Thursday, April 25, 2024

Lisa Gray

677 POSTS 0 COMMENTS
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.

    What do you tell people when they ask what you do for a living?

    “I’m in real estate” is a common answer to the question. So is “I’m a real estate agent (or REALTOR®). Sure, those are answers to the question, but they aren’t exactly memorable.

    Here’s how to craft a real estate agent elevator pitch that will make you unforgettable.

    20 to 30 seconds

    According to a Princeton University study, people form an opinion based on facial appearance within one-tenth of one second. Pass that test and then you’ll have a mere 20 to 30 seconds to wow them with your real estate elevator pitch.

    Yup, it’s not much time, but if you can squeeze vital home information into the puny word count the MLS allows, you can certainly sell yourself in half of a minute.

    It’s a tool you’ll use a lot

    From responding to online leads to introducing yourself at cocktail parties and in marketing materials, a real estate elevator pitch is something you’ll find quite useful.

    I love NextDoor.com, especially when a neighbor posts that he or she is looking for a real estate agent. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to see a really compelling response from agents. And, even sadder is that the agent responses are so similar they could be mistaken to have come from the same person.

    “I go the extra mile” and “I go above and beyond” are common refrains. If that is your USP as well, please, do the industry a favor and dump it.

    Agents can buy a NextDoor Neighborhood Sponsorship and, in my neighborhood at least, only three have done so. What they pay for, is an ad that looks like this (image left):

    I haven’t come across an agent-sponsored ad yet that answers the questions suggested by the platform. Yet, they pay for the space.

    Here’s a Sponsorship ad from another business (image right):

    This phone and computer repair person understands the value of what he’s paying for and uses the space for all it’s worth with his or her elevator pitch.

    Create your own real estate agent elevator pitch

    “You know [the real estate pain point]? Well, I [solution]. In fact, [proof].”

    That’s the formula for the ideal elevator pitch, according to author Allan Dib. “Good marketing takes the prospect through a journey that covers the problem, the solution and, finally, the proof,” according to Dibs.

    Keep it quick. Keep it simple. Ensure it’s not too promotional.

    Put in real estate terms, Dibs’ formula may look like this:

    “You know how people who want to buy a home are having a hard time finding one? What we do is reach out to the homeowners in our database with a list of our buyers’ needs. This has been so successful that we have found homes for 25 of these clients just in the past 30 days.”

    Go ahead and plug your elevator pitch into the formula or feel free to steal ours, if it fits.


    Another way to grab your audience’s attention and keep it is with a Real Estate Times Series Campaign. The Real Estate Times Series has timely real estate news and statistics that is of value to homeowners.

    Did you know, the Real Estate Times Scheduled Campaign is currently on sale for 10% OFF the first month?

    Real Estate Times Scheduled Campaign (shown above). Learn more, HERE

    TO LAUNCH A REAL ESTATE TIMES CAMPAIGN:

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

    USE PROMO CODE: TIMES10 to get 10% Off at check out.

    And, remember, YOU DON’T PAY for each mailing until it actually goes out (cancel or change each mailing up until the night before it goes out). This sale expires 9/4/21.

    Launch a Real Estate Times Scheduled Campaign now, CLICK HERE!

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


    PLUS: When you have time…below are some helpful tools to support your success.

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

    The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here

    2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

    The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals.  – Click Here

    3. The Automated Way to Become a Neighborhood Brand

    Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

    4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Real-Estate-Mailing-List-Guide2-3-D-999x1024.jpg

    The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here

    5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook 

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Become-A-Listing-Legend-3D-Book-White-274x300.jpg

    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

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is ROI-calculator-b-233x300.jpg

    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” 

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is CRUSH-IT-Guide-3-d-298x300.jpg

    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

      Shown above: Jennifer Penrose’s recent Upload Your Own postcard design. Learn more HERE

      Congratulations, Jennifer Penrose you are the winner of this week’s $120 gift card!

      Jennifer had the following words to say about her success using ProspectsPLUS! marketing materials as part of her strategic marketing plan to get more clients,

      “I absolutely love my custom folders, ProspectsPLUS! did a great job. I also like the fact that you can upload your own design. Working on my postcards next!”

      Thank You, Jennifer!


      NEW CONTEST: Get the FIRST MONTH of Any Scheduled Campaign FOR FREE! ($120 value)

      FARM, Get More Listings Series Scheduled Campaign shown above. Learn more, HERE
      Enter this week’s contest for a chance to win a $120 gift card covering the first month of ANY Scheduled Campaign.

      The scheduled campaign includes 150 jumbo-sized postcards, sent standard postage (excluding data and tax. Includes only the first month free of a new campaign).

      HOW TO ENTER: Just leave a review regarding how using marketing from ProspectsPLUS! has impacted your business, and you’re automatically entered into our next contest.

      Mention a “scheduled campaign you’ve launched” in your review and your entry into the contest is doubled.

      Leave a review on Google, HERE.
      Leave a review on Facebook, HERE.

      Don’t forget to watch out for next Friday’s email announcing the weekly winner!


      Ready to Schedule an SOI, Farm, Get More Listing, Holiday or Absentee Owner Campaign?

      Animal Series Scheduled Campaign shown above, learn more HERE
      Launch a Scheduled Campaign today and save time on your marketing by automating it!

      You Can Launch a Scheduled Campaign to any of the following Markets in Just Minutes:

      Sphere of Influence
      Geographic Farm
      Just Sold Follow-up
      Holiday
      Renters
      Absentee Owners
      Expireds
      FSBOs
      Fence Sitters*
      Get More Listings*
      Empty Nesters*
      Move-Up Market*

      (*Located under Farm Campaigns)

      And, remember, YOU DON’T PAY for each mailing until it actually goes out (cancel or change each mailing up until the night before mailing goes out. The price shown at check out is per mailing, not campaign total).

      TO GET STARTED:

      STEP 1: Create your prospect list using our mailing list tools, HERE.

      STEP 2: Then, once you have your list, choose your Campaign, select your start date, and add your list, HERE or hit “Launch a Scheduled Campaign”, below.

      Launch a Scheduled Campaign now, CLICK HERE!

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

        It’s safe to assume that most home sellers and buyers don’t know the meaning of “LTV,” they may have never used the word “contingency”, and the word “title” is just a name of a book.

        Studies show that the average adult reads at a 9th-grade level and that we actually prefer our reading material to be at a 7th-grade level.

        The words you choose to use on your website, in your listing descriptions, and direct mail pieces can make or break the visitor’s or recipient’s experience.

        The good news is that writing for an audience of everyday people isn’t at all like what you learned in high school or college. It’s easier, and it’s more fun.

        1. Ditch the insider lingo

        Unless your audience consists solely of other real estate professionals, using real estate lingo is like writing in a foreign language to an English-only reader. Check out this real-life example:

        “If you’re buying a home and apply for a mortgage, one critical factor in

        whether you secure financing is your loan-to-value ratio.

        There’s no crime in using normal, everyday American English. So, let’s redo it:

        Something you’ve probably never heard of may stand between you and the interest rate of your dreams: The loan-to-value ratio, or LTV for short.  Welcome to the world of real estate, my friend, this is just the beginning of a list of terms you’ll be hearing a lot in the months to come. So, what is the LTV?”

        Don’t’ assume that your reader understands commonly-used words and acronyms used in real estate, such as LTV, CMA, contingency, addendum, consideration, and one that we see frequently in the current market, absorption rate.

        Take the time to explain them, in plain, friendly English.

        2. Why so overly-formal?

        “Remember that the basic rule of vocabulary is to use the first word that comes to your mind if it is appropriate and colorful,” author Stephen King cautions in his book “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.”

        Let’s take another look at our first example. Check out the formal-yet-clunky vocabulary. “Critical factor” can easily be replaced with “an important factor” and “secure financing” should be changed to “get a loan.”

        After all, when one of your clients gets the mortgage he wants, that’s exactly how he describes it: “I got a mortgage,” not “I obtained” “procured” or “secured financing.”

        Take off your real estate hat for a minute and imagine that you’re a consumer, wanting to buy a house. You run across this on an agent’s website or a direct mail piece:

        “Our agents will apply their extensive community knowledge and professional

        resources to find your dream home.”

        Is there anything in that sentence that would make you pick up your phone and ask to hire one of their agents? All we can imagine is sitting in a car, hour after hour, with someone who speaks like this.

        No thanks.

        Consider replacing some of the most common formalities you find in real estate blogs and other written content:

        • “Use our services” rather than “utilize” them.
        •  “Talk about the process” instead of “discussing” it.
        • Dare we suggest this one? “home loan” instead of “mortgage.”
        • Finally, can we all agree that “real estate” and “properties” are things investors buy and that everyday people buy homes, condos, houses?

        An engaging, friendly writing style will help potential clients get to know and like you, and offering them valuable information in an easy-to-understand form gets their trust.

        Use the same, short, easy-to-understand sentences you use when speaking with a friend and you’ll be on your way.


        DID YOU KNOW WE’RE HAVING A WE HEART YOU 10% OFF POSTCARD SALE?

        BUT ONLY FOR 3 MORE DAYS!

        Use Promo Code – HEART10 

        at check out to take advantage of this limited-time offer (excludes postage, data, EDDM, and scheduled campaigns).

        Hurry! This offer expires Saturday, August 31st at midnight!

        GO NOW, CLICK HERE!

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


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

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

        The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here

        2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

        The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals.  – Click Here

        3. Become a Neighborhood Brand

        Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a NEW 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically every month to an exclusive carrier route (membership includes your own online Homes & Life Agent Magazine). Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

        4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

        This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Real-Estate-Mailing-List-Guide2-3-D-999x1024.jpg

        The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here

        5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook 

        This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Become-A-Listing-Legend-3D-Book-White-274x300.jpg

        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

        This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is ROI-calculator-b-233x300.jpg

        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” 

        This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is CRUSH-IT-Guide-3-d-298x300.jpg

        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

          Some days are diamonds, some days just downright stink. The good news is that you can take the stinky ones and make them better, more productive, happier and, even more tolerable.

          You don’t need gobs of cash or even a lot of time to change your day for the better. All you need is the desire and will to put simple strategies into action.

          1. Develop an attitude of gratitude

          Barbara Koltuska-Haskin, Ph.D., neuropsychologist, and author of “How my Brain Works” suggests that you prevent having a lousy day as soon as you wake up in the morning.

          Practice gratitude.

          Keep a journal next to the bed and, every morning, record several things, people, situations, etc. for which you are grateful. Can’t think of anything? How about the fact that you woke up? Add to that any of the other conditions of your life that make you better off than others in the world.

          Journaling once or twice a week for six weeks leads to happiness and it just so happens that happiness leads to success.

          “Happy individuals are predisposed to seek out and undertake new goals in life and this reinforces positive emotions, said Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D.

          “Happy people are more likely to achieve favorable life circumstances,” she concludes.

          2. Then, set aside “me” time before you start the day

          “It is important to take time for yourself in the morning,” according to Koltuska. If you enjoy exercising, this is the perfect time for it.

          “Physical activity may help bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins,” said the staff at mayoclinic.org. It doesn’t take jogging or working out at the gym to achieve a rush of endorphins, either.

          “… any aerobic activity, such as a nature hike, can contribute to this same feeling,” they continue.

          Plan a morning neighborhood walk before you begin your workday.

          3. Make prioritizing a habit

          Most real estate agents have more tasks to accomplish than a day has hours. Stop attempting the impossible and prioritize accomplishing the three to five most important tasks to get done each day.

          “Setting the right kind of goals not only lifts our performance but also makes us feel good,” according to Caroline Webb, author of “How to Have a Good Day: Harness the Power of Behavioral Science to Transform Your Working Life.”

          What’s a “right kind of goal?” Something important, that will impact your business or life. Have at least one of these goals on your list and, at the end of the day, achieving that goal (or making a big dent in it) will bring you a sense of accomplishment according to Leo Babauta at zenhabits.net.

          The number of goals you set is important as well. “Have a full schedule today? Cut it in half. You don’t need to do everything on that list,” said Babauta.

          “If you cut your list down and do only half the things you want to do for today, you’ll have a much better day.”

          Here’s hoping that tomorrow is your best day yet!


          DID YOU KNOW WE’RE HAVING A WE HEART YOU 10% OFF POSTCARD SALE?

          Use Promo Code – HEART10 

          at check out to take advantage of this limited-time offer (excludes postage, data, EDDM, and scheduled campaigns).

          Hurry! This offer expires Saturday, August 31st at midnight!

          GO NOW, CLICK HERE!

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


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

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

          The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here

          2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

          The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals.  – Click Here

          3. Become a Neighborhood Brand

          Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

          4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

          This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Real-Estate-Mailing-List-Guide2-3-D-999x1024.jpg

          The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here

          5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook 

          This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Become-A-Listing-Legend-3D-Book-White-274x300.jpg

          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

          This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is ROI-calculator-b-233x300.jpg

          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” 

          This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is CRUSH-IT-Guide-3-d-298x300.jpg

          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