How to increase qualified leads: Estate Agency
February 24, 2022
Ever the holy grail for any business let alone estate agency, where is the next lead going to come from and how are you going about finding it? In estate agency, qualified leads equals those looking to buy or to sell and are in a position to do so.
What is an unqualified lead?
- Cannot afford / Haven’t the finance agreed to buy a home
- Not in a position / ready to sell or buy a home
- Already in a long term contract with another agency
- Do not hold your estate agency in high regard (previous bad experience(s))
What is a qualified lead?
- They can afford / have the finances ready to purchase
- They are keen to sell quickly
- They are coming to an end with a contract / agreement with another agency(ies)
- They know the type of property / area they wish to purchase in
We are generally targeting a small portion of the consumer market when it comes to qualified leads and even then the success rate might not be high. We prefer to though put more of our time towards qualified leads than wasting time with any old lead where our success rates could be as low as zero.
Let’s look at the best ways to increase qualified leads in estate agency for 2022:
- Set the standard with your marketing of property listings: Many people will search property portals such as Zoopla, Rightmove and OnTheMarket when they make their initial venture in to the ‘estate agency’ sector. How they see similar property to their own being marketed such as quality of photos, descriptions, floor plans and extras such as videos can lure new leads your way. This acts in the same way for potential buyers too who are likely to open up property listings which catch their eye over mundane looking listings (especially applicable if a property sits under multi-listing).
- Social media: From a paid Facebook ad campaign to simply understanding how to use and engage with users better, social media opens up a whole new, active audience which can become your fans / clients (with investment of effort and time). Engage, get to know, build trust and more with your audiences. Some estate agents, though a tiny number, are grabbing this opportunity with both hands and seeing great results – Lots of time and investment required though!
- Reviews: People will want to research an estate agency they are about to use and this could take place from simply word of mouth from friends and family to online review sites. Concentrate on how your agency performs online with reviews and deal with any negative comments or clients insisting on improvements. Testimonials are also great to collate such as those on videos that you can share online / on your website. If you are new to working on your reviews online then approach your recent clients asking for their comments / reviews.
- Share great resources: Think about creating a blog and focus on informatic posts that local consumers will search for such as ‘how to find cheap homes in Berkshire’ or ‘how do I apply for a loft conversion’. Be a source of information as this can drive web traffic and trust in your direction. This should also involve you looking to share your content on other authoritative websites (this may involve a cost).
- Podcasts: These can take all forms and under many topics, but podcasts are easy to listen to and will appeal to busy people with busy schedules (no viewing needed). Think about informatic content or getting yourself / your agency known as the local estate agent by being funny / entertaining / delivering local news etc.
- Network locally: Think about local business networking (ie BNI) or maybe involving your agency with local charity events (which can secure you free local press exposure).
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