Revealed: top ways agents can generate leads in 2021

Despite the imposition of the third lockdown, which is being reviewed later this month when Boris Johnson sets out his roadmap out of the strongest set of restrictions since March last year, the property market has been allowed to stay open and is broadly expected to have a good year – especially in the first quarter.

What’s more, with the UK’s vaccine rollout programme going successfully so far, there is some light at the end of the tunnel as we begin to emerge from the worst point of the pandemic.

However, while the market is strong – and even being supercharged at the moment by the end of the stamp duty holiday and other favourable conditions for both buyers and sellers, and landlords and tenants – agents should never get complacent in simply expecting new business to come to them.

It’s now more important than ever to have a successful lead generating system in place to ensure you can improve and grow your business. Without hot leads, after all, your business soon comes unstuck.

But what are the best ways of generating leads in the year ahead? Fortunately, here at The ValPal Network, we have a number of strategies to help our member agents. We set out just some of these below.

ValPal instant online valuations

Our original product, and the thing that has really powered the Network’s growth since, we were the first to understand the huge importance to agents of instant online valuations in generating leads.

By having this call to action button on your website, drawing prospective vendors and landlords in, you can capture their data and follow-up with them at a later date if they are looking to sell or let.

You can find out more about what our flagship product does, and take a free test drive of the ValPal tool, by clicking here.

Nurturing an existing database

Of course, it’s not really enough on its own to just generate lots of leads – you want to generate hot leads which are easier to convert. You don’t want to be in contact with sellers and landlords when they’re cold, and not interested in selling or letting. You want to catch them at exactly the right time.

This is where our recently launched MovePal product comes into its own. By combining lead generation with automated lead nurturing, MovePal offers an ideal solution for agencies looking to automate the responsibility of lead generation, nurturing and conversion, leaving your agents to deal with hot prospects when they are ready to speak to you.

What’s more, MovePal can identify these for you, meaning cold-calls and hopeful pitches are a thing of the past. To help save time and make things more efficient, it’s targeted and specific.

In essence, it’s a personalised but automated two-way communication platform, which uses email, SMS and voice drops to keep your brand in front of all your data.

In addition, a nurture programme – both short and long-term – is offered to ensure that you know when sellers and landlords are interested in taking action. With so much for agents to currently get their head around, thanks to Covid, Brexit, the stamp duty holiday and new legislation, MovePal can act as your 12th man – working away in the background to ensure hot leads don’t slip through the net.

Making use of social media

Most agencies will now have some form of social media, whether it be Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or accounts on YouTube, LinkedIn and TikTok.

These can all help to generate leads by giving your agency a human and public face. You might, as a result of having these platforms and posting regular and interesting content (not just images of properties for sale or to let, but also blogs, tips pieces, news stories, charity initiatives and consumer-facing advice), be approached directly by a would-be seller or landlord.

There’s your in. But this will probably be a rarity. Instead, it’s the targeted Facebook and Google ads which can really help your business to grow, by driving traffic to your website.

You can find out more about social media and content marketing, and how to use something like a monthly newsletter to retain clients, by clicking here.

Qualifying buyer and tenant portal leads

We also have PortalPal, which helps to pre-qualify all of your Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket leads and adds to your bottom line through referrals.

How does PortalPal work? Well, to put it simply, a portal lead comes in, PortalPal emails the applicant with a survey, the applicant fills in the survey, and then both agent and suppliers get hot leads.

It’s more detailed and nuanced than that, of course, and it’s all laid out more clearly in our snazzy PortalPal brochure.

Doing things traditionally

Lastly, despite the world becoming ever more digital – and this trend being further accelerated by the pandemic – traditional advertising still has its place. While leaflet drops may currently be a less advisable strategy, they can still be effective in more normal times. As can be the case with canvassing letters.

In a more digital sense, email e-shots are a tried and tested form of marketing which have long helped agents to generate leads.

In addition, while they are divisive, estate agent boards can still be a very effective way of getting your name out there and exposing your business to the local community. Word of mouth and visual brand recognition at a local level are still hugely important, perhaps more important now that localism is having a comeback and the benefits of the 15-minute town or city are being trumpeted.

Building up a good reputation and a positive image of your agency in the local area is still one of the best ways of generating leads and getting people to recommend your agency to others.

If you’d like to find out more about our suite of products, and how they can help you to generate more (and better) leads in 2021, please get in touch with us today.