Skip to content In real estate, listings are the lifeblood of a sustainable, profitable business. While working with buyers can be rewarding, securing a healthy pipeline of listings is what truly drives long-term success.
Quick Links:
- Why Listings Are More Valuable Than Buyer Clients
- Strategy 1: Maximize Your Sphere of Influence (SOI)
- Strategy 2: Convert Expired Listings
- Strategy 3: Target FSBOs Strategically
- Strategy 4: Become the Neighborhood Expert
- Conclusion
This guide explores four proven strategies to help you get more real estate listings, from maximizing your sphere of influence to converting high-potential lead sources like Expireds and FSBOs.
Why Listings Are More Valuable Than Buyer Clients
Listings form the foundation of a sustainable real estate business for several compelling reasons:
Higher Return on Time Investment
When you list a property, you’re leveraging your time more effectively. Consider these advantages:
- One listing can generate multiple commissions when it leads to buyer referrals
- Listings require fewer showing hours compared to working with buyers
- You control the transaction timeline rather than waiting for buyers to make decisions
However, buyer clients have a longer transaction timeline, more showing hours, and are less likely to result in referrals later on. Especially if you are spread thin in your working hours, optimizing your listings can reduce the hours needed to get commissions in the long term.
Predictable Income and Business Growth
Additionally, listings provide:
- More stable commission pipeline since you’re not dependent on buyers finding the right property
- Enhanced market presence as your signs and marketing materials increase visibility
- Opportunity to become a neighborhood specialist by owning local listings
In our guide and template for writing a real estate business plan, we discussed highlighting your strengths and weaknesses being critical to understanding how to grow your business over time. One of your weaknesses might be spending too much time on activities that don’t bring you money. If you find yourself in this position, it might be worth taking a deeper look at the clients you work with.
Without any further ado, lets get into the strategies to help you get more of these listings.
Strategy 1: Maximize Your Sphere of Influence (SOI)
As a real estate agent, your biggest strength is how many people know your name. More commonly known as your sphere of influence, these people can send you referrals and will eventually list with you. That’s why your sphere of influence remains one of your most valuable assets for securing listings.
So how do you maximize your SOI…?
Systematic SOI Nurturing
Start systematically. You might do this by:
- Create a tiered contact system categorizing contacts by relationship strength and likelihood to transact
- Implement a consistent communication calendar with different touchpoints for each tier
- Track every interaction to identify potential listing opportunities
Multi-Channel SOI Engagement
Once your system is in place, its time to optimize the impact of your system. In marketing, this means expanding to multiple channels. This bears true in real estate too, since the most successful agents engage their SOI through multiple channels:
- Personalized video messages for special occasions and market updates
- Quarterly mailers with neighborhood market reports
- Social media engagement that showcases your local expertise
- In-person events that bring value to your network
Pro Tip: Don’t just ask for business—provide genuine value first. Share market insights, offer free CMAs, and become a trusted resource before requesting referrals.
Strategy 2: Convert Expired Listings
Expired listings represent one of the highest-converting lead sources for listings, with approximately 43% eventually relisting with a different agent.
Why Expireds Are Listing Gold
Expired listings offer several advantages:
- Homeowners have already decided to sell
- They’re often frustrated and open to a new approach
- You can directly address the reasons their home didn’t sell
You’ve probably heard of this strategy before, so if you want a fresh take, consider targeting expired listings that have been expired for 1+ years. This strategy, called “Old-Expireds,” can be effective because you reach out to expired listings that might be more likely to revisit selling their home.
Effective Expired Conversion Approach
To successfully convert expired listings:
- Research the property history before making contact
- Prepare a specific value proposition addressing why the home didn’t sell
- Develop a multi-touch campaign including:
- Initial phone contact
- Value-add direct mail with market analysis
- Social media retargeting
- In-person visit with prepared materials
Every step of this process can be completed through Vortex, our lead management system. Using Expired Leads, you get instant access to the property history so you can address key selling issues on the call, prospect through the phone, and send direct mail and social media ads to follow up.
Key Insight: According to AgentFire, agents who combine phone calls with direct mail and digital marketing convert expired listings at 2-3 times the rate of those using just one approach.
Strategy 3: Target FSBOs Strategically
For-Sale-By-Owner (FSBO) properties represent another high-potential listing source, with 88% eventually using an agent in some capacity. If you’re comfortable targeting these homeowners with some tailor made scripts, they can be a solid source of income (Emily Peckham built her entire business on FSBOs).
Understanding FSBO Psychology
Successful FSBO conversion starts with understanding seller motivations:
- Most FSBOs are trying to save on commission, not avoid agents entirely
- They often underestimate the complexity of selling a home
- Many are open to agent assistance after experiencing challenges
To better understand the FSBO psychology, check out Emily Peckhams Power Week Presentation on how to convert FSBOs.
The FSBO Conversion System
Implement this proven approach:
- Position yourself as a resource, not a salesperson
- Offer specific value like market data or buyer feedback
- Stay in touch throughout their FSBO attempt
- Be ready with solutions when they encounter inevitable obstacles
Conversion Tip: Create FSBO-specific marketing materials that highlight the average price difference between agent-assisted sales and FSBOs (typically 10-15% higher with agents).
Check out how Emily Peckham used this exact conversion system to build her real estate business.
Strategy 4: Become the Neighborhood Expert
So you have a sphere of influence, maybe you already prospect Expireds and FSBOs. What else could you do? Well maybe its time for you to make a name for yourself in a specific market. Establishing yourself as the go-to agent in specific neighborhoods creates a steady stream of listing opportunities. Here’s how.
Geographic Farming Fundamentals
Start by doing what’s called Geofarming. In short, geo-farming is the process of collecting information on a neighborhood with high turnover, so you can be to Go-To agent in that area. Effective neighborhood specialization requires:
- Selecting 1-2 neighborhoods with good turnover rates (minimum 6% annually)
- Consistent presence and visibility through multiple channels
- Delivering neighborhood-specific value that residents can’t get elsewhere
Building Neighborhood Authority
To be the Go-To agent in a neighborhood, you are going to need a reason for people to choose you. Implement these neighborhood expert strategies:
- Create hyper-local market reports with insights beyond generic statistics
- Host neighborhood-specific events like block parties or community cleanups
- Develop relationships with local businesses for cross-promotion
- Establish a neighborhood-focused social media presence
If you are already a REDX customer, all our lead types come with hyper-local market analysis so you always know the in’s and out’s of a neighborhood for every lead you prospect. To become a go-to agent, consider using GeoLeads.
Conclusion
Securing more listings doesn’t happen by accident—it requires a strategic, multi-faceted approach. By implementing these seven strategies, you’ll build a sustainable listing pipeline that provides stability and growth for your real estate business.
Remember that consistency is key. Choose 2-3 strategies that align with your strengths and market conditions, then implement them systematically before adding more approaches.
The most successful listing agents combine:
- Strategic targeting of high-potential lead sources
- Consistent multi-channel marketing
- Value-first relationship building
- Systematic follow-up processes
Start implementing these strategies today, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming the listing agent of choice in your market.
