Cold call, door knock, prospect — feed your pipeline. Feed the beast.
Real estate agents always have to be on their game with many balls in the air to keep their business moving forward.
And the industry only gets more complicated as technology progresses and more lead generation offerings are available to agents.
So what’s a surefire way to find great listings?
The answer is off-market properties. Off-market listings, such as vacants, FSBOs, expireds and withdrawns, can be found through:
- Social media ads
- Direct mail
- Networking
- Cold-calling
- Driving for dollars
- Door-knocking
You might be aware of these methods discussed above, so let’s skip them. Instead, we’ll provide another lucrative option for the tech-enthusiast agents — IFTTT (If This Then That).
Before we get into the simple, automated way to generate free leads using IFTTT, let’s talk about how it works.
What is IFTTT?
IFTTT is a web-based service. The concept of this service is quite simple. The program grows connections between various websites and apps that you utilize on a regular basis.
Basically, it forms a hypothesis-conclusion connection. Albeit the performance of IFTTT is really limitless, we have listed three prime ways you can generate free leads using IFTTT.
1. Twitter > text message
This first recipe forms a connection between the SMS function of your mobile and Twitter.
When an owner in your area sends out a tweet with a proper hashtag (for example, #realestate), you will get notified.
This amazing recipe enables you to get a text message any time this happens so you won’t have to check your news feed constantly.
2. Zillow > Evernote
The second recipe forms a connection between Evernote and Zillow.
When a brand-new property is showcased on the pre-decided search that you have made in Zillow, it forms a new note within the notebook on your Evernote account.
You can simply use this for searching new pre-foreclosures and foreclosures.
3. Craigslist > email
This is the ultimate recipe, and it’s a favorite of many.
It builds a connection between your email account and Craigslist. Each time somebody writes the word “FSBO” or “owner-financing” inside the region he or she invests, it sends them an email.
There are a lot of owner-financed properties listed on Craigslist, and it’s an amazing way to be the first to know about them. It gives you an edge on getting your foot in the door before other agents in your area.
These are three simple recipes with a big pay off. Do not forget that there are numerous functionalities when it comes to IFTTT, so you can be pretty sure that there are more potential ways to utilize it in the real estate field.
What IFTTT recipes do you love using? Please share them in the comments section below.
Erica Simpson is the broker in charge at Erica Homes in Charlotte, North Carolina. Follow her on Facebook or connect with her on LinkedIn.