First, what this site does and does not sell
LeadsByCity sells lists of businesses. It sells no lists of homeowners, buyers, sellers, expired listings or any other private individuals, and the Prohibited Data Policy keeps such data off the Lead Market as well.
So this guide is useful to an agent in two ways only: as a fair map of where leads come from, and for the two sources that are made of businesses, which are covered further down.
Where agents get leads
| Source | Who the lead is | You pay | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own contacts and past clients | People who know you | Nothing | Needs regular, useful contact to stay alive |
| Referrals from other professionals | Their clients | A list and your time | Slow to start; the best leads you will get |
| Property portals | People browsing listings | A fee or a share | Early in their search; several agents contacted |
| Farming a neighbourhood | Owners in one area | Print, post, your time | Takes a year of consistency to show |
| Search and social advertising | People who clicked | Per click or per lead | Volume is easy; follow-up is the work |
| Open houses and local events | People who walked in | Your time | Few, but you have met them |
| Businesses needing premises | Owners and directors | A list and your time | Commercial agents only |
Judging a lead source
Leads in this field are cheap to buy and slow to close, which makes a source easy to misjudge. Keep three numbers for each one: what it cost, how many conversations it produced, and how many transactions closed. Give it long enough: a lead bought this month may transact next year.
Then compare sources by cost for each closed transaction. The cost per lead calculator does the sums, and the cost per lead guide explains why the cheapest lead is seldom the cheapest customer.
The professionals who meet your clients first
People talk to other professionals before they talk to an agent. A relationship with one of them brings introductions for years, from someone the client already trusts, and no portal is selling the same lead to five of your competitors.
| Who | When their clients need an agent | The lists |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage brokers | A buyer approved for a loan has no agent yet | Mortgage broker leads |
| Law firms | Estates, divorces and relocations often end in a sale | Law firm leads |
| Financial advisors | Clients downsizing, retiring or investing in property | Financial advisor leads |
| Accountants | Business owners and investors planning a purchase or a sale | Accountant leads |
| General contractors | Builders with finished homes to sell, and owners renovating to sell | General contractor leads |
| Moving companies | They often hear about a move before the house is listed | Moving company leads |
Approach them as one professional to another. Offer something their clients need, such as a prompt valuation for an estate, and send business their way when you can. Start with one profession in your area and contact every firm; the steps are in local lead generation.
For commercial agents: the tenants are businesses
If you lease or sell commercial property, your prospects are businesses, and a list of businesses is a list of prospects. Every dental practice in a city is a market for medical space; every restaurant group is a market for the next unit.
The lead finder shows how many businesses of a kind there are in any city, with sample rows, and B2B leads lists them by industry and country.
If you sell to real estate agents
Photographers, stagers, software companies and lenders who search for real estate leads often mean agents to sell to. For that, the list is the agents and agencies themselves: real estate agent leads by country and city.
Questions and answers
- What is the best source of real estate leads?
- For most agents, their own contacts and referrals from other professionals, because those leads arrive with trust already in place. Portals and advertising produce more leads faster, but earlier in their search and often shared with other agents. Compare sources by cost for each closed transaction, over a long enough time.
- Are bought real estate leads worth it?
- They can be, for agents who follow up quickly and for months. Most bought leads are people early in a search who have contacted more than one agent. Count the transactions a source closes against everything it cost, not the number of leads it sent.
- Does LeadsByCity sell homeowner or buyer leads?
- No. It sells lists of businesses only: no homeowners, buyers, sellers or expired listings. An agent can use it for lists of referral partners such as mortgage brokers and law firms, and a commercial agent can use it for lists of businesses that need premises.
- How do real estate agents get referrals from other professionals?
- By building the relationship before there is a client to refer. Choose one profession, contact every firm in your area with something useful to their clients, meet the ones who reply, and send them business when you can. It starts slowly and compounds.