The easiest free prospecting strategy that takes next to no time at all.
Facebook Marketplace is probably the easiest prospecting possible and it is completely free while taking next to no time at all. This is something that should be included in your daily activities.
I highly recommend you do this from your phone. It is much faster and easier, and you can do it from anywhere. I have been through this so many times with people who want to use their computers, and every single time (literally 100 percent), once they try with their phones, they see how much easier it is.
Please, just follow the easy path we have laid out for you. I have been down the roads so many times and I know which one is easier and more effective.
MOST PEOPLE GET THIS STEP WRONG! PAY VERY CLOSE ATTENTION AND FOLLOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS STEP SAYS
This is a crucial step and many get it wrong or don't understand, so I am going to be very specific here. Please read this carefully.
Go into FB Marketplace and join as many COMMUNITY PAGES as you can. Specifically, community pages, not real estate pages. I am going to say that once more. We are not looking to join real estate sales pages, we want community pages.
Join as many community pages as you can find and all their subsequent pages. For example:
Do that for all the communities you want to work in or just in your city in general.
You will get kicked out of and banned from many of these, so you will need to join a lot. Some of these pages will have certain days you're allowed to post, and some will not allow sales or real estate posts in the guidelines. Join them anyways.
Try your best to adhere to the rules, but realistically, you will post in them every day and the ones where the admin is watching and doesn't like it, you will just not be a part of for long and move on to one where you are okay to post.
It doesn't really matter how large the page is, but I like to see at least 2,000 members in the group. If you join the general ones for your city, there will be tens of thousands or more in those groups, and those are also ones you want to be a part of.
If it is your listing, that is best of course. But if you do not have a fresh listing for the day yourself, find one in a community you want to work and ask the listing agent for permission to market it online.
Let them know you don't have to go inside or disturb anyone at all. You just want to run some ads to try and find a buyer.
You should get very little pushback here, but it is possible, and you may have to reach out to several agents. I suggest you pick up the phone and call them to build rapport and make it easier to get their permission in the future.
Note: Check with your broker if there are any permissions your board requires before posting someone else's listing.
Choose the best 8 to 10 pics from the listing you want to post. DO NOT post too many pictures, as the people looking won't have a reason to reach out or click the link to your website.
How to Post:
If it's YOUR listing:
Add the address and MLS info in the description - the lead is coming to you anyways.
If it's NOT your listing:
Try to be as vague as FB will let you with the address line and description. You want people to reach out to you if they are interested. You can also add a link to the property through your CRM to capture their info.
Add all of the options and upgrades the home has, then click "Finish Ad".
When the next page loads, it will already have "Marketplace" selected, and below it will ask if you want to post into any other groups. Currently, you can post into 20 other groups.
I suggest clicking the 20 groups you think that particular home would get the most interaction and interest from, but you can also simply click the first 20 groups down the list.
Congratulations, you have now gotten a ton of exposure from locals all over your city for free!
Sometimes you will get a ton of comments and sometimes it'll just be crickets. There is no rhyme or reason to this. Sometimes you need to post for days or weeks straight until a listing finally pops, but eventually, they will. This happens all the time to everyone.
So, like with any prospecting activity, you need to do this consistently over an extended period of time.
You will also get some hate and some love. You want both, as every comment helps you boost the algorithm in that specific group and get more views from the group itself. Embrace it all.
This will 100 percent happen. You will get haters in the comment section far more than you will get people loving the home and price.
Most often it will be someone complaining about the price and that they would never pay that much for that house. Every hater is an opportunity to show the rest of the group how you handle objections and difficult conversations.
If done properly, you will gain fans from your responses, and those fans will turn into your future buyers and sellers.
Use the "I'm okay, you're okay" method from the negotiations section. Defend your price, and do not be rude or condescending. Be firm and sharp with your responses though.
Some people will love the home and say things like they can't afford it or wish they could live there or tag a friend. Comment back to each of these people, acknowledge them, and then explain there are many paths people can take to get to a home like this.
Let them know you've helped many walk down that path. Offer to take the conversation into the DMs where you can qualify them, learn about their current situation and goals, and help them take the next steps.
Their dream home may not be their next purchase, but there could be several steps and investment properties along the way that you can help them with.
You will get a ton of accidental DMs all the time. The most common one is someone clicking the auto response, "Is this still available?"
You still want to respond to each and every single one of these. Sometimes they are truly asking that.
If they hit it by accident:
Be nice. Tell them no problem and ask open-ended questions like whether they need any help or would like any stats or info about real estate. Let them know you'd be happy to help.
If someone truly is interested:
Keep the conversation in the DMs. DO NOT try to get their number to call them right away.
Leave it easy and casual. Ask them if they would like more info on the property or if they would like to book a showing.
The Conversion Flow:
Once they agree to go on showings - THEN ask:
We purposely leave this step to the end to build rapport and trust first. Let them know we have to ask a couple questions before showing any properties due to board regulations.
"Are you working with another realtor? It's totally fine if you are, but if so, I'm not allowed to show you the home or give advice as you're already signed to someone, and it's against the rules."
"Have you been to the bank or spoken with a mortgage specialist for a pre-approval? You are allowed to see properties without a pre-approval, but it's extremely difficult to get offers accepted, especially in a multiple offer situation. It only takes a few minutes if you haven't done it yet, and we have great partners that can help."
If the home has already sold when someone inquires:
It's a great opportunity to gain them as a buyer. Simply reply: "Sorry, that home was so popular it sold pretty fast. We do have other similar ones in the area and always have new listings coming up. If you'd like, I can send you a list?"
Then follow the same steps as above.
Not every strategy has to be super complicated or require a ton of steps and scripts. The Facebook birthday strategy is a prime example of this.
The Strategy:
Send everyone a happy birthday DM and start a conversation with them about how life is going.
Timing is Key
Do this preferably the day before, or very early in the morning, as most people get flooded with messages on their birthday and stop replying or engaging in conversations by the afternoon.
What to Say:
The true intention here is to genuinely wish someone well and catch up.
This is an easy way to start a conversation with someone you may not have talked to in a while.
The Natural Transition:
It will likely come up in the conversation how you are and what you've been up to. Just like a warm call, casually mention that you're in real estate and how great things have been going.
Important Warning:
Do not go in-depth, or it may seem like you're only reaching out to fish for deals.
If they bring up real estate or ask questions, great, help them out. If not, that's still perfectly fine. You've now re-engaged a warm contact, and you can add them to your ongoing follow-ups to make sure you stay not just top of mind, but top of preference.