How Marc Hedlund Replaced His $5,000/Month Zillow Budget When it Stopped Working

Not long ago, real estate agents counted on Zillow to drum up business and alert them of new leads — but in the last few years, the tide has turned.

Across the board, agents report that the ROI of buying Zillow leads has decreased. It’s no longer the secret sauce for a fulfilling career in real estate. In fact, it’s kind of a drag.

Just ask Marc Hedlund. He’s a North Dakota-based agent who used to spend $5k per month on Zillow… until it stopped working for him.

These days, instead of chasing cold leads, Marc relies on actual marketing — the kind that builds relationships, trust, and a referral network — to sustain and grow his business.

And yes, you can do it, too.

For context, Marc used to work on a team where Zillow was a primary lead-gen source. When he struck out on his own, pouring his hard-earned money into the same platform felt like a no-brainer. Zillow was a tried-and-true method of connecting with new clients.

At first, this strategy worked for Marc, just as it worked for his former team. Leads were flowing, and he consistently saw a positive ROI (to the tune of 20 transactions per year).

But when the world shifted in 2020, the real estate landscape changed, too.

Zillow’s lead quality dropped, and the platform favored agents with massive budgets. Marc was chasing cold leads to no avail — and every acquisition was costing him around $3k. (Can you say unsustainable?)

Plus, cold leads translate to urgency-based interactions and low loyalty. To keep buyers interested in his services, Marc had to show homes at all hours of the day and night. If he didn’t, his leads would simply find another agent to accommodate them.

That’s when he realized: he was replaceable. He was working harder, not smarter, in an industry that rewards those who stand out amongst the competition.

So, he attempted to work with a couple of different ad agencies — all with disappointing results. The content generated for him was cookie-cutter and rote, a disservice to both his brand and his community.

And then, he started seeing Platform Marketing ads on Facebook. (Spoiler: This is our favorite part of the story!)

He soon discovered that we only work with one realtor per market and figured that his was already taken. But lucky for him (and for us), it wasn’t. We love working with Marc.

Platform Marketing initially resonated with him because… well… it was the opposite of the other (outdated) tools he’d tried. He was interested in building a local brand, connecting with warm leads, and implementing our signature retargeting strategy.

In other words, Marc was ready for sphere-of-influence growth and a steady stream of referrals.

And that’s exactly what he got.

People now reach out to Marc because they’re so excited to work with him. (Cold calls? Sorry, we don’t know her.) Prospective clients see his videos on Facebook months before they’re ready to buy a home. So, by the time they are ready, they feel like they already know Marc.

But those results were expected. Our clients see them all the time.

What surprised Marc was that he also grew his average price point, racked up more listings (vs. buyers alone), and even started getting referrals from people he’d never met.

That’s right. His brand is so synonymous with the real estate market in Fargo, ND, that when someone asks, “Hey, do you know a good realtor?” people reply, “You should call Marc Hedlund.” Even if they’ve never worked with him before.

This is how he replaced his Zillow pipeline with consistent, warm leads.

While many real estate agents find investing in their brands “risky” and “unpredictable,” Marc feels more in control of his business than ever. Yes, he gets fewer leads, but they are higher quality and close at a much better rate. And best of all? He’s no longer burned out.

Oh, and he’s spending half of what he used to on Zillow — to sell twice the number of homes.

You can’t make this stuff up.

The market has changed. You need to build a brand, not just chase leads. A smaller, more qualified audience will outperform a massive cold list. Again, just ask Marc.

Does this mean you have to quit using Zillow today? Of course not. We know your business is more nuanced than that.

But if you want people to be excited to work with you, it’s time to start connecting with your community through personal branding. If Marc can do it in Fargo, you can do it in your town, too.

And we’d love to help. See if your market is available here.