Are you looking for a way to stand out in the real estate business? Circle prospecting is an old-but-gold prospecting technique you need to take into consideration. Among many others out there, real estate agents report a higher lead generation rate and better relationship building with their leads.
Circle prospecting is a way of marketing and lead generation, where you reach out to a circle of neighboring house owners, in close proximity to your listing.
In this article, you will find out more about circle prospecting as a concept, how to do it, and some amazing tips, all of which will help you in making a shorter turnover rate and incurring more profit.
What Is Circle Prospecting?
Just as I said above, circle prospecting is an old technique in the real estate world. It all comes down to marketing your business in a certain geographic circle, hence the name circle prospecting.
As one of the easiest and oldest ways of prospecting in the real estate business, many real estate agents today have either adapted it with new updates to the technique or seem to shorten the process. Shortening means a shorter life span of a lead, with fewer results in the future, and it is not recommended. But so far, updating the process and adding additional steps, or using new tools to reach out to leads, seems to work perfectly.
If you’re still scratching your head: What is circle prospecting? We have a simple answer: It is a lead generation and marketing strategy, at the same time, where a real estate agent contacts homeowners near their posted or finished listing. The goal of this action doesn’t just have to be turnaround, but building a relationship with potential customers.
How to Circle Prospect?
Circle prospecting comprises a few easy-to-follow steps any real estate agent can follow. It’s up to you how high-tech or traditional you want your prospecting to be. Here are the generalized steps in circle prospecting you need to follow:
Step #1 - Own a Listing and Make a Circle
The first thing one needs in the circle prospecting process is an expired or posted listing. Then, you will have to make a circle on the map of the surrounding area. This will be your prospecting area or the nearest homeowners you want to contact. Always make sure your circle isn’t too big, since you don’t want to stretch your prospecting out of its capacity.
Step #2 - Prospect for Phone Numbers
After making the circle, search for the phone numbers of the homeowners located inside of it. Don’t do this through a phonebook, it’s the oldest technique and most time-consuming, but use software or online records to mine for phone numbers.
Step #3 - Make Circle Prospecting Scripts
Once you have your phone numbers, think of what you’ll say to the potential leads once you call them. Take into consideration their age groups and backgrounds and always keep your circle prospecting scripts concise and easy to grasp.
Step #4 - Reach Out
This step gives the most results, and after searching for phone numbers and thinking of a script, it's a delight to finally reach out to your new potential customers. When talking to your homeowners, first you’ll try to make them into leads ready to buy or sell right away, but if that doesn’t work - move onto the next step.
Step #5 - Make a Database
Not looking to sell or buy right away? Perfect! Add them to your database and keep in touch. This is a long process, so don’t get discouraged and keep adding new potential leads, on every occasion you get.
Step #6 - Grow Relationships with CRM
Most real estate agents out there use CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, to minimize the need for messy spreadsheets and maximize keeping track of all their potential leads in one place. When reaching out, don’t forget to be consistent and keep them interested in what you do.
Step #7 - Build Your Brand and Profit
It’s hard to be recognizable when there are millions of advertisements bombarding us every day. Therefore, you need to build your brand and be persistent to make those leads into deals.
Tips on Circle Prospecting
It may seem too simple to be true, but circle prospecting works, and it can help you reach the most leads and generate profit by doing so. If you’re thinking of adding this concept into your business strategy, here is what you need to monitor:
Keep your circle small - Start out with the neighboring 50 houses, instead of 250. This will not just save you time and money, but the nerves too.
Use new technology - Not all of us are tech geeks, but apps and programs can make our business life much easier. Look for cell phone numbers over online resources and use a CRM for e-mail marketing.
Stick to it - If a homeowner says they are not thinking of buying or selling in the next year, but maybe in the next three - Stay in touch. Add them to your mailing list, reach out, especially if your nose tells you they have high potential.
Most people hate phone calls - First, most of your potential leads might think your call is an advertisement call or prank. Try to leave a voicemail or message them.
Keep it simple - Would you listen through a 3-minute phone call where only one person is making the conversation? Therefore you need to keep your circle prospecting scripts simple and as concise as possible.
The right mindset - It’s not just about leads! It’s about building trust in your brand. Also, get over your fear! Once you reach out, you will realize how easy it is. All you need to do is start.
Results of Circle Prospecting
The follow-up process of acquiring a lead in circle prospecting can last for a very long time. Make sure you have your process planned out ahead before you dial those numbers. This means, after asking if they are interested in buying or selling, offer to add them to your mailing list. Once you have their information, add it to your CRM. Use it to reach out to them consistently, so you can be the first agent that comes to mind once they are ready to make business.
Always remember what your goal is, and that is building your brand, not just selling tomorrow and discarding any lead not interested in this right away. Also, always remember that no means no, and reaching out to someone in your database three times a month, doesn’t seem professional.
Conclusion
With circle prospecting, an easy but effective way of finding new leads, you can make your business bloom and generate leads that are ready to both buy and sell. The key is that once you have a target neighborhood, start small and reach out in a non-invasive way, and work with one goal: First to sell, and then to build your name and generate customers that will love your brand.
What makes this technique stand out and actually does the trick is that it’s not popularized like lead-generating websites or e-mail marketing. Your potential leads are not bombarded by other agents all the time, and maybe are looking to sell or buy.