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.
Congratulations Phoebe Reyes on winning our $100 Gift Card!
Phoebe recently shared the following feedback with ProspectsPLUS!.
First mailer just went out and its huge. “It was easy to edit the flyer and it was huge! I got a listing appointment on the first day. Let’s hope the results and contacts keep rolling in.”
Market Dominator Front SideMarket Dominator Back Side
Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our prospecting list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
Many millennials have exited the market. Millions more, however, are itching to buy a home. Millennials, the generation born between 1977 to 1995 (Center for Generational Kinetics), number more than 83 million.
It’s rather challenging to paint broad strokes with a group of people this large. They are currently between the ages of 25 and 43, which makes pinning down their preferences, attitudes and lifestyle even tougher.
We do know who among them is in the real estate market and what this group is seeking in a home.
Millennials in the real estate market
Three of the top five metropolitan areas that Millennial homebuyers are flocking to are located in Texas – Dumas and Eagle Pass, number one and two, respectively and Midland at number four.
Hastings, Nebraska and Williston, North Dakota round out the top five, according to Ellie Mae’s Millennial Tracker.
We’ve all heard of the exodus from big cities to smaller ones or even rural areas and this seems to be the proof.
Here’s what else the Tracker tells us about the average Millennial homebuyer:
The average age is 31
60% are married
Average FICO score: 740
The average loan amount is $211,050
The average appraised value of the homes they are buying is $267,456
Most (81%) obtain a conventional loan, with only 16% using a FHA loan and 1% a VA loan. Two percent of the loan types were “unspecified.”
What are they looking for in a home?
The 2020 Millennial Homebuyer Report found that the average Millennial homebuyer is seeking a home with about 1,700 square feet of living space.
First Time Buyer Series
“While these younger consumers may not aspire to have a McMansion, modern homes with new and different amenities are absolutely important,” according to Jeff Fromm, “expert on Millennials,” at Forbes.com.
The pandemic has changed not only where homebuyers are choosing to live but their preferences in homes as well. Millennials are seeking the same, what is now considered basic, amenities as older buyers.
They are especially focused on “… where they can establish a ‘home office’ or a ‘home school’ or both,” within the homes they are considering purchasing,” Allan Merrill, CEO of Beazer Homes, tells Fromm.
And, kitchens are still important. “Not necessarily smaller, but simpler, healthier, and smarter with as much visibility and natural light as possible,” according to Josh Kassing at BDMag.com (citing the National Kitchen + Bath Association’s 2020 Market Outlook).
The neighborhood is key to Millennials as well. “Our younger buyers are typically very interested in being outside,” Merrill continues. Beazer homes is concentrating on adding amenity centers, pools, a dog park, walking trail and/or “access to a park or open space,” to their new neighborhoods.
“After sheltering-in-place for four or five months,” according to Kassing, “and faced with growing families, they’re longing for more space—especially outside and not necessarily just for their kids.”
He goes on to state that more than 80% of the cohort are dog owners and space for the pooch is critical.
Deal breakers
If you hold a listing that you assume is ideal for a Millennial, make sure that the homeowner takes care of the following “deal breakers,” according to the Millennial Homebuyer Report:
Mold
Pest / Insect infestation
Foundation issues
Leaky roof
Odd smells
Deal makers? Urge your listing clients with smaller homes with yards to create an office or homeschool space to appeal to the commute-averse Millennial. It can be as simple as using an extra bedroom or the attic.
Stage the backyard to give the Millennial buyer and idea of the lifestyle it affords.
How to reach these homebuyers
More than one-third of Millennials surveyed for the Homebuyer Report said that they will use a first-time homebuyer assistance program to help with their down payment.
4 Low Down Payment Mortgage Options Direct Response Report
The “4 Mortgage Options with Low Down Payments” Direct Response Report highlights down payment options as low as 3% down. Download this report and include it in your listing presentations. In addition, offer it as an opt-in on your website and free offer on your direct mail pieces.
Yes, it’s common knowledge that one of the best ways to reach this cohort is through social media. But it’s not a “one and done” method of communication. It requires consistency to make a difference.
To attract the attention of Millennials on social media:
Post regularly
Use clear, compelling photos featuring people like them
Promote suitable listings with ads on Facebook
Join Facebook groups and engage (as an everyday person, not an agent) consistently
Use relevant hashtags
Have the perfect listing for a Millennial? Create a single-listing website and share the URL on social media
Highlight your best testimonials on your home page and sprinkle them throughout the rest of your website pages. Social proof is critical to Millennials.
Most of all, Millennials crave information on the process, from comparing mortgage rates to getting a mortgage all the way through closing.
And, you’re the perfect person to provide this information.
Need help targeting a specific niche of buyers or sellers? Use our Demographic Search Toolto 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
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
Gen X – those born between 1965 and 1976 – was the hardest-hit cohort during the 2007 Recession, with a nearly 60% drop in median household net worth. Blaire Briody, at BusinessInsider.com says that this is “the largest drop of all age groups.”
Amazingly, this is also the generation who has seen the greatest comeback since then.
Between 2010 and 2018, “… the median net worth of Gen X households has risen 115 percent,” according to Andrew Soergel at USNews.com, citing a researcher at Pew.
Today, we have a new crisis (the pandemic) and it’s impacting members of two generations: Millennials (age 25 to 43 this year) and Gen Z (age 24 and younger).
To deal with closed college campuses and the financial impact, many of these younger folks have gone home, to Mom and Dad.
Many of their parents want to help. If you have clients who are parents of Millenials and Gen Z the following are ideas you can share with them to get their kids to finally and forever leave the nest to feather a nest of their own.
Rent By Number Series with custom sub-heading
How to structure the deal
Many parents fear creating a financially-dependent, adult wanna-be by helping their Millennial or Gen Z child purchase a home.
If their son or daughter is generally mature and responsible and just needs a bit of temporary help, parents most likely have nothing to worry about.
A lot also depends on how they structure their assistance, and this is where you come in, offering solutions.
The different forms of “help”
Helping an adult child realize the dream of homeownership comes in many forms. Naturally, if your clients have the means, they may just want to purchase a condo or starter home outright and gift it to their child.
But there are alternatives, including:
Loaning the money, at a lower rate than lenders charge, which will help make the mortgage payments more affordable.
Buy a home using a share-equity agreement.
Gift the child the down payment and closing costs for a condo that he or she purchases.
The “Bank of Mom and Dad”
The best advice you can give your clients is to meet with their financial advisor, accountant and/or attorney to obtain advice about loaning the adult child the money for the home – either the down payment or the purchase price.
This way, they’ll understand all of the ramifications and have legal documents drawn up to protect themselves.
Whether they will charge interest on the loan is up to them, but, again, urge them to get the advice and assistance of professionals.
Rent By Number Series with custom sub-heading
The co-ownership option
Co-ownership of a condo or starter home offers parents the opportunity to share in the equity that is built up over the period of ownership.
This option isn’t without its pitfalls, however. For instance, when the home is eventually sold, it may subject you to a capital gains tax.
“However, if parents are going into the purchase simply to help the kids qualify for the mortgage and intend their contribution to be a gift, they can structure ownership so that their interest is nominal, and work with a lawyer to place that interest in a trust for the benefit of the kids,” according to Derrick Penner of the Globe and Mail.
The operative words there are “work with a lawyer.” We cannot stress enough the importance of ensuring your clients get professional financial and legal advice.
Mom and dad own it and lease it to the kid
If your clients have been contemplating buying an investment property, this may just be the ideal way to get their child into homeownership. Your clients will retain the tax benefits of owning the condo and the rental agreement can be structured so that they gift a percentage of ownership annually until the child owns the condo outright.
There are a number of ways to help an adult child move into homeownership. Go through your CRM and make some phone calls to parents of young adults. You may just have found a goldmine.
Need help targeting a specific niche of buyers or sellers? Use our Demographic Search Toolto 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
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
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.
Get More Listings Series Postcard
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.
Get More Listings Series Postcard
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.
Get More Listings Series Postcard
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 Toolto 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
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
Congratulations Tanzania Daniel on winning our $100 Gift Card!
Tanzania recently shared the following feedback with ProspectsPLUS!.
“ProspectsPLUS! is really a great tool to use for business. Not only do they provide affordable, quality marketing pieces, but they occasionally will provide them for free. You have all of the marketing tools that you need right at your fingertips.”
Looking For Listings SeriesRenter Series postcards
Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our prospecting list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
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:
Photo Introduction Series
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.
Photo Introduction Series
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 Seriespostcard 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 Toolto 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
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
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.
Football Schedule Postcards
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 aCommunity Newsletter or a Football Schedulepostcardto 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.
Football Schedule Postcards
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 Toolto 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
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
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
Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our prospecting list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
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.
Home Seller Mistakes Direct Response Report
Offer the4 Home Seller MistakesDirect 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 Toolto 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
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
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
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 postcardusing 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.
“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 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.
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 Toolto 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-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
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
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