It takes 3 memorable touches (direct mail, phone call, in-person, commercial) for someone to remember your name.
7 touches for them to put your name with your business.
27 for your name and business to become a brand.
Think about the number of times you watched the following popular commercials (below) before their jingles become a permanent fixture in your mind for long after the commercials stopped.
Oscar Mayer “I Wish I Was an Oscar Mayer Weiner”
State Farm “Like a Good Neighbor”
Lucky Charms “They’re Magically Delicious”
Alka Seltzer “Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz”
Band-Aid “Stuck on Band-Aid”
Now THAT’S BRANDING!
How many people in your Sphere of Influence and Farm can you reach out to today to get closer to your goal of being branded?
Remember, people do business with people they know, like, and trust.
Start the process of becoming branded today, by launching a marketing campaign to your Sphere, Farm, or a specific niche.
Real estate agents have done an amazing job pivoting their businesses in 2020. You’ve got that Zoom thing down like a pro and have figured out what makes a winning video walkthrough.
And, just as there was no way we could have predicted a pandemic back in 2019, who knows for certain what 2021 will look like.
Regardless of what’s to come now’s the time to get dialed in on what will provide optimum success in the New Year based on best practices.
After researching what other agents are considering we also feel the need to urge you to come up with a content marketing strategy.
It’s easy to get started and it doesn’t have to crush your pocketbook. It all starts with getting clear on your audience and then creating and distributing content to them, consistently, according to the pros at the Content Marketing Institute.
Get More Listings Scheduled Campaign
Who are you trying to reach?
Think carefully about who you are targeting, buyers or sellers, and what niches within those groups.
Figure out their most pressing concerns and questions. Then, deliver content that offers solutions specific to them.
Content creation
Creating content can be accomplished by your own fingers on the keyboard or graphics software or by hiring a writer and/or designer.
If you have more time than money, the DIY solution is perfect.
However, if your time is better spent on another part of your business, and money is tight for you, consider visiting Upwork.com or Fiverr.com to choose from among the thousands of freelancers looking for work.
Once you’ve figured out which topics would be of the most value to your audience, it’s time to get them out of your brain and into an easy-to-read and understandable form.
That “form” will depend on how you’ve decided to distribute content. For instance, if you’ll be writing blog posts, remember to organize your thoughts in a logical manner and use lots of white space, bulleted lists, subheadings, etc.
Content Card Series Scheduled Campaign
Direct mail marketing pieces should follow best practices as well. To ensure this happens, take advantage of the plethora of professionally designed marketing templates available on ProspectsPLUS.com.
All of the marketing available on ProspectsPLUS! is created by their in-house direct response marketing experts, ensuring you deliver the right message, to the right audience, at the right time.
Which leads us to a related question:
How will you distribute that amazing content?
Content distribution tactics vary and include not only direct mail, mentioned above, but also:
Blog posts
Ebooks
Infographics
Newsletters (either via email or direct mail)
Social media content
Videos
Podcasts
Whichever vehicles you choose, ensure that you can use them consistently, based on the 3-7-27 Law of Branding. That’s the key to a winning content strategy.
To make consistency easy, take advantage of scheduled campaignson ProspectsPLUS.com. Schedule an SOI or Farm campaign for up to one year in just minutes.
You don’t pay until each mailing goes out, and you can cancel or change your order at any time up until the night before your mailing.
Watch this video (below) to learn more about just how easy it is to launch a scheduled campaign.
PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.
1. Become a Neighborhood Brand
Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.
2. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide
The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here
3. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here
5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
6. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”
The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here
If you sell real estate in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or some other snow-prone state, you may feel you can’t be as busy in winter as you are in spring. But, if you play your cards right, you’ll find winter can be just as profitable a time of year in real estate.
The first step to building a winter book of business is to let potential sellers know just how much they stand to benefit from selling when the weather outside is frightful.
The proof is in the numbers
More homes sell in spring than in winter, according to the NAR. No surprise there.
Unfortunately, this is where the media usually stops when they write about selling a home in winter. What they neglect to state is although home sales can be down in the winter,
…the likelihood of selling a home in winter is better than at any other time of the year, they sell faster and for more than asking price according to a Redfin study.
Fence Sitter Series
Interestingly, this statistic holds true regardless of market.
If you want to make more money this winter, you’ll need to get the word out to sellers. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” isn’t just a song title.
Let other sellers buy into the myth of winter-is-bad
Dahna Chandler at themortgagereports.com wrongly assumes that “… most people shiver” when considering a winter home sale. “It’s likely the hardest to sell a house in most areas.”
Then, there’s Natalie Campisi at bankrate.com who, when explaining why “… fall/winter is the worst time to sell a house,” says that “December is when homebuying activity comes to a standstill and there’s little inventory available.”
“Little inventory” sounds like the real estate market in general over the past year. Besides, “little inventory” means less competition for sellers, which might be why homes in popular areas, in good condition, sell for more than asking in winter.
Our point is that this is the type of stuff that other agents are reading that scares them away as we approach winter.
It’s time to dust off your blogging skills and make sure sellers in your area know the truth: if you need to sell, this can be a profitable time of year to do so.
Winter buyers are highly motivated to buy
Fence Sitter Series
Think about it: Especially in frigid winter areas, to trudge around town looking at homes for sale takes a certain level of motivation.
It turns out that the rate of job transfers is quite high in the early part of the year. This winter, however, the pandemic-caused migration may still be underway. Those are two groups of highly motivated homebuyers.
Then, there are the nearly 3 million homeowners who are still in forbearance, many of them with mortgages not backed by a GSE. Will they sell rather than bite that bitter pill of the catch-up payment?
Let them know that they’ll do well to sell this winter.
Inventory is even lower
Our squeaky tight inventory of homes for sale doesn’t appear to be loosening up. When winter hits and sellers take their homes off the market, the competition will dwindle even more.
Urgency is the overall feeling you want to convey whether your writing a blog, and email, sending direct mail, or speaking to someone in person.
As all of us have learned in 2020, there is a lot that we have absolutely no control over. Urgency will get those fence-sitters off the fence and into the market.
Take your main “urgency” points and add them to a Fence Sitter Series postcard from ProspectsPLUS!, then send it out to your listing of Fence Sitters. If you don’t have a Fence Sitter list, you can create a list in minutes with the demographic search tool.
Direct mail marketing is such an affordable way to put something tangible into the hands of your potential clients. For instance, on ProspectsPLUS.com you can send 150 Jumbo sized postcards, standard class for only $121.00.
Consider the potential return on investment of these 150 postcards – and it’s truly all upside.
Make sure to include the Timing is Everything brochure in your listing presentation folder. In fact, here’s a promo code (FREEBROCH) for you to download the brochure for FREE, for a limited time.
If you send a newsletter, publish an article on the topic of winter selling creating the same urgency.
Then, start writing about ways to make their homes more attractive in winter via staging, sprucing up the landscaping, etc.
Winter doesn’t have to be the doldrums for your real estate business. All it takes is an effort to counteract the naysayers by getting the word out that selling in winter has definite benefits.
Fence Sitter Series
Send the Time is Running out postcard from the Fence Sitter Series to your Fence Sitter prospect list.
Use the Demographic Searchtool, from a desktop or laptop, to generate your Fence Sitter prospect list in just minutes.
Need help targeting a specific niche of buyers or sellers? Use our prospect list tools to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
Follow the 3-7-27 Law of Branding and send a series of Fence Sitter postcards over a period of time. Use the “Schedule Orders” tool to schedule months of mailings all at once.
And, remember with scheduled orders YOU DON’T PAY until the order goes out!
Just click the “Schedule for Later” button and pick your mailing date – it’s that easy!
Because what GETS SCHEDULED, GETS DONE!
Watch the video below to learn how to schedule a mailing in just minutes!
PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.
1. Become a Neighborhood Brand
Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.
2. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide
The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here
3. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here
5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
6. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”
The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here
Competition hasn’t been this fierce in years so savvy agents are using every tool at their disposal to generate new listings, stay top of mind, and brand themselves as the neighborhood expert to call. Staying in touch with the VIPs in your sphere of influence makes sense. Those folks know you, trust you, and are already willing to do business with you. But how do you cultivate new relationships in markets that you really want to make an impact? You use smart tools that connect you with consumers in communities. You offer items of value. And you get out there and meet the people.
Todd Robertson recently shared five tips for making the most of your geographic farm and sphere:
Ask for referrals. Never be afraid to ask for new business. When you get comfortable with the level of service you provide, asking for the business gets easier. Get to the point where you KNOW that you have a marketing plan that helps sellers get the most from their house. Know that you can assist buyers in finding the perfect home for their family. Know that you are an advocate for consumers, and know that you are the best person for the job – then you have an obligation to let people KNOW that you are a real estate professional who can help.
Mail consistently (3-7-27 law). We’ve shared before the 3-7-27 law of branding, which is that it takes three contacts for someone to recognize your name, seven to put your name with your business and twenty-seven to become a brand in someone’s mind. If you are losing business to other agents in your market area, is it because they are consistently making more contacts and staying more top of mind than you are? It’s a tough question to ask, but if you can show up, and show value consistently, then sellers and buyers are going to consider you the brand to trust with their real estate investment questions and needs. Mind-share equals market share. Our Market Dominator members know that they are showing up month after month with the 12×15 Market Dominator to ensure this kind of consistency and value are creating that mind-share and market share.
Let people know what areas and price points that you service. Through your marketing and prospecting, let people know where you do business. If you’ve ever lost a listing because a friend or acquaintance said, “Oh, I didn’t know you worked that area,” you’ll get the message behind this step.
Train on how you take referrals. Let folks know that their referrals are important to you and how they can best deliver that information to you. “Shoot me a text, an email – or give me a call if you know someone who is looking to buy or sell a home.”
Thank your VIPs. Thank everyone for their referrals. Go the extra mile. Send a card or letter to them after the fact. Say, “Thank you for your kind referral. It’s the lifeblood of my business and no small thing, I know, so I appreciate it. Know that I’ll treat them with the highest possible level of care and you can rest assured they, and their interests, will be well taken care of. I’ll also keep you posted on how that referral is going so that you know your friends or relatives are in good hands.” Stand out in every way. People want to do business with those who they know can get the job done with the least number of headaches and the highest return on investment. They also want to work with people who are service-minded and extraordinary in their client care. That old adage, “they don’t care what you know until they know that you care” has never been more true.
Showing up in every way possible in your market place is critical to owning that market share.
Take the time THIS month to put your plan in place to ask for referrals. Can you make ten extra calls this week towards that goal?
Be consistent. The 12×15 Market Dominator is a powerful way to show up each month with value-added content and calls to action. Follow those mailings up with phone calls and door knocking in that geographic farm to help folks put your face with your name and know you are a resource they can count on.
Review your marketing tools, your website and social media. Are you letting people know the areas you serve?
Remember to let people know how to reach you if they have referrals. Review your business cards, email signature line, and marketing tools.
Send thank you messages weekly. We’ve got some easy-to-order Thank-You postcards that can streamline that process.
Make real estate farming a top priority this season and you’ll start to see returns on that investment. Stay strong, and let us know if we can help you.
If you’d like to learn more about the Market Dominator, call Todd Robertson at 702-683-1967.
Need additional marketing help? Contact our team at 866-405-3638.
New week. New opportunities. Houses to list. Dragons to slay. Goals to crush.
Consistency counts. Remember the 3-7-27 Law of Branding. It takes 3 contacts for someone to remember your name, 7 to put your name with your business, and 27 to become a top-of-mind brand name.
We’re here to help! Contact our team at 866.405.3638.
“I think I’ll send my new patient a $50 Macy’s gift certificate to thank her for allowing me to perform her annual physical,” said no doctor, ever. Come to think of it, my hairdresser, accountant, and lawyer have never gifted me either.
Yet real estate agents, somewhere along the line, came up with this notion that they absolutely must provide a closing gift to their clients.
Obviously, the agent who first gifted a client must’ve found the practice successful because it was quickly copied and has now become standard practice.
Does giving a gift to a client make you memorable? If that were the case, more service industries would take up the practice, don’t you think? I don’t know about you, but I return to my hair stylist every month because I love the way she cuts my hair.
My accountant saves me money on my taxes. So, is it the gift that makes them remember you, or was it your performance?
Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of giving closing gifts, to real estate clients.
Pros
I’m not a tax expert or an accountant, but the IRS says agents can deduct up to $25 for each person they gift during the year. No, that’s not a whole lot of money and if you make the big bucks, you’ll need to buy a whole lot of gifts throughout the year to even put a dent in your tax bill.
If you feel you must give a gift, consider handing your clients the keys to their new home on a quality (meaning, not plastic) keychain. With your branding on it, you’ll be able to deduct it as a marketing expense and possibly get a larger deduction. Talk to your tax professional.
A swanky annual client appreciation event, on the other hand, will give you a bigger tax deduction as well as put you right back there at the top of their mind.
The Content Card Series is shown above. To learn more,Click Here.
Cons
Since referrals are the lifeblood of a successful real estate practice, and keeping them coming in requires remaining top-of-mind with former clients, it would have to be a major gift to make you memorable throughout the years.
What will make you memorable is frequent contact throughout the year — the birthday cards, the client appreciation events, and the ongoing direct mail campaigns.
Here’s something else to consider: you are a buyer’s agent. You have been at your client’s beck and call, spending weeks or even months driving your clients to house after house before they finally found one they wanted.
You submitted the offer, you coordinated your client’s end of the transaction, and you smoothly paved the way to a successful close. All parties are satisfied with the outcome. In return, you are paid a percentage of the sales price of the home.
You did your job and you got paid. Shake hands, as business people do, thank them for their business, and move on to your next client.
The subject of closing gifts, as you know, is a point of contention among agents. How about you? Do you gift?
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct, response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2.The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 6-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here
3. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review
The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review allows you to enter your business goals for the remainder of the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
Before you launch your next direct mail campaign let’s take a moment to review the three rules for direct mail marketing success.
Choose the right prospect list
Provide a compelling offer
Follow best practices for marketing piece design
Read on to discover how to launch a successful real estate direct mail campaign.
1. Choose the right prospect list
Reaching the right people at the right time is key to the success of any type of marketing, including direct mail. Choosing the people who populate your prospect list is your first job.
To decide who goes on the list, determine your purpose with each direct mail campaign. Are you trying to build brand awareness in a farm area? Generate new clients? Which type, buyers, or sellers? What niche specifically renters, move-up market, baby boomers, fence-sitters, absentee owners, or luxury market (to name a few)?
It’s critical to determine your “why” and “who” before you begin. “Why am I conducting a direct mail campaign? Who do I want to reach?”
Suppose you want buyer leads from a particular subdivision. Sure, homeowners may be thinking of moving, but it’s more likely that those currently renting are the best prospects. NAR states most buyers purchase a home within an average of 15 miles from their previous residence.
Or, you may want to target homes in the subdivision owned by absentee owners but target the tenants living in them with theMapMyMail tool.
2. Provide a compelling offer
The second rule refers to your offer, the second most important aspect of a successful direct mail campaign.
Retailers have an easier time with this one. Offering a percentage off, free shipping or buy-one, get-one-free are all popular.
What about real estate agents? What can you offer that might compel a recipient of their postcards to act?
A free report on the importance of timing your home sale. The direct response report,“Timing is Everything”is ideal.
If you offer enticing seller services, such as free home staging or a free pre-sale home inspection, by all means, play that up as your offer.
If you don’t offer free services, consider choosing one to use as your offer just for the direct mail campaign.
Keep in mind, however, that the number of hoops you force your prospects to jump through to take advantage of the offer impacts the response rate, according to Bob McCarthy at DMNNews.com.
The more they have to do, the lower the response rate.
3. Direct mail piece design best practices
“One strategy we use to get our highest response rates is to make the offer the centerpiece of the direct mail piece”, McCarthy claims.
Whether you choose to include an image of the free report or use text to describe it, mention it boldly and repeatedly.
Your message (its length and graphic requirements) will determine the medium. Keeping it plain and simple? A standard-sized postcard may do the trick, although jumbo, panoramic and mega-sized postcards stand out in the mailbox which makes for a genuinely lasting impression.
If it’s graphics-heavy and you’ll include substantial copy, using one of the larger postcard sizes (jumbo or panoramic) becomes even more important.
Choose a font that’s easy to scan as people sift through their mail. Many direct mail experts recommend using a sans serif font, such as Arial, rather than Times New Roman or another serif font.
Consider varying the font size throughout the text, with more important items highlighted with a larger version of the chosen font.
Additional design tips to keep in mind include:
Ensure your headline is bold and compelling yet short and specific.
Use lots of white space to make the piece appear to be easily digestible.
Sub-headings help guide the reader through the text.
Use a high-resolution photograph.
Avoid placing text over photos.
Ensure that your offer stands out and that your contact information is easy to find.
To save time, take advantage of our already professionally done-for-you postcard designs covering a variety of niches and topics.
4. Send it out . . . and keep sending
Consistency is key when it comes to sending direct mail to your prospect list. Whether you choose to run your campaign bi-monthly or monthly follow the laws of branding and keep sending.
Market conditions may prompt a change in frequency as well. New listings, just sold-homes, and other real estate news deserve an additional “mention” to everyone in your farm area.
5. Track your results
Tracking your results is vital to your direct mail campaign. One of the most popular methods used by agents is the creation of a dedicated landing page on their websites. The URL should be unique to the campaign so that you’ll be able to learn your exact response rate (number of responses divided by the total number of pieces sent).
Marketing experts vary when quoting an “average response rate” for direct mail. The most recent figure puts it at 9% percent. How close or far you are from that figure depends on how closely you follow the guidelines outlined above.
Ready to Launch a Direct Mail Campaign? Schedule a FARM, Call to Action Campaign in Just Minutes.
They’re currently on sale 10% OFF the first month – (sale ends 7/17/21).
FARM, Call to Action Scheduled Campaign (shown above). Learn more, HERE
TO LAUNCH A FARM, CALL TO ACTION CAMPAIGN:
Hit “CLICK HERE”, below, to schedule your campaign (from a desktop or laptop computer).
Use promo code: ACTION10 to save 10% off the first month.
And, remember, YOU DON’T PAY for each mailing until it actually goes out (cancel or change each mailing up until the night before it goes out).
Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you with your success.
PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.
1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan
The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
3. Become a Neighborhood Brand
Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.
4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide
The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here
5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
6. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”
The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here
The bare minimum. Every profession includes those who work just hard enough to be considered “doing their job.” Real estate is, sadly, no exception.
It’s the “list and pray” listing agents who feel a sign in the lawn and an MLS listing is sufficient. It’s the buyers’ agent who skips the counseling and doesn’t listen to the clients’ wants and needs in a new home.
Agents like these cast a cloud over the profession, even though the real estate industry is populated with many customer-service-oriented agents who go the extra mile with each client.
Take a look at some ideas contributed by agents with clients who love them.
Explain EVERYTHING
Buyer counseling is a vital aspect of your job. Buyers who understand the process and paperwork and are aware of some of the pitfalls they may face along the way are more relaxed. They are thus easier to work with and come out of the transaction feeling positive about their agent.
Although we rarely see this same counseling suggested for sellers, it should be.
Explain to your buying and/or selling clients, in detail:
The mortgage process, start to finish, in plain English
The entire selling or buying process
The paperwork they’ll be asked to sign
What is expected of them during the process (sellers need to leave the home, buyers should be punctual and respectful of the sellers’ time, etc.)
What happens at closing
Then, ask what they expect of you. It’s hard to go above and beyond something you aren’t aware of.
Service add-ons to consider
Whether your client is the buyer or seller, they’ll both face the huge task of moving. You can make it easier on them while making yourself memorable.
There are many things you can do, including turn your assistant into a concierge-for-a-day. Some of the services he or she can provide include:
Ensuring the utilities are scheduled to be turned off at the old home and on at the new.
Cancelling landscaping, pest control, pool and housekeeping services at the old home.
Draw up a list of the area’s best of everything, such as park, daycare, gym, veterinarian, plumber, electrician, gardener, restaurants, handy person. Find them on Yelp.com.
Supplying them with moving boxes. One agent we know has the boxes printed with her branding.
Always provide updates
If you only handle a few transactions at a time there really is no excuse for your clients to not receive update calls from you or your transaction coordinator.
Keep them abreast of what’s happening with the transaction. Unresponsiveness is one of the things clients most complain about.
For agents who handle many transactions simultaneously, consider purchasing client communication software that they can log into online and follow the transaction’s progress.
The relationship shouldn’t end at closing
Clients also appreciate a closing folder with all of the pertinent paperwork organized inside. Sure, they’ll receive one from the lender, but yours should be different—far more user-friendly. Include the listing, all marketing materials, and all paperwork involved in the transaction.
Finally, plan at least one annual or biennial client appreciation event to help you remain top-of-mind with former clients. Going “above and beyond” is something to which many agents merely pay lip service. Make client satisfaction your top priority for each client and enjoy the payoff: Loyal, referring, and returning clients.
Ready to add more clients to your roster? Launch a FARM, Fence Sitter Campaign in just minutes.
They’re currently on sale 10% OFF the first month – (sale ends 7/24/21).
FARM, Fence Sitter Scheduled Campaign (shown above). Learn more, HERE
TO LAUNCH A FARM, FENCE-SITTERCAMPAIGN:
Hit “CLICK HERE”, below, to schedule your campaign (from a desktop or laptop computer).
Use promo code: FENCE10 to save 10% off the first month.
And, remember, YOU DON’T PAY for each mailing until it actually goes out (cancel or change each mailing up until the night before it goes out).
Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you with your success.
PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.
1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan
The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
3. Become a Neighborhood Brand
Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.
4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide
The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here
5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
6. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”
The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here
“Pivot.” I’m reading that word a lot lately. The “experts” are admonishing business owners to pivot, to adapt to the “new normal.” It’s an especially popular theme in real estate right now.
Seems to me that most real estate professionals adapted very quickly. You had to, right? It was either adapt or perish. In fact, the average agent could probably give lessons on pivoting.
The poor real estate consumer, however, has been left behind. So, just as you pick up slack for lenders when explaining the mortgage process to buyers, it’s now up to you to bring buyers and sellers up to speed on what’s changed and what they might expect from America’s “new” real estate industry.
Let’s start with your listing clients and listing prospects.
Post Pandemic Series
How has the selling process changed?
Aside from local market conditions, this is most likely every prospective home seller’s most burning question. After all, much of what they’ll learn online no longer applies.
Ensure that all of your listing leads are aware of and comfortable with the changes. Don’t let them delay their sale because they’re nervous or confused.
The listing presentation is the ideal time to walk them through the process. Make it sound as simple as possible.
Sure, they’re still curious how you’ll go about marketing their home, but how will they and their family be kept safe after showings? What precautions will buyers’ agents take?
Will you hold open houses? If so, how will those work without exposing both the buyers and the seller to the virus?
Stage it to sell for top dollar
While the process of preparing the home for the market remains pretty much the same, staging is not.
Hunkered down for months in their homes while they took on new hobbies and spent more time with family has caused a shift in what homebuyers are seeking in a home. Suggest to your sellers that they stage a spare room, study, finished attic or basement as a home office or gym.
Outdoor spaces are more critical aspects of home sales post-lockdown. Sales of inflatable pools, inground pools, patio furniture and décor and even trampolines have spiked.
One of the most popular backyard amenities is a large garden, or the space to create one. “Gardening supplies and egg-laying chickens are becoming hard to find as people search for both new hobbies and reliable alternatives to bare grocery shelves,” according to Hillary George-Parkin at Vox.com.
“Anything that keeps kids entertained — and offers parents a chance to take Zoom calls in peace — is, predictably, flying off the shelves,” George-Parkin adds.
Let your listing clients know this. Help them come up with ideas to stage their backyards for maximum appeal:
Kid-friendly space
Gardener’s dream space
Activity center
Create a kid-friendly space with a croquet set on the lawn, a swing set and slide, treehouse, trampoline hangout (see photo number 17 at HGTV.com), sandbox or any number of other things that will appeal to parents of young children.
Post Pandemic Series
There are many ways to stage a backyard to pique a gardener’s interest, including:
Building attractive raised beds
Adding trellises along the wall
Create a potting bench
Adding gardening beds in lieu of raised beds
Even if you have limited space in the backyard, or just a patio or deck, potted plants and planter boxes will create appeal for the green thumber.
Swimming pools also gained in popularity during the lockdown. It’s a worldwide phenomenon, with manufacturers in Spain claiming that sales have increased 400%. In New Zealand, searches for homes with swimming pools have increased 70% and manufacturers and retailers claim that sales have tripled since before the pandemic.
If your client’s home features a swimming pool, of course you’ll want to hit that fact hard when marketing, but encourage your client to stage the pool area to wow buyers even more.
For those leads and prospects who are dragging their feet (meaning there is no listing appointment), start an education campaign on your blog and share your posts on social media. Back them up with a direct mail piece that updates them on real estate news.
Sellers have questions and you have the answers. Walk them through all the processes and how they’ve changed, from home inspections to appraisals to closing and staging.
Post Pandemic Series
Send the Home Values postcard from the Post Pandemic Series to an area where you’re focusing on more listings.
Need help targeting a specific niche of buyers or sellers? Use our Demographic Search Tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy). Or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.
1. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide
The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here
2. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
3. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here
4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
5. The Market Dominator Branding System
Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a Mega AMrketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this excerpt on the Market Dominator from a recent Q&A Todd Robertson (Director of the Market Dominator) did below.
For additional questions, you can reach Todd at 866-405-3638 or Todd.Robertson@prospectsplus.com or go to Market Dominator for more information.
6. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”
The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here
If there ever were a time to up the ante – it’s right now at the start of a New Year.
Stakes are high, competition is fierce and anyone eager to be the expert resource in their market needs to bring their A-game.
Here’s how to come out swinging
Update your headshot
Your photo is your first impression, make sure it’s current and professionally done, so you are seen in the best possible light. A great photo is money well spent. Remember your goal is for consumers to visualize your face and name first when thinking of real estate.
And, don’t forget to smile in your photo.
Studies from photofeeler.com show that people who smile in their head-shots are considered more likable, influential and competent than those who don’t.
Craft a killer bio
On many of our marketing tools, agents have the space to share some “about me” information. You should have a long and short bio version available for different purposes. The long bio is great for your website and the short and sweet bio works perfectly for real estate brochures, flyers, and postcards.
Be sure to choose your words wisely.
Define what differentiates you from other agents in the industry and why you do what you do. Then have both long and short bio versions proof-read before you start using them.
Having these bio’s ready makes it much easier when you’re creating new marketing pieces. You aren’t trying to come up with something on the fly, which can lead to typos or inconsistent copy.
Branding that works
Too often you see agents all over the map in terms of their marketing. Different styles, colors, messages from piece to piece. While it’s good to test, you’ll find better results if you stick to a campaign that has some uniformity.
That’s why agents love our series of postcards, they have the same look and feel throughout the entire series.
For example, our popular Market Quote Series has the same branding style, with a series of messages that are both educating and compelling for the home seller. Send one per month and keep your branding consistent for better results.
Be consistent
Sending one marketing piece then deciding you’re done has never been an effective marketing strategy in any industry. The key to becoming a brand name is 27 impressions (3-7-27 rule).
Keep showing up, and the next time someone is asked if they know anyone who sells homes, your name will be top of mind!
Don’t forget your contact information
Would you be surprised to learn how many times people do not put their phone number or contact information on their marketing materials?
They send thousands of pieces out and wonder why they don’t get a response.
Make sure people know how to reach you. And if you are inviting people to your social media platforms, don’t just say, “find me on Facebook”. Give them a unique URL they can go to such as Facebook.com/yourrealestatepage.
Be Creative
Many of our customers use our Free Reports as a lead capture opt-in on their website. There are lots to choose from, they’re easily customizable, and they serve multiple purposes.
Use them on your site, at your open houses, in your listing presentations, or as collateral for the popular consumer meet and greets that so many agents are doing today.
Build on what you already have
Take the lists you’ve purchased for your Just Listed postcard orders and reuse them.
Put them on a drip campaign of postcards so they know you’re always in the game. Alternate your Just List/Just Sold postcard mailings with other postcard series that we offer.
Remember, every listing is full of unlimited opportunities to gain attention.
Sometimes life can start to feel like the ‘Groundhog Day Movie’ – the same day repeating over and over again.
Trying something new can add life to your day and create a fresh surge of excitement. Our Real Estate Marketing Planner is the perfect solution to a stale schedule.
Our Planner provides 12 months of strategic marketing including new ideas every month for top niche marketing segments such as your sphere and farm.
This Month’s Real Estate Marketing Planner Tip: Handwritten note cards are making a comeback. Make a commitment to send at least one a day this month.
Start Now
Order a stack of our Real Estate Note Cards and make a commitment to send them out to 100 of your past clients this month!
It’s a great time to be a real estate professional and to tap into resources that make your life easier. We’re here to help you. Call our team today at 866.405.3638.