When you’re in the real estate market, the main people you’ll be targeting are people who are looking to buy houses. But the reality is that many people aren’t even thinking about that just yet.

But what about when they do?

One day, that 20-year-old who works in a bar is going to land his dream job and one day is able to afford a house. That 19-year-old at university is going to work in her field, later get into a relationship and buy end up buying their own home.

When that day comes, you’ll want them to choose you.
And that is why you want to been with them before they ever had a chance of becoming a customer.

Cold Prospects

What are cold prospects?

Cold prospects are going to be people who have not yet shown immediate interest in what you’re selling. They’re not interested in buying a house, and they could literally be anyone you find on the street.

But remember all of your leads were cold prospects at one stage. Your goal with these people is to build a relation with them. 

How to appeal to cold prospects?

Being pleasant and possibly entertaining can really help break the ice. Don’t bog them down with too much information about planning laws and mortgages. The critical message that you want to send out is that houses are nice.

A great way to do this is to put out blogs or videos of some of the fantastic things people have done with their homes. This could be related to interior design or turning where they live into a social hub.

You want people to start thinking about buying a house, even if they’re 10 years off.

Target Audience

What is a target audience?

The next group of people you’re going to want to go after is your “target audience”. These are people who are already convinced they want to own their own house one day, but doing so any time soon is going to be a pipe dream.

Many of these people will have already liked several Instagram pages on home designs, and some of them will even be looking at houses that they’ll never be able to afford.

The type of information these people will require is going to be a bit more in-depth. They will be curious as to why it’s so hard to buy a house, and maybe even the very basics of getting a mortgage.

How to appeal to your target audience

A great way to show these people that you care about them is to provide them with value and knowledge. But remember, they aren’t going to want a novel, so be sure to add plenty of diagrams, and make sure to tell stories, rather than just providing them with an encyclopedia of data.

You can also have a YouTube channel where you can put on interviews with people they might look up to about how they came to buy their first home. But the thing to remember is to always keep it fun.

Polls and quizzes

On your social media, be sure to keep all of your followers engaged.

A great way to do this is by having quizzes or polls. But remember, these people are not going to be housing experts.

With the questions, be sure to only include the type that you would find in a typical pub quiz.

Other ideas

To get more engagement, you can try doing some live Q&As.
These are great for reaching people in their homes but also those who might have questions that they’re too afraid to ask.

Creating a webinar can also be a great investment. Many people will attend these to get educated, informed, or even network. Add a lot of value and a bit of entertainment and they’ll establish you as the kind of company that treats people with respect, and not just a source of income.

Be ready

There will be a day that your preleads are going to become leads.

The people who once thought that owning their own house is going to be a fantasy that would never happen are married and have enough money to get that goal of theirs.

And when that day comes, you’re going to be ready for them. Because you were there when they were nothing more than a student getting drunk at the weekend. When they wanted to look at pictures of nice houses, you were there for them.

The impact

Most people will not enjoy buying from these massive multi-national companies who are only interested in their bottom line. They’ll want to buy from someone who they look at as more of a friend than a company.

Because they will have been following you for several years, when they think about buying a home, your name is going to the first one they think of. When they start seriously looking at how to get a mortgage, they’ll stop being your “pre-leads”, and they will finally become your leads.

The iron will have become hot enough for you to strike.

Conclusion

In the past, the only people who mattered were customers. But thanks to modern technology, we can now also go after leads.

But I think in this kind of industry, we need to take it a step further and be going after “pre-leads”—people who aren’t thinking about buying their own house yet.

Unlike most other industries, the housing industry is one where most people who aren’t yet interested are one day going to be. Which is why you’ll want to get as many people as you can onto your side.

For many new homebuyers, the housing market can be a nasty place. But you can help to ease people into it.

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