As a new real estate agent you face the question of “how do I get leads”. It’s a pretty important question you have to answer considering you won’t make any money if you don’t. This question doesn’t need to be intimidating though, because the answer to it is unbelievably simple… reach out to everyone you know!
As soon as you are ready to start working with clients, one of the first things you should do is make sure everyone you know is aware you are an agent. We call this your Sphere Of Influence or SOI. Post on social media. Text all your friends and family letting them know you are a new agent and ask them to refer you if they know someone buying or selling a home. Tell your barber or stylist you’re an agent next time you are there. There is only upside to sharing the news. They already know you and will trust you more than a random agent they find elsewhere. Familiarity leads to trust.
A key stat to consider here is that 10% of people in the US move each year. So if you take that number and apply it to all the people you know, that could be a lot of business over time.
You might be asking how you can get started with making a list of everyone you know? I know I had this question as a new agent so here’s what I did.
In excel I went through this and listed everyone from these companies, groups, and networks.
- Facebook Friends
- Twitter Followers
- Instagram Followers
- Family
- Friends
- Neighbors
- Neighborhood organizations
- Former Classmates
- College/University
- High School
- Past Sports Teammates
- Local businesses you frequent/ Service providers you use
- Any Other Online Networks You Are Apart Of
It’s your choice on how you want to contact these people. It could be a text, a call, a social media message, or a letter. What I found success in was mailing a letter out to everyone and then calling each person a week later to talk about the letter. It worked very well but it does take more time. Good news though, you tend to have a lot of free time as a new agent.
