As a real estate agent, it’s crucial to have a firm grasp on industry-specific terminology to effectively navigate the world of prospecting, lead generation, and marketing. This real estate dictionary will help you better understand the language used in the real estate business – and familiarize you with key concepts and strategies essential to your success.Â
Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, use this dictionary as a resource to help you stay ahead of the game and communicate confidently with clients and colleagues alike.
Real Estate Dictionary: 66 Essential Words and Phrases Every Agent Should Know
Prospecting Tools & Lingo
Leads & Lead Generation
Marketing Tools & Terminology
General Industry Terminology
Prospecting Tools & Lingo
Prospecting: The process of searching for and identifying potential clients, also known as leads, for your real estate business.
Circle Prospecting: A strategy where agents target a specific geographic area or neighborhood to generate leads, often by cold calling or door knocking.
Skiptrace: The process of locating a person’s contact information by searching public records and databases. REDX provides this as a service for all lead subscriptions.
Cold Call: Unsolicited phone calls made by agents to potential clients, often using a script.
Power Dialer: A software tool that automatically dials approved lists of phone numbers, helping agents with efficient prospecting and lead generation.
Door Knocking: The practice of visiting potential clients’ homes in person to introduce yourself and offer your real estate services.
Lead Management System: A software or system used to organize, track, and nurture leads throughout the sales process.
Prospecting Scripts: Pre-written dialogue or talking points that agents use during cold calls, door knocking, or other prospecting activities to effectively communicate with potential clients.
Contact Rate: The percentage of leads that an agent is able to successfully reach and have a conversation with, usually referring to phone calls or other direct communication methods.
Contact Ratio: The number of contacts an agent makes relative to the total number of leads in their database or prospecting list, used to measure the effectiveness of outreach efforts.
Conversion Rate: The percentage of leads that become clients or complete a transaction – an important metric for measuring the success of a real estate agent’s marketing and prospecting efforts.
Time Blocking: A time management technique used by real estate agents to schedule specific activities and tasks throughout their day, ensuring that they allocate enough time for prospecting, client follow-up, and other essential activities.
DNC List (The Do Not Call Registry): A list of phone numbers that telemarketers and real estate agents are prohibited from calling without consent.
Leads & Lead Generation
Real Estate Lead Generation: The process of identifying and attracting potential clients for a real estate business, using various marketing strategies and tactics.
Cold Lead: A potential client who has not yet expressed interest in working with a real estate agent or has had minimal interaction with the agent.
Warm Lead: A potential client who has shown some interest in working with a real estate agent, such as by responding to a marketing campaign or attending an open house.
Hot Lead: A highly interested potential client who is likely to take action soon, such as a seller ready to list their property or a buyer actively searching for a home.
Lead Nurturing: The process of building and maintaining relationships with potential clients by providing relevant information and support, with the goal of eventually converting them into clients.
Lead Scoring: A method used to rank potential clients based on factors like their level of engagement, readiness to buy or sell, and overall fit with an agent’s services, helping agents prioritize their outreach efforts.
Expired Lead: Contact information for a homeowner with an expired listing who may be interested in relisting their property with a new agent.
GeoLead: Contact information for homeowners within a specified geographic area.
For-Sale-By-Owner (FSBO) Lead: Contact information for a property being sold directly by the homeowner without the assistance of a real estate agent.
For-rent-by-owner (FRBO) Lead: Contact information for a (potentially vacant) property owned by an investor or landlord without the assistance of a property manager or real estate agent.
Pre Foreclosure Lead: Contact information for a homeowner who has defaulted on their mortgage payments, but the property has not yet been foreclosed and sold at auction.
Database: A collection of organized information about potential clients, including their contact information and real estate needs.
Sphere of Influence (SOI): A network of people an agent knows personally or professionally, who can potentially provide leads and referrals.
Open Houses: Events where agents open a listed property to the public, allowing potential buyers to tour the home and ask questions.
Marketing Tools & Terminology
Buyer’s Journey: The steps someone takes when they first realize they need help with buying or selling a house until they choose a specific real estate agent or company to work with – generally following this journey structure: awareness, research, evaluate, purchase.Â
Brand: The identity, reputation, and overall perception of your real estate business in the market.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management): A system or software that helps agents manage and organize their contacts, leads, and clients.
Drip Campaign: A marketing strategy that involves sending a series of pre-written messages to leads and clients over time, often via email or SMS.
Lead Capture Form: A form placed on a website or social media platform to collect contact information from potential clients.
Direct Mail: A marketing strategy that involves sending promotional materials, such as postcards or flyers, directly to potential clients via postal mail.
Referral Marketing: A strategy that relies on existing clients or contacts to recommend your real estate services to others.
Social Media Marketing: Using social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to promote your real estate business and generate leads.
Video Marketing: The use of video content to promote your real estate services and listings, often shared on platforms like YouTube and social media.
SEO: (Search Engine Optimization) The process of improving your website’s visibility in search engine results to attract more potential clients.
Geographic Farming: A strategy where agents consistently market to a specific geographic area or neighborhood to establish themselves as the go-to real estate expert in that location.
Niche Marketing: A targeted marketing approach focused on serving a specific group or type of client (such as first-time homebuyers, luxury property buyers, or empty nesters).
ROI (Return on Investment): Checking if an investment is good by comparing the money made to the money spent. In real estate, this often looks at how well agents do in advertising and getting clients.
Sales Funnel: A picture showing the steps people take when they think about using a real estate agent’s services, usually starting with learning about the agent, thinking about it, and then deciding to work with them.
Top of Funnel: The first step in the sales funnel, when people find out about a real estate agent’s help through things like social media, mailed ads, or online ads.
Bottom of Funnel: The last step in the sales funnel, when people have talked with the agent and are ready to work together, usually by signing a contract to sell or buy a house.
Pipeline: A term used to describe the pool of potential clients that an agent is currently nurturing, moving them through the sales funnel towards becoming clients.
Inbound Marketing: A way to get clients by offering helpful information and experiences made just for them, instead of using old-fashioned ways like calling people or sending mail ads.
Outbound Marketing: Traditional marketing methods that involve reaching out to potential clients directly, such as cold calling, door knocking, or direct mail campaigns.
Touchpoints: The various interactions and points of contact between a real estate agent and a potential client, such as emails, phone calls, social media interactions, or in-person meetings.
Retargeting: A way to advertise by showing online ads to people who have already visited a real estate agent’s website or looked at their content, making it more likely for them to become clients.
USP (Unique Selling Proposition): A distinctive feature or benefit that sets a real estate agent or their services apart from competitors, helping to attract potential clients and differentiate their brand in the market.
Virtual Tour: An online, interactive presentation of a property that allows potential buyers to explore the space remotely, either through pre-recorded video or live virtual walkthroughs.
General Industry Terminology
MLS (Multiple Listing Service): a database of property listings shared among real estate agents and brokers.
Buyer’s Agent: A real estate agent who represents the buyer in a real estate transaction, helping them find a property, negotiate the terms, and navigate the buying process.
Seller’s Agent (Listing Agent): A real estate agent who represents the seller in a real estate transaction, marketing the property, negotiating offers, and managing the sales process.
Dual Agency: A situation in which a single real estate agent or brokerage represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction.
Listing Appointment: A meeting between a real estate agent and a potential seller to discuss the agent’s marketing strategy, pricing, and services, with the goal of securing a listing agreement.
Listing Presentation: A meeting between a real estate agent and a potential seller, where the agent presents their marketing strategy, pricing recommendations, and other services to convince the seller to list their property with the agent.
Comparative Market Analysis (CMA): An in-depth evaluation of a property’s market value, based on similar properties in the area that have recently sold, are currently on the market, or were listed but failed to sell. A useful tool for agents to update potential clients on their home’s current value.
Expired Listing: A property listing that did not sell within the agreed-upon time period in the MLS agreement, creating a potential lead for agents.
Investor: An individual or entity that purchases real estate properties with the intention of generating income, capital appreciation, or both, through renting, leasing, or selling the properties.
Landlord: A property owner who rents or leases their property, such as a house or apartment, to tenants in exchange for a periodic payment called rent.
Vacant Rental Property: A rental property that is currently unoccupied and available for rent. Real estate agents can help landlords find suitable tenants for vacant rental properties and assist investors in identifying potential investment opportunities.
For-sale-by-owner (FSBO): A property being sold directly by the homeowner, without the assistance of a real estate agent.
Preforeclosure: The stage when a homeowner has defaulted on their mortgage payments, but the property has not yet been foreclosed and sold at auction.
Snowball Effect: The compounding growth of an agent’s client base and income as they successfully complete more transactions and gain referrals.
Market Absorption Rate: A metric that helps agents understand the current supply and demand in a specific real estate market, calculated by dividing the total number of available homes by the average number of homes sold per month.
IDX (Internet Data Exchange): A system that allows real estate agents to display MLS property listings on their websites, helping them attract potential clients and provide valuable information to website visitors.
About REDX
REDX is an all-in-one lead data and prospecting platform that helps agents connect with qualified buyers and sellers. The platform includes seller leads, a dialer with up to three lines, social media tools, and a lead management system that simplifies first contact and follow up.
Click here to watch a demo, or call (800) 731-7339 ext. 1 to learn more about Expireds, FSBOs, GeoLeads, FRBOs, Pre Foreclosures, our Power Dialer and Social Media Tools for paid ads and content creation.
REDX maintains the position that all agents should be compliant with state and federal telecom laws – learn more here.
