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Friday, December 5, 2025

Agent Tools

Spend Time Here, Not Here

There’s only one you. There are just 24 hours in a day. Put those two together and you have an insanely busy schedule.

And, it’s all too easy to get distracted by the next shiny object.

Social media is shiny. It’s distracting. And, some platforms are completely unnecessary – at least for real estate professionals.

As we head into 2018, and you’re contemplating your business plan, you’ll be prioritizing where to spend your time and money.

Take a hard look at which social media platforms you use and whether or not your time is better spent elsewhere.

Facebook – it’s not free

You may think that marketing your business via social media is a fabulous free way to get your brand in front of people.

If done strategically, it can be.

But, consider this: The majority of agent’s average about three hours a week spent on Facebook, according to a 2016 Inman.com survey.

Sadly, that doesn’t tell the whole story because more than 21 percent spend twice that amount of time – a whopping six hours a week – on the social media giant.

Ask yourself this question:

Is six hours each week better spent chasing after new business on Facebook or reaching out to former clients and those in your sphere?

Both are “free” in terms of money, but the latter isn’t as much of a time stealer and the return on time invested has a better chance of being higher.

Multiply your time spent by the number of social media platforms you’re currently using. While they all have something to offer, they aren’t all worth an agent’s time.

Instagram – A waste of time?

Unless you have an in-house marketing person, don’t feel guilty about not being on Instagram, and don’t listen to the hype saying you should be.

Here’s why.

Most online articles pushing the use of Instagram for businesses point out “In 2016, Instagram grew its daily user count by 100 million users and now has more than 600 million active users.”

What they fail to do is dig deeper. So, let’s do that right now. First, however, let’s take a look at your average homebuyer.

According to the NAR, “the typical home buyer is 44 years old, married, no children at home, and has a median income of $88,500.” Keep these statistics in mind while taking the deep dive into Instagram.

Who’s hanging out on Instagram?
  • 80 percent of Instagram users don’t live in the U.S.
  • Of the users who do live in the U.S., only 28 percent of them are on Instagram, according to Pew Research.
  • The largest demographic of Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 29 while only 18 percent are between the ages of 30 and 49 – the most likely buyer pool.
  • The largest demographic earns less than $30k
  • The average Instagram user “misses about 70% of the posts” in their feed, according to Influencer Marketing Hub.

Until Instagram begins attracting an older, wealthier demographic, it’s an ineffective use of time. Your time is better spent on other lead-generation strategies.

LinkedIn – A good investment

No, it doesn’t have the largest share of online users (only 29 percent of American adults), but LinkedIn’s demographics are ideal for real estate marketing.

  • 77 percent of users are age 30 and older
  • 50 percent are college graduates
  • 45 percent of LinkedIn users earn more than $75,000 per year and only 21 percent earn less than $30,000.

Again, recall the profile of the average homebuyer and seller and you’ll realize that this is the demographic you should be chasing.

Not only are the demographics ideal on LinkedIn, but Hubspot gathered data from more than 5,000 companies and found “LinkedIn 277% More Effective for Lead Generation than Facebook & Twitter.”

Hubspot’s Rebecca Corliss points out that “because most of the content posted on LinkedIn is of a marketing nature, as opposed to family photos or social ‘chatter,’ there is less clutter…

…so business’ marketing posts are more likely to be noticed on LinkedIn than somewhere else.”

Social media is an ever-evolving resource.

What’s hot this year may die next year.

When choosing where to spend your marketing time, don’t judge a platform by its number of users – that figure is useless for real estate agents.

Do a deep dive, periodically, into the demographics of each to decide when the time is right to jump in.

Related: 3 Tools That Drive More Business

Need help?  Call our team today at 866.405.3638 to put the best marketing tools in place to build your business easily, and cost-effectively.

Get Their Hand to Raise

More often than not, today’s consumer learns everything they can about a product or service on the internet, before making a decision.

So how do you get them to raise their hand and turn to you for help?

By being the expert who consistently gives them what they want—valuable information that can help them:

  • Become more educated
  • Solve a problem
  • Make an informed decision

So whether you are delivering your content via phone call, email or direct mail – deliver what your customers want most.

3 success strategies

Make it about them – Think about the things that your customers want and are interested in most.

Make your interaction compelling, relevant and —honest. Our Newsletters and more precisely our Market Dominator are great marketing tools to use on an ongoing basis that highlight you as the expert resource to turn to in their area.

This type of marketing puts you in the position of educator, which innately denotes a level of trust. Once you are trusted you will be rewarded with happy, loyal customers.

Don’t establish trust and you have consumers who are wary of your products or services because you haven’t eliminated their fear.

Give something of high value – This can be a tough thing for some people. The idea of giving something away for free can be bothersome or make them feel as if they are de-valuing their product or service.

In reality, offering a product such as a Free Report can be an effective, value-boosting investment in your long term customer relationship.

When you consider acquiring a new customer remember it’s 4-6 times harder than keeping your current customers engaged, happy and loyal, giving value on the front end just makes sense.

Free reports are perfect hand-outs at your Open House

Make it ongoing – Before launching into this form of marketing, consider your long term goals and draw up a plan to consistently reach out to your clients month after month.

You want your customers and prospects to come to rely on your information and updates.

Become Their Resource

If they come to count on you for the answers and resources they need, it stands to reason they will turn to you for help when the time comes.

Whatever strategy you deploy, make sure your message is clear and your marketing consistent. Connect with your base of business at least every 30 days through phone calls, visits and direct marketing, and you will find your profitability, referrals and commissions right on track year round.

Related: Marketing That Pays for Itself

Need help?  Call our team today at 866.405.3638 to put the best marketing tools in place to build your business easily, and cost-effectively.

What are you thankful for this year?

We know what we are thankful for.

We’re thankful that you have placed your trust in us to provide you with the marketing materials, services and content to aid in your success.

We know you have choices and are grateful you have chosen us.

Expressing and acknowledging gratitude is an addictive experience. The results of time spent on this wonderful subject are far reaching.

Did you know…

..taking 5 minutes to write down or think about what you are grateful for increases long-term well-being by more than 10 percent?

The following is a list of the top 10 studied results from expressing gratitude on a regular basis:
  1. Better night’s sleep
  2. Less pain
  3. Reduced stress
  4. Increased self-esteem
  5. Increased physical and mental vitality
  6. Reduced feelings of envy
  7. Helps with relaxation
  8. Helps foster new relationships
  9. Increases goal achievement
  10. Increases productivity

I think gratitude and giving go hand in hand. And we all know the resulting high that we receive anytime we have an opportunity to give.

Our Turkey Mission

Recently the employees of ProspectsPLUS!  were filled to the brim with wonderful feelings. We were on a mission to purchase 50 turkeys from surrounding grocery stores to donate to the Salvation Army and our local Food Bank.

Finding 50 turkeys 3 days before Thanksgiving was not an easy feat, but we were determined.

…and, our efforts paid off.
 The Result…

It was all smiles and warmth on the faces of the ProspectsPLUS! staff as we delivered the turkeys to the Manatee County Food Bank and The Salvation Army of Manatee County.

The Manatee County Salvation Army has plans to feed over 500 people on Thanksgiving day. They also provide Thanksgiving dinner baskets for families in need to take home and cook.

The Manatee County Food Bank provides food for over 60 food pantries in Manatee County. They also offer a Meals-on-Wheels program to Manatee County.

 Sharing in the Spirit of Gratitude & Giving

If you are thinking about catching our high, and sharing in the spirit of giving and gratitude, I have a couple easy ideas for you.

We currently are conducting a Dollar for Dollar campaign for St Jude Kids. If you donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® through our website we will match your donation.

Another great way to show your gratitude, that’s really close to home, is to send a hand-written personal note to your past customers. Express your heart-felt gratitude that you were chosen to help them in the past with the important task of buying or selling a home.

Placing the focus on appreciating the customers you already have served will feed your spirit and do wonders to inspire you to connect with more people in the hope of serving them in the same rewarding way.

Sending you wishes for a rewarding 2018 full of experiences to be grateful for!

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at ProspectsPLUS!

Remember, if you ever need our assistance? We are here to help you! Call our support team a 866.405.3638. 

Time is Non-Refundable…Use it With Intention

It’s amazing how easily we can get distracted and before you know it hours have been lost and your day is behind you.

Time seems to have the ability to expand and contract based on how we fill it.

If only two items need to be accomplished in a day, those two items somehow end up taking most of day. Yet when a day is packed with 5 or 6 important tasks to complete somehow it takes the same amount of time.

Einstein believed that time wasn’t linear.

In fact he’s quoted saying, “The separation between past, present and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one.”

Maybe that’s not a bad idea to live by. It certainly makes it easier to focus your attention on the present moment.

However you decide to focus, make sure you focus with intention.

Prioritize the tasks that you need to complete each day. Then keep your list handy and in front of you to help you stay focused. If you find yourself getting distracted ask if your distraction trumps the importance of the items on your list.

With intention guiding you, accomplishing your daily goals becomes easier and more rewarding…

…and there’s nothing like the feeling you get from crossing items off your list at the end of the day.

Need help?  Call our team today at 866.405.3638 to put the best marketing tools in place to build your business easily, and cost-effectively.

Average More Transactions Every Year

The difference between always chasing commissions, or having a reliable referral base to count on, depends on your investment in a sphere of influence.

Want to build a business that is strong, sustainable and competitive, and that you can sell when you’re ready to retire?

Start by creating your SOI.

It’s easier than you think – and will help you get on track to average more transactions every year.

Think about this, if you had 250 people in a database you consistently stay in touch with and develop a relationship with, who will they call when they have a real estate question, need or referral?

YOU.

If just 10% of your database sold or referred to you every year, what would that mean for your income?

Building a database doesn’t have to be hard.

It just needs to be a consistent part of your weekly business habits.

Not having a sphere of influence is hands-down, the single biggest obstacle to agent success.

It will keep you in the endless cycle of always chasing new business, without the benefit of ever gaining any traction.

And think about this, statistically, 1 in every 12 people in your SOI will either do business with you or refer business to you each year.

Not bad odds. Is this worth your time now?

Related: Four Strategies For a Stronger Sphere of Influence

Time to Create Your List.

Begin with the following names (including email, address, phone):

Family, spouse’s family, extended family, neighbors, past customers

best friends, close friends, children’s friends parents, church congregation

Children’s teachers, coaches, principal

Family dentist, doctors, optometrists, business coleagues

Employees/owners of retail establishments and restaurants you frequent

PTA board at your children’s school, Sunday school teacher

Manicurist, facialist, hair dresser, dry cleaner

Auto maintenance/repair shop, tire shop, mailman

Once you have compiled your list – Take Action

Start a touch marketing campaign every 21-35 days. 

Send our done-for-you newsletters every month. They’re designed to be eye-catching, informational, and are filled with direct response offers that get results.

Or consider a series of postcards such as holiday, recipe postcards, customer appreciation cards, or listing inventory cards that will keep you top of mind until you have the opportunity to see or speak to them.

Even if your list is small, don’t wait to start your marketing.

Momentum doesn’t just happen. But over time you can build something powerful.

The 20 year value of a client is roughly $49,647.

With that number in mind – how many people do you plan to put in your book of business?

Need our assistance? We would love to help you! Call our support team a 866.405.3638. 

The Success Mind-Set

Success begins with the right mindset. Real estate sales is not just a job; it is a business. A business that requires planning, organization and systems to maintain balance, accountability and forward momentum. The following details the 3 steps to epic success.

Step 1: Have a Plan

Planning is critical to realizing your goals, generating consistent income and creating an exit plan. The proper exist plan ensures you have a valuable “book of business” that you can sell when you are ready to retire. Your plan should:

  • be written out and clearly defined
  • have a realistic and comprehensive budget
  • be based not only on your goals, but also on your family’s goals (very important to maintaining the support system necessary during long days or tough weeks!)
  • outline the number of transactions you need to reach those goals based on commission dollars, list-to-close ratio and fall-through rate
  • outline the number of contacts, appointments scheduled/.attended you need to realize your transaction goal
  • break your numbers down into daily, weekly and monthly activities so that you ALWAYS know where you are in relation to your goal

Be sure to share your plan with a manager, coach or partner so that you can set up a system of accountability.

Step 2: Employ Smart Marketing

In today’s competitive arena, effectively marketing yourself and your business requires both consistency and laser focus.

Countless agents send single marketing pieces to thousand of consumers, with no intention of following up. This approach is a waste of time, energy and valuable marketing dollars.

The truth is, you should be in contact with your sphere of influence at least every 30-45 days. One month, send a postcard, letter, newsletter or flyer. Many of our customers find the Listing Inventory Series, Content Cards, and Market Dominator among their favorites.

The following month, call with a friendly event reminder, helpful hint, or just to say hello.

During the third month, arrange to see them via a networking event, social gathering or in-person visit. Drop off a small token, informational item or card. Then start the “rotation” over again.

Such consistency creates vital ‘top-of-mind’ awareness. This awareness becomes “the key to the kingdom” when growing your referral base and creating a reliable income.

Gone are the days when agents could afford to take a “shotgun” approach-casting a wide net in the hopes of “catching a few”.

Response rates increase dramatically when you speak directly to the needs and interests of a particular group.

Wise agents seek out demographics or geographics that they relate to or have a history of success with.

The more comfortable you become speaking to a particular group or segment, the more you become recognized or thought of as a specialist in that field.

Related: Niche Marketing and the Law of Attraction

mailing list
Targeted marketing examples:

  • First-time homeowners – Try MapMyMail to quickly create a list of local renters. Send a postcard that explains the advantages of home ownership.
  • Builders – Offer to help builders eliminate their #1 worry: standing inventory. Create a list of every builder in your area and send a flyer explaining how you can find their perfect customer.

lifestyle

  • Find a new niche – With our Lifestyle Interest data, you can reach consumers who are just the demographic you want to work with. Think Golfers, Boaters, Fitness Lovers and more.
  • FSBOs – There are many effective search products for this demographic. Fear leads many agents to steer clear of FSBOs, which eliminates at least a portion of your competition.

real estate fsbo marketing postcards

  • A New Geographic Farm – Find an area in your market that is beginning to see turnover, but doesn’t currently have another agent with more than a 10% market share.  Start connecting month after month using the Neighborhood Update/Free Offer series. This series will present yourself effectively as the turn-to agent in your market.
Step 3: Put Solid Systems in Place

Without systems, you’re like a hamster on the wheel-spinning without really getting anywhere. Systems are the only way to maintain the delegation, automation and streamlining that will continuously work on your business. Systems allow you to:

  • manage your time effectively
  • create a consistent standard of service
  • assure clients that their needs are being met by a “team”
  • provide checks and balances for fine tuning your business
  • promote efficiency and accuracy
  •  reduce training time when bringing on new team members

What systems should you have in place?

The success mind-set requires dedication and a commitment to the activities that earn you top dollar and allow you to “feed” the career you’re building.

Related: 3 Tools That Drive More Business

Need our help?  Contact our support team today at 866.405.3638. They’re more than happy to help you.

Gear up For selling real estate to Generation Z

85 Million Strong & They Want Homes

Here’s a hot tip: While the rest of the real estate industry is distracted — lusting after millennials, ignoring Gen Xers and barely tolerating baby boomers – get to know the next big thing, Generation Z.

Gen Z is expected to count nearly 85 million members by 2020, making up almost 25 percent of the nation’s population, according to a study published by Fung Global Retail & Technology.

The oldest members of this generation turn 23 in 2018 and there are already statistics showing that they will be buying homes.

Known as “digital natives,” this generation is the first to be oblivious to “life without technologies and services such as smartphones, iPads, Facebook, Instagram,” according to the study.

Who they are

If you’re an agent of a certain age, I have some scary news for you: your grandkids are about to enter the housing market.

What’s even more frightening is that, according to The Center for Generational Kinetics, members of Gen Z think millennials are “old.” Imagine what they think about their grandparents – the baby boomers.

If you’re a member of the latter, the good news is that your grandkid can be your laboratory when you decide to pursue this younger generation. The rest of the real estate industry has a steep learning curve ahead of them because members of Gen Z, although more like boomers than millennials, have little in common with any generation that came before.

What they’re like

To the so-called “super entrepreneurs of tomorrow,” business and making money are already top-of-mind, but don’t look for them to get there using the same, conventional methods.

Non-conformists, much like their grandparents’ generation, these digital natives are “a generation whose entire world and self-views are crafted by technology, immediacy and access,” Sherry Chris, president and CEO, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate tells RISMedia’s Maria Patterson.

Although young, they seem to be learning from their predecessors, already socking away money for retirement. In fact, according to the Center for Generational Kinetics, nearly a quarter of Gen Zers had a savings account before they turned ten.

How will this group’s fiscal responsibility impact the real estate market?

Almost all of the Gen Zers surveyed in a Better Homes & Gardens ® survey say they will buy a home and 80 percent believe that homeownership will lead them to the American Dream.
What will it take to work with them

It’s amazing the things scientists are able to measure. Attention spans, for instance. Apparently Gen Zers’ attention spans (eight seconds) are four seconds less than millennials’, according to Anna Fieler, executive vice president of marketing at POPSUGAR.

Remember, this is the demographic that dominates on Snapchat and Instagram (they claim Facebook is for “older people,” according to Andrea V. Brambila at Inman.com), so communicating with them means getting to the point almost immediately. They are practically attached to their smart phones, so texting will get you a lot further than an email.

“In fact, the rise of Gen Z should sound the alarm for all that a targeted Internet strategy is vital for reaching this cohort …,” warns Allen Shayanfekr, CEO and Founder of Sharestates.

While social proof is important to millennials, gen Zers won’t consult Yelp or Zillow reviews to find an agent. It’s their friends’ opinions they rely heavily on, so providing the kind of customer service that garners referrals will be more important than ever.

Gen Z represents a pool of very motivated real estate consumers. Start gearing up for them now and you’ll be a step ahead of your competition. Take advantage of our Mailing List Page Option 2 Demographic Search to create a targeted mailing list of Gen Z’s.

Related: Great Customer Care Equals Long Term Results

Need help creating your targeted list or anything else? Contact our marketing team at 866.405.3638. They’re incredibly knowledgeable, and ready to help get you suceed!

How You Can Beat the Odds

By Real Estate Speaker and Trainer Todd Robertson

There are many factors that lead to success in this business, and of course, many that can stop an agent in their tracks. This week, I wanted to share some of the biggest factors agents face when trying to dominate in a geographic farm, why 90% of agents fail and what they can do differently than their competitors to come out on top.

1. Fear and Uncertainty. In today’s world, fear is unfortunately an all too common and powerful headline that garners attention thanks to mass media. HOWEVER, in the real world of listing and selling real estate, consumers don’t want fear and they don’t want uncertainty. They want and need an agent who comes from a place of 100% clarity and certainty. They want an agent who is respectful, responsible, competent and CONFIDENT. They need to know that the person handling this big transaction in their life has everything it takes to ensure their best interests are cared for. Be that agent for them by ensuring that you have the right tools, systems, training and marketing plan in place.Market Dominator Marketing Newsletter

2. Money. The old adage is true, it takes money to make money and marketing effectively costs money.
Consistently. And that’s not something everyone is ready, willing, or able to sign on for. However, to brand yourself as the turn to agent in your geographic farm, there’s really no way to get around spending marketing dollars. Fortunately, you can spend smarter by using systems that are designed to capture market share while utilizing budget-saving tools such as Every Door Direct Mail. Our Market Dominator System does just that – and it allows you to send the very largest possible marketing piece acceptable for EDDM – 12×15, and puts you literally in every door in the geo farm of your choice for just $1 each. That’s smart marketing.

3. Impatience. One thing that seems to stop many agents from developing a successful farm is their inability to hang in there for the duration. When they don’t get instant results from their marketing, they give up. I get it. I walked in those shoes as an agent as well. But one and done mailings or marketing is never ever going to result in establishing a dominant position as a competitor.Market Dominator Marketing Newsletter back What does that? Consistency. Repetition. Showing up month after month after month. That’s the winning formula.

4. Becoming a “Victim”. You know the drill. The ones who get sucked into the market doom and gloom around the office coffee pot and buy into other agents’ ideas of why your marketing or theirs just “doesn’t work”. Stop. Stay in your own lane in terms of mindset. There will always, always, always be people who want to drag you down, tell you that you can’t accomplish something, or root you in negativity.

It’s up to YOU to stay focused on your WINNING formula of skill building, market-savvy tools and systems, and consistent, repetitive follow up and let others worry about their own track to success.

5. Not Having a Campaign. What’s the old Ben Franklin saying? “Fail to plan and you’re planning to fail?” It’s true. Without a viable marketing campaign plan in place, you have no way to gain traction in a market area. That’s why our Dominator Members commit to sending their 12×15 Market Dominators every month for two years – because they know that’s what it takes to truly own a market. To become THE brand in a geographic farm. They also know that if left to their own devices, most agents would have a tough time consistently researching, creating, and producing a powerful, direct-response marketing piece all on their own every single month. So they work smarter, not harder, and tap into a system like the where it’s all done for them.

6. Bogged Down in Busywork. Top agents know the highest and best use of their time is prospecting, presenting, and closing – not all the minutiae of busy work that can easily, and effectively be delegated to a virtual assistant or admin. It’s easy to be super busy being busy and not making any money. I know, it’s less intimidating to spend a day trying to design your own postcard than it is to pick up the phone and call until you get a listing appointment – but which one will get closer to those goals you just set faster? Delegate. Use systems. Use pre-designed, time-tested tools that are done for you. And yes – pick up the phone!

Give yourself your best shot at developing a geographic farm. Lean into a powerful mindset of certainty and confidence and put a strong campaign that works in place so that you can effectively brand yourself in that farm as the agent to call. If you need help with that, I’m happy to share some additional strategies. Email me (todd.robertson@prospectsplus.com) and let’s talk.

Need help? Contact our marketing team at 866.405.3638. They’re incredibly knowledgeable, and ready to help get your geo farming and all your marketing on track to close out this year stronger than ever! 

The Right Dialogue is the Key!

As we head into the holiday’s, now is the perfect time to sharpen your negotiating skills and polish your pricing techniques, the following are 3 powerful closing techniques to try. You know that old Floyd Wickman saying, “Worse than no listing is a listing that won’t sell.”  Make sure yours are priced to move and you’ll not only be a hero to your sellers, you’ll set yourself up as the agent to call in your marketplace.

3 Powerful Closing Techniques to Try:

1. Don’t Help the Competition: 

Overpricing your home in today’s market can actually help sell other listings. Explain to your seller to put themselves in the shoes of the buyer.  They’ve got an agent and they’re looking at listings that are priced at market value, show well and have motivated sellers.

If they look at your home and a comparable home and all things being relatively equal, in other words, both are 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2600 sq. ft. homes and both show well but yours is $50,000+ above market value, which home is going to look more attractive to them when it comes to a bottom line decision for their family?

In fact, when it comes to choosing their property, if your home is overpriced, you’ve just made the lesser priced home look perfect by comparison.  They can feel good about their decision of getting the same sized home for less! You can also pull comparables from your MLS to show real world applications of this.

If the seller overprices their home today and it goes online via the MLS and your multiple web listing portals, their home won’t even have the benefit of SHOWING up when consumers search by price.

 They’ve just priced themselves right off the internet search – eliminating the possibility of that 85+% of consumers who start their search there.

2. The Four Sales: 

A great Floyd Wickman strategy is to use the following dialogue: You know we’ve covered the comparables – the research that I showed you with the prices of the other homes like yours that have sold recently in this area and I know you want to list it at the higher price. I’ve put a lot of thought into it, and you know if we went ahead and put it on the market at your price – and I was the only one that had to be sold on that price – well I guess that would be fine. But in reality, there are actually four sales that have to be made in order to sell your home at that price.

First…I have to be sold and I’ve gotta tell you – all I can go by is the CMA facts and figures that I showed you.

Secondly…the other agents have to be sold on showing your property at that price – otherwise they’re simply not going to show it to their buyers.  Unfortunately, they get their numbers the same way I do – from what’s recently sold in the area and those same CMA numbers.

Thirdly…and this is a big one – the buyers.  Let’s just pretend we sold the agents on it.  Now we’ve got to convince the buyers to pay a higher price for a property when there are other homes like it that are selling
for less.

Unfortunately in today’s world and with the internet, buyers have access to the same information that we have here.  They know what homes are going for in this area.  So that’s going to be a tough sale, don’t you think?

Now let’s just say everything lines up and somehow we even sell a buyer on paying more for your property than we know its worth in this market. We still have one more sale.

Fourth…there’s the lender.  Lenders use exactly the same formulas we do to determine Fair Market Value for a property before they’ll write a loan. Are you familiar with Fall-Throughs? Yeah, fall-throughs are what happens when people are thinking just the way you were thinking about pricing higher and the sale can’t go through because the property won’t appraise for what you’re asking for it. And that’s not what you want right?

3. Empathy vs. Reality Close: 

This dialogue comes from our friend, Coach Gord Gerrie. I understand how you feel Mr. and Mrs. Seller and there is no doubt, many others have felt exactly the same way you do right now. However, what they found was that once they had sold their house and focused their attention on their new home, they understood that the reality of accepting the offered price really only amounted to a few dollars more per month on their next home.

Again in reality, by accepting this offer today, you will know that your house is sold and that the difference between what you had hoped for and what you will receive will amount to less than $X per day in your new home. Would you let $X per day stand between you and the home of your dreams?

Want to learn more ways to grow your business?  Join us on our Facebook page or Google+ page today.

Tools You Can Use…

By Julie Escobar

Back in the DAY…(ever notice how people always say that about what they did ions ago?) I used to love working with First Time Home Buyers.  They were excited, eager,  a little nervous and usually very appreciative of an agent’s experience and help.  Today’s consumers (even the newbies) are a lot more savvy than they used to be but I still find this niche a great source of prospects (and referrals) for agents today!

One great way to attract First Time Home Buyers is by hosting Home Buying Workshops in your market.  Many agents find that holding them at the local libraries, schools (many PTAs or PTSAs would be happy to include a segment in one of their meetings for valuable information!)  In many areas, you’ll find clusters of higher end apartment complexes that you could easily target for first time home buyers.

You can even use our mailing list options to specifically search for high-end renters and create a marketing database to connect with this demographic.

Couple up with a mortgage lender and real estate attorney to help spread the word and bring more value to the table.  I’ve even known agents who invite local restaurants (especially start ups that are trying to market themselves as well) to bring in sample appetizers or refreshments in return for letting them share their contact information or coupons as well!  In today’s world, this kind of smart, intuitive shared networking is making a big difference for a lot of agents.

We’ve got a terrific free report just for agents that’s filled with lots of ‘goof-proof’ tips on how to host a
successful workshop!  We’ve even got ready made postcard invitations that you can send out in a matter of kissyourlandlordgoodbyestdthumminutes!

It’s easy to use and easy (and free) to get!  Click here to go to our Resource Page – scroll about half way down the page until you see “Free Consumer Workshops” – then just click download!  Easy, breezy!  While you’re there – also download “How to Save for a Down Payment” which is a great piece to share with those folks who WANT to buy but aren’t quite ready to just yet.  Having your mortgage lender there will be very beneficial as you can help folks sort out where they are NOW in relation to what they need to purchase a home.

Be sure to get everyone’s contact information – then put them on a drip direct mail campaign every 30-45 days so stillrentingstdthumbthat when they are ready to purchase – they’ll know JUST who to call.  Our First Time Buyers Series is perfect for that.

They really speak to the questions that these folks already have in their heads and keep you top of mind.  I always like to use the alternative back on the postcard to write a little more information and create some calls and response by offering a free list of homes, list of foreclosures, additional home buying tips, local school information, etc.  All great reasons for them to stay connected with YOU!

If you are hosting an event in your market – be sure to share that information on your social media networks, and in the rental communities you are targeting.  And if this is the demographic you want to OWN in your market, consider setting up  a Facebook page so that you can really continuously share news people can use relating to buying a home and your market.  Don’t JUST talk business though!  Share information about your local economy, schools, community garage sales, tips about new restaurants or businesses in the area.  You can spotlight standout community leaders, kids who are making a difference, teachers, local heroes, specials you run across, testimonials from happy customers and more!

Need help getting started? Call our team at 866-405-3638 today.  They’re smart, knowledgeable, friendly and here to help you suceed!

Working the Renter Niche

Most top agents focus their business marketing in three important areas:  their sphere of influence, their geographic farm, and a niche market.

One niche that gets a lot of attention is the renter market. With rents on the rise across the nation, interest rates still historically low, and housing prices not yet scaling too quickly –it’s the perfect opportunity for renters to kiss their landlord goodbye – as it says in one of our most popular postcards for agents working this market.

Consistency is Key

As with any marketing campaign, consistency is key. Our First Time Buyer/Renter series has eight postcards, which is perfect for a 6-8 month campaign. Here’s what you do:

  • Choose some higher end rental properties or apartment complexes in your area and capture a mailing list.
  • On the reverse side of the postcard, make an offer for an item of value such as one of our free reports.
  • After each mailing has hit, be sure to follow up either by phone call or get out in the community and start meeting the people. Is there a Starbucks or coffee shop near the rental community? Let people know you’ll be there to answer questions one morning at a specific time. You can even use the back of the postcards as an invitation!
  • Repeat this process once a month for the next six months.

Another great idea from the Master Marketing Schedule is to send the Kiss Your Landlord Goodbye postcard to 100 renters in your market.

Related: Attracting First Time Home Buyers

 Need help? Were here for you. Contact our support team at 866.405.3638 today. 

 

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