3 Creative Ways to Generate Listings

Farming neighborhoods

Real estate farming is possibly the most proactive position an agent can take to build inventory. Overall, you'll want to choose an area with attributes you find personally appealing as well as professionally rewarding. Then, create personas for your perfect clients using data such as income, education, leisure activities and more. For example, an agent who is athletic and enjoys leisure time at coffee houses might find it easier to relate to homeowners with similar interests. The goal is to choose a farm area that you feel comfortable representing and one that will produce revenue.

Step 1: Research

Begin by assessing local demographics and psychographics: who they are, what they do and how they behave. You can do so easily by using RPR commercial data to find a neighborhood whose attributes most resemble your ideal client.

RPR's commercial data reveals an area's average age and income, net worth, marital status, education, and age, in addition to where they work, where and how they spend their money, and even how much time they spend exercising each week. The platform's neighborhood data includes home values, list/sales price vs. list/sales volume, price per sq. foot, own vs. rent, local amenities and commuter times––all worth knowing.

Here's how to find your ideal client using RPR Commercial data:

• Visit narrpr.com/commercial
• Select Go to Analysis or create your own area by choosing Go to Maps. For our purposes, we will use the analysis section.
• Enter the geographic area, and then select the attributes you would like to search your area by. Each attribute you choose will reveal a new set of drop downs to glean your data. Add additional attributes by selecting the Add more criteria, or you can search by clicking Run Analysis.
• From the Map, use the Analysis Panel to adjust the size of geographies and parameters. Once you've found a few neighborhoods that are a good fit, research recent sales to determine whether one agent has a dominant presence in the area. You can also use recent sales to predict your average commission.

Step 2: Calculate the area's turnover rate

Now that you've landed on a potential farm area based on demographics, psychographics and average commission, it's time use RPR Residential to determine the turnover rate, a calculation that helps to identify whether the area has enough sales activity to make it worthwhile.

RPR has developed a simple, surefire way to use its data in your calculations. Download this quick start guide to walk you through the steps.

To configure turnover rate, divide the number of homes in your farm area by the number of homes sold in the last 12 months and then multiply by 100. See the graphic below.

Build your pipeline from open house traffic

Open houses can be another fantastic way to meet new buyers and generate listings. As the agent showcasing a home, you have an advantage. You get to showcase your skills to potential buyers and sellers through how you market the home. So create opportunities by casting a wide net.

Offer a special neighbor preview

Consider marketing an exclusive showing for neighbors with a special evening tour. This would not only be ideal for a postcard, but provides great content for a neighborhood door knocking strategy.

When questions from neighbors come up about their own value, answer them with the RPR app. When you can't, set the pre-listing appointment.

Be the resource

At the open house, be sure to engage with prospects as they enter and leave the property. Not every person entering the home will be a match. Ask questions. Are they interested in the property? If so, use the RPR app to text or email a branded Mini-Property Report. If not, ask a few questions that get to where they are in the buying process. Questions like, "How long have you been looking?" and "Is your house for sale right now?" or "What characteristics are you looking for in a home?" Now, share an RPR Market Activity Report that is configured to showcase new local listings and open homes for the weekend.

Facebook Lead Ads

In 2018, we can't have a list about creative ways to generate listings without including Facebook. Statistics don't lie: Facebook remains the primary platform for most Americans according to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center (January 2018). Roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults (68 percent) are Facebook users, with approximately three-quarters of those people accessing the social site on a daily basis.

Facebook also happens to have a sophisticated advertising platform with powerful audience selection tools, allowing you to target people likely to match your ideal client. The ads deliver true leads information when using the Facebook Lead Ad. These are unique in that they can be customized to place your offer –– such as RPR's local Market Activity or Property Report –– in front of potential prospects. It's all possible because lead ads come with simple forms that capture a prospect's information within Facebook. The forms will even pre-populate a prospect's information such as name, email or phone number, allowing the person to quickly complete the form.

Now that we've talked about the vehicle for your ad, let's discuss a few possible offers for your prospects that involve an RPR report. The offer could be:

1. A detailed report on local market activity, customized for target market area.
2. A home valuation and detailed property report using the Realtor Valuation Model® (RVM®).

Once the offer is set for your Facebook Lead Ad, it's time to move on to audience selection. Facebook ads can be targeted by location, demographics, interests, and behaviors or even your own contacts such as sphere of influence, past clients or prospects.

It's worth noting here that Facebook recently announced that soon it will be phasing out the use of all third-party targeting capabilities, both private and public.

To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.