4 Steps to Goal Setting Success

Dec 26, 2016

Creating Your Own New Normal for 2017

By Todd Robertson

If you’re like a lot of top agents, right about now you’re analyzing everything you did in past twelve months to get you to this point and asking yourself a few questions:

What worked and what didn’t?
Did my actions support my goals?
Did I earn what I’m worth?
Did I take personal responsibility for my success or failures?

By carefully analyzing the past you can discover the elements that you can take into the new year and create
your own new “normal”. In other words – you can advance your game, play at a higher level, and avoid the pitfalls and hurdles you’ve already cleared to excel faster and with hopefully a few less headaches!

As you approach the new year, many of you are in the process of goal setting. Let me share a four step system for goals that is used by some of the top performing entrepreneurs in the world. It’s called the DOME strategy. Here’s what that stands for:

D – Stands for Decide. If you look up one of the definitions of the word decision, you’ll find that it means to “cut off from”. That’s step one for creating your new normal. What things should you cut yourself off from that aren’t working or haven’t
worked for you this year? Whether that be a mindset, a skill, or a system, what can you unplug, cut off, or change up that will increase your success in the new year.
O – Stands for Outstanding. There’s never been a more important time to play at an outstanding level. That means to surround yourself with the best people, strategies, solutions and systems in our industry. Model your choices on those of top producers. Duplicate excellence.
M – Stands for Momentum. Now’s the time to take the stance that what gets scheduled – gets DONE. That’s how you build momentum. By cutting out the things that don’t work. By plugging in new systems and solutions that drive your business in smarter ways. By blocking your time so that you can streamline your processes – as well as schedule those
things that help you create balance.
E – Stands for Tell Everyone. Once you’ve set your goals for the next twelve months, it’s time to tell everyone. If you’re goal is 10 salable listings in your pipeline at all times or to own a geographic farm – tell everyone you know. Put public pressure on yourself to hit those goals. People will help you when you do. They’ll support you. Remind you. Work with you to make them happen. Then commit to doing whatever it takes to make those goals happen.

Next, remember to be BOTH a Hunter and a Farmer. Top agents realize they have to both aggressively prospect as well as create opportunities for lead generation by branding themselves in a geographic farm. In fact, I just spoke with a great new Market Dominator customer, who will finish this year with 100 closings. I asked him why he decided to use the Dominator to brand himself in the markets he’s going after for the new year. He told me it was because he needed to raise the bar. Because he was capable of helping more people than he was currently helping and he was committed to doing that. That’s why he chose to use the 12 x 15 Dominator as his marketing tool. It’s a statement that tells potential sellers in his farm area that he’s serious about marketing. Serious about getting results. Here’s what’s interesting: 90% or more of the agents in your market won’t be willing to make that commitment. Most will continue to do what has always been done and get the results that they’ve always gotten. But some of you? Will step outside the norm to create a new normal. Some of you will raise your standards, raise your skill levels, and raise your commitment. And in the process – you’ll go beyond what’s always been done to develop a career that others will emulate.

Ready to create your new normal and put a plan in place to take 2017 by storm? Go for it. Remember that we’re here if you need anything. Call our team at 866-405.3638! That’s what we do best!

Tracking Your Results…

Nov 8, 2016

Taking the Guesswork Out of Real Estate Marketing

By Julie Escobar

You’ve got to love technology right? As real estate professionals in today’s competitive world, every marketing step counts – and every marketing dollar is important. We get that. That’s why we put systems in place to track 100% of all postcard and mailing orders. That way, you know what’s been delivered, when there’s an issue and exactly when you can start following up on your important real estate marketing mailing.

Here’s a quick video to show you how it works:

As you kick your marketing and momentum into high gear – here are four things you should know:

1. Track My Mail is a Resource You Can Trust. We know that every dollar counts and you want to know that your marketing is not only being sent, but is being delivered. We want the same. Every time you place an order, you will be sent a link when that order is shipped so you can track your mail every step of the way. When we deliver it to the post office, when and where it’s routed, and when it gets delivered. That way you’ve got total confidence that your marketing is working for you. There’s no extra cost, no fuss, no questions. We’ve got you covered.

2. There are LOTS of options available. Marketing is a big decision for agents today, and budgets are a giant factor. We’ve got tools that can match any budget, and can help you reach as far or as limited a target as you are comfortable with. From Every Door Direct options that allow you to blanket entire geographic areas, to Just Listed/Just Sold Postcards which are a foundation for any real estate marketing plan, to the collateral pieces you need for fair trade items, blog fodder, consumer friendly website downloads and presentation content and more. We can work with you one-on-one to meet your budget and extend your reach with ease.

3. By real estate professionals for real estate professionals. With our organization, you’ll know that your marketing is being written and produced by people who have long ties and experience in this industry we love. We’re constantly watching market trends so we can keep you on the cutting edge when it comes to always having the right piece for the right person at the right time. It’s the difference – that makes all the difference.

4. Totally editable. We get that creating is HARD and clicking is EASY. That’s why we try to do as much of the ‘heavy lifting’ as possible so that when you choose your marketing materials – be they real estate postcards, newsletters, flyers, brochures, or even kits – you don’t HAVE to change a thing if you don’t want to. You can simply have our system apply your contact and profile information and go – but if you want? You can totally change whatever you like. Change the words. The images. Upload your own piece even. Flexibility is key in today’s busy world. You have our commitment to continuously make that an easy solution.

Get started today!

We know that a successful agent is a busy agent. And time – is really of the essence. So giving you the options, materials, resources and support you need is our top priority. Call us today at 866.405.3638 and speak to one of our marketing professionals about building your book of business this year. We’ve got just what you need to succeed.

Finding and Fueling the Right Marketing Lists for Your Business

Oct 24, 2016

Then Putting the Who, What, and When Together

By Julie Escobar

As we head into the final months of the year, a lot of agents are already wisely getting into planning mode. One sticking point that stumps a lot of real estate professionals is building the right marketing lists to fuel their pipeline of business. Let’s take a look at some simple strategies to put into place:

Sphere, Farm, Niche – it’s the real estate agent’s version of lather, rinse, and repeat. Success in this business stems from staying in touch, staying positioned, and top of mind for the folks in all three. I’m often asked by agents, “Where do I start?” The obvious is ‘the sphere’, aka – your sphere of influence or book of business.

Now, if I had a dollar for every agent that said ‘no” when asked if they had ever taken the time to actually put their sphere (those people that already know you, like you, trust you, and would do business with you) into a database, I could buy a very large piece of property – like an island or something! So don’t let yourself fall into THAT category! Savvy agents understand that their best customers, are the ones they’ve built and nurtured relationships with consistently. Who should be in in your sphere? Family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, past clients – and all those folks whose lives you touch and touch yours back.

Sphere: For a list of 250 people that SHOULD be in your book of business, download a pdf of our BusinessBASE^TM at no cost today. Then make THIS the week you make putting YOUR sphere into a working, viable, referral-generating database. Need help inputting all the data? There are lots of college students home for the summer already that would be perfect for that kind of task. Or hire a Virtual Assistant for the project. Your highest and best use of time is prospecting, presenting, and closing – so gather up the data – and delegate it to someone to make it happen.

Four great marketing pieces for your sphere:

Holiday postcards – there’s something every month that can be sent as a friendly hello.
Recipe cards – many agents swear by these as customer ‘keepers’.
Newsletters – these powerful tools are perfect for connecting with your sphere.
Content cards – these are content-rich, consumer-friendly postcards filled to the brim with valuable information that people love.

Farm: Pick an area – but not just ANY area. I asked Coach Todd Robertson for a little how-to advice for agents on choosing the right farm area for them. He shared, “I work with a lot of agents to help them really fine tune what area they want to market. Even if you find a geographic farm that you think works for you location wise with commission-friendly price ranges, you still need to be mindful of two other factors: The turn-over rate, and the competition. Ideally, we want to help position you to receive a 20% market share in a geo farm. If you start in a farm where another agent already has that or higher, you’re going to work much harder and have to be at it longer to see the results you’re seeking. Finding an area where any one agent has less than 10% market share is preferable, or if you see an area where a previously aggressive agent has slowed or stopped their marketing. In terms of turnover rate, ideally you want a one that is at least 10-15%. You can easily determine the turnover rate by dividing the number of homes in the farm by the number of homes which have sold.” That’s a great starting point. So take a snapshot of your market area – look at the neighborhoods that may fit that criteria close to you, then use our MapMyMail^SM system to easily capture mailings lists from those areas. You can choose a radial search by address, or choose to search by zip code or counties. Talk to your broker, look at your options – then map out your marketing list! Once you have that – then remember to stay CONSISTENTLY in touch with these folks – month after month. For a great read and more tips from Todd – read The Smart Scoop on Geographic Farming.

Three great tools for connecting with your farm:

Neighborhood Update/Free Offer series: People want two things: to know the agent they work with can get results – and that they have the resources they need. These cards present you as the agent with both!
Listing Inventory Series: These postcards speak to the mindset of potential sellers with the right questions and direct response offers.
The Market Dominator: For agents serious about dominating a geographic farm and earning a 20% market share. This powerful, direct-response piece is 12×15 and attention grabbing. It also takes advantage of Every Door Direct Mail, so the cost is even more affordable.

Niche: Top agents don’t stop at just marketing to a sphere and farm. They specialize in a demographic that resonates with them.

Here are some ideas for working a niche:

Investors: Use our MapMyMail^SM – choose the demographic search option, then custom, then choose records with a household income of $150,000 or higher. You can also look for REI or REIA websites to learn more about real estate investors. Use our Investor Series postcards to reach out to these lists each month.
FSBOS & Expireds: There are great services such as LandVoice that offer data for FSBOs & Expireds in market areas all across North America. Use our 7 Series for FSBOs or Expireds – send 3-7 postcards in rapid succession (every 3-5 days) as soon as you see a new prospect for these demographics, offer a free report such as 5 Factors That Cause a Property Not to Sell, and follow up after you’ve sent the postcards with a direct response offer. Offer to perform a Merchandising Review to ensure that the home gets sold for the best possible price in the fastest possible time.
First Time Home Buyers: Use the MapMyMail^SM system to find local renters. Offer a variety of free reports such as How to Save for a Down Payment, or Top Ten Checklist for Choosing an Agent. Send our First time home buyer/renter series of postcards monthly with a fair trade offer to connect.
Seniors: You can use that same MapMyMail^SM technology to find Baby Boomers and older. Send our Senior series of postcards to these fine folks!
Get creative: From motorcycle enthusiasts, to local sports team members, to boaters, to farmers, and everything in between. Finding the group of people that you really connect with and would love to serve and work with is a great way to get continuously better as an agent and build a powerful referral network. You can edit our holiday, inspiration, recipe, content cards, or even image series to alter your message for each and every demographic.

We also have powerful Specialty Data Selects Using Nielsen’s PRIZM Codes available on the site to help you tap into incredibly detailed data segments to help make their marketing easier – and more effective. What is PRIZM segmentation? According to Nielsen, “Segmentation links your customer data with household-level and neighborhood-level demographics, syndicated survey and primary research data to reveal exactly what types of consumers are currently using your products or services. Any customer files, lists or survey data with complete addresses or at least a ZIP code can be coded with Nielsen’s segmentation systems. This allows you to identify your best prospect segments with the greatest efficiency for effective marketing strategies that align with marketplace demands.”

Smart, right? So what does that mean to YOU as a real estate professional? It means that marketing just got more interesting. See our Nielsen PRIZM options here.

For all three marketing avenues – your sphere, farm, and niche – be sure to connect every 28-45 days consistently to ensure that you maintain that top-of-mind awareness. Armed with your database and marketing materials, and a reminder system to FOLLOW up with the folks in each will give you the competitive edge in your market that will allow you to develop and maintain a long and prosperous career. Ready, set – GO!

Need help getting started? Contact our marketing professionals today at 866.405.3638. They are an amazing resource – and they truly care about your success. Happy Listing!

Great Customer Care Equals Long Term Results

Oct 10, 2016

An Interview with REALTOR Eric Hardy

by Julie Escobar

As we head into holidays and turn our eyes towards the new year ahead, I was eager to get back to some basics by sharing agents stories of best practices for building solid businesses. Customer care and attention to detail are two factors that are critical keys to success for top performers. To tackle that topic, I touched base with my old friend and awesome agent Eric Hardy who put customer care on the top of his priority list. Here’s an excerpt from our interview:

Q: Hey Eric – thanks for sharing with us today. Before we jump in, can you tell the readers a little about yourself?

A: Yes, I am 45 years old, married, and a father of two. I have been in the wedding business for over twenty years, and recently decided to go back into real estate after a 15 year break. I currently work for Dennis Realty in Lutz, Florida.

Q: You’ve recently re-entered the real estate game. What do you feel is the most important strategy for fast-tracking a successful first year ahead?

A: A positive attitude, a genuine love for what we do. You have to enjoy your wok because it shows to people when you do, and when you don’t. We get to help people with a major event in their life.

Q: How are you building your sphere of influence and staying top of mind with them?

A: Nowadays social media is key, and understanding the power of it. Along with keeping in touch with people with even just a simple phone call to see how they are. I always tell everyone what I do for a living. When they think real estate, I want them to think of me.

Q: What advice would you give other new agents for hitting the ground running?

A: Get as much training and education as you can, knowledge is power. Be humble and listen to advice from people older and younger. And most importantly put the time in, and try new things till you learn what works best for you. Don’t skip on the traditional marketing tools that work either. Just Listed and Just Sold postcards always have been a staple in our industry for a reason — they work. They help market you as an agent, your listings, and your business.

Q: Do you belong to a mentor or networking group in which you can share ideas?

A: I work for a great company. We all sit at a round table once a week and discuss marketing plans, odd questions and different scenario’s agents come across. This way when we see a new situation or issue we are prepared.

Q: You were in the wedding business, are you transitioning those clients and customers into your sphere and do you see a niche market there for yourself as an agent?

A: Yes, absolutely. Most of my couples once they are married their next major life event is usually buying a home. After working with me on their wedding they see that I am competent, intelligent and easy to work with. I want their home buying experience to be a stress free and fun, the same as planning their wedding. There are bumps in the road you may run into, but we are here to help you through that. And thank you for letting me be part of your big day, and part of a major event in your life.

Q: How important is servicing and staying connected with your customer base to you?

A: It is crucial. One thing I really liked about the REALTOR that helped me buy my home, is he still keeps in touch. I get an email at least once a month and every holiday, and occasionally see him around town and he is genuinely happy we love our home. I strive to give that level of customer service everyday. Monthly postcards, phone calls, and social media make it easy to stay in touch in today’s world. Your customer base is going to be your strongest line of referrals. Always take good care of them even when the transaction is completed, stay in touch!

Q: Are you working a geographic farm? If so – what are you doing that’s working?

A: For me I work best face to face with people. I love to knock on doors, talk to people in my area. I get into conversations with them, and have even made friends and have gotten to know some really great people. The person in front of you may not be buying or selling, but if they like you they will put you in touch with anyone they know who is. Treat every person with kindness, people always do business with people they like. We are not just trying to find the next “sale” but building a career helping good people.

Q: How can people reach out to you with referrals?

A: I am always available by phone or email, seven days a week. You can reach me anytime at 813-770-2150 or at Hardysline@verizon.net, if you just have a question I can help you with.

Thanks Eric for your time and your advice for what’s working in your corner of the world! Agents love to learn from other agents. I so appreciate your sharing your experience.

Need help marketing YOUR real estate business? Contact our team at 866.405.3638 today or visit www.prospectsplus.com.

How to Cultivate Your Brand

Sep 12, 2016

3 Steps to Showing Up & Creating a Connection

By Julie Escobar

Raise your hand if you’ve ever sent a marketing mailing to a list of folks that don’t know you yet and got discouraged when you didn’t get a call. It’s frustrating for sure, but it is also one of the biggest marketing mistakes an agent can make. One and done has never been a recipe for success and in today’s world of over media saturation, it is certainly not the time to re-test that theory. Bottom line? Branding takes TIME. Repetition. Consistency. And follow up.

That’s the heart of farming, and just like traditional farming, the success goes to those who systematically plant the seeds, cultivate the crops and later reap what they have sown. Then repeat the process for as long as they want to continue to effectively farm. For agents the process is much the same.

Step One: Stake your claim. Start with a plot or a geographic neighborhood area that is…

Starting to see turnover
Has a high homeowner vs renter ratio
Does not have another agent already dominating market share
Has a price point that makes sense for your area

Step Two: Plant the seeds. For effective geo-farming, your monthly marketing should…

Capture people’s interest
Offers valuable content and fair trade items
Present you as the neighborhood specialist and real estate expert
Showcase your consistency and professionalism

Three of the most popular tools that many customers use to do this effectively are our:

Market Dominator System (Done for you content, 12×16 size, Every Door Direct Mail)
Neighborhood Update/Free Offer Series (Combines market stats and a fair trade offer)
Listing Inventory Series (Prompts action based on market conditions)

Step Three: Follow up. The best agents aren’t leaving anything to chance. They know that just as their marketing tools are the ‘seeds’ for market share success, they must also cultivate that farm with personalized attention. Here are some great examples of cultivation activities:

Walk your farm area with powerful collateral material. Our Market Dominator customers use their extra 20 Dominators. You can also use Free Reports or offer to do a Free Comparative Market Analysis.
Set up a meet-and-greet either at the local community center, library or even coffee shop to let neighbors in that area know you are there with answers to their questions.
Use a gentle approach. Instead of the “have you thought about selling your house” as your opening line, just introduce yourself. Let people know you’re in the area. Explain that during this changing time, a lot of people have questions and you just wanted to let folks know how they can find the answer when they need them.
Invite to an open house. Once you get a listing, be aggressive about hosting open houses in that neighborhood and inviting all the neighbors in.
Have some fun connecting! Bookmark our Master Marketing Schedule today and see all the fun and creative ways you can make a GREAT impression on the folks in your marketplace and have a great time doing it.

Once you’ve done all three, start over again. Branding and earning market share is much more of a long game – a marathon rather than a spring. But in the end, you’ll reap what you sow. Keep consistent. Talk to people. Make your face and name they think of when the idea of real estate pops into their head. That way? You are positioned perfectly as the one to call when they are ready to buy or sell or know of someone who is.

When should you start? The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll start seeing results. Plant those seeds. We can help. Call our team at 866.405.3638 today or head over to www.prospectsplus.com and get started!

Using High Tech Data to Master Geo-Farming

May 23, 2016

Houses — Row of new residential houses in suburban neighborhood

It Happened on My Street

A Guest Blog by Brian Fox, Benutech, Inc.

It happened on my street… and I would not be surprised if you have seen it occur on yours. A for sale sign goes in the ground… and presto – soon after, more for sale signs start popping up. It’s an interesting phenomenon, but it seems to hold true in markets from coast to coast. For those reasons, you hear top real estate coaches in the industry advise their students to, “Find areas where homes are selling and market into those areas!” It works. It’s a big informational edge that increases agents marketing success rates.

So let’s take a moment and look at this turnover rate idea a bit closer. Here’s what happened on my street: no properties had been listed on my street for more than a year. Then a property went on the MLS market in June of 2015. By October, two more homes on my street went on to MLS priced similarly. All of them closed by January 2016, so in back to back months (March and April of 2016) two more homeowners on my street decided to list their properties for sale. Coincidence?

Maybe… But that’s five homes for sale on my street in the past year, when there were none listed the previous 12 months. Not only that, but within my subdivision, there is not another street that has had more than two homes listed or sold within the same time period of time. Heck, I have even entertained the thought of selling my home at the prices homes are selling at on my street! The sign posts have even got me thinking.

So in my opinion, along with the opinions of those high profile real estate coaches, it’s true… when folks see sign posts in the ground it gets them thinking… “If I could get that much for my home, I would sell”. Or, “If that home can sell for that price, and it’s smaller than mine, then mine could sell for much more…” So the bottom line: Home sales in a community seem to get the selling ball rolling! For a real estate agent, that’s a very good thing.

The only problem with turnover rate though is tracking it. There has not been an easy way to locate high rates of turnover in communities. Even if your title company or an assistant that you employ was willing to help you crunch the numbers to find the higher turnover rate areas… it’s time consuming.

That’s the reason we added the Tract Utility tool to Benutech, Inc.’s ReboGateway product.This tool instantly groups homes together by FIVE different property groupings, and displays the groups from highest turnover or sales rate to lowest rate in seconds. That’s SECONDS, not days! Not only is Tract Utility providing quick, targeted results, but it’s also grouping homes in groups small enough for agents to easily identify and utilize. Tract Utility breaks geographic areas down from Census Tracts to all the way to the housing tracts that homes are built into. What’s the most popular grouping? It’s been the “Postal Carrier Route” grouping, which is the same group of homes that the US Postal Service uses when delivering ‘Every Door Direct Mailings’ (EDDM). EDDM is the least expensive way to deliver mail, which cuts the price of mailing down to 1/3 the price of a postage stamp per door.

So as a real estate agent, where should you start? Right here: Successful farming is created by repetitive actions in the farm area. You can’t plant a seed (Mailer #1) and expect to reap large results in farming. It’s not enough care, not enough action to create a successful farm. Successful farms are created with regular, repetitive contact at properties in your farm. In crop farming the repetitive actions would be water and nutrients. In real estate, its repetitive actions of mailers, door knocks, phone calls and the delivery of valuable useful information to homeowners that creates large crops of buyers and sellers. That’s why we love working with and partnering up with our friends from ProspectsPLUS.com. We provide the data and they provide the branding tools such as the impressive Market Dominator. It’s the perfect way to brand yourself in a farm area, and make yourself a known entity and celebrity to the homeowners, by showing you care about them and the community.

But now let’s talk about technology and farming. Farms can be created in any geographic area… but farming in all geographic areas are NOT the same. Not even close. You could choose to farm in the dry, rocky soil of the desert… and if you use tons of water, shade, and constant care, you may be able to create a successful farm. But if you are smart, and chose an area of soft, fertile soil, a mild climate, in an area with lots of available water… wouldn’t you have a much better chance of creating a highly successful farm? Of course! The place you choose to begin your farming is a very important decision. The correctly chosen area will result in more successful farms that are much easier to create. So select the area that is right for you and your farming.

So don’t just choose an area to farm that is closest to where you live or work – it may be dry, rocky soil in the desert… (and so 1990’s style of real estate farming). Instead, you’ll want to crunch the numbers to find the community that has a perfect combination of…

Lack of solid presence of any one agent
high turnover rate
Solid sales prices
High homeowner saturation (as opposed to a large renter population)

This way, when you are ready to start investing in your geo farm, you know that you’ve got a market segment that has the highest potential for success. You can do this on your own with the help of your title company and spreadsheets or acquire access to www.rebogateway.com and use the Tract Utility to find fertile farming areas in your neighborhood. Use that valuable information to identify the top postal carrier routes, or top housing tracts with the highest turnover rates nearest you. Then begin your farming in these hand-picked farm areas using direct response tools such as the Market Dominator, Listing Inventory Series, or Neighborhood Update postcards from ProspectsPLUS.com, and a smart strategy of follow up via canvassing, door hangers, and phone calls, and you’ll be on track to build a successful farm that will continue to reward you with listings and referrals for years to come.

Join us for this week’s webinar “How to Pick the Perfect Geo Farm”, Thursday at 1pm Eastern. Register here.

Interested in finding out of if the Tract Utility tools and ReboGateway is right for you? Call the ReboGateway support team today at 866-887-0206 or email them today to set up a one on one demonstration at sales@benutech.com.

Interested in learning more about the ProspectsPLUS.com tools such as the Market Dominator to earn a 20% market share in the geo farm of your choice? Contact our team today at 866-405-3638 or visit us online at www.prospectsplus.com.

There’s Never Been a Better Time to Get Back to the Basics

Mar 28, 2016

Insights from the Front Line with Ramona Williams

By Julie Escobar

When it comes to knowing EXACTLY what real estate professionals, and specifically our ProspectsPLUS!
customers want and need to grow their businesses in today’s market, I knew that there was one person who would be perfect to interview. My closest friend and always one of the smartest people in the room, our Director of Business Development, Ramona Williams. With both an MBA and more thirty years of experience working with real estate agents and brokers, she’s the go-to resource for insights and ideas.

Here’s what we learned:

Q: You are on the phones with customers every day, where do you think agents are needing the most help in terms of marketing their businesses and their listings?

A: Consistency – hands down. That’s honestly where most agent’s marketing breaks down. One and done marketing doesn’t work, never has and never will. Secondly, what hurts agents is having no strategy at all. That’s not a new problem of course. That’s historically where agents fail to grow their businesses, and why so many don’t make it. Unfortunately, the majority of agents try lots of little things, including whatever the “shiny new idea” is in the office at the moment and never commit to anything consistently. The result is they end up all over the place in terms of the message they are sending out into their market, and they’ll actually spend considerably more money trying every new thing that comes along than they would if they just put a solid, strategic plan of tested direct marketing that works in place and stuck to it. Consistently sending branded, direct response marketing every 21-45 days to a sphere and farm is still the best means of driving results in our industry.

Q: We’re seeing a huge rise in agents using EDDM^® as a means to strategically market for less – what is your take on that and what advice do you have for others eager to do the same?

A: I think Every Door Direct Mail^® is a terrific way for agents to cover a large geographic area because of the lower postage costs. It makes it really affordable for agents to get back to those basics like working a geographic farm. What I really like about seeing agents return to geo-farming is that it helps them focus their marketing efforts. For a long while we saw agents just chasing the next deal. They’d follow internet leads wherever they took them – sometimes driving hours to take a listing. EDDM helps them to find a geographic market area that makes sense for them and literally get in every door. When used consistently, it creates a much more predictive business and income model than constantly chasing new business. Here’s what else I can tell you – the great agents get that. They know that it’s not only OK to be in control of their marketing and business, it’s a must if you want to create a consistently growing business with commissions and referrals you can count on. I think so much of the time you see agents who look at the business of real estate as risky to start with or unpredictable because it’s commission based. So their mindset is that their business is supposed to be all over the place, or unpredictable as well. Savvy agents know that real estate is a business and can be a very lucrative one if they treat is like it is and work a plan.

Q: What product do you see the most demand for in today’s market?

A: I’d say in most areas of the country inventory is still historically low, so agents are looking for any vehicle that can help them get listings. So we’re seeing a lot of EDDM, Just Listed postcards and Just Sold postcards (which are great for pulling double duty – marketing the listing and the agent), our Market Dominator, Listing Inventory cards, FSBO and Expired tools, and our Neighborhood Update/Free Offer cards. The last take a little more work to input the listing data, but it’s what consumers want to see, and they make direct response offers, so they work. Again, it’s getting back to taking control of your marketing.

We are also seeing an uptick in agents struggling with pricing listings correctly and that’s where your eBook 21 Ways to Get Your Listing Priced Right the First Time (Despite the Seller’s Objections) is a terrific tool that’s really affordable and filled with the kind of objection handlers agents need today.

Q: You and I go way back in this business – we won’t say how far! How do you think the market has changed and what do you think agents can do to best get in front of those changes and be competitive?

A: You know, surprisingly, it really hasn’t changed all that much. Our business is and always be cyclical. What is different, of course, are the amount of technology options agents have and how many different organizations are selling to them. Many of which are amazing and game-changing solutions for agents, no doubt. It does, however, make it really easy for agents to take their eye off the ball and look for that “magic pill” that will skyrocket them to success. While that’s understandably tempting, the keys to being the top in your field is the stay focused, build inventory, price listing right, have a strategic plan, and find areas you really enjoy working and stay the course.

Q: Excellent advice! You work with top producers and high volume teams quite a bit as our Director of Business Development. What are some factors from a marketing perspective do you think they deploy that allow them to continuously rise to the top?

A: Much like we just talked about, top teams and top agents don’t roll the dice with their results. They build their businesses exponentially by putting systems in place so things don’t fall through the cracks and understand and implement the power of consistent marketing. In other words, they don’t wait and they don’t shy away from marketing at high levels. They prioritize immediate lead generation, but they also have systems that allow them to build their brand and their businesses long term. They are also typically service-minded professionals. They take excellent care of their customer base, and communicate effectively and often with their sphere and farm. That’s smart business.

Q: Awesome. Any last words of wisdom for the readers?

A: Well I guess I would say that this is truly a great industry where people can make an excellent, lucrative living that is relatively affordable to get into with a strong return on investment. I would tell them to be strategic, consistent and be mindful of who you model yourself after. You and I have both seen, countless times, agents who have been in this business 3, 4, 5 – even 10 years or more in this industry and have never put a sphere of influence database together. While some may do all right at that, it makes you really wonder where COULD their business be if they had put that basic but so important piece in place? That’s a lot of missed opportunity and money left on the table. I’d challenge agents to not do the same. Get back to the basics. Have a plan. Use strategic, consistent marketing (both in terms of timing and branding) to build your inventory, price them right, follow up, and take care of your book of business and your farm.

As always, you’re a tremendous source of advice for today’s professionals. What’s great for our customers to know is that you’ve done such an amazing job of both training and managing our support and marketing teams that they have incredible skills and insights as well and are wonderfully adept at helping agents and brokers figure out the best plans for them, and helping them strategically implement those plans every day. Kudos to you for that! Thanks for sharing!

If you’d like to connect with a member of Ramona’s team, you can call them at 866-405-3638 or email us at pmc@prospectsplus.com. They are eager to help make your job – and your life a whole lot easier!

Fifteen Facts About Every Door Direct Mail™

Mar 28, 2016

Getting the Inside Scoop to See If EDDM is Right for YOU and Your Business

By Julie Escobar

Wow. We’ve had a lot of calls recently about this powerful (and affordable) service now provided by the U.S. Postal Service. It allows you to literally get in EVERY DOOR in a geographic area for as low as 18.3 cents in postage per piece. But there are a LOT of questions out there – and a lot of folks unsure about which way to go in terms of getting their message in the right hands to help brand themselves in a market. So I put on my fact-finding hat so that I could give you guys the inside skinny on some things you need to know about this service to determine if it is really right for you.

Fact #1: According to direct marketing statistics, businesses which get the majority of their clients from within a 3 mile radius of their office are: REALTORS®, mortgage brokers, insurance agents, dentists, chiropractors…(the list goes on – but did you catch that first one?) Love that!

Fact #2: This is the most cost-effective means to deliver your message to an ENTIRE market area. As a SATURATION mailing tool – you can literally send up to 5,000 pieces each day (to be delivered to EVERY SINGLE mailbox on your chosen carrier route) still pay no more than 18.3 cents in postage per piece.

Fact #3: There is no postage permit necessary – only the required indicia which is fairly small needs to be placed on your mailing piece. (We’ve got that for you- no worries!)

Fact #4 – You don’t need a mailing list. This is a biggie! One of the toughest components that agents find in building their book of business is developing their LIST. While it IS one of the best practices you can ever do to build long-term referrals and keep your customers and clients calling YOU back for the duration of your career – it is a stumbling block for many. So while you’re waiting to get your list together (go ahead and hire a broke college kid to start data entry today – they need the money and you need a database!) – the EDDM™ system is the perfect way to start branding yourself and discover NEW PROSPECTS to put into your sphere!

Fact #5: You can send standard mail flats, irregular parcels, periodicals, and bound printed flats. But – your
mailing piece cannot be more than 15′ long, 12′ high and .75′ thick.

Fact #6: The common mailing pieces for EDDM™ used by REALTORS® are newsletters, open house postcards, just listed postcards, just sold postcards, introduction/neighborhood specialist announcements or workshop invitations (first time home buying seminars, short sale seminars, workshops for seniors, renters. buy workshops, etc.)

Fact #7: You can select whether or not you want your mailing delivered to P.O. Boxes and Farm mail routes!

Fact #8: Your mailing will saturate every consumer within your carrier route AND it can also include delivery to businesses. However – you CANNOT just send to businesses.

Fact #9: When choosing your carrier routes – remember to choose WISELY. With this system – you must mail to EVERY home on the carrier route. So it’s important to look at the market you want to saturate and budget accordingly. If your route has 1,000 homes in it – then you’ll need to provide mailings for every home. The average carrier route has about 250-500 homes in it. When using the carrier route selection tool from USPS – we always recommend ‘de-selecting all’ first – when you get to that screen so it doesn’t pull up every route in your zip code (that can be a little intimidating!) Then, based on YOUR budget, you can choose the carrier routes in your market with the number of homes you can comfortably afford to send to repeatedly.

Fact #10: To piggyback on #9, while this is a much more affordable mailing option for most agents, remember this is still direct marketing. So if you can only afford to (or care to) send a mailing ONCE to an area – then it will more than likely not glean you the results you are looking for. Keep that 3-7-27 rule in mind. It takes 3 impressions for someone to recognize your name, 7 impressions to put your name with your business and 27 to become a ‘top of mind’ brand name in someone’s head. So better to mail to 300 people ten times for example than to send one mailing of 3,000 if you want to build that awareness and trust.

Fact #11: You’ll need to include a form (PS Form 3587) with your mailing that identifies the carrier routes, number of homes in the route, etc. It’s a government form so – while it’s a little mind-boggling – it’s not too bad! (And with our service we’ll even fill it out for you so no worries!)

Fact #12: Your mailers have to be bundled and banded in groups of 100 and include a “facing slip” on each bundle. So that’s not a lot of fun – but again – we do that for you if you like. Besides – you’ve got to think about those delivery folks! Can you image if you gave them one giant stack? Yikes!

Fact #13: If your best target market is actually in other cities or states, you can use Priority Mail® to ship your Every Door Direct Mail mailings to the Post Office in that area. How cool is that? This is especially helpful if you are working with vacation properties or investors.

Fact #14: You have OPTIONS. Whether you’re an all-hands-on-deck kind of person and want to do everything yourself or whether you just want to choose your mailing piece, pick your routes and have the rest all done for you – we’ve got a solution that works for you, your market and your budget. Learn more about how Every Door Direct Mail – just click here!

Fact #15: You don’t have to do it BY YOURSELF. The truth is, this is an exciting and affordable opportunity to saturate a market with your message but there are variables, budgets and geographic areas to consider. Sometimes (all right – most of the time) it’s good to have another person to help walk you through the process. Our EDDM specialists have the experience and knowledge to do just that – just give them a call at 866.405.3638. They’re happy to help.

Hope that helps! Happy marketing!

Know Before You Go

Mar 21, 2016

A Guest Post from Our Friends at ReboGateway

Brian Fox, VP Business Development, Benutech, Inc.

We live in a world today where we know where we are going before we even get there – and life is easier and better because of it. The best restaurants, stores, and shops can be located online, reviewed on various sites such as Yelp, viewed on a map, and if we want we can even see the front of the location using a street view before we arrive. In other words, there are very few mysteries in area of direction in today’s world… we can very easily know before we go and for the most part, it’s how we roll.

Yet for some odd reason, this know before you go mentality has not been used in real estate as often as it should. Most Realtors, seem to market into geographic areas or to family and friends… as in the people closest to where they live, or closest to where they work. It’s random, it’s best known as the “shotgun approach” to marketing, and it’s like heading to a new spot in your city without reviews, maps, or direction. It was how it was done in the 1980’s but why so today?

Real estate coaches throughout the U.S. seem to be on board with the know before you go mentality. Seems every coach I have ever read or heard, is focused on finding areas that are selling (areas of 7% turnover rate or higher per year), and then coach their students to market into those areas for better marketing results. Turnover rates or other “reasons to sell” such as divorce, mortgage default, or empty-nester status are all available… and easily accessible. So why in 2016 should we market from Front St., to Market St., between Main St. and South St. when we could be marketing to owners that have reasons to sell their property?

To illustrate this point, let’s take a quick look at the wonderful city of McKinney, TX. It happens to be the city that CNN Money named in 2014 First Place for “Best Places to live in the U.S.” The U.S. Census Bureau also named it the fastest growing city from 2000 – 2003 and again in 2006. The Realtors in McKinney obviously have a lot of selling points for their fine city and the sellers in McKinney should be in a good position to profit from these accolades if they choose to sell.

But let’s use data to take a closer look at the city… There are 15,187 rooftops in McKinney, most of which are single family residences. For most Realtors, it’s not possible to market to all 15,187 of those residences. There are just too many rooftops in McKinney, not enough funds in the marketing budget, and not enough time to accomplish marketing to each of those residences once per month. So rather than marketing to all residences, or just the residences nearest you… can we find the needles in the McKinney haystack? In other words, can we find the folks that have a higher probability of selling their homes in McKinney this year or next? The answer is: Yes.

Homes in McKinney traditionally sell at rate of about 3.3% per year. In the most recent couple of years, homes have been selling at better than 10% per year with the added popularity of McKinney. But newly sold homes rarely go back on the market and sell in the upcoming few years… so today, how do we find the most probable sellers for 2016 & 2017 in McKinney? The same way you use your phone to find the best lunch spot in McKinney. You leverage information to know, before you go.

All Realtors can think back to listings they have taken and sold in the past and why they were able to acquire them. A homeowner filed for divorce, and then they listed and sold their home to make an equitable split. A mortgage default occurred at a property, you got the listing. An owner passed away, then you got the listing. Preceding most sales is a “life event” of some sort… and the life event may simply be the increasing age of the homeowner that then leads to their property selling.

Most life events are available to the general public. Divorce, eviction, probate, bankruptcy, and mortgage or tax default filings are all made public by courts. When matched to owned property, it creates a database of homeowners that are much more likely to sell in coming years than their neighbors. When homeowners decide to go FSBO, or have an Estate Sale to sell personal belongings prior to a move – they post the information online to drive traffic to the event. Again, knowing these addresses provides a timing advantage to the Realtors that find them and market to them.

Let’s now get back to McKinney. We have already discussed that there are 15,187 rooftops in the McKinney haystack. A closer look at available information on “life events” in McKinney reveals the following: There are 87 homeowners that have filed for divorce in the past 12 months that have not yet sold their homes. These folks may be going from 2 incomes to 1, and may need to sell. They may have more equity in their property than money in the bank. Either of those reasons could lead to the equity being liquidated by property sale in order to facilitate a fair split between the owners. Statistically, 22.1% of couples that file for divorce sell their homes in the first 12 months after filing. A good Realtor is going to be an important piece of that puzzle.

Also in McKinney, there are 32 homes with mortgage default filings in the past 6 months. Better than 50% of these will result in property sale within 12 months. Eight homeowners have filed bankruptcy in the past 6 months. Fourteen homes are trying to “For Sale by Owner”, but have not yet sold. Seven homes are in Probate. There are also 1,498 homes with approved “Senior (Property) Tax Exemptions”. Of those, 570 of them also have 4 bedrooms or more (large homes). These are your classic “Empty-Nesters”, and they sell property for many reasons. The home may be too big for them now, the stairs are no longer a good idea, they may soon need an elderly care facility, or their passing may facilitate the home sale.

In each of these situations, it has been statistically proven that when these types of events occur, the properties associated to them sell more frequently. There is no way of knowing that these events are occurring by looking at the street address or by staring at the outside of the home. Life event data has to be matched to owned property, and when that match occurs, the results are eye opening.

ReboGateway, a product by Benutech, Inc., identifies and matches these types of life events and more to owned property. ReboGateway allows Realtors to quickly identify probable sellers by “life events” so that they can be smarter about whom they market to and when to market to them.

So the next time you are in McKinney, TX or in your hometown, don’t just stop at any lunch spot. Use select data to know before you go. In case you were wondering, in a state known for its barbecue, the best BBQ in McKinney, TX is Hutchin’s BBQ and Grill. It is ranked the 2^nd best restaurant in the city and 356 reviews say it’s a “must go” as the “Best BBQ in North Texas”. Similarly, the next time you choose to make yourself known to homeowners with your focus on acquiring new listings… find the addresses that are more likely to sell, and market consistently to those addresses. The correct select data matched to a consistent marketing plan is how it should be done today and in doing so; Once again, life is easier and better because of it.

To learn more about using Life Event trigger data from ReboGateway to market in your area, watch our webinar on demand at blog.prospectsplus.com/rebogateway-prospectsplus-webinar-on-demand/.

If you’d like to learn more about how Brian and his team are helping real estate pros across North America use technology and systems to grow their businesses more efficiently and effectively, join us April 7^th at 1pm Eastern for a powerful new webinar – Everything You Wanted to Know About Every Door Direct Mail!

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