Realtor.com Leads for Agents: How to Maximize Your ROI in 2019

Realtor.com is the second-largest online real estate marketplace, with over 18 million unique monthly visitors. The platform offers free and paid marketing and lead generation tools to help agents grow their business. Pricing information isn’t readily available online, but services for Realtor.com leads reportedly cost from $200 to over $1,000 per month.

How Much Realtor.com Leads & Services Cost

Realtor.com lets agents create a free profile and offers multiple paid options. Prices are not readily available through Realtor.com, but lead generation pricing is based on home values in each ZIP code. Third-party sites indicate Realtor.com ranges from about $200 per month to $1,000 per month or more for lead exclusivity.

Realtor.com’s paid marketing and real estate lead generation services include:

Connections Plus Lead Generation Tool

Much like Zillow’s Premier Agent Program, Connections Plus is Realtor.com’s buyer lead generation service. Connections Plus lets agents buy leads from specific ZIP codes that Realtor.com has gathered from visitors searching in those areas on their website. Pricing is based on ZIP code, with average home values dictating the overall cost of leads in each area.

To use Connections Plus, simply choose which ZIP codes you want to get listings from and then pay a monthly fee from about $200 for non-exclusive leads to over $1,000 per month for exclusive leads. If you do not opt for the more expensive exclusive leads, the leads are sent to all agents who signed up for the same ZIP code (often three or more). For that reason, you should contact non-exclusive leads as soon as you receive them to maximize conversion.

Local Expert

Local Expert is a digital advertising product that lets agents increase brand visibility using paid advertisements on Realtor.com and Facebook. Professionals can target shoppers who are searching for homes in a specific city or ZIP code by purchasing one of a number of limited local ad placements. You can also showcase “For Sale” and “Sold” properties to help generate seller leads. Finally, Local Expert includes user-friendly reporting tools to help measure return on investment (ROI).

When an agent or broker buys a ZIP code through Local Expert, buyers who search for that ZIP code on Realtor.com will see an image of the agent pop up in the listing search results. The image typically includes the agent’s name, headshot, and contact information. When that potential buyer is on Facebook, they’ll see the same ad appear on their newsfeed. Once a potential homebuyer clicks on the ad, they are automatically directed to the agent’s website.

Advantage Brand

Realtor.com’s Advantage Brand lets listing agents prominently display their brand on their listings within local search results pages and on their personal Realtor.com listing detail pages. Using this tool, agents can increase the reach of their brand and stay top-of-mind with potential clients by sharing their name, phone number, photo, and website link across all of their Realtor.com listings.

Advantage Brand also lets agents track listing activity and user engagement through their online dashboard. Agents can help their listing clients better understand the current state of the local market and their own property value using detailed reports about their home listing’s views and traffic. This helps agents keep current clients more engaged and is a selling point at listing appointments with potential clients.

Top Producer Real Estate Websites

Top Producer Real Estate Websites lets agents create free, single-property mobile sites for listings by syncing with their local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Use the website builder to create a mobile-friendly site complete with powerful lead generation tools; you can also add your favorite listing details, reviews, and recommendations. Plus, the website editor is easy to use and is integrated with the Top Producer CRM for lead management and follow-up.

Top Producer CRM

Realtor.com also works with Top Producer to provide a mobile-friendly CRM that makes it easier to organize and follow up with leads generated by Realtor.com and other sources. The Top Producer CRM includes the ability to call, text, or email leads directly from the user dashboard and lets agents send Market Snapshot Reports. Plus, the CRM integrates with the MLS and a variety of back-office tools like Mailchimp to simplify lead nurturing.

Realtor.com’s Top Producer CRM integrations include:

• MLS: The Top Producer CRM automatically populates with your MLS listing data so you can save time and ensure the listings you send to leads are always up to date. Keep in mind, however, that this feature is not available in every market, so check with Realtor.com to learn more about available services.
• Document tools: You can also integrate the Top Producer CRM with your back-office document management tools like Dropbox and Google Drive. This lets you easily manage documents shared with any of your seller or buyer leads.
• Email platform: The CRM also integrates with popular email services like MailChimp and BombBomb so you can send automated email marketing campaigns to leads.
• Contacts and calendars: In addition to connecting to your email platform for simplified marketing campaigns, the Top Producer CRM integrates with contacts, calendars, and email from platforms like Office 365, Outlook, iCal, and Gmail.

In addition to Realtor.com’s paid services, the platform offers agents and brokers free services including agent profiles, an app designed for professionals, and the Ultimate Business Plans tool. Check out more of Realtor.com’s free services below.

How to Maximize ROI on Realtor.com in 6 Steps

Paid Realtor.com services extend your reach and get you in front of the right people, maximizing your ROI. However, this requires laying solid groundwork with a professional Realtor.com profile. To make sure as many people as possible click on your ads and profile, sign up for a professional account and add detailed and compelling information. Then, take advantage of other tools like ListHub and the Realtor.com app for professionals.

Here are the six steps for increasing your Realtor.com ROI:

1. Sign Up for a Professional Account

To sign up for a Realtor.com professional account, go to the Realtor.com homepage and click on the “Sign Up” button in the upper right-hand corner. Then, select “Pro Sign Up” and provide personal information like email address, password, and phone number. Next, verify your MLS information, including public agent ID, agent number, and member number to link your account to your listings. You can also use an active listing number.

Screenshot of account creation page

2. Build an Outstanding Profile

Your Realtor.com profile page should not be treated as a replacement for a well-made IDX or lead generation website, but it’s essential that you have a great forward-facing profile. Realtor.com’s free profile pages include space for a headshot, bio, reviews, current and recently closed listings, and contact information. Make the most of your Realtor.com agent profile by sharing a professional headshot, crafting a captivating real estate bio, and showcasing great reviews and properties.

Here are the guidelines for creating the perfect real estate profile:

Get a Professional Headshot

The perfect headshot should convey trust, competence, and confidence. Elements like smiling, selecting an appropriate background, and dressing professionally are crucial to creating the right impression about your brand and business.

Screenshot of Realtor.com agent profile headshot

Write a Captivating Real Estate Bio

Real estate bios should capture your potential clients by disclosing a bit of your personal history, remaining succinct, and connecting you to your farm area. While you shouldn’t be afraid to showcase what you’ve done, be sure not to come across as arrogant or boasting to potential Realtor.com leads. For more tips, see our article on how to write the perfect real estate bio, which includes examples from the pros.

Screenshot of Realtor.com agent bio

Showcase Great Client Reviews

Social proof in the form of client reviews demonstrates to your leads that you’ve been able to get the job done, and will be able to do so for them as well. If you have helped clients get their dream home, feel free to ask them to leave reviews that can help boost your online reputation and send you more clients.

Screenshot of Realtor.com profile reviews and recommendations

3. Use the Realtor.com App for Professionals

The Realtor.com app for professionals is a free agent resource that’s available for iOS and Android devices. Agents and brokers who do not use Realtor.com’s paid services can use the app to call, text, or email their leads and contacts directly from the app. In addition, the app lets agents track and follow up with their Realtor.com leads efficiently using push notifications that are sent directly to your smartphone to streamline the lead-nurturing process.

What’s more, Connections Plus customers get access to additional app features like the ability to consolidate and manage your leads from over 150 sources and get important lead information like listing inquiries and listing agent information details. Connections Plus agents can also use the app to automatically track lead communications in a simple timeline view, access communication history, and assign leads to your team members.

Screenshot of Realtor.com Pro App

4. Utilize the ListHub Listing Presentation Tools

Your Realtor.com account includes ListHub, a free listing presentation tool that you can download and use digitally or use to create printed flyers. This marketing tool also shares your listings across over 750 real estate websites. In addition, the platform’s reporting tools make it easy to email seller clients detailed, branded, and automated marketing reports to demonstrate how you can help them as their listing agent.

Screenshot of ListHub Presentation Tools

The ListHub suite of tools allows agents to customize presentations with elements like:

• About me section
• Recent sales and homebuyer statistics
• Client reviews and testimonials
• Home selling process walk-through
• Local home pricing and amount of time on the market
• Comparative market analysis insertion
• Marketing information
• Open house information
• Social network
• Paid advertising options

5. Strategize With the Realtor.com Ultimate Business Plan

The Realtor.com Ultimate Business Plan tool helps agents improve performance by determining how many listings or buyers they need to earn a specific annual commission. The Ultimate Business Plan dashboard will also show agents how many leads they need to contact each day and how many new prospects have to be acquired every week. Integrating these into your overall strategy can improve lead generation and set the direction for your real estate business.

Screenshot of Ultimate Business Plan form

Start by providing information about your commission income and closings; if you’re a new agent, skip this step. Then, establish a baseline by providing information about your anticipated commission for a $100,000 home. Next, calculate your conversion rate and provide information about the current size of your prospect list. If you already have a Top Producer CRM account, enter your username so you can automatically track your business plan progress.

Screenshot of Ultimate Business Plan Step 3

Finally, enter your commission goals, and the Realtor.com Ultimate Business Plan will automatically calculate your transaction goals for listings and buyers. Realtor.com will then send you an Ultimate Business Plan that includes the number of customers from your database you need to contact every day to meet your goals and the number of additional prospects you need to acquire each week.

Screenshot of Ultimate Business Plan confirmation page

6. Take Advantage of Market Snapshot Reports

Market Snapshot lets real estate agents create mobile-friendly, hyper-local reports based on up-to-date data from over 800 MLS’. These reports can then be sent out to clients and leads as a way to share community information like details about demographics, schools, and community features for every U.S. ZIP code. Because they offer hyper-local data, Market Snapshot reports typically have higher click-through rates than other communications so you can stay top of mind.

Elements to customize in your Market Snapshot emails include:

• Contact information: Be sure your contact information is up to date and that you give a cell phone number and other avenues for clients to reach you.
• Listings presented: If you have a featured listing you’d like to include, this is a wonderful way to get it in front of previous or potential clients.
• Local market data: Customize the data reports on your newsletter by clicking on local market reports and selecting the state where you live.
• Email signature: Be sure to add an email signature line to enhance your branding and personalize your correspondence.
• Social media buttons: Add social media profiles to your email signature and include buttons by going into your email and clicking on “Signatures.” Select images from the image library and link them to your social profiles using the link button.

Realtor.com Market Snapshot Report screenshot

Benefits of Realtor.com

Establishing an account on Realtor.com for agents can bring you new leads and offer name recognition in your real estate farm area. The platform provides users free and paid services for marketing their business, generating leads, and converting potential clients into sales and listings. Realtor.com also reduces agent competition by limiting listings to licensed agents (not for sale by owner sellers) and expands the reach of marketing efforts with their huge online platform.

Realtor.com has three distinctive benefits:

• Large product portfolio: Realtor.com offers a wealth of both free and premium products for agents. This means that agents with budgets of all sizes can leverage the platform and use the tools they need to maximize sales.
• Reduced competition: While other platforms like Zillow allow for sale by owner clients to advertise on their platform, Realtor.com is only accessible to licensed agents, thereby reducing your competition.
• Expanded reach: As the second-largest real estate marketplace on the internet, your reach to potential customers searching for homes in the area is vast.

Realtor.com Reviews

Agents who use Realtor.com find that it is a convenient and effective way to show clients their listings. Not only is the platform easy to use, Realtor.com users indicate it is well-integrated with the MLS. For this reason, listings are reportedly more accurate than on other platforms. Finally, agents love that Realtor.com has a user-friendly app that’s available on both iOS and Android devices.

However, some users report that, like Zillow, Realtor.com can take a while to change the status of a listing from “Available” to “Under contract” or “Sold”; this can cause confusion for potential buyers who are interested in unavailable properties. What’s more, according to third-party review sites, some agents find that the leads generated by Realtor.com are not valuable or that there are not enough leads produced to yield an adequate return on investment.

Realtor.com vs Zillow

Zillow and Realtor.com for agents are largely comparable platforms that offer real estate lead generation, marketing, and CRM tools. User reviews reveal similar agent and broker experiences, though more Realtor.com users struggle with the quality of leads than agents who use Zillow. In addition, Zillow has an estimated 36 million unique monthly visitors, while Realtor.com only has about 18 million.

Here’s a comparison of Realtor.com vs. Zillow in a few important areas:

Comparison of Realtor.com vs Zillow

Bottom Line: Realtor.com for Agents

Realtor.com offers both free and paid tools to help agents and brokers promote their brand and expand their reach online. In addition to creating a free agent profile, real estate professionals can take advantage of the platform’s professional app, paid lead generation tools, and integrations with other valuable real estate platforms. Costs for leads vary greatly; contact Realtor.com for specific pricing information.