In 2021, there were 6.1 million homes sold in the United States. Many of these sales required the services of realtors and other professionals to connect buyers and sellers. Relationships are essential when you're a real estate professional. Your network is especially valuable in finding leads and closing deals.
If you're a new agent, getting out there and finding clients to serve and homes to sell can be challenging. For this reason, exploring different outreach strategies can aid your practice.
Circle prospecting is one of these outreach techniques. While it doesn't yield overnight results, it's an excellent way to spread your roots and strengthen community relationships that would help in the long run.
Key Takeaways
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Circle prospecting is a lead generation strategy that many realtors and other real estate professionals use in their practice. It involves calling people surrounding the immediate geographic area of a specific listing.
For example, a home has just been sold or listed in a particular neighborhood. Circle prospecting will involve calling all homeowners or residents within that listing's vicinity.
This strategy operates on the principle that people will be interested in what's going on in their community. They can be interested in which homes have sold and how much they are worth, among other relevant information.
Real estate circle prospecting is an excellent way to grow your database and reach new people. While it may not guarantee immediate sales, it aids in building relationships and strengthening your long-term strategies.
Other prospecting methods can also be effective, but the real estate market can be incredibly competitive. Focusing too much on open houses, expired listings, or for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) homes could land you some sales. However, you'd also be facing much competition from other realtors.
Circle prospecting helps you address a relatively untapped market. You can operate freely without much competition while strengthening your roots and bonds with potential clients.
Like many prospecting methods and strategies, circle prospecting also requires preparation. Having everything you need before making any calls can help it go more smoothly and help you achieve success.
If you plan to conduct circle prospecting, it would be helpful to do the following first.
As many prospecting methods do, circle prospecting will involve a lot of cold calling. While cold calling can be effective in finding new leads and initiating connections with your prospects, there are laws regulating the practice.
Real estate agents and other marketers can only do cold calling from 8 AM to 9 PM. Make sure to schedule your calls and working hours for these times only. This time restriction applies to all cold calls except if you have an established business relationship with the person you call.
It's also important to check the National Do Not Call Registry before you call anyone. Check the numbers on your database to ensure they aren't on the registry. If you call anyone on this list, they might report you to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
When calling, make sure you introduce yourself and your brokerage properly. This step lets the person know who you are and helps establish trust. Here is some essential information you should include in your cold-calling introduction.
When doing circle prospecting, being specific about the geographical area is essential. Conduct a neighborhood search and choose a neighborhood surrounding the listing you plan to discuss.
While selecting a broader radius to reach more people can be tempting, specificity is critical. People would be more enthusiastic about responding to your call if they find the listing relevant to their interests. People who live closer to your target new listing would also know more about the area and other potential clients.
After selecting your target, do your research. First, you should know all the essential details about your target listing, such as the selling price, location, etc. It's also important to thoroughly understand the local real estate market.
You could start by finding out the following market data:
Cold calling can be quite demanding and requires a bit of improvisation. Set up your workspace to accommodate your needs for the workday.
Ensure you have your script, good connectivity, and all the necessary software. You should also access your research and other relevant information to help you answer questions and improve the conversation.
Realtors and other real estate professionals can do circle prospecting entirely manually. However, some modern tools can help make your prospecting and lead-generation process more efficient.
Here are some tools to maximize your energy and make the most of your circle prospecting.
Auto dialers are software tools that automatically make calls based on your contacts list. Once a call connects, you can play a recorded message or pick up the phone to initiate a conversation.
Calls and cold calling often take up a significant chunk of real estate professionals' time. Dialers can help you make more calls and reach more people.
As the name suggests, customer relationship management (CRM) software helps businesses manage their interactions with existing and potential customers. These software tools often have applications across various industries but can be especially useful in real estate.
CRM software can help you manage your contact list effectively and make follow-up calls easier. It helps with contact information management, sales management, and other customer or client-centric activities.
Investing in a CRM software tool can significantly enhance your productivity and organization, especially when dealing with several clients across different areas.
Finding promising leads can be challenging. You don't want to call random numbers in the hopes of finding a prospective client. Starting with targeted lead sources can help you save time and energy when circle prospecting.
If you or your firm has the budget, you can purchase leads from real estate lead companies. These companies do the curation for you, allowing you to jump in and make contact with these potential clients.
You can also find leads yourself. These methods can take more work, but they cost a lot less. Start with your networks, use social media, or talk to past clients and colleagues.
Circle prospecting strategies can be flexible, depending on your circumstances and preferences. However, the steps below outline the main principles that can make your prospecting process more effective.
Of course, you can always learn as you go and tailor the process according to your needs.
Cold calling and other prospecting techniques can be challenging. Rejection and negative responses are part of any client-facing process like circle prospecting.
New agents may find the process intimidating, so maintaining a positive mindset is essential. This mindset can help you sustain your motivation throughout the prospecting process, especially when making many phone calls.
You provide a service that can benefit you, your community, and your clients. This work sustains you and your family's lifestyle and allows you to provide for your basic needs. On the client side, your work helps existing and prospective homeowners by simplifying the process.
In this step, you will use your lead sources to find phone numbers near your target listing. One option is to connect with companies to purchase phone numbers within a specific geographic area. You can also find leads through your existing networks.
Remember to check the Do Not Call Registry and filter your contact list before making any calls.
Scripts are essential in cold calling. They help you lead the conversation and increase your chances of success.
Nevertheless, avoid allowing the script to dominate or adhering to it verbatim. You are still speaking with a real person on the other end, so let the conversation flow naturally.
Prepare scripts as a guide, but have a genuine conversation. Ask the person you're talking to about their current situation and interest in real estate. Offer the ways you can help them. Ask them whether you could continue contacting them about potential real estate deals and opportunities.
Circle prospecting only initiates your relationship with potential clients. You must work to make these connections last and contribute to future deals.
Following up is essential to successful circle prospecting. The main goal of this prospecting technique is to expand your network and build relationships. You might not get an immediate sale, but you will gain resources to make closing deals much easier in the long run.
Nurture your leads. They may not want to buy or sell right now, but they may do so in the future. Stay in contact with them as they may also have referrrals. Send them relevant information about what’s happening in the real estate market in their area or places that may interest them.
Real estate agents can have different approaches to their prospecting techniques. Circumstances may be different across other communities and areas.
However, certain practices can significantly improve your circle prospecting efforts. Try the tips below to help make the process easier and gain positive results.
When executing prospecting campaigns, the goal is to reach as many people as possible. While this approach can get you more numbers, it is less of a priority when circle prospecting.
More houses don't always mean better results. It's much better to focus on homes in the immediate vicinity of your target instead of overextending your radius.
This way, your target listing becomes more relevant to the people you call, giving you more fruitful interactions. This approach can also be less time-consuming, so you can go through your list more quickly.
People are usually more interested in things that immediately affect them. The further you go from your target listing, the less effective your circle prospecting efforts may be.
To better pace your prospecting efforts and sustain your motivation, it's crucial to understand circle prospecting and your goals while doing it.
You may not get leads right away. If your main goal is to garner immediate leads or sales, there may be a better strategy for you than circle prospecting.
Think of circle prospecting as a marketing tactic. It's a way to build relationships within a specific community and establish yourself as the go-to person for real estate transactions. The results might take some time but it will make future deals easier.
Door-knocking can be intimidating, but it can also be very effective. Of course, you can expect some rejection, as not everyone will be as receptive to strangers knocking on their door.
However, in-person interactions can often be more fruitful and effective in finding new leads. People can be more receptive and appreciate the courage you have to knock on their door. Prepare a script and some talking points to guide your conversation.
You can reach out to these homes beforehand to minimize rejection. Send letters or other marketing materials to the homes you plan to visit. This practice helps build familiarity as the homeowners would know what to expect.
Many people prefer texting over calling. It's often more convenient than phone calls and easily fits people's busy schedules. It can help you sustain conversations and follow up with people you have called.
Instead of heavily relying on cold calls and following up exclusively through phone calls, try other methods like email or texting. Near the end of your initial call, you can ask the person whether you could text them regarding future real estate updates.
Explore multiple strategies to reach your target people. Each person has different communication styles and preferences. You can use phone calls, texts, emails, or letters to let people know about any offers or information you may have. You can also try sending prospecting letters to test the waters.
Pace yourself appropriately as well. Learn the fine line between being recognizable and being annoying. You want to avoid bombarding people with repetitive information, or they may not want to respond anymore. You wouldn’t want to be top of mind for all the wrong reasons.
Pro Tip: Scripts are essential for cold-calling outreach methods like circle prospecting. However, it's crucial to ensure your conversations flow naturally to build better client relationships.
Circle prospecting is an excellent way to connect with a specific community and increase your chances of success when closing real estate deals. However, this technique works best with other prospecting and marketing strategies.
A good set of tools is essential when planning and executing a real estate marketing campaign.
Addressable can help real estate professionals launch and execute marketing campaigns through various channels, including mailing personalized and handwritten cards. It also provides metrics to analyze and improve your campaigns and strategies.
Circle prospecting involves cold-calling, but it targets a different set of people. Most real estate cold calling surrounds people who plan to buy or sell a house. For this reason, you may face a lot of competition from other agents.
On the other hand, circle prospecting targets individuals who aren't currently in the market but may do so in the future. You can nurture these initial interactions to future real estate sales and deals with the right approach.
With the right tools and approach, circle prospecting can be very effective in building positive relationships with people who may become future clients.
Yes. A circle prospecting script helps guide your conversation and ensures you get your message across without getting too distracted. However, letting the conversation flow naturally and appropriately addressing people's concerns and questions is essential.
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