Generating new business and leads is one of the most difficult parts of being in the real estate business. But, it is an absolutely essential part to cultivate, in order to spark business growth and success. In this article, we look at 3 of the best ways to generate new business. Although different, they have the potential, especially when used in combination, to push your real estate business’ marketing, lead generation, and sales to the next level.
1. Postcards - The Cheap and Effective Direct-Mail Option
Cost - $.50 - $1.50/postcard, depending on printing, postage, and postcard service costs
Summary
Postcards can be very effective. According to the Direct Marketing Association, postcard response rates are nearly 2.5% when sent to mailing addresses that have been given to you by existing and potential clients. This is better than even than the 2.2% open rates for emails for the real-estate industry given by Mailchimp. Even when cold-mailing addresses, postcards have an effectiveness rate of around 1.12%, which is still not bad.
Another nice thing about postcards, is they can be done without too much effort on your part, especially if you are willing to pay for convenience. Services like Modern Postcard, although more expensive than if you did everything yourself, will design, print, and mail your postcards for you, without you ever having to mess with them personally.
Postcard Cost
Another great reason to use postcards, is that they are relatively inexpensive, even in small batches. This is especially true if you do the design, printing, and mailing yourself. Even if doing batches of less than 100, you can send cards out for less than $.75/card. Things get even cheaper as you increase in volume, getting closer to $.50/card if you send out 500 or more.
Postage - Costs between $.23 - $.41 using a mailing service or $.25 - $.34 if you DIY (depends on whether you send first class commercial or standard)
Printing - Between $.05 and $.17/card, depending on quantity and quality (higher quantity = cheaper price, higher quality = more expensive)
Design - Free if you DIY or use a free template, $99 and up for professional design services
Mailing List - Free if you already have addresses/a mailing list, between $.03 - $.20/record if you buy a list
To learn more about postcard costs, how to design postcards, what content to include, and other considerations such as what kind of card stock and postage to use, see the Fit Small Business Ultimate Guide to Real Estate Postcards.
2. Zillow - 22 Million Unique Visitors/Month Looking for Listings
Cost - $320 - $500/month Average (Estimated $50 or so/lead)
Summary
Zillow.com is the industry leader in the online real estate listing market, more than twice its nearest competitor, Realtor.com (10 million). The reality is, there are a lot of people getting on Zillow and browsing for houses. And, Zillow can be effective, Fit Small Business has calculated that the average agent can make $4.32 of commission for every $1 spent on advertising.
It is important to realize, that doing well on Zillow will take some work. You have to consistently be posting new listings, editing current listings, and updating sold listings. Also, you have to be responding to clients/potential clients and encouraging previous clients to give you good reviews, to boost your star rating. All in all, if you really want to use Zillow as a tool, do not be surprised when it begins taking up more time than you might have originally anticipated.
Zillow Free vs. Zillow Premier Agent
If you make a profile using Zillow’s free service, you can create your own rental/sale listings and post them to Zillow. They can then be found by potential clients. The only problem, is that with Zillow’s free version, your name will be listed in a list with 4-5 other realtors from your area (Premier Agent members), making the odds that the client will choose to contact you much smaller.
If you become a Zillow premier agent, any listing you post is solely yours. Only your contact info is listed, making the odds of you receiving the full commission much higher. Also, if you sign up to be a Zillow premier agent, your contact info and picture will be added to real-estate listings posted by Zillow agents in your area who are using Zillow’s free version, making it much more likely you could get a cut of their sale commission if a client chooses to work through you.
Zillow Premier Agent Costs
Zillow Premier Agent costs really vary, depending on where you are in the country and how seriously you want to advertise. In general, areas with a higher living wage/real estate value, cost more per ad, up to as much as $.16 per impression. For areas with a lower living wage/real estate value, impressions can start at as cheap as $.02 or so. According to real estate industry publication Inman, the average realtor spends around $3,800/year or $320/month to advertise as a Zillow Premier Agent. If you truly get your $4.32 in commision for every dollar you spend, as Fitsmallbusiness.com estimates, that’s a total of $16,416 in commision earnings, which amounts to a net earning of around $12,616, which is not a bad chunk of change.
3. Video Tours - Visual Marketing for a Visual Generation
Cost - DIY = Free to $300 or so (movie editing software) Professional = $250 and up
Summary
According to Hub Media, a properly optimized real estate video is 53x more likely to appear on page 1 of any Google real estate listing search then a more traditional text/picture listing. Although that number may seem surprising, it makes sense. The modern customer is increasingly visual, which is why video tours of your listings could be a great option to generate new business. The key, is that your video has to be well done and of good quality. A well-done video is the next best thing to doing a house walk-through. In many cases, it can give clients the push they need to actually come see the house and walk through it. Also, a quality video is a huge selling point when pitching new clients who are looking to find an agent to sell their house. It adds a level of professionalism and class that sellers are looking for.
If you decide to make the video yourself, it will take some serious effort and time to make one that is actually up to professional standards. It can take 10 - 20 hours, it you count the actual shooting and subsequent editing. If you decide to hire someone to do it, it is more expensive, but will take a lot less of your time, probably more like 3-4 hours.
The key, is to get clients to see your video. There are a variety of ways to do this. First and perhaps easiest, is to feature the video and listing page on your social media accounts. Second, you can hand out a flier at your open houses, which has a unique website for the listing where the video can be found. Or, you can collect email addresses at your open house, and follow up with clients with an email with the video and listing page link. The best strategy, is probably a combination of all of these, to ensure maximum exposure.
Video Tour Cost
If you have already purchased the necessary video equipment and editing software, creating a real estate video tour yourself is pretty much a free process. Of course, you have hours of time invested, which is not necessarily cheap in another sense. If you do not already have the equipment, you should probably expect to spend around $600 - $1000 to get an adequate video camera and editing software. The nice thing, is that if you get the hang of it, you can then make videos for every listing yourself without paying anything further, if you have the time.
If you hire a professional to do your listing video, it will cost you at least $250. In all reality, a high-quality video will probably cost more in the $400 - $500 range. If you are a realtor that specializes in high-cost luxury homes, then this may be no big deal. But, if your budget is tighter, it might be a little tougher to swing.
Conclusion
If you are willing to mix it up and diversify, you have lots of options to get new clients. Do not rule out traditional methods like real estate postcards, which are cheap and effective. But, also do not be afraid of new techniques such as Zillow advertising and Video Tours. If you incorporate a variety of marketing techniques, you should be generating new business in no time.
Posted by Michael X. Heiligenstein on behalf of author Jason Rueger and Fit Small Business. Jason Rueger is a staff writer for Fit Small Business. Fit Small Business provides product and service reviews for small business owners, including real estate agents and brokers.
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