Learn how to get listings in a low inventory market by targeting the correct micro-markets, diversifying marketing channels, and delivering this relevant content.
Do you know how to get listings in a low inventory market?
Specifically, how do you get that first listing to break into a farm?
How do you start targeting a neighborhood if you don’t already have a listing there? This is tough, especially tough during a low inventory market. There aren’t a whole lot of listings out there, period.
It is hard to break through in a low inventory market.
VIDEO: How to Get Listings in a Low Inventory Market
How to get listings in a low inventory market: first, get contact info
There are a lot of ways to get contact information for the people you are targeting. This is what you need first and foremost.
When marketing to your sphere of influence (SOI), you must use a CRM to house the contact information for all of your contacts.
In this SOI database, you know all of these people on some level. They at least know you by name. You market to them because you have their contact information. You are able to reach out and add value to them and come from contribution.
Target marketing vs shotgun marketing
I don’t ever recommend marketing to anyone, whatsoever, without a database. That’s what I call shotgun marketing.
Shotgun marketing is what most agents do. They just shoot out a bunch of marketing material into the universe and hope it gets to someone that wants to buy or sell real estate. Target marketing is when you pick small group of people and you strategically and consistently target them.
Agents struggle with two aspects of target marketing. 1. Money. 2. Consistency.
Typically, agents try a marketing effort once or twice. They don’t see immediate results, so they stop. This is why so many agents start farming and then quit within a month or two.
It is the agents who keep going, keep pushing on, who see amazing results. These agents have the systems that help them stay consistent, and they aren’t afraid of spending money on marketing.
Be the agent who keeps going.
If you are targeting a geographic farm to break into a neighborhood with that first listing, the key is consistency, and not giving up. This is how to get listings in a low inventory market.
How to get listings in a low inventory market: getting contact information
You must have a target market. This includes the contact information for the people in the neighborhood you are trying to break into.
We have a number of great affiliate companies that we work with here at ICC that we would recommend for getting contact information for farming. I love working with RedX. Landvoice is another great product, and so is Cole Information. If you talk to any three of these companies, tell them I sent you. ICC clients get a discount.
When you get the contact information, import it to your CRM and categorize these contacts by neighborhood. Now, you can start marketing to your farm.
You must have a target market. This includes the contact information for the people in the neighborhood you are trying to break into.
Brian Icenhower
How to get listings in a low inventory market: create an action plan
If you don’t create an action plan, you won’t do the activities. It’s that simple.
You are going to make a lot of touches to the contacts in your farm. Diversification is key as much as consistency is key. Different channels work for different people. You are going to call them, email them, mail them, drop off flyers, retarget them on social media, etc.
Scripts for how to get listings in a low inventory market
Now for what you are probably waiting for. What do you say as you target market your database of contacts?
This is how to get listings in a low inventory market. So pay attention here!
In a low inventory market, the media goes crazy. It’s gloom and doom wherever you look. Why? Fear sells!
For this reason, most of the general population feels that now is NOT a good time to buy or sell. They are told by the media that the market is crashing and the sky is falling, and they believe it.
You need to be the one who calls them up and says, “The market is hot. Demand is high. We need more listings!”
How to get listings in a low inventory market: ask for them!
This letter is a very popular script and tool that our clients use here at ICC.
Appropriately titled, the “We Need Listings Email and Letter Template” tells the recipient that you need listings. You can say that you have clients looking to buy in your neighborhood.
Not only does this letter ask if the recipient is looking to sell, but it also asks if the recipient knows anyone else who is thinking of selling.
In this marketing piece, make sure to address the neighborhood by name. Imagine how much more powerful it would be to receive an email with the name of your neighborhood in the subject line than one without? This also applies to print marketing. Make it feel personal. Rise one level above spam.
You can use this template in so many ways:
- letter
- Facebook DM
- flyer dropoff
- phone call (use this as a script)
FREE DOWNLOAD: We Need Listings Email & Letter Template
Today, we are giving subscribers a free copy of our We Need Listings Email & Letter Template. This Word doc is easy to edit, so you can make it your own and send it out to your database. Be sure to watch the video at the beginning of this blog to learn more about how to get listings in a low inventory market.
Want to learn more?
- Read The High-Performing Real Estate Team. You can buy Brian Icenhower’s best-selling book on Amazon.
- Subscribe to The Real Estate Trainer Podcast. You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, and anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts.
- Join the Real Estate Agent Round Table. We are always posting fresh content — everything from market updates to free templates — and host dynamic discussions with the industry’s top producers.
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