The other day, someone asked this question:

"How do you generate enough good content on your Facebook business page to get people to reach out to you to buy or sell real estate with you?"

I answered the first part of the question just a few days ago, How do you generate enough good real estate content on your Facebook business page

Today I want to focus on the second part of this question:

"How do you get people to reach out to you to buy or sell real estate with you?"

If you haven’t already, go over and read my post on The Facebook Funnel – The Real Estate Lead Generation Process Using Facebook

You’ll need to understand the entire real estate lead generation process as it pertains to Facebook in order to understand this small segment I’m addressing today.

Ok. Back to the question at hand:

How do you get people to reach out to you to buy or sell real estate with you?

First, let me paint you a picture (with words).

Imagine you have no idea how to alpine (downhill) ski. I’m going to take you up to the mountain with me today. We get there. You get your clothes, boots, skis on and we head over to the lift. We jump on and head up to a gorgeous, deep snow, black diamond run (if you don’t know the lingo, black diamond simply means advanced). We push off the top and head down. It’s exhilarating. We hit the bottom and head up for another run.

Oh.

Wait.

Maybe you don’t know how to ski.  Or maybe, you’ve only been to a single lesson.  Or maybe, you’ve been a couple times but you’ve never done a black diamond run in deep snow.

So I suppose that just because I got you up to the mountain and even got you to put the equipment on, doesn’t mean you are ready to make the leap to a black diamond run, right?

Well, let's apply that to Facebook.

Just because I’ve gotten a prospect to “like” my Facebook page (put on the equipment) doesn’t mean that prospect is ready to call me and buy a house today (hit the lifts and big slopes).

So, by jumping from “getting them to my Facebook page” right into “call me to use my services”, you are skipping a whole heck of a lot of lessons and practice. Many times, months and months of practice.

In the business world, you have got to nurture and nurture and nurture the leads.

But, in order to nurture a lead, you’ve got to get that lead to give you a WAY to nurture them.

Image courtesy of [Master isolated images] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
An email address.

You need the prospect to give you their email address.

How?

Give them something they can’t refuse. Give them something they want.

Give it to them using their email address as an exchange.

Get their email address into your contact management system.

People hate the word “email drip campaign”, but that is exactly what you are doing. You are setting up a way to contact them on a continuing, recurring basis, until the time that their need for your services hits a point that they then feel the need to reach out to you to use your services.

It’s all in the timing.

That time frame is a long time. Long. Consumers are starting their search months and months, years and years, before they are ready to make the move to buy or sell real estate.

The more information that is available at their fingertips, the farther in advance they start the process.

Capture them into your email database at any time in that process, whether it be the very beginning or the point where they are ready to choose a home (or sell). Your “fastest” sales will be people who’ve already been in the process for months and months. However, if you know how sales work, the most amount of sales will come from the 90% who are not ready “right now”.

If you nurture them over the long run, they’ll be yours.

But, in order to get them to “be yours”, you have got to give them value. You’ve got to give them something that they want enough that they will give you their email address to get it.

And, don’t make the mistake and think that what you have to give is “listings”. While that is one thing, that’s definitely not the only thing, nor is it the most valuable thing, not by a long shot.

Image courtesy of [Stuart Miles] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Do your research.

Step out into other real estate markets and do some serious web searches. Check out what other awesome real estate agents are giving their prospects in exchange for an email address. You don’t have to read it or even look at it. Just look at WHAT they are offering – is it ebooks? Is it video training? Podcasts? What?

Now, step outside of the real estate industry.  What are other businesses giving their online leads?  How can you take that idea and mold it to work with your real estate business?

What appeals to you? What appeals to your clients you’ve already served? What is something totally the opposite of what everyone else is giving out?

Take that and create something valuable to give to your consumers. Something that fits you and your personality.

Now back to the original concept, you must get an email address in order to move your lead along the steps to becoming a client. They don’t just leap. They walk. Be there with them every step of the way.

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Questions are being asked by real estate agents over on our Facebook for Real Estate Agents group. Are you part of this fantastic group? If you are not, you are definitely missing out.