Just a quick note to make sure you've heard about www.mailprint.com/mystyle, Mail Print's new Web site that helps you identify your unique personal branding style. Just pick your favorites from different color schemes, fonts and design styles, and the page will show you examples of brochures that may match your personal style.
Try it out!
Real Stories of Real Estate Success.
In case you haven't seen the new http://www.mailprint.com/ yet, I want to encourage you to check it out... especially the Case Studies page. This is one of my favorite parts of the new site because it shares real stories of real estate agents and other business people who we've helped overcome their challenges and achieve real results. I want to share some snippets from just a few of the case studies:
Beth Franklin is a broker and office owner who came to Mail Print for help with her prospecting efforts. Within just a couple of months of using one of our monthly mailing programs, she was already seeing results... two listing and a sale. Over the following months, she continued to see similar results.
Scott Thompson came to Mail Print as a newer agent who was trying to establish himself and target an up-scale audience. We created a personal branding package for Scott that gave him a professional logo, look and a bevy of marketing materials with his unique design. Within six weeks of starting to use his new materials, Scott had seven listing, two sales and two referrals as a result.
Teresa Grindinger is a successful real estate team leader who found herself spending too much time on her Just Listed/Sold mailings. When Teresa came to Mail Print, we helped her out by creating a custom postcard template and automating her mailings for her. No more applying stamps and lables! Within six months, the new program had already generated three listings for the team.
Beth Franklin is a broker and office owner who came to Mail Print for help with her prospecting efforts. Within just a couple of months of using one of our monthly mailing programs, she was already seeing results... two listing and a sale. Over the following months, she continued to see similar results.
Scott Thompson came to Mail Print as a newer agent who was trying to establish himself and target an up-scale audience. We created a personal branding package for Scott that gave him a professional logo, look and a bevy of marketing materials with his unique design. Within six weeks of starting to use his new materials, Scott had seven listing, two sales and two referrals as a result.
Teresa Grindinger is a successful real estate team leader who found herself spending too much time on her Just Listed/Sold mailings. When Teresa came to Mail Print, we helped her out by creating a custom postcard template and automating her mailings for her. No more applying stamps and lables! Within six months, the new program had already generated three listings for the team.
Top 8 Things Agents Do to Sabotage Their Mail Lists
So you’ve got your mailing list ready to go. That’s great. But just having a list is not enough. You'll need to maintain, clean, and most importantly, use your list to get the results you want.Here are some of the ways agents routinely mess up their lists and miss out on valuable business and referrals.
1. Using incomplete addresses.
Make sure your list entries are as complete and accurate as possible. Mailings with incomplete addresses will often not reach their destinations. Or a client will receive a mailing with the wrong name or a misspelled name. These kinds of oversights detract from your professional image and damage your credibility. Make sure entries are complete and correct. Mail Print can help you with this with our data management and database marketing solutions.
2. Not adding new contacts.
Update your list often. Add new contacts to your list as soon as you get them. You want to begin contacting these prospects and generating business, so put them on the list.
Remove old contacts if they are deceased or have moved from the area. This will save you some money and embarrassment and save the new residents from mail that isn’t for them.
3. Failing to add themselves and their family to the list.
Having yourself on the list is a great way to monitor your mailing campaigns. This way you will know when clients receive your mailings. And, you’ll have a chance to see exactly what your clients are receiving and the quality of the product.
Don’t be shy about mailing to your family. They have need for your services just like everyone else and are a great source for referrals. They will likely enjoy seeing your cards and take pride in your industrious nature.
4. Failing to keep the data current.
Stay on top of developments such as marriage, divorce, and death. You don’t want to send mailings to a widow’s departed husband. You want to address the surviving widow. Similarly, you don’t want to send postcards addressed to both Jim and Mary if they are divorced. Keep your data complete and avoid some potentially embarrassing situations.
5. Not making personal contact with people on their lists.
Making phone calls may not be your favorite part of the job. But it is part of the job. Talking with your clients at least once a quarter helps maintain a personal connection, and it gives you a chance to double-check your records. If there is incomplete data, like a missing email address, get it while you’re on the phone.
6. Failing to add past clients to their mailing list.
Stay in touch with those nice people who bought a home with you. They may not need your services for a few years, but that doesn’t mean they won’t bring you referrals. And if you keep in touch, they will be much more likely to do business with you again.
7. Not having a list at all.
If you don’t have a list, start putting one together. This is the most valuable tool you could have. It will bring in lots of business for you if you use it.
8. Mailing to the list only once or twice a year.
Again, mail to your list at least 12-33 times a year. If you mail only once or twice in a year, you might as well just burn your money instead. Repetition is the most important element to any type of advertising. If you want clients to respond to your message, you need them to see the message multiple times.
-Gina
Is Door Knocking Dead?
Most agents prefer to market on the telephone because it is easier to cover more territory deal with rejection on the phone. However, the Do Not Call law and the prevalence of private phone numbers has made it nearly impossible to connect with the entire neighborhood using just the phone.
Good news - door knocking still works – as long as you carefully select the doors you knock on and you are prepared with an effective, well rehearsed script. Most agents try to wing it, and get discouraged by poor results.
Remember that rejection will not be your only problem. It may be difficult to catch someone home during the day because in many families, both husband and wife work outside the home. That’s why it’s important that you use many methods to generate leads, including the telephone and direct mail. No matter what, face to face conversations are always better than cold calling.
Here’s how it’s done. When you or someone in your office secures a new listing in your farm area, knock on at least ten doors to the right and ten on the left of the newly listed property. Then knock on twenty doors across the street. Research shows that when a property goes on market, someone else on the block will likely be preparing to move. Plus, neighbors will want to speak with you to keep track of the market value of their own home.
Be prepared and have this dialogue memorized:
“Hi. I hope you can help me. Are you the owner of this property? (yes/no – if not, find out when the owner is home and come back another time, don’t introduce yourself too early)
“Hi, my name iswith XYZ Realty. Are you Mr./Mrs. Soandso?” – (use their name but always clarify, to make sure that is their name and you use it correctly)
“I hope you can help me. One of your neighbors up the street, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, just listed their house for sale. I am their listing agent (or “our office is in charge of the listing” if you aren’t the listing agent) and I want to know as much as possible about that property and this neighborhood. Could you please give me a few minutes of your time and tell me what you like the most about this area(use specific neighborhood name)? I don’t live here, so your opinion will be very helpful.”
The key to success is to be humble and human. Don’t even think about starting the conversation with the usual real estate prospecting question, “do you plan to make a move now or in the near future?” This will quite often offend people. You want to make a favorable impression.
A similar approach can be used to prospect around sold listings.
“I hope you can help me. As you probably noticed, you neighbors up the street had their house on the market. The problem is that it just sold a couple of days ago, and I’m working with a couple of buyers who are interested in buying a property in this neighborhood. Do you know someone who is thinking about making a move now or in the near future?”
People usually respond well to this type of approach. You will often learn a great deal from them. If they plan to make a move they will usually tell you without being asked. Or, later in the conversation, you can ask, “How about you? Do you plan to make a move now or in the near future?” But don’t begin your dialog with this direct question. It is too salesy to begin the conversation with.
Remember that prospecting doesn’t stop with door knocking. Let everyone you meet know what you do. The more contacts you have, the more referrals you will get. Use this script for your face-to-face prospecting as an added tool to your existing prospecting efforts and watch your commission checks grow!
Remember that rejection will not be your only problem. It may be difficult to catch someone home during the day because in many families, both husband and wife work outside the home. That’s why it’s important that you use many methods to generate leads, including the telephone and direct mail. No matter what, face to face conversations are always better than cold calling.
Here’s how it’s done. When you or someone in your office secures a new listing in your farm area, knock on at least ten doors to the right and ten on the left of the newly listed property. Then knock on twenty doors across the street. Research shows that when a property goes on market, someone else on the block will likely be preparing to move. Plus, neighbors will want to speak with you to keep track of the market value of their own home.
Be prepared and have this dialogue memorized:
“Hi. I hope you can help me. Are you the owner of this property? (yes/no – if not, find out when the owner is home and come back another time, don’t introduce yourself too early)
“Hi, my name is
“I hope you can help me. One of your neighbors up the street, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, just listed their house for sale. I am their listing agent (or “our office is in charge of the listing” if you aren’t the listing agent) and I want to know as much as possible about that property and this neighborhood. Could you please give me a few minutes of your time and tell me what you like the most about this area(use specific neighborhood name)? I don’t live here, so your opinion will be very helpful.”
The key to success is to be humble and human. Don’t even think about starting the conversation with the usual real estate prospecting question, “do you plan to make a move now or in the near future?” This will quite often offend people. You want to make a favorable impression.
A similar approach can be used to prospect around sold listings.
“I hope you can help me. As you probably noticed, you neighbors up the street had their house on the market. The problem is that it just sold a couple of days ago, and I’m working with a couple of buyers who are interested in buying a property in this neighborhood. Do you know someone who is thinking about making a move now or in the near future?”
People usually respond well to this type of approach. You will often learn a great deal from them. If they plan to make a move they will usually tell you without being asked. Or, later in the conversation, you can ask, “How about you? Do you plan to make a move now or in the near future?” But don’t begin your dialog with this direct question. It is too salesy to begin the conversation with.
Remember that prospecting doesn’t stop with door knocking. Let everyone you meet know what you do. The more contacts you have, the more referrals you will get. Use this script for your face-to-face prospecting as an added tool to your existing prospecting efforts and watch your commission checks grow!
Building Success With An Effective Follow-Up Campaign
Attracting new clients is an important part of marketing, but so is retaining past clients. Past clients are also one of the best referral sources. Parlay past sales into future success by designing a marketing plan just for past clients. Here are some ideas for a successful marketing follow-up campaign:
Frequently Send Updated Information. Send prior clients current information about your business with a quick postcard, flyer, or newsletter. This keeps them up to date and tells them that you think they are valuable. In addition, the average homeowner buys a new home every 3-7 years and it's important to have current contact information in front of them when they start thinking about their next move. Automated marketing campaigns make this quick and easy.
Call Clients. There is no substitute for a personal phone call. Phone prior clients once a quarter and tell them how important they are to you. Also find out if there is anything you can currently do for them. Remind clients that you are still there to meet their needs.
Frequently Send Updated Information. Send prior clients current information about your business with a quick postcard, flyer, or newsletter. This keeps them up to date and tells them that you think they are valuable. In addition, the average homeowner buys a new home every 3-7 years and it's important to have current contact information in front of them when they start thinking about their next move. Automated marketing campaigns make this quick and easy.
Call Clients. There is no substitute for a personal phone call. Phone prior clients once a quarter and tell them how important they are to you. Also find out if there is anything you can currently do for them. Remind clients that you are still there to meet their needs.
Send A Holiday or Birthday Card. Doing this tells your clients that you care. If a client believes you see them as an individual rather than a number, they will do business with you again. Mail Print, Inc. also offers recipes, household hints, seasonal and many other postcards that you could send to clients.
Offer Extra Services. Go the extra mile for a repeat client and they will become loyal patrons for life. One way to do this is to offer a free service. The next time they move, offer them a free apraisal or to take care of staging or inspections costs. These small perks will please them enough that they will recommend you to others.
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