A steady stream of buyer clients will pay the bills and then some, but working with seller listings will propel you to great success in the real estate industry. Why? Because people are coming to you to purchase the property rather than you chasing them. However, making the leap from working primarily with buyers to working with sellers can be a challenge for many agents early in their careers.
Want to learn how to get listings? I’ve compiled the 12 most effective strategies my coaching clients and I have personally used to find more listings and create an inventory portfolio. Keep reading to learn how to get more listings, help more clients and watch your business grow!
1. Start conversations with your sphere
Direct business and referrals from people you already know are by far the best way to up your listings game. You don’t have to sell yourself to your sphere — they already know you, like you, trust you and want to help you succeed. All you need to do is teach them how to help you and keep in touch. Here are my top strategies for finding listing referrals through your sphere:
Related article
7 ways to expand your sphere of influence in real estate in 2025
2. Grow your sphere consistently and purposefully
Meeting new people to add to your existing sphere will help grow your listing business exponentially — as long as you follow the previous strategy consistently. You can meet new people anywhere, and you never know who’s thinking about putting their house on the market. Here are some places to start:
- Chamber of commerce: My very first listing came from my involvement in my local chamber. I met a woman who became a friend, and she hired me to sell her condo. She knew it was my first listing, yet she trusted me anyway. I sold her condo over asking, and I picked up two more pieces of business from that one listing.
- Business Networking International (BNI): These chapters can be tricky to get into as a real estate agent, but if you’re able to find one with an open seat, jump on it. Or look into starting your own!
- Sitting at restaurants/bars: This is perfect for all you extroverts out there. Choose either a high-end restaurant bar (think Morton’s, Capital Grille, Ruth’s Chris) or the most popular local spot in your target area and just start talking to people.
Need help staying in touch with your sphere? Check out our top picks for real estate CRMs:
Related article
The best real estate CRM for every budget in 2025
3. Prospect old expired listings
Calling the new expired listings every day is a popular strategy for finding listings. However, I’ve seen many agents have even more success by reaching out to old expireds — sellers who were on the market anywhere from two to five years ago. There are several benefits to strategically prospecting these sellers:
- They likely will not be as annoyed when you call because you won’t be the 100th agent to call them that day
- The higher price they weren’t able to get years ago may be more realistic now (not always, of course, but generally, property values go up year over year).
You also don’t have to call them on the phone, if cold calling terrifies you. Send a handwritten note, a mailer with market data and a call to action or even show up on their doorstep. This strategy works best for agents who are comfortable with rejection and can clearly articulate how you will be able to sell a property that the last agent couldn’t sell.
Pro tip
If you choose to mail expired listing leads, check out Wise Pelican for super easy and affordable mailers. They send the mailers for you, too, so you’d save a ton of time! For handwritten notes, a service like Handwrytten saves you time and a sore wrist. They use robots with pens to create the effect of a real handwritten postcard or letter. Like Wise Pelican, they’ll also stamp and deliver the notes for you. If you use Zapier, you can integrate both services into a CRM like Follow Up Boss.
4. Buy listing leads
Even though there are so many free ways (if you don’t count time) to get real estate listings, if you want to expedite the process, buying listing leads is always an option. Yes, it will cost you money, but it will save you time — you have to decide which you have more of!
Our favorite seller-specific lead company is Offrs because it caters to agents who are trying to get more real estate listings. Offrs uses predictive analytics to pinpoint which homeowners are likely to sell to help you find the most promising future sellers. Leads are exclusive to you, so you don’t have to fight through competition to score your next client.
Visit Offrs
Related article
9 best places to buy real estate leads in 2025
5. Go door knocking in target neighborhoods
Door knocking is old school, yet it does work! A few years ago, I was on a panel at a conference with an agent who built his business door knocking. The key is consistency. He went out every day for months and ended up selling over 40 homes in his very first year in real estate!
Be strategic about which neighborhoods you door knock to cultivate the specific type of listing business you’d like to have and areas you want to sell in. I usually recommend door knocking your own neighborhood as well, to introduce yourself as their hyper-local neighborhood agent. Door knocking works well for agents who love talking to strangers, make a great first impression and want the added bonus of getting their steps in.
Pro tip
Bring something of value to leave behind if they don’t answer the door. Market data about the area, an invitation to an upcoming open house or info about a listing coming soon nearby are all great items of value. Don’t forget to include your contact information and a call to action such as: “Call/text me to learn about your home’s current market value.”
6. Host open houses for other agents
When you have your own listings, absolutely do your own open houses. Many nosy neighbors end up turning into sellers, and hosting open houses is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your marketing skills. This is a perfect strategy for agents who enjoy face-to-face prospecting and those looking to work with buyers as well as sellers.
If you don’t have your own listings right now (or maybe you only have a few and want more), offer to run open houses for other agents in your office. Chances are, busy agents will be happy to let you cover their open houses and allow them some time off.
The key to a successful open house is the pre-marketing:
- Door knock to invite the neighbors
- Email all your prospects and everyone in your sphere — even if they aren’t looking to buy in that particular area, they may know someone who is!
- Send an open house invitation in the mailer ahead of time
- Post on all your social media channels (Bonus: This is a great hack for making yourself look more successful — people usually won’t know it’s not your listing)
- Run hyper-local Facebook or Instagram ads
Pro tip
Choose listings that are larger and at a higher price point. Avoid condos and entry-level price points. This will increase the chances of the open house attendees being move-up buyers instead of first-time buyers, and then they’ll also be sellers!
Related article
The ultimate open house checklist for new & experienced agents
23 creative open house ideas to drive foot traffic, get leads and sell fast
7. Offer to host open houses for FSBOs
Adding value, not being pushy, and building relationships with For Sale By Owner sellers are the keys to converting them to listings. One of the best ways to add value is offering to host an open house. Show the seller your open house pre-marketing plan (feel free to just copy the bullet points from the last step) and assure them there’s no obligation to hire you as their listing agent.
Do make sure you check with your broker and have the correct paperwork (typically, a disclosure form and a one-day listing agreement or whatever your state requires) in place ahead of time. If a buyer does want to buy that particular house, you’ll need to make sure you’re getting paid somehow.
The more common scenario is the seller gets fed up with trying to sell their house on their own, decides to hire an agent after all and hires you because you have been there helping out all along! However, approach FSBO sellers gently because they may need some education and a little hand-holding to decide to hire an agent.
Pro tip
According to NAR, the average FSBO home sold for $380,000 compared to $435,000 for listed home sales. Stats like this are always helpful to have in your back pocket and casually mention to sellers as you’re educating them about the benefits of working with a professional real estate agent.
8. Send golden letters to specific neighborhoods or demographics
Golden letters are one-page typed letters that are mailed to potential sellers. The addresses are typically handwritten, increasing the open rate. My fellow introverts — this is an ideal way of how to get real estate listings without cold calling, door knocking or going out to meet people. It can literally be done without talking to a soul, until you get that exciting incoming call with an interested seller on the other line.
The goal is to find homeowners who are thinking about selling, and this strategy is proven to work! The content is very simple: “We have buyers looking to purchase a home in your neighborhood. Have you ever considered selling? If so, please call us at [YOUR PHONE NUMBER].” Include your full name, brokerage information, and contact information in the header and be sure to hand sign each letter.
Like all marketing strategies, sending golden letters is a numbers game. One of the top agents in my office started sending letters to neighborhoods he wanted to list in, 100 letters at a time. He found that for every 100 letters, he’d set one listing appointment. Now, he sends hundreds of letters and has closed seven listings already!
Most agents target a geographic area, but you can also send golden letters to a particular demographic, such as homeowners who have been in their home for 10+ years. Get creative with this. If you’re looking to work with the downsizing population, send a letter to everyone who’s been in their home for 40+ years!
9. Help the top agents in your office
We’ve talked about this in terms of open houses, but a more broad strategy to get listings is offering to help the top agents in your office with anything they need — not just open houses. This is especially lucrative for new agents. Volunteer to be their runner. Meet the fire department for the smoke inspection. Put the lockbox on. Swap out the “coming soon” rider on the yard sign.
By humbling yourself and being of service to your fellow agents, you’ll accomplish several things:
- You’ll learn the business faster, with more hands-on experience
- You’ll increase your chances of other agents referring a listing to you! I’ve seen this happen many times. Top agents have the luxury of being more selective in the business they choose to take. If a multi-million dollar luxury agent has a lead for a $300k listing, there’s a high likelihood they would gladly pass that along to a newer agent. But only if they know you, like you and trust you!
- That same agent who referred you the lower priced listing may recommend other agents in the office do the same. Now, you’re the go-to person for listings the top agents don’t want or don’t have time for. Maybe the listing is further away, a lower price, or more tricky, such as a short sale or estate sale.
- You may even find a top agent who’s thinking about retiring. Read the book “The Golden Handoff” to learn more about taking over another agent’s business.
10. Run home valuation social media ads
Running social media ads is a great way to get in front of potential sellers quickly, efficiently and for very little money. This a highly-leveraged strategy: once you set the ad up, it just runs on its own. Choose your budget and invest as little as $5 per day on Facebook and Instagram. On TikTok, the minimum spend is either $20 or $50, depending on the type of ad you choose.
Choose the platform you’re most comfortable with and the one you think your target audience (for sellers specifically) is on. For guidance, check out this comprehensive social media demographic chart, provided by Pew Research. This strategy works well for agents who already use and love social media. If social media isn’t your thing, either skip this one or hire someone else to do it for you!
11. Host educational events for sellers
We’ve all heard of first-time buyer seminars, yet there are so many different types of educational seminars or webinars you can host. The key is choosing the topic and applying good marketing. Make it buzzy and interesting enough that the general public will want to take the time out of their day to attend. It also helps if you feed them and give them a cocktail! Here are some alternative topics to experiment with:
- First-time sellers
- Downsizing
- Buying and selling at the same time
- 1031 exchanges – “How to avoid paying capital gains taxes on your investment properties”
- Renovations with the highest ROI
- “Love it or list it?” What to consider when deciding whether to add on or move
- Most common home inspection issues to avoid when selling
Don’t worry — you don’t have to do these events alone. I always recommend bringing in other professionals to share the burden of content, to help answer questions and to split the cost of venue/refreshments. For seller-focused events, bring in home stagers, organizers, professional moving concierges, accountants, attorneys, mortgage lenders and home inspectors.
For agents who enjoy public speaking and educating, this is a no-brainer. It’s also great for former teachers or agents who like to be in control of the conversation. Yes, you’ll likely include a Q&A session at the end, but you’ll choose the content you cover, the vendors you’ll bring in, and you’ll run the show.
Another benefit? For newer agents, hosting an event like this positions you as a real estate expert (even if you don’t feel like an expert yet). If you are asked a question you don’t know the answer to, simply say “let me double check and get back to you.” Easy!
12. Build referral relationships with divorce and probate attorneys
Working with divorce attorneys and probate attorneys is an untapped gold mine for listing leads. If you’re looking to meet motivated sellers, make these attorneys your new best friends. Often in divorce settlements, there’s a requirement that property be sold. Even if it’s not mandated, it’s still very common. Divorce situations can be more tricky and come with a different set of emotions, but is a good fit for agents who are highly emotionally intelligent and skilled in navigating difficult situations while also selling more listings.
Probate attorneys step in when someone passes away and there’s real estate to be handled after the fact. Partnering with these professionals is smart because it sets you up as a resource for families. I’d recommend networking with moving concierge companies to offer even more value and set yourself apart.
Real estate is always part therapy, but working with divorcing clients and estate sales can be especially challenging. Another way to find probate listing leads is to leverage a predictive analytics tool like CatalyzeAI. With CatalyzeAI, you get 30 inherited property leads for $360 to $450 per month. This is an effective option for agents who don’t have the time or desire to network with attorneys and would prefer the ease of purchasing leads instead.
Visit Catalyze AI
The full picture: How to get listings in real estate
Now you have 12 new ideas for finding listings! While they might not all appeal to you, that’s ok. They’re each proven to work when done consistently. So, choose one or two to focus on, make a plan, put them in your calendar and go create some new inventory!
About Ashley Harwood
Ashley Harwood began her real estate career in 2013 and built a six-figure business as a solo agent before launching Move Over Extroverts in 2018. She developed training materials, classes, and coaching programs for her fellow introverts. Beginning in 2020, Ashley served as Director of Agent Growth for three Keller Williams offices in the Boston metro area. She’s now the Lead Listing agent for the Fleet Homes team in Massachusetts and a regular contributor to Vetted by HousingWire. She created The Quiet Success curriculum and has taught thousands of real estate agents nationwide. She has also been a guest speaker at top industry events and has been named a leading real estate coach by prominent industry publications.
