Finding Buyers is also called “Prospecting for Buyers.”
Prospecting for buyers is often a recommended focus for new licensees. According to the National Association of REALTORS® buyers are easier to find than sellers. In fact, it is estimated that even if a licensee spends 85 percent of his time or resources focused on prospecting for sellers, a good 50% of the licensee’s business is apt to still be generated from buyers!
- One of the most basic ways that a licensee can hope to come in contact with potential buyers is through taking office/phone duty at a brokerage office to handle “walk ins” and “phone calls.”
- Another common prospecting activity that new agents are encouraged to engage in is to host property open houses. Although a new licensee may not have any of his or her own listings, most dynamic offices will have veteran agents with an abundance of property listings available for new agents to host.
- An important first step to developing a good prospecting plan is to reach out to family, friends, and co-workers – people that a licensee already knows – to let them know about the licensee’s real estate services.
- When reaching out to friends and families, the licensee should ask for referrals. A key element to implementing this type of prospecting is to realize that people like to help other people. So, by reaching out and asking for help to build a licensee’s business through referrals, the licensee taps into a whole network of people to drive business to the licensee.
- Joining groups and clubs is another strategy. Joining these organizations puts a licensee in contact with more people. When the licensee purposely gathers contact information and consistently engages in a plan to stay in touch with these individuals, the licensee is increasing his or her prospects.
- Another source for referrals comes from building relationships with professionals in fields besides real estate. Interactions with these professionals will result in receiving referrals from them which helps to build the licensee’s business.
- Most licensees find that to reach a large enough prospect group, “farming” is required. In real estate, a farm area is an area/neighborhood picked by a licensee to market to on a very regular basis; thus, cultivating buyers.
- Finally, in today’s market it is important to find a way to reach buyers online. This spans from sending emails, posting on social media and building formal business web pages.
Finding buyers does not have to require spending money. But once a licensee reaches the stage in his or her career where he or she decides to spend marketing dollars – do so with careful measurable results!
Consult with your broker for more ideas about finding buyers.
By Pamela Kemper, Instructor
Azure Tide All Florida School of Real Estate
For more information see references:
Prospecting Buyers. February 2017. http://realtormag.realtor.org/tool-kit/prospecting/article/prospecting-buyers
Florida Real Estate Sales Associate Post-Licensing Excellence by Pamela Kemper