Mastering the Secrets of Bringing in Buyers

All the real estate talk these days is centered on the turnaround in housing from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market. With inventory shrinking in some major areas, buyers might get discouraged and head to the sidelines. So how do you assure them that you’re the one who can deliver the results – and the home – they’re looking for? Two top-producing RE/MAX agents explain.

Kelly Bennett
RE/MAX Gold, St. Louis, Mo.
Platinum Club, Hall of Fame member

Kelly Bennett’s Success Comes down to a simple approach: She meets face-to-face with clients. Two game-changers have helped her break into the luxury market and increase her face time with affluent buyers. She hosts frequent social mixers and events for past and potential clients, which helps her capture new buyer leads. She also uses The RE/MAX Collection to market luxury properties and attract high-end buyers. So far, it’s turning heads.

“Buyers are really impressed with the look of the brochures, signs and marketing materials,” says Bennett, who has delved into the $500,000-and-up price range in the past year.

Another tool that Bennett loves: LeadStreet. In fact, the seller of one of her first luxury listings – a $1.9 million property in St. Louis – was referred to her through LeadStreet; she responded to the lead immediately.

If you want to find more buyers, especially in the luxury market, don’t reinvent the wheel – use the RE/MAX tools that are out there, Bennett says.

“Drive your marketing to remax.com (or theremaxcollection.com, for luxury properties), respond to those LeadStreet leads quickly, and keep your Mainstreet Web Roster profile updated with all of your designations and honors so you can generate buyer referrals from other RE/MAX agents,” Bennett advises. “Use every resource that RE/MAX offers; there’s more than enough there to build a strong business.”

Karen King
RE/MAX Prestige, Wilbraham, Mass.
100 Percent Club, Hall of Fame member

Karen King has discovered a gem for cultivating new buyer leads and keeping in close contact with past clients: online reviews.

After each closing, King emails clients and asks them to post reviews on Zillow and LinkedIn, and she provides links directly to those sites in her messages. When clients write up reviews, she immediately sends a thank-you note and a gift card in the mail.

“Buyers are researching agents online just like they’re researching homes, so having online reviews is a must if you want to capture those potential leads; it adds a lot to your credibility,” King says. “Buyers will call you if other people recommend you and rave about your service.”

Her efforts are working; she’s received several buyer leads from online reviews in the past six months. Additionally, King culls leads on Facebook, where she posts sellers’ virtual tours on their pages (as well as her own) for their friends to see. She also shares interesting photos of home interiors from Pinterest on her Facebook page, and asks her followers for their opinions to engage them.

One other thing she does to drum up conversation on Facebook is to post photos of buyers with their keys in front of their new homes. She’ll “friend” her clients first, then post the photo with a congratulatory note.

“The key to generating online leads is being visible,” King says. “Post a mix of personal and business updates, but don’t forget to engage with people, too. Pay attention to what your clients post online, what their likes and activities are, and interact with them online the way you would in person. Their friends will take notice and start asking about working with you.”