biggest and best home valuation sites online. When homeowners search Google to see how much their home is worth, Market Leader captures those exclusive leads and sends them to agents who claim their ZIP code.
See if your ZIP code is available below to get more exclusive seller leads or check out our buyer’s guide below to find a lead generation company that works for you.
4. Drive More Engagement With Instagram Stories & Reels
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Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
Want leads from Instagram? Focusing on the engagement you generate from short-form videos is the way to get them. Here’s why: Instagram’s algorithm has always rewarded posts that amass likes and comments. The more likes and comments your posts get, the more people Instagram shows them to. But since social media apps like TikTok have become more popular, Instagram’s algorithm is now rewarding engagement on video features like Reels and Stories much more than in static posts.
If you want to learn the ropes of building engagement on Instagram, check out this excellent article from Eric Simon (aka The Broke Agent) below. Eric built his Instagram account to 453,000 followers and a reliable source of leads using these strategies.
Instagram Stories for Agents: 12 Easy Ways to Drive Engagement
5. Offer Your Real Estate Expertise to Local Communities on Reddit, Facebook & Nextdoor
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Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
Offering your real estate expertise to local groups on social media sites like Reddit, Facebook, and Nextdoor is an excellent way to generate free leads and become a valued member of your local community while you’re at it. I used this strategy myself in my local community in Brooklyn and it became my best lead source by far. The best part was that, since I started our relationship off with free advice, I didn’t have to work as hard to get prospects to trust me. That led to higher closing rates and more referrals after we closed.
To get started, join local groups and start engaging with your neighbors on topics that are important to them. When members of the group have real estate questions (trust me, they will have tons of questions!), offer your honest opinion without trying to sell them a thing. Eventually they will come to you for advice and you will get clients.
Sold.com is a free service that matches sellers and buyers with the best real estate service that suits their needs. From traditional realtors and discount brokers to cash buyers. It is the fastest way to connect with a local realtor.
6. 3x Your Lead Generation With a Smart CRM
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Cost:
Starting at $25 per month
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
If you’re still using a free customer relationship manager (CRM) or worse, spreadsheets (!!) to manage your contacts, you are leaving money on the table. Period. Trust me, working with subpar tools is much, much harder. I should know. Ten years ago, I scaled a brokerage to 100 people, but it didn’t last. The problem was that there were only so many hours in a day, and our leads and clients needed us ASAP, 24/7. Our systems couldn’t keep up … then the recession hit.
If you plan to scale your business, you’ll want a CRM with an integrated real estate website builder that generates leads and automatically populates them into a sophisticated database. Sierra Interactive also provides high-end lead conversion tools. It is that unicorn all-in-one sales ecosystem you need. It also offers ad management and a stylish website design.
The 10 Best Real Estate CRMs of 2024
7. Get Your Phone Ringing With Google Local Service Ads
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Cost:
$20-$50 per lead
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Instantly
-
Agent Skill Level:
Mid-career agents – experienced brokers
If you’re an experienced agent, Google local services ads are one of the best ways to generate leads who are actively looking to hire a Realtor. Here’s how it works: When someone searches Google for terms like “real estate agent near me” or “real estate agent in Charlotte,” Google shows them a list of “Google Screened” agents right at the top of the search results. They can then tap your profile to learn more about you, or tap your phone number to call you.
Did I mention you only pay after they call you? You heard that right. You only pay for the leads after they’ve called you and stayed on the line for more than 30 seconds. No more wasting money on leads who never pick up their phone or open your emails.
8. Scale Up Facebook & Instagram Ads
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Cost:
$10 – $150 per lead
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Hours – days
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
While building your social following by increasing engagement will eventually get you leads, buying ads on the platform will get you leads faster. After all, paid advertising is the main way Facebook and Instagram make money. So if you want to get the best leads from these platforms without the grind, then buying ads is the way to do it.
Like any lead source, there will be a bit of a learning curve to advertising on Facebook and Instagram, but trust me, the results are well worth the effort. The key to success in getting high quality leads from your social media ads is to design irresistible lead magnets to convince people to stop scrolling cute cat pictures and click on your ad. Then you need to design a compelling landing page in order to convince them to leave their contact information.
If you want to try your hand at advertising on Facebook and Instagram, read our in-depth guide below.
How to Create Real Estate Facebook Ads That Actually Generate Leads
9. Build or Buy an IDX Lead Generation Website
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Cost:
$50 – $500 per month or $500 – $3,000+ one-time fee
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Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
While many agents think IDX websites are no longer necessary when they can build their brand and generate leads on social media, I disagree. Strongly. Having a website is still a crucial way to prove your value to buyers and sellers. Many potential clients will think less of you for not having one. As the kids say, no cap. Websites are not optional for real estate agents in 2023.
Luckily, creating your own IDX website is easier than ever. You can sign up for a lead generation website provider, such as Luxury Presence, Real Geeks, or Propertybase. Or you can build your own IDX website using templates and an IDX plugin.
Best Real Estate IDX Lead Generation Websites
| Real Estate Lead Generation Website | Starting Price per Month | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Propertybase GO (Best Overall) | $399 | Agents seeking a highly customizable website with proven lead generation tools, excellent conversion strategies, and a built-in CRM. Read review |
| Real Geeks | $299 | A solid website + CRM experience with a paid ad option you can scale as your business grows. Read review |
| Placester | $119 | Agents who don’t have the time to create and manage a high-converting website themselves. Read review |
| Chime | $599 | An all-in-one with a very short learning curve that you can start using on day one. Read review |
| iNCOM | $44.95 | Agents whose customer base wants recently sold info and foreclosure data available in search. |
| CINC | $900+ | Teams and brokerages. |
10. Leverage AI to Generate Leads With Predictive Analytics
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Cost:
Starting at $200 per month
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Instantly
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
Predictive analytics deserves a place in your 2023 lead generation plan for one reason: It’s the first truly disruptive technology for real estate in years. Here’s how it works: Using advanced artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics companies sort through reams of data to deliver buyer leads and seller leads before they’re ready to buy or sell a home. So if you get a lead from a predictive analytics provider, there is a very good chance you will be the first real estate agent they talk to.
If you want to take the leap into the future and start using predictive analytics, we’ve included a quick overview of the best providers below, along with what we think they do best.
Best Predictive Analytics Leads Sources
| Predictive Analytics Company | Best For | |
|---|---|---|
 Smartzip | Agents looking for more seller leads | |
 CatalyzeAI | Inherited property leads | |
10 Predictive Analytics Companies Real Estate Agents Need to Know About
11. Learn How to Generate Leads on TikTok
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Cost:
$50 – $500 per month or $500 – $3,000+ one-time fee
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
OK, I know what you’re thinking. Ugh, no way am I joining another social media platform! Well, what if I told you that Realtors are racking up millions of views and actually getting leads from posting 30-second videos on TikTok? The best part? You won’t have to wait months for your account to grow big enough to generate leads. Here’s why: Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok’s algorithm is designed to scale new accounts quickly from day one. It’s the fastest way to grow a social media audience in 2023. Period.
Getting started on TikTok is easy. Just sign up for an account and start posting videos. Not sure what to post or how to generate leads? Check out my TikTok strategy guide below to learn the secrets of agents who are getting tons of views and leads from the platform.
Real Estate TikTok: 3 Top Agents on How to Get Millions of Likes (+ Leads)
12. Use Deep Insights From Zillow to Convert More Leads
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Cost:
Free with Zillow Premier Agent membership
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Time to Generate Leads:
Instantly
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
Did you know that even after a buyer contacts an agent, they go back to Zillow an average of 27 times and look at 77 more listing pages in 30 days? That means that even if you answered your phone right away and wowed them, there’s still a good chance they’ll wind up working with someone else. Worse, you’ll probably never even know it. They’ll just stop returning your calls.
If you don’t want to get ghosted, you need to stay top of mind on Zillow. Premier Agent’s new feature, My Agent, lets you do just that. My Agent provides agents with deep insights on which properties their leads are viewing, saving, and searching for on the platform. Then they put your picture and contact information on every single one.
Zillow My Agent is only available in select areas codes. See if yours is available below to get started:
Is Zillow Premier Agent Worth the Cost?
13. Write Blog Posts for Niche Local Topics
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Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
While getting your articles to rank on Google for area real estate searches is virtually impossible these days, you can and should try to rank for the niche local topics that the big sites are ignoring. You can write about topics like local zoning changes, new construction, or guides to small subdivisions or neighborhoods that buyers might want to research. For example, I wrote an article on Sears kit houses several years ago that still ranks well on Google, and I continue to get comments on it to this day. You might only get a trickle of traffic to these blog posts, but many of them will be buyers researching their next move!
Check out my strategy guide with 101 viral blog ideas below to get started.
101 Real Estate Blog Ideas (+ Examples & Expert Tips)
14. Automate Nurturing for Top-of-Funnel Leads
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Cost:
$9 – $20 per lead or $99 per month
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Instantly – weeks
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents
One of the most frustrating things about real estate is that the more leads you get, the more time you need to spend nurturing them. If you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself spending half your day (or more) emailing and texting ice-cold leads.
The best strategy I’ve found to avoid this is to buy cheap, top-of-funnel leads in bulk and use automated nurturing tools to keep them busy while I work with clients. Sure, it can take a few months until they’re ready to transact, but that just means you’ll have more buyers and sellers to work down the road.
If you need affordable top-of-funnel leads, Zbuyer is a solid choice. Their leads start at just $9 each with no contract or setup fees. They even offer one free prospecting lead for every dollar you spend– up to 400 free leads per month.
Offline Real Estate Lead Generation
15. Use Slydial Broadcast to Circle Prospect Just Sold & Open Houses
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Cost:
$2.99 per month + 10 cents per voicemail
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Hours – days
-
Agent Skill Level:
Mid-career agents – experienced brokers
Circle prospecting, the practice of contacting homeowners surrounding your current listing, is one of the best ways to stake out your claim in your farm area. If you want to become the go-to real estate agent in a neighborhood, you’re going to have to get in front of the neighbors as often as possible.
The only problem is that some farm areas are already blanketed with door hangers, flyers, and postcards from your competition. But with a little creativity, you can beat your competitors to the chase before they get their flyers printed.
Tampa Bay Realtor Christina Griffin came up with an ingenious strategy to reach homeowners in her farm area. She bought lists of homeowners’ cell numbers, then, after cross-checking with the do-not call list, used a clever app called Slydial Broadcast to leave them all voicemails advertising her next open house automatically. The response was immediate and massive. She got 200 leads on her first day.
Learn Christina’s exact Slydial strategy in my article below, sign up for Slydial, and start prospecting around your next open house!
How Circle Prospecting Got One Tampa Realtor 200 Leads in ONE DAY
16. Prospect Old Expireds, Rather Than New Ones
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Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents
While this strategy works best in a rising market, it can still produce surprisingly good results when the market is down. There is a very simple reason why: Most agents still ignore them and the homeowner’s circumstances might have changed since their listing expired. Worst case scenario is that you’ll get to have a conversation with a homeowner other agents have abandoned. When the market turns, who do you think they’re more likely to call?
The 26 Best Expired Listing Scripts + Objection Handlers
17. Start a Postcard Campaign in Targeted Neighborhoods
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Cost:
50 cents – 95 cents per mailed postcard
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
While they may seem outdated, postcards are still one of the best ways to fill your CRM with buyer and seller leads in 2023. Why? Simple. They’re cheap, easy to make and send, and response rates are higher than you might think. Even better, guess which demographic is the most likely to respond to direct mail? That’s right. Boomers. The same people who sold 53% of the homes in 2023.
Check out Jodie Cordell’s deep-dive postcard strategy guide below to find a postcard template and strategy that will work in your farm area.
Top 23 Real Estate Postcard Templates That Actually Generate Leads (+ Design Guide)
18. Learn Open House Ideas That Actually Get You Leads
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Cost:
Free – $200 per open house
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Days – weeks
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents
Contrary to what many experienced agents will tell you, open houses are still an excellent source of leads in 2023. You just need to up your game a bit to create memorable experiences for your open house guests and have an actual strategy to get them into your CRM. Once they’re in your database, you need to offer something of value when you reach out.
If you’re a new agent, offer to host an open house this weekend for a listing agent in your office. Just make sure to grab my open house scripts and check out my picks for the best open house apps first.
33 Open House Ideas That Will Actually Get You Leads
19. Prospect FSBOs
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Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
Mid-career agents – experienced brokers
Many top-producing agents cut their teeth as listing agents by prospecting FSBOs. Believe it or not, today’s market is the perfect opportunity to get started with this same technique.
Here’s why: With inventory still tight and prices softening slowly, FSBOs are now facing one of the trickiest markets in a generation. Most don’t have the skill set to navigate it successfully. Of course, that doesn’t mean they no longer want (or maybe even need) to sell their home. It just means they are much more likely to need help doing it. That’s where you come in.
The 10 Best FSBO Scripts (+ Why They Work)
20. Master the Art of Writing Prospecting Letters
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Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
While other agents are chasing potential clients on TikTok, you can beat them to the best leads with prospecting letters. Why are prospecting letters so much better? Simple. According to the most recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) Profile of Buyers and Sellers, the average age of homesellers in 2022 was 60 years old! So unless 60-year-olds in your farm area are TikTok addicts, you have a much better chance of connecting with them via prospecting letters.
Decide which buyers or sellers you want to target, then modify one of the prospecting letter templates in my article below. You can get addresses from places like ListSource or REDX.
The 15 Best Real Estate Prospecting Letter Templates
21. Work Your Sphere of Influence (the Right Way)
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Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
2 weeks – 1 year
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced Brokers
Believe it not, even in the age of TikTok and ChatGPT, working your sphere of influence is still the best lead generation strategy for most agents.
Here’s why: Hopefully, the people in your sphere of influence already know, like, and trust you. Similar to those in your local social media groups, they will also have questions about real estate—and lots of them! If you help them answer those questions, you’ll be top of mind when it comes time to move, and they’ll refer you to their friends and coworkers.
How to get started today:
8 Tips for Building Your Sphere of Influence in Real Estate (+ Script)
22. Find a New Niche & Work It Relentlessly
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Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents
If you’re not getting enough high-quality leads, you might be in the wrong niche or worse, not working a niche at all. Many agents just kind of fall into whatever transaction types seem easy during their first two or three years in real estate. They never take the time to find a niche that works for their personality and skillset and makes them money.
To find a new niche that works for you, take my Real Estate Agent Personality Quiz to learn more about your individual traits and motivations. Then, research niches in your farm area that work with your sales personality. For example, the FSBO niche is best for extroverts, while corporate relocations will work better for introverts. After you take the test, check out Emile’s guide to real estate niches below to find a new niche to work this year.
8 Red-hot Real Estate Niches That Can Double Your GCI in 2024
23. Get Some Fresh Air: Start Door Knocking
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Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents
While everyone else in your office is busy with the latest social media fad, why not head out into the fresh air and fill your CRM with leads the old-fashioned way? Go knock on some doors! It’s actually a lot easier than you might think, and it’s also a fantastic way to hone your elevator pitch and flex your sales muscles.
Door Knocking for Real Estate: Does It Still Work? (+ Tips & Scripts)
24. Pick Up the Phone & Make Outbound Calls
-
Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
While Slydial can be a great prospecting tool, becoming too reliant on technology and ignoring good old-fashioned phone calls will hurt your career in the long run. I chatted with real estate superstar, NAR keynote speaker, and all-around lovely person Leigh Brown, and she agrees:
“Statistics show that an estimated one-third of the public does something related to real estate annually―renovations, updates, repairs, refinancing, buying, or selling―and savvy Realtors are there for all of those steps in the work of being the trusted Realtor adviser over time.”
“How to make it happen? Set a doable goal of one call per day. It will get done—and once you do one, you’re likely to make two.”
7 Proven Real Estate Cold Calling Scripts for Fearless Lead Gen
25. Host a First-time Buyer Seminar in a Fun Location
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Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents
While most agents have thought about hosting first-time buyer’s seminars to attract leads, they often fall short when it comes to choosing the location. First-time buyers are spoiled for choice in real estate education these days, so why not offer them the same information someplace fun? A broker I worked with in Brooklyn actually built a 100-agent brokerage partly because he hosted his buyer and renter seminars in cool bars in Williamsburg. This helped him relate to the young professionals he was targeting and filled his CRM with eager leads.
26. Pitch Your Services to Small Local Real Estate Investors
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Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
Mid-career agents – experienced brokers
Pitching your services to small local real estate investors can get you a steady source of leads who often buy homes in cash and transact multiple times per year. While high interest rates have slowed down investment activity, many cash-rich investors are still hunting for deals or selling properties they already own. Since so many agents are ignoring them these days, 2023 might be a good chance to build relationships with investors and let them know you can help them when they’re ready to dive back in.
You need to learn the skills investors look for in agents, including how to find undervalued off-market properties, how to analyze investment opportunities, and how to be a trusted adviser to busy investors. Check out our strategy guide below to learn more.
9 Skills Agents Need to Work With Investors & Close 50-100 Deals a Year
27. Get Free Press by Pitching Local News Outlets
-
Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
Mid-career agents – experienced brokers
While testimonials on your website or landing page will help you convert leads into clients, getting your name in the press as a real estate expert is even better. Why? Simple. You can include logos of all the news outlets you’ve been quoted on your website, business cards, and landing pages. Unlike testimonials, news outlet logos will be instantly recognizable–and trusted—by almost everyone in your farm area.
Here are two proven strategies we’ve used to get free press in publications like The New York Times and Realtor Magazine:
- Make a list of local news outlets or blogs to pitch and find the editors’ contact information using Hunter.io or LinkedIn. Then write quick hit blog posts on trending real estate topics and pitch them.
- Sign up for Help A Reporter Out and start answering reporters’ requests for quotes.
5 PR Strategies Any Agent Can Use to Get Free Press
28. Reward Your Referral Sources With a Handwritten Note & Gift Card
-
Cost:
$5 – $10 per referral
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
Experienced agents and brokers
Everyone loves getting presents, even small ones. That’s why Coldwell Banker agent Heidi Sutter’s system of rewarding referral sources helps keep a steady stream of referrals in her inbox:
“For me, one of the best lead generating tools has been to reward my referrals with a handwritten note and gift card. Doing so has been key for my business and proven to be one of the best ways to connect with clients, friends, and family who are kind enough to refer my services.”
Here’s Heidi’s exact formula for generating leads with handwritten notes:
- $5 gift card and thank-you note at introduction to the referral
- $10 gift card for gas, along with a handwritten note thanking them for the referral again and providing a quick update on the progress once the buyer or seller signs a contract or lists with you
- Hand-delivered $50 gift card to a local restaurant once the client closes
9 Real Estate Thank-you Notes That Create Clients for Life (+ Templates)
Creative Real Estate Lead Generation
29. Drive Around With Gifts at the Ready
-
Cost:
$5 per lead
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
Instead of using pop-bys with clever cards, I always kept coffee mugs filled with candy in my car. When I was out on showings and drove near a former client’s house, I would stop by and give them one. This sweet strategy actually led to an introduction to an asset manager who brought in $500,000 in referred business to my brokerage over two years.
30. Pitch Absentee Landlords & Owners of Distressed Properties
-
Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
Mid-career agents – experienced brokers
If your local inventory is tight, try offering absentee landlords and owners of distressed properties your services. Tracking down their contact information can be challenging, but since most other agents are ignoring them, they can be an excellent source of listings.
The next time you notice a house with overgrown grass, for rent signs that never come down, or piled up newspapers, see if you can track down the owner to list the property for sale. Here are a few ways to find the owner:
- Look up the property in your county records
- Order an owner and encumbrances report from a title company
- Use Freedomsoft to investigate
9 Proven Strategies to Find Hidden Listing Inventory
31. Trade Client Appreciation Parties for Social Happy Hours
-
Cost:
Free
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
Experienced agents
While formal client appreciation parties are a great way to stay top of mind to generate referrals, they’re expensive and put pressure on your former clients to attend. Social happy hours are less formal, more fun, and in my experience, at least, more people show up.
The best part is that even the people who don’t show up after you call (yes, call!) to invite them will appreciate the fact that you thought enough of them to actually call and invite them.
32. Make Clever Pop-bys & Work Them Into Your Outreach Schedule
-
Cost:
$3 – $5 per pop by
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents
Pop-by gifts, small gifts agents hand out to former clients with a clever note attached, can work wonders to keep you top of mind and drive referrals. They help remind people you’ve already worked with that you are not only a trusted adviser and negotiator, but that you’re also a fun person to spend time with. People want to work with people they like!
15 Clever Real Estate Pop-by Ideas to Get More Referrals
33. Drive Referrals by Promoting Local Businesses
-
Cost:
50 cents – 95 cents per mailed postcard
-
Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
If you have a network of contractors you’ve worked with, promoting their services to your clients is a great way to get them to send you buyer and seller referrals in return. All you need to do is put together a list of financial planners, landscapers, movers, painters, and other professionals you trust and share it on your social media accounts, your email list, your website, and as a concierge package when you close deals. Once they start getting business from your promotion, they will be more likely to send you referrals.
34. Build a Personal Brand That Resonates With Buyers & Sellers in Your Farm Area
-
Cost:
Free – $1,000+
-
Time to Generate Leads:
3 months – 1 year
-
Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
While it may seem like a waste of time if you’re struggling to find leads, starting your lead generation journey by building a compelling personal brand is still the advice I give every new and struggling agent. A personal brand that resonates with your target audience does something that buying leads or running Facebook ads never will. It helps you build your unique selling proposition.
This is what will separate you from all the other agents in your farm area. It’s more important than ever in 2023 because every agent in your farm area has access to the same tools. Standing out from the crowd will mean more leads and more closed deals.
Real Estate Branding: How to Build Your Brand (+ Case Studies)
35. Work With Divorce, Bankruptcy & Probate Attorneys
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Cost:
Free
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Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
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Agent Skill Level:
Mid-career agents – experienced brokers
Attorneys who specialize in divorce, bankruptcy, or probate have clients who not only want to buy or sell a home, but need to buy or sell a home. If you build a relationship with a busy attorney, they will send you more referrals than you can handle. As long as you can transact quickly and have a thick skin, you just might find a new niche to work.
How to Work with Real Estate Divorce Leads the Right Way
36. Network at More Events Unrelated to Real Estate
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Cost:
Free
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Time to Generate Leads:
Weeks – months
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Agent Skill Level:
New agents
If you hate networking at non-real estate events, you might be doing it wrong. Instead of making it a chore to go to boring events with high net worth people since they buy at higher price points, why not go to events you actually enjoy?
The trick to successful networking is to not sell to people, which is much easier when you are at an event you actually want to attend. Just let conversations flow naturally and people will eventually ask about your business. Easy, right?
37. Host an Affordable Private Movie Screening for Your Sphere
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Cost:
$150-$599
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Time to Generate Leads:
Days – weeks
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Agent Skill Level:
New agents – experienced brokers
Want to get more referrals from your sphere and wow them at the same time? Rent out a local theater for a private screening. Believe it or not, hosting a private screening at big theater chains like AMC is surprisingly affordable. Prices for 15 to 20 people start at around $150 depending on which city you’re in. Split the cost with a lender to save even more money.
Here’s how you can drive referrals: When you book a private screening at AMC, you get 15 minutes before the movie starts to thank everyone for coming and remind them that your business runs on referrals. When the movie ends, stand by the door and hand out goodie bags with a QR code linking to a Google form asking if they enjoyed the movie and if they know anyone who wants to buy or sell real estate in the near future.
If you’re in a city with an AMC theater, go to their website to check pricing and book your screening. If not, call your local theater and ask if they allow private screenings.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do I know which strategies will actually work for me?
One mistake that many agents make is trying to push themselves to generate leads using techniques that don’t fit their personality. For example, if you’re an introvert, cold calling FSBOs will probably only leave you frustrated and broke.
Sean Moudry has developed a unique system that tests agents for their personality type using a variation of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test to help them find the perfect real estate lead generation strategy for them.
You can get started by taking Sean’s sales personality test:
What’s Your Real Estate Sales Personality? Take Our Quiz & Find Out
2. Is it better to generate top-of-funnel leads or bottom-of-funnel leads?
Both! While getting customers early on in their home search is important, very few agents have the time to nurture leads forever without generating any income. Quick wins that bring in revenue are crucial for any business. So make sure you have a healthy mix of strategies that get you customers who need to move yesterday and customers who might not move for a year or more.
For example, home valuation landing pages are more likely to attract sellers who are close to pulling the trigger, while cold calling landlords of distressed properties might get you leads that sell six months from now.
So when choosing a new real estate lead generation strategy, make sure to ask yourself if it will generate more top-of-funnel or bottom-of-funnel leads. If you’re busy, then top-of-funnel leads are great. If you’re struggling to pay your mortgage, then you should focus on quick wins instead.
Check out Sean’s article on how to create a lead generation plan to learn more.
How to Create a Custom Real Estate Lead Generation Plan (+ Template)
3. Are paid leads better than free leads?
Absolutely not. In fact, most of the top-producing agents on our team generate their best leads through referrals based on the strength of their personal brands and sphere of influence. Some top-producing agents we work with, like Beverly Ruffner, generate leads through cold calling or other free strategies. However, most newer agents generate leads through a combination of paid and free techniques until they build up a database large enough to consistently generate referrals.
4. What’s the best way for new agents to generate leads?
If you’re a new agent, we recommend starting with your sphere of influence before trying any of the strategies in this article. Why? Simple. These are the people who already know, like, and trust you enough to consider hiring you despite your lack of experience. Convincing strangers to gamble on someone who has never represented a buyer or seller before is incredibly difficult. That means the money, time, and effort you spend on any of our strategies will likely be wasted until you have a few deals under your belt.
To learn more about expanding your sphere of influence to get more leads, check out my strategy guide here. It includes scripts you can use to convince people in your sphere to hire you.
8 Tips for Building Your Sphere of Influence in Real Estate (+ Script)
More Useful Lead Generation Resources From Real Tactics Pro
Are you a new or experienced agent who is trying to shake things up a bit? If so, check out some of our deep-dive resources to learn more about filling your pipeline with qualified leads:
Over to You
What real estate lead generation ideas and strategies are you using to gin up new business in 2023? Still sticking with Zillow or have you discovered something new? Let us know in the comment section.
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