Lead generation for agents

[Jeff Richardson]

I just got my Texas real estate salesperson license last month. I am trying to generate leads for buyers but mostly sellers in the Denton area. What are some good ways to generate leads?

[Mat Lewczenko]

One thing not mentioned yet is your Sphere, your current contacts. Your friends and family need to know what you are up to. Come from contribution and don't be sales-ey. What do I mean by that: If you haven't spoken to someone in 6 months you don't deserve to just call up out of the blue and ask if they have any referrals. My favorite sphere call script goes something to the effect of (feel free to adjust for yourself) "Hey JOE, It's Mat, it's been a while, how's work? The Fam? (they will tell you all about their life and then most will then reply with, so how's things with you?) Hey things are great, actually I'm glad you asked, I am now a licensed agent and in fact one of my big goals this year is to GIVE OUT 200 referrals to my friends and family. What I mean is that, I now have access to the areas best contractors, electricians, handymen etc, so you no longer need to hit the yellow pages, you just have one number to remember, mine. So if you or anyone you know need anything to fix up there house please call me or send me their info."

Again, the basic premise here is you connect, create relationship, and offer value. No one wants to get a cold call from someone they know that goes right after a referral.

The other number one differentiation between top producers and everyone else is follow up. Anyone can call once, Pro's have a system for follow up.So calling expired, cancels, withdrawns and FSBO's all require a follow up system. 90% of all FSBO's I listed took 4-6 weeks to convert and I would "touch them" twice a week (phone call and mailer).

If you are new, and want biggest bang for buck my suggestions would be in this order:

1:Sphere Calls

2:Open Houses for other agents (Buyers walk though, Buyers who need to sell, and neighbors doing homework for their own home to list in a couple months)

3: Pick one - FSBO/Expireds

4: Craigslist to drive traffic to your capture site - you can create ads for HUD properties.

Why these 4 strategies to start? They are free. Once you start converting commissions you can put aside 10% of each sale into a marketing budget and then leverage adwords, direct mail, etc. In the meantime, lead with revenue!

All the best and have fun!