Marketing Strategies!

Question: What options does an acorn have for quickly getting to the top of a 100 foot tall oak tree?

Traditional Method: Grow one day at a time, with hopefully just the right amount of sunlight, soil and water.
Using Leverage: Use its energy to make friends with the birds and animals who can carry it there!

What would you rather do?

Most real estate professionals only look for deals one opportunity at a time (e.g. marketing to FSBOs, expired listings, mass advertising) with no further thought. Super successful real estate professionals build relationships with other people and organizations who can multiply their efforts towards the best leads!

The key to building those relationships is to spend as little of your own time and money as possible!

Ideally, you should be spending one-third of the time allocated to your career, in equal proportions, on the following activities:

  • Developing new clients

  • Leveraging your relationships with others - the difference between ordinary and extraordinary!

  • Servicing your current clients

 

No to Low Cost Marketing Strategies Suggested Frequency Uses Leverage?

  • Market to FSBOs in your area.  Introduce and differentiate yourself from other REALTORS®. Listen to their needs and be empathetic. Then, tell them all the ways you can help them (e.g. discounted MLS listing, showing, and contract services; commission sharing when they buy; discounted referrals to other REALTORS®).

    Ask if they need help with anything. Build your relationship with them.

    If you don't immediately get their business, give them some information, follow up with them until you or someone else does, or you decide it is not worth your time.

 Daily No

  • Call the FSBOs that are advertising in the newspaper.  Be careful - a lot of the people advertising are real estate agents and brokers! Ask them!

 Daily No
  • Call expired listings.  They get a lot of phone calls from other firms, but our value proposition is probably a lot better than theirs.
 Daily No

  • Make friends with builder representatives and ask them for referrals.

 Weekly Yes!

  • Get involved in and/or create neighborhood social clubs (e.g. Mother's/Father's Night Out).

 Weekly to Monthly Yes!

  • Make friends with mortgage brokers and ask them for referrals. 

 Monthly Yes!

  • Set up business card/brochure displays at dry cleaners, hair salons, other high traffic, high visibility store fronts.

 Monthly Yes!

  • Drop off brochures to office buildings. Offer to contribute towards the company picnic, and/or other good cause.

 Monthly Yes!

  • Volunteer to write real estate articles for local home owner's association(s) and/or newspapers.

 Monthly Yes!

  • Contact former clients, neighbors, friends, family members, previous co-workers, etc. and ask them for referrals.

 Monthly No

  • Get involved with the the local PTO. Offer a contribution to the PTO for each referral they make. Include your marketing pieces in their mailings!

 Monthly Yes!

  • Sponsor neighborhood block parties (e.g. 4th of July watermelon party).

 Seasonally Yes, the neighbors will tell other neighbors!

  • Distribute "Just Listed" and "Just Sold" cards to neighbors.

 Optional, with each event No

 

More Costly Marketing Strategies Suggested Frequency Uses Leverage?

  • Write and deliver a monthly/quarterly real estate newsletter to all your neighbors.

 Monthly or quarterly Yes, if co-sponsored
  • Pass out "goodies" door-to-door during each holiday season (e.g. refrigerator magnet calendars, Christmas cookie cutters, pens, golf balls, etc.) to all your neighbors
 Seasonally No
  • Rent out an area neighborhood skating rink or bowling alley and invite the neighbors.
 Annually Yes, the neighbors will tell other neighbors! You may also get co-sponsors.
  • Create a neighborhood web site with information regarding home trends in their area (be sure to adhere to GDAR's data use rules).
 Annually Yes, if co-sponsored