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Looking for more listing leads? With low housing inventory nationwide, agents are using innovative ways to find real estate seller leads and convert them into listings. While marketing to your sphere of influence, networking, and direct mail campaigns work, they can be time-consuming and they don’t always yield quick results. To help you snag more listings, we updated our list of proven strategies to win more real estate seller leads in 2024.
Summary
1. Generate seller leads using AI
Artificial Intelligence (or AI) is changing the way agents work in so many ways, and that includes how we generate seller leads. By analyzing hundreds of relevant data points, including market trends, historical sales data, consumer behavior, credit card debt, and more, AI tools can forecast which properties are more likely to be listed for sale in the near future.
Data analysis allows real estate agents to focus their marketing efforts (and budget!) on homeowners who are more likely to sell, thereby optimizing their lead gen strategy. Let’s be honest, spending money on lead generation can get expensive. If there’s a way to ensure more bang for your buck, we are all for it.
Top tool: Top Producer’s Smart Targeting
While there are a ton of AI predictive analytics tools on the market today, Top Producer’s Smart Targeting stands out for one simple reason: it comes bundled with an advanced CRM you’ll actually use. It provides a select list of homeowners most likely to sell in the next 12 months.You can define your farm area by zip code or by drawing a polygon on a map.
Automated marketing campaigns keep you top-of-mind with the top 20% of households most likely to sell, with completely done-for-you online ads, email marketing, postcards, and handwritten letters to the homeowners in your targeted area.
2. Drive leads to home valuation landing pages
It’s the 21st century. If you’re a real estate agent without a web presence, you may want to consider another career. According to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), 70% of broker/broker associates and 69% of sales agents have a website. If you want a shot at generating seller leads online, you need one, too.
To drive sellers to your website, create custom landing pages that offer free home valuations and describe the services and expertise you provide to home sellers. Then, drive traffic to your home valuation page using social media or targeted advertising.
Top tool: Market Leader
Tools like Market Leader make driving sellers to home valuation pages easy. They let you pay to “own “ your zip code at their home valuation page, homevalues.com, and do all the advertising work for you. All you need to do is qualify and nurture the qualified, exclusive leads they send you!
2. Improve your social media strategy
Social media marketing is a powerful tool for real estate agents, with both free and paid options. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer an opportunity for brand building and direct engagement with potential sellers. By maintaining active profiles on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, you can showcase your listings, share success stories, and provide valuable market insights in a visually appealing and engaging manner.
According to recent statistics from NAR, “social media is more powerful than MLS for generating quality leads.” Social media’s interactive nature allows agents to foster relationships and engage in conversations with their audience, which is crucial for building trust and understanding the needs of potential sellers and buyers.
Paid advertising on social media can also be a cost-effective way to target specific demographics or geographic areas, helping you to reach a wider or more targeted audience with your messages. Services like LionDesk are great options for agents looking to use paid social media marketing to generate leads.
As an added benefit, social media provides a space for client testimonials and reviews, which are invaluable for building an agent’s reputation and encouraging referrals. In a competitive industry like real estate, leveraging social media marketing is essential for agents to stay relevant, connect with their community, and ultimately, generate more real estate seller leads.
I’ve been building my social media presence consistently for about three years now and am finally at the point where people recognize me in my neighborhood, at open houses, and at Realtor® events. I mean, having pink hair doesn’t hurt, but I think it’s a testament to the work I’ve put into my Instagram account.
Top tool: Coffee & Contracts
Although Coffee & Contracts has no automated marketing tools or ad capability, it is still our go-to for creating consistent and attractive marketing content that can be used across platforms, including Instagram (posts, reels, and stories), Facebook, and even LinkedIn.
Once you create your content, you can use Meta Business Suite to boost posts on Instagram or Facebook, or create customized and targeted ads to reach your desired audience. The content and consistency that Coffee & Contracts provides really makes it easy to have a good-looking Instagram grid!
3. Target FSBOs & FRBOs
Targeting For Sale By Owner (FSBO) and For Rent By Owner (FRBO) listings are part of a surefire strategy for finding homeowners who may be open to listing their property. After all, they’ve already expressed an interest in selling or renting their property. To convince clients to list with you, you’ll need a well-honed sales pitch explaining the benefits of working with you.
Tailor your pitch to address the unique needs and challenges of homeowners trying to sell or rent a property on their own. As a licensed agent, you’ll give their listing broader market exposure and more polished marketing, not to mention your expertise with negotiations and tricky closings. To get started, here are the most effective strategies to find and convert FSBO and FRBOs:
Cold calling
Door knocking
Prospecting letters
Postcard campaigns
If you plan to target FSBOs and FRBOs, you’ll need plenty of patience and a thick skin. As with all successful prospecting strategies, consistent follow-up is key.
Top Tool: Lofty
Even in the age of laser-targeted Facebook advertising, good old-fashioned cold calling is still the best way to convert FSBO and FRBO leads. To do it effectively, a prospecting platform that gives you fresh leads, scripts and an autodialer is a must. Which platform you choose is largely a matter of preference. The key is to pick one and start calling! We recommend Lofty because it solves so many agent pain points.
5. Rank your website on search engines
In an era where most homeowners start their selling journey with an online search, your web presence is not just a nice-to-have, it is essential. By sharing relevant content and local market analysis, you can position yourslef as knowledgeable and trustworthy.
You may have heard about Search Engine Optimization (or SEO). Use an SEO strategy, you can significantly increase your visibility to homeowners looking to sell, thereby generating more seller leads and listings. An attractive website lets you showcase your clients’ listings professionally, as well as your track record as an agent — both important factors that potential sellers consider when choosing an agent.
For a website to be effective in helping you find motivated seller leads, it needs to be optimized, usable, and ideally connected to an IDX feed. Consider your website just as valuable, and probably more so, than your actual business card.
Top tool: Real Geeks’ AI Powered SEO Fast Track
Of course, getting your website to rank for hyper-local terms potential sellers search for isn’t easy. Websites that rank for these terms generally have hundreds or even thousands of pages dedicated to topics like “waterfront homes in Hudson, New York”. RealGeeks’ new AI-powered SEO Fast Track tool creates thousands of pages targeting these terms in minutes. Even better, the content on each page is unique to your website.
6. Conduct virtual open houses
Leveraging virtual open houses and tours through platforms like Zoom or Matterport can significantly enhance your ability to generate seller leads. You’ll impress potential home sellers with your polished property marketing. These virtual events allow to reach a wider audience while engaging with potential sellers in a dynamic, interactive environment.
Virtual open houses that you livestream or broadcast after the fact on social media, for example, will demonstrate your presentation and marketing acumen to other potential sellers, and help them to get to know you better.
Top tool: Matterport
I personally use Matterport virtual tours on all my listings. I think it adds tremendous value to the property listing. Matterport demonstrates your tech savvy and marketing expertise to your seller client, and attracts more buyers. Here is a recent listing of mine where I included a Matterport virtual tour for potential buyers to preview the property.
6. Leverage email marketing to your sphere
In the days before the internet, many agents would regularly send postcards and letters via USPS to their targeted neighborhoods. These days, agents use similar strategies to land themselves in the inboxes of potential sellers.
Combining old-school tactics with digital campaigns
A personalized postcard or market update letter combined with an integrated email campaign is sure to resonate with many homeowners. Integrating direct mailers with your email campaigns using the same branding, messaging and personal feel can be a potent approach for connecting with potential sellers in your farm area. Just as direct mailers like postcards can offer a personal touch, you can craft email campaigns with a similar level of care and local relevance.
As one example, when crafting client emails or newsletters, be sure to include some recent micro-market data like the average local selling prices and photos that depict your client’s zip code. As another example, use custom graphics or a personal signature within the email’s design to evoke a sense of familiarity and personal connection.
This approach resonates with your recipients on a deeper level than the typical generic mailers some agents send out. If a potential client feels like you’re addressing their specific interests and needs rather than just blasting the same bland email to your entire sphere of influence, they are more likely to take notice and hopefully give you a call!
Audience segmentation & CRM tools
One of the advantages that email marketing has over traditional marketing is the ability to segment your mailing lists. With old-school snail mail, you could choose your recipient lists based on zip code or their gated community (shout out to Florida agents!). Now, you can tailor your email messages to potential sellers, condo owners, retirees looking to downsize, or growing young families. Each group has unique concerns and goals.
With email marketing, there are many tools that can target neighborhoods and drill down to include lists of absentee owners or people with massive home equity who may be ready to sell. Working with segmented lists, you can target specific demographics or neighborhoods messaging that addresses their pain points.
There are numerous tools available to real estate agents hoping to find new seller leads through email marketing. These include CRMs with email marketing features like Market Leader, Top Producer, Zurple, and Lofty.
The feedback I typically hear from agents when choosing one specific platform over another is that they prefer its user interface. Since this is a matter of preference, I encourage you to take advantage of some free trials and webinars to get a sense of the specific CRM tool before handing over your credit card.
Top tool: Lofty
Among all the CRMs with integrated email marketing, one of our favorites is Lofty. It is very tech-forward and generates a bevy of analytics to improve your email open rates. For example, Lofty continuously analyzes when your email gets opened to help you schedule and send subsequent campaigns for the best results. It also easily customizes email content based on the neighborhood you’re targeting.
7. Become your area’s favorite local real estate agent
Community engagement has always been a crucial piece of the puzzle for real estate agents in their quest for seller leads. By participating in community events, networking with locals, and offering value through local real estate workshops or seminars, agents can foster trust and recognition within the community.
The challenge is that you are only one person and can only be in so many places and attend so many local events. This is where technology can help you find seller leads. There are, of course, the local Facebook groups and apps like NextDoor where neighbors virtually gather to ask questions, share helpful information, and even market goods and services.
Savvy agents also leverage paid neighborhood community sites like Parkbench. These pay to play online communities ensure that there is only one real estate agent per community, theoretically increasing the chances of neighbors choosing you to work with.
As an agent, participating in any type of online community enhances your reputation and also places you top-of-mind when homeowners consider selling. Through community engagement, you can also gain a deeper understanding of the local real estate market and the concerns of potential sellers, which is invaluable for tailoring your services and marketing strategies.
A strong community presence allows agents to generate organic referrals and testimonials, which are often more compelling and cost-effective than other lead generation methods. In a competitive market, community engagement can significantly differentiate you from other agents, making you the go-to person for homeowners looking to sell, thereby generating a steady stream of seller leads.
Top tool: Parkbench
In a play on words of an old marketing tactic, Parkbench brings you to the local community without slapping your face and business name on a literal park bench. This genius company has created a network of hyper-local neighborhood websites. Each customized website is sponsored by just one real estate professional, so if you’re community-minded and want to engage with residents and neighbors, Parkbench might be right for you. The ultimate goal is to get business, but ideally, each Parkbench agent also genuinely cares about their community and enjoys sharing resources, answering questions, and just generally being helpful.
8. Use virtual networking to find seller leads
You’ve heard of networking groups, networking events, and networking clubs. What about virtual networking? Believe it or not, virtual options have become a pivotal part of the real estate industry, especially since online interactions often precede face-to-face meetings.
LinkedIn, for example, is a powerful platform for online networking where you can connect with potential sellers, join real estate-focused groups, and share insightful content to demonstrate your expertise. Additionally, platforms like Zillow and Realtor.com offer forums and networking opportunities for agents to engage with property owners and other real estate professionals.
Participating in online forums and communities like BiggerPockets or the National Association of Realtors (NAR) online forums can provide valuable networking opportunities and insights into the real estate market. You can share the insights you’ve gained in your local Facebook groups. Try answering questions in the comments sections and share your contact details with potential sellers near you.
The full picture: How to get real estate seller leads
The tools we’ve shared here will help you cast a wider net to generate qualified real estate seller leads from a variety of sources. We believe that the best approach to building a successful real estate business is one that nurtures relationships while leveraging the power of technology. By embracing digital tools, engaging with your community, and offering value to home sellers, you can build a robust pipeline of potential sellers who will think of you when they’re ready to list their home.
Most importantly, you’ll need to foster trust with potential sellers. An authentic agent who listens and cares about each homeowner’s unique needs will win more listings — it’s as simple as that.
