Author: Ashley Lichtybr
Source: articlesfactory.combr
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People will always need places to live. As such the real estate market has been around in some form or another for a long time, and is likely to be around for much longer. Because most people will buy or sell at least one home in their lifetime, potential real estate leads are EVERYWHERE, just waiting to be snatched up by an agent.

Thats a good thing to know if youre interested in becoming a real estate agent. If you think real estate is a money tree and converting real estate leads in clients is a piece of cake, dont even BOTHER getting your license. The first thing to realize when thinking about a job in real estate is that it takes a LOT of hard work to be successful at converting real estate leads to clients. Of course that is counter balanced by the fact that there is almost unlimited earning potential in the field if youve got real estate leads and you know how to work them.

The first step to becoming a real estate agent is doing your homework. Research the field, talk to other agents, get an idea of what youll be getting yourself into, because the classes you take to get licensed are simply to get LICENSED. They rarely tell you how to actually BE an agent.

Once youve made the decision to go for it, start NOW. It can take 2-3 months to finish classes and get your license, but dont wait until youre licensed to start building your real estate leads database. Sit down and think about every person you know by face or name, get as much contact information as possible on them, and enter them into a database. There. Youve just collected a bunch of real estate leads already!

As youre working your way to getting your license, there are a few other things you can do to prepare, so that you can start earning money with your real estate leads as soon as possible after getting licensed. If youre going to be following up with all those real estate leads you compiled, youll need a cell phone and a car. Look into cell phone plans with unlimited minutes, because youll use them. Look for a reliable 4 door car that does great on gas mileage, because youll definitely be needing that as well. Dont worry about getting a Beamer your first year – there will be plenty of time for extravagant spending once youre a success. For now, you just want to be able to contact and visit your real estate leads for as little money as possible.

It is also important to think about what kind of real estate company to go with even before youre licensed. Its best to find a comfortable mix of a company that will cover some of your expenses for a portion of your commissions, but doesnt limit you on your marketing abilities. Some companies will provide you with tons of support and your own real estate leads. Others wont. Its up to you to find a good mix that helps you out but doesnt constrict you too much. When you go into real estate, youre starting your own business. Always think of it that way.

Remember that list of real estate leads you compiled of everyone you know? While taking your real estate classes, its time to let those real estate leads know what youre up to. Start giving them a heads up that soon youll be a licensed real estate agent and though you cant sell real estate at this MOMENT, you will be able to do by whatever date you get your license. Its never to early to start building that sphere of influence and filling it with real estate leads.

One of the best things you can do, if it is a possibility, is talk to a successful real estate agent. The only way to truly learn to be a great agent is to learn from the best! Build a rapport with a real estate agent and than offer to do their dirty work. Thats right – even if just for a day or two, ask them if you can help follow up with their real estate leads, just to get an idea of what the business is all about. Not many people would turn down free labor, and it gives you an idea of exactly what you SHOULD be doing to be successful with your real estate leads once youre licensed.br
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Author: Ashley Lichty
Source: articlesfactory.com

Online lead generation companies are a huge source of real estate leads for Realtors and a great resource to help grow an agent’s business. However, many lead generation companies are constantly slammed by agents who have used the service and had little, if any success with the real estate leads provided. In my experience, this dissatisfaction often comes because the agent has unrealistic expectations of the service and little to no knowledge on how to develop a good follow up campaign with their real estate leads.

The first thing you need to realize as an agent is that lead generation services aren’t magic listing trees. Typically you shouldn’t expect to get listing after listing from a service. Most services work on the following basis: they provide online marketing in the agent’s specific area, the natural result of which is homeowners in need of information filling out lead contact forms. This contact form is sent to the agent in the area, and that is their “lead.”

So what does this mean exactly? Well, it means the real estate leads provided will be people with different types of real estate needs and in different stages of the process. If an agent signs up for a service for a 3 month contract and expect a listing within the first month, they are likely to be disappointed. Immediate listings with real estate leads DO happen, but they aren’t the norm.

Realty Times analyzed more than one million real estate leads captured and cultivated online and then compared them to public records of home sales from across the country. They found that only about 7.3% of consumers sold their home within 3 months of filling out a lead form, but the percentage grew to 22% after 12 months and to over 40% after 28 months. This means that purchasing real estate leads online is a LONG TERM investment, not an immediate source of money. Real estate leads generated online MUST be aggressively followed up with to convert them to clients!

Therefore, as a real estate agent, you must look at lead generation services in the same light as other marketing endeavors. When you implement direct mailing campaigns and send out information several times a year to 5,000 homes, do you expect to get 5,000 listings within the year? No. Direct mailings are more likely to result in accumulation of real estate leads over the next year or two which you then must nurture into clients looking to buy or sell.

There are typically four types of real estate leads received by online lead generation companies: buyers, sellers, refinancers and fakers. Buyers may be in different stages of the process, as may sellers, so you may have to follow up for 2 years before actually getting their business, or you may have a listing within 3 months. It depends on where the consumer themselves are at in the process. Obviously buyers have a great potential – you may be able to sell one of your listings to them and if they need someone to list their current home, you’ve got a double whammy of a lead. Same goes with a seller looking to list – maybe they’ll be interested in purchasing one of the homes you already have listed, and if not, perhaps they’ll still consider you for a buyer’s agent to represent them when they purchase a new home. Again, a double whammy of a lead.

Just because the seller isn’t going to sell for 2.5 years doesn’t mean you should drop them – on the contrary, you now have 2.5 years to get a leg up on the competition by working closely and sending the lead any information to make their real estate process easier. It all comes down to an agent’s sales ability – lead generation services can get your foot in the door, but it’s up to you to sell yourself to your real estate leads.

Often real estate agents complain the loudest about getting real estate leads of people looking to refinance or get a home equity loan. “These aren’t real estate leads, I’m not a broker, what am I supposed to do with this lead, it’s worthless,” they say. That is absolutely FALSE and the wrong way to look at these leads. First off, any real estate agent worth their salt should have a close working relationship with one or more mortgage brokers to refer these type of leads on to. In the spirit of reciprocation, the mortgage broker should be referring buyers and sellers back to you!

Even before you refer the refi lead to a broker, you need to do some work on your own. Talk to the lead, get to know them and their situation, educate them in anyway possible on refinancing as opposed to buying or selling. Sometimes these leads can be converted to listings, depending on what their situation is and what path makes more sense for them. Even if they do wind up going to your mortgage broker, that’s still one more homeowner out there that knows your name and how willing to help you were – they may wind up needing you a few years from now or referring their family and friends to you. You never really know what could come of your real estate leads unless you try.

Last but not least, we have the fake real estate leads – people who fill out information forms but give not ONE good piece of contact info. A lead that has a fake name, number, email and property address is admittedly, a bad lead. There’s no way to contact the person and find out who they are. However as long as even ONE piece of information is correct (name, phone number, property address) then a little detective work with public records can help you get to the bottom of the lead. Agents who consider a lead bad just because it has a fake name will wind up missing out on MANY commission checks.

The best way to have success with real estate leads generated online is to have a strong follow up campaign. Give the lead service a chance to work for you, but be realistic – not all leads turn to listings and not all listings happen overnight. Patience and persistent and consistent follow up is the true path to success with real estate leads and online generation companies. It just takes time.