Go fishing on Facebook for real estate leads

May 13, 2019

“Successful marlin fishing involves having the right gear, knowing the right fishing tactics and techniques, and being in the right place at the right time,” according to FishermansOutfitter.com.

The same can be said about anything one is trying to capture, from a mouse or a crook to the perfect photograph and, yes, real estate leads.

The challenge for many real estate agents attempting to capture leads is that, while they may understand tactics and techniques, they lack the proper gear.

So, let’s start with that and then get into how to use that “gear” to lure real estate leads on Facebook.

Mackerel or marlins?

Real estate agents can learn a lot about lead generation and capture from the fishing world. And, the first step is to determine who it is you’re trying to lure. Gone are the days of agents marketing to “anyone who is breathing.” It’s inefficient and ineffective.

Who do you want to work with, buyers or sellers? First-time buyers or repeat buyers? Luxury homeowners or condo owners?

Figuring out what you’re fishing for and then who these people are is key to any marketing strategy, most especially when you’re marketing on Facebook.

Before you do any further planning, head over to Facebook’s Policies to ensure that your promotion follows the rules.

Choose your lure

Watching a video of man- or woman- against marlin, it’s easy to assume that the most challenging part of catching one is the fight. The angler, strapped into a boat’s fighting chair, pumping and reeling, while the huge fish leaps and spins, makes for compelling footage.

But, “big blue” didn’t just stop by and ask for the fight – he (or she) responded to a lure.

And, not just any lure. Depending on species and sea conditions, the boat’s captain will choose from an array of lures he or she feels will be most attractive to the fish.

Premium content might hook them

Premium content is one way to lure Facebook leads. This type of content is different than what you offer by means of blog posts. It’s “a type of digital content that may be accessed for a fee, and is usually of higher quality or more desirable than free” content, say the folks at Techopedia.com.

You won’t, however, be charging a fee for your content. You will, on the other hand, ask for information in return.

And, now that you know who you are “fishing” for, determining the type of content to offer is a whole lot easier.

Remember, it’s called “premium” content for a reason. It’s higher quality than regular content, longer in length and, as the Techopedia folks say, it’s “exceptionally informative.”

An ideal type of premium content is a Free Report. Offer Free Reports in person, through direct mail, email and add to your website as a free download in exchange for an email.

There are a variety of long-form content types from which to choose:

A list and in-depth description of down payment assistance programs
Infographic
Tutorial
Ebook
In-depth guides, such as city guides, neighborhood guides, buying and selling guides, relocation guides.
Reports (basically just 3,000-word articles)
Checklist (staging, moving, loan application, etc.)
Long articles (at least 3,000 words)

Get more tips on creating and marketing with premium content at LinkedIn.com.

Facebook giveaways to lure real estate leads

A prize giveaway is another way to lure Facebook leads.

And, make no mistake, what you’re giving away is key to the promotion’s success. “I mean, who’s really going to take the time of day to like, comment on, and share a post when all they stand to gain is a $15 gift card for coffee?” asks Pat Hiban at ActiveRain.com.

“Almost no one,” he claims. Take the time to carefully consider an item that you’re contemplating giving away. Hiban lists several that worked well for other agents:

Family passes to a popular local attraction, such as a waterpark or amusement park.
Tickets to a sporting event. Hiban suggests “tickets to a local team’s upcoming game or even tickets to college games often work.”
The latest smartphone

Or, make the prize appropriate to an upcoming holiday. In 2017, Chattanooga attorneys Warren & Griffin gave away a stainless-steel barbecue grill and threw in a $50 Walmart gift card that the winner could use to purchase the goodies to cook on the new grill.

Use your favorite graphics program to create compelling Facebook posts to promote the giveaway and ensure that everything steers them to a dedicated squeeze page where you’ll capture their information.

Facebook’s rules state that users can’t force participants to share, like or follow to be entered for the prize. So, don’t force them. Hiban offers a brilliant alternative:

“Know someone who needs” a new grill? “Share this giveaway so that they have a chance to win!”

Get more Facebook giveaway ideas and tips at Wishpond.com and Hootsuite.com.

Show them you know what’s on their mind (available in the postcard section under Get More Listing Series)

Another way to generate leads is to send at least 100 Should You Stay or Go postcards from the Get More Listings Series to an area where you want more leads.

You might also like:

Agent Facebook Success: Rules of Engagement

A Refresher Course in Attracting New Clients

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 Free killer tools to help your success this year!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here

2. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar

“Get MORE Listings & Begin to Dominate Your Market!” Free online webinar. Learn the 3-7-27 strategy for explosive growth, why 95% of agents have less than 20% market share, and how to become the agent everyone competes against. – Click Here

3. 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, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here

4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here

5. 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

Capture the Baby Boomer Market – Here’s How

May 7, 2019

Twenty-six million, is the number of homes owned by U.S. baby boomers, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. To put that figure into perspective, consider this: They hold more than half of all owner-occupied homes in the country.

And, in some cities, that number is even higher.

The invisible cash cow

The Baby Boom segment of the population is one that is almost completely ignored by the real estate industry. Yet their combined take-home pay is $2 trillion dollars a year and they can take credit for half of all discretionary spending. That’s not all:

They control 70 percent of all wealth in this country
Boomers represent half of all credit card use.
They own almost 80 percent of all financial assets.
They purchase 50 percent of all luxury cars and 73 percent of all hybrid cars sold in the U.S.

Baby boomers are a generation whose birth spanned the years between 1946 and 1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Currently, boomers range in age from 54 to 72 years old.

The new and improved baby boomer

The baby boomer generation has turned everything we used to think about the senior housing market upside down. Gone are the days when the real estate agent that specialized in the niche sold two types of homes: those of the deceased or those of the frail elderly moving into long-term care or other facilities.

Members of the previous generation, the so-called Silent Generation, are now beyond retirement age and represent those we use to think of when we considered the senior real estate niche.

Boomers, on the other hand, represent a mixed bag of folks: some are still raising families, many are still working and the older members of the generation, who should be in the early stages of retirement, have, for the most part, decided to postpone retirement and continue working.

Even more intriguing for the real estate industry, however, is that 41 percent of leading-edge boomers – a group with over $500 billion in spending power, according to Brent Green, author of Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers – say they will definitely purchase another home.

Agents considering working with boomers as they buy and sell real estate into their retirement and beyond should understand this segment of the population and what they seek in their new home.

What do boomers want?

If you want to work with boomers, and you don’t count yourself among them, the first thing to understand is that most of them are not frail and they don’t consider themselves elderly.

In fact, boomers are far healthier than their predecessors and don’t take kindly to being talked down to and “they will not tolerate typecasting, stereotypes, pandering or ageism,” says Green.

Assumptions – we all know what they are, right? So, step number one is to throw out all the assumptions you might have about older Americans.

And if you don’t think the real estate industry has assumptions about this generation, read some posts at ActiveRain: “Baby boomers are still grabbing real estate guides in the grocery store while everyone else is looking online first, researching second and then picking up the phone,” posted an agent old enough to know better.

Let’s take a sledgehammer to what is arguably the most common myth about this “older” generation: Boomers are tech-averse.

What these agents and others fail to realize is that “tech” didn’t drop from the sky the day they turned old enough to use it. In fact, we can thank baby boomers for the invention of the PC, mobile phones, and the World Wide Web.

It was boomers who invented the Apple II in the 70s, which ushered in the home computing revolution.
Today, 53 percent of boomers are on Facebook, according to a recent Nielsen survey: “Introducing Boomers, Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation.”
They are five times as likely as the general population to own an iPad or other tablet.
Boomers spend more money on technology than members of Gen X and Gen Y, according to Forrester Research.

Finally, and this one is important if you are considering boomers as a real estate niche: 82 percent of adults age 50 and over use the Internet to research real estate.

Their ideal home location

Again, throw all of your preconceived notions out the window. Despite what you might read online, boomers don’t really care how far away the nearest medical facility is and aren’t at all interested in being located on public transportation lines.

In fact, a full 60 percent of adults 55 years of age and older want a home in the suburbs, in close proximity to walking and jogging trails, according to a survey by the National Association of Home builders (NAHB). Fifty-four percent want a park nearby and half find an outdoor pool attractive.

Golf communities have fallen out of favor with today’s older Americans but a community fitness center is a hot feature.

In-demand home features

Older home buyers overwhelmingly want a single-story home, and most of them are seeking to downsize, in an effort to save money on their ongoing home ownership costs, according to a 2017 study from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Last fall’s Del Webb’s Baby Boomer Survey asked which must-have features boomers want in their next home and here are the top five responses:

Multi-car garage with storage
Open patio or deck
Open floor plan
Eat-in kitchen
Small and private yard

From Woodstock to inspiring the World Wide Web, baby boomers have left their mark on the world and will continue to do so. Ignore this huge segment of the population in favor of focusing on young, first-time buyers at your peril.

Ready to capture the baby boomer market? Send the Too Much House postcard from the Life Event Series to at least 100 baby boomers.

You might also like:

Avoid These 4 Common Real Estate Agent Marketing Mistakes

Customer Service! The Best Gift You Can Give Your Clients & Yourself

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 Free killer tools to help your success this year!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

2. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar

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

4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

April $250 Gift Card Winner!

May 6, 2019

We have two winners!

A first place $250 Gift Card winner & a second place $100 Gift Card winner!

1.Congratulations Mila Mendoza on winning our 1st Prize $250 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card!

Mila shared the following feedback with ProspectsPLUS!

“I’m using ProspectsPLUS! Real Estate Marketing Planner. I like every step of it!!!”

Mila’s latest marketing pieces she’s sent out include – the Fence Sitter Series, First Time Home Buyer Series, and Agent Introduction Series.

Fence Sitter Series, First Time Buyer Series and Agent Introduction Series postcards

2. Congratulations Ana Steinman on winning the 2nd Prize $100 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card

Ana shared the following feedback with ProspectsPLUS!,

“I have been using ProspectPLUS! for a few months and I am very happy with their service.

As a Real Estate Professional I find this company very professional and reliable.

I am sending postcards very often and so far it has given me good results“.

Ana’s latest marketing pieces she’s sent out include – The Just Sold Series, Get More Listings Series, and Neighborhood Update Series.

Just Sold Series, Get More Listings Series, Neighborhood Update Series postcards

Take the lead from Mila and Ana and send at least 100 marketing pieces to an area where you want more buyers or sellers!

You might also like:

How to Harness the 5 Key Traits of ‘Rock Star’ Agents

Agent Facebook Success: Rules of Engagement

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 Make Your Open Houses Pay Off – BIG TIME

Apr 29, 2019

By thinking outside the open house box 🏠

Even though it’s not their first way of locating a house, eventually 45 percent of buyers, on average, visit open houses. Interestingly, repeat buyers are more likely to show up than first-timers. And, every one of those visitors represents the possibility for two transactions, a listing, and a sale (don’t you just love that thought)?

Read on for some ideas on how to make your open houses pay off BIG TIME.

Time is on your side

One of the aspects of the modern open house that differs from the old-school type is agents aren’t feeling locked into a particular day or time.

While the after-work open house may not fly in a commuter-centric region, in other areas agents are having amazing results with it. Downtown condos and lofts being held open during the lunch hour are also becoming more common.

Any home with a view will sell itself if it’s held open at the appropriate time of day. Why hold a downtown penthouse open on a Sunday afternoon when the city lights are best viewed in the evening?

It’s easy to mention in your listing that the patio of the lakefront property faces west. Holding it open at sunset, however, drives home the fact far better.

Have Open House brochures available for valuable take ways (available in the brochure section)

Market the heck out of it

Gone are the days that agents bought a display ad in the paper to advertise an open house. Today it’s all about leveraging the power of social media and advertising online at Craigslist, Backpage.com, Zillow, Yahoo, Twitter, etc.

Why not run a Facebook Live stream and create a video recording walking through the house during the event. There’s no better time than when the home is buzzing with people (talk about creating a feeling of demand). After the event, turn your live stream into a story on Instagram.

Don’t scrimp on the photos and the adjectives when you write the descriptions. You want people to feel that if they miss this open house they’ll regret it forever. And don’t forget to invite the neighbors. It’s a perfect opportunity to get face-to-face with more homeowners in the neighborhood.

Digital sign in

Many agents tell us that one of the most awkward parts of open houses is getting visitors to sign the guestbook. An old trick is to keep it by the door and tell visitors that the owner has requested that, for security purposes, they sign in before touring the home.

A quick and easy way to sign people up is to use the Open Home Pro iPad or Android app or the less-pricey AM Open House. Agents who use it say open house visitors more readily sign in on an iPad than the old-school pen-and-paper.

Order a stack for last minute Open House invites (available in the Door Hanger section)

Open house extras

From a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies to a full-on burger bar featuring a platter of sliders, food is becoming a mainstay for the real estate open house.

Whether you serve food depends on regional customs. A lot of agents shy away from the practice. However, if you want to offer your guests something, how about bottles of water with custom labels with your brand or a CD of your virtual tour of the home or neighborhood?

If you’re the agent that has lots of promotional items, such as pens, calendars, and pads of paper with your contact info engraved on them. Or make goody bags up — like the ones you got at birthday parties when you were a kid — and fill them with promotional items.

Mike Blaney of Limelight Marketing in Vancouver Canada suggests that you should create a package of property information for your open house guests including:

Photographs (or a tour CD)
A list of all personal property included in the sale
Descriptions and photos of the home’s unique features
List of repairs and improvements, with dates
A list of average monthly utility costs
The copy of the property survey
Neighborhood information (including proximity to schools, if it’s a family-type home)

The bottom line

If you crossed open houses off as not worth your time, with two potential transactions riding on it and some new ideas to test, it’s time to reconsider.

Getting ready for an open house? Send 100 Open House Postcards to the surrounding neighborhood ten days prior to your open house!

Send out postcards to advertise your Open House for a BIG turn out (available in the postcards section under Open House postcards)

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 Free killer tools to help your success this year!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook