Real Estate Lead Generation

Lead Generation for Real Estate Agents: What to look for in a vendor

Okay real estate agents, you've been doing a lot of Internet marketing work - and you're starting to see your website ranking higher and higher in the search engines. Nice work! Now you're ready to start looking into lead generation.

If you've heard something about lead generation, but don't quite understand how it works - you're not alone. The lead generation industry can sometimes be seen as the Wild West of Internet marketing - lots of bad guys making a killing off of the unsuspecting business owners by offering fuzzy business models that do not produce real results.

What is Lead Generation?

Lead generation, also known as lead tracking, is the creation of connections between businesses and their well-matched potential customers. While it's been used in the past mostly by the financial industry, businesses of all shapes and sizes are finding that lead generation is effective for drumming up pools of clients who might be more willing than others to buy the company's products and services.

When it's done correctly, lead generation can be an incredible tool. But when it's not, it's a frustrating waste of time and energy.

Why every Agent should take advantage of Real Estate Lead Generation

While you most likely have a website, you may not be making much money off of it. Sponsored listings and SEO can help attract eyeballs to your site, but to truly get the most out of your web presence, you will want to develop a lead tracking system to target the customers and prospects most likely to be interested in your services.

Lead tracking can help your real estate business become stronger by attracting quality real estate leads. Lead tracking brings both short- and long-term benefits to your company - giving you instant access to information about each sales prospect while also helping to streamline and manage the sales process. Lead tracking will help you gain a critical edge on the competition by:

Providing better service to prospects and existing customers
Improving time management
Providing valuable marketing information that improves strategic planning

Lead tracking not only helps you attract more customers, it also tracks your return on investment, so you know exactly how much each lead is worth, how many leads convert into transactions, and your overall return on investment in your advertising dollars.

Lead generation companies: red flags and bad business practices

Do a quick search right now on Google for "lead generation companies." There's an awful lot to choose from, isn't there? As you start visiting their sites and examining their business models, you'll start to see that most of these companies offer real estate agents the same thing:

"Exclusive" zip codes and leads
A hidden pricing structure
A lot of confusion about what constitutes a "lead"

Many lead generation companies make offers that sound great to real estate agents, such as "exclusive use of a zip code." For a fee, you get all of the potential home buyers in one zip code. This sounds great, right? Great that is, until you realize that your business doesn't work that way. Potential buyers are scattered among multiple zip codes, and it would be prohibitive to purchase more than one or two "exclusive" areas.

Here's another trick they use - the "exclusive" lead. Often the leads that you're given have already been shared with three or four other agents. Do the math. Say a lead in the above scenario costs you $30. After the lead generation company sells that lead four times, they've made $120 instead of your paltry $30. By the time they answer your phone call, leads are downright hostile from being pestered by multiple agents.

And try finding out how much many of these lead generation companies charge for their services. Most of them do not even tell you what they charge on their websites - you have to go through a lengthy registration process before getting that information.

All of these practices should send up red flags for you that the company in question doesn't use the most ethical business practices.

Lead Generation Companies: best practices provide real results

Companies that employ best practices usually generate better results with fewer frustrations. When shopping around for a lead generation company, consider the following:

Does the company offer custom-designed solutions?
Are the leads truly exclusive?
Where do the leads originate?
Are you only paying for real results?
Is their pricing structure transparent?

Does the company offer custom-designed solutions?

A company that employs best practices lets you know exactly what you're getting when you sign up for a service. Since every real estate business is different, lead generations should ideally be custom designed for maximum return on investment. If you're a small residential realtor specializing in high-end Los Angeles properties, wouldn't you want a lead generation campaign different from that of a large commercial brokerage in New York?

Are the leads truly exclusive?

You don't want cold leads in your marketing effort, especially if you've paid for them! Ask the company that you are considering if any of your leads might be duplicated. If they are, look elsewhere.

Where do the leads originate?

Make sure you know where the leads come from and how up-to-date they are. For example, Fidelity Assets obtains all of our customers' leads directly from people who are searching the Internet right now for homes to buy or sell in the areas that you serve. We use only quality, relevant information from major websites such as Google, Yahoo, Time Magazine, MSN, AOL, CNN, and hundreds of others.

Are you only paying for real results?

You shouldn't have to pay for leads that do not generate results. Make sure that the company you are considering uses a pay for performance model - meaning that you pay nothing if you fail to get any leads.

Is their pricing structure transparent?

Too many companies make you register on their website before giving you a quote for their services. If they're hiding their pricing structure, ask yourself - what else could they be hiding? Check their website to find out if they are being transparent with their pricing information - what it costs, and what you get for that cost.

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