By Jenna Green
Marketing Manager, DREAMS Media
A real estate agent can make great money selling luxury homes in Southern California.
Because of high average listing prices (luxury homes start at $1.5-million in some markets like Los Angeles and high-end suburbs of Orange County), agents have the ability to make huge annual incomes and work less deals per year. Plus, in Southern California’s hot housing market, the homes practically sell themselves. It’s Southern California, after all.
But the question for many agents is: How do I get more luxury seller leads and listing appointments in 2019?
It’s Your Marketing and Advertising
As an agent, how great would it be to have a new lead call your phone, and the conversation goes a little something like this:
“Hey! I’m looking to sell my home. It’s a great property, and I think it’s worth good money. I see your name everywhere, and heard you’re one of the best to work with. Do you have time to meet and discuss selling my house?”
You make your listing presentation and get the multi-million dollar listing. Turns out the house is the real-deal, and it lists at $2,495,000 (you’re looking at almost $75,000). Selling in this neighborhood is a big deal, and you’re likely to get more listings because of it.
Now, flash back to your reality.
Do you have warm seller leads calling or emailing you weekly?
Do people tell you they see your face and brand everywhere, and comment on how much success you must be having?
The best luxury agents have both warm leads and great brand recognition in their seller markets.
But getting your hands on quality seller leads and home listings isn’t easy. If you are like most agents who battle every day to get their hands on luxury homes, we put together this short guide to help you generate more listings.
Generating Seller Leads
Seller leads in the luxury market are generated when you’re reaching your prospects through a comprehensive marketing and advertising campaign.
The key to getting more luxury seller listings is being omnipresent through a variety of advertising and marketing channels that are consumed by your prospects. In other words, you need to find a way into your prospects mind and stay there.
“Obscurity is the single biggest killer to a business or entrepreneur,” informs Grant Cardone, a sales & marketing expert, real estate investor and New York Times best-selling author, “If nobody knows you, they can’t do business with you.”
To break through obscurity and get your prospect’s attention, you need to push your brand out through a variety of marketing channels. When they think about selling their home, they will immediately think of 1-2 agents who they have heard of – and your goal is to be one of them.
With that in mind, get ready to dive into 5 of the very best ways to generate luxury seller leads
5 Ways to Get More Luxury Listings
#1: Video Content
Video is all the rage today in real estate, and for good reason. In one survey, 73% of homeowners said they would be more likely to list with an agent who creates a video of the listing.
Not only are videos great for closing on property listings, but sharing quality video content about your brand and services is a great way to make prospects aware of who you are and get them into the top of your sales funnel.
Videos can also be used at later stages of your funnel, when you are trying to convert prospects into leads, or leads into clients.
Quick Tips:
- Focus on Quality: Make sure to have a quality video produced, one which you are proud to show potential sellers or promote on your website and social media.
- Have a Purpose: Are you going for overall brand awareness, or pitching your value in a video that you will send to all your warm prospects? Be sure each video has a direction and purpose.
- Collaborate with Others: Making a collaborative video with another agent, mortgage professional, or media company is a great way to tap into new audiences and cross-promote with other people and brands.
#2: Social Media
Facebook has over 2 billion monthly active users, a mature demographic, and an advertising platform which offers you the best bang-for-your-buck for generating digital traffic. Instagram has over 1 billion monthly active users, many who spend a great deal of time on the platform viewing, liking and engaging photos and videos.
Together, they form an incredibly powerful platform to promote your business on and stay connected with your clients, prospects and vendors.
A great way to generate more seller leads is through Facebook and Instagram paid advertising. It’s easy to get your first ads set up. Simply take your photo/video content and write copy attractive to sellers, then set your budget and timespan. Paid ads on this dynamic network give you tremendous reach and traffic, plus the option to target specific communities and interests.
For your organic followers, try sharing what you are up to, recent successes, and personal interests and hobbies. By doing this frequently, clients and prospects will get to know you better, and begin developing more affinity and attachment for your brand and service.
“Knowing how to effectively use Facebook and Instagram to promote gives you an edge over your competition,” says Ty Fischer, President of TF West Marketing in Los Angeles, CA, “…by effectively promoting yourself on Facebook and Instagram, you will attract more luxury sellers – many whom will also find value in your marketing and advertising capabilities.
Quick Tips:
- Use Facebook Ads: It is the most powerful and affordable way today to drive digital traffic to your website and fill your funnels with prospects.
- Grow your Following: Be sure to follow others, like and engage with their accounts. Over time, your audience will grow and new opportunities will present themselves.
- Share Quality Posts: Share content with your audience in the form of videos, informational articles, and promote your “recently listed” or “recently sold” homes. Keep it fun, interesting and informative!
#3: Email Marketing
An email list with good size and engagement is a treasured asset for any real estate agent. According to the email marketing giant Constant Contact, for every $1 you spend on email marketing there’s an average return of $38. When done properly, email marketing is a great way to generate new seller leads.
To get started, always aim to bring value to your email recipients. Deliver information they will find interesting and helpful, and always promote your recent successes. The key here is to find a balance between bringing value to your audience and asking for their business.
People at the earliest stages thinking of selling may find a market report on their neighborhood helpful. Sharing this information with them positions you as the expert in their minds, and in the luxury market this is crucial. Sellers want to know you’re on top of the market, and are following the latest trends in things like marketing and staging.
When you do ask for business, find ways to be creative with your ask. Serious prospects may want a tip sheet on what they can do to increase the value of their home. At the end of your email, include a call-to-action like:
“If you are serious about improving the value of your home, let’s schedule a time for me to evaluate your property and give you a checklist of the best home renovations. ‘Schedule Today’” – and insert a link to a web landing page where they can schedule your home evaluation.
You’ll be amazed at the amount of web traffic and engagement a simple email like this can create. With the right contacts, you’re likely to generate a seller lead just from this one email.
Quick Tips:
- Drive Traffic: A great way to drive interested web traffic is to insert links back to your landing pages and website. You need to drive traffic consistently for leads to appear.
- Track Analytics: Most email providers include analytics and tracking, so you can see who is opening and clicking through your emails, then follow up with them later on.
- Segment Lists and Don’t Spam: Have organized lists such as “Seller Prospects”, “Buyer Prospects”, “Luxury Prospects” that you send personalized content to. We recommend a 4:1 ratio: Four “giving” emails for every 1 “asking” email.
#4: Direct Mail
One of the best ways to generate leads from your farms is direct mail pieces, such as postcards, personalized letters, or listing flyers.
Many people appreciate and respond to the personal nature of this style marketing, as reported by a survey which found that 67% of U.S. adults found direct mail more personal than emails. In 2017, the direct mail household response rate was 5.1%. Compare that to other tactics such as PPC search and display ads, which were less than 1%!
Postcards are cheap, and will significantly increase your brand visibility when mailed consistently over time to the same areas. Make sure your postcard has a nice design, your branding stands out, and that you have a direct call-to-action.
A powerful way to reach your luxury listing prospects is to create a personalized sales letter, probing for pain points and pitching the value you bring to the seller, and send it to quality farm areas. Be sure to end the letter with a direct call-to-action, such as to call you or visit a specific website page to learn more.
Quick Tips:
- Find a Good Print and Mailing House: You want quality direct mail pieces delivered on time, for a price that doesn’t break the bank. Don’t be afraid to try several vendors out to compare their services.
- Be Consistent: Sending out postcards or letters one time isn’t going to create much action. Focus on consistently sending out good pieces to quality farms over long periods of time.
- Know the Costs: Direct mail isn’t the cheapest form of advertising. Between print and mailing costs, you can often be looking at a price of $.50 – $1.00 per unit of mail. Hitting large areas can get expensive.
#5: Print Advertising
Print is a long ways from dead, and the luxury real estate agent understands the powerful impact print advertising (such as in magazines) has on both your branding and visibility.
Editorial features such as interviews or house tours combine written and photographic journalism, and are tremendous ways to share your story and value proposition with prospects in a non-salesy way. You can then show your magazine feature during listing presentations, or frame the feature in your office.
Buying 1-page brand advertisements in luxury publications is another great way to position and reinforce to prospects that your brand represents luxury real estate. Print advertising works magic for your overall branding – a wise and necessary investment if you want to sell luxury.
Mike Kobeissi, the top producing broker in La Cañada Flintridge for more than 30 years, explains why he uses print advertising:
“La Cañada Flintridge is one of the wealthiest communities in Los Angeles County. As the top-producing broker, I advertise in high-quality magazines such as DREAMS Luxury Lifestyles because buyers and sellers recognize and remember us from print. Plus, I utilize the magazine to advertise my high-end listings, which sellers love.”
Quick Tips:
- Buy a Feature Article: Believe it or not, these can be purchased in most magazines and newspapers. Explain who you are, what you do, and why sellers should work with you.
- 3rd Party Credibility: Recognized print publications hold a certain prestige in the reader’s mind. Credibility associated your article or ad goes a long ways with luxury clientele.
- Spread the Word! Promote your magazine feature through your social media and email. Some publications will also share your feature to their social media and email audiences, which is an amazing way to reach new prospects and clients.
The Perfect Combination for Luxury Seller Listings
By using a combination of video content, social media, email marketing, direct mail and print magazines, you have a powerful way to generate more luxury seller leads.
Remember that marketing and advertising is an investment back into your business; so be patient and consistent in your efforts. When done correctly, advertising will grow your business and yield incredible returns on the money you put in.
Above all, promote. The surest way to get more luxury listings in real estate is to make sure that people living in expensive homes know that you sell luxury real estate. Over time, your efforts will pay off in the form of new listings and more money in your pocket.
P.S.
To help agents succeed in the luxury market, we’ve put together a special, affordable package for real estate agents in Southern California.
“We built an advertising package that combines all necessary marketing methods for luxury real estate agents,” explains Steve Tobia, Owner/CEO of DREAMS Media, “…our leading magazine DREAMS Luxury Lifestyles, digital platform, social media and email marketing offer great brand exposure and reach in the luxury real estate markets of Southern California.”
If you want to learn more about the DREAMS Luxury Advertising Package, click here.
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