6 Best Real Estate Lead Generation Companies 2020

Real estate lead generation companies supply agents with potential buyers or seller contacts, which are then added to a customer relationship manager (CRM) for marketing and lead nurturing. We reviewed 12 lead generation companies, landing on the six best—including the best overall—based on cost, advertising, lead nurturing capabilities, and support.

Top 6 Real Estate Lead Generation Companies 2020

How We Evaluated Real Estate Lead Generation Companies

Effective lead generation requires an investment of time and money, which is why agents look for a quality resource for real estate leads to keep their pipeline full of potential clients. To help, we looked at 12 real estate lead generation companies to find the six best based on price, lead generation methods, lead nurturing tools, support, and ease of use.

Here are the criteria we used to determine the best six real estate lead generation companies:

• Price: The cost of buying leads was a primary concern in our ranking of real estate lead generation companies because it directly impacts an agent’s budget. However, some companies charge per lead while others help by creating lead generation funnels that use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. We considered both in our ranking.
• Lead generation: While it is possible to buy real estate leads from a list provider, the real estate lead generation companies on our list have varying ways of generating leads, including social media ads, pay-per-click (PPC) ads, landing pages, lead magnets, and other tools; each inclusion has at least one proven lead generation method.
• Lead nurturing: Lead nurturing capabilities, while not technically part of lead generation itself, are critical to converting a lead to a sale. That’s why we considered companies that offer some sort of CRM along with email and marketing tools to help you stay connected to the buyers and sellers in your pipeline.
• Training and customer support: Each company we reviewed offers training and customer support to help customers make the most of their subscription. At least one customer support channel (email, phone, chat, or online materials) was required to make our list.
• Ease of use: Real estate lead generation companies had to be easy to use for all skill and experience levels to be considered for our list. Because agents’ technological understanding varies, a user-friendly service is critical to success.
• Customer reviews: To help paint a complete picture of a company’s actual offerings and the quality of their leads and tools, we considered customer reviews.

Given the criteria above, BoldLeads is the overall best of the available real estate lead generation companies because they provide territory-exclusive leads for only one agent per ZIP code at an affordable price, along with excellent training and customer support. Plus, with a robust CRM that handles real estate leads from capture to sale, BoldLeads sets real estate agents up for success while saving them time and money.

BoldLeads: Best Overall Real Estate Lead Generation Company

BoldLeads is a lead generation company targeting buyers and sellers using Facebook advertising and pay-per-click (PPC) Google Ads; pricing starts at $299 per month. BoldLeads customer relationship management (CRM) software helps agents track sales progress, nurture leads, and communicate with potential buyers and sellers. Since BoldLeads only services one agent per ZIP code, this is a great choice if you want exclusive leads.

BoldLeads Pricing

BoldLeads pricing is broken into two categories: the $299 per month account fee and the budget for advertising. There is a $200 onboarding fee and the minimum ad budget is $250. Get both buyer and seller leads with a monthly Buyer/Seller Pro package for $589. Broker Pro offers 10 user accounts for $899 per month.

There is a significant discount for a six-month or yearly contract, however. The onboarding fee might be waived with an annual contract, and BoldLeads may offer an additional monthly fee discount. Be sure to ask about these discount opportunities.

BoldLeads Features

BoldLeads is an online marketing platform that captures leads via ads, sends them to a lead capture-focused IDX website, and puts any acquired lead information into a robust CRM. However, BoldLeads provides more than just software to help agents convert leads to sales; exclusivity, support, and training are also key features.

Here are the primary ways that agents can use BoldLeads to help generate real estate leads:

Lead Generation

The most important feature of BoldLeads is that it is an area-exclusive social media advertising system. With managed ad creation and campaigns, BoldLeads targets buyers or sellers in a specific ZIP code and drives warm leads to an IDX-enabled website. The website then captures email addresses and syncs them with a CRM for lead nurturing. There is only one agent per ZIP code.

Lead Nurturing

BoldLeads is ready to nurture each lead, both in the short-term and over long periods of time, with a CRM that allows for SMS texts, drip emails, and ongoing marketing campaigns. With reminders and notices, BoldLeads also helps agents stay engaged with leads without letting things fall through the cracks.

Real Geeks and Market Leader both include equivalent lead-nurturing capabilities. They offer automated text responses and comparative market analyses (CMAs) for seller leads. They also have a concierge service that acts like an internal sales agent (ISA), where a real person engages your leads by texts and sets up calls and appointments on your behalf.

Exclusivity

BoldLeads only allows one agent or broker per ZIP code for buyer or seller leads. This approach cuts down the competition in your local market and makes your ads unique for better conversion in your local area. If your area is not available, then you might want to try Real Geeks or Market Leader for more lead generation options within a specific market area.

Training & Support

BoldLeads really steps up to the plate with training and support features. They offer weekly coaching webinars and informative training videos to help clients make the most of each lead. Additionally, with customer service available by email and phone, BoldLeads is competitive with Market Leader in terms of support.

BoldLeads lead preview and ZIP code check

What BoldLeads Is Missing

The primary thing that BoldLeads is missing is an alternative option for agents whose ZIP code has already been claimed by another agent. If your area has been taken on BoldLeads, then you might try Real Geeks or Market Leader (for individual agents or small agencies), or Zillow Premier Agent or BoomTown (for larger teams and brokerages), among other alternatives.

I wish they offered an option for agents to approve the automated CMA before it goes out to seller leads. It’s a great feature which quickly engages a potential client, but if the information isn’t accurate, then there’s no point. You can disable the feature and create CMAs yourself, but then you’d be forfeiting one of the features you’ve paid for.

What Users Think About BoldLeads

Many users expressed concern about the upfront cost for setup and the six-month contract at first, but felt that the results delivered by BoldLeads really overcame their original doubt. The overall reviews were very positive in addressing the quality and the volume of leads. Check out our BoldLeads reviews page for more information.

Real Geeks: Best for Self-managed Facebook Advertising

Real Geeks is a lead generation company offering two choices for Facebook marketing: a tool for agents who want to manage their own lead generating advertising and professionally managed campaigns; pricing starts at $550 per month. The DIY advertising option stands out from other lead generation companies. Real Geeks is best for agencies and brokers interested in self-managed lead generation using Facebook ads.

Real Geeks Pricing

Real Geeks pricing starts at $199 per month for CRM and an IDX website. If your budget allows, you can add features like Facebook marketing for $300 to $500 per month plus advertising and Google PPC for $550 plus advertising. There is a one-time setup and onboarding fee that adds $500 to the startup costs.

Real Geeks Features

With managed online and social media advertising, Real Geeks ads drop visitors off at landing pages with conversion-optimized lead magnets. Real Geeks boasts a comprehensive platform that includes a highly rated real estate lead generation website. Its IDX website templates are easy to edit with high-conversion lead capture forms. Their CRM then lets you nurture leads with automated features like email drip campaigns and SMS texting.

These are the reasons Real Geeks is one of the top real estate lead generation companies:

Lead Generation

Real Geeks uses the power of Google Ads and Facebook to run ads and collect leads based on location, buying behavior, and interests. Similar to BoldLeads, interested prospects land on an IDX website and can sign up for more information. From there, lead information is sent to a CRM for lead nurturing.

Real Geeks CRM comes with a simple Facebook Ad Tool for self-managed advertising; agents can use the Facebook Tool to create and monitor their advertising efforts easily. However, unlike BoldLeads, they don’t offer area exclusivity. Still, with Real Geeks, agents can easily advertise on their own—or get help with managed campaigns if they’d rather not control their own advertising.

Lead Nurturing

Real Geeks helps agents hit the ground running with new leads. Their CRM has a lot of intuitive, automated features that allow for customization of drip emails and SMS texts to reach out to buyers quickly and frequently without wasting time. Larger companies will appreciate the idle lead reassignment and lead-routing features that save time on contact distribution between agents. This ultimately decreases follow-up time.

Exclusivity

Exclusivity is not a focus for Real Geeks. Instead, Real Geeks offers tools and services that allow agents to manage their own ad campaigns. This is great if you want to focus your business and advertising on a specific niche. If you like the idea of lead or area exclusivity, then BoldLeads or Market Leader might be better choices.

Training & Support

Real Geeks does offer occasional videos to help real estate agents with follow-up best practices and generating more sales. The customer support team is only available through an email form during business hours on weekdays. Real Geeks is easy to use, but if customer support is an issue for your team, then you might want to try BoldLeads.

Real Geeks user interface

What Real Geeks Is Missing

It has been noted that the user interface of Real Geeks is clunky and dated. While it is true that the interface is not as sleek as Zillow or Market Leader, the lack of complex modules makes tasks easier to complete without tons of additional steps.

What Users Think About Real Geeks

Most users think that Real Geeks is an easy-to-use platform with strong lead generation. The overall customer experience was positive, and while they have tools to help you manage your Facebook ads, they don’t offer professional marketing support. You can read our article on Real Geeks reviews and pricing for more information.

Market Leader: Best Lead Generation Service With Outsourced Marketing

Market Leader is a lead generation company offering professionally managed PPC ads, Facebook ad campaigns, and third-party network ads starting at $129 per month with no set up fee. It stands out because real estate agents can turn over marketing to the experts and focus their time on nurturing leads. Market Leader may represent several agents in a ZIP code, but the lead you get from them is all yours. This lead generation model is best for agents in highly competitive markets who want to focus more on lead nurturing than marketing.

Market Leader Pricing

Market Leader’s price starts at $129 per month for its CRM and a customized IDX website, and lead costs anywhere from $25 to $60 depending on area, availability, and any promotions. However, it is also the only one of the real estate lead generation companies to offer a 48-hour lead return policy in case your lead turns out to be a dead end.

Market Leader Features

Market Leader stands apart from BoldLeads and Real Geeks because they do not resell leads to different agents in the same location. Zillow Premier Agent offers the same lead count guarantee as Market Leader, but the 48-hour lead return option of Market Leader enables agents to preview contacts and give them back. No other lead generation company on our list allows contact returns.

These are the key ways Market Leader helps with real estate lead generation:

Lead Generation

Market Leader uses online advertising on Google and third-party sites like Yahoo! and Bing to send traffic to your IDX website and generate leads. Market Leader lead capture forms grab the lead information and transmit it directly into your CRM for lead nurturing and tracking so nothing falls through the cracks.

The cost per lead depends on location, so if you want a fixed monthly cost for real estate leads, then BoldLeads or Real Geeks might be better choices. If you want to run ads to capture leads, however, it’s important to note that both of those companies require an additional budget for advertising. With Market Leader, agents pay per lead given to them.

Lead Nurturing

With an effective CRM in place ready to take care of each lead, Market Leader helps you register, track, and respond to contacts. Also, with drip email and print marketing, Market Leader gives agents everything they need to be successful in managing their sales funnel and converting real estate leads to sales.

Exclusivity

Market Leader takes exclusivity to a new level with the promise to only sell each lead once. With one agent buying exclusive rights to one generated contact, Market Leader minimizes agent competition for the same lead. This type of exclusivity is unique in the real estate lead generation marketplace, differing from BoldLeads ZIP code exclusivity that may result in the same lead being sold to two agents over time.

Training & Support

Market Leader offers an array of training tools and customer support. With a list of online real estate guides that cover everything from business planning to call scripts and conversions, there is an incredible amount of coaching and information available for customers. Phone and email support are also available during normal weekday business hours.

Market Leader landing page

What Market Leader Is Missing

Many reviewers noted that customer service at Market Leader can be spotty at best. The majority of reviewers felt this was the primary area that Market Leader could stand to improve. Quicker responses to agent questions about leads or services would help to fill the void.

What Users Think About Market Leader

Most reviewers thought that Market Leader was easy to use and delivered on their exclusivity promise. Some reviewers reported that the real estate leads were primarily email addresses, so if more in-depth contact information is important to you, then you might want to try BoldLeads or BoomTown. Learn more about Market Leader pricing and reviews.

Zillow Premier Agent (ZPA): Best Place to Buy Zillow Leads for Larger Agencies

Zillow Premier Agent is a lead generation solution for agents who collect leads from powerhouse real estate sites Zillow, StreetEasy, and Trulia; leads cost between $20 and $60 each. With Zillow, you can pay to show up as the primary agent for existing Zillow, Trulia, or StreetEasy listings, ensuring more leads. Zillow Premier Agent is right for larger real estate agencies that want to generate multiple leads on the Zillow platform for agents and brokers.

Zillow Premier Agent Pricing

Zillow Premier Agent prices depend on two factors: ZIP code and competition. This means that each lead could cost you $20 to $60, depending on how many leads are available in your area and how much competition there is. For more information, contact a Zillow representative.

Zillow Premier Agent Features

Zillow Premier Agent (ZPA) enhances agent exposure by listing an individual agent’s profile and contact information on existing Zillow, Trulia, and StreetEasy listings, suggesting that the agent is the only person to contact about the property. Non-ZPA agents do not get exclusive listing placement for lead generation. ZPA agents can utilize all the features of the Premier Agent app, providing an easy interface for agents on the go.

The ways that Zillow Premier Agent effectively sources real estate leads are:

Lead Generation

ZPA lets agents pay to have their profiles appear as the main contact on listings when buyers search for available properties on Zillow, Trulia, and StreetEasy. When a prospect wants to contact an agent for more information, they can do so directly from the listing by filling out the on-screen form; there is no need for a user to navigate to a separate landing page. ZPA guarantees exclusive inclusion for members, though this has not been confirmed.

Zillow and its sister websites are some of the most searched real estate websites in the world, so it makes sense to advertise using Zillow Premier Agent. Warmer real estate buyer leads are a clear benefit of this platform; Zillow visitors are already interested in buying a home as they are on the site actively searching listings.

Lead Nurturing

Zillow Premier Agent’s strongest nurturing tool is their concierge service. A live concierge will respond to inquiries, contact the home shopper, verify the lead, and connect you by phone. Zillow’s CRM allows agents to track and follow real estate leads, and you can interact with your contacts directly through the Zillow Premier Agent platform both online and on the go via a mobile app, making Zillow easy to use.

Zillow Premier Agent’s easy-to-navigate CRM

Exclusivity

Zillow might say that their leads are exclusive, but there is no way to guarantee this; as several agents appear on each listing not claimed by ZPA agents, a lead might contact more than one agent. Additionally, it’s impossible to tell where a lead came from—a Google search or directly through the Zillow website. For those who want one-sale leads or exclusive ZIP codes, Market Leader and BoldLeads are probably better choices.

Training & Support

Users have come to expect high-level agent support and training from one of the largest real estate companies. Zillow Premier Agent delivers on this expectation with agent forums, courses on marketing and sales, and webinars to help agents better understand how to utilize the platform. Customer service is available through phone and email.

What Zillow Premier Agent Is Missing

ZPA is missing a level of quality control on the leads it sends agents. Agents have no way to determine if the lead is high quality or a window-shopper who stumbled on the listing through a Google search. There’s not much you can do about the quality of leads beyond utilizing the Concierge service to screen every lead for you. If you don’t like getting stuck with a dead lead, then you might want to try Market Leader because there is a 48-hour lead return guarantee.

What Users Think About Zillow Premier Agent

Agents tend to have a love-hate relationship with Zillow, but those who pay to be a Premier Agent benefit from Zillow’s dominance and ability to capture hot leads. Reviewers note that Zillow Premier Agent was easy to use and sends enough quality leads to make it worth the investment. Find out what other people are saying by visiting our Zillow Premier Agent reviews page.

BoomTown: Best Place for In-depth Lead Information

BoomTown is a real estate lead generation company that leverages social and PPC ads to deliver leads with enhanced data gathered from social media profiles and other sources; pricing starts at $750 per month. BoomTown also includes a predictive CRM to suggest the best time to contact leads, and a mobile app to streamline communication. BoomTown is best for social-savvy agents who want detailed lead profiles to give them an edge over the competition.

BoomTown Pricing

BoomTown is an expensive option with a Launch package that starts at $750 per month for up to three agents. The Core package (not listed on the website) is $1,050 per month for up to five agents. The minimum ad budget is $250 to drive traffic to your BoomTown website for lead gathering.

BoomTown Features

BoomTown is a complete package of real estate lead generation and nurturing tools, including an intelligent CRM that helps agents collect insights based on the social media habits of their leads. BoomTown focuses on using technology to supply information about each lead and creates customized sales reports and dashboards for the agent.

Here are the top features of BoomTown:

Lead Generation

BoomTown utilizes Facebook ads, Google Ads, and mobile-optimized ads to create a lead funnel. They take care of managing ad campaigns, capturing the information of interested prospects and adding those prospects to a CRM for lead nurturing. Additionally, they provide enhanced data like user behavior and social profile handles, helping you engage your leads more effectively.

BoomTown integrated social search

Lead Nurturing

BoomTown’s CRM and automated marketing allow agents to identify a lead’s status quickly and engage a contact with targeted campaigns to nurture them through the sales cycle. BoomTown has one of the most robust CRMs in the real estate industry. With an included mobile app and email drip campaigns, you are able to stay connected to your leads all the time.

Exclusivity

Although lead generation specifically targets ZIP codes, there is no indication that leads or areas are exclusive. You might want to try BoldLeads or Market Leader if this is an important criterion for your real estate company.

Training & Support

BoomTown checks off all of the boxes for training and support. Like Zillow Premier Agent, BoomTown has a library of training videos that covers sales, marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), social media, and ad writing. With professional podcasts, along with email and phone support, BoomTown is the place to go if you value training and customer service.

What BoomTown Is Missing

BoomTown is missing a lower-cost option for individual agents and small brokerages. Even though their lead generation marketing efforts and CRM combine the best use of communication and technology to produce a great product that stands out among real estate lead generation companies, BoldLeads or Real Geeks might be a better choice if budget is an issue.

What Users Think About BoomTown

Reviews for BoomTown are overwhelmingly great, with some noting that the system is frequently updating features in response to user feedback. The mobile app could be improved, however. You can learn more by visiting our BoomTown user reviews and pricing page.

REDX: Best Place to Buy Leads for Non-mainstream Markets

REDX is a real estate lead generation company specializing in For Sale by Owner (FSBO), For Rent by Owner (FRBO), foreclosure, and expired leads costing $39 to $79 per month. REDX is niche-specific among real estate lead generation companies because they’re the only provider on our list that focuses on these types of properties. Therefore, REDX is best for agents focusing on niche market leads like FSBO, FRBO, foreclosures, and expired listings.

REDX Pricing

REDX costs $39.99 to $79.99 per month depending on the type of real estate leads. FSBO and foreclosure leads are at the lower end of the pricing spectrum, while geo-leads, FRBO, and expired leads are slightly higher. There is a $149.99 one-time setup fee, but discounts are available for contracts.

REDX Features

REDX leads are generated from public records and databases of expired listings, FSBOs, FRBOs, and foreclosures. They claim to cross-check their leads against active MLS listings, saving an agent from accidentally calling someone who relisted their house. With a free CRM called Vortex to manage and track leads, REDX helps agents stay connected to buyers. If mainstream markets are your only interest, then other platforms may be a better choice.

Here are the primary benefits of using REDX for real estate leads:

Lead Generation

REDX researches and reviews public information, records, and listings to find the best real estate leads for FSBO, FRBO, and expired listings. The leads are delivered into a robust CRM called Vortex for monitoring and lead nurturing through the sales cycle.

There is no advertising module for REDX because these types of leads are generated entirely through sourcing data found in public databases. If advertising to get leads is an important part of your marketing strategy, then any of the other platforms would work better.

Lead Nurture

One of the benefits of REDX is that the Vortex CRM is included with the price of leads. Because leads by themselves are not helpful if you cannot track and monitor movement through the sales cycle, Vortex includes filters, tags, and statuses to streamline lead nurturing. Also, Storm Dialer—REDX’s auto-dialer—is included to help agents make prospecting calls. For agents wanting more in-depth features like lead reports, Real Geeks and BoldLeads are better options.

Exclusivity

REDX does not claim to give exclusive leads to any one agent. Due to the smaller amount of competition for this type of real estate lead generation, exclusivity might not be a big factor in going after these sales opportunities.

Training & Support

The training and support of REDX is on the lighter side compared to other providers, but so is the price. It is an easy platform to use, so there will probably not be a high need for training. However, there is a dedicated support team that you can reach by email or phone.

REDX alternative lead sources

What REDX Is Missing

The most obvious thing that REDX is missing is what makes it unique among real estate lead generation companies: a lack of mainstream leads. For agents seeking mainstream buyer and seller leads, any of the other options on this list would be a better choice.

What Users Think About REDX

REDX is well-received by users who take advantage of off-market leads to close real estate deals. While REDX is not well-known, the agents who did share their experience with the platform seemed pleased with the results. Find out more about REDX pricing and reviews.

Top 6 Real Estate Lead Generation Companies Pricing

Bottom Line: Real Estate Lead Generation Companies

Purchased leads, sourced through real estate lead generation companies, allow agents to focus on moving potential buyers and sellers through the sales funnel without wasting time on manual lead sourcing. We reviewed 12 top real estate lead generation companies that offer agents and brokers leads, landing on the top six in the industry based on price, advertising options, lead nurturing tools, and support.

As our best overall lead generation company, BoldLeads provides agents with area-exclusive leads as well as a feature-rich CRM for tracking their progress through the sales funnel. Plus, agents can use built-in marketing tools like email and text messages to save time. Check out the BoldLeads demo and find out if your location is available.

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