When you hear “farming,” you probably picture livestock, tractors and a big red barn.
However, real estate farming refers to a tailored marketing strategy that agents utilize to get the best listing leads. If this term is new to you, let’s delve into what it is, why it’s beneficial and how to execute the strategy effectively.
What is real estate farming?
Real estate farming is a marketing strategy agents use to establish themselves as experts, gain visibility in specific geographic areas or neighborhoods and target their lead-generation efforts.
Like traditional farming, where farmers cultivate and nurture crops in a particular area, real estate farming involves consistently and strategically marketing to a targeted geographic area to generate leads and build relationships with potential clients.
Why do agents farm real estate?
Where blanketed marketing strategies often return leads that are too broad and with no true indicators of selling motivation, farming allows agents to identify leads with the most conversion potential.
Once they have identified leads, their farming efforts allow them to negotiate successfully, as they have educated themselves on the details of the demographic and region they’ve chosen. This groundwork enables agents to understand their niche demographic thoroughly, increasing the odds of persuading prospects to work with them.
4 steps to successfully farm real estate
Now that you know what farming is, here are some steps you can take for the best results:
- Select a demographic and/or geographic location: This could be a neighborhood, school district, property type, or even a specific group of people (e.g., divorcees or senior owners).
- Start building relationships and a brand presence within this group: You can do this by sending postcards or newsletters, attending local events and networking, getting in touch on social media, etc. The goal is to increase brand awareness and meet potential sellers.
- Maintain consistent communication: Once you’ve made initial contact with members of your niche, staying in touch with them is essential. Follow up via text, phone call, or email. Even if you haven’t reached a lead, continue sending follow-ups until you get an answer.
- Track your results: Track which leads, regions, marketing methods, etc., generate desirable results to help you plan your strategy in the future.
Start farming with PropStream!
PropStream makes farming simple and efficient with data for 155+ million properties, advanced filtering capabilities, analytics, marketing tools and more.
Study a region, build custom lead lists and get in touch with one convenient, easy-to-use system with one low monthly cost. With the power of PropStream, you can do it all while accessing the most in-depth, accurate property data on the market.
Learn more about farming with PropStream by taking one of our free Academy courses, designed specifically for agents.
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