20 Lead Generation Ideas for More Listings

As home supply continues to trail demand, real estate agents across the United States are laser-focused on finding listings. In many ways, finding sellers in a highly competitive and predominantly low-inventory market can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. But, as Keller Williams executive chairman Gary Keller reminded in his Vision Revisited address, persistence and consistency in lead generation will always yield results – no matter the market.

“The trick is to always lead generate and never stop, which means timing finds you,” he shared. “You cannot time the market, but if you’re always in it, timing will regularly find you and will reward you more than other people.”

If you’re challenged with limited inventory in your market, it’s time to buckle down on lead generation efforts with both traditional and creative methods, leaving no stone unturned. 

Here are 20 lead generation ideas implemented by top agents across Keller Williams that, when implemented with consistency, will help you pump more seller prospects into the pipeline in no time. 

KW AGENT EXCLUSIVE: Download our new Sellers Wanted Client Communication Kit, complete with an email template, phone script, and social graphics to reach potential sellers in your area.

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1. Dedicate your days to door-knocking, like mega agent Brandon Green. “I figured if I knocked on enough doors, someone would eventually agree to sell their property with me, so I came up with a ratio – knocking on 120 doors would get me one listing,” he says. “I kept really focused on that and didn’t get distracted.”
2. Deliver a personally-branded magazine to your database. 
3. Search for “CMA” in text messages, emails, and on social media. 
4. Talk to potential clients about pre-listing their home and offer incentives.
5. Reach out to landowners. “If you’re a real estate agent, you should be out there talking to a land person, and you should be looking for next year’s inventory,” recommends Keller.  “The smart real estate agents are going right outside of town or they’re going and looking for where zoning can be changed […] they’re talking to builders, working with developers, getting ready for their inventory, because there’s going to be a boom on new construction for the next three to five years.”
6. Engage in conversation with distressed homeowners. “Whether it’s a homeowner struggling to make payments or a landlord being forced to lower the rent of their tenants, agents can help their clients decide when the time is right to put their property on the market and maximize its value.”
7. Increase calls to FSBOs, expireds, and buyers that may have listings they need to sell. The Perna Team was able to take 48 listings in one month alone by focusing on these three groups. Take a look at their scripts and strategy here. 
8. Listen to saved voicemails for leads.
9. Look at your CMA Cloud and go  back years.
10. Kick-start a listings challenge, like KW agent Laura Gillott does each year, with your team.  
11. Read up on how to gain your footing in the new homes industry.
12. Publish one “I have a buyer post” daily recommends Cody Gibson. “When you post about your buyers week after week, your audience will take notice and you’ll stop the scroll.” 
13. Tap into Keller Williams’ global agent-to-agent referrals network. “Globally, we have 180,000 associates,” shares Tammi Juengst. “It’s the largest referral network in the world, and we have it at our fingertips.”
14. Dedicate one day of the week to following up with leads with this simple script from Gibson. “While this script seems boring, remember, your business must be boring at times so your life can be interesting. Variety isn’t the spice of life in every single way. Just keep calling,” he reminds: 

• I just wanted to call and follow up. How are you? (In which they will ask how you are)
• I’m great! We just sold X homes this month and would love yours to be the X.

15. Host virtual seminars like Winchester, Massachusetts-based Andersen Group Realty CEO Sven Andersen. Andersen’s buyer and seller seminars boast a 30% conversion rate. 
16. Host virtual client events to reconnect with sellers in your sphere. 
17. Leverage automation tools, like SmartPlans, to stay top of mind with purposeful communication.
18. Proactively engage with local media outlets to become the go-to source when it comes to the market. 
19. Run high-converting Facebook ads through Campaigns targeting move-up buyers.
20. Reach out to absentee owners following local real estate guidelines. Landlords may be experiencing rental fatigue, heirs may be challenged with what to do with their inherited property, or short-term vacation-rental owners may no longer have the appetite to keep up with their property; you won’t know until you ask.