How To Generate Unlimited Leads Through Strategic Brand Marketing

I just had Justin Havre on my podcast, and what he told me about building one of Canada's most successful real estate businesses completely rewrote my understanding of strategic marketing.

"I made them an offer of $250,000. And they said, no, not for sale. Made them another offer of $300,000... Then I made them an offer of $500,000. And again, they declined... And I made them an offer of $750,000."

Justin wasn't just buying a domain name. He was acquiring a business asset that would generate leads and appreciate in value for decades.

Here's what that conversation taught me about building real marketing assets instead of just running campaigns.

TREAT DOMAIN NAMES AS BUSINESS ASSETS

Most agents think domain names are marketing expenses. Justin sees them as investments that grow in value while bringing in leads.

"I have multiple websites in my marketplace," Justin told me. "I decided to diversify my website assets. I have justinhavre.com as my branded website, and I run calgaryhomes.ca, which is a website that ranks incredibly well. It's kind of like my own Zillow machine."

Think about this: while other agents pay for lead generation month after month, Justin owns the digital real estate that creates his leads.

Focus on location-based names that naturally attract search traffic. Choose domains that match how potential clients actually search for properties. Look beyond your personal name to geographic terms that will stay relevant long after you retire.

Don't take no for an answer. Be ready to make multiple offers over time for valuable domains. Keep in touch with domain owners even after they decline. Use vision boards and other techniques to stay focused on what you want.

Build a collection of domains for different purposes and audiences. Create multiple websites that help clients at different stages. Think of domains as long-term investments you could sell if needed.

USE BOTH YOUR NAME AND YOUR LOCATION

"When they can go into a listing appointment and they just close the laptop, say, I don't need a presentation, just where do I sign? That to me is what a brand is."

Justin uses both personal branding and location branding simultaneously, understanding they serve different functions in attracting and converting clients.

"I think for anyone in a location dependent business, like we are in real estate, that combination of personal brand name and location dependent branding is often overlooked."

Your personal brand builds trust and recognition. Your location brand captures search traffic and claims territory. Together they create a stronger market presence than either alone.

Use personal branding for relationship-building channels. Use location branding for discovery-focused channels. Each has its own job and shouldn't be randomly mixed.

Put marketing resources into both your personal and location brands. Measure how each brand performs separately. Adjust your investment based on what drives different types of business.

PUT YOUR MARKETING WHERE THE MONEY IS

"People that travel have money," Justin explained. "It is definitely a conversation piece. And that is what you want when it comes to any advertising campaign."

Instead of spreading his marketing everywhere, Justin finds high-value locations where qualified prospects naturally go and creates memorable ads there.

"It's kind of a funny story... the president of the airport was asked, 'Hey, is your airport for sale?' Because they saw [my billboard]. That is what you want when it comes to any advertising campaign—people talking about it."

This hit me because most agents think about reach when they should be thinking about relevance.

Pick locations where affluent potential clients naturally gather or travel. Look for places with concentrated traffic of your ideal clients. Focus on quality of audience over quantity of impressions.

Make people talk about your ads. Design marketing that people will mention to others. Create memorable impressions rather than just visibility. Success is when your ad becomes a conversation topic.

Look where others don't. Find marketing opportunities others haven't considered. Be willing to spend more on fewer, more strategic locations. Think about the context where your marketing appears.

GET COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE

"As an introvert, I'm sure there's many people that can relate to being uncomfortable seeing your own photo. I'm no different."

Justin isn't naturally outgoing—he purposely pushes beyond his comfort zone when the business benefit justifies the discomfort.

"My commitment to the people that I have an honor and privilege to lead—it is my challenge to myself to push myself out of my comfort zones and provide more opportunities and to build a brand."

Focus on results, not feelings. Think about business outcomes rather than personal comfort. Make visibility decisions based on impact. Connect marketing choices to specific business goals.

Remember who you're doing this for. Use your commitment to your team and clients to overcome hesitation. Recognize that leadership means setting visibility examples. Let your purpose be stronger than your discomfort.

Take small steps forward. Gradually increase visibility in ways that expand your comfort zone. Acknowledge discomfort while taking action anyway. Each step makes the next one easier.

MINE YOUR DATABASE BEFORE CHASING NEW LEADS

"A lead stays in our system for a certain timeline before they typically transact. And there's a lot of untapped opportunities in there."

Justin focuses on maximizing value from existing leads rather than constantly chasing new ones, understanding the journey from first contact to transaction.

"I've been part of generating over 450,000 leads in my career. And the one thing that I'll say is that less is more... they can actually cut down on their ad spend. They just got to do more work and go deeper with what they have."

This completely changed how I think about lead generation ROI.

Understand how long real estate actually takes. Know the typical timeline from first contact to transaction. Recognize that many leads need longer nurturing than most agents provide. View your database as a future business pipeline, not just current opportunities.

Stay in touch the right way. Develop systems to maintain contact through the full decision timeline. Create different approaches for different lead types and timelines. Set up consistent touchpoints to prevent leads from falling through cracks.

Get more from what you already have. Calculate the true value of each lead over its full lifecycle. Cut spending on new lead generation in favor of better conversion. Measure conversion rates as the true sign of marketing success.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR BUSINESS RIGHT NOW

Justin's success forced me to ask harder questions about how I approach marketing investments.

What location-based domains would be most valuable in your market? How could you start building a collection of digital assets instead of renting traffic?

How well balanced is your current marketing between personal and location branding? Where are the gaps that are costing you opportunities?

Where do your ideal clients naturally hang out in your market? What physical locations would create the most strategic visibility for the smallest investment?

What marketing activities have you avoided because they make you uncomfortable, despite their potential impact? How is your comfort zone limiting your business growth?

What percentage of past leads have you stayed in touch with? What is the potential value of your existing database if properly nurtured?

THE REALITY THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING

"I knew that I needed to do marketing in order to generate opportunities. The teacher said, 'Look around this room and in two years time, there's only going to be two of you left in this business.' I'm like, 'What am I signing up for?' If the failure rate is so high, I got to figure out something to generate leads and opportunities."

Justin's success comes from a fundamentally different approach to real estate marketing. Rather than following what everyone else does, he built strategic assets, balanced personal and location branding, created ads people talk about, pushed beyond his comfort zone, and maximized value from his database.

These aren't just tactics—they're a complete marketing philosophy that builds lasting competitive advantage.

Justin's journey reminded me that while most agents think about marketing as an expense, the winners think about it as asset building.

Your next breakthrough might be hiding in a domain name, a strategic billboard location, or a database full of untapped opportunities.

Let this conversation be your wake-up call to stop renting your marketing success and start owning it.

Let's grow!

Wendy

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