Up Your Circle Prospecting Efforts with Neighborhood Search Filters

Every real estate agent has their own strategy when it comes to prospecting.

Some focus heavily on expireds, where others find gold in FSBOs. A large number of dedicated prospecting agents utilize a multi-tiered strategy, blocking off time each day for calling expireds, FSBOs, plus touching base with their sphere of influence.

In today’s post we’re going to talk about the other, widely-used listing strategy, circle prospecting.

In short, circle prospecting involves cold calling to homeowners in a radius around homes you’ve Just Listed or Just Sold. Or, some agents use circle prospecting in order to establish themselves as a neighborhood expert.

In general, while you may find someone ready to sell today, circle prospecting is more of a long-term, database-building strategy. In fact, many agents prefer circle prospecting to calling expireds, simply because there is less competition for the homeowner’s attention.

Regardless of how you view or use circle prospecting, it is ultimately a numbers game. Although you may be able to make a handful of contacts, the majority may not be interested in selling today. In fact, it’s estimated that only one out of eight contacts you make while circle prospecting may be interested in selling at that moment. Indeed, circle prospecting requires patience and a long-term outlook. It is all about balancing your lead strategy with a good mix of ‘now’ vs ‘later’ business.

In an effort to maximize an agent’s circle prospecting productivity and efficiency, Vulcan7 recently introduced Neighborhood Search Filters to its already-robust Neighborhood Search and GeoSearch platforms. The filters are designed to focus your cold calling on those homeowners YOU are interested in reaching. So, instead of spending 2-3 hours trying to contact homeowners who may not have the kind of property that fits your business model, the filters can laser-focus your calling on your ideal prospects.

Here are the filters you can use to identify your prime homeowners:

• Owner
  • Owner-occupied
  • Non-owner occupied (great for vacation homes/resort areas)
• Price (Min/Max)
  • Estimated value
  • Assessed value
• Property type
  • Single family
  • Condominium
  • Multi-family
  • Mobile home
  • Land
• Property details (Min/Max)
  • Bedrooms
  • Bathrooms
  • Square footage
  • Acreage
  • Year built
  • Length of ownership (important because of capital gains considerations)

The program also offers an option to “include empty values” for those properties for which a value is not available.

Below is a screenshot to give you an idea of what the Neighborhood Search Filters look like within Vulcan7:

There are myriad benefits to Vulcan7’s search filters:

• Helps agents become more focused in their prospecting efforts
• You can specialize in areas with snow-birds and vacation homes-both of which are excellent groups to prospect against
• Filters are perfect for agents who are interested in working with niche groups, such as those in certain price ranges

In any business, but particularly real estate, time is money. With Vulcan7’s Neighborhood Search Filters, you’ll be able to spend LESS TIME calling the properties you want in order to drive MORE PROFITABLE REVENUE over time.

Learn More about Vulcan7’s circle prospecting software options.

If you are a current Vulcan7 client, ask about our neighborhood search trial options.

Doug Spak

Doug Spak has over four decades of experience as an advertising copywriter, agency creative director, blogger, and content creator. He joined Vulcan7 as a Content Specialist in 2016. In addition to ongoing website copy refreshes, Doug has produced over 300 blog posts while developing content for Vulcan7’s social media platforms.