This time of year is ideal for reviewing and reestablishing strategies that have been successful in the past.
With this in mind, let’s look at three strategies that have proven successful at attracting new clients, for many agents.
Strategy 1: Start with what’s warm
Remember when you first started in real estate? The answer to “how do I attract new clients?” was typically met with “reach out to everyone you know.” And, that advice is still pertinent.
Dust off your CRM and dig into it, starting with the warmest contacts. Reach out to family, friends, former colleagues, parents of your kids’ friends, and anyone else who you have even a modicum of a relationship. Ask them who they know that may be thinking of selling their home.
Our Holiday Postcards are a fun, easy way to reach out to your Sphere without feeling too salesy. Or choose a handwritten notecard, for a more intimate way of saying hello and reminding your Sphere you’re only a phone call away.
Don’t be discouraged if your contacts don’t respond with interest after the first mailing. You’ve begun the process of making yourself top-of-mind for the time when their interest changes or that of their friend.
Now, take a look at all the potential clients you’ve spoken with in the past – especially anyone that requested or received a listing presentation but ended up not selling. Find out what their current status is and reach out.
This tactic worked for St. Paul broker Teresa Boardman. First, she determined that they hadn’t listed with someone else and then she contacted them.
Shortly after starting the tactic she reported that “One homeowner, I’m going to list for sure and another one looks like a real strong possibility and another is trying to decide if he should rent out the house or sell it.”.
Strategy 2: Go where others won’t
If you think that every other agent in town is pursuing canceled, withdrawn and expired listings, Tom Ferry coach Tom Toole would beg to differ with you.
He looks at an expired listing as an ideal opportunity, because “most people are afraid to call them.”
And, it works for him. In a case study at tomferry.com, Toole reports that his annual gross commission income from working with expired listings is $525,000. His marketing investment is $3,000 a month.
He makes those icy-cold calls and those that aren’t ready to re-list go into a drip campaign of direct mail marketing. This is where newsletters and postcards can really pay off.
If you are getting ready to go after this lucrative niche our Expired Postcard Series is an effective solution.
Strategy 3: Cast a wider net
With the media running endless stories of rapidly escalating home prices and potential rate hikes, it’s understandable that homeowners can be reluctant to sell.
Which makes now the perfect time to add another niche to focus on by going after homeowners who don’t have to sell – absentee owners.
Our Get More Listings Series offers postcards with content that effectively reaches out to these absentee owners.
Depending on how far away they live from their investment property they may have no idea how values have skyrocketed and the equity they’re currently sitting on.
Nearly 80 percent of landlords plan on owning their properties for five years, so seek out those who have owned for at least three years. You can get that specifically targeted mailing list here.
Consider these suggestions for direct mail marketing to absentee owners, from Louisville, Kentucky real estate investor Sharon Vornholt:
- Personalize your direct mail – Use the owner’s name, instead of “Homeowner.”
- Use the same “best practices” for this mail as you do your blog posts: Lots of white space, subheadings and bulleted points.
- Don’t talk about you or your brokerage. Get to the point quickly and address the benefits for the homeowner (such as an increase in value).
Nobody knows what the foreseeable future holds for the real estate market. However, there’s one thing we do know and that is to last you need to continue to list.
Therefore, there’s nothing more important, as you finish this year and make plans for 2020 than to reacquaint yourself with the best ways to attract clients.
Order personal Notecards and send out a couple handwritten notes every day to your Sphere of Influence.