Lisa Gray

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Lisa is an accomplished marketer with years of expertise in direct response marketing, digital marketing, data analytics and business development working with both B2C and B2B.

Real Estate Circle Prospecting: It’s Geographic Farming on Steroids

Aug 17, 2020

Goals. We all have them, some of us have more than others. Reaching them is the true challenge in any business.

ChicagoAgentMagazine.com recently published the results of a survey of agents asking about their lead generation goals through the end of 2020.

One of the questions asked was how much money they plan to spend on marketing this year. Nearly half of the agent respondents said they will spend between $0 and $150 a month. Sadly, of these agents, 23% will spend between $0 and $75 a month.

Naturally, the cheapest lead generation and marketing methods were the most popular. For instance, 65% of respondents plan on “making better use of social media.”

Then, 62% will be organizing their CRM to become more efficient in their marketing. Third on the list was “spending more time with family and friends.”

Hey, if you spend only $75 a month marketing your business, you’ll have loads of time to spend with family and friends.

Increase that amount just a smidge, however, and you may just need to pencil-in that “time with family and friends.” And, that’s a good thing, at least for your bank account.

Americans, by and large, are staying home a lot more.

Some states are “pulling back on re-openings,” according to Paul Davidson at USAToday.com.

There is a bright spot for real estate agents. Millions of people are spending lots of time at home, and direct mail has become one of the best means of communicating with them.

Choose a neighborhood

Yup, it’s time to start focusing on farming, if you haven’t already. Well, farming with a twist, circle prospecting to be precise.

Circle prospecting is an amazing way to get your name and branding in front of consumers without violating safety protocols.

With this type of prospecting you aren’t obviously fishing for leads, but spreading some news – homes in the neighborhood (or nearby) that have been listed for sale, are under contract, have sold or are being held open.

You’re offering something of value.

The first step in the process is to choose the area in which you’ll prospect. If you currently have a listing, or someone in your brokerage does (let’s hope so!), choose that neighborhood and, perhaps, those adjacent to it. Then, create a targeted mailing list.

There’s more than one way to circle prospect

Some agents are actually comfortable and successful with door-knocking around listings.

More agents, however, are more comfortable with direct mail. And, with social distancing mandates in place, this method of circle prospecting is the most responsible.

The bonus is that, right now, direct mail is the method most likely to meet with success, and for a number of reasons:

1. Many agents have cut their marketing budgets, while some have stopped spending on marketing. With the pool of competition all but drained in this regard, your chances of success increase exponentially.

2. Those agents who are still marketing are gravitating to free marketing, such as promoting themselves to their friends, family and followers on social media. Others are going heavy on email marketing. Again, this lessens the mail arriving at consumers’ homes, heightening the chance that your mailed pieces will get the eyes on them.

3. “Checking the mail” is something most of us can do without exposing ourselves to the virus. It also gives us something to do while we’re stuck at home. For instance, how many catalogs have you leafed through that you would’ve otherwise thrown away?

4. Then, there are the facts about the effectiveness of direct mail:

92% of consumers say they prefer direct mail over digital when making shopping decisions
70% of them prefer USPS-delivered mail, according to William Boynton at Postalytics.com, citing a report from the National Association of Advertisers (ANA).
Nearly 15% of millennials surveyed feel that print messages are more trustworthy than those that are digitally delivered, according to a report from the USPS.

What’s next?

Now that you have your list and your strategy (prospecting around listings, solds or open houses), it’s time to round up the resources you’ll need to kick off and maintain your circle prospecting campaigns.

Naturally, we recommend checking out the brilliant array of targeted postcards offered here. From Get More Listings postcards to the Mega-sized, Market Dominator (with 100% impression rate) you’ll find what you need to get your campaign going and keep it going.

Send the More Inventory postcard from the Get More Listings Series to an area where you want 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. 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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”

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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

How do you Keep Your Real Estate License Active? Start with Honesty

Aug 12, 2020

To get a real estate license in most states all you need do is attend a certain number of hours at real estate school and then pay for and take a licensing exam and, possibly, have your background checked via your fingerprints.

Voila! You’re a real estate agent, able to counsel consumers on how to buy and sell what may be their biggest asset.

If you think it’s fairly easy to become an agent, you’re right. Compare the process to what a taxicab driver goes through to get his or her permit:

Secure a referral.
Take the required classes.
Complete the Driver’s Awareness Program.
Submit the referral to the State Taxicab Authority (NTA) and take their exam.
Submit to the NTA’s fingerprint process to check for any criminal history.
Submit to a physical examination, vision exam, mental health evaluation, and drug test to ensure you meet the health requirements.

It’s true, you do have someone else’s life in your hands as a cab driver, so maybe some of these hoops are necessary. Whereas there’s rarely a life-or-death situation involved in helping real estate consumers.

The fact is, as easy as it is to get a real estate sales license, it’s almost just as easy to lose it. And, surprisingly, you don’t have to be a hardened criminal for it to happen.

Something as simple as unintentionally leaving out a material fact about a listing could land you in a lot of trouble with your state licensing board.

That board, by the way, sets the rules under which they will pull an agent’s license. Although each state sets its own regulations for agents, they are all quite similar.

1. Always be honest

While we all know that life is unfair at times, the fact that politicians, journalists, and others can lie with impunity and real estate agents can’t is a bit unfair.

Not that you would lie to a client even if other agents were (and getting away with it), but if you do, and you are caught, you may lose your license.

The state boards don’t call it lying, though. They have other words for it:

Omission
Exaggeration
Misrepresentation
Ambiguity

They’re all types of lies and Beakley says that if you are caught doing any of them … often enough, or big enough … you will lose your license.”

2. Stay law-abiding

If you have an active real estate license, you likely don’t have any prior felonies because it’s not possible to get a real estate license in any of the 50 states if you do, according to Paul Beakley at RealtorMag.com.

So, what if you are convicted of a crime after your licensed? If you live in the right state and are convicted of a crime you won’t lose your license.

In most states, however, you will. In Texas, for instance, moral turpitude is enough to get your license pulled.

In Minnesota, your license can be suspended or even revoked for “outstanding tax or child support obligations.”

3. Keep your client’s money separate

We’ve all heard the stories about the hapless agent who “borrows” a client’s funds, fully intending to pay it back.

Then, there’s guys like this:

[Name has been omitted}, “… a real estate agent and broker from Washington, D.C., was sentenced to prison on a theft charge stemming from the embezzlement of over $100,000 of his clients’ money …” (Justice.gov)

This particular agent was asking buyers for huge earnest money deposits and then depositing them in his operating account instead of escrow.

Although he assured the clients the money was safely tucked away in an escrow account, “… he spent their money on himself and his expenses within a few weeks or months of receiving the funds.”

Yes, he lost his license, and served one year and one day in prison.

Commingling your client’s money with your own, even temporarily, is a recipe for disaster.

Stay out of trouble with the state board, be honest, take your time when completing contracts, and get your clients’ money out of your hands quickly. This should ensure you have a long and healthy life as a real estate agent.

Send the Photo Introduction Series postcard to an area where you want to introduce yourself as the neighborhood expert.

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.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

3. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Start Planning for Your Fall Buying & Selling Season Now

Aug 10, 2020

Traditionally, the market wakes up in September, after a summer lull while folks are vacationing and enjoying the kids’ time off from school.

But once September and October roll around, agents get busy and stay busy until the winter slowdown.

So, if the past is any indication of what we can expect in the future, you’re about to get busy again (or even busier depending on where you are in the country).

Here’s how to plan for your fall buying and selling season, starting now.

Offer a pre-fall photo promotion

Plan a pre-fall photography blitz. Let your potential autumn selling clients know the best way to stand out from other listings in fall. Which is to show how their homes looked when the trees were still green and the flowers were blooming.

Use a Community Newsletter or a Football Schedule postcard to conduct a postcard blitz and offer a “free, no-obligation exterior photo session” before everything turns brown. State the following message,

“For the next few weeks, our professional photographer will be roaming the area. He will be taking exterior photos of our listings that will be hitting the market in fall.”

“Just think how your home, with its sun-lit green landscape, will stand out as a buyer scrolls through listings online this fall!”

By the way, you’ll know who is serious about selling by the responses you get from your postcard photography blitz.

Be focused, move quickly

“Time is of the essence” is never truer than it is during the fall real estate market. The time between putting a home on the market and that big old brick wall known as the holidays is short. Everything you do to sell the home will be condensed.

Remind your clients that this means coming up with the appropriate price right out of the gate. An informative and helpful Direct Response Report you can provide your clients with is, “The 6 Pitfalls of Overpricing”. It will help them understand just what they have to lose by not pricing their home right the first time.

If they refuse, let them know that if the need for a price reduction becomes evident, they’ll need to act immediately – not wait a month.

Yards get messy in autumn, so remind your listing clients to keep up the home’s curb appeal on an ongoing basis.

Remind your clients that leaves will need to be raked more often and dying annuals yanked from the soil. Suggest they hire a gardener to do once weekly yard cleanups if they don’t have the time to do it themselves.

*Dangers of Overpricing* Direct Response Report

Finally, if the home is still on the market as Thanksgiving approaches, your listing client has some decisions to make. Primarily, does he or she want to remain on the market over the holidays or put the listing on hold until the beginning of the year?

Yes, we understand that you’re hoping to high heaven they don’t yank the listing. If you can convince them to remain on the market, let them know that closings near Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve are typically slow going. This way, they can make moving plans accordingly.

A report that makes an ideal piece to leave behind during a listing presentation is, “Moving Made Easy”. It’s available under the Resources tab on our website. Yes, this report is free for you so get a bunch of copies made and keep them on hand to give to your clients.

Help out your buyers

To avoid butting up against Thanksgiving, most homeowners who list their homes in the fall put their homes on the market in the early part of the season. Urge your buying clients to be prepared to be the early bird and get their loan pre-approval out of the way as soon as possible.

They should also narrow down their choice of neighborhoods so that when a home is listed in the area, they can be among the first to view it.

Warn your buying clients not to give in to the temptation that fall appliance sales offer. This year’s models typically go on sale in September and October to make room for next year’s. These bargains may seem irresistible additions to their soon-to-be new home.

Let them know that the lender may pull their credit once more before closing. A large purchase on credit may either slow down closing or cause loan denial.

You’re the expert that your clients rely on to help them navigate the real estate process. While buying or selling a home is primarily the same in fall as in the other three seasons, there are subtle differences they need to be aware of and you need to prepare for to make the season a success.

Send out Football Schedules to your Sphere and Farm now and they’ll arrive just in time for the first NFL game of the season (September 10th).

Even better, add a magnetic back for their frig, so the schedule (and your contact info) will stay in front of your audience all season long.

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

2. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

5. The Market Dominator

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.

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Educate Your Prospects Before They Become Your Clients

Aug 3, 2020

What if all of your clients knew exactly what to expect during the real estate transaction? Imagine how comfortable they would be, how less likely they will be to freak out over the smallest bump in the road. Taking the time to educate your clients takes this premise and makes it a reality.

Even better is to educate your prospects before they become clients.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways agents across the country are educating prospects in their efforts to create savvy clients.

Educate the masses with virtual webinars

Homebuyer seminars are hardly innovative – agents and lenders have been organizing them for decades. The only necessary change, with the current distancing guidelines, is to turn your seminar into a virtual webinar.

Agent Deb Tomaro spoke about her buyer educational events, “Sure, the events help pull in prospects, but once converted, these people turn into the best kind of clients”.

“They know what to expect, they know the process, so I’m not having to micromanage them,” Tomaro explained. “They are able to keep things in perspective, they understand the big picture, and they know what they’re doing.”

The most important step when considering holding a virtual webinar is to determine your audience. This should be easy if you practice in a real estate niche. If you are a generalist, consider some of these audiences:

*3 Critical Steps* Direct Response Report

First-time homebuyer
Vacation property buyer
Government loan programs featuring low or no down payment
Senior buyers
Immigrant buyers
Mobile home buyers
New home buyers
Veterans
Horse property buyers

The toughest part of the process is the planning, but the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council of the National Association of REALTORS (REBAC) has a handy online pamphlet that walks agents through each step.

Radio still has its place

Less than 1 percent of real estate agents use radio or television, according to Matt Wagner, founder of Radio and Television Experts.

Of the two, radio is by far the preferred medium if you plan on buying advertising or hosting your own real estate show. The main advantage of radio over television is the cost – radio is far less expensive.

For the purposes of educating prospects, you’ll need more than a 30-second spot. The back and forth of a call-in talk show is ideal for educating prospects.

How much will this cost? It depends on the size of the market, the station’s ratings and the time of day you choose. Stations in New York City and Los Angeles charge far more for advertising than those in Grand Forks, N.D., and Casper, Wyo.

Thankfully, real estate talk shows typically occur on weekends, when air time is the least expensive. If you live in a small enough market, and a station is in need of content, you may even end up with free air-time. But that would be the exception, not the rule.

Otherwise, many agents pound the pavement, or the telephone, to drum up sponsors for the shows, in exchange for mentions on the air. Good prospects are title companies, home inspectors and lenders.

Of course, there are ad agencies, radio air-time brokers and others, who will actually do all the groundwork for you, for a fee.

*Mortgage Options* Direct Response Report

Teach through print

Although the final eulogy has yet to be written, newspapers are expected to someday go the way of the Pony Express. Only the largest, according to some forecasters, will survive.

Like real estate, however, print journalism is quite local. While many real estate consumers rely on the Internet for real estate listings and information, in some towns, it’s the local newspaper that is still the go-to source.

Robin Shapiro, broker-owner of Robin Shapiro Realty in the Rockaways, finds great success with her hometown paper, The Wave. Before it was put online “people would actually cross over the bridge to buy it,” she said.

If that sounds like the paper in your town, it may just be the place to offer your services as their real estate advice columnist. Call the editor and make the pitch.

Even if you don’t fancy yourself a writer, you can hire an inexpensive freelance editor to go over your copy before sending it on to the paper.

Blog topics that educate

Blogging helps you educate prospects on a range of real estate issues. It’s a great way to let them know about current market trends so they know what to expect when they decide to enter the market.

Examples of blog topics that help educate include:

Financing — this is such a confusing topic for real estate consumers. Make it easy for them to understand.
Common real estate terms and what they mean – just go through your listing or purchase agreement and you’ll find a plethora of jargon that befuddles most real estate consumers. What’s a contingency? What is “arm’s length?”
Closing – aside from financing, the closing process is probably the most mysterious they’ll encounter. Demystify it by explaining what happens, who will be there and the paperwork they’ll be confronted with.

While there are many ways to educate your clients, why not choose a method that reaches a massive amount of people and combines lead generation with education?

Even if you have to pay for the method, you can bask in the fact that you’re getting two results in one go.

Offer the 4 Home Seller Mistakes Direct Response Report in all of your marketing as an opt-in (including your emails, direct mail, and on your website).

Also, keep a stack available to add to your listing presentations and to give out at open houses.

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

2. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

5. The Market Dominator

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.

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Here’s How to Get Your FREE $25 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card…

Jul 26, 2020

With our New “Dollars For Postcards” Promotion!

Just send us a real estate postcard (from your competition) and you get a FREE $25 ProspectsPLUS! gift card (see details below).

Why are we collecting postcards, you ask?

Our number one priority is to provide the best real estate marketing materials for our customers.

By collecting and reviewing real estate agent postcards, we get another window into what agents nationwide are doing with their real estate marketing.

Plus, we’ll have an opportunity to reach out to agents that are engaged in marketing and offer them solutions they may not currently have available to them.

So, send us a competitor’s real estate postcard and collect your free $25 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card.

“Dollars For Postcards” Promotion Rules:

Send a real estate postcard (duplicates of the same agent or your own personal real estate postcards are not eligible).
Send the postcard using one of the two methods listed below, to qualify.
Once your promotion qualifications have been verified, you will receive an email with your $25 ProspectsPLUS! gift card included (this is a limited time promotion and may be subject to change). You may enter this promotion more than once.

2 Ways to Send Us Your Competitor Postcards

EMAIL: Email the postcard image (must include both front and back of postcard to qualify. Please include your contact/email information) to: postcardpromo@prospectsplus.com
MAIL: Mail the postcard, including your contact/email information to: ProspectsPLUS!, Attn: Lisa Gray, 10510 Portal Crossing Ste #107, Bradenton, FL 34211

Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you in your success.

Bring home sellers up to speed on real estate’s new normal

Jul 15, 2020

“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.

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.

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.

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

2. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

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

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Are You up to Speed on the NACA Homeownership Program?

Jul 12, 2020

If you’re not familiar with the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) and their homebuying program, you should probably remedy that.

With lenders instituting “… the toughest loan-approval standards in years,” according to Joe Light at Bloomberg.com, many buyers who are on the margins may be seeking the organization’s help.

There are a few twists and turns in the NACA mortgage transaction that both buyer and seller agents need to know about.

First, some background

NACA is not a lender, but a “non-profit, community advocacy and homeownership organization,” according to the NACA website. The group’s focus is low-to-moderate income homebuyers who are registered to vote.

The organization is certified by HUD to meet its goal of helping to provide affordable homeownership, with the same terms for all of its members.

Self-titled “America’s Best Mortgage Program,” NACA’s terms include providing loans with:

No down payment or closing costs
No fees, no points
Rates are fixed and below market
Credit score isn’t taken into consideration

*Low Net Worth* postcard from *Rent By Number Series*

To get the mortgage, the buyer must join NACA by paying a $25 membership fee (payable every year, and agreeing to take part in “. . . five actions and activities a year and at least one prior to NACA Qualification and one prior to closing …”

Sounds great, doesn’t it?

And, it is, and will be for the buyers on the fringe of qualification who may be locked out of the market by the new, more-stringent loan qualification standards.

For agents and home sellers, however, it’s a whole different story. Many that we’ve spoken with call the program’s transactions “nightmares.”

One listing agent said that her seller almost removed her listing because of the challenges she was forced to endure and the long (very long) escrow period.

The agent’s part in the process

First, you should know that NACA has its own roster of buyers’ agents and they strongly encourage their members to use them.

Because these agents have experience with the process, they do have a lot to offer the buyer. But if your buyer decides that a NACA mortgage is the only way to “achieve the dream,” you’ll need to protect your interests.

Get a signed buyer’s broker agreement before your client attends the first workshop.

And, don’t bother recommending your favorite home inspector because buyers are required to use “… a licensed home inspector who either is or will be registered with NACA and agrees to use the HomeGauge software,” according to the organization’s website.

Although the organization claims to close most loans in 28 days, we’ve heard from several agents who experienced repeated requests for contract extensions and two said the deals took five months to close.

*Cost of Renting* postcard from *Rent By Number Series*

NACA also specifies that buyers demand the removal of the following from the purchase agreement:

Forfeiture of earnest money if the buyer can’t qualify for the loan or the home doesn’t appraise.
Penalties for not closing on time

The contract must include:

A contingency that the home is approved by NACA-approved home and pest inspectors
A closing date of at least 30 days, longer if the home requires work
Settlement services must be provided by an approved NACA settlement agent

Ok, suppose you are working with a new buyer who tells you he or she will be applying for the NACA mortgage. The most important next question is “Have you been in touch with anyone from NACA?”

And here is why this question should be first:

If the buyer “has been involved with or been in previous contact with NACA at the time the Member [your potential buying client] is referred to the Program, you will not be able to register them to your name,” according to NACA’s website.

The organization has a whole slew of rules for outside agents who bring in buyers and you can catch up with those at nacalynx.com.

Or, you could become a NACA-approved agent

The organization is actively seeking real estate agents, nationwide, so if you’re looking for an additional source of leads, you may want to look into it.

Get the details online at workforcenow.adp.com.

*Rent Race* postcard from *Rent By Number Series*

Send the Rent Race postcard from the Rent By Numbers Series to a Renter Prospect List in your area or near your Farm.

Need help targeting renters? 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

2. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

5. The Market Dominator Branding System

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a mega-marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. (Watch this video on the Market Dominator, below). For more information Click Here.

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Level Up: How to Go From Farmer to Market Maker

Jul 8, 2020

I recently spent some time talking to Todd Robertson, Director of the Market Dominator, about how agents are relying on their farms even more to keep business going during the pandemic. Todd shared some new and exciting things he’s doing to help agents level up and go from farmer to market maker.

Farming a geographic area is a time-tested, proven method for achieving new listings and referrals. Yet Todd says for many agents insecurities over what to send, how often to send it, and how to budget stops them from taking advantage of this real estate game-changer.

Those who understand the power of farming forge ahead putting systems in place, cultivating and developing lucrative relationships over time.

This results in branded awareness that keeps their name at the forefront when someone is ready to buy or sell or knows someone who is and it’s that agent who receives the call.

“These agents understand the key to successful farming is consistent marketing that allows them to stand out from the pack,” says Todd.

“I believe this is why the Market Dominator is such a popular marketing tool for agents. It’s a content-rich marketing piece, automatically sent every month, that’s literally larger-than-life”.

“And, I’m not kidding when I say larger-than-life,” Todd exclaimed, “At 12×15 in size, the Market Dominator is the largest legal size allowed by USPS. It’s a mailbox show stopper that can’t be ignored”.

That combined with content designed by industry professionals, the use of budget-friendly EDDM, and carrier route exclusivity is what Todd says makes the Dominator an agent favorite.

The leap from Farmer to Market Maker

Although the Market Dominator has been incredibly well received by agents, Todd said the current climate got him thinking it was time to do more.

With certain parts of the country just opening up again, it left many agents with only six months of 2020 to hit their annual goals. Todd said this knowledge caused him to go back to the drawing board to come up with a way to help agents level up during this remaining time.

And he found an answer. He decided to help agents go from successful farmer to market makers.

Instead of them following the traditional agent path of matching buyers and sellers, listing by listing, Todd’s helping them find a way to truly control their market and explode their growth.

He says they’ve added a new valuable resource to the Market Dominator by providing agents with a Renter Prospect List from within or around their carrier route (at no cost to the agent).

And, they’re also going to pay for the first campaign out to this renter prospect list using postcards from the Rent By Numbers Series.

“Offering this additional tool is the ultimate progression for an agent who wants to truly begin to control their market,” says Todd.

Now they’re starting to cultivate relationships with some of the very people who will be interested in buying homes in their carrier route.

“Imagine how your listing appointment will go when you show an area map of potential buyers you’ve been communicating with to the homeowners,” says Todd.

“How powerful is that?” Todd continued, “Regardless of who else is competing for this listing, they can’t win. You’ve shown up with potential buyers in hand”.

Telling a homeowner you’ve already been looking for their home’s buyer for months is a strong statement. Especially considering there’s a high probability that their home’s buyer is on this list.

While other agents are discussing what they’ll do to find a buyer once the listing agreement is signed, todd says you stand alone because you’ve already done the work.

To learn more about the Market Dominator, watch this excerpt from a recent Q&A Todd 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. To download Todd’s book, “Become a Listing Legend”, scroll down it’s available under Free Resources, below.

If you’re interested in generating your own Renter Prospect List to market to in your Farm click here from a desktop computer to get started or watch the video below to learn how.

PLUS: When you have time…here are some Free resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

2. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

6. The Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Time to Bring Your Real Estate Closing Gifts to the 21st Century

Jul 6, 2020

Nope. Not another debate about whether or not to gift your clients at closing. Just a polite plea to change up what you’re gifting.

You’ll find what seems like endless advice online about closing gifts. The most popular suggestions include cutting boards (right?), gift cards, welcome mats and knives.

I think we can all agree that anything with your logo, face or other branding is a giant “no way!” Those are gifts that end up in the trash, the closet or at the local thrift shop.

So, what’s a modern, thoughtful closing gift?

“That’s going to depend a lot on the price point of the listing and your relationship with your clients,” according to Emile L’Eplattenier at TheClose.com.

And, we might add, your budget.

You’ve just spent at least 30 days getting to know these people, so we’re hoping you have some sort of clue as to what they like, need or want when they move into their new place.

If you’re stuck, read on — we rounded up some gifts that agents are giving at closing that we think are both memorable and trendy.

*Thinking of You* postcard from the *Customer Appreciation Series*

Get them on the road to a smart home

There are so many cool and useful smart home gadgets on the market now. From the basics, like an Amazon Echo or Google Assistant to a smart thermostat, doorbell or door lock, any would please the new homeowner.

Get ideas by checking out Amazon’s most popular smart home tech:

Echo Dot (3^rd generation)
Smart home cameras with night vision
Indoor security cameras
Ring doorbell
Nest Learning Thermostat
Smart light switch
Smart sprinkler system controller
Smart meat thermometer

For the cash-strapped agent – Give a home management app

Billed as “The All-In-One Home Management App,” the folks at Centriq have nailed the gifting decision process for those agents on a tight budget.

This app promises to help your clients “… troubleshoot, operate and maintain …” their homes. The process sounds easy as well.

“Just snap a picture of the appliances, electronics, and tools in your home. We’ll add the user manuals, warranties, how-to-videos and more.”

For $7.95 per client, annually, the app will display your branding and it offers a “dedicated management dashboard,” among other goodies.

Check out the agent plan at mycentriq.com.

Bling for the newly-minted luxury homebuyer

The luxury home client’s gift may not look anything like that you purchase for the starter home client. And, luxury homebuyers can be further divided by newly-wealthy or old money when it comes time to choose a closing gift.

“Those who are new to wealth tend to flaunt it,” according to Winston Chesterfield, the founder of Barton Consulting. The old-money types prefer “experiential gifts,” according to the editors at RobbReport.com.

How about something to hold the keys to the new home, like a key ring from Tiffany & Co.?

Old monied client? Consider gifting him/her with a book

When billionaires gift their billionaire friends, they usually choose an “experiential gift,” according to Harry Cheadle at Vice.com. Agents with deep pockets may get some ideas by reading Cheadle’s blog post.

Agents on a budget can’t go wrong with the careful selection of a book as a closing gift, according to Cheadle. Especially if that book is the biography of a successful person.

No, books aren’t particularly trendy, but Steve Seibold, author of “How Rich People Think,” says that one of the first things we’ll notice when we enter a wealthy person’s home is “an extensive library of books they’ve used to educate themselves on how to become more successful.”

“As long as that book is not attacking them and their way of life, they would value that gift and they would see that gift for an intelligent gift,” according to Chesterfield.

Some clients are a cinch to buy for while others may take some thought. Hopefully, these ideas will set you on the path to finding that just-right closing gift.

Send the Thank You: Big as a House postcard from the Customer Appreciation Series to your past clients.

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

2. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

5. The Market Dominator Branding System

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

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Ready to LEVEL UP? Check Out the FREE Online Master Marketing Magazine For Ideas!

Jun 29, 2020

LOOK INSIDE: For a FREE Report & Mailing List Download

Catapult your real estate business to the next level during the 2nd half of 2021 with strategies from the online Master Marketing Magazine!

It’s Chock Full of Valuable Content Like,

The 50 people to add to your sphere to get more referrals
7 local market opportunities in your area right now
How to prove you’re the neighborhood expert & dominate
Go from one new listing to becoming a market maker
How to use Direct Response Reports to get more listings
How to uncover a goldmine with absentee owners
And, more…

Check it out, click the “GO NOW” button below

GO NOW

Want More Referrals? Stay connected to your Sphere with a Content Card Campaign.

It’s currently on sale 10% OFF the first month – sale ends 7/3/21.

SOI, Content Card Scheduled Campaign (shown above). Learn more, HERE

TO LAUNCH AN SOI, Content Card CAMPAIGN:

Hit “CLICK HERE”, below, to schedule your campaign (from a desktop or laptop computer). Use promo code: CONTENT10 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).

Launch an SOI, Content Card Scheduled Campaign now, CLICK HERE!

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

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

5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Ride the “Silver Tsunami” of Baby Boomers

Jun 24, 2020

COVID-19 has changed much of what used to be considered “normal life.” In cities that have relaxed restrictions, dining out may involve having your temperature taken at the door. Shopping may require that you wear a mask and follow arrows pasted on the floor, directing traffic.

The future is at the top of many minds. Even if the world recovers from this pandemic, and gets back to normal (or something close to it), the lessons we’ve learned will be forever ingrained in our consciousness.

Home, family, taking care of our health – have all become even more important.

While the real estate market appears to be very much like it was before the pandemic’s outbreak, with low interest rates luring buyers into the market and home values holding steady, attitudes of real estate consumers have changed.

We are told to expect an exodus from the cities to the ‘burbs and perhaps even rural areas. The downsizing craze is over, we’re told, and homebuyers want more square footage. Outdoor spaces and specialty rooms (office, gym, etc.) are on the lists of those buyers who can demand them.

Most of all, many Americans who were isolated by distance from family during the lockdown, crave closeness.

*Life Event Series, Changing Needs* postcard

Especially older Americans and most especially those who live alone.

While one of the primary reasons baby boomers sell their homes is so that they can move closer to their adult children or friends (23.5% according to the NAR), we think the social distancing we’ve endured will see many, many more choosing this option.

Boomers in the real estate market

Older homeowners naturally have more equity in their homes, according to NAR’s 2020 Generational Trends report. The average equity earned of sellers age 22 to 54 is nearly $45,000. Baby boomer sellers, on the other hand, have, on average, $74,300 in equity.

The homes they will sell have at least three bedrooms and 2 bathrooms (many, however, boast three bathrooms). While on the market, boomer homes experienced far fewer price reductions than the homes of younger sellers.

More than one-fourth of younger boomers have lived in their homes for 21 years or longer, while 35% of older boomers can say the same.

Younger boomers who purchased another home after selling their current home chose a slightly smaller home, while older boomers, on average, chose slightly larger homes.

Finally, baby boomers make up nearly half (46%) of the seller’s market.

How to reach this group of home sellers

Boomers love YouTube. But, before you race out to create real estate videos for this demographic you need to understand that they probably won’t watch them.

Their use of YouTube is as a sort of TV-on-demand platform. According to data from Think with Google, the most-watched categories by boomers include “… entertainment, music, and news.”

The best way to reach this cohort and engage with them is on Facebook. Pursuing organic reach, however, may be futile, according to BigCommerce.com.

*Life Event Series, New Memories* postcard

“With organic Facebook reach hovering somewhere between two and four percent, many brands struggle to gain impressions and engagement on the platform,” according to the site’s Ethan Giffen.

The solution, he says, is Facebook ads. Yes, they cost money. But it’s one very effective way to reach the group that has a higher net worth, is most likely to want to move and sells more homes than any other.

OK, so maybe Facebook ads are a bit pricey for your budget right now. Consider direct mail as a budget-friendly, highly effective alternative.

This is a generation who grew up with mail as a major form of communication to friends and family. They still enjoy receiving mail and are more likely to read what they receive than the younger generations.

But you need the right message

To send the right message requires that you know your audience. Earlier we gave you a bit of insight into their real estate habits. But to effectively market to the group requires digging deeper. Baby boomers, by and large are:

Active
More internet savvy than they’re given credit for
Independent
Not “old”

In fact, dump the word “senior” when referring to this group. Use “baby boomer” or “older American” if you must. While not all are offended by the term “senior citizen,” many are.

Overall, they value useful information. This might include local market activity, a CMA, news on mortgage rates and helpful home maintenance tips.

Get to know baby boomers’ interests by visiting aarp.org, nextavenue.org, and everythingzoomer.com.

*Life Event Series, Time For Play* postcard

Send the Time For Play postcard from the Life Event Series to your Baby Boomer Prospect List.

Need help targeting this specific niche of 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 Free resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

2. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

6. The Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

What Financial Lessons Did You Learn During Lockdown?

Jun 19, 2020

If you think that nobody foresaw the economic and emotional turmoil that the pandemic of 2020 has wrought, think again.

A Netflix series, filmed in 2019, not only predicted a pandemic but narrowed it down to a coronavirus. To say a series titled, “Pandemic: How to Fight an Outbreak” was prophetic would be an understatement.

Unfortunately, we’re not virologists, pulmonologists, chief science officers nor do we work in the Special Pathogens Program, so we had no clue what was coming.

Now that we’re knee-deep in it, with a few weeks or months of not generating income, we’ve learned some hard, financial lessons.

To avoid them in the future, we’ve rounded up some of the best advice we could find.

*Quote Series*, *Travel the World* postcard

Do you have a business continuity plan?

Because agents are small business men and women it amazes me how many lack a business plan, or don’t consult the one they have.

The business plan is the roadmap for your business and should contain a continuity plan (or, “Plan B,”) for slow periods. Pay close attention to the marketing section of the plan during this planning.

Marketing should be one of the last tasks to cut, yet many agents slash it completely when times are tough.

If you need help compiling a business plan, check out our Free One-Page Business Plan.

Then, ensure that it contains a continuity plan – a document that details how your business “… will continue operating during an unplanned disruption …,” according to the pros at IBM.com.

Ensure your plan accounts for a short-term economic slowdown as well as a major downturn.

How’s that emergency fund?

Good for you if you have one. Many Americans don’t. “By saving anywhere from three to six months of expenses (expert recommendations vary), an emergency fund cushions a sudden reduction or stoppage in income and gives breathing space,” according to Utpal Dholakia Ph.D., at PsychologyToday.com.

Start small, if you must, but direct a certain percentage of each commission check to a dedicated emergency fund savings plan. You do it for your quarterly tax payments, right? Do the same for you and your family.

Keep filling the pipeline

Now that you have a business plan you should be able to easily identify your marketing budget in a “Plan B” scenario.

The least you should do under these circumstances is keep in touch with your Sphere, but it’s important to keep filling the pipeline with new leads as well.

Yes, money is tight right now, but it’s possible to do some pretty stellar marketing at very low cost. Check out our Real Estate Marketing on a Tight Budget blog post for ideas.

Keep your marketing messages (to both your sphere and pipeline) more helpful than salesy and as uplifting as possible. Yes, show your expertise, but in a low-pressure way.

Need some ideas for topics?

Local real estate market trends. Check out the COVID Looking For Listings Series.
Rekindling family time (stuff families can do at home to stave off boredom). Check out the COVID At-Home Series, Family Activities postcard.
Anything having to do with gardening (the nation’s new favorite pastime). Check out the COVID At-Home Series, Gardening Fun postcard.
Binge-worthy movies
Recommend some of your favorite books
Send uplifting quotes. Check out the Quote Series of postcards.
Address the changes in mortgage lending standards
Recommend some DIY projects to stay busy. Check out the COVID At Home Series, Organize Your Kitchen postcard.

Lockdowns are easing at various rates across the country and agents are getting back to work.

Don’t forget the financial lessons we’ve all learned during the crisis. Be prepared for anything.

Send the Not How Much postcard from the Quotes Series to your Sphere.

Let them know they’re in you’re thoughts.

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!

PLUS: When you have time…here are some Free resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

2. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

6. The Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

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