Utilizing your hobbies to generate leads online and offline is a win-win. You get to hang out and do something you love, all while technically working! Becoming an active member of any community will only help your real estate business.
Use this type of real estate lead generation to help build your sphere of influence. The types of leads you will receive aren’t necessarily people who want to buy or sell right now. They are people you can build a relationship with over time, and when they have a friend looking to sell or it’s time for them to move, you’ll be the first person on their mind.
So how do you get started generating leads from the hobbies you enjoy? Here are a few ideas.
Social communities
Whatever you might be into, there is probably a Facebook group for it, plus LinkedIn and Google Plus groups filled with people who have the same interest as you. And what better way for a Realtor to build leads than to talk to people who have the same interests?
Remember when you’re joining these communities that you’re not joining to promote yourself. That’s a sure-fire way to get banned quickly. Become an active member and contribute organically to the group.
Naturally, as you become more and more involved, people are going to become more curious about you and want to know more about you. That’s when you can show off that you’re the world’s best Realtor.
Forums
Forums are another great place to find people who enjoy what you do. The key to making this effective to your real estate lead generation is to search for forums that are local to you where the people actually meet up once in a while.
For example, I absolutely love motorcycles, and particularly Ducatis.
With a simple search of “Orange County Motorcycle Forums,” I found: ocmoto.com, which is an awesome local forum where other motorcycle enthusiasts talk about pertinent topics.
Bear in mind that being part of real estate forums can be good for learning from other agents, but they’re not good places for lead generation.
Meetups
Meetups like those organized on meetup.com are another great way to meet new people in your sphere of influence. You can find meetups for all ranges of activities. Maybe you haven’t done woodcarving since high school and you want to take it up again after watching “Breaking Bad.” Now you can learn a new skill and prospect at the same time!
There are lots of ways to grow your real estate business. The key is finding activities you enjoy and figuring out how you can make them work for you. If you’re an agent who likes meeting people face to face, these are great ways to find new prospects.
Andrew Gale is the founder of FlyerCo.
