3 Steps to Attract Real Estate Clients You Love

Attracting clients will be one of your top concerns throughout your real estate career. Real estate agents who learn how to attract the right kind of client for them early on have the best opportunity to create a flourishing practice that meets their needs personally and professionally.

Just about every real estate agent wants clients who:

• Respect their time and effort while engaging with the process.
• Provide them with the kind of compensation that they expect.
• Connect them with other clients who can build their business.

Many real estate agents take years before they figure out the winning formula for attracting leads. Part of the reason is that it's easy to assume getting great clients for you is complicated. Luckily, you can set expectations and take concrete steps to help you meet them. Here's how to do it:

1. Decide Who Your Ideal Client Is

There are many different types of people who engage in real estate transactions. Successful real estate agents generally choose one segment of the market to target. This is a combination of what kind of clients interest you the most and who in the market you can do the best work for.

In any given year you might work with:

• First-time home buyers, either individually or as a couple.
• "Empty nesters" who are selling a home and downsizing.
• Growing households that need to expand to raise a family.
• Investors who want to buy a home for rental or flipping.

All these groups have different needs—and you can look for ways to add value to their real estate transactions. By specializing, you distinguish yourself and make it more likely that people will seek you out over the competition. You'll also energize your referral business.

2. Make Sure Your Site Meets Their Needs

Your real estate website is the first port of call when people are finding out about your business. With that in mind, you want to craft something that conveys a professional image right away. Update your site to ensure people will understand who you are and exactly the value you'll offer.

Take the transaction from the perspective of your clients. What questions do they have? What are their concerns? What information do they want to know before they even get started? Posting useful, informative content on your website will help you communicate with them and motivate them to contact you. Plus, you'll get a leg up on visibility in Google and other search engines. Naturally, your site should also be optimized so prospects can contact you easily.

Make sure it's simple for clients to:

• Contact you by email.
• Call you on the phone.
• Follow you on social media.

You might also choose to set up advanced features to make your site more user-friendly. Special software plug-ins make it possible for clients to schedule their discovery session with you from your website. For long-term relationship building with prospects who aren't quite ready for you, consider setting up a weekly online newsletter where you can share real estate wisdom.

3. Communicate Consistently Online and Off

Once you know who you are trying to reach, appealing to them consistently is the key. In addition to posting on your blog, be sure you're reaching out in a variety of other ways.

Social media is a necessity here. Identify respected online publishers that create content for the clients you want, then volunteer to write articles from an expert perspective. Also, consider holding live open house events regularly and attending networking get-togethers. With persistence, you can build a sterling reputation among your ideal clients.

To view the original article, visit the Delta Media Group blog.