Would you like more landlord leads? Well in that case this read on….
As a UK-based letting agency you’ll be aware by now that finding a new landlord or two isn’t easy – especially in the current climate where let’s face it, it’s currently a landlord’s market.
The difficulty with finding new landlords is often because they are (a) difficult to reach (b) are reluctant to use an agent having had a bad experience in the past or (c) don’t want to pay letting agency fees, preferring to do the ground work themselves. Then there is the easy accessibility of online letting agents (many of whom are prepared to offer full management packages these days).
There are some tried and tested means of finding landlords however, and we’ve listed them here:
Make sure your website looks professional. That means there shouldn’t be any spelling or grammar mistakes. Landlord leads will not come easily if you don’t appear professional and trustworthy.
The text should be easy to read and with enough spacing and paragraphs so that the visitor will want to read it in the first place. There should also be good quality images to break up the text.
Distribute leaflets locally. To generate more landlord leads, you can should run a local leaflet distribution campaigns. This could be to households in the area (immediate and further out) and to businesses, community centres, libraries, retail outlets etc.
Make sure the leaflet looks good with quality images and not too much text (ie so that it’s easy to read). Get a local leaflet drop team to deliver them or pay for them to be distributed inside the local newspaper or free sheet.
Discount existing landlords. Landlords beget landlords ie landlords congregate on online forums and in physical meeting places. A word-of-mouth referral from an existing landlord will be worth far more credence than taking out a 6 x 4” advert in a local newspaper for example.
To entice that landlord to do the marketing for you it’s a good idea to offer them a discount for any new landlords they bring to your business (ie 10 per cent off their current letting fees etc).
Use ‘To Let’ boards. They may seem an old-fashioned way to advertise but they’re effective and chances are someone who is looking to rent out their property locally may just happen to be walking down the very road on which your company name and telephone number is displayed for an existing property.
Popular property portals. Big online sites such as Rightmove and propertyfinder get thousands of visitors clicking on to them on a daily basis. As a result it makes sense to have a presence on these sites. Not only could this bag you a few landlords, but it also gives you valuable brand recognition.
Compile up-to-date lists. Landlords that you’ve previously looked after property for could still be on the hunt for a new agent – even if they did leave your agency to go elsewhere. Why not try and entice them back with a discount for returning landlords? If you’ve kept your admin up to date then you should still have their address on file.
Cold calling. It not everyone’s favourite job but it does work and you don’t even need the gift of the gab. Just be friendly, trustworthy and polite (try to avoid your conversation sounding as if you’re reading off a script). Tell them why you’re calling, what you can offer, negotiate if that’s what they’re looking for, then set up a meeting.
We hope this helps you attract more landlord leads for your estate agency.
Keep coming back to our blog every week for more tips on how to get landlord’s to pay attention to your letting agency.