10 Tips from Top Agents

This year marks Zillow’s 10th anniversary! To honor this milestone, we present 10 top tips — collected from our community of real estate agents — to help you reach your own goals.

1. When you join Zillow, stick with it and be diligent

Don’t just sign up and expect the phone to ring off the hook; you have to work it. I’ve heard about too many agents that quit and say, “Well, it didn’t work for me after two months.” Zillow is a partner, not just a website. You wouldn’t quit on a partner after two months, would you? Zillow is one of the most valuable assets we have as a business and we intend to keep it that way. —Cesar Amezcua, CA & Company Realtors, San Antonio, TX

2. Respond quickly

An Internet lead has a half-life of seconds, not minutes. Today’s Internet user likes to move around from website to website, submitting multiple inquiries. A quick response to let the person know that a human being is at the other end and is willing to help will often stop that wandering behavior. Even if you don’t have the answer to their specific inquiry, let them know you’re on it, and that you will get back to them. —Eric Boyenga, Boyenga Team, Keller Williams, San Francisco, CA

3. Reviews are everything: Get more

Make sure to contact all of your past and current clients and ask them to write reviews. With Zillow advertising, make sure you consistently follow up with leads, and success will come in waves. Those who utilize Zillow to the fullest will achieve exceptional return on investment. —Tyler Freed, Windermere Real Estate, Seattle, WA

4. Invest in your brand: Build your Zillow profile

Clients are reading and studying you! If you have a good profile and have posted several reviews and your sales history, once you are contacted it’s almost a lock to be hired. Clients feel like they know you before you ever arrive for the first appointment. —Bev Blume, Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere, Portland, OR

5. Be prepared

Have important information about the specific property at your fingertips. Make sure you update your past sales and ask for a review at every sale. —Allen Brake, Keller Williams St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

6. Know your local market

Have every single area and/or ZIP code you are knowledgeable about registered in your service areas. The more areas you have, the better the chances are of you matching a consumer’s inquiry. —Julie A. Franklin, RE/MAX Preferred (PA) & RE/MAX Connection (NJ), Philadelphia, PA

7. Get to know your clients

We have found that by knowing what clients are looking for, we can make their home search smoother. Using this technique, we have gained many raving fans over the past 35 years. One of my favorite things is checking in with past clients regularly to see how they are loving their new home or if we can be of any further assistance. —Brad Korb, The Brad Korb Real Estate Group, Los Angeles, CA

8. Use Zillow tools

Make good use of Zillow Academy. Complete your profile using all the tools Zillow offers. I am successful because of great Zillow reviews, providing quality service, and working when other agents sleep. —Brian Teyssier, RE/MAX Advanced Realtors, Pittsburgh, PA

9. Be helpful

Even if you get a contact in an area you don’t serve, or for a property type you don’t normally work, you can—and should—be helpful. These sorts of contacts are easy to ignore. Don’t. You never know what may result from helping someone. Even if you don’t end up working with someone, if you’re helpful to them they will remember it. Those people all have friends and family who may just need a helpful agent at some point. —Brandi Thompson, Keller Williams Realty, Chattanooga, TN

10. Incorporate social media

Put all of your work on hold until you get every one of your contacts into a list on Facebook and your chosen CRM. Create a community page on Facebook—not a real estate agent page—then smartly and creatively integrate your real estate information into it. —Jason Farris, Fresyes Realty, Fresno, CA

Fads and trends come and go. While you might find them useful for a time, it’s often the classic, old school solutions that make the biggest, longest-lasting impact on your business. Regardless of your tenure in the real estate industry or your chosen marketing strategy, these tips can help you be a better agent, attract more clients and close more sales.