How Community Involvement Can Help Bolster Your Prospective Leads

A good real estate agent is a lot more than just a salesman. They are normally well-established members of their local communities and add value to their area through various forms of community engagement.

It’s not uncommon for real estate agents to be a big part of local schools, sporting organisations as well as sponsoring various local events.

While it’s rewarding to be a part of the community, an added advantage for real estate agents is this involvement can be a great source of prospective business. As most people in the real estate industry know, it’s a people business, and the more people you can get in front of, the more leads and referrals that will ultimately come your way.

Here are some of the benefits of community involvement.

Brand awareness

Building a strong reputation is nearly the most important characteristic of a successful real estate agent. This is done by focusing on brand development.

Being part of the community allows you to meet more people and build relationships, growing your brand. This will eventually see more leads come back to you. It takes time to build a brand, but by continually engaging in the community and always sticking to your work, your reputation will grow over time.

Creates positive association

By attaching yourself to community groups and associations, you are able to create a positive association with you and your brand. Essentially, what you’re doing is reinforcing the positive attributes of your brand, by attaching to another brand that people value and care about deeply.

For example, if you volunteer at various community events, you’ll be able to use the positive work that the group is doing to back up your personal brand. While you should look to add value to the community for other altruistic reasons, a positive brand association is one of many great outcomes.

Demonstrates altruistic values 

Caring about people other than yourself is a good quality to have.  At times, people can become a little swept up in their own businesses and their numbers, and forget about the community that they are actually trying to serve. Getting involved is a great way to reconnect with your community, and will also help you to understand their needs.

By engaging in the community, you’re demonstrating that you are more than just a faceless business, but rather a part of the community. If you help the community, then the community will give back and support you when the time comes. Showing people that you care about the local community helps to demonstrate a personal touch to your work, and shows a level of trustworthiness, both key qualities that clients value in a real estate agent. 

Build relationships 

Arguably the most important part of being a part of the community is that it gives you the ability to get out into the world and touch base with new people that you might never have been able to reach otherwise.

Real estate is a long-term game where you won’t always see your efforts paying off in the short term. But if over a long period of time, you set out to meet new people and get in front of many different segments of the community, you’ll be able to grow your network and have a steady stream of new business coming in.

It’s also important to remember that people do business with people they like. If you’re able to get a head start through your community, it’s a good idea to take advantage of that.

How to get involved in the community 

There is a range of ways that you can engage in the community as a real estate agent. There’s always an opportunity for you to volunteer. That could be doing a community clean up or giving a hand to grass root sports.

Another important thing for you to do is just make an appearance at local events. It's also a good idea to consider sponsoring local groups as well, such as sporting teams, junior sports, surf life-saving clubs or even golf days.

There’s also a host of charity/non-profit events like Relay for Life that need sponsors and volunteers, which are a great place to start.

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