New agent; How do you get buyers after signing a contract?

Question

I almost have my license and I've been doing hours upon hours of research on what to do as an agent to get contracts signed. Everything I'm watching and reading is great but it's all related to closing deals with sellers. My question is, how do you get the house sold after getting the contract signed? Where do you find the buyers from? And who should you be communicating with in order to find them? I'm here to learn as much as I can, so any and all answers are appreciated. Also, if you have any real estate books to recommend, I'd love to hear your suggestions. Thanks.

Share Ross · Answer

Hey @Kayla Brown the first step new agents do is usually start out as Buyer's agents. It is the easiest way to get going. As for getting those buyers? TONS of ways. Facebook Marketplace. Craigslist. You can post listings that say 'any broker advertise' and that will give you buyer leads.

If you have a listing and you are wondering how on earth to get it sold ... typically, you put it in the MLS which then propagates it to all those other sites (zillow etc.) and buyer's agents will find it in their searches for the right property for their clients. You need professional photos, a great description and nowadays, a virtual or video tour.

Open houses are of course a great way to get buyer leads but ... in today's climate, that is challenging right now.

Where are you located in Florida?

Abel Curiel · Answer

Hello Kayla,

If I'm understanding your question correctly, you're asking how to find buyers for properties that you have listed on the market. I'm assuming "getting the contract signed" is referring to a listing agreement so please correct me if I'm wrong on that...

That being said:

- The best way to find buyers is by posting your listings on MLS. Your local MLS will syndicate to Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com and other sites which will help you increase exposure and attract buyers.

- Open houses will help you attract active buyers and future buyers (some folks will attend just to 'browse', keep in contact with them!)

- FB advertising is an excellent way to get buyer leads directly before they find your listing on MLS or 3rd party sites. MLS and Open houses will oftentimes attract buyers who already have agents so FB ads are a great source for direct leads.

- Social Media helps you attract buyers that are in your sphere of influence.

If I misunderstood your question and you're asking about finding any buyers in your market WITHOUT having any active listings:

- Host open houses for listings that other agents in your office/market have. This will allow you to meet buyers face to face and follow up with them to secure a buyer consultation/appointment.

- Consider purchasing online leads through RE websites (i.e. Zillow, Realtor.com, etc)

- Call your sphere of influence. Make a list of EVERYONE you know and call them. i.e. family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, former classmates/co-workers, etc.

Book recommendations:

Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller - very practical book. Gary helps everything make sense by reverse engineering the goal of $1M income and getting that goal chopped down to actionable and measurable steps.

The E-Myth by Michael Gerber- Highly recommended no matter what type of business you’re looking to begin - RE Investing, construction, development, property management, etc. My main takeaway, treat RE sales like a business, not a job. Anyone can open a door to show a house. Thats a job. Learn the business, take the necessary action each day to work ON the business as well as IN the business.

Best of luck to you on obtaining your license!

Abel

Share Ross · Answer

Hey @Kayla Brown... that depends on who you're with once again. In my group, locally ... our photography costs are covered. Around here, if I did have to pay for it, I would expect around $150-250 per listing. (depends on what is included) Well worth it for how it will stand out against the other non-pro shot listings! Hope that helps.

Kayla Brown · Answer

Hey Share,

Thank you for the information! I'm glad you were able to spark some ideas for me regarding attracting buyers. When it comes to listing properties and you need to bring a photographer/videographer in, do you have your own contacts for that or does the brokerage usually provide such services? I'm located in the Sarasota-Charlotte county area. I'd love to hear some more tips from you!

Diane S. · Answer

as a new agent you need to decide where you will hang your license,(broker), you dont work on your own, part of the idea is than an experienced agent will over see you and help you work,there are many companies out there, interview with a few, let them talk, most would rather hear themselves anyway, steer clear of more independents that boast letting you keep more, not for newbees, i started out with national chains till going to remax after many years, the chains will will have additional training for you, I also mentored two other agents after hitting elite status on nationals, be ready to give some of commission for mentoring, dont volunteer it up front, you will have many fees to pay starting out, sometimes you can also be an assistant to a major agent too, you will list thru a multiple listing service that other agents used to find houses, public too, they cost also for membership, on your own you cant list on craigs and do open houses, there are some who only list and some who only sell, and some inbetween, if you are lucky enough to get both sides, suggest you get someone else to take buyers side for transaction if you have iron clad relationship, or stay neutral, some list only to take buyers elsewhere, one house one sale, one house many buyers, what ever you do stay intouch with listings, plus with national agency lots of experience, lots of ads, national website, referrals,traing avail if you got in this to work from home and make a large commission right away you got sold, fees will eat you up, sales take time, money and experience, some get in it to buy their own, that is an option too, do lots of phone time, stay friendly with all in office, avoid politics of all kinds, do rentals to pay the fees, they can turn into buyers, expect to make first listing within 3-6 months, sale 6 months, till up to speed, my standard was 2 of each a month, some more some less depend on season, can tell you stories.... doing floor time once had buyer walk in, said wanted to spend no more than 2, turns out was million, no one wanted to do floor time, also my first listing was a real frank loyd wright home, other agents would me give their rental lookers, be willing for all, I worked in area of NJ where a famous golf course is, was one of few that belonged to all 3 mls, so had advantage, a $1500 corp rental relocation will some day buy, get to know the relo person, we used to give nice gifts to clients, make it something they will see everyday not flowers or candy

Kayla Brown · Answer

Wow, this is valuable information for me. I really appreciate you taking the time to give me such detailed answers. I would love to get into contact with your colleague so I can ask a few state-specific questions, thank you!

Abel Curiel · Answer

1. Not sure. You'd have to ask a FL Realtor. I have a colleague in Florida who I'd be happy to connect you with.

2. Yes! This could be one of the faster ways to sell a listing. Connecting with Realtors within your network (inside and outside of your office) is a great way to build relationships in the industry. It could also help you gain access to off-market properties for your buyer clients in the future.

3. The listings automatically syndicate to 3rd party sites. I would still recommend you create profiles on Zillow, Trulia, Realtor, Redfin, etc. This will help build your credibility with prospective clients. Your bio with links to your website and/or contact information.

Do not focus on 1 house or 1 client at a time. It will drive you nuts and halt your lead generation.

As a new agent, you should aim to get as much business as you can in the beginning. You may not have current business but you DO have time.

Time block so that you can have parts of your day where you contact sellers, buyers and personal circle/sphere of influence. I.e. 9-11am prospect for sale by owner/sellers; 11am-12pm call buyer leads; 12-1pm Lunch; 1-2pm call sphere of influence; 2-6pm follow up calls and go on appointments.

If you follow the schedule consistently over the course of 3 months, you'll build up your pipeline so much that you'll have all the business you can handle.

Kayla Brown · Answer

Hi Abel,

Thank you so much for your response, by "getting the contract signed" I did mean a listing agreement. I have continued to research and I think what I'm confused about is "buyer's agents" and "seller's agents". Here's a few more questions I have:

1. I live in Florida so dual agency is illegal. Can I get a buyer to come in and buy the house as long as I don't have a contract with the buyer? (assuming I'm representing the seller).

2. If I mainly want to focus on listings, is it common to talk to other agents inside your brokerage to find buyers for your listings?

3. You mentioned that listing a house in the MLS will syndicate to other real estate sites. Does this happen automatically? Or do you need to go and create profiles on all of those sites?

Most of these questions derive from a concern that if I promise a bunch of sellers that I will sell their houses, I won't know how to find buyers for the house. Do I just focus on getting listings and let the buyers come to me? Or should I try to sell one house at a time? I want to be able to complete this process as efficiently as possible, so I would love some expert opinions on the best system to follow for this.

P.S. I apologize if my questions don't make sense. I'm not really sure what I'm asking yet! Ask to elaborate and I'd be more than happy to. I'm fascinated by all of this and want to learn as much as possible. Thanks!

New agent; How do you get buyers after signing a contract?

New agent; How do you get buyers after signing a contract?

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