How to get more real estate clients

Step-by-step

1

Build a personal agent website, not just your agency profile

Most real estate agents have a profile on their agency's website and leave it at that. The problem is that buyers and sellers increasingly research the individual agent they'll be working with, not just the firm. A personal website — even a simple one — lets you control your first impression, showcase your track record, and demonstrate your local expertise in a way that a generic agency profile never can. Feature your name, your photo, your specific areas of expertise, your transaction history (with permission), and what clients say about working with you. This is your personal brand asset — it stays with you regardless of which agency you work for.

2

Feature your sold property portfolio with context

'Sold' signs mean very little online without context. Transform your sales history into a portfolio: list the properties you've sold with approximate prices (or price ranges), the areas served, and how long they took to sell. Add a sentence or two about any interesting or challenging circumstances — the property that had been on the market with another agent for 18 months before you sold it in 6 weeks, or the estate sale you managed sensitively for a family. This shows prospective vendors that you have genuine, relevant experience in their area and type of property, which is the primary thing they're evaluating when choosing an agent.

3

Create neighbourhood-specific content

Estate agents who write genuinely useful, specific content about the areas they serve attract highly qualified organic traffic. A guide titled 'The buyer's guide to [neighbourhood]' — covering schools, transport links, average prices, development plans, and lifestyle considerations — ranks well for people actively researching a move to that area. These readers are exactly your target audience: motivated buyers in the research phase. Similar content for vendors ('What's driving house prices in [area] in [year]', 'Best streets in [neighbourhood] for families') positions you as the local expert before someone has even contacted you. Aim for one area guide per quarter.

4

Systematically collect client testimonials

Real estate transactions are high-stakes and emotional. A client who felt guided and supported through the process will almost always provide a testimonial if you ask — but almost never will if you don't. After every completed transaction, reach out to thank your client and ask for a short written testimonial about their experience. Request specifics: 'Particularly anything about the process, the communication, and the outcome.' Publish these on your personal website with first name and area. Collect Google reviews as well. After 20–30 transactions, you'll have a testimonial library that becomes one of your most powerful conversion tools.

5

Be genuinely helpful in local online communities

LinkedIn and local Facebook community groups are where vendors and buyers ask questions before contacting an agent. Join the groups covering your target areas and set up notifications for property-related keywords. When someone posts asking about the market, local prices, development plans, or moving logistics, reply with a genuinely helpful answer — not a sales pitch. Over months of consistent, helpful participation, you become the person people think of when they need an agent. This is the online equivalent of being the well-known, trusted local agent — and it costs nothing but time.

6

Build a referral network with complementary professionals

Real estate transactions require or produce a predictable set of adjacent professional engagements: mortgage brokers, solicitors, surveyors, removal companies, interior designers and home stagers, and occasionally builders and contractors. Each of these professionals works with the same clients you do. A formal referral relationship — where you actively recommend each other and track outcomes — can produce a significant proportion of your leads. The most valuable are mortgage brokers (who often encounter clients before they've chosen an agent) and solicitors (who see both sides of transactions regularly). Invest in 5–6 strong bilateral relationships rather than scattered one-off introductions.

7

Send an annual home value update to past clients

One of the most effective and underused estate agent marketing tactics is the annual market update email to past buyers. Send a brief, personalised email to everyone you've helped buy a property: 'It's been [X] years since we found your home in [area] — the market has moved quite a bit since then. Based on comparable sales in your street, your home is now worth approximately £X–Y. If you're ever thinking about a move or would like a proper valuation, I'd love to be your first call.' Most recipients won't act immediately — but they'll remember you when they are ready to sell, and they'll refer you to friends who are. One email a year is all it takes to maintain that relationship.

Common questions