50 Creative Ways to Generate Leads in Winter

Want to become a winter lead generating wizard? Try out some of these seasonal lead generation ideas to thaw any slow-market business freeze!

1. Ply them with sweets. Order colorful M&Ms with your name or logo, put them in bags tied with ribbon and attach your business card. Give them away at a local holiday festival, parade or gift fair.
2. Less time socializing outside means more free time spent indoors at local watering holes.Take a cue from the beer industry and create custom coasters and napkins featuring your real estate logo or picture. Most bars will be willing to work them into their inventory.
3. Does your community host seasonal events like a local theater production of “A Christmas Carol” or “The Nutcracker?” Talk to the organizer and ask for an exclusive discount code. Post the codes on your website and use them to drive prospective leads to your real estate business.
4. Hand out a local guide or email a holiday newsletter that highlights why winter can be a great time to buy or sell a home. Focus on benefits like quicker transactions and lower competition, and include other market-specific information.
5. Check for expired listings in your target area and put a reminder on your calendar to follow up with the sellers.
6. Send out ornaments with your logo or website. It’s an ideal way to remind past or prospective clients of your services when they decorate their home for the holidays.
7.  Work to capture the best leads during the slower real estate season. Amp up your lead generation efforts by becoming a Zillow Premier Agent. It can increase your exposure to motivated buyers and sellers in your market. Invest in your online marketing to ensure that next year is bigger, better and more successful than ever.
8. Use any lulls during your week to organize your schedule and prep for a fantastic new year. Block out time to scrub your database and your online brand assets. Connect with top prospects and followers through Facebook or Twitter. Don’t forget to get a jump on planning your winter real estate marketing efforts.
9. Update the calls-to-action (CTAs) on your real estate website. You will capture the most potential clients by including prominent “Contact Me” or registration buttons.
10. Create an email marketing campaign or write case studies to showcase your best sales of the year.
11. Download the Zillow Premier Agent app for iOS or Android. The app increases your efficiency by providing a streamlined system to manage your incoming contacts while providing expanded insights on the home shoppers or sellers contacting you. The app is free to all agents with a Zillow Group profile.
12. Check in with your marketing or sales manager to discuss the winter market trends that excite them. Remind them that you’d love to take any walk-in buyers or sellers who come to their attention.
13. Winter is the perfect time to sponsor a coat or canned food drive. Set up a drop-off station in a popular public space and serve refreshments like spiced cookies or hot apple cider to encourage conversation.
14. Register for an upcoming Zillow Premier Agent webinar to learn to set up and customize your agent profile and website.
15. Call local vendors heading into their make-it-or-break-it time of year, like gutter-cleaning or snow-clearing vendors. Remind them that you’d be happy to send referrals their way and that you’d love to have them do the same!
16. Who doesn’t love pie? For a stand-out winter real estate marketing idea, offer free holiday pies to potential or high-value former clients. Arrange for pickup or delivery the day before the busy holiday. It’s the perfect excuse to update their information or to include a note that asks them to send you the contact information of someone who may be in the market for real estate services.
17. 'Tis the season for a quick visit. Winter is the perfect time to pop in and deliver a thoughtful seasonal gift to former clients or top prospects. Keep visits short — around 15 minutes or less — and conversational. This visit is just to reconnect and remind clients that, even the quiet winter months are a great time to buy or sell a home!
18. Deliver holiday packaging to your rural clients. Print your logo and greetings on cookie tins, boxes or labels. Include handwritten thank-you notes for top clients or those who shared referrals throughout the year.
19. Create a customized list of seasonal service providers and ask them to offer a discount code for clients you refer to them. Provide a CTA that drives people to your website where they can enter to win a free service, like snow-blowing, from one of those vendors. You can capture the entrant's information and connect with them later.
20. Winter is a great time to build your network by attending conferences or industry events you didn’t have time for during the busy season. Or, consider starting a casual meetup with other agents in neighboring (but not competing) markets.
21. Download a customizable template for real estate postcards that you can populate with updated market data and share with your database of potential clients.
22. Host a gingerbread house decorating contest or party. You can even partner with a local bakery for supplies and decorating ideas. The home theme will remind potential buyers that you can help get them into the home of their dreams.
23. Rev up your ratings and reviews. Ask former clients to leave reviews on your Zillow Group agent profile page. Great reviews show potential clients that you’re the real estate agent who can get the job done!
24. To market efficiently and effectively, you must to have a clean and accurate database. Spend some time updating, deleting or completing partial contacts. Flag any hot leads for a quick follow-up.
25. Forget the boring open house! Ask your seller if you can throw an afternoon happy hour on a Sunday. Offer food, drinks and music to keep the mood casual and help you organically generate leads.
26. Create a tax guide for all of this year’s clients. Work with a local expert, if needed, to develop the content and offer to exchange referrals.
27. Create a colorful map showcasing the best indoor activities or hot spots in your market — that nostalgic ice skating rink for the kids or a can’t-miss cozy wine bar. Share the map with potential clients and show off your neighborhood expertise.
28. Host a holiday family photo event! Hire a local photographer to set up in your office and invite past, present and prospective clients. They’ll enjoy having a memento featuring their family, and you’ll have the opportunity to catch up, ask for referrals and stay connected.
29. Set up a B2B email list that includes other real estate agents in your office and company, nationwide referral contacts, local lawyers, mortgage lenders, relocation managers and more. Add them all to a "stay-in-touch" campaign to remind them that you welcome their referrals and are happy to reciprocate.
30. Geek out on your data! Sure, you’re sending email marketing campaigns, but do you know your open or response rates? How’s your deliverability rate? You can send as many emails as you’d like, but if they aren’t optimized to perform, you’re wasting your time. Dig into your email performance data and figure out how to improve your results.
31. Go big with the micro-niche! Identify and brush up on soon-to-be hot niches in your target areas. Market to those potential clients now so that, come the prime selling season, you’ll be their go-to agent.
32. Target spring and summer listings that didn’t sell, including expired listings and FSBOs. These sellers could be highly motivated and reaching out to them may result in a new client before the end of the year.
33. Craft an infographic that features interesting real estate data about this year’s local housing market and discusses next year’s forecasts. Feature it on your website and social media, and consider sharing it with local media outlets or real estate blogs.
34. If you live in an area where parents walk their children to school, set up a free coffee or hot cocoa stand along their route. Say hello, chat about the neighborhood, and they will remember you for sharing your time and a warm beverage.
35. Tip the scales in your favor with a post-appointment cookie delivery. Remember to include a handwritten note on your branded card.
36. Get active on real estate forums. They’re a great way to discover what consumers are talking about and market yourself as an expert by answering their questions.
37. Arrange a “10 percent off campaign” with a local merchant. Work with a unique merchant to create a neighborhood-focused coupon. Print them on your personalized postcards and mail to everyone in your neighborhood using bulk mail or Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM). Don’t forget to include your picture on the mailing for that personal touch. If the coupon includes an area for the redeemer’s name and address and a CAN-SPAM compliant checkbox where they agree to accept your future emails, ask the merchant to collect the postcards or coupons for you. Voilà! Both of you will have a new email list.
38.  Boost your skills by taking an online certification course. Think about learning how to do a BPO, a CIPS course (global real estate), a CRS module or a Green Designation course.
39. Purchase and mail your holiday cards through a favorite charity. Stay in touch with your clients and support a good cause at the same time. Take a moment to personally thank clients, anyone who referred you to prospects and service providers.
40. Hand out or email flyers with tips for handling the winter freeze and how it will affect local homes. Include suggestions like cleaning out gutters, having flashlights ready for power outages and how to prep pipes for the freeze.
41. Buy a goat — no, seriously. Purchase a heifer or another farm animal from Heifer International to honor your clients and friends and let them know that in this season of giving, you have committed to fighting hunger and poverty in their names.
42. Set up a client listing report for one of your current listings. Send your seller a detailed and personalized report on how their home is doing on Zillow. It keeps your clients informed and presents you as an agent who goes above and beyond.
43. Create an email or print marketing campaign that focuses on why winter is a great time to sell. Evaluate local market data. Focus on ready-to-convert buyers and sellers with recently expired listings, FSBOs or online leads.
44. Host a tree trimming party to support needy families in your area. Send invitations and the “wish list” to everyone you know. Doing good meets staying in touch!
45. Add photos of your community and properties to your Instagram feed. Don’t have one? Create an account — it’s easy and free. Include quality shots of your area celebrating the season: decorated homes, sleigh rides or lighting ceremonies. Remember to use relevant hashtags so Instagram users can find your content.
46. Make your office a collection point for Toys for Tots. Put a sign up in your window for any passers-by. Spread the word on your website and blog and send a press release about it to local media outlets.
47. Craft a guide on decorating tips for the holidays. Include helpful safety tips or tricks. Show how to hang lights, or stockings on the mantle without damaging the home. Share quick DIY décor. You can even create a form that captures the potential lead’s information when they download the guide so that you can follow up.
48. When was the last time you updated your information on Zillow and Trulia, Facebook, LinkedIn or your other social networks? It’s a great time to add recently sold homes, an updated profile picture, or fresh “about me” copy to your agent profile!
49. Host a sweepstakes or holiday-themed contest such as the Ugly Sweater or Festive Pets. Make sure any contest or sweepstakes adheres to state or local laws. Share all the details — including lots of photos and the winners — on Facebook and other social media.
50. Do you have any leads that you neglected to reach out to? They might not be dead in the water. Connect with them today. Don’t get caught up in trying to explain your lack of initial response; just focus on how you can help them now.

Have a favorite tip for keeping leads hot during the chilly winter? Tell us in the comments below!