Tips for Getting Your First Client
Your career as a real estate agent depends entirely on your ability to gain clients. When you’re starting from the ground floor, it is often a challenge to secure your very first client. The good news is that there are tried-and-true methods for netting your first client, each of which will continue to assist you in building your database of clientele as time goes on.
Let’s dive right in.
1.) Tap into Your Sphere of Influence
Your sphere of influence, or SOI, is comprised of everyone you know. Your friends, your relatives, your acquaintances, and your business contacts are all part of your SOI.
Spread the word throughout your SOI that you’re now a real estate agent! You’re motivated, you’re educated, and you’re ready to guide buyers and sellers alike through the complex processes associated with successful real estate transactions.
2.) Purchase Leads
For some reason, some new agents view lead purchasing as a form of cheating. It definitely is not. Rather, buying leads is a straightforward way to hire a company that will advertise your services to clients who are actively searching for an agent to help them list or buy a home.
You will be given the contact information for these interested clients, after which you’ll reach out and inquire if you may be of service.
3.) Launch a Website
Nearly three out of every four real estate agents have their own website. In order to compete in your market, we suggest developing a website.
Your website should have a professional appearance. You’ll want to include your credentials, location, niche capabilities, your social media links, and your contact information. To this, we recommend adding a page for your real estate listings.
The most straightforward and common real estate agent listing websites are internet data exchanges, or IDX. On your IDX website, your MLS listings will automatically be pushed and updated. This is a great way to advertise your current listings while also drawing in potential clients.
4.) Search Engine Optimize Your Website
Without search engine optimization (SEO), your website may languish on page ten of Google results for searches related to your services. Think about the internet searches you’ve made and ask yourself how often you’re clicking beyond page two. You’ll find that you usually aren’t, and neither is anyone else.
SEO will push your website ever closer to the top of the first page when searches are performed. This higher placement guarantees that more people will click on your site. More clicks mean more business. It’s that simple, and it’s why successful website owners consider SEO a mandatory piece of the puzzle.
5.) Leverage Your Social Media Presence
Instagram, Facebook Live, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn are the main platforms real estate agents like you use to connect with their community, promote their services, and connect with new clients. Create or update your professional social media profiles, then begin posting relevant, helpful, and even entertaining information daily, or at least three days per week.
6.) Pay to Advertise Online
Google AdWords and platforms like it will place ads on millions of websites, including Google’s own. While you’re working on refining your SEO keywords and content, your ad can appear alongside search results targeting real estate in your area.
This method will likely be effective, but it’s costly—so think of it as a temporary stop-gap measure to be used only while you’re getting your website’s SEO humming.
7.) Get Out into the Community
Ideally, you know where you want to create the bulk of your business. You have a list of neighborhoods, zip codes, or school districts in which you’d like to work. Take this data, and use it to engage with the communities in these areas.
You may wish to volunteer, attend events and fundraisers, donate items for charity auctions, join networking groups, and (should your faith be aligned) join a large church that is centrally located.
Before long, you’ll be making contacts who have met you in person, come to trust you, and wish to secure your services. From there, a word-of-mouth referral network is likely to emerge.
8.) Host Open Houses
Okay, so you don’t have your own listings for which you can host an open house—but a successful mentor will. If you don’t have a mentor, get one ASAP. Once you have one, offer your time to host their open houses.
At open house events, you’ll have the chance to meet actively interested buyers. Leave a tray of business cards next to your mentor’s, be an active host, radiate confidence, and you’ll surely have clients before long.
9.) Offer Free Consultations
Often, sellers are concerned with the cost-to-benefit ratio of hiring a real estate agent to list their home. You can get your foot in the door by offering a complimentary consultation. During this meeting, you’ll outline how you’ll add value to their sale. Only through added value will the cost of your commission be satisfactorily offset.
Bring data that breaks down how much homes sell for with an agent vs. without, how long it takes to sell a home with an agent vs. without, and how many of the tedious tasks related to the listing you’ll take off their shoulders.
The Takeaway
There’s no denying that creating a thriving real estate career takes time. However, you’re doing the hardest part now. Consider that your career will likely grow exponentially and remember that the first ten clients will therefore be harder to gain than the following ten, and so on.
Every client you gain is a huge win, so bring your A-game, remain secure in yourself, and listen carefully. By maintaining open and clear lines of communication, you can become the real estate agent Middle Tennessee residents truly appreciate and recommend to their friends and family, turning your first client into an ever-expanding list of buyers and sellers.