NEW YORK – Given that April home sales numbers were down 1.9%, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), agents are focused on generating leads through the summer.
Each lead should be responded to with the goal of setting up a face-to-face appointment. Veteran trainer and broker Jerry Kidd said, “If you don’t get there first, your chances of actually converting that lead later become really marginalized.”
A 2023 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers survey found that 80% of the sellers only interview one agent in person, and that’s who they hire. Scheduling face-to-face meetings with leads is a top priority for agents and brokers this summer.
Experts suggest that for every five leads agents don’t respond to quickly, three opportunities are missed. Agents this summer also should increase their face-to-face prospecting activities through open houses, face-to-face meetings, door knocking, meeting previous clients for coffee for an equity check-up before property tax time and other efforts.
Print and digital marketing campaigns focusing on past clients, first-time buyers, seniors, investors and second-home buyers should generate leads over the summer. The NAR survey found 90% of buyers would use their agent again or recommend their agent to others, and 65% of sellers found their agent through referrals from friends, neighbors or relatives.
Regular client appreciation events with food trucks and ice cream socials are relatively inexpensive as a way to reconnect with previous clients, and first-time buyer seminars can generate new leads as long as the messaging is clear. For instance, messages could focus on the burden of the next rent increase and the ease of buying a home and having a stable monthly payment.
When addressing seniors, messages could focus on maintenance costs or a need for less clutter and a smaller space. Investors and second-home buyers may be looking for additional income, which is where marketing messages come in to appeal to that need for a recurring income or investment return.
Source: Inman (06/03/24) Ross, Bernice
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