I see that there are several different ways a lead can be generated. Most seem to agree that generating your own leads is the best. Is this true? If so, how do you do it? I dont know too many people (personally) at the moment who want to sell or buy a home.

Thanks for the info!!

Steph

blogging. I blog, blog, blog.

I have had five potential sellers contact me (thinking about selling but not ready yet), and four leads contact me that led directly to listings (one lead was a buyer first, and now wants to sell.)

Two of those listings have sold.

There are many who say blogging doesn't work.

To that I say, Of course it doesn't.

So I wonder how many leads people get with just knocking on doors, or sending out mailers. Who here does what to get their best leads?

Forget about door knocking and mailouts. That is so last century. A huge percentage of people now start their search online.

Get a website and an IDX, if your local MLS allows it. IDX allows you to display the listings of your MLS (the ones who have agreed to be a part of it) on your website.

A wordpress website (a blog) is a great format to start with. Like Perky said, the more you blog the better. I get most of my clients online. My website is a blog, but the home page and many of the pages are static. I don't blog as often as I should, but that is because I am too busy showing property!

I would not rule out door knocking for listings, or to talk to the neighbors of the listings you already have. Yes buyers for the most part look online first, sellers go to hardware store and get a FSBO sign. List to last.

Has anyone ever tried leaving mailers on cars or on the doors of houses too? If so, has that worked for you in the past?

I look at sticking something on someone's windshield as money wasted, seriously. Most of them are going to end up on the parking lot pavement or in the trash. I see it as a LOT of waste for a tiny hope of return.

But that's just me.

There is such a thing as NEGATIVE ADVERTISING and the Windshield Wiper idea falls into that category. Also; you'd better make sure you have Insurance Coverage because I read of people filing insurance claims for Paint Scratches and Broken Wipers. You set yourself up.

Sometimes the Press picks it up when the Police are called and make the perpetrators go around and carefully REMOVE all this JUNK. These days, people don't like you touching THEM or touching their STUFF, and resent it, BIGTIME. NOT GOOD PRESS !

you might be better off preparing a neighborhood profile report - recent listings / pendings / solds and go door to door and offer it. while there if someone says they want it, tell them if they give you their email address you'll send them a quarterly report. (don't say "Would you like to give me your email" as they'll say no. If you say "I will be happy to send this to you every quarter via email - what's your address?" If they don't want email, tell them you'd be happy to mail it to them then...

This way you can email the folks who want it and save a stamp, and just mail to the other folks.

I have a listing appointment tomorrow due to door knocking.

My friend owns a company, Real Estate Power Tools, that creates software that helps you generate leads easily and quickly, it sounds like this is exactly what you need.

Find agents with nice vacant listings and offer to hold them open. I get calls every week from agents begging to hold open my listings - it benefits both of us - they get a chance at picking up new clients, and I get closer to getting my listing sold.

Nice that your only two posts here were to advertise your company..

It's his FRIEND'S company.

You gotta stop spamming the board. We all get sales pitches everywhere. Please. This should be a safe zone from that nonsense.

The OP asked "How do you generate leads?" Sorry for answering his question with how I generate leads, aka this software.

Read my website that I have listed below. Read every single article there. (I'm not saying this to promote my site, just to avoid rewriting everything)

A blog is the way to go. BUT if you are going to do a blog, you have to ask yourself these things:

Can you commit to posting to it regularly?
Will you do what is needed to set it up or pay someone to do it?
Do you have the ability to take a comment or lead from it and convert it to an appointment?

More importantly than blogging - you need to network, network, network, and network. Don't just hand out business cards - BUILD RELATIONSHIPS. My most effective "marketing" was a few bucks a month for a cup of coffee to meet with my breakfast club.

You may also want to subscribe to my site's email updates - I'm constantly adding new ideas

It would have been fine without the link. It appeared spammy - especially since you posted it twice.

Naughty, naughty!

Since your blog is not commercial in nature (your advice is free, correct, and you're not using it to recruit people to your company, right?) I see no problem at all with calling attention to your blog.

I'm not sure if you are looking for online leads only, but the best lead generation for our agents has been working our listings.

If you can partner up with another agent that has listings (especially REO's if that's hot in your area) or just call around and see if another agent will let you sit at their listings, you'll get leads. Yes, you'll have to spend as much time as you can at the open houses, but they are really working around here!

My second favorite lead generator is to walk around the neighborhood of these listings you are doing open houses on and give them a flier about the property. Ask if they or anyone they know is interested. It's best to have a lender write up a sheet to attach that has example payments so that any local tenats can see that they could own the home and have the same payments... you can also invite everyone to the open house.

Just this week we got a lead from a neighbor of a new listing that thought she couldn't qualify for a mortgage. We got her prequalified and she'll be going into escrow on a property that she can afford and that she loves. Pretty much her dream will come true!

Lead generation is not an as easy as it might many people make it out to be. Remember even if you get 100 people's information, that doesn't mean they are really or even interested in talking to you. Who really wants to sit there cold calling 100 people?

That is why LeadToRealty is good, because they take those same 100 leads and call them for you...and they actually use people to do this, which these days seems like a novel idea. So, you only get that 10% which are actually interested in your call. That way you can spend more time developing relationship with your clients instead of cold calling.

Mod Note: Users interested can send the poster a PM for more info.

The key is finding out what works for you.

Cold calling, door knocking, mailouts, pay per click campaigns, socializing at various community events, blogging - all can work, depending on the individual.

If you HATE door knocking - it will come through to the person you are speaking to.

If you HATE blogging - it will come through in your writing.

Figure out what you like/enjoy and are comfortable doing - and that will be what works for you.