We have all heard the saying in real estate that you must list to last. In this blog post we are going to talk about 3 Reasons you are not getting listings. There has not been a better time in recent years to focus on becoming a world class listing agent. In a sellers market working with buyers can be outright exhausting.
Many agents even get to the point of burn out. Yet they do not know what steps to take in order to move in the direction of becoming a successful listing agent.
If you still aren’t sold on the idea of investing your time to become a listing agent hear me out. There are many reasons you should focus on listings but the main reason is control. As a Listing agent you control the inventory and the buyers agents bring buyers and offers to you.
The Importance of Becoming a Listing Agent
Think about any retail store you shop at. They stock their shelves with great products and you come to them. In Real Estate sales you can do the same exact thing as a listing agent. Every listing is a new product in your store and every buyers agent in the market is working to get it sold for you.
On top of that, unrepresented buyers will likely come to your open houses and call your signs when driving by. This can create spin of business for you. Even if the buyer does not like your listing you can still sell them your services and show them other houses that might fit their needs better.
Now that you see the importance of becoming a listing agent, let’s talk about the 3 main reasons why you are not getting listings.
You Need Seller Lead Sources
To be a successful listing agent you will first need to identify a couple strong lead sources that you will actively prospect and market to every week. Many agents over complicate this. Try not to overthink. I know many successful listing agents who only focus and work a couple lead sources. The key to success is staying focused.
Examples of good seller lead sources
- FSBO Leads
- Expired Leads
- Circle Prospecting
- FRBO Leads
- Geo Farm
- Absentee owners
- Home Value Leads
Choosing the right lead source is a big step in the right direction. Every lead source requires a different approach. Let’s go over some of the approaches that I have seen work for each lead source.
For Sale By Owner Leads
Let’s start with for sale by owner leads. This lead source can be great. This is the low hanging fruit of the listing business. Why? Well, because sellers have already raised their hand and decided they need to sell their home. Sounds easy right? Well no not really.
They do want to sell. But they do not want to sell with you. Many agents avoid calling FSBO leads because they are afraid of the rejection that comes with it. The key to success with this lead source is to approach each call as if you were calling a close friend.
Lead each conversation with value. Do not try to use pushy sales tactics. It will not work with this lead source. If you take a value add approach and follow up long term you will have success.
Expired Listing Leads
Unlike the For sale by owner lead this seller has already hired an agent. The bad news is that agent let them down and their home did not sell. When calling this lead source it is important to lead the conversation with value and really learn what their needs are.
These sellers are getting a ton of calls from agents who are trying to get the listing. It is important to stand out and make a real connection with the seller and see how you can help them.
Expired leads are a great lead source to prospect in a balanced market. In a aggressive sellers market this lead source can be scarce. This is because most homes sell for over asking price within days.
Circle Prospecting
Circle prospecting is a great way to connect with home owners who may be thinking about selling in the near future. One of the biggest advantages agents who circle prospect have is the lack of competition. Many of the other lead sources agents prospect are packed with heavy competition.
Circle prospecting takes more work and often times more calls to find a motivated seller. But there is hardly any agents calling these home owners on a daily basis which gives you a huge advantage.
If you are going to focus on this lead source we highly recommend you use a triple line phone dialer system. This will help you make calls at a much faster rate. We suggest you look into systems like the Mojo Dialer that have the ability to triple line call leads and also pull phone numbers for local home owners.
Check out this case study on how one agent got 200 leads in one day circle prospecting.
FRBO Leads
For rent by owner leads can be a great lead source that is often time overlooked by agents. This lead source you will find a mix of investors and accidental landlords.
When calling this lead source you will get a mixed reaction. Some landlords will be in the growth phase. You might hear them say things along the lines of ” We have no interest in selling”.
When you hear this make sure to shift the conversation and ask them if they would be interested in having good deals sent to them when they hit the market. This can be a easy way to pick up a new investor client.
What you are looking for when calling this lead source is the accidental landlord or landlord who is ready to get out of the real estate game and cash in. Both of these owners will be interested in learning more about the current value of their home and what they could gain by selling their home.
Geo Farm Leads
Geo Farming is a long term game in real estate sales. Building a geo farm is a great long term listing lead strategy that you can build over time.
Ideally you want to pick a neighborhood with a 10% or higher inventory turn over rate. If you pick a neighborhood where homes hardly ever sell you could end up wasting a lot of time and money.
Once you select the neighborhood it is time to get to work and start marketing yourself to the home owners in the area. Select at least 500 homes to start with. Once you make profit you can always increase the farms size.
We suggest you market to your farm with multiple approaches. Phone, Mail, Social Media, and Email. Combine all approaches to get your personal real estate brand out there faster.
Absentee Owner Leads
Absentee owner leads are much more likely to sell. Think about it. They own property they are probably not using. As a real estate agent this could be a big opportunity to connect with home owners and show them how much they could possibly gain if they decided to sell their property.
Working on absentee owner leads is a numbers game. Some will, some won’t. But if you keep pushing forward you are likely to find gold in the lead pot.
Home Value Leads
Home value lead ads have gained a lot of popularity since the rise of social media. Now it is possible to create a advertisement and place it right in front of home owners in your market.
This lead source can be great if you have the marketing budget to invest into it. You will need to invest some time to learn how to write basic sales copy that engages your audience to want to sign into your lead page.
The good news is this should not be very hard to do. You are not selling a product or charging a fee. You are simply offering a free service. Most people are curious about what their home is worth.
Follow up is king with this lead source. You might run into some leads where people just entered their info for fun and have no interest in moving, and that is fine.
Finally, remember to keep them in your CRM and market to them with your weekly newsletter. Things change and you want them to call you to be their Real estate agent when they do.
Practice Makes Perfect
Real Estate sales can be overwhelming. Just remember that practice makes perfect. No real estate agent was a pro on day one. It takes time and practice to become a pro real estate agent.
There will be rough days. I remember how discouraging prospecting could be some days when I first started.
Lastly, people will hang up. People will be rude, but just remember it is all part of the process. Every NO is one step closer to the next yes. If you stay consistent and show up daily you will start building a nice listing inventory.
Check out this article 5 Mistakes To Avoid When Becoming A Listing Agent
Embrace the Grind
Even once you have mastered these 3 steps to get listings you will still have days where things just do not go right for you. This can be tough. Just when you think you have real estate sales all figured out it always seems to throw you a curve ball and teach you a new lesson.
If you learn to embrace the real estate grind you will have a much more enjoyable career. Just know that every single day is going to throw you a new challenge and as a successful listing agent your job is to come up with a good solution.
Conclusion
Now is a great time to become a listing agent. Really anytime is a great time to become a listing agent. As the old saying goes you must list to last.
Listing business can be a little more challenging to get but if you know where to focus it becomes much easier. When get what we invest the most focus into.
Start building your skill set as a world class listing agent and embrace the grind that comes along with it.