10 ways to generate more leads this autumn

It’s common knowledge that buyers and sellers are typically more active in real estate when the weather warms up, flowers are in bloom and properties present at their best, but this doesn’t mean that as the temperature cools off this autumn that your business has to as well.

Here are ten marketing ideas to try out this season to help you meet new potential clients and generate hot leads in your service suburbs.

1. When it’s too chilly to leave the house use the extra time you spend indoors to catch up on your writing commitments. Show off your real estate knowledge by writing a home buyers or sellers guide to promote on your blog or social media channels. Alternatively, you could put together an email newsletter that showcases why cooler months can be a great time to buy or sell a home, citing reasons such as less competition, faster sales, gardens look their prettiest and lower reserve prices.

2. Get in touch with local home maintenance businesses and let them know you’re happy to refer your clients to them and you’d love for them to return the favour. You could even put together a flyer drop or social media update with a home maintenance checklist. Include tasks to be completed before winter (e.g. gutter cleaning, roof repairs, leaf blowing, gas heater servicing etc.) with the contact details of reputable local home maintenance vendors. See if you can arrange a small discount or giveaway with vendors to grab the attention of readers, it never hurts to ask.

3. April 3, 2016 marks the end of daylight savings in the ACT, NSW, SA, TAS and VIC. Touch base and help out your former and current clients by sending a friendly postcard reminder to set their clocks back an hour on April 3.

4. Head to garage sales on the weekend in your local area. Garage sales indicate that the homeowner is de-cluttering and may be preparing to sell up or move somewhere new. So they may be in need of your services. At the very least, you might pick up a lead or maybe a bargain or two!

5. For many Aussies, autumn means one thing: the footy’s back. Not only is the AFL back on, but local football leagues and soccer club seasons kick off. Give back to the community by sponsoring a hot jam donut truck or coffee cart to attend local games. Better yet, serve up the coffees and treats yourself to meet and chat with potential clients during half time. You can also have mini branded footballs made up with your company logo and contact details on them to hand out at games so people can easily get in touch.

6. Autumn is the perfect time to quickly check in with past clients and hot leads by dropping off seasonal gifts. Keep visits short, sweet and conversational, or simply leave a handwritten note. The purpose of the gift is to simply keep you top of mind and remind clients that cooler months are a great time to sell or buy. You could drop off some Easter eggs in the lead up to the Easter long weekend or a tin of ANZAC biscuits before ANZAC day.

7. Ask past clients to write a review on your Homely Agent Profile. Having many glowing reviews gives incoming online leads reassurance of your capabilities and makes them more likely to choose you over the competition.

8. Collaborate with local store owners who may be seeing a dip in their business come autumn (I.e. ice cream stores or surf shops) to create a coupon. In exchange for a 10 per cent discount at their store offer to cover the cost of the mail out in your neighbourhood and the printing of the branded postcard coupons to bring in more business for you both.

9. Write several detailed suburb reviews to demonstrate your local area expertise and knowledge of the marketplace. You could talk about what makes the area great for families/student/young professionals/retirees, and what access to public transport, schools, parks, cafes and shops is like there. To write a review visit the Suburb Reviews page, search for your location and click the ‘Write Review’ button.

10. All around the country autumn marks school holidays on the calendar. A great way to enter the good graces of local families is to create a colourful map of your local area marking the best playgrounds, bike paths, swimming pools, ice rinks, parks and other places where activities of interest are on during the school holidays. Distribute the maps in a local mail drop to display your extensive local knowledge. 

When it comes to a slower real estate season you need to be poised to take extra steps to ensure you have quality leads in the pipeline. We hope these marketing ideas have helped to get your creative and more inventive lead generation juices flowing for the cooler months ahead.