Sunday, July 6, 2025

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.

Create a Real Estate Business Preparedness Plan

Everybody and their uncles have been blamed for the last shifting economy, despite the experts having a pretty good handle on its true causes. That whole subprime mortgage mess kicked it off but it wasn’t the only factor.

What the average American seems to be oblivious to is that recessions, like expansions, are a defining feature of a market economy. In fact, they’re two of the four phases of the “business cycle.”

We’re now in our 113th month of economic expansion, closing in on the record 120 months that occurred after recovery from the “dot-com explosion.”

The “R” word is on many economists’ tongues, and it isn’t a question of if we’ll sink into another recession, but when.

 But it probably won’t blow up the housing market

None of the economists interviewed by The Wall Street Journal said that the housing market will be the cause of the next recession.

This is good news for agents because, with the exception of the last economic downturn, home prices actually increased during the previous five recessions (stretching back 45 years), according to the Federal Reserve.

Be sure to point out this fact to your potential sellers who may be feeling a bit antsy about the future. Remind them that an economic recession doesn’t automatically mean a real estate recession.

Economic downturns do affect consumers in other ways, from dwindling investment portfolios to losing jobs. Spending, especially on big ticket items like real estate, drops.

Is your business ready should this come to pass?

Are you?

 What are the indicators?

Sure, we all know what a recession looks and feels like, but what are the economic indicators that prove we’re in one?

While some economists figure we’re in a recession after two consecutive quarters of down-trending real GDP, the National Bureau of Economic Research begs to differ.

“Rather, a recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.”

Right now, it’s tough to pinpoint any signs of a contraction in the economy. Optimistic retail trade groups see holiday sales rising nearly 5 percent this year.

We’re merrily rolling along with the highest employment rate since the 1960s, a projected Q3 jump in economic growth of 4.1 percent and rising personal incomes.

Lurking in the shadows of all this good economic news, however, are some niggling signs of a coming downturn.

 Get familiar with your numbers

This may seem like “well, duh” advice to most small business owners. Real estate agents, however, are a different breed. Many seem content to wing it, without a plan, without a budget.

If you want to last, especially during a changing market, a plan is a must and it starts with setting up a budget. To do this, you’ll need to get a handle on your production numbers, how much you spend on various aspects of your business and how much you expect to earn.

Dani Vanderboegh Inman.com offers an excellent basic budget primer at Inman.com.

Getting your spending under control – at least enough to where you can consistently set aside money for a “rainy day,” it is imperative to be able to weather an economic downturn and remain in business.

 Fine tune your marketing strategy

What else can you do to market yourself? If you’re not using direct mail, now is the time to put that system into place. If you’ve been putting off setting up a newsletter as part of a drip campaign, get to work on it.

In addition, create at least five different real estate lead generation sources. The more darts you have in your quiver, the better the chances you’ll hit something when it comes time to throw them.

Take some time to clean up your CRM and ensure that it’s working the way you need it to.

An economic downturn doesn’t have to mean the end of your real estate practice. Get busy on your business disaster preparedness plan by socking away money, setting up a budget and fine-tuning your marketing and you’ll be ready to weather anything the economy throws at you.

Start building your influx of new prospects by sending at least 100 monthly Community Newsletters to an area where you want more listings.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list 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 2 free ways we can help you STILL CRUSH IT in 2018!

1.  The 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, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here

2. 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

Also…check out these cool tools 

 Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero. BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too (now that’s what I’m talking about)!

Whether or not to give gifts to real estate clients at or after closing is an often-debated topic.

Those in the “yes” camp struggle with coming up with a gift that is personal, but not too personal, and whether or not the gift should include the agent’s branding.

It’s a tall order, but, thankfully, we’ve checked with our agent network and, as usual, have some brilliant real estate closing gift ideas to share.

Stop hating on gift cards

No, a gift card isn’t highly original and whether or not to choose one as a gift depends on your relationship with each particular client. But, it is sure to be a welcome and much-appreciated closing gift for clients on a strict budget (maybe your FHA buyers?).

You can’t go wrong with a gift card from Lowe’s or Home Depot or any of the large home décor stores. If your client is an avid gardener, check if your local nursery offers gift cards. And, if you’re still stuck for ideas, how about a gift of delivery service with an Instacart or Uber gift card? The latter can also be used for Uber’s ride-sharing service. 

Artwork

Snap a photo of your clients and their kids and/or pets standing in front of their new home. Then, send it to an artist who can turn it into something family-room-wall-worthy.

Or, have the portrait made into “Just Moved” cards for the clients to send to friends and family. Pre-stamping the envelopes, by the way, is a thoughtful step that they won’t expect.

The internet is the best place to find talented, reasonably-priced artists who specialize in creating portraits from photographs. And, you can often find one who will do so in your preferred medium, from pencil to watercolor to oil.

Here are several websites I found while doing some online sleuthing:

  • Paint your Life
  • Portrait Painting
  • Instapainting
  • Portraits on Demand
  • A number of artists on Etsy offer portraits from photos 
The gift that keeps on giving, keeping you top-of-mind

How can a former client forget you when, each month, something amazing is delivered to their door?

No, they aren’t cheap (although some are surprisingly affordable), but subscription boxes are appreciated.

  • Meal boxes (there are a number of choices, such as Blue Apron, Plated, Hello Fresh)
  • Fresh flowers
  • Bagels
  • Bark Box or Rescue Box (for the dog “Mom” or “Dad”)
  • FilterEasy (yes! No more schlepping to Home Depot to pick up HVAC filters)
  • Gardening
  • Beauty items (for female clients, Birchbox is among the most popular)

Find other popular subscription services at impactbnd.com.

Consider keeping it local by gifting several hours of services that you know your client will use. These include:

  • Dog walking
  • House cleaning
  • Landscaping
  • Pool cleaning and servicing
  • Handyman
  • Organizing
  • Errand running 
Techster clients will love these

I joined my neighborhood’s forum on NextDoor.com and the most popular conversations among neighboring homeowners involve home security. Most of the homeowners either own or are interested in purchasing the Ring video doorbell. They’re offered at a variety of price points, with the least expensive starting at about $100.

Google Home Mini for less than $50 (a smart speaker with Google Assistant built in) is so popular that the folks at Google say they’ve sold “more than one device every second since they started shipping in October” of last year.

Instead of the keys to their new home, imagine handing your homebuying clients a smart lock instead. Yes, they’re pricey, but the popular 3rd generation of the August Smart Lock sells for only $129 and the Kwikset Kevo Blue Tooth Deadbolt is priced at slightly less than $150.

While the topic of whether or not to gift your clients at closing seems to be a matter of personal preference, most agree that if you will be giving a closing gift, keep your branding off of it.

Then, put some thought behind it. If it’s a gift card your clients truly need, then, by all means, gift them with one. If not, we hope our list helps guide you to the perfect real estate closing gift.

With client appreciation on your mind, right now is the perfect time to all of your incredible clients with a Customer Appreciation postcard.
Send the All My Thanks postcard to all of your past clients and let them know just how much they mean to you.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list 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 2 free ways we can help you STILL CRUSH IT in 2018!

1.  The 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, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here

2. 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

Also…check out these cool tools 

 Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero. BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too (now that’s what I’m talking about)!

Congratulations to our $250 Gift Card Winner of our September Door Hanger Challenge!
Barbara Adams!

Here’s what Barbara had to say about how she responded to our September Challenge!

“Right after I read your email, I looked up FSBO’s online and personally dropped off several door hangers.”

“I also followed up with one FSBO prospect who had his email address on his For Sale Flyer. The homeowner called me and was so impressed I have a new listing!”

Now that’s the way to respond to a challenge! Great job, Barbara and congratulations on your NEW LISTING!

By the way, Barb used the I Have More Buyers Door Hanger to snag her NEW LISTING!

For more information on our NEW October Strategy Challenge, Go Now!

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list 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 2 free ways we can help you STILL CRUSH IT in 2018!

1.  The 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, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here

2. 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

Also…check out these cool tools 

 Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero. BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too (now that’s what I’m talking about)!

New October Challenge

There is no better real estate agent marketing strategist than YOU! You are in the trenches, fighting the fight every day, win, lose or draw. Therefore, for our October Challenge, we are asking you to post one of your marketing strategies on our Facebook Page in the comments with the hashtag #agentstrategychallenge.

This is the perfect win-win scenario. Your strategy will help inspire others to continue pushing hard to finish the year strong. And, you have a chance to win the first prize, $250 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card!

To Enter:
  1. Post one of your marketing strategies on our facebook page in the comments.
  2. Use hashtag #Agentstrategychallenge in your post (that’s it).

Are you in? Then, don’t wait. Share your strategy now, Go Now!

And the Winners are…

First, we want to thank everyone for your incredible feedback in September! We really appreciate the time you take to give us your thoughts.

Our Winner of the $500 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card is  – Liz Rubin Fendler

Liz shared her experiences using ProspectsPLUS! with the following feedback.

“ProspectsPLUS! has always delivered great quality products! They are easy to use and impactful!”

“My sellers love when they receive the postcard in the mail advertising their home.

Liz’s Latest Marketing Purchases  Luxury Marketing Brochure, Just Listed and Just Sold Postcards

Winner of Our $250 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card is – Amy Call

Amy shared her experiences using ProspectsPLUS! with the following feedback.

“ProspectsPLUS! makes their postcards easy to send out! And I love that they save my client lists to my account.

Amy’s Latest Marketing Purchases – Just Listed and Just Sold Postcards and Holiday Postcards

Take the lead from Liz and Amy and send at least 100 direct mail Marketing postcards to an area where you want more buyers or sellers!

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

How to respond to client fears

Your clients and potential clients are getting an earful from the media about the housing market. “Pending home sales stumble as housing market momentum wanes.” “NAR Sees Overheated Housing Market Starting to Cool.” And, from our favorite Debbie Downer, Market Watch’s Diana Olick: “Housing market is showing signs of cracking.”

Then there were the reports recently about a brewing recession. Zillow teamed up with Pulsenomics to survey various economists and real estate professionals and concluded that we’ll see a recession by 2020.

So, is it any wonder that the “how’s the market” questions are coming on faster and more furious?

It’s easy for real estate consumers to buy into all this pessimism and to be confused about what it means for them as individuals. The first thing you want to remind them is that these stories are coming from those who don’t fill the “boots on the ground.”

Journalists and economists don’t actually sell real estate, which is why they are typically the last ones to know when a market is truly changing.

Agents are the first to know. Let your clients know that and it will go a long way in dispelling some of the fantasies they are reading.

Now, not all the news is wrong. We’ve been hearing from our agent clients across the country about changes in days on the market, less traffic at open houses, price drops and far less competition for desirable properties.

Whether these conditions are merely indications of the typical after-summer slowdown or a change in the housing market remains to be seen.

Your buyers have little to worry about

Home prices are falling across the globe, from Sydney to Vancouver, Hong Kong, and London. In fact, the latter has seen its “biggest monthly fall for six years,” according to The Guardian.

While there are signs of a slowdown here in the U.S., home prices are still rising. Yes, they’re rising at a slower rate, but rising is rising when you long to buy a home, right?

Many homebuyers are so discouraged, they’re either dropping out of the market completely or taking a break. Interviewed by Jeff Collins with the Orange County Register, one of these buyers bemoaned the high prices and stated that “I don’t ever see them coming down.”

When met with this type of pessimism from your buying clients, point out that prices are beginning to soften and conditions will get better for them. As more buyers drop out of the hunt for a reasonably-priced home, prices will begin falling.

Urge those who are on the cusp of affordability to buy now. Conditions in certain parts of the country are turning in their favor with price drops and increased inventory becoming more common.

For instance, Collins claims that “Southern California listings increased to nearly 46,000 homes by Aug. 23, up by nearly 7,100 — or 18 percent — from the same period last year.”

So, while we aren’t yet in a buyers’ market, conditions right now are much better, at least for some buyers.

Calm potential home sellers

Homeowners are more concerned about a possible recession than a softening real estate market. Those who are considering selling, however, should be paying closer attention to the market because it may not be this good for very much longer.

Sure, they’re sick of hearing that “now is the best time to sell,” but this time you have some stats to back up the claim. Any homeowner who is thinking of selling but waiting for prices to peak is crazy – and you should let them know that (in a nice way).

As for recession concerns, they have little to worry about. The experts predicting a recession seem to all agree that this time around it won’t be prompted by the housing market. In fact, according to Zillow research, “the most likely trigger for the next recession is monetary policy.”

Remember, the Great Recession was a bit of an anomaly; home prices actually increased during the previous five.

“The housing sector should be one of the leading sources to come out of the recession,” forecasts Mark Fleming, First American Financial Corporation’s chief economist at usnews.com.

Yes, there are signs that the housing market may be changing. And, as stated earlier, we all know that it’s a wait-and-see thing at this point. We rather like curbed.com’s Jeff Andrews’ take on the situation:

“The economy is booming. The stock market regularly hits new all-time highs. Unemployment is at record lows. Aside from a small recent downturn, the housing market is as hot as ever.”

Get your buyers out of fear mode and back to inspired seller by sending out at least 100 Free List of Homes postcard from the Free Offer Series.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list 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 2 free ways we can help you STILL CRUSH IT in 2018!

1.  The 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, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here

2. 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

Also…check out these cool tools 

 Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero. BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too (now that’s what I’m talking about)!

 

Update Your Community Pages

What if we told you that you can increase organic traffic to your site by as much as 40 percent just by updating old content?

“It’s one of the quickest (and easiest) ways to make Google recognize you and bring your rankings back from the graveyard,” according to Neal Patel. He goes on to explain how the co-founder of Ninja Outreach increased the site’s organic traffic by 40 percent just by resurrecting old content.

The best content on your site to bring back from the dead resides on your community or neighborhood pages.

Why?

Because these pages, if done right, are your most valuable when it comes to showing up in organic real estate searches.

Let’s find the walking dead posts
  1. Find the posts that have been bringing in the most traffic. The Google Search Console website is a handy tool for this step. We prefer the old version, which you can reach by clicking the link on the bottom left side of the page.
  2. Go to “Search Traffic” and then click on “Search Analytics.”
  3. Now you have a list of your most popular content. Click on “CTR,” located above the list.

To identify the posts that will “give you the most bang for your buck,” according to David Schneider, co-founder of Ninja Outreach, look for the following on your most popular pages:

  • A CTR lower than 1 percent
  • A high impression rate
  • A “position” between 1 and 30
What to change

It can be pretty embarrassing looking at your old blog posts but you’ll need to do so before going into the site’s backend to tweak them.

First, check the page’s overall appeal. Does it include enough photos, subheadings and white space? Then, check the page for broken links.

Make note of any issues you need to fix and then head over to the backend of your site.

Next, look for the following:

  • Fix or update links on the page. Cyrus Shepard suggests that you should update the text surrounding the links as well, claiming that it helps search engine spiders more readily see that the page has been updated.
  • Consider removing any content that isn’t evergreen. This includes mentions of the community’s average home price, which, as you know, can become quickly outdated.
  • If you haven’t yet added alt text to your images, do so now.
  • Consider adding additional text to the page to make the word count longer. Have there been changes to the area since you wrote the original content? Any changes planned for the future? Longer content tends to rank higher so if there is anything you can add to beef up skimpy content, it’s worth it to take the time to do so.
  • Is there enough white space on the page? Break up paragraphs so that each contains no more than five sentences, add bulleted lists, subheadings, and additional photos.
  • Ensure your CTA is clear and compelling.
  • Check the copy for grammar, punctuation and spelling errors.

Once you hit publish, head over to your social media pages and post your new and improved content.

One additional note: Patel suggests checking that blog posts don’t compete with your community pages for “SEO authority.”

“For example, you create an amazing page for your primary neighborhood focused on ‘real estate-centric’ keywords,” such as ‘homes for sale in (name of community).

Then, you later publish blog posts for the same neighborhood using the same keywords in prominent locations, such as the title, URL & headings – that would be a mistake,” Patel cautions.

Keep track of the pages’ progress

SEO experts suggest taking a screenshot of the Google Console results we walked you through earlier. Then, when you check for changes in a month or two you’ll have something to compare the new results too.

Keep tweaking as needed until you get the results you’re looking for.

Homebuyers demand local knowledge and neighborhood or community pages are an ideal way to meet that demand. But letting information go stale isn’t a good strategy.

In fact, it could be costing you money.Realtor marketing postcards for neighborhood updates with a free offer

A great way to keep your Geographic farm updated with local knowledge is to send the Neighborhood Update postcard with a Free Offer.
Send out at least 100 in an area where you want more listings.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list 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 2 free ways we can help you CRUSH IT in 2018!

1.  The 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, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here

2. 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

Also…check out these cool tools 

 Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero. BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too (now that’s what I’m talking about)!

Win Them Over With Mortgage Savvy

Remember real estate school? What fun it was to learn about such thrilling topics as riparian rights, avulsion, and tenancy by the entirety. Unless you were planning on selling ranch, investment or water-front property, these topics were quickly pushed to the back of your mind once you got your license. Then came the real learning: how to generate leads, work with buyers and sellers and the anatomy of a mortgage.

While you may have had a broker or mentor who walked you through the fine art of generating leads, the mortgage process is typically something we learned on our own, piecemeal.

If, as newbies, we were confused over the mortgage process, think about how clueless your first-time buyers might be.

Get them up to speed

Only 30 percent of them are familiar with the mortgage process according to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Finance Housing Agency (FHFA) survey. That’s a whole lot of buyers who are blindly entering a huge financial transaction.

The mortgage profession, like real estate, boasts a workforce with a variety of backgrounds, education, skills, and experience. Like our industry, there are those who work hard at providing customer service and there are those who seemingly couldn’t care less.

Sadly, as they do when choosing a real estate agent, the vast majority of homebuyers (77 percent, according to the survey above) choose the first lender they speak with.

This offers the customer-service-oriented agent a brilliant opportunity. Make explaining the mortgage process, from start to finish (and in plain English) a part of your buyer consultation meetings. It’s customer service on steroids.

Go beyond referring your clients to a lender

Surf the internet for home buying advice and agent websites typically offer some form of “See a lender.” This is skimpy advice that adds nothing of value to the reader.

Providing answers to their most frequently asked questions is valuable. What does DTI stand for and how is it determined and what role does it play in the mortgage process? Explain what “mortgage origination” means. What are “discount points?”

Explain the different players who work behind the scenes for a typical borrower. For instance, what does an underwriter do? An infographic or even a text walk-through of the life cycle of a home loan could do the trick here.

And, don’t neglect counseling your buying clients about protecting their credit during escrow (not making large purchases on credit, not changing jobs, not moving money around).

How to get the word out

While a basic explanation during your buyer consultation is a must, your website is another vehicle for spreading the word about the mortgage process. From articles in the “Buying” or “Financing” section of your site to blog posts about different aspects of mortgages (down payment assistance, what to expect at closing, etc.) can all help educate your client.

Getting back to the buyer consultation: use handouts to cut down the amount of time it takes to explain the mortgage process. Start with an explainer sheet or infographic that walks them, step-by-step- through the process. Include a glossary of mortgage terms that they can refer to when needed.

Include a page on various mortgage programs, such as FHA, VA and USDA and another on down payment assistance programs in your area. Then, package them all up in one of our presentation folders for them to take home with them.

Explaining the mortgage process to your buying clients does more than add to their customer service experience. Knowing that they need to hold off on that appliance-shopping trip to Lowe’s or Home Depot prevents a common mortgage disaster.

Also, knowing what to expect during the process allows them to relax into it. And, we’re sure you’ll agree that relaxed clients are the easiest to work with.

Order the Free Report Chop $24,000 Off Your Mortgage and give out everywhere as a Free Offer on your direct mail pieces, at Open Houses, and in your community.
Make sure everyone knows who the expert agent is who will be there for them, answer ALL their questions and guide them in the right direction.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list 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 2 free ways we can help you CRUSH IT in 2018!

1.  The 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, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here

2. 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

Also…check out these cool tools 

 Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero. BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too (now that’s what I’m talking about)!

 

Ready to Finish This Year Strong? 

Well, I have a highly effective marketing technique to help with that – Door Hangers.

You know what’s great about Door Hangers? Aside from affordability. When you are out hanging them, there is a good chance you will run into the very people you are trying to get to know better (what is not to love about that)?

Plus, they’re a tangible that the homeowner can touch and feel and save for future reference – perfect!

Are you currently in search of MORE listing inventory? Great! Compel sellers to pick up the phone and call you by offering a Free Home Market Analysis with the Free Offer Door Hanger Series.

Or Hang the Ready to Sell Door Hanger or I Have More Buyers Door Hanger on their doors to peak their interest and get them excited about selling.

Do you have an Open House coming up? Congrats! Hang an Open House Series Door Hanger on the doors in the surrounding neighborhood to get the word out.

Whatever niche you plan to go after, there is a targeted Door Hanger available. We even offer FSBO and Expired Door Hangers too.

The September Challenge: Choose your areas of focus, then order 100 Door Hangers and make a commitment to get all 100 Door Hangers hung in the month of September.

Post your story of how you got Door Hangers hung on doors during the month of September on our Facebook page with the hashtag #doorhangerchallenge

By the way, the prize for the most fun/clever story is a $250.00 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card!

Are you up for the challenge? GO NOW!

And the Winners are…

First, we want to thank everyone for your incredible feedback in August! We really appreciate the time you take to give us your thoughts.

Remember, if your name isn’t announced in this month’s contest, a new contest starts in September with new opportunities to win!

Our Winner of the $500 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card is  – Scott Wolf
Scott Wolf ProspectsPLUS contest winner

Scott shared his experiences using ProspectsPLUS! with the following feedback.

“I have used ProspectsPLUS! since 2015 when I went out on my own. I still have the very first card I sent out to compare how much better the card design and content quality continues to become.”

“I get a bit lazy with my mailing during season. I just sent out a targeted drop to put some subtle reminders in front of some potential sellers that I want to get the listings on which has become ultra competitive in my farm area.”

“I ordered 300 jumbo postcards using the recipe content for the first time this past week. They just hit mailboxes and one of the seller’s I’ve been working for 6 months called after getting the postcard to say they are finally are ready to list!”

These direct mailers do work because you can really target your audience and message! I was very pleased with this latest postcard.”

Scott’s Latest Marketing Purchases –Recipe Content Cards, Just Listed postcards

Winner of Our $250 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card is – Laci & Tim Crabtree

Laci shared her experiences using ProspectsPLUS! with the following feedback.

“ProspectsPLUS! is super easy to use. They have a ton of templates already created for you to choose from or you can upload your own design, and everything is customizable.”

“I have called customer service a couple times and they are always very friendly and helpful.

Laci’s Latest Marketing Purchases – Holiday Series, DIY Series, Sphere Series, Upload Your Own  

Take the lead from Scott and Laci and send at least 100 direct mail Marketing postcards to an area where you want more buyers or sellers!

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

your first phone call to an online lead, real estate
What do they really want?

Why would a real estate consumer give his or her personal contact information to you by filling out a lead form on your website?

Follow the question to the most logical answer. They are contacting you because they want information on a home or because they want to talk to you about selling their home, right?

Now, consider this: 78 percent of homebuyers visit three or more real estate websites before taking an action on one of them, according to the NAR and Google “Digital House Hunt” study.

That means the consumer who is contacting you may have already visited three or more other sites and may, or may not, have also contacted those agents.

Rapid response is the key

That 35 to 50 percent of sales go to the agent who responds first is an oft-quoted statistic, although we haven’t been able to trace it to its origin. But, what if it is accurate?

Since the chances are pretty good that the consumer has also contacted another agent, taking your time responding is like handing your competition a couple thousand dollars.

How rapid is rapid?Realtor marketing postcards for neighborhood updates

Call within five minutes for the best chance at actually reaching the prospect. Wait five hours and your chances of reaching them plummet 3,000 percent, according to the results of a study published at forbes.com.

Oh, by the way, not only are your chances of reaching the lead optimal within 5 minutes of receipt, but conversion rates are too. Even waiting half an hour diminishes those chances 21 times.

So, what happens if you don’t reach the lead? Keep trying, suggests Ani Stepanian, Senior Marketing Director for luxury real estate brand Mercer Vine. In fact, she said you should keep trying for the next 10 days.

“You will probably feel like you shouldn’t make that extra call or send that extra text, but it might make the difference between getting a deal and missing out on one,” Stepanian says at Forbes.com.

So, don’t worry about pestering the person. After all, he or she was the one who initiated the conversation in the first place.

What will I say?

Veteran agents typically don’t have a problem with this, but new agents and introverts struggle with what to say during this initial contact.

First, let’s take a look at what not to say: anything self-promotional. Instead, prepare yourself for the call by having the listing the lead inquired about in front of you. Ensure it’s still on the market and quickly familiarize yourself with its location and details.

Plan on keeping the call brief, informative and non-threatening.

Free Report for Real Estate Marketing to sellers

Your main goal, however, is to listen.

“Hi Ben, this is Gail Superagent with Main Street Realty. I’m following up on your inquiry at my website about a home for sale. How can I help?”

Pay close attention

to what the prospect tells you and the questions he or she asks. If it feels right to stay on the phone longer, offer some soft, probing questions.

  • “When do you plan on moving?”
  • “Do you need to sell your current home first”
  • “Have you seen a lender about a mortgage?”
  • “Are you looking exclusively in the Pleasant Knolls neighborhood or are there others you like as well?”

Get the lead’s permission to follow up by email, perhaps asking if he or she is interested in receiving alerts about homes that fit their needs. Offer incentives here, too, such as a Neighborhood Update postcard for the Pleasant Knolls neighborhood. Or offer to mail them the Free Report, “5 Sure-Fire Tips For a Quick Home Sale”.

Incentives are ideal ways to get email addresses. And always, always, include at least one testimonial in each email.

Online leads are hot if you get to them quickly, so don’t wait.

By the way, if you want to generate some listings, don’t just send Neighborhood update postcards to your online leads.
Realtor marketing postcards for neighborhood updates with a free offerSend at least 100 Neighborhood Update (Free Offer) postcards to an area where you want more listings.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list 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 2 free ways we can help you CRUSH IT in 2018!

1.  The 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, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here

2. 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

Also…check out these cool tools 

 Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero. BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too (now that’s what I’m talking about)!

how to get hyper-local with your real estate blog posts
Rank Higher in Search & Get More Traffic

Ok, are you ready for the “duh” remark of the year?

Real estate is local.

Sure, it’s a well-known fact, but reading through some agents’ websites and blog posts, it seems as if many in the industry have forgotten this fact.

If you hope to compete against the “big guns” to reach the first page of Google, you need to get hyper-local. And, we happen to have three easy tips to get you started.

 Help out your SEO with local titles

We recently read an article about SEO on a website that sells IDX sites to agents. The author suggested teasing your blog posts on your homepage – adding snippets of several to get folks to hop over to your blog to read more.

Good suggestion. The example he showed, however, included titles such as “When is the right time to sell?” and “6 tips for first-time homebuyers.”

Really? Not only are neither of these titles compelling, they lack a local focus. At the very least the agent should have included the name of her town in the titles: “When is the right time to sell your Anytown condo?” “6 tips for first-time homebuyers in Anytown.”Neighborhood Update Agent update Homes for sale and sold

Don’t just toss out national statistics

Here’s an example of a recent post we read on an agent’s site about spring home maintenance.

“This time of year tends to have more rainfall than any other season. Did you know that for every one-inch of rainfall on a 1,000 square foot roof, you will collect 600 gallons of water? That is why so many homeowners across the U.S. have chosen to install rain barrels to take advantage of this great resource and use it for their landscaping.”

Although there’s some great information in this post, the agent has blown the perfect opportunity to stand out by offering hyper-local information. There is nothing in that passage that speaks to the reader who lives in this guy’s market.

Don’t just grab and use national statistics; take some extra time to localize them to your area. For example, the aforementioned agent works in the Rochester, NY area. He would serve his readers so much better had he taken an additional five minutes to research his local area’s rainfall average.

We did, and we learned that Rochester gets about 11.5 inches of rain each spring, on average. So, the new and improved section would read:

“Get ready to take advantage of those spring showers. Did you know that every 1-inch of rainfall on a 1,000 square-foot roof results in 600 gallons of water? Here in Rochester, with our average 11.5 inches of rain in the spring, that means you could collect 6,900 gallons of water each spring.

Smart homeowners across Rochester are realizing this and installing rain barrels to tap into this amazing, free resource to use on their landscaping. You can purchase your barrels at Joe’s Hardware (123 Main St.), Home Depot (3000 No Name Ave.) and even online at Amazon.com.”

Not only did we localize the statistics, but we added local places to buy the rain barrels. His readers won’t find that information on Zillow.

Photos matter too

The occasional stock image on your site is fine, but when it’s completely filled with them, and little local photography, your site becomes anonymous. Even if you take the photos yourself, use as many easily-identified landmarks as possible.

Then, ensure that the images are optimized with ALT attributes for local search. Describe what the image is and “include relevant keywords,” suggests Shane Barker at BrightLocal.

“For local SEO, you should include the city/locality/region you’re targeting when creating the ALT attributes,” he continues. Here’s an example of what Barker is referring to:

img alt=”Anytown Mulberry Hill Homes for Sale”

Just as real estate is local, so goes search, at least if you hope to rank in the search engines. The more local you get on your site, the better your chances.Free Report agent opt in tool.

Another way to serve the traffic landing on your Blog is to offer a Free Report such as, 5 Facts That Drive a Successful Home Sale”  in exchange for their email address.
Order this Report today so you have some on hand for open houses, listing presentations and more.
Stand out from the crowd and show them YOU’RE the expert!

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list 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 2 free ways we can help you CRUSH IT in 2018!

1.  The 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, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here

2. 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

Also…check out these cool tools 

Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero (BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too, now that’s what I’m talking about)!