10 Proven Ways to Get Clients in Real Estate

If you're newly licensed, the silence after the exam can feel worse than the test itself. No one calls, and your phone stays quiet while you wonder how to get clients in real estate. Every real estate agent hits this gap between getting licensed and getting busy.

This guide covers 10 proven strategies successful real estate agents use to generate leads and turn strangers into real estate clients. You'll find scripts, tools, and a system for staying in front of people until they're ready to buy or sell.

One of the first places to start is making sure your video content looks like you, which is where HeyGen comes in.

HeyGen's Role in Video Content You Can Post Every Week

Several of the strategies below work best with video: neighborhood tours, social posts, and follow-up messages that reach people consistently over time. Filming, editing, and reshooting all of that yourself eats hours you don't have.

A single afternoon of recording can cover a month of content once you have a repeatable format. That's the gap HeyGen is built to close.

HeyGen removes the production side of that work. Record one short clip of yourself, and that likeness becomes the presenter for future videos, from a listing walkthrough to a market update. You can build your first one with HeyGen's real estate video maker, which turns a script and your listing photos into a narrated video.

It won't sync your CRM, pull listing data automatically, or guarantee Fair Housing or brokerage compliance. You still write the script, check the facts, and decide what's appropriate to say. Video is one tool inside the bigger system this guide covers.

Which of These 10 Ways Should You Start With First?

Not every strategy fits every budget or personality. The table below compares cost, speed, and the type of lead each one tends to produce, so you can pick a starting point instead of guessing.

A time-rich, budget-light agent usually starts with sphere work, open houses, and a CRM. An agent with some marketing budget can add paid ads or a stronger website sooner.

1. Build a Professional Website That Converts Visitors Into Leads

A professional website is still one of the best ways to build an online presence that works while you sleep, even outside business hours. Most real estate websites fail here, listing properties without giving visitors a clear reason to leave their contact information.

Creating a website doesn't require a developer. Add a free home valuation tool, a way to search local listings, and a short form that starts an email list of buyers and sellers.

Web traffic means nothing without a way to capture it. Every page should end with one clear next step, whether that's booking a call or requesting a home value estimate.

Most buyers browse from a phone, so a slow or cluttered site loses them before they scroll. Open your own site on your phone and time how long it takes to load.

A short page of reviews from past clients builds more trust than another headshot. Ask for a quote right after closing, while the experience is still fresh in their mind.

2. Claim Your Google Business Profile for Local Search Visibility

Most people Google search "real estate agent near me" before calling anyone. Your Google Business Profile decides whether you show up first or not at all.

A complete profile is basic search engine optimization: your name, service area, photos, and reviews all signal relevance to Google. It also reinforces your online presence anywhere someone looks you up before calling.

Claiming the profile takes about fifteen minutes if you have your details ready. Add your service area, a few photos, and ask past clients for reviews as soon as a deal closes. Google's own Get Started with Google Business Profile guide walks through verification and setup for local real estate businesses.

Google favors profiles that stay active. Post a new listing, a market update, or a fresh photo every few weeks instead of leaving the profile untouched after you first claim it.

Respond to every review within a day or two, whether it's glowing or not. Engagement like replies and fresh photos increasingly affects how often Google shows your profile to searchers.

3. Work Your Sphere of Influence to Get Referrals

Referrals are one of the most effective ways to get new clients, since the trust is already built. Work your sphere of influence, meaning family, friends, past clients, and coworkers who already know and trust you. People refer someone they know before they'll ever refer a stranger from an ad.

Word-of-mouth still outperforms most paid channels, because a friend's recommendation carries more weight than a review from someone you've never met. A short check-in call or text, with no ask attached, is the simplest way to build that kind of trust over time.

A referral ask works best at a natural moment. Try this at closing: "I loved working with you. If you ever hear of someone thinking about buying or selling, I'd love an introduction." Send a version of it again around the one-year mark.

Keep a simple note of who referred each new client. It tells you which relationships are worth nurturing most, and it makes the eventual thank-you feel specific instead of generic.

Some of your best referrals come from professionals you already work with, like lenders, inspectors, and attorneys. Most buyers and sellers still choose an agent this way instead of searching cold online. The 2025 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that 88% of buyers and 91% of sellers worked with an agent, which is why relationship-based channels still carry the most weight.

4. Host Open Houses to Meet Potential Clients Face-to-Face

Open houses are still one of the simplest ways to meet potential clients face-to-face. Every visitor is someone actively thinking about selling or buying in your area, and being the listing agent gives you an extra layer of credibility with them.

Host an open house even for listings that aren't yours, and use it to build your own visibility. Ask every visitor for a phone number or email before they leave. A sign-in sheet with no contact information isn't a lead.

Partnering with a lender to cover signage or refreshments can stretch a tight budget further. Agree in advance on who pays for what, so the arrangement stays simple for both of you.

Send a same-day thank-you message to everyone who signed in, then follow up the next day with answers to the questions you heard most. Walking the home on camera gives you something to share afterward, too. HeyGen's video highlight tool can turn that walkthrough footage into a short clip worth posting.

5. Use Social Media Marketing to Build Your Personal Brand

Social media marketing works best when it's specific to you, not a generic template. Agents trying to be everything to everyone end up memorable to no one.

Pick one or two platforms and utilize social media consistently instead of posting everywhere once. A business page on Facebook or Instagram, paired with a TikTok account for shorter clips, covers most buyers and sellers under fifty.

Batch a week of posts in one sitting instead of scrambling for an idea every morning. A recurring format, like a Monday market update, means you're never starting from a blank page.

Your personal brand is built on consistency, not production value, so high-quality photos and a real voice matter more than fancy editing. Reviews and comments under your posts act as social proof for anyone considering hiring you. Turning a single walkthrough into short vertical clips is easier with HeyGen's reel generator, built for exactly that kind of repurposing.

6. Run Google Ads and Paid Ads for Faster Results

Paid ads are one of the best options when you want visibility faster than organic content allows. Google Ads and social ads both put your listings where buyers and sellers are already looking.

Paid advertising rarely produces immediate results on day one, but it can shorten the wait compared to slower organic channels.

A short video ad tends to earn more attention than a static photo in a crowded feed. Building one from scratch usually means hiring an editor or spending hours in software you don't know. HeyGen's ai video ad tool turns a listing or a script into ad-ready video without that overhead.

Track return on investment by source, not only total spend. That's the only way to know which platform earns its budget and which one to cut.

Keep audience targeting based on location and price range, not demographics. Housing advertising rules restrict targeting people by who they are rather than what they're shopping for.

Facebook and Instagram ads work well for reaching people who already visited your site or viewed a listing. Layering a small retargeting budget on top of Google Ads often costs less per lead than either platform alone.

Set a small test budget before committing to a full campaign, and give it a few weeks before judging results. Local ads often work best paired with your Google Business Profile, since Google prioritizes verified local businesses.

7. Create Neighborhood Tours to Show Off Local Expertise

Neighborhood tours help buyers who are relocating or unfamiliar with the area picture themselves living there. A short video walking a few blocks does more than a written description ever could.

Share market updates the same way. Digital marketing built around real questions, like why a Zestimate differs from an actual sale price, keeps people watching instead of scrolling past.

Financing basics, inspection surprises, and school district comparisons all make strong, specific topics. They answer what buyers are searching for, not what feels easiest to film.

Most agents give up on a video series because filming and editing every week takes too long. Writing the script once and reusing it saves that time without losing quality. HeyGen's article to video tool turns a written market report directly into a narrated update.

8. Send Handwritten Notes to Stay in Touch With Past Clients

A handwritten note after closing costs almost nothing and gets noticed in a stack of bills and ads. It's a simple way to stay in touch long after the transaction ends.

Successful agents put in the work on this consistently: a note at closing, another at the one-year mark, and a small gift when it fits the relationship. None of it requires a big budget, only consistency.

Keep a simple list of past clients and their closing dates. Set a reminder for each one so notes go out on schedule instead of whenever you happen to remember.

9. Join Local Groups to Grow Your Network of Real Estate Professionals

The real estate industry runs on relationships built outside of transactions. Join local business groups, chambers of commerce, and community boards where potential clients already show up.

If you're new to an area, this is one of the fastest ways to build a large network of contacts who aren't already in another agent's sphere. Lenders, inspectors, contractors, and other real estate professionals are also worth knowing, since referrals often move between professionals before they ever reach a client.

Volunteering with a local nonprofit or coaching a youth sports team works the same way. People remember the person before they remember the job title.

10. Set Up a CRM System to Fill Your Pipeline

A CRM system, short for customer relationship management, is what turns scattered contacts into an actual pipeline. Without one, leads slip through the cracks the moment life gets busy.

Real estate lead generation only works if you follow up, and a CRM tracks every conversation so nothing depends on memory. Log the next action from the time you get a new contact, whether that's a lead from your website, an open house, or a referral.

Many CRMs, including free versions built into real estate websites and brokerage tools, work fine when you're getting started. The system matters more than the price tag.

Fill your pipeline with quality leads by following up consistently, not by chasing every name that comes in. A short personal video tends to land better than another templated email. HeyGen's ai voice cloning feature lets you narrate personalized check-ins in your own voice without re-recording each one.

What to Do Next

Getting clients in real estate isn't about doing all ten of these at once. It's about picking two or three that fit your time, budget, and personality, then running them consistently long enough to see results. Every agent has different strengths, a different local market, and a different weekly schedule, so choose the ways that genuinely fit yours instead of copying someone else's playbook.

Growing your business starts with one decision this week: choose your two channels, write down your follow-up plan, and put both on your calendar. The agents who attract and convert leads most consistently aren't doing more, they're doing less, more often.

Real estate clients rarely come from one campaign or one lucky lead. They come from a system you run every week, whether that's referrals, open houses, or content that keeps you in front of the right people.

Revisit your two channels every 90 days without fail. Keep what's producing real conversations, and swap out whatever is only producing busywork.

FAQs

How long does it take to get new clients in real estate?

Most agents see real movement within 60 to 90 days of consistent effort. Referrals and your sphere tend to produce new clients fastest, since trust is already built. Paid ads and content take longer to compound, but they keep your pipeline full once the initial referral rush slows in a growing real estate business.

Do social media posts help agents get clients in real estate?

Social media alone won't close a transaction, but consistent posting builds the recognition that leads to a call. Results depend on showing up regularly, not on any single platform or format. One solo agent, Craig Veroni, grew his Instagram following four times over in ten months and now reaches more than 770,000 accounts most months.

What's the fastest way to get new clients in real estate?

Paid ads and open houses tend to produce contacts the fastest, often within days. Referrals convert quickly once you reach out, but building that sphere of influence takes longer up front. Combine a fast channel with a warm one so you're not waiting on a single source for leads.

How many of these strategies should a new agent focus on at once?

Two or three is plenty for most solo agents. Trying to run all ten at once usually means none of them get the attention they need. Pick one relationship-based channel, like your sphere, and one visibility channel, like social media or paid ads, then build from there.

Is a CRM necessary for a new real estate agent?

A CRM isn't required to close your first deal, but it becomes necessary once your contact list grows past what you can remember. Even a simple spreadsheet with a next-action date beats relying on memory. Real estate sales depend on consistent follow-up, and a CRM is what makes that consistent.

Do successful agents rely on one strategy or several?

Agents who thrive usually combine two or three strategies instead of spreading effort across all ten. Consistency in a smaller system beats occasional effort in a bigger one. Build systems you'll maintain, and add a new channel only once the first one runs on its own.

Can I get clients in real estate without spending money on ads?

Yes. Sphere outreach, referrals, open houses, and organic content cost time far more than money, and they're often the strongest starting point for a new agent. Add paid ads later once a follow-up system can convert the extra volume, and Google's own About Local Ads guide is worth a skim before you set a first budget.