Alt text- Mark Weithorn- Founder & CEO of DPI Showcase Web Sites
All dressed up and nowhere to go. Sometimes that’s what it feels like to be a salesperson. Our company, DPI Showcase Web Sites, works with real estate agents across the USA. Many of the new agents are changing careers. Some have worked for a large corporation and needed a change or were downsized, others were just changing careers, so they entered the world of real estate.
Entering this field is rather easy. Take a course, take a test with your state, and voila you are now a real estate agent. Now comes the hard part, becoming an entrepreneur. You are now an independent contractor working under your broker. You must write a business plan, sign up with a broker, join a real estate board, print business cards, get a website, set up your social media, and the list goes on.
Now that all the preliminaries are done, it’s time to generate some business. All dressed up and nowhere to go. These are the things that your real estate class or test didn’t teach you. Most brokers don’t teach that either. They may not know your name. And the other agents in your office treat you like a pariah. You are the competition. They try to annihilate you.
Another challenge is keeping up with technology. Back in the day, (10+ years ago), things were simpler. Phones were easier to use, emails didn’t have junk folders, and you met with people to sign contracts. Today you have communications coming at you from all over. Calls, texts, emails, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn. The list goes on and on and you must keep up with all of it.
Once you have a list of clients you must stay in touch with them regularly. You know the old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind.” There are many client management systems out there, CRMs, that are designed to keep you in touch with your clients. The challenge is finding one that is easy to use. You also need your own CRM. If you use the one your broker gives you they may have access to your client list.
The DPI philosophy is to design software that automates as much as possible, user-friendly. Leaving the real estate agent free to do what they do best, talking to clients. The DPI CRM has many automated functions. For example, if a client views a property on the agent’s website and clicks on Contact Agent, several automated functions commence. The agent immediately receives an email and a text alerting them that they have a new lead, the client starts receiving daily emails with new listings in their search criteria, and they receive weekly eNewsletter emails, holiday emails, etc. All done automatically so the agent doesn’t have to learn how to be a computer programmer.
We also automate the social media process. Blogging is an essential component for getting noticed by the search engines. So, DPI automatically posts a blog article on every agent’s website every day and then posts these articles on their social media pages. Then we take the previous week’s blog articles and compose an eNewsletter email that goes out to all the clients in their CRM. Everything is automated so the real estate agent just has to concentrate on doing what they do best, selling.
Implementing effective strategies for real estate lead generation is crucial for maintaining a steady flow of potential clients. By focusing on targeted marketing efforts and utilizing advanced tools, real estate professionals can efficiently capture and convert leads, ensuring sustained business growth and success in a competitive market.
The process is simple. First, you must get leads. Start with people you know, all the contacts on your phone and social media. Alert them that you are now a real estate agent. Share with them your website address, make friends on social media, post daily on social media, and most importantly, answer your phone when it rings.
Once you have started generating leads, follow up with them. It could take months before a lead becomes an active client. Send them regular emails. Call or text them periodically. show them that you want their business.
After the sale, stay in touch. Make sure they are happy. See if they have any questions about the neighborhood or hooking up their cable and internet. Most importantly, ask for referrals. 2/3 of all sales come from referrals. Don’t be shy about asking for them.
Yes, technology changes every day. It always gets more complex. But sales boils down to relationships. People talking to people. You must set up a simple system to stay in touch with your clients so that when they need you, they know how to find you.
Mark Weithorn is the Founder & CEO of DPI Showcase Web Sites, a 20-year-old tech company that provides websites and CRMs designed for brokers and real estate agents. For the past 25 years, he has been teaching marketing classes nationally to real estate agents. He can be seen at www.DPIshowcase.com