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.

Build Your Business with Postcards

Using postcards in your 2007 marketing plan can greatly enhance sales. They can be sent out in search of new contacts, to follow-up, or to maintain and build relationships with referral sources. When a postcard is used properly, no other marketing tool can compare to it. Effective design and copy will grab your reader’s attention. Your postcard should also motivate consumers to action. Postcards are extremely effective and considerably cheaper than other marketing methods, and allow you to target specific contacts and areas for high return on investment.

Only 2% of sales are made on the first contact, so create a direct mail campaign that will send postcards to your customers several times a year. The more you send, the more likely they will remember you when they, or a friend, are ready to make a move. Here are some postcard ideas that will keep your customers interested:

Anniversary: These cards can be used for client wedding or home purchase anniversaries.

Birthdays: A simple birthday card can be a delightful surprise to unsuspecting customers.

Farming: Build recognition in your farm area by mailing a series of postcards that carry your name, photo and contact info.

Holiday Greetings: Send holiday wishes to your customers year round. There are holidays practically every day of the year, so pick one and create a contact around it.

Invitation: Invite frequent referral sources and current clients to an open house or "customer appreciation" party.

Just Listed/Sold: When you list or sell a home, let everyone in the surrounding neighborhood know you're the agent of choice. Great for getting the word out to key referral sources as well.

Promote New Service: Use your postcards to notify potential clients and referral sources about new services you now offer your clients.

Regain Lost Customers: Send out a series of postcards to customers who have not purchased from you in over a year.

Thank You: Send to clients to thank them for their past business or referrals.

Web Site: With so many web sites out there, a postcard can remind consumers of your site and boost Internet sales.

-Gina

The "P" Word

What's the key to building your real estate business year after year? Prospecting. Unfortunately, many agent's suffer because of their fright of prospecting. Jerry Pujals describes "the p-word" phenomenon and identifies key prospect groups in his article in Broker Agent News:

If there were one word to describe the ability to produce at higher levels, it would have to be "the p-word." That's right? Prospecting! Unfortunately, prospecting is probably the one task 95% of real estate agents avoid. Why? Because they're terrified of it.

We've all seen it: an agent who spends the majority of his time wondering what to do next, walking the halls, making water cooler talk, and babysitting the one or two deals he has in escrow. Deep down he knows he should be prospecting to generate new business, but he's just too scared to do so.

Whether you are a new agent or a veteran who wants different results, you must learn to love prospecting. Answer this: If you could earn an extra $200,000 per year by spending a mere two to four hours per day prospecting, would you do it? For most people, the answer is a resounding "yes."

However, most agents do anything possible NOT to create additional business. As simple as prospecting is and as handsomely as it pays off, it's still the single most difficult thing to get people in the real estate industry to do. But when done effectively and efficiently, prospecting can change your career.

Who to Prospect

Prospecting is actually simple when you know what to do. Following are some suggestions for focusing your prospecting activities.

Past Clients. The first category of prospecting should always be your past clients. That's obvious, yet many people neglect their past clients, even those they had incredible transactions with. This leaves the client with a negative impression. They think all real estate agents care about is getting the prize (the check), and then they're done. The ripple effect of this negative impression is huge. Therefore, you must prospect past clients on a regular basis.

Current clients. The second category is to call your current clients. Most agents forget to call their current clients even though they're talking about client loyalty all day long. But you must call your current clients, especially while they're happy with you. Sometimes, at the end of the transaction, they might not be happy with you anymore. So why not get a referral out of them when they're happy with you?

SOI. The third category is your SOI, which stands for Sphere of Influence. These are the people you refer business to who should be referring business back to you, like the lender, the title company, the insurance person, the home warranty company, etc. You refer these folks a multitude of transactions every month. Have you ever prospected them and asked if they would refer people to you? If they do not refer others to you, maybe you need to consider hiring somebody else who might reciprocate.

FSBO listings. The fourth category is FSBO listings. Any property that has a For Sale By Owner sign is being sold directly by the seller. We know that over 87% of properties that are for sale by owner will eventually be listed with a real estate agent. Therefore, you must call these people, show the value you can offer, and get the listing.

Expired listings. The fifth category is expired listings. Any listing that's expired becomes open season. If you have a lot of expired listings in your area, you must call them. If their property didn't sell and they didn't re-list with their current agent, it means one of two things: Either they decided not to sell for some reason, or they have a reason not to re-list with their current agent and are actively looking for a new agent. Why shouldn't you be the new agent for them?

Just listed/Just sold. The sixth category is those people who live in the same neighborhood as a house that has just sold or listed. On these calls you're just letting the person know that a neighbor's property got listed or sold, and you were calling to find out if he or she was thinking of moving.

Real Estate Farming Success - Part 2

Last time, we looked at setting up you farming strategy and becoming the expert on your farm area. Now, let's look at how to get your name out in your farm area to build your market share.

Mail Postcards Monthly

Mailing postcards monthly is a great way to brand your name and services to your area. Use your company logo along with your own logo or slogan, and photo. Use just listed and just sold postcards to show the active, pending, and recently sold properties in the area.

Incorporate the same style and colors every time you mail, and mail regularly to begin building your brand immediately.

Include a short, friendly note stating that you specialize in the area and include the latest updates for information.

Be sure to plug in a note of urgency: “Get more info… No hassles… No obligation!” or “We’ll sell your property FAST and for MORE MONEY.”

Ask for referrals.

Start a Newsletter in your Farm Area

Get a local mortgage broker to cooperate with you on the newsletter. Include their logo and defray your costs.

Include local information, neighborhood activities, special events, and keep it current.

Set Up an Open House System

If you don’t have a listing of your own, offer to sit on the property for an agent in your office or a home for sale by owner. Introduce yourself to the neighborhood. Be sure to advertise in advance, and hand out plenty of brochures and business cards.

Real Estate Marketing, Made Easy

I spent last week in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with some great REALTOR friends. It was a wonderful week of sun, sand and fun. As we all tried to forget about work and enjoy each others' company I found that the conversation always dropped back into the world of real estate and as the marketing person they were all trying to pick my brain.

Here at Mail Print we work really hard to make life easy for our clients. Many of them have us execute one of our standard mailings each month. The agents keep their list updated and we just MAKE IT HAPPEN. In this group of agents there was one in particular, Brian Courtney. Brian said to me, “Gina, I don’t know why every agent doesn’t use your services. You guys make it so easy.”

After I paid Brian off, we talked a little more. I asked him what he thought his mailings did for him. His comment back was pretty basic, “my clients call me and if nothing else they say, "I got your postcard, and by the way, my sister is moving to Kansas City, can you help her?" Brian went on to tell me that his last mailing to only 120 past clients and key referral sources netted him 10 calls!!!

Brian told me that he mails every month without fail. Sometimes he mails something from our standard offerings and other times he spends a little extra and has our staff create a custom card.

Brian told me his best card is always one that has a few property photos on the front of recently SOLD homes, with a little bit on the back about a recently LISTED property. In fact Brian gave me permission to show his card on the blog.

Brian knows that he needs to keep in touch with his past clients each and every month. He knows that he needs to remind them he is a successful agent who is actively listing and SELLING homes. Brian is certain to be a success for many years to come.

Posts related to this topic: Five Ways to Earn More with Transactional Marketing, The Power of Direct Mail

Five Ways to Earn More with Transactional Marketing

Do you know the best way to build on your successes? It’s simple. Let people know about them! That’s transactional marketing. The concept is tried and true marketing gold. And if you utilize it effectively, you will make more money.

For example, suppose Jim lists a home, then he distributes postcards advertising the fact that he listed the home. Two people call in response to the cards. One wants to look at the home, and the other wants to list her house with Jim. Then Jim sends out more postcards letting everyone know about his new listing. More people call him. And it keeps building and building on itself. That’s transactional marketing in action.

Here are a few ways you can build on past successes with transactional marketing:

Just Listed and Just Sold Cards. These are a vital part to many real estate agents’ marketing plans. Just like Jim, agents all over the country send out postcards advertising their successes in selling homes. The Just Sold Card works the same way as the Just Listed card. After a listing is made or a sale finalized, the agent sends out cards. The cards build name recognition and credibility. And, they work as active advertising for listed homes. Agents often distribute Just Listed and Just Sold cards to their farm area. Radial distribution is also popular, sending cards to properties immediately surrounding the listed or sold home. Agents also send cards to their COI lists, letting their contacts know about current listings and sales.

Exceptional Property Marketing. When listing properties that are particularly notable, it is wise to take extra steps to be sure it is effectively marketed. Savvy agents will distribute a custom designed Just Listed card with photos of the property and information highlighting its charms. Just Sold cards for these notable properties work as great, implied testimonials for any agent. They point out the fact that the agent can sell in a high-end market, and that wealthy homeowners trust her to protect their interests.

Open House Cards. Having an Open House? Why not use postcards to publicize the event? Circulate to the immediate neighborhood and your COI list to bring in a larger crowd and more leads.

On the Market Cards. This is a great way to revitalize interest in a home that has been on the market for a while. A simple reminder to prospective homebuyers and people in the neighborhood can bring in the interest necessary to sell the home at an acceptable price.

Just Reduced Cards. If a property simply won’t sell, and the price must be reduced, this is a great way to bring previously interested parties back. It will also pull in new interest with the drawing power of a perceived bargain.