Leads for a real estate agency don't show up on their own in Telegram. You find them in chats where people write "can anyone recommend a realtor" or "who can help me with an apartment." Some of these messages go unanswered because no professional saw them in time.
Below, we cover which messages count as a real request, which types of chats to look in, and how to tell someone ready to talk from a conversation that is just chatter. The figures come from a sample of chats the service reads. Real estate is not in that sample, so the numbers give a general picture and vary by niche.
Which chat requests are right for you
A real request looks like a plea for help with a specific task. The person isn't discussing the market. They are looking for someone to do the work. Typical phrasings: "recommend a realtor who won't disappear after the viewing," "who can help sell an apartment with shared ownership," "looking for someone to check the documents before I buy." Real estate leads show up in chats more often than you'd think, but they get lost among ordinary conversation.
A simple filter: the message contains an action and no one to carry it out. Tasks like these qualify:
buying or selling an apartment, room, or house;
renting out or renting a place;
closing a deal, checking documents, sorting out a mortgage or a share of a property;
finding a specialist in a particular neighborhood.
Messages where people argue about prices, share news about interest rates, or complain about a developer don't qualify. There is no task there that you can take on. A reply in such a thread looks like pushy advertising and hurts your reputation in the chat.
One caveat about the data. Real estate is not among the niches the service currently tracks, and most of its data comes from services for marketplace sellers. So the shares and timing below show how people write in chats in general. The picture may differ for your city, and for the first two weeks it's better to rely on your own observations.
Where to look: types of chats
Where to look for clients as a realtor depends on what you work with. Among the requests the service found, chats for residential buildings, complexes, and neighborhoods account for about 10% (per the service's data for the last 30 days). The share is small, but for a realtor who specializes in a particular area, these are the most relevant chats. Neighbors ask who can help sell or rent out an apartment nearby, and they trust advice from someone local.
City and topic chats account for about 35% of requests (per the service's data for the last 30 days), and the share depends on the niche. Here people ask for advice about relocating, mortgages, and renovation before a sale. There are more requests, but also more competition: several specialists may answer a single request. The one who writes first and sticks to the point wins.
Business communities and freelancer chats account for about 5% each (per the service's data for the last 30 days). Investors and commercial property owners post there. Requests are rare, but orders can be bigger, and they are worth pursuing if you work in commercial real estate.
How should a realtor find clients first? Pick from 5 to 10 chats in your neighborhood and city where you can show your expertise. Start with building and neighborhood chats, then add two or three city chats. It makes sense to expand the list only after you see where people react to your replies.
How to tell a hot request from chatter
Among the requests the service found, about 40% are hot, meaning the person is ready to order now (per the service's data for the last 30 days). The signs are simple: a task is named, a neighborhood or property type is given, and there is a deadline such as "today," "urgent," or "this month." The more details in the message, the more likely the person has already decided and is looking for someone to hire.
A request for a recommendation appears in roughly one message out of four, about 25% (per the service's data for the last 30 days). It is the most common format, and a helpful reply is appropriate here: the person asked for a suggestion themselves, so your message doesn't come across as pushy.
An explicit deadline appears in only about 5% of messages (per the service's data for the last 30 days). So don't wait for the word "urgent": many people are ready to talk even though they don't say so directly. Look at the wording: "who handles this," "send me contacts," and "need a specialist" signal readiness more strongly than long reflections.
What to skip:
questions like "how much is a one-bedroom now," where there is no task;
complaints about a developer or a management company with no request for help;
arguments about prices and rates between participants;
old threads where the author already got an answer and said thanks.
If you're unsure, ask yourself: can I offer this person a concrete first step? If yes, the request is yours.
When and how to reply
Most requests come during the day: about 45% among the requests the service found (per the service's data for the last 30 days), most often around 12:00 Moscow time. Mornings account for about 25%, evening hours for about 25% as well, and nights for about 10%. This depends on the niche, but to start, it makes sense to check chats in the first half of the day, before lunch, and again in the middle of the day.
Speed matters for a simple reason: while the thread is short, both the author and the other participants see your reply. Once a request has about a dozen answers, the person has already chosen or got tired of reading. If you can't watch chats constantly, at least respond within the first few hours after a message appears. How to structure a reply:
One sentence saying you understood the task, in your own words.
One clarifying question that is easy to answer.
An offer to continue in direct messages.
Don't write long texts about your company or paste a list of services. Chat readers didn't ask for a presentation. They asked for advice. If the chat rules prohibit advertising, reply as a regular participant: briefly, to the point, and without links. Share your contact only when the person asks for it or messages you first. That way you won't break the rules, and a moderator won't delete your messages along with your access to a chat you need for work.
Example: a client request and a realtor's reply
Take a typical situation from a neighborhood chat. In our own words, the message looks like this:
My family and I are moving to another city. We need to sell a two-bedroom apartment quickly without losing out in negotiations. Can anyone tell me who handles sales like this and who can be trusted?
It has everything that makes a request hot: the task is named, the property type is clear, there is a reason to hurry, and there is a direct request for a recommendation. A weak reply to a message like this: "Contact us, we have lots of experience and the best terms." It has neither value nor a question. The person learned nothing new and doesn't know what happens next. Replies like this are read by the dozen and blur into one.
A good reply sounds different:
When selling because of a move, a lot depends on the order of steps. Tell me, do you need to buy a place in the new city first, or sell this apartment first? That affects how to plan the timing and the conversation about price. If it's convenient, we can discuss it in more detail in direct messages.
Why it works: the person sees a practitioner, gets a useful first step, and can answer the question easily. You don't name a price and you don't talk about yourself. You show that you understand where such deals tend to be tricky. The reply is short: it can be read on a phone in a few seconds. The template works for other tasks if you change the question to fit the situation: for rentals it's the term and budget, for closing a deal it's the status of the documents.
How to build a steady flow without cold calling, and what to avoid
How can a realtor find clients without cold calling? Every day, look through fresh requests in your chosen chats, from 5 to 10 of them, and reply to people who are already looking for someone to hire. The person wrote that they need help themselves, so the conversation starts without resistance. Reading all the chats by hand takes a long time, especially when there are many messages, so part of the work can be handed to automated message search, leaving you only the replies. That way, leads for a real estate agency are easier to keep track of between other work.
Mistakes that most often hurt results:
One template for every thread. Participants and moderators notice right away, and people stop reading your replies.
Talking about price before clarifying the task. First find out what the client needs, then discuss cost.
Big promises about the outcome or the closing date. This costs you trust. Better to explain how the process works and what the first steps will be.
Replying to someone who has already chosen a specialist. It looks pushy.
Keep simple records: in which chats a request turned into a conversation and in which it didn't, and which reply format worked better. A table with three columns is enough: the chat, how many times you replied, and how many people messaged you directly. After a couple of weeks, keep the chats where people respond and replace the rest. That way your flow is built on your own observations, not on guesses.
The service is called Leadolovets, with a five day trial and no card required.
