How to find and get listings as a new real estate agent
.
The first step to getting your business off on the right foot is to make sure that you’ve got all your bases covered. While it may be time-consuming and let’s be honest, totally overwhelming, setting up your marketing sooner than later will put you in a better position for success.
So, take a moment and think about what kind of agent you want to be. Understanding your strengths in a sales-focused career will allow you to shine in the areas you do best in and help you build your brand.
Here are some great places to start:
Social media
Email
Online lead generation
Website
Community
If that list looks long and intimidating, that’s OK. You’re starting a new career in a brand new industry and there’s going to be a whole lot of learning curves. But with patience and persistence, you’ll be bringing in new clients in no time. Here are some quick checklist items you can work on today.
STAY UP TO DATE ON THE MARKET
The first step to being a great real estate agent (and getting listings) is knowing what’s going on in the real estate market and, most importantly, being able to explain that to your clients.
Many of the questions home buyers and sellers ask depends on you knowing the market, both currently and in the near future. If you want to earn their trust, you need to be able to prove you have the facts to back up your opinion.
While you’re drinking coffee or watching tv, read at least one piece of real estate news each day. This one small task can make a big difference for you and your business.
Subscribe to daily updates on the U.S. housing market from the KCM Blog to get curated insights sent directly to your inbox so you’re always in-the-know.
SET UP A GOOGLE BUSINESS PAGE
According to BrightLocal, 93% of consumers use reviews to determine if a local business is good or bad.
People looking for a real estate agent are no different.
As someone new to the industry, setting up a Google Business page creates a public space for your happy clients to share their reviews. In return, you can get more business.
Why Google Business? With over 158,000,000 visitors each month, it’s by far the most visited and most used review platform. Setting up pages is easy and allows you to highlight your website (if you have one), contact information and hours of operation.
Displaying reviews can increase conversion rates by a whopping 270% so this is a step you definitely don’t want to skip.
POST DAILY ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Creating business profiles for your social media should be one of the first things you do. To start, go with Facebook and Instagram. If you want to expand further down the road, you can.
Next, you need to start posting. A general rule of thumb is to post at least a couple of time per week on your feed and once per day on your stories. Consistency and quality will carry you a lot further than quantity. Many studies have found that your following can grow by over 50% by posting every day.
If you have no idea what to post to social media, you’re not alone.
Here are some ideas:
· Posts from your blog
· Real estate news
· New listings
· Open houses and events
· Videos
Keep your captions short, ask questions to provoke engagement, and you’re gold. If you find you’re struggling with staying on top of it, make it a daily routine so you stick to it.
GET YOUR GUIDES & PRESENTATIONS READY
Being a new real estate agent is hard, especially when it comes to prioritizing what to tackle first. Therefore, before you start printing postcards and door-knocking leave-behinds, make buyer and seller guides and presentations a top priority.
These are crucial because:
· They help prepare the client for the buying & selling process
· They answer many questions the potential seller or buyer may have
· They establish your value as a real estate professional
According to economists, the second half of the year could be even busier than the first. And with the spring market just around the corner, there’s not much time to make sure your presentations & marketing materials differentiate you from the competition. FYI we have a great, free listing presentation template that’s perfect for new agents. Just customize it to your branding, and you’re ready to win those clients. Download it free here.
START A BLOG
As a new agent, a blog is probably the last thing on your mind. But hear us out, there are a lot of perks to starting one.
Blogs can help you…
· Increase visibility to search engines
· Establish yourself as an expert
· Creates content for social media
Before you start to panic about where you’re going to find the time to become a blogger, we have some advice. Using content generator tools like Keeping Current Matters is a great way to do all of the above without having to actually write the posts.
A membership gets you a personalized blog that’s automatically updated with new content. Nothing to write, design or maintain. Create yours today for free with a trial.
GET COMFORTABLE BEING ON-CAMERA
We’ve moved into a new age of marketing, and video is leading the pack.
The truth is, most people aren’t comfortable on-camera. And that’s OK. It takes time, the right filter, and a lot of trial and error to get there. But you can and you will.
But the benefits of video far outweigh any anxieties you might have about diving in. Think about it this way. There are probably tons of other real estate agents in your area. They all have the same skills, can knock out contracts and do open houses. But there’s only one you.
Video helps potential leads get to know you. They get to see your personality and build a bond with you before they even meet you.
MISTAKES TO AVOID
As with any new career, figuring out what not to do is just as important as figuring out what to do.
In a people-facing industry like real estate, one wrong misstep means losing out on a potential listing.
Here are some mistakes to avoid as a new real estate agent:
Be persistent but not impatient
Don’t be afraid to reach out to friends and family – they’re your biggest fans, after all!
Don’t get hung up on the little things – building a business takes time
You don’t have to do it all on your own – there are plenty of apps and tools to help you
Don’t wait to establish your brand – that’s your greatest asset in this business!
At the end of the day, stay positive and make sure you’re setting good habits early on in your career. By doing that, you’ll be getting listings in no time.
Bottom Line
As a new real estate agent, it can be overwhelming to know where to focus your energy. A strong marketing plan should be a number one priority but if you’ve never put one together before, it can be easy to feel totally lost.
At this stage, it’s most important to know where to start. Social media, review sites, photos and a blog are a great jumping-off point. By directing your efforts in the places that count, you’ll see better results faster.
The good news is, there are resources out there to help take a lot of the work off your plate.
