Often real estate agents come to my +plus leads looking for FSBO and Expired Leads. While browsing the site, they come across the Neighborhood Data and reach out with a simple question. “What is CIRCLE PROSPECTING?“
Let’s start with defining what it is and how it is used. It gets its name from the practice of drawing a radius of .25 to 1 mile around a starting point and trying to make contact with the owners inside of the circle. Circle Prospecting uses a central address, typically a Just Listed, Pending, Just Sold, or Open House property to open up dialogue and identify possible sellers in the area. Unlike a FSBO or Expired Lead, these owner’s do not have their hand up saying they are ready sell. However, depending on the neighborhood, we know that somewhere between 5 to 8% of the owners are going to sell within the next 12 months.
Successful agents will use their Just Sold Property as an opener when reaching out to owner’s in the area. Using the focused list with properties in close proximity, you greatly increase the chances that the neighbor is familiar with the property. Most importantly, if they are thinking about selling in the next 6 to 12 months then they are going to be curious. What the final sale price was, how much traffic did the home see in showings? If they have serious questions, they have qualified themselves.
As mentioned previously, you are less likely to set a listing appointment on that first contact like may happen with a For Sale by Owner. However, this is now your lead alone to nurture into a listing using geographic leads.
So what about the other 90-95% who are not entering in the market within the next year? Always remember they will be in the market at some point. Use this opportunity to learn more about them, how long have they been in the neighborhood, what could change in their life that could cause a move, or where is the best place to get a taco in the area? Take notes and enter them in your CRM, they can help as you circle back through the neighborhood every 6 to 12 months and over time you will build rapport. This greatly increases your chance of getting that listing in the future.
Consistently reaching out to owners over time will create a steady stream of leads year over year. And with the cost of circle prospecting data data ranging from $29 to $99 the return on investment is too great to ignore.