Investing in real estate can often be as challenging as it is rewarding, demanding many different skills and talents every single day. Although huge earning potentials abound, the actual process of taking your leads from generation to conversion is not so simple, and who to market to next not so clear cut.
You probably already know where to look for most of your property deals, but who you can sell to varies. This is where a buyers list can have tremendous value, and having one ready to promote your latest offering to is an asset worth investing time into building.
LinkedIn offers one of the best platforms for making this happen, and networking on LinkedIn is a fantastic approach to forming fruitful relationships in the real estate industry. When you establish trust with real estate investors and professionals, great opportunities are always possible.
What Is a Buyers List
A buyers list is an inventory of investors and entrepreneurs looking for their next deal. It usually consists of their names, email addresses, and even phone numbers. This list is compiled and then cataloged in a database or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. You can categorize this list by their buy-box criteria:
House Status – Rehab, Full Rehab, Turn-key Property
Property Type – Single Family, Multi-Family, Residential, Commercial, Vacant Lots
Investment Criteria or Exit Strategy – Wholesale, Rental, Rehab, Investment
Area of Investment – Neighborhood, Zip
And many others.
As new people who want to buy what you are selling discover you or that YOU discover them, this list should continue to expand, develop, and evolve.
The Importance of Buyers List
Investors become successful when they grasp the complex art of selling. This is a process, and it takes time to properly learn. The result, though, is full compensation on all efforts placed in acquiring a property.
When you have solid buyers list, you have the ability to sell a property with just one call, email, or message. It is like having a large pool of contacts that is always ready to buy what you have to offer, and the best investors leverage this often.
LinkedIn has shown its credibility when it comes to B2B aspects, and finding prospective buyers on the platform costs zero dollars. Now, before we move into how to get the buyers list, we need to first understand the importance of networking on LinkedIn.
How to Successfully Network on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has over 700 million users as of 2023, and gives plenty of opportunities to connect with people in the real estate industry. It is a strong tool for professional networking that should have a proper place in your overall strategy. Here are some pointers for success in LinkedIn networking:
- Make Your Profile Standout: Make sure your LinkedIn profile is thoroughly optimized and has a professional look because it serves as your initial impression. Use a crisp headshot and a clear, educational summary. Make sure your contact information is up to date and emphasize your talents and successes.
- Be Strategic in Your Connections: Don’t just connect with everyone; connect with those in your sector or field who can help you expand your network. Be picky and deliberate in your approach, and make your connection requests unique.
- Engage with Your Network: Regularly interact with your connections by leaving comments on their articles, sharing their content, and extending your congratulations for a job well done. In addition to strengthening ties, this keeps you in people’s minds.
- Share Helpful Content: Post your own articles or gather insightful info about your sector. By doing this, you can increase interest in your network and promote yourself as a thought leader.
- Join Groups and Participate in Discussions: Join LinkedIn groups related to your profession or interests in the real estate industry, and take part in discussions. This is a fantastic method to network, pick the brains of others, and develop your expertise.
- Be Proactive: Stop waiting for others to approach you. Reach out to the person you wish to connect with and send them a considerate message.
- Follow Up: To maintain a connection with someone you’ve met online or at an event, send them a message after connecting with them. This demonstrates that you want to forge genuine connections rather than merely accumulate contacts.
Keep in mind that LinkedIn networking is about developing connections, not merely adding contacts. To get the most out of your network, be considerate, proactive, and active with your contacts.
Start Building Your List – How to Find Your Buyers
After you have built a network and some credibility, it’s time to find the investors and individual buyers. Or, have them find you. Here are 5 ways you can proactively find buyers for your list on LinkedIn:
1. Manage Your Reputation: As a real estate investor, you must build trust with house buyers because buying a home is typically the largest purchase a person will make in their lifetime. People want to feel confident that you understand what you’re talking about, and have the experience to handle their largest transaction yet. Make sure your profile includes information about your experience and explicitly identifies your areas of expertise and specialty.
LinkedIn is becoming increasingly important when it comes to building trust as a professional. In addition to being listed by Google as a reliable source in the search engine, three out of every four people have used LinkedIn to research a person or business.
You can bet that a client who wants to buy a house and just met you will look you up on LinkedIn. What they see in there will either solidify their bond, or raise questions in their minds.
2. Create a Buyer Persona: Look for fresh contacts and make an effort to contact new investors and individual home buyers. You can’t just use net worth or other similar financial criteria to search on LinkedIn. Instead, you must imagine your ideal buyer and search for them. You can use information gathered from the buyers you’re currently working with or previous ones. Look at data such as job title, location, company size, and content preferences. These are all in some way searchable on LinkedIn.
With this, you can find out what they are interested in, what groups they have joined, their goals, and their challenges. You can locate new individuals that have the same traits if you create a buyer persona based on the qualities of your prospective buyers. This makes it easier to add names to your buyers list and find the right buyer for your properties.
3. Seek Out Personal Referrals: Although LinkedIn allows for direct referral requests, also known as “introductions” or LinkedIn introductions, a personal recommendation is almost always a better option. It will be easier for you to approach someone you know and ask them to introduce you if you share a common connection.
Call your contact, write an email, or try to visit them in person. If you can arrange an introduction in these traditional manners, you’ll be able to have a greater impression on the new connection and stand out more.
4. Use LinkedIn’s Advanced Search: Use the Advanced Search to locate specific buyers and investors in the real estate sector. Use the filter field and add keywords to the title. Use titles such as Real Estate Investor, Realtor, Home Sales, Real Estate, or Property Owners. Do note that LinkedIn has a tiered membership, which means that there are free users and paid users. Paid users are what we term premium clients, and these are whom we can also consider premium buyers.
5. Join LinkedIn Groups: As far as social selling goes, LinkedIn Groups are still the best resource. Try to join groups with a lot of potential clients, rather than groups with competitors. Buyers, sellers, and real estate experts participate in these forums and share market data, advice, and—most importantly—questions.
Conclusion on Building a Buyers List
One thing people seem to miss about LinkedIn is this: It’s not enough to know if your potential buyer uses LinkedIn, it’s equally important to consider WHY people use LinkedIn.
While the process may be tedious, getting one or two promising buyers is worth more than a large but unverified buyers list. Regardless of how big or small it is, you will have a list of solid buyers that have already told you “I want to buy the properties you are selling.”
With regular checking and updates, you will eventually increase the list of buyers that you have. They may not buy from you this time, but you can always reconnect with them in the future, and the next property that you have may be exactly what they want.
