Residential Real Estate | How To & Education
Welcome to the blog that’s not a blog.
Looking to win more local customers, beat your competitors to new opportunities, and win business? You’ve come to the right place.
Looking for another boring, keyword-stuffed, SEO-optimized blog for “real estate lead generation”? Here's some advice: leave this page.
We’re about to get real here, and it won’t be comfortable.
Sound good? Great, strap in.
It's time to confront the lies we've been fed for far, far too long. The lie that’s been “preached” by gurus, internet sensations, and social media mavens.
The lie that's almost a surefire recipe to join The 87%.
But wait - who exactly are The 87%?
They’re the ones who....
Willingly hand over thousands of dollars in commission to Zillow for a “ready-to-buy” lead.
Pay an agency thousands of dollars to make a website in the hope people will find you.
Send thousands of people the exact same message and being told it’s a “scalable” approach.
In other words: The 87% of realtors who don’t make it past their first year.
It’s time for a wake-up call. If we don’t cut through the B.S. we’ve been fed, we're on a bullet train headed for the inevitable sameness.
A world where the texts, emails, and scripts all sound like they were written by the same ChatGPT prompt. Why? Because we’re all told to take the “easy button” approach.
Here’s the truth. There is no easy button and no “get rich quick” scheme in the real estate lead generation business.
We repeat: there is no easy button or get rich quick scheme in real estate lead generation.
(Did you just gasp? We know, we heard it through the screen.)
Now, for the good news: there's an anti-dote to the "easy button" mentality. A lead generation method that dollar-for-dollar is the most effective approach to building your pipeline of real estate leads.
Something that takes real work, gets real results, and separates the successful agents and investors from the 87% who don't make it.
A method that's quickly becoming a not-so-well-kept secret in the real estate industry.
Get familiar with it or join the 87%: Hyperlocal Lead Generation
If you’re waiting for new customers to find you, you better not wait to start looking for a new job
Picture this.
Setting out on a seemingly innocent search for “how to grow my real estate business”, you emerge from a grueling four-hour YouTube rabbit hole, bloodshot eyes and all.
Video after video, guru after guru - they’ve all told you the same thing.
“The key to unlocking your real estate business and scaling growth is by investing in a high-performing website”
You think to yourself, “That’s it! Thats exactly what I was missing”.
Hatching your growth plan, you proudly proclaim your real estate lead generation strategy: to officially spend more money on a badass website than anybody in your local market.
Fast forward 9 weeks.
The imagery exudes professionalism and perfection, the color palette flawlessly embodies your brand's core principles, and the mission statement, painstakingly crafted for days, showcases a level of wordcraft that would make even James Joyce envious.
Having spent countless hours over the last few months building your perfect website, you’re ready for a break.
You’re ready to sit back and watch the real estate leads flow in because, well, that’s what the YouTube videos told you would happen.
The problem?
Building an incredible website and letting it “do the work for you” isn’t going to help you scale.
In fact, if you invest all your time, energy, and resources into your website in the hope it alone will drive growth, your business will fail.
Let’s break down why.
Reason #1: You’re not the only one with a beautiful, functional website
We know what you’re thinking… “Of course I’m not, but mine looks better and feels more professional.”
You know what? You’re probably right.
However, it’s never been easier for anyone to build a professional website without spending thousands of dollars.
Sites like Wix (which hosts 22 million websites), Squarespace (which hosts 2.96 million websites), and GoDaddy (which hosts 2.4 million websites) all have thousands of pre-built, professional website templates which can be set up in a matter of hours.
The democratization of website building has led to beautiful, functional websites becoming the norm, not a differentiator.
In other words - it’s almost unheard of not to have a modern, functional, easy-to-use, aesthetically pleasing website.
While you can be proud of your website, don’t rely on it to stand out against your competition. It’s not 2007 anymore.
Reason #2: Big business dominates Paid Search (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Now you’re saying “okay, okay, but what if I invest the time to make my website functional and educational? I be none of my competitors do this! Even better, I can spend money on paid ads and have leads flowing in!”Once again, you’re probably right.
But here's the thing: more often than not, big business dominates SEO and paid search.
On the organic side, their websites and domains have the “authority”, ie: Google trusts them, the traffic history, and have an army of agencies full of recent college grads that pump out content on a scale most small businesses can only deam of.
On the paid side, their monthly budgets can be the size of a GDP of a small country and have another army of recent college grads who eat, drink, sleep all things Google Ads.
Don’t just take our word for it. When you type “best landscapers near me” into Google, here’s the top results:
Paid
Organic
Look who’s at the top!
The enemy. Big businesses.
Myagentfinder, Zillow and Realtor.com
The unfortunate reality is that if we pour our hearts into creating the most amazing content about our local market, chances are hardly anyone will see it.
Seriously, we could spend hours crafting the perfect piece of content, and a whole year later, it's like only our brother-in-law would have stumbled upon it because we practically had to force-feed it to him.
We could spend weeks scripting, filming, editing, and distributing a video on YouTube for it just to get lost in the 300 hours of video uploaded to the platform every minute.
On top of that, most blogs and SEO-optimized content aren’t created with the sole purpose of converting leads into customers, so we can’t really rely on them to drive ready-to-buy leads for us.
They’re much less transactional than, let’s say, a landing page from a paid advertising campaign that’s built to convert leads into paying customers.
Now, that’s not to say you shouldn’t be creating helpful content for your local market. Good, thoughtful content will always have a place.
We’re saying that with their deep pockets, rich domain authority, and armies of content writers pumping out content for them, big businesses usually win out in the Paid Search (SEM) and SEO games.
The question becomes: What is the best real estate lead generation approach we can use to beat big business?
The answer? By going Hyperlocal.
Why you should be going Hyperlocal with your real estate lead generation
Wholeheartedly, we at PropertyRadar believe Hyperlocal Lead Generation is the best possible real estate lead generation approach you can take.
It’s something we take incredibly close to heart. So much so, that we wrote the guide on Hyperlocal Lead Generation.
But what is Hyperlocal Lead Generation, you ask?
If you didn’t already click the link, here’s a snippet from our favorite section copied and pasted to help answer that question:
“How can my business compete and win in such a competitive space for local small businesses?
The answer is simple…
…Play a different game.
Play the game that big businesses can't play — and beat them to new opportunities and customers.
That different game is Hyperlocal Lead Generation”
Getting “Hyperlocal” comes down to a few key concepts.
First, by understanding that it’s the new, different approach to lead generation that future-proofs your pipeline building, enables you to beat big business by more effectively connecting with customers, and is relatively easy to stand up.
Second, it’s a lead generation approach that’s comprised of targeted, outbound activities that deliver relevant, neighborly messaging to a local audience through a multi-channel approach.
Targeted, Outbound, Relevant, and Neighborly.
T…O…R…N
That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? We thought so too, and we even built a step-by-step outline on how to own your market with TORN approach.
Not only does TORN happen to work quite nicely as an acronym, but it serves as a reminder of all things big, national businesses can’t do.
On that note, it’s about time we dive into each of these a little bit deeper.
After all, the second half of the title of this blog (that isn’t a blog) is “Why it’s Hyperlocal Lead Generation”...
Start finding leads by building your own targeted list of local opportunities
Have we made it clear yet? In today’s marketing landscape, you cannot sit back and wait for leads to come to you.
If we’ve done our job, you should be sitting in your chair, leaning slightly back, perhaps arms even crossed, saying to yourself, “well, looks like I have to go out and get my leads”.
Ding ding ding!
That’s exactly right.
You know what’s exactly wrong, though?
Thinking that finding targeted leads is as easy as buying a billboard, taking out an ad in the local newspaper, or even buying a list of local leads.
Everybody, and we repeat, EVERYBODY does these.
Don’t believe us? Just take a look at the top search results for “real estate leads” on Google:
The results are all about buying real estate leads rather than taking the time to build your own unique list.
How to get Hyperlocal
What do we mean by building a list?
By using a platform like… PropertyRadar 😉… you can access public records data on 150+ million properties and use over 250+ criteria filters to build exactly the lead list you want.
Does it take time? Yes.
Does it pay off in the long-run? Absolutely.
Why? Because stacking lists and using 250+ criteria to narrow down exactly what you’re looking for is the complete opposite of buying a static list that everyone and their mother is buying and reaching out to.
Leads are not going to respond to you if you’re one of 15 people saying the same thing in the same way to them. It’s just not going to happen.
As we mentioned earlier, buying lists “easy-button” approach.
We love easy buttons in Staples commercials. We hate easy buttons in real estate lead generation.
Building your own unique list is the foundation of any successful Hyperlocal Lead Generation strategy.
Arguably, it’s the first and most important step on your journey towards evolving into the high powered, effective (and, beautiful, of course) Hyperlocal Generation machine we know you can be.
Scaling your outreach doesn’t mean blasting hundreds of people at the same time with the same message
All the time, we hear real estate lead generation pros say something to this effect:
“I just bought a shiny new lead list with thousands of leads (which, of course, all my realtor friends also have!), I have all the leads’ phone numbers and emails (which I spent an exorbitant amount of money on!), and am armed and ready with my email marketing and text message marketing platform to start reaching out to all of them now.”
Sound like you?
Yes? Congrats, you’re in the right place - we’re here to save you.
No? Keep reading, you’ve already made it this far.
Texting hundreds of leads simultaneously dilutes your message and can severely hurt your reputation
Raise your hand if you love getting messaging that:
- Clearly wasn’t meant for you
- Makes you feel like you’re part of a spam list
- Instantly ruins whatever small moment of bliss you were having in your day.
You know, something that looks like this:
Arms still at your side?
Ours too.
How to get Hyperlocal
When texting leads, the first thing to remember is that you should primarily use texting to communicate with leads who’ve opted into receiving texts.
Texting is, first and foremost, a follow-up/nurturing strategy. It’s a more intimate form of communication that 75% of prospects are comfortable receiving once they’ve opted in.
Second, if you are using texts as a cold outreach strategy, make sure to segment your audiences into similar groups based on demographic, situational, or financial data.
From there, batch your texts out into sizeable, yet manageable, groups that you can build daily outreach habits around.
In general, sending anywhere from 10-25 hyper-personalized texts a day will compound into a scaleable outreach approach.
This way, you can speak to each-micro audience segment the same way.
Are they all 65+ with a house over 3,500 sq feet and no children? Maybe they’re all new homeowners who just moved into the same community under a shared HOA.
Regardless, dividing your list of thousands of homeowners into shared groups will help you create stronger value propositions, more impactful follow-up strategies, and generate better real estate leads.
Echoing what we said earlier - “scaling” your texting strategy does NOT mean sending 1,000 people the same, shitty text all at once on the same day.
You know what the 87% of realtors who don’t make it past their first 5 years do?
They go full send and spam a whole group of people with the same terrible message that gets them reported under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
“Scaling” your texting strategy is achieved by a consistent, methodical, and repeatable approach that delivers value to hyper-targeted lead segments.
Don’t be like the 87%. You’re better than that.
Want to learn more about texting as part of your outreach strategy? ← Follow the yellow brick road.
Sending the same piece of direct mail to everyone in your neighborhood will make your neighbors despise you
We know you just rolled your eyes when you read “direct mail.”
“Direct mail is so 1950’s”
“Direct mail? I haven’t sent a postcard since I was in boy scouts”
Newsflash: If you think Direct Mail is dead, think again.
In fact, the direct mail industry is valued at $44.2-billion, making it the second-largest channel for ad spend in the U.S.
Why?
Thoughtfully crafted, expertly curated, and deeply personalized direct mail can deliver sensory-driven experiences memorable in ways digital advertising simply can’t replicate.
The key word here: Thoughtfully.
Similar to blast texting to thousands of people at once, sending the same piece of direct mail to everyone in your neighborhood is a one-way ticket to never being invited to community pool days ever again.
Imagine sending this to every Distressed property owner in the area.
Most of your neighbors would rather be woken up to fireworks at 3:00am on July 5th than have to find this in their mailbox, especially if they have no intention of selling their home.
How to get Hyperlocal
Long-story short, it’s pretty similar to how we broke down how to get hyperlocal in text message marketing.
Take the same approach to segmenting your audience into similar groupings based on demographic, financial, and situational data.
However, unlike texting, we recommend using Direct Mail Marketing to open the conversation rather than as a follow-up tool.
Quick Break, if you’re looking to learn more about Direct Mail Marketing, check out our Complete Guide to Direct Mail Marketing (mainly for beginners), our guide for more seasoned Direct Mail Marketing pros, and our how-to guide on creating inspiring direct mail postcards.
Alright, back to it.
In addition to delivering an amazing sensory experience other forms of marketing can’t replicate, Direct Mail also serves as a tool to start a conversation around.
One of the core tenets of hyperlocal lead generation is that it’s multichannel, and an easy way to do this is by sending Direct Mail as your first touch, and follow-up with a phone call or text.
That way, you have a point of reference on your first call with your lead.
“Hey, did you happen to get that postcard I sent you in the mail?”
Boom, instant icebreaker.
No more scrambling and stuttering when your cold openers. You have a built-in conversation starter right there.
If they respond “yes”?
“Perfect, did you have any thoughts? I’d love to chat more about it, a postcard can only do so much!”
If they respond “no”?
“Oh, not a problem! I’d sent that postcard over your way because…”
See that? No more guessing, no more coming up with lines on the fly.
With all this in mind, it's a great time to bring up something we’ve said a hundred times about Direct Mail Marketing.
That is, Direct Mail Marketing, with its sensory experiences, its ability to start conversations, and its 1,300% average return on investment makes it dollar-for-dollar the most effective marketing tool in hyperlocal lead generation.
Automation is your best friend. Use it.
Every story has a hero.
Some stories have heroes that work harder than everyone else. Others have heroes who are blessed with super-human abilities or overcome an insurmountable challenge against a monstrous opponent.
Looking at you, David and Goliath.
In our story?
The heroes automate the busy work and set up powerful integrations so they can focus on closing deals and winning new clients.
Yes, the heroes in our story (ahem, YOU) are just as awesome as the super-human ones.
Except in our story, the heroes make more money.
Thinking you can do everything yourself all the time will not grow your business.
We’ve officially reached a point in the 2023 where almost everything we do is aided by some form of artificial intelligence.
ChatGPT helps write long-form content (not this blog, we swear… don’t tell our boss…)
Midjourney generates breathtaking images from text prompts.
So, why shouldn’t automation help you?
While hyperlocal lead generation does come down to hitting the right audience at the right time with the right message, it’s almost equally just as important to get to the lead first.
According to ServiceBell, 82% of consumers expect responses within 10 minutes. Furthermore, 78% of leads buy from the first person to make contact with them.
If you’re responsible for showing houses, driving for dollars, negotiating contracts, attending inspections, etc. how on earth do you think you’ll have time to know when a new opportunity comes around, much less be the first person to make contact with them?
We’ll let you in on a secret. You won’t be. Your competition will.
That is, unless, you embrace automations and integrations.
How to get Hyperlocal
Here’s the ideal scenario.
When building your tech ecosystem, you took the time to set up automations for your Vacant Properties list.
Meaning, every time a new property matches the criteria of being “Vacant”, they’re automatically added to a list. From there, your system is designed so that for every new property that’s added, there’s an integration with Google Sheets to add them to a mailing list.
You’re using Zapier, which, in all it’s glory, takes every new row from your Direct Mail list and fires a “zap” (their term for automation), which adds them into your direct mail platform into the “Vacant Properties” campaign.
Luckily for you, in your Direct Mail platform, you have automation set up so that every new lead gets a “handwritten” note from you with messaging focused on how you help owners alleviate themselves of the burden of having a vacant property.
All of this done in 2 minutes. At 2:38am on a Satruday. While you’re asleep.
You get the picture. Hyperlocal Lead Generation can generate incredible real estate leads when it’s automated.
In conclusion, don’t be part of the 87%
We said it at the beginning and we’ll say it again.
87% of real estate professionals don’t make it past their first few years in the industry.
Why?
Because they didn’t take the advice from this blog (that isn’t a blog).
They rely on their website that nobody's visiting to drive significant inbound traffic while they lay on the beach with a drink in their hand. They rely solely on Zillow or Realtor.com for their leads and forfeit most of their commission.
They spam 1,000 texts at once from their pre-bought list. They blast everyone in their neighborhood with the same direct mail.
They try to be the hero and do everything themselves when they don’t have the time.
In short, it’s because they are not hyperlocal lead generation machines, like you.
Don’t be like them.
If you do, we’ll find you Liam Neeson style and hurt you. Kidding, but we’ll (meanly) say “We told you so”.
