High-octane lead generation tips to combat low inventory

The main news for this blog is not that real estate inventory is low. We all know that. Weichert® wants to help you focus on what you can do about it.

To remain competitive in this low-inventory market, we stress the importance of unconventional thinking for gaining new business. Leave no stone unturned. Be proactive like never before. To support you, the team at Weichert has curated these effective, timely tips for finding new business despite low inventory.

Pull your team together

This one might seem like a no-brainer, but we’ll mention it anyway: make sure you are holding regular sales meetings. We all get so busy that meetings get bumped until ultimately skipped. Don’t let that happen. Preserve the sanctity of the weekly team meeting—meet even more frequently if possible.

Get the team talking about their current business: buyers’ needs, sellers’ needs, struggles, wins, and so forth. Agent Joe may have a buyer who only wants ZIP code “X” but there are presently zero listings. But agent Mary may have been working with a family in that ZIP code for the last 10 years and she has the inside scoop that they’re going to be listing later in the year. Even a quick 15-minute meeting can provide a forum for your team to cross-pollinate and pull together as a force to be reckoned with.

Don’t ignore FSBOs

If you’ve always thought that For Sale by Owner (FSBO) properties were a waste of your time, it may be time for a second look. When homes were flying off the shelves, it was a lot easier for a homeowner to go it alone. However, with a tumultuous economy, the guidance of an expert to help them navigate can be valuable to a successful sale. The difference is in the pitch. Don’t go after this target market with a hard sell. Remember, they chose to sell on their own for a reason.

Instead, provide real added value, such as genuine advice about the economy, industry, or how to overcome market challenges with an expert tip to help them in their process. Promote yourself as someone who cares about their community, having worked with many buyers and sellers right in their backyard for years. Provide your contact details and an offer to reach out at any time. When they find it’s not as easy to sell on their own as they may have thought, let you be the first one they call for help.

With a little patience and the right approach, the FSBO conversion can happen.

Prospect expired listings 

An easier way to acquire a new listing is looking at expired listings. You can get this information from the MLS or purchase a list. It’s low hanging fruit, but you’re going to need to do a little homework to understand the homeowner’s motivation or lack of motivation for selling.

An article in The Close suggests focusing on these three questions when contacting the homeowner about an expired listing:

• Why did you decide to take it off the market?
• Why do you believe it did not sell?
• Do you still wish to sell?

Be strategic about how you reach out to find the answers to these questions. The best way is by calling them, but you might find more success by starting with an email or a personal letter left in the mailbox.

Be ready to engage

Make sure you and your agents are on your game to outshine your competitors. Scripting different conversations now will help you feel confident to engage in stumble-free dialogue with present and future customers. When you help your agents work on their dialogue, it will come more naturally when they get into different situations.

Also, look at your emails and social media posts. Craft this content with care to ensure that you’re cultivating the right message to match your strategic efforts to generate real estate leads.

REALTOR® magazine’s article about amping up outreach provides some great ideas to generate leads, and is a quick, motivational reminder that successful brokers and agents have a never-give-up mentality. We don’t have to succumb to the market; we can adapt our efforts to meet the market. Big difference.

Actively market & prospect

It’s easy to lose sight of the fundamentals of business when faced with the pressures of the times. Case in point: marketing. In this economy, it’s important to continue to market and prospect, and to make sure that your efforts are powerful, consistent, and reflective of your brand.

Rather than reinvent the wheel every time you approach an email campaign or social post, set yourself up for an autopilot experience. Weichert brokers and agents have instant, ongoing access to sleek marketing templates and tools designed to increase real estate lead generation. The beauty of these tools is that they are easily customized while still maintaining the Weichert professional brand look and feel that customers know and trust.

Conclusion

Making a few adjustments in your approach can help you generate new business despite low inventory. But you don’t have to do it alone. Seek out the guidance from industry leaders like Weichert for advice. Talk with us today.