Discover a simple two-step approach to real estate circle prospecting that helps you build valuable connections and generate leads in your target neighborhoods.

In real estate, lead generation is a numbers game, but it’s also about building relationships. Circle prospecting offers agents a way to target homeowners who live around a recently sold or listed home, using localized relevance to generate conversations that can result in new clients. This strategy, however, isn’t just dialing phone numbers or knocking on doors—the key is delivering value in every interaction.

Read on to find out how real estate circle prospecting differs from other approaches, get an easy tactic that will pique the interest of prospects, and pick up ideas for nurturing them into future clients who will fuel your business.

What is circle prospecting and why it works

Unlike geo farming, which typically involves using postcards or flyers to cover an entire area (such as a neighborhood, town, or zip code), real estate circle prospecting focuses on homeowners within a usually smaller radius around a property that you or another agent recently listed or sold. The idea is simple: if a home has just come on or off the market, there’s a good chance neighbors are wondering about their own home’s value—and perhaps even considering a move.

With circle prospecting, your aim is to reach out to these homeowners to satisfy their curiosity, making this contact more inviting and meaningful than a random cold call or knock. And because you’re providing valuable, significant information, you’re less likely to be seen as merely another salesperson. The end result? You might just get the inside track on a new client.

An easy, rock-solid approach to circle prospecting

Stephen Acree is the founder and lead of Acree Brothers Realty Team in Lynchburg, Virginia—and also happens to be the brother of ReminderMedia’s president. He and his team are the testers for all our marketing products and strategies. If it works for them, we push forward; if it doesn’t, we regroup and try again. Below is the two-step approach they take to circle prospecting, which, to date, has helped them win 35 leads—24 have closed and 11 are currently on the market.

Step 1. Identify potential leads

Stephen and his team routinely use two methods for identifying leads.

• Using GSI and other sources, they select a neighborhood or pull a list of absentee owners. They then use ISAs to call homeowners.
• When they list a home, they go door-to-door, inviting local residents to the upcoming open house (who doesn’t want to see the inside of their neighbor’s house?), leaving them with a postcard offering a free CMA to see what their own houses may be worth. They also take along some door hangers for any homeowners they miss.

Step 2. Follow up

After the home sells, they grab all the addresses in a five-mile radius and send each of them an “I just sold your neighbor’s home. Want to know what yours is worth?” postcard with a QR code promising a free CMA. Anyone who scans it gets a follow-up email with the report.

To stand apart from other agents who make the same offer, Stephen’s team pitches it as more than just information—they present it as a tool that can provide insights to empower a homeowner’s decisions. As an in-depth view of where their property stands relative to others in the area, a CMA is a highly valuable gift that prospects will appreciate receiving, helping them set realistic expectations. And when you pair it with some added explanation, you’ll demonstrate that you’re committed to delivering a level of service they won’t find elsewhere.

Nurture leads with value-focused follow-up

Circle prospecting isn’t about making a quick sale—it’s about delivering value that helps homeowners see you as a resource they can lean on as they navigate their next steps. Once you’ve made contact, continue nurturing leads by offering insights, tools, and/or tangible items that align with their needs to build trust, position yourself as the go-to expert, and remain top of mind for when they are ready to move. To keep the lines of communication open, try one or more of these ideas.

Pop-bys

A pop-by doesn’t have to be fancy; simply make a quick visit to a prospect’s or client’s home to say hi and give a small gift. Use our free pop-by tracker to record details of your visits, including referrals you’ve gained. We also provide free tags you can attach to the gift.

Lead magnets

A lead magnet is a free resource or incentive offered to potential clients in exchange for their contact information. The key is to ensure that it promises sufficient value for them to feel it’s worth handing over their email address. Our Resource Library includes numerous lead magnets that you can download and use for free. Consider the needs of your audience, and choose the ones that serve those needs best.

Free magazine

The consistency and value delivered by a personally branded magazine enable you to keep in contact without being pushy. For less than the cost of a fancy coffee, each 48-page issue is branded with your name, logo, and business information, and you can customize the letter on the Front Inside Cover to share details about yourself and promote your value proposition. These magazines offer professionally written, high-value content, and we’ll automatically mail the new issue to your list every two months.

Emails

Provided you’ve been able to get their email addresses, add your new leads to your drip campaigns, ensuring that each new send provides something useful. This could be quarterly market updates, a regular newsletter the offers a calendar of local events, tips for homeowners, invitations to additional open houses, or a “home of the week” feature—there are lots of options. But if you don’t have the time, check out our Digital Marketing Platform. With five automated tools, including two biweekly, personally branded email newsletters and a monthly digital magazine you can send in an email or text or post to social media, it’s designed to free you up from the effort and hours required to keep you in consistent contact with your database.

Mastering real estate circle prospecting

Circle prospecting is a friendly, face-to-face way to introduce yourself to prospects. When you use the two-step strategy described above, you can collect their contact information, provide useful information to build relationships, and position yourself as the go-to agent. And when you incorporate one or more of the suggestions above for supplying ongoing value, you’ll not only generate leads but also lay the foundation for long-lasting relationships that ensure repeat business and referrals.