How to Get Clients in Real Estate in 2026 (Proven Growth Strategies)

Why Getting Clients in Real Estate Is Harder in 2026

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Knowing how to get more clients in real estate starts with understanding what's changed. Here's what's making it tougher:

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1. Online platforms are everywhere. Zillow, Realtor .com, and other portals now compete directly with agents for buyer attention.

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2. Lead marketplaces resell the same leads. You're often one of 3-5 agents contacting the same prospect.

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3. Buyers do independent research. According to NAR, 97% of homebuyers use the internet during their home search. They've already formed opinions before you reach them.

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4. Trust takes longer to build. One bad experience, one unanswered call, and a prospect moves on.

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5. Decision cycles are longer. Rising interest rates and market uncertainty mean buyers and sellers are taking more time before committing.

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The agents winning in 2026 are the ones who show up consistently and early in the research phase.

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The 3 Core Sources of Real Estate Clients

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Before we get into tactics, it helps to understand how to find clients in real estate at a structural level. There are really only three places clients come from:

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1. Sphere of Influence and Referrals 

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This is your past clients, family, friends, and local network. It's high-trust and low-cost, but it's also unpredictable. You can't scale it.

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2. Inbound Marketing 

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SEO, content, ads, and social media that pull people toward you. Takes time to build, but creates long-term visibility.

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3. Outbound Prospecting 

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Direct outreach to potential clients through cold email, LinkedIn, cold calling, or door-knocking. Faster to generate conversations, requires more consistency.

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The best agents don't rely on just one. They stack all three.

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Learn More: Inbound vs Outbound Lead Generation

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10 Proven Ways to Get Clients in Real Estate

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1. Strengthen Your Referral Network

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Referrals are still one of the best ways to get clients in real estate, but you have to work for them.

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• Stay in touch with past clients through email or a quick check-in call.
  
  
• Build relationships with local businesses, lenders, and attorneys who can send you referrals.
  
  
• Show up at community events and neighborhood associations.
  
  
• Ask for reviews on Google and Zillow right after closing.

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A simple follow-up 30 days after closing asking "do you know anyone looking to buy or sell?" goes a long way.

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2. Optimize Your Online Presence

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If someone Googles you and finds nothing, that's a red flag.

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• Set up and fully complete your Google Business Profile with photos, hours, and service areas.
  
  
• Collect Google reviews consistently. Agents with 20+ reviews rank significantly higher in local searches.
  
  
• Use local SEO basics: include your city and neighborhood names in your website content and bio.
  
  
• Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and loads fast.

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3. Use Social Media for Visibility

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You don't need to go viral. You just need to stay visible.

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• Post weekly market updates for your area.
  
  
• Share local insights like new developments, school ratings, or neighborhood trends.
  
  
• Create short educational videos answering common buyer/seller questions.
  
  
• Platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are especially effective for organic reach right now.

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4. Run Targeted Paid Ads

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Paid ads can bring in leads quickly, but the setup matters.

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• Facebook and Instagram ads work well for buyer lead generation with neighborhood-specific targeting.
  
  
• Google Local Service Ads show up when someone searches "real estate agent near me" and are pay-per-lead.
  
  
• Keep your lead form short. Name, email, phone, and one qualifying question is enough.
  
  
• Always have a follow-up sequence ready before you run ads. Leads go cold fast.

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5. Host Educational Events or Webinars

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This one is underused and it works.

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• First-time buyer workshops attract people early in their decision cycle before they've picked an agent.
  
  
• Investment property seminars put you in front of investors who transact more frequently.
  
  
• These events position you as an expert, not just another agent.

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Even a small Zoom webinar with 15 attendees can generate 2-3 qualified conversations.

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6. Use Email Marketing to Nurture Prospects

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Most leads aren't ready to buy or sell today. Email keeps you top of mind until they are.

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• Send monthly market updates for your target neighborhoods.
  
  
• Share neighborhood reports with local stats, sold prices, and new listings.
  
  
• Set up property alerts for people who've shown interest but aren't ready to commit yet.

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According to HubSpot, email marketing delivers an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent. It's worth doing right.

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7. Leverage LinkedIn for Investor and High-Value Clients

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LinkedIn for real estate is often overlooked bye agents and that's your opportunity.

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• Target real estate investors, business owners, and corporate relocation prospects directly.
  
  
• Connect with professionals moving into your market from other cities.
  
  
• Share market insights and investment property content to build authority.
  
  
• LinkedIn outreach converts well for higher-value transactions like investment properties and commercial deals.

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8. Cold Outreach to Property Owners and Investors

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Real estate lead generation through cold outreach is one of the fastest ways to build pipeline.

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• Expired listings are homeowners who already wanted to sell. They're warm by definition.
  
  
• Rental property owners are often open to selling or upgrading their portfolio.
  
  
• Off-market outreach through direct mail or cold calling lets you find sellers before they list.

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This is a numbers game, but with the right script and the right list, it converts.

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Check this out: Best Email Service for Cold Emails - Here’s What 10,000+ B2B Agencies Chose

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9. Build Strategic Partnerships

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Some of the best leads come through people who already have the relationships you want.

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• Mortgage brokers are talking to buyers before you are.
  
  
• Real estate attorneys handle transactions and often refer clients who need agents.
  
  
• Property managers work with landlords who may want to sell.

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These partnerships take time to build but they compound over time.

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10. Implement a Structured Real Estate Lead Generation System

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This is what separates agents who get by from agents who grow.

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• Use a CRM (like Follow Up Boss or HubSpot) to track every lead and every touchpoint.
  
  
• Set up multi-touch follow-up sequences so no lead falls through the cracks.
  
  
• Build an appointment funnel: lead comes in, gets nurtured, books a call, converts.
  
  
• Track your conversion rate at each stage so you know where to improve.

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Without a system, you're just hoping. With a system, you're predictable.

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‍Also Check: Mortgage Lead Generation - Proven Strategies for Brokers and Lenders

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How to Generate Clients in Real Estate Consistently

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Here's the honest truth about how to generate clients in real estate: consistency beats intensity every time.

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✅ Most agents reach out once and give up. Studies show it takes 8-12 touchpoints before a prospect responds.

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✅ Your follow-up system matters more than your first message.

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✅ Multi-touch outreach (email + LinkedIn + phone) increases response rates significantly.

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✅ Tracking your pipeline by stage helps you identify exactly where leads are getting stuck.

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✅ Combining inbound visibility with outbound outreach gives you stability. When ads slow down, outbound picks up the slack.

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Treat your lead generation like a business process, not a sales activity.

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Real Estate Lead Generation: Inbound vs Outbound

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Understanding real estate lead generation means knowing when to use each approach.

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Inbound builds awareness over time:

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• SEO and blog content attract buyers and sellers researching online.
  
  
• Paid ads generate immediate volume but require a budget.
  
  
• Referrals and reviews bring in warm, high-trust leads.

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Outbound creates opportunity on demand:

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• Direct LinkedIn messaging to investors and relocating professionals.
  
  
• Cold email campaigns to targeted property owner lists.
  
  
• Cold calling expired listings and rental owners.
  
  
• Investor targeting through multi-channel outreach.

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The difference is simple. Inbound brings people to you. Outbound lets you go to them. In a competitive market, you need both.

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Explore More: Targeted Lead Generation (Complete Guide to Precision Outreach)

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Common Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make

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If you're wondering how to get clients in real estate and feeling stuck, check if you're making any of these mistakes:

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❌ Relying only on referrals. They're great, but they're not consistent enough to build a business on.

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❌ Buying low-quality leads. Shared leads from marketplaces are oversold and underperform. You're competing against 4 other agents.

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❌ No follow-up system. Most agents follow up once or twice. The ones closing deals follow up 8-12 times.

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❌ No CRM tracking. If you can't see your pipeline, you can't manage it.

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❌ Inconsistent outreach. Doing outreach for two weeks and stopping is worse than not starting. Volume and consistency are everything.

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Fix these, and you'll already be ahead of most agents in your market.

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Know More: How to Shorten the B2B Sales Cycle Without Discounting

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How Cleverly Supports Real Estate Lead Generation

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If you're serious about real estate lead generation, at some point you need a system that runs without you having to do everything manually.

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That's where we come in. 

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Cleverly is the highest-rated, 100% done-for-you B2B lead generation agency, and we've helped 10,000+ clients generate leads with companies like Amazon, Google, Uber, PayPal, Slack, and Spotify, resulting in $312 million in pipeline revenue and $51.2 million in closed revenue.

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For real estate professionals and brokerages, we run:

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• LinkedIn outreach to investors, high-net-worth prospects, and professionals relocating to your market.
  
  
• Targeted cold email campaigns to property owners, investors, and decision-makers in your niche.
  
  
• Cold calling through our proven $5M system that books 10-30 qualified sales calls every month, guaranteed. That includes a no-accent appointment setter placed, rigorous 2-week training, breakthrough scripts, data and power dialer included, and it costs half of what in-house hiring would..
  
  
• Multi-touch appointment setting so prospects get nurtured across multiple channels until they're ready to talk

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Our focus is always on qualified conversations, predictable pipeline, and outreach that feels relationship-driven, not spammy.

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LinkedIn services start at just $397/month. Cold email lead gen is performance-based, you only pay for meeting-ready leads we send you. And, cold calling - half the price of hiring in-house.

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If referrals aren't consistent enough to hit your goals, building a structured outreach system may be your next growth lever. 

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🚀 Talk to us and let's build yours.

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Conclusion

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There's no single best way to get clients in real estate. 

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Referrals are powerful but unpredictable. Ads work but cost money. Outbound takes effort but creates opportunity on demand.

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The agents who win consistently are the ones who treat lead generation like a system, not an afterthought. 

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Combine visibility with structured outreach, track your pipeline, follow up more than feels necessary, and you'll build something that grows.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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