marketing strategies

Want More Buyers? Understand the New Homebuyer “Must-Haves”

Oct 14, 2020

Pandemic-related uncertainty has incentivized many Americans to want to “. . . permanently relocate to more sparsely populated areas,” according to Redfin.com’s Dana Anderson.

“Overall, searches for homes in small towns are surging on the Redfin.com website,” she explains.

“Pageviews of homes in towns with fewer than 50,000 residents were up 87% year-over-year recently, more than triple the 22% year-over-year increase in page views of homes in cities with more than 1 million residents.”

The ability and acceptance of working from home and new technology to make that easier has changed many home shopping wish lists on which “a quicker commute” once ranked high.

As long as there is decent internet service, small towns and suburbia offer far more security to the new migrators.

Residents of San Francisco, Seattle and the District of Columbia lead the way, with many expressing interest in homes in Montana and rural areas of Oregon and Colorado along with Nevada and Arizona.

Aside from a safe haven, away from the craziness of the cities, what else are these homebuyers seeking? Right now, what we’re hearing is anecdotal, but here’s what we’ve learned.

Space – the new frontier

“Stayhome” is more than just a term preceded by a hashtag. Isolation, hunkering down, self-quarantine – they all describe our lives during the first two months or so of the pandemic.

We couldn’t help but get to know our homes, flaws and all. I always knew my pantry was dinky, but two months of stuffing it full of “stocking up” supplies made it so painfully evident that I really resent it now.

Others have mentioned clients seeking more outdoor room for the kids and pets instead of having them constantly indoors where parents are trying to work remotely.

The desire for more elbow room is also topping the lists of luxury homebuyers. “We’re getting calls from people wanting acreage. They want grass, they want greenery, and they don’t want the city,” Colorado agent Jennifer Markus tells Mark Samuelson at DenverPost.com.

A lot of your migrating clients may have an anti-wish list – a list of what they don’t want in their new home.

Smart home security systems are all the rage

Electronics manufacturers are already seeing a growing demand for home security solutions, according to Zack’s Vasundhara Sawalka at Nasdaq.com. Sawalka also promises that new DIY home security is being rushed to the market.

You won’t be surprised then if you have homebuyers who are demanding such technology in the homes they view and your listings that offer it fly off the market.

We’d love a home gym … or at least room to create one

Gym equipment manufacturers and retailers are loving life right now. “I sold over 61,000 pounds of dumbbells, plates and kettle bells in the last eight weeks,” Stan Soboleski, operations manager at Fitness Brokers USA, told Anaridis Rodriguez at CBS Boston.

In fact, don’t bother shopping for kettle bells in New York City because you most likely won’t find any.

Even with many states relaxing restrictions and gyms reopening, social distancing rules create lines at the door and long waits to use equipment. Many Americans don’t plan on returning to their gym until the pandemic is over.

Enter, the home gym. Americans have converted their guest rooms, studies and even garages to accommodate their workout equipment. When they move, they’ll want a dedicated area to put all that stuff, or at least a room that they can convert into a home gym.

Smart agents will appeal to the gym rats in listing descriptions.

Agents we’ve spoken with, depending on region, also mention that swimming pools, pergolas in the backyard and floorplans that allow privacy are on many homebuyers’ lists.

When it comes to home buyers, it appears that we may have a “new normal” in the real estate world.

Send the Multi-Photo Blue postcard from the Multi-Photo Series to promote your new listing to the surrounding area.

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

Take advantage of this week’s FREE Direct Response Report, “Are People Buying & Selling Post-Pandemic?”

Download the “Post-Pandemic” Direct Response Report now and keep copies available and on hand. Use the PROMO CODE: FREEREPORT at check out to get this report Free (a $19.95 value). – Click Here.

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

1. Become a Neighborhood Brand

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

2. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

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

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

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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

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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. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

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

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

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Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

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The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here

Struggling in real estate? Try breaking away from the herd

Sep 28, 2020

Never will you find a cardiac surgeon dispensing advice about gynecological problems. Nor will you likely find blog posts on pet websites counseling readers about DIY home projects.

Yet, many real estate agents have the notion that they can be everything to everyone. Those that typically sell single-family homes think nothing of listing a condo. Those that list mobile homes don’t hesitate to take on a luxury home listing.

While this may be ok for your bottom line, it does a real disservice to real estate consumers. In all other professions they have a choice of specialists.

They can consult a divorce attorney instead of a bankruptcy lawyer. When they need a root canal, they see an endodontist not an orthodontist and they can take their Porsche to a mechanic who specializes in them.

Remaining a real estate generalist is easier. It’s safer. After all, you don’t want to miss out on even one deal by narrowing your business focus, right?

What’s unique about that?

It’s unfortunate so many real estate agents harbor a reluctance to break away from the herd. The truth is, however, if you always follow the leader you will always be behind.

Then, there’s that lump in the gut when you think of closing off your business to some parts of the real estate industry and narrowing your focus to only one or two specialties.

This move away from being “a jack-of-all-trades but the master of none” is necessary if you’re to become the best in the market in your niche.

Seth Godin, blogging master and best-selling author, suggests that real estate agents should consider “micro-specialization.”

Choose a niche and work to dominate it.

Step away from the Herd

“… you’re either the best in the world (where ‘world’ can be a tiny slice of the environment) or you’re invisible,” Godin continues.

He says that to become “visible,” requires “… being Draconian in your choices. No, you can’t also do a little of this or a little of that. Best in your world means burning your other bridges and obsessing,” Godin says.

Scary thought, right?

Let’s look at a scenario:

You’re an agent in Las Vegas, chasing after every lead that comes your way – single family homes, duplexes, condos, whatever, you’ll take it. Your website even proclaims as much – “I can help you will all your real estate needs!”

If you consider yourself the average agent, you make about $45,610 a year, give or take a few dollars, according to Daniel Bortz at Realtor.com.

Suppose you decide to step away from being “average” and that you will specialize in listing and selling high-rise condos. Last year, 607 Las Vegas high rise condo units sold, with an average sales price of $598,728. This represents a commission of about $17,962 per side (based on 6 percent total commission).

As a generalist, how many of these condos would you have listed or sold? Be honest. The average Las Vegas agent was lucky to have listed one or two in an entire year.

The specialist that targets the high-rise condo market with a laser-like focus and dominates the brand as the niche expert in the area increases his or her chances of taking more than a handful of those sides from other agents.

Let’s be conservative and say that you only close one of these condo-deals a month. Even on a 50/50 broker split, you’d be making nearly $9,000 a month in GCI, give or take a few dollars and nearly $108,000 a year – almost three times what the average agent in the Las Vegas Valley brings home.

Remember, our scenario is based on conservative estimates. Your mileage may be a lot better.

The bonus is that the more you enforce your condo-specialist brand, the more condo leads you’ll get and folks that want to buy or sell high-rise condos will seek you out.

Imagine selling 5 of these condos a month.

If you’ve been casting as wide a net as possible in the hope of reeling in the maximum number of leads, consider setting yourself apart from other agents by claiming a niche and dominating it.

Send the Tired of Being a Landlord postcard from the Absentee Owner Series to a targeted list of Absentee Owners in your area.

Need help targeting a specific niche of buyers or sellers? Use our Demographic Search 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 some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. Become a Neighborhood Brand

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

2. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

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

4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Need More Time in Your Day?

Sep 21, 2020

We just freed up a whole bunch of your time!

HOW?

By adding the ability to SCHEDULE MAILINGS on ProspectsPLUS!

Now, you’ll experience…

Less time spent marketing
Less last-minute marketing stress
Less missed important marketing deadlines
Less marketing systems to babysit
Less questions each month about who you need to market to and when.
Less tasks on your “To Do” list
Less money spent on postage (you can send standard class)
Less past clients FORGETTING ABOUT YOU because they’re getting scheduled mailings from you throughout the year.

IMAGINE YOUR LIFE WITH SCHEDULED MAILINGS! NOW, YOU CAN….

Schedule out a year of postcards in one visit and you don’t have to pay until each postcard goes out.
Assign additional tasks to your assistant because her time has been freed up.
Spend more time on priority activities like prospecting, presenting, and closing.
KNOW what future marketing is going out WHEN – no more worries.
Save money, since you’re scheduling in advance you can now send standard class.
Better yet – with the money you’re saving on postage you can upgrade to a jumbo or panoramic sized postcard – and REALLY STAND OUT.

AND SCHEDULED MAILINGS ARE…

100% risk-free. You aren’t charged until the date the postcard goes out.
Able to be canceled or changed (including the mailing list) right up to the night before your order goes out.
Confirmed by email the day before your order goes out.

HERE ARE 5 WAYS THE POWER OF SCHEDULING WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Just Closed on a Property? Schedule the Next 5 Years of Client Anniversary Cards RIGHT NOW

2. Say GOODBYE to Holiday STRESS. Schedule All Your Holiday Postcards Before the Season Begins

3. Schedule Your Open House Postcards to Arrive JUST IN TIME – Prior to Your Big Weekend

*Open House Gear, Color & Scenic Series*

4. Don’t Ever MISS a Client Birthday Again. Schedule the ENTIRE YEAR at Once

5. Niche Marketing? Schedule Out Those REPEATED Postcard Mailings to go out RIGHT ON TIME