A Beginner Investor’s Weekly Lead Generation Routine

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Disclaimer: PropStream does not offer legal advice. This article is for informational purposes only. We recommend conducting your own research or consulting legal professionals before generating real estate leads.

Quick Answer: The best beginner lead generation routine follows a repeatable weekly routine: find leads (Monday), contact them (Tuesday and Thursday), follow up (Friday), and improve (weekend). Do this every week and track your results to refine your approach.

To invest in real estate, you need leads. You need to know where to look for promising properties, how to approach their owners, and ultimately how to secure the asset at a good price.

However, when you’re starting out, generating real estate leads can be challenging. In fact, it’s often the biggest bottleneck in your business. That’s why it’s important to commit to a lead generation strategy and schedule from the get-go.

In this article, we’ve outlined an example weekly lead generation routine to help you get started.

Note: This lead generation routine is a suggestion and may need to be adjusted to fit your personal situation and needs.

Key Takeaways:

A repeatable weekly routine that dedicates each day to one lead generation task can keep you organized and prevent the overwhelm that stalls many beginners.
Stacking search filters to build focused lead lists, then reaching those sellers through calls, mail, texts, and email, gives you more chances to connect with motivated sellers.
Most leads take multiple touchpoints to convert, so consistent follow-up and a weekly review of your numbers can help you see what’s working and how to improve over time.

Monday: Build New Lead Lists

A lead list is just what it sounds like: a list of prospects to whom you intend to make an offer. You can’t start prospecting in an organized way until you have a lead list to work from.

To build a lead list, first define your target market. Don’t pick too broad an area. Instead, pick one zip code or neighborhood that you feel confident about based on market trends.

Next, choose a few selling motivations to concentrate on, such as pre-foreclosure, absentee owners, high equity, tax delinquencies, probate, or tired landlords. PropStream offers 165 search filters and 21 pre-built lead lists to choose from. Or, to simplify your search, you can use AI Search and describe your ideal lead in natural, everyday language (e.g., “find me absentee owners with high equity in San Francisco").

Pro Tip: PropStream’s Lead Automator automatically updates your lead lists by adding new prospects who meet your search criteria and removing those who no longer do. Lead Automator is available with the PropStream Connect add-on bundle.

Tuesday: Skip Trace and Organize Contacts

Once you have a lead list, you need good contact information for each person on it. The process of getting this data (emails and phone numbers) is called skip tracing.

Skip-traced contact information is sourced from multiple top industry providers, covers 98% of the U.S. adult population, prioritizes contact information by quality, and automatically flags any leads on the national do-not-call (DNC) registry.

Pro Tip: Access free skip tracing with either the Pro and Elite plans or by adding PropStream Connect to your Essentials plan.

Finally, make sure to organize your contacts in a spreadsheet or CRM and maintain appropriate call tags (e.g., new, follow-up, no answer, etc.).

Wednesday: Cold Call

Dialing features in PropStream

With a skip-traced lead list, you can start making cold calls. This can be the hardest part of outbound marketing, especially for beginners. But it can also be the most rewarding.

Set a goal for how many call attempts you’ll make or commit to dialing for a certain amount of time. You may also want to develop a script to help you stay focused and handle objections in real time. Whatever you do, lead with value and empathy instead of diving straight into a pitch.

Here’s an example script for pre-foreclosure leads:

Opening:

“Hi, is this [Owner’s Name]? My name is [Your Name]. I’m a local real estate investor, and I’m calling about the property at [Address].”

Reason for calling:

“I understand you may be going through a tough time with the property, and I wanted to see if I could help. Are you open to hearing about some options?”

Next steps:

“Thanks for sharing. I’d like to take a closer look at the property and see if I can make you a fair offer. Would you be open to a quick visit on [day and time]?”

If they object:

“I completely understand. Can I call you back in a few weeks to see if your situation has changed or you’ve changed your mind?”

Pro Tip: PropStream offers Click-to-Dial (call leads one at a time immediately within the PropStream application) and Dialer Campaigns (organized cold-calling campaigns) for smaller-scale cold-calling efforts. For larger-scale cold-calling campaigns, utilize the Push-to-BatchDialer API sync.

Thursday: Send Direct Mail, Emails, and Texts

Dedicate this day to written outreach, i.e., direct mail, emails, and texts. Each has its place, as prospects have different preferences for communication channels.

For example, younger generations may prefer texts, while older generations prefer direct mail. Experiment with all of the above and double down on whatever works best.

Always keep your messages short, personal, and actionable. This means including a clear call to action (CTA) that tells the prospect what to do next (e.g., call your number or fill out a form).

With PropStream, you can send postcards and letters within the app and track your results in one place. Send single pieces of direct mail, launch a multi-send campaign, or A/B test your results! Learn more about PropStream’s Direct Mail Experience.

Friday: Analyze Deals and Follow Up

On Friday, dive deeper into warm leads (those who’ve expressed interest). Ensure the property investment has potential by estimating the repair costs, after-repair value (ARV), and cash flow.

PropStream can help you do this by giving you estimated property values and rents via built-in calculators, like:

From there, you can follow up with promising prospects. If they don’t respond, maintain a consistent follow-up schedule to avoid missing any opportunities. Research shows that it takes an average of 8 touchpoints for a new prospect to convert.

Weekend: Network, Learn, and Review Metrics

Use the weekends to network, educate yourself, and review your progress.

Networking can include attending local real estate investor meetups, participating in online groups and forums, or reaching out to other real estate professionals and contractors. The stronger your network, the more likely you are to get referral business.

Educating yourself can involve reading real estate investing books, listening to podcasts, or even taking an online course. For instance, PropStream Academy has dozens of free courses tailored to specific aspects of real estate investing. The more you know, the better.

By measuring your performance, you can better see what’s working, what isn’t, and how to improve over time.

Find Your Next Real Estate Lead With PropStream for Free

Ready to find your next real estate lead the easy way? PropStream it!

Our database of over 160 million properties nationwide and 165+ search filters makes it easy to find motivated sellers in your market. You can then skip trace contact information and launch phone, email, or direct mail marketing campaigns without leaving the platform.*

In short, PropStream helps streamline every stage of your weekly lead-generation routine, enabling you to Search, Identify, Connect, and Transact from a single platform.

Your Next Real Estate Opportunity Is Just a Search Away!

Use 165+ filters, Lead Lists, and AI Search to uncover stronger seller signals and build more focused lead lists.

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Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is lead generation in real estate?

Real estate lead generation is the process of identifying and attracting prospects who may be interested in a property transaction. For investors, this usually means finding motivated property owners, getting their contact information, and reaching out through calls, mail, texts, or email.

How do I get real estate leads as a beginner?

Start by building a focused list of motivated sellers, such as pre-foreclosure, absentee owners, or high-equity properties, in one zip code or neighborhood. Then, skip trace the list and contact owners consistently using a mix of cold calls, direct mail, texts, and emails.

How do I find real estate leads online?

You can find real estate leads online by using a property data platform like PropStream to filter millions of properties by equity, ownership status, and distress signals.

What is real estate lead generation software?

Real estate lead generation software helps you find, organize, and contact potential leads in one place. PropStream, for example, lets you build lead lists with 156+ search filters, skip trace contacts, and launch phone, direct mail, and email campaigns without leaving the platform.

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*PropStream engages an independent third-party to perform skip tracing.