Where’s your next listing coming from?
The certainty with which you can answer this question says a lot about the state of your business.
If you can name several likely sources, that’s great.
If you have absolutely no idea — Uh oh! It means you’re operating without a strategy.
How certain are you?
We advise our coaching members to use a variety of listing generation strategies. Those who run those programs with tactical precision see wild success.
Even if they can’t predict exactly which lead gen strategy will produce their next listing, they can easily list several likely sources.
I recently conducted a survey of all our Elite+ coaching members – who average 63 closed transactions each year with annual average gross commission incomes of $700,000 – about where their listings are coming from. I’m revealing the top 12 results here.
Database
Not surprisingly, delivering content and information to your past clients and center of influence is the top strategy to generate new business.
With what frequency are you providing value to homeowners in your database? To what extent do you truly know your customers? Become the knowledge broker for these people, and I guarantee you’ll win.
Open houses
Do open houses only attract buyers? Not if they’re done right.
When you create what we call Mega Open Houses that truly give people a reason to show up, you can meet the neighbors, impress them and position yourself as the listing agent of choice.
For comprehensive step-by-step instructions on creating your own Mega Open House and more, download our Open House Advantage Success Pack now!
Geographic farming
Effective geographic farming involves identifying a group of homes with enough annual turnover to justify the costs of direct mail, Facebook ads and other marketing efforts.
Once you have that market, inundate the homeowners with your message until you become perceived as the local expert. Demonstrate proof of activity (Just Listed, Just Sold, market updates, etc.) to win over potential sellers and become the listing agent of choice in your marketplace.
Agent-to-agent referrals
This source likely rates higher for our coaching members than the average agent due to our amazing ecosystem — a sharing of ideas and referrals that many of our members cherish.
But you can still capitalize on referrals by doing your research and forging relationships with agents in strategic locations. Determine the areas that statistically contribute the most people to your community, and then build networking relationships with agents from those communities.
Online leads
Today’s most savvy agents are overcommitting to online leads as arbitrage and seeing it as a significant listing opportunity. Why? Because those shopping for homes online often have to sell their own property before they can buy.
Expireds
Before you tell me how much you hate the idea of pursuing Expireds, think about this: A homeowner of an expired listing is just a human being facing a challenge.
Be the confident listing agent and knowledgeable broker you are, and help them solve their problem.
The next 6
The remainder of the top 12 listing sources for our top coaching members are:
- seller-specific online ads
- sign calls
- calling FSBOs
- working with investors
- working with builders
- and networking
