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5 Ways Real Estate Lead Generation Is Like Dating

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Real Estate Technology

Real Estate Lead Generation Is Like DatingTreat real estate lead generation like dating to attract your next clients.

There is no doubt about it. If you’re married or in a committed relationship, take a moment to think back about how you were different before you met your other half. This mental exercise will help with your organic real estate lead generation, closing, and customer referrals

1) You have to look constantly for your next lead –   When you are single, sometimes a great person finds you without you putting yourself out there, or looking. The same holds true for real estate. Once in a while you’ll get a great customer that’s a total slam dunk. They didn’t require any effort to find or close. In both examples, these effortless matches occur few and far between. Most of the time when you’re dating, you have to stay active whether it’s online or going out and meeting new people. If you’re laying on the couch watching The Discovery Channel every night, your dream girl/guy isn’t just going to show up on your doorstep. As an agent, if you spend the majority of your time in Starbucks, surfing the web and gossiping with your fellow Realtors, the clients just won’t come. Consistent lead generating activities are necessary to succeed.

2) You have to build rapport before someone wants to date you – All day long, Realtors® are chasing down prospects. That’s why when us as agents get hounded by salespeople trying to get OUR business, we get so easily annoyed. We know exactly what’s happening. Chasing customers around all day with just one motive can rub people the wrong way. Just like in dating, you might meet someone at a nightclub who “just wants one thing”(sometimes it’s sex, sometimes money, and sometimes free drinks)  your first instinct is to run.  However, if the person at the nightclub seems to be genuine, takes the time to build rapport, and doesn’t immediately try to “close the deal”, then you will likely show greater interest. That being said if you take the time to build meaningful relationships with prospects in your community, your chances of long-term lead generation increase.

3) You can’t let rejection slow you down – Every Realtor knows that they’re going to get turned down multiple times by multiple prospects in the course of their career, and the same applies to dating. Rejection hurts, whether it’s somebody hanging up the phone on you when making a cold-call, or not responding to your messages after a date. But you need to have thick skin if you’re going to make it in the sales world, and you won’t get very far in dating if the first person that turns you down makes you resign to staying single.

4) You have to have a good reputation – One of the toughest parts of working in real estate comes when a prospect isn’t clear on whether they want you to handle their transaction. It’s sort of like being in sales purgatory, where the prospect won’t tell you “no,” but isn’t willing to give any firm commitments of answers either.

Why does this happen? Between the time a lead comes to you and first contact, the vetting process has already begun. Prospects are researching you! Having a great reputation, raving vocal fans, and a presence online is important. You have to be active in community forums, and social media groups.  The same thing can happen in dating, where the other person has a bad reputation. The girls or guys may gossip “stay away from that one” Whether it’s in dating or real estate, it’s an unpleasant feeling.

5) You have to close the deal – Just like in real estate, if you can’t close the deal when you’re out in the dating world, you’ll never get anywhere. Whether it’s starting a conversation, getting someone’s phone number, asking them out on a date, or going in for the kiss, everything involves taking the initiative and going in for the close.

Too many Realtors® focus on the mechanisms of lead generation that they forget to sharpen the skills that actually get them paid. Once you have a lead source, there has to be a plan in place to contact, build rapport, nurture, and close the deal.  The same can be said for every nice guy and girl out there who will have a great conversation with someone without any follow-through. Close the deal, or stay single. Close the deal, or stay poor

Noah Mandel shares his thoughts on real estate lead generation and how the sales process mirrors dating.

This post was written by Noah Mandel and originally published on my Real Estate Marketing Blog, Winning Agent Mastermind

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Comments (28)

Bret & Meredith Amon
LIV-Sotheby's International Realty - Breckenridge, CO
Breckenridge, Keystone, Silverthorne, Frisco,

Sounds pretty reasonable to me..

Dec 09, 2015 06:31 AM
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@Properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Great analogy, Noah!  Building any kind of relationship, business or personal, takes care and time. 

Dec 09, 2015 07:22 AM
1~Judi Barrett
Integrity Real Estate Services 116 SE AVE N, Idabel, OK 74745 - Idabel, OK
BS Ed, Integrity Real Estate Services -IDABEL OK

You have figured out what works for you.  Thank you for sharing.

Dec 09, 2015 09:28 AM
LUXURYSOCALREALTY COMPASS La Jolla
Compass - La Jolla, CA
San Diego Partner - The Private Client Network

Great insight Noah. It's also important to recognize our internet prospects have visited multiple websites and are being courted by multiple agents. Often times my clients send me listings they are interested in from Redfin ect

Dec 09, 2015 01:42 PM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

This was an appropriate analogy. Another comparison could be that the source of dating leads could come from the "real" world and also online, and in real estate the same is true.

Dec 09, 2015 08:08 PM
Nicole Doty - Gilbert Real Estate Expert
Zion Realty - Gilbert, AZ
Broker/Owner of Zion Realty ZionRealtyAZ.com

I love Kat Palmiotti's comment. So much of our dating "prospecting" comes from on-line now. If you're not trying to meet people in person and on-line then you're going to be missing out on a lot of opportunities for a great match.    

Dec 09, 2015 11:54 PM
Zurple Marketing Team
Zurple - San Diego, CA
Zurple, Client Generation Software for Agents

Love this! Thanks for sharing. 

Dec 10, 2015 08:26 AM
Praful Thakkar
LAER Realty Partners - Andover, MA
Andover, MA: Andover Luxury Homes For Sale

Noah Mandel the only difference I see is...once you are hooked up in dating, the story is over! Lead Generation has to continue dating....lol!

Rejection is the way of life in many ways - so like dating, just bypass that 'no' and ask when are we meeting next....

Dec 10, 2015 02:30 PM
Ron Aguilar
Gateway Mortgage Group - Saint George, UT
Mortgage & Real Estate Advisor since 1995

Familiarity breeds acceptance...

Dec 11, 2015 07:29 AM
Annette Thor
Connecticut Homes and Commercial Fairfield Cty,CT reinct.com - Westport, CT
Residential & Commercial Real Estate Broker in CT

Sincerity is key Noah.  Great post, welcome to AR and Congrats on a fun feature!

Dec 11, 2015 07:50 AM
Maya Garg * ASP/ASA/ABR/CNE/
Royal Lepage Signature Realty,Mississauga, Ontario - Mississauga, ON
Moving you Forward.... Buyers, Sellers, Investors

Thank you for sharing

Dec 11, 2015 08:11 AM
John Wiley
Fort Myers, FL
Lee County, FL, ECO Broker, GRI, SRES,GREEN,PSA

Noah, you said it well. We are always on the look out for people we can attract and develop a relationship with.

It takes work and we must be on our best behavior at all times.

Best wishes

Dec 11, 2015 08:36 AM
Bill Reddington
Re/max By The Sea - Destin, FL
Destin Florida Real Estate

Guess my response is that you have to keep interviewing. Kind of like speed dating I guess.

Dec 12, 2015 12:20 AM
Diana Dahlberg
1 Month Realty - Pleasant Prairie, WI
Real Estate in Kenosha, WI since 1994 262-308-3563

No pain, no gain.  If we want something bad enough we will work toward the goal.  Great post Noah ... love the analogies.

Dec 12, 2015 08:49 AM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

A wise message. You don't ask someone you just met to marry you. 

Dec 13, 2015 04:14 AM
MaryBeth Mills Muldowney
TradeWinds Realty Group LLC - Braintree, MA
Massachusetts Broker Owner

I always say meeting a referral is like already being on the "second date"!

Jan 02, 2016 01:22 PM
Liane Thomas, Top Listing Agent
Professional Realty Services® - Corona, CA
Bringing you Home!

Funny post, and oh so true! Sometimes at open houses I feel like I am Speed Dating, too many people and not enough time!

Jan 07, 2016 03:56 AM
Gayle Rich-Boxman Fishhawk Lake Real Estate
John L Scott Market Center - Birkenfeld, OR
"Your Local Expert!" 503-739-3843

Noah, your video is so wonderfully real and refreshing! Beth Atalay has asked us to keep you in our thoughts and prayers. I am doing just that and feel more connected to you because of this enjoyable video. 

Jan 27, 2016 02:37 AM
Anonymous
Tonia Rosario

I really appreciate the time taken to write this informative post. Today, more and more people are joining online dating sites as it is convenient and easy way in this era. It can be difficult to tell the legitimate online dating sites from the bogus ones at a glance. To be on the safer side, it is always suggested to take help of popular matchmaking sites like rich men dating sites, http://www.conciergeintroductions.com who are well known for their work and keep information secret about their clients so that it does not help spammers to cheat their clients.

Jul 15, 2016 10:17 PM
#27
Inna Ivchenko
Barcode Properties - Encino, CA
Realtor® • GRI • HAFA • PSC Calabasas CA

I do believe dating is like home buying process. You have to know exactly what you want and what you qualified for:) 

Sep 02, 2016 04:25 PM