Blog Post

How to Get More Seller Leads: A 5-Step Guide for Realtors

October 21, 2024 written by Fello

As a realtor, your success hinges on your ability to connect with potential clients, especially home sellers. In today's real estate market, knowing how to get more seller leads is imperative for growing your business. This guide will walk you through 5 proven marketing strategies and focus areas to increase your home seller leads, covering both organic and paid methods. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, these actionable tips will help you expand your client base and boost your real estate career.

1. Understand Your Target Market

Before diving into specific lead generation tactics, it's essential to understand who your potential home sellers are and what motivates them. Don’t assume you just “know” — this leads to biases. Do your research, trust the data. This knowledge will help you tailor your approach and increase your success rate in acquiring seller leads.

A. Identify potential home sellers in your area:

Research demographic data in your target neighborhoods
Look for life events that often trigger home sales (e.g., retirement, job changes, growing families)
Analyze home ownership duration data to identify long-term owners who might be ready to sell (e.g., Fello can enrich our agents' databases with addresses, property history, loan data, and more, so agents can easily build segments of contacts to focus on. This information is generally available through state or county records and auditor's sites. Accessing it will depend on your state regulations)

B. Analyze local market trends:

Stay informed about local property values and sales patterns
Monitor economic factors that might influence selling decisions (e.g. rate decreases, elections, etc.)
Keep an eye on development projects or changes in local regulations that could impact the real estate market

2. Organic Strategies to Get More Seller Leads

Organic lead generation strategies are cost-effective ways to attract potential home sellers. These methods focus on building your reputation and visibility naturally over time.

A. Optimize your online presence:

Create a user-friendly website that showcases your expertise and past successes (e.g., Fello provides our agents with off-the-shelf branded landing pages to help gather homeowner leads, but these can be completely customizable to feature testimonials or specific programs and offers unique to the agent or team!)
Make sure your website says you are a seller’s agent, too
Implement SEO best practices, such as using keywords like “[Location] agent to sell my home” or “how to sell my home fast” and create relevant web pages or blogs for those keywords
Utilize local SEO techniques such as claiming your Google My Business listing and getting listed in local directories

B. Leverage social media:

Share valuable content on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn regularly (Note: You don’t have to be on ALL the platforms, just where you’re getting good engagement — clicks, likes, comments. If you see that one platform is getting more attention and followers, focus there)
Use relevant hashtags to increase visibility (e.g., #sellyourhome, #listingspecialist #clevelandrealtor)
Engage with your audience by responding to comments and messages promptly
Post local market updates, home improvement tips, and success stories to demonstrate your expertise

C. Content marketing:

Start a blog with helpful articles for potential sellers, addressing common questions and concerns
Create video content such as virtual home tours, seller testimonials, or market update vlogs
Develop downloadable resources like home selling guides or checklists for preparing a home for sale

D. Networking and community Involvement:

Attend local events and join community organizations to increase your visibility
Partner with local businesses for cross-promotion opportunities
Host webinars, live Q&A sessions, and workshops for potential sellers on topics like "Maximizing Your Home's Value" or "Understanding the Selling Process"

These organic strategies will help you build a strong foundation for attracting home seller leads. By consistently applying these methods, you'll establish yourself as a trusted local real estate expert, making it more likely for potential sellers to reach out to you when they're ready to list their homes.

3. Paid Strategies to Acquire Home Seller Leads

While organic methods build a strong foundation, paid strategies can accelerate your lead generation efforts. These tactics allow you to reach potential home sellers more quickly and directly.

A. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising (e.g., Google Ads):

Create campaigns targeting keywords like "how to sell my house" or "home value estimate"(Note: Don’t use the same keywords you’re optimizing for SEO, you will cannibalize your successes)
Use geo-targeting to focus on your specific service areas
Utilize your demographic research to segment customers into groups that are more likely to convert (e.g., Fello's Segment Watch feature lets agents combine contact, property, and activity data into one segment, then instantly alerts the agent to new contacts who meet that criteria, so they can react immediately)
Develop compelling ad copy that addresses seller pain points or offers free home valuations

B. Social media advertising:

Utilize Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and/or Linkedin ads to reach potential sellers based on demographics, interests, and behaviors
Create custom audiences of people who've interacted with your website or social media profiles
Use retargeting ads to stay top-of-mind with those who've shown interest in your services

C. Remarketing campaigns:

Install tracking pixels on your website to track web visitors
Design ads specifically for people who've visited your site but haven't contacted you or converted on a form
Offer valuable content or services (like a free home valuation) to encourage engagement and collect home seller lead information

D. Lead generation platforms:

Invest in real estate-specific lead generation services like Zillow Premier Agent or Fello. (i.e., Zillow Premier Agent mainly offers buyer leads, and the leads can be sold up to 5 times. Fello is a database engagement platform that helps nurture old buyer leads into seller leads via pre-built, automated marketing campaigns, enriching missing data, and identifying contacts ready to sell in real-time)
Ensure you have a system in place to quickly and consistently follow up with leads from these platforms
Track your return on investment closely to determine which platforms work best for your market and strategies

E. Direct mail campaigns:

Target specific neighborhoods or demographics with personalized mailers
Use eye-catching designs and compelling offers to stand out in mailboxes
Include a clear call-to-action, such as scanning a QR code for a free home valuation
Consider sending market update postcards to keep potential sellers informed about local real estate trends

4. Nurturing and Converting Seller Leads

Generating leads is only the first step. To truly increase your seller client base, you need an effective system for nurturing and converting these leads.

A. Implement a CRM system:

Choose a real estate-specific CRM to manage your leads efficiently (e.g., FUB or Sierra)
Categorize leads based on their likelihood to sell and timeline
Set reminders for follow-ups to ensure no lead falls through the cracks

B. Develop a follow-up strategy:

Create a series of automated emails providing value to potential sellers (e.g. Fello's marketing automation includes pre-built, optimized email and direct mail workflows for a variety of campaigns, including cash offer requests, home value requests, CMAs, and expired listings. Agents just have to upload their brand assets and click “Send”)
Personalize your communication based on the lead's interests or needs
Use a mix of channels (email, phone, text) to reach out, respecting the lead's preferences

C. Provide value through regular communication:

Share market updates relevant to the lead's neighborhood (e.g., how much are houses selling for, how much are home values increasing)
Offer free resources like home improvement tips or selling guides
Host exclusive events or webinars for your lead database

5. Measuring and Optimizing Your Lead Generation Efforts

To continually improve your ability to get more seller leads, it's crucial to track your results and refine your approach.

A. Track key performance indicators (KPIs):

Monitor metrics like lead conversion rates, cost per lead (CPL), and return on ad spend
Regularly review engagement data and performance of different lead sources, this can help keep CPL low and you can focus on the tactics that are bringing in quality leads (e.g., Fello tracks email and direct mail performance, such as email opens, clicks, and QR code scans, as well as the number of times a contact visited their home value or cash offer dashboard. Not only do these indicate what marketing is working, but they also help agents see who is interested in selling their home)
Use tools like Google Analytics to track website traffic and user conversions

B. A/B test your strategies:

Experiment with different ad copy, images, or offers to see what resonates best
Test various subject lines and content in your marketing campaigns (e.g. This can be very time-consuming. For Fello's postcard and email campaigns, our Smart Content feature dynamically changes messaging to ensure the most opens, clicks, or scans)
Try different approaches and types of messages in your social media content to maximize engagement

C. Continuously refine your approach based on data:

Allocate more resources to the strategies and lead sources that yield the best results
Stay updated on new lead generation technologies and platforms
Seek feedback from your converted clients to understand what influenced their decision to work with you

Mastering how to get more seller leads is essential for any realtor looking to thrive in today's competitive market. By implementing a mix of organic and paid strategies, you can significantly increase your home seller leads and grow your real estate business.

Remember these key points:

Understand your target market and local trends
Build a strong online presence through SEO and content marketing
Leverage social media and networking to expand your reach
Invest in targeted paid advertising to accelerate lead generation
Nurture your leads with consistent, value-driven communication
Continuously measure and optimize your strategies

Success in generating seller leads doesn't happen overnight. It requires persistence, adaptability, and a willingness to learn from both successes and failures. Start implementing these tactics today, and watch your seller lead pipeline grow. With dedication and the right approach, you'll not only learn how to get more seller leads but also how to convert them into satisfied clients who'll gladly refer you to others.

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Ready to automate a huge portion of your marketing and nurturing strategy, and maximize your outreach efforts? Schedule a demo to see how Fello's tools can help uncover more seller leads, get more listing appointments, and close more deals.

Already a Fello user? These strategies can work for you, too. And if you have questions about any of the Fello features and tools mentioned above, schedule a call with your CSM, or email success@hifello.com.

Ready to start driving more seller leads on autopilot?