Ever get those missed calls from unknown numbers? You know, the ones you ignore and then Google to see who called? Well, guess what? This is what your leads are doing when they’re not picking up the phone. And it’s a golden opportunity knocking at your door.

Turn missed calls into clients

Imagine turning those missed calls into clients. Have you ever actually Googled those numbers to see what shows up when the leads Google the number?

This isn’t some far-fetched idea — it’s a real tactic that can boost your business. It’s a micro-moment that’s oft-neglected, especially when it comes to phone numbers tied to a CRM. CRM-based numbers are more likely to seem like they’re fake when calling. They’d have no history or results most of the time, which for many people is a clear sign of a scam call.

So, that snap judgment of, “Is this spam, a scam or a call worth answering?” is a critical moment. You don’t have long to convince someone.

Do these two things

You should do two things — the first is setting up a branded call display.

The second … Imagine this for a moment. They type your phone number into Google and the first result is:

“Did XXX-XXX-XXXX just try calling you? That was me!”

They’re going to click on that.

What to include in your call

The same way you respond to online leads, you approach this with:

1. A polite opening
2. A mutually agreeable fact
3. An easy-to-answer question

Tell them who you are, point out why you’d have been calling and then ask them a question.

So, that opening could be: “Hi, I’m Andrew with JSH Realty. You got a call from XXX-XXX-XXXX, you typed it into Google and now you’ve come here. Are you curious why I called?”

Then, you can list out the ways you collect leads and go into a call-to-action. These will be specific to your business.

This is a really easy backend page to put on your website. It will also be easy to rank at the top for your phone number since no one is trying to compete with you.

Turning missed calls into clients isn’t just possible, it’s a simple way to boost your conversion rates. By creating a dedicated phone number page, you provide potential clients with the information they need and make it easy for them to reach out to you. Start implementing this today and watch your missed calls turn into valuable client interactions.

By the way, if you want a PDF template of how the page on your site should be structured, just DM me on Instagram with PHONE SEO so I know what you’re looking for, and I’ll send you the PDF.

Sales results really shouldn’t be a struggle. Many business owners and realtors find prospecting to be labourious perhaps because they are doing the wrong things. These things include focusing on what they like in their business, rather than what is actually needed to succeed. But it’s time to level up and win.

Volume focuses on achieving the sales numbers — it’s purely based on the quantity of leads that come in and the deals that you close.

On the other hand, refinement involves the quality of sales and customer interactions. Refinement strategies zero in on improving customer satisfaction and building long-term relationships over the long haul. Here, customer feedback is extremely valuable.

Here are some tips on implementing volume and refinement strategies.

Strategies to boost sales volume

1. Expand your market. Identify new target markets or demographics. Who else can you reach out to? What problems can you solve in different markets?

By focusing on and expanding your ICP (ideal customer profile), your results will surely come. Research emerging neighbourhoods, cities or regions with high growth potential. Keep up with real estate trends (price changes and economic factors). 

2. Generate leads. Do the grunt work yourself or hire others to do it for you. Invest in activities like advertising, content marketing, SEO and cold outreach. Develop a robust online presence through social media and create a strong website.

Focus on the activities that bring in results. Do more than you think in at least one or two of those areas, and refine your approach later.  

3. Provide incentives. As a senior sales executive or broker, you need to motivate your sales team with performance-based incentives. We often hear about this, but it truly moves things along. When your team members feel important, they will work harder.

A great commission or bonus can do wonders to boost motivation, for example. You can base quarterly or annual bonuses on overall performance. 

Strategies to boost sales refinement

1. Use a CRM system. By tracking important conversations, you learn about your customers. You can take measures to improve interactions and strengthen overall customer service. Customer feedback should be analyzed. Always identify what you can do better.

The number one interest of real estate agents is to capture more leads. Lead management through a CRM (customer relationship management) system will automatically capture leads from various sources, including your website, LinkedIn and other social media as well as listing sites.

2. Get professional sales training. Continuously train your sales team on best practices. Keep them up to date on product knowledge. Find out what areas individual reps need to work on (cold outreach, content marketing, following up, etc.). By investing in such training or coaching, the productivity of your sales reps will increase. In-depth training on the local market, including neighborhood specifics and zoning laws will greatly benefit agents.

3. Add a personalized touch. Tailor your sales approaches and marketing messages to individual customer needs. Offer additional services that enhance client experiences. Providing after-sales support to demonstrate your care is crucial for maintaining relationships, encouraging referrals and reinforcing your overall reputation as a broker or realtor.

Pitch, test, refine, try again

Volume provides quick gains. Whether achieved through digital marketing, open houses or networking, your overall outreach increases. The idea is to test what works. Begin by doing a ton of cold calls, posts on social media, etc. Then, go back and refine your message, your sales script and how you connect with customers after the sale.

Testing what works is uncomfortable. No one likes to feel like they don’t have it right, but that’s exactly where it all begins.

Refinement provides sustainability. By understanding your clients better, you serve them better. As you move forward in your business, remember that a balanced approach to volume and refinement strategies is great for learning and improving sales.

Ready to sharpen your Instagram game, boost lead generation and grow your community (and your real estate business) this year?

In an era where authenticity reigns supreme, delivering unforgettable social content that captivates is the secret sauce for taking your real estate brand to the next level.

What makes content unforgettable, you ask? Today, we’re spilling our agency-approved Instagram tips and strategies for increasing engagement and building a real estate brand that stands out from the crowd.

Crush your captions

To create compelling captions that resonate with your audience, use a proven caption formula to drive engagement on Instagram:

1. Start with a scroll-stopping hook. You already know from scrolling through social media that the hook is what makes you stop and read. Strong hooks evoke emotion and make viewers think “I HAVE to hear what they’re going to say next!” This could be a compelling question, a bold statement or a powerful statistic related to real estate.

Here are some unique hook examples.

• Use a “what if” scenario: “What if you could cut your mortgage in half?”
• Strike their curiosity: “This one tip helped my client sell for tens of thousands more…”
• Go against the grain: “I’m done with the ‘sold over asking’ marketing tactic. Here’s why…”

2. Tell a story. When it comes to Instagram marketing, sharing basic tips and generic advice is no longer an effective strategy. Instead, use storytelling in your caption to connect with your audience more deeply, provide valuable insight and stir emotion. Make your content memorable and impactful by sharing your personal experiences and lessons learned as a realtor.

Remember, every story has a beginning, middle and end. Use the beginning to paint the picture of the problem, share the climax in the middle (what happened next) and then offer key takeaways to end with the solution or transformation.

3. Add a call to action. Don’t overlook this important step in creating a killer caption. At the end of your post, invite viewers to engage with a clear call to action that prompts them to take the next step — like visiting your website, booking a consultation or engaging with your content.

For example:

“Head over to the link in my bio to schedule your free call.”

“Comment ‘MOVE’ and I’ll send you my free Buying Guide!”

“Ready to buy or sell a home in 2024? Hop into my DMs and we’ll chat about your real estate goals!”

Show the real you

You keep getting told to “show up authentically”, but what does this even mean? The reality is, it’s different for everyone. The best way to connect with your audience is to share a glimpse into your daily life — morning coffee at your favourite local spot, your furry friends or the Netflix show you’re currently binging, for example.

Contrary to popular belief, potential clients aren’t necessarily going to connect with you for what you sell. They’re going to connect with you because of who you are. And, as it turns out, once people feel connected with you, they’ll be a lot more interested in your business. 

The easiest place to start? Your Instagram stories! Showing up regularly on your Instagram stories is the perfect way to share relatable moments and establish trust with your audience. This is what really entices your dream clients to “slide into your DMs.”

Ask yourself: who are you outside of your role as a real estate agent? Maybe you’re also a parent who spends your free time hiking and LOVES thrifting on the weekend. Whatever your interests are, sharing what makes you unique provides endless opportunities to connect with potential clients. 

Document with video

Instagram Reels has become a powerful tool for boosting engagement and nurturing your audience. The best part? You don’t need extensive video shooting or editing skills to do it. 

Help potential clients visualize working with you by capturing simple b-roll (short, behind-the-scenes video clips) of your daily life as a real estate agent. It can be as simple as unlocking a door, touring a home, exploring a neighbourhood, talking on the phone or working on your laptop. Once you’ve gathered your clips, it’s time to tell a story. 

Give these Reel prompts a try: 

• Day in the life of a realtor
• Staging a home: What you see vs what you don’t
• Red flags to look for when buying a home
• Green flags to look for when choosing a realtor

Maximize your reach with carousels

Camera shy? You’re not alone. Luckily, carousel posts are another effective way to boost engagement on Instagram. Here are a few ways to use carousel posts in your content strategy.

Education. Educate your audience about the current state of the real estate market, emerging trends and investment opportunities. Break down complex topics related to real estate into easy-to-understand slides, providing step-by-step instructions, tutorials or informative graphics. Refer to the caption formula above for mapping out your carousel.

Client success stories. Use carousels to share success stories from past clients. Keep in mind that it’s not just about sharing client feedback, it’s about spelling out the transformation from the client’s perspective while, at the same time, showcasing your expertise. 

Local business and neighbourhood highlights. Highlight local businesses to showcase the community and support fellow entrepreneurs. Include photos of businesses such as coffee shops, boutiques or restaurants, along with captions that describe the products or services they offer and why they’re worth visiting. Encourage viewers to support local businesses and explore the neighbourhood.

Put it into practice

Your turn! Use these proven strategies in your Instagram marketing today, and you’ll start seeing results. By embracing these tactics, you’ll not only enhance your content but also cultivate an online presence that resonates deeply with your ideal clients and keeps you top-of-mind when they’re ready to make a move. 

Up next, stay tuned for some of our best website tips to attract the right audience and leave them wanting more (plus, find out what NOT to do!)

In an effort to create more conversations between potential sellers and Royal LePage agents, Royal LePage has launched QuickQuote™, an Automated Valuation Model (AVM) that provides Canadians with current market property valuations.

By focusing on providing value to consumers through AVMs, Royal LePage is able to help consumers while simultaneously helping their agents grow their business. It’s a true win-win.

QuickQuote™ is an AI-driven, algorithm-based software program which provides Canadians with current market property valuations. While there are other AVM tools available to Canadians, QuickQuote™ is the first truly national home value estimator on a real estate website.

AVMs generate instant estimates by using advanced analytics and algorithms that analyze data points for a specific property, typically factoring in things like market trends, historical sales data and current listings. The accuracy of AVM technology is largely dependent on the quality of data available for a certain property, with estimates varying depending on the product type or location.

These tools can be effective starting points for prospective sellers trying to estimate the current market value of their home. They also work as a great marketing and lead generation tool, as estimates need insights from a Realtor to help contextualize the valuation, prompting sellers to engage with an agent to better identify a home’s current market value.

In assessing the competitive landscape, the need to create a Canadian-based AVM customized for Canada’s real estate industry became apparent. With QuickQuote™, users can receive estimates for properties across Canada, both on and off the market.

The tool was designed to help generate consumer interest in a property and drive seller leads to sales professionals within the Royal LePage network, giving them an opportunity to strengthen their client relationships and build new ones.

Having accurate data to generate home price estimates is a critical aspect of an AVM’s success. This is why QuickQuote™ is powered by, and leverages, the proprietary real estate data, advanced modeling and AI techniques of RPS Real Property Solutions. QuickQuote™ generates an instant estimate range of a property’s current value, and also provides an opportunity to improve the estimates’ accuracy by entering additional details about the property, including square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, renovations, and more.

Ultimately an AVM generates leads, facilitates conversations and allows agents to build relationships with potential sellers. With QuickQuote™’s unique and truly national data set, Royal LePage agents can take advantage of a new source of seller leads to grow their client database.

Real estate platform Wahi has launched an artificial intelligence-powered realtor recommendation system that aims to provide consumers with top realtors in their areas, and realtors with lead generations for clients.

“It’s meant for consumers to have a better way to find the best realtor for them,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen, “And it’s a great way for great realtors to get new clients.”

AI-powered realtor matching system

Known as Wahi Marketplace, the system launched in parts of Ontario on June 22 after a more than one-month soft launch period.

Katchen says clients usually find realtors through local advertising, online searches or referrals from friends, family or colleagues. According to questions for Wahi included in Sagen’s First-time Homebuyers Survey conducted by Environics, 45 per cent of recent buyers or those intending to buy a home relied on referrals from family, friends or colleagues to find their realtor.

However, an evidence-based measurement of how well the realtor performs for clients was lacking, he says.

“What we’re trying to do is recommend the top 10 per cent realtor for the type of dwelling you’re trying to buy or sell in the area you’re trying to buy or sell in,” on a hyper-local basis, down to postal codes. 

Katchen notes that a realtor who might be great in Mississauga “may not be the best realtor for downtown Toronto.”

Evidence-based realtor ratings

Wahi worked with The Vector Institute, which is dedicated to AI research, to create the system. It considers several factors to match realtors with consumers, including property search location, type and price, realtor experience, expertise, performance and sales history.

Concerning sales, it’s not necessarily a question of who has sold the most. Rather, “We want to know that there’s a minimum transaction going in that area because that’s indicative that you know that area.”

Factors ranging from the syntax and grammar and photo quality of listings to how long it took for listings to sell compared to similar properties in the area are also considered.

“We invite certain realtors that meet our criteria to essentially opt-in,” Katchen says. “It’s entirely at their discretion.”

New realtors will not be invited to apply, he says, noting, “We think the message of getting a top 10 per cent realtor resonates with consumers.”

Realtors get qualified leads “at a level of digital savviness that may be above and beyond the average consumer, as these consumers have found them through a digital portal.”

Commission structure

If a deal closes after a realtor is recommended to a client, Wahi makes a 0.5 per cent commission.

During the first month of the soft launch period, Wahi signed up about 50 realtors and concluded its first deal using the new system with Jack Dyer, broker of record for Dyer Realty in Cambridge, Ont. who made a transaction with a client in Kitchener Waterloo after being matched. 

Dyer says Wahi is choosing its real estate agents not by random but through research. 

“They make sure they have a certain amount of experience. They actually even read reviews and knew a little bit about me and what I had done in the industry,” Dyer says. “As a real estate agent, you get called, at least I do, weekly from lead generation services which I promptly delete or ignore. But with Wahi, because of their research and the fact they know a little bit about you, we had that instantaneous connection. It felt nice to be recognized not necessarily for the volume of work that you do but the quality of work.”

Hyper-local recommendations

Wahi connected Dyer with a young couple seeking a first home in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. The spring market kicked in, and it was “a terrible sellers’ market, so we had a really tough time, but we eventually found them a home that they love,” says Dyer, who has now been given a second referral by Wahi. 

Katchen says the service is just getting going, “But we’re finding there’s a pretty good response — we’re finding clients for (realtors) that they wouldn’t otherwise find. It’s just another source of potential clients for them.”

“We don’t want to just spray leads around. We’d rather have fewer numbers of great agents that we’re working with that we know are going to respond when we send them a lead.”

– Benjy Katchen, CEO, Wahi

There is no specific target number for the number of realtors Katchen hopes will sign with Wahi.