What companies are you using for Residential Seller Leads?

[Erich Morgan Weiss]

Hi Everyone! 
I have been a fan of BiggerPockets for years ,lots of great info and real feedback. Finally joined and this is my first post. I am a 25 year Real Estate agent in SoCal (mostly residential however venturing more into commercial; and getting back into investing in other states as well, which will be my next post) I have tried quite a few lead services and while some may do better in other areas of the country , most seem to a flop in this area, of those tried HouseJet, Reaology, USHud and Realty Bargains( Realty Bargains was the best however they kept sending me mostly investors who's matrix would not pencil in the areas I serve) I am doing my best to figure out social marketing, my views/impressions are good however that has not turned into transactions as of yet; So I am on the hunt for a 3rd party lead co with quality Seller leads. I am currently using FUB/Ylopo and zBuyer, working with a few Ylopo social/PPC leads right now but they are going to take Alot of work to convert, zBuyer for SoCal are 99% seniors that are just curious about their home value, so while there's been conversions they are far and few between. Has anyone tried Brokerspot, Connektor, Grizzly Leads, Deluxer, RevIUp or suggest something that works/has a reasonable spend w good ROI? I'll add while not a big fan I checked into Zillow and they are suggesting a $90k annual spend for 5 possible leads per month in areas 1-2 hrs drive from my office and mostly buyers, that makes no sense for my current goals. Thanks in advance for any insight and responses.

[Abel Curiel]

Quote from @Erich Morgan Weiss:

Hi Everyone! 
I have been a fan of BiggerPockets for years ,lots of great info and real feedback. Finally joined and this is my first post. I am a 25 year Real Estate agent in SoCal (mostly residential however venturing more into commercial; and getting back into investing in other states as well, which will be my next post) I have tried quite a few lead services and while some may do better in other areas of the country , most seem to a flop in this area, of those tried HouseJet, Reaology, USHud and Realty Bargains( Realty Bargains was the best however they kept sending me mostly investors who's matrix would not pencil in the areas I serve) I am doing my best to figure out social marketing, my views/impressions are good however that has not turned into transactions as of yet; So I am on the hunt for a 3rd party lead co with quality Seller leads. I am currently using FUB/Ylopo and zBuyer, working with a few Ylopo social/PPC leads right now but they are going to take Alot of work to convert, zBuyer for SoCal are 99% seniors that are just curious about their home value, so while there's been conversions they are far and few between. Has anyone tried Brokerspot, Connektor, Grizzly Leads, Deluxer, RevIUp or suggest something that works/has a reasonable spend w good ROI? I'll add while not a big fan I checked into Zillow and they are suggesting a $90k annual spend for 5 possible leads per month in areas 1-2 hrs drive from my office and mostly buyers, that makes no sense for my current goals. Thanks in advance for any insight and responses.

 Hello Erich,

Welcome to the BP forums!

Of the services mentioned above, I have only tried Zbuyer. I've also tried Opcity, LGG, Clever, and several others.

Quality-wise, Clever was by far the best for seller leads. However, their referral fees (20-40%) were pretty steep but still worth it, given the quality. I worked with them for about a year.

Unfortunately I am not familiar with Brokerspot, connektor and the other platforms mentioned but I'd imagine most platforms are fairly similar to one another. The main differences, I find, between platforms are the fees and terms. Many of these platforms also send the same leads to multiple agents.

Since most of these paid leads require work/follow-up anyway, have you thought about paying less $ for leads where there is significantly less competition?

I'd recommend looking into the cost of a dialer system, ISA, and CRM (if needed). This can provide you with more leads for less money. Plus, there could be less competition for these leads.

For leads with higher conversion, you can have your ISA focus on expired and FSBOs in the area. Their scripts/list of questions should be short and to the point... then, you'll follow up with the warm/serious leads.

If you're getting into social media and possibly SEO marketing, check out platforms like SEM rush that can provide great insights, analytics, suggestions, and more.

Hopefully, the BP community can weigh in regarding other lead source options. In my experience, lead platforms that seem too good to be true rarely deliver. The leads end up being very similar to FB leads that you can generate on your own for a fraction of the cost. 

All the best!

Abel

[Erich Morgan Weiss]

Hi Abel, Thank you very much for your response , its super appreciated. I'll add some details to my response to help others that may be searching out this info. I decided to discontinue zBuyer as at least in the current market conditions in my area 95% were bored seniors looking to get their home value( tried some long term nurture's however when it came time to sell the kids stepped in with a "family" agent) and the other 5% were move up seller/buyers that simply could not afford to move up. I have a great ISA , looking to keep her busy with convertible leads, thats a big reason I'm searching for a better lead source, even if they are 20-35% off the top; there's barely any expired's in my market and the FSBO's are either toooo unrealistic with their pricing or if priced right they sell on their own due to lack of inventory. We have tried FB leads through Ylopo however so far not one of them can afford a home in the area, we are changing up the parameters to see if that helps. We have a data base of about 14k and recently engaged a data co to comb through and get better phone/emails as some of the entries may be on the dnc now and some still have aol lol. I'll check into Clever.

***the current median home price in my immediate target area is $1m + , I have been driving a good distance to show "affordable" homes in the 6-700k range , most of our decent condo's are $500k+ with a average $350permo hoa

[Abel Curiel]

Quote from @Erich Morgan Weiss:

Hi Abel, Thank you very much for your response , its super appreciated. I'll add some details to my response to help others that may be searching out this info. I decided to discontinue zBuyer as at least in the current market conditions in my area 95% were bored seniors looking to get their home value( tried some long term nurture's however when it came time to sell the kids stepped in with a "family" agent) and the other 5% were move up seller/buyers that simply could not afford to move up. I have a great ISA , looking to keep her busy with convertible leads, thats a big reason I'm searching for a better lead source, even if they are 20-35% off the top; there's barely any expired's in my market and the FSBO's are either toooo unrealistic with their pricing or if priced right they sell on their own due to lack of inventory. We have tried FB leads through Ylopo however so far not one of them can afford a home in the area, we are changing up the parameters to see if that helps. We have a data base of about 14k and recently engaged a data co to comb through and get better phone/emails as some of the entries may be on the dnc now and some still have aol lol. I'll check into Clever.

***the current median home price in my immediate target area is $1m + , I have been driving a good distance to show "affordable" homes in the 6-700k range , most of our decent condo's are $500k+ with a average $350permo hoa

 Sounds like you're on the right path. Slim pickings out there unfortunately. I hear you on the Zbuyer results where the kids step in. Have you tried asking the homeowners to invite their kids to the meeting where you assess the home's value?

Zbuyer leads sound a lot like the geo-leads that we generate. They are not seriously considering selling within 12 months but are interested in their home value. 

Perhaps probate leads would be a good fit for you. Many times these leads direct you to executors of estates - the kids.

[Victor Patel]

Erich,

I've been a broker in the Cincinnati area for over 20+ years. Over the those years I have tried every online lead source available including most of the lead sources you mentioned in your post. The one thing that I learned is that the best leads are the ones you generate yourself. The leads you generate yourself are also the cheapest and come with the best ROI. Needless to say, I quit using online leads.

I tend to be an introvert so I've never done cold calling or door knocking.  Direct mail has been my best source of leads...letters and postcards.  I rely on inbound marketing vs outbound marketing.  If/when the lead responds to my letter or postcard I typically get the listing (I focus on listings only).  I try not to be a pushy realtor.  I try and provide valuable information and be as honest as possible without expecting anything in return...not even a listing.  Most people resonate with that and I eventually get the listing.  80% of the leads turn into listing eventually.  May not be today or tomorrow.  Many of these leads hold onto the letters or postcards for many months before contacting me.

If you want the long version, reach out and I will be glad to help!

[Erich Morgan Weiss]

Thank you Victor! I'd love to connect on leads and OH , I have been eying that area for a few years. 

[Gustavo Munoz Castro]

Seller Leads are a tough nut to crack, online they mostly come from Home Valuation ads, and as you've discovered they cast a very wide net and will find a lot of folks just wanting to know their home's value (who wouldn't?!). If you want to talk to potential sellers every day your best bet is prospecting. If Expireds/FSBO are tough in your area (they are in most areas), then I would focus on other sources like Absentee Owners, Old Expireds, Downsizers, etc. Some areas can have great success with even Circle Prospecting high value neighborhoods and telling them you have X buyer in your database that are looking for a home! I think a dollar invested in prospecting is worth like 10 in online seller leads tbh.

You have an ISA which is great, they may be more used to calling inbound leads so you may need to hire a cold caller to try this out, but I think its worth it.

[Erich Morgan Weiss]

Thx Gustavo! we havent had much luck with co's like RedX or our Title rep providing good contact info , we recently engaged with a co that pulls data for wholesale, as the wholesale crowd seems to be getting through , hopefully that will help for circling prospecting and geo farming; we are starting a circle around our up coming listing, the listing will be priced at $500k and should stay below 600k, it'll be one of if not the least expensive livable detached home near civilization in the county by a big margin ,that should generate some activity; fingers crossed

[Gustavo Munoz Castro]

Quote from @Erich Morgan Weiss:

Thx Gustavo! we havent had much luck with co's like RedX or our Title rep providing good contact info , we recently engaged with a co that pulls data for wholesale, as the wholesale crowd seems to be getting through , hopefully that will help for circling prospecting and geo farming; we are starting a circle around our up coming listing, the listing will be priced at $500k and should stay below 600k, it'll be one of if not the least expensive livable detached home near civilization in the county by a big margin ,that should generate some activity; fingers crossed

 sounds great, my favorite circle prospect script is the Just Sold: "hey mr owner, I just wanted to let you know we just sold a home on 123 main st and guess what? we have X buyers left over that didn't get it, I'm looking for homes for them to buy, who do you know that might be interested in selling? how about youself?" Ask that question 20-30 times a day and with some practice you'll get 1 maybe even 2 people that are interested. Best of luck!

[Erich Morgan Weiss]

Awesome , Thank you Gustavo!

[Peter Tverdov]

Postcards and cold calling work for me. I target my farm and just my farm. I honestly want to double or triple my marketing there. I'm trying. I have tried Z buyer. Its oaky so far, 2 months in and I got a listing appointment out of it so that was cool and I do add all of them into my CRM with a drip campaign so I might know better after a year. 

[Robert Hill]

An agent I work with has had great success from Ojo Leads, especially the last couple years. A lot of these lead sites operate on no upfront cost, but they take a 20-30% cut out of your commission if you close the deal. Here are all of the lead websites/apps that people I work with have had success with

- Redfin

- Ojo Leads

- Upnest

- Agent Pronto

- OP City

- HomeLight

- Clever

- FastExpert

[Erich Morgan Weiss]

Thx Robert! I have tried a few of those, Redfin is my direct competition in most of the Zips I works, they only had leads waaaay out in the rural areas/desert, for Ojo we really need to be on the paid platform for quality leads, still trying Upnest, Have had success with Agent Pronto, OP city only sent low end land and mobile home leads which are time burners in this market, Homelight only partners with a few big teams here, Clever is on the list to try, fingers crossed thats a good one for SoCal