How to get real estate agents as clients: brokerages vs agents, the pitch and timing

To get real estate agents as clients, decide first whether you sell to the brokerage or to individual agents, because they buy different things. Brokerages buy office-wide tools and services; agents buy their own photography, marketing and lead generation. List every brokerage office and agent profile in your market, focus on the agents who list homes, and reach them before the spring listing season with a sample of your work. Google Maps lists both offices and many individual agents, with reviews that show who's active.

Brokerage or agent: who buys what?#

The brokerage decides on what the whole office uses; each agent decides on what they pay for themselves. Most agents work as independent contractors under a broker, so they control their own marketing budget.

Teams sit in between. A team leader often buys photography, a CRM and marketing for everyone on the team, so one team relationship can be worth many agents.

The market is fragmented. NAR reported 1,439,163 members as of June 18, 2026. The Census Bureau counted 163,894 real estate agent and broker offices with paid employees in 2023 and about 824,000 agent and broker businesses with no employees. That second number is mostly individual agents running their own business under a broker's license.

Which agents should I target?#

Target agents who list homes regularly, because they buy marketing and photography on every listing. A buyer's agent spends less on marketing per deal. On Google Maps, agents with many reviews tend to be the active ones, and the reviews often mention "sold our home".

The 2024 NAR settlement changed what buyer agents worry about. Since August 17, 2024, under the settlement's practice changes, offers of buyer-agent compensation aren't shown on MLS listings and buyers sign a written agreement with their agent first. Agents now explain their value up front, so offers that help them do that, such as presentations, content and buyer-consultation tools, are timely.

How do I build a list of real estate agents and brokerages?#

Search Google Maps for every agent and brokerage term across your market, merge the results, and split offices from individual agents.

1. Draw your market. For photographers and stagers, the area you can drive to. For software, a metro or a state.
2. Search several terms. "Real estate agent", "realtor", "real estate agency", "real estate broker", "real estate brokerage", "real estate office", "real estate team", "luxury real estate agent", "commercial real estate broker".
3. Check categories. Google Maps categories include Real estate agency, Real estate agent, Real estate consultant and Commercial real estate agency. Agencies are usually offices; Real estate agent is often one person.
4. Search in pieces. One Google Maps search shows about 120 results, and a metro has thousands of agents. Split by neighborhood or ZIP code. See why Google Maps stops at 120 results.
5. Split offices and agents. Group by website domain. A franchise brokerage office and its agents often share a domain; independents and solo agents usually have their own.
6. Add property managers if you sell services for rentals, such as photography for rental listings, cleaning or maintenance. See property management company leads.

The real estate agent lead list page has the full set of terms and columns.

How do I segment agents with the list's columns?#

What should I pitch a real estate agent?#

Show your work and tie it to winning or selling listings. Agents decide quickly from what they see.

• Photographers and videographers: a short gallery of homes in their price band, your turnaround time, and a clear per-shoot price. Offer a fair first shoot.
• Stagers: before-and-after photos of a home like the ones they list, and how you work with sellers.
• CRMs and software: follow-up speed and deals closed. For brokerages, recruiting and retention matter too.
• Marketing agencies: listing presentations and seller leads in their farm area. Show one observation about their own profile or site.
• Services (cleaning, moving, junk removal): reliability before a listing goes live, and a referral arrangement if it's allowed in your state.

When is the best time to reach agents?#

Mid-morning on weekdays, early in the week. Many agents show homes in the evenings and on weekends, and close deals at the end of the month. Seasonally, the best window for most sellers is late winter, before spring listings arrive.

These are common practice, not measured results, and markets differ.

Brokerages have a gatekeeper; solo agents usually don't. At an office, ask the managing broker whether you can present at a sales meeting; that's the fastest way to meet many agents at once.

What should the email say? A short script#

Under 100 words, a link to your work, one small ask. These templates use Leadraft export columns as merge fields: {{business}}, {{city}}, {{rating}}, {{reviews}}.

Email 1: real estate photographer#

Subject: listing photos in {{city}}

Hi there,

I shoot listing photos and video around {{city}}, delivered
within 24 hours. Here are three recent homes in your price
range: [link].

If you have a listing coming up, I'd like to shoot your next
one at [price] so you can compare. Interested?

[Name] · [Studio] · [Postal address]
Not interested? Reply "no" and I won't write again.

Email 1: marketing or software, to an active agent#

Subject: {{reviews}} reviews and seller leads

Hi there,

{{business}} has {{reviews}} reviews at {{rating}} stars, which
is a lot of happy clients. I help agents in {{city}} turn that
into listing appointments with [specific tactic].

Want a two-minute video showing how it would look for you?

[Name] · [Company] · [Postal address] · Reply "no" to opt out.

How many times should I follow up?#

Three or four follow-ups over three weeks. Add a new piece of work each time, and stop when they reply or ask you to.

For templates across trades, see cold email templates for local businesses.

What rules apply to outreach to agents?#

US commercial email falls under CAN-SPAM: accurate sender information and subject lines, a physical postal address and a working opt-out honored within 10 business days. Many agents list a cell phone as their business number. The TCPA's consent rules cover autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts to cell phones, so don't text agents from a list without consent. Under RESPA, nobody may give or accept a fee or kickback for referring settlement business on a federally related mortgage loan, so get advice before offering agents anything for referrals. Google's Maps Platform terms restrict scraping and building lists from Maps content, a contract issue separate from these laws. See cold email laws and get legal advice for your situation.

Worked example: agents in Colorado#

The Census Bureau counted 7,456 real estate agent and broker offices with paid employees in Colorado in 2023 (NAICS 531210). Agents without employees aren't in that count, so a Google Maps list of offices and agent profiles will be larger.

Assumptions, for illustration only: a statewide search returns about 15,000 office and agent listings after deduplication, you keep the 4,000 with 25 or more reviews as active listing agents, and you take out one checked email for most of them.

A photographer covering one metro needs far less: the Starter plan at $19 a month covers 25,000 businesses and 1,000 checked emails. Accept-all and invalid grades don't use checked-email credits, and listings outside your area are never charged. See pricing.

If you'd rather not build agent lists by hand, Leadraft finds every agent and brokerage inside the area you choose, with reviews, social links and checked emails. Try it on the free plan, or see the columns on the real estate agent lead list page.

FAQ#

How do I get real estate agents as clients?#

Decide whether you sell to the brokerage or to individual agents, list every brokerage office and agent profile in your market, and reach the agents who list homes regularly. Lead with what helps them win and sell listings, show your work (photos, a sample, a demo), and follow up around their busy listing season.

Who buys at a real estate brokerage?#

The broker-owner or managing broker decides on office-wide tools and services: transaction software, the brokerage CRM, signs, office IT and training. Individual agents usually pay for their own marketing, photography, video, staging consultations and lead generation. Teams have a team leader who buys for the team.

How many real estate agents are there in the US?#

NAR reported 1,439,163 members as of June 18, 2026, and not every agent is a member. The Census Bureau counted 163,894 real estate agent and broker offices with paid employees in 2023 (NAICS 531210), plus about 824,000 agent and broker businesses with no employees, because most agents work as independent contractors under a broker.

How do real estate photographers get clients?#

List the active listing agents and brokerage offices in the area you can drive to, send them a short portfolio of homes like the ones they list, and offer a first shoot at a fair price with a fast turnaround. Follow up in late winter, before spring listings, and ask happy agents for introductions to their office.

When is the best time to contact real estate agents?#

Mid-morning on weekdays, and early in the week. Many agents show homes in the evenings and on weekends. Seasonally, reach them in late winter, before the spring listing season, when they're choosing photographers, marketing and tools for the year.

Sources#

1. U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (NAICS 531210, by state).
2. U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Nonemployer Statistics (NAICS 53121).
3. National Association of REALTORS, Even in a tougher market, Realtors are holding their ground (membership as of June 18, 2026).
4. National Association of REALTORS, The facts about the settlement.
5. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents.
6. Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business.
7. Federal Communications Commission, Stop unwanted robocalls and texts.
8. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024.14: Prohibition against kickbacks and unearned fees.
9. Google, Google Maps Platform Terms of Service.