Email Marketing with Happy Grasshopper

The Secrets of The Internet REVEALED: The Best Time To Send An E-Mail

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:11:06 -0700

We’ve DONE IT.

We’ve uncovered THE TRUTH.

We’ve unlocked THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE.

We’ve discovered THE BEST TIME TO SEND AN E-MAIL.

Really. It’s true.

Or not.

Look. There are gajillion “studies” out there, performed by people with impressive-sounding job titles like, “social scientist” and so on and so forth, that talk about the precise study of when to send an email for maximum effectiveness.

Wanna know something?

It’s a lot of bunk. Crap. Detritus. Excrement.

When’s the best time to send an email? WHEN YOU DECIDE TO SEND IT. Sure, test out different times to see when YOU get the best results, but honestly. There is no “best time” to send an email. To assert otherwise is to spout a lot of hooey.

The real problem with email and it not getting opened has bupkis to do with what time you sent it. It has to do with it being patently uninteresting. If you want people to open your email or even to (GASP!) respond to it, make it worth reading.

When you sit down to send an email, ask yourself this question: “Is this something I’d want to read?” And answer it honestly. If you say, “YES!” Then, by all means, send away. But if you say no? Well ... you might want to rethink what you’re doing. Write something that you’d actually open yourself.

This is the whole reason Happy Grasshopper exists, you know. Happy Grasshopper’s whole job is to create great content that your contacts will ACTUALLY READ (and we even send it FOR YOU!) It’s not rocket science, no, but it’s darned effective. And sure, it goes against everything you’ve ever been taught by CRM companies and the great and powerful “THEY.” But you know what? Sometimes THEY are wrong.

There is no right or wrong time to send e-mail. But there sure as sugar is a right message to send: the one that gets read.

Give Happy Grasshopper a try today. You’ll love it as much as the rest of our customers do. We guarantee it.

Effortless E-Nurturing
Our professionals write and send timely, engaging, relationships building email messages to your database. You simply edit and approve them! No more forgetting to keep in touch or struggling with what to say. Get Your First 30 Days for $5 - Get Started Today >>

Be AWESOME.

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 19:45:39 -0700

Team Happy Grasshopper has just returned from a terrific week in Fort Worth, Texas, where we took part at the inaugural session of REX Annual, a new breed of Real Estate conference sponsored by HousingWire.

Going into the event, none of use was quite sure what to expect, but coming out? The message was clear: no matter WHAT you’re doing in your business, be AWESOME at it. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Time and time again during the conference sessions, presenters talked about making sure that while it didn’t matter terribly what direction you wanted to take your business or via what method, what DID matter was that you took that direction’s ball and ran across the goal line with it.

In short, no technology, no tool, no shiny goodness or app will do any good for your business unless you actually use it and follow through. Nothing will replace the secret sauce that is YOU.

Be AWESOME.

When customers call you, CALL THEM BACK.
When people want to see your listings, SHOW THEM TO THEM.
When people want information, GIVE IT TO THEM.

And?

When people send you email, RESPOND TO IT.

Sounds easy, right?

It doesn’t sound complicated, but the number of real estate professionals that don’t do these things is, simply put, staggering.

Be AWESOME.

Keep in touch with your customers! Keep in touch with those people you’ve done business with, the folks you know from Little League, that are your friends, who are in the PTA ... KEEP IN TOUCH. These people are the lifeblood of your business and reminding them--subtly--that you’re awesome, is pretty simple. And you don’t have to be all salesy when you do it.

Be AWESOME.

Treat these people--and ALL of your contacts, really, like they are your friends, not some sales target.

This is the principle on which Happy Grasshopper is founded, you know. We want to make sure you’re not talking to people you know like they’re just numbers in a spreadsheet. We want you to treat them like they’re awesome. Because they are. And so are you.

Be AWESEOME.

Give Happy Grasshopper--the tiny little company with the funny little name, but with the big idea of making authentic human connections--a try today. We’ll help you stay in touch with your sphere, increase your responses, get more business, and yes ...

Be AWESOME.

Two Years & Counting ... And Still Getting Replies!

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:54:46 -0700

That’s the way Todd Clark sees the relationships he has with his clients and past customers. See, he knows what lots of professionals--no matter
which industry they’re in--fail to recognize: people don’t need to be beaten over the head with information about YOU or YOUR JOB. If they’re being treated as friends, they’ll respond in kind. See how that works? And, as Todd can tell you, it’s not as complicated or cockamamie as you might think.

Two-ish years ago, Todd signed up with Happy Grasshopper, much in the same way everyone does: just to see if it worked as well as it was advertised. In his eyes, it DID, and this is what he had to say about it way back when he was looking for a new way to get leads.

Two years later, he's still getting clicks and leads from that very same post.

A Happy Grasshopper that hops to the beat of a different drum.

Todd, a REALTOR® who’s been in the business for about 8 years, has been a customer of ours almost from the beginning--about two and a half years now--and says he’s had great success with Happy Grasshopper since the get-go. In fact, he says that he got 3 deals (yes, you read that right: THREE) from his very first Happy Grasshopper message. That’s a pretty impressive result.

Even more impressive.

On average, Todd says he gets between 3-5 responses each and every time a Happy Grasshopper message is sent to his list of folks. The thing that’s really striking about this, however, is that his list only contains 17 people.

"I've kept my list small because I'm not really in the business anymore. I'm not actively looking for new business. Not pushing real estate, but letting them know I’m out there. I’m actually the marketing director for Ken’s Home Team and I work my past clients and any new clients go to the team. I don’t like to remind people who had a short sale about the loss of their home, but when they think about real estate, I do want them to think about me."

That, friends, is an almost 30% response rate. Make no mistake: this is not his open rate--these are RESPONSES.

One of the unique things about Todd is that he works, primarily, with short sale clients. He uses Happy Grasshopper to serve this group not just because he doesn’t want to bombard them with salesy promotional materials, but because he’s sensitive to what they have been or are going through. Sometimes, being reminded about the real estate market can pour salt on a wound that’s not entirely healed. Happy Grasshopper lets Todd keep in touch with his customers in a way that’s sensitive to their situations. They know he’s thinking about them, but they’re not constantly reminded of something unpleasant.

Raining it in.

Todd is an agent who understands that “shiny” doesn’t necessarily equate to success. A prolific blogger (with a sizable following) on Active Rain, he's stayed with and remained true to the platform because it doesn’t just work for him, it works for his customers and helps him find new ones for his team at Keller Williams. He knows that, sometimes, simple really is better. He uses Active Rain and Happy Grasshopper to engender community and friendship with his customers. He loves that HG is a service he doesn’t even have to think about and can still use with confidence. He rests easy knowing that his customers will be well taken care of, that they’ll know he’s not forgotten them, and he does it all by treating them as friends.

Want to keep up or catch up with past clients and customers? Click here to get started.

That’s the key to it. Treat your customers like they’re your friends. And yes, it’s just that easy.

The Sweet, Sweet Surprise of Marketing.

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:48:25 -0700

Is it frosting? Sprinkles? Cupcakes?

Nope (though we're totally into those things, too).

The super, delicious, calorie-free, super-duper surprise of successful marketing is ...

EMAIL.

“NO. WAY.” you say. “WAY!” we say.

It's true. The most successful agents in real estate--those that are making more than $100,000 per year--are spending their resources on email because it’s simple, it provides a gentle touch to their customers, and because it WORKS.

Maybe it’s time you served yourself another helping of email’s delicious goodness.

As it happens, we’ve got some thoughts about how you should slice it up (make sure you get the frosting rose, too).

FIRST, decide who, exactly, you want to communicate with and why. Are you looking for more referrals? Do you want to improve your networking overall? Do you want to make connections with new leads? What’s YOUR goal? Defining this at the start will save you from choking on a bite that’s too big.

Once you’ve decided what your goal is, it’s a good idea to separate your database into two separate lists: FRIENDS--people you actually know and with whom you have some sort of personal relationship--and LEADS--people who are looking solely to have a business relationship with you, such as people who found your website or who called the phone number on one of your listing signs.

Figuring out, right from the beginning, who falls into which group will save you a big stomach ache in the long run.

NEXT, you need to figure out which sorts of messages to send to whom. Sending salesy pitches to your friends will irritate them no end, but neglecting to keep in touch with your leads will sink your souffle faster than you can say, “crepes suzette.”

No matter which group your contacts fall into, you want to make sure you’re sending them the messages THEY need. Your leads might want market data or information about the areas in which you specialize. Your friends will likely be best served simply by knowing they’re in your mind and that you’re thinking of them.

In both cases, sending the right type of messages will position you well for getting the nod when either is ready to buy or sell a home.

There are lots of tools on the market to help you get your contacts the messaging that will keep them engaged and keep you topmost in their minds (which is delicious goodness, no?) For keeping in touch with friends, Happy Grasshopper’s service offers messaging that makes everything easy as cake, err ... pie. Check out this blog post by Karen Salmon to find out how easy it was to incorporate email marketing into her business.

Email marketing is sweet. And it’ll add a sweet dollop of icing (and maybe even a cherry!) to your overall marketing plan. Give it a try; we think you’ll find it’s the tastiest way to give your business a surprising boost.

Steven Sharpe made $26,000 in commission with his first send from HG

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Fri, 10 May 2013 08:49:08 -0700

At Happy Grasshopper, we love things that are fun, friendly, conversational, and altogether non-douchey. But that’s not ALL we’re about. We are fun, yes, but we are deadly serious about the products we deliver. Our messaging may seem simple, but it’s pretty darned powerful. Just how powerful? Well, we aim to show you. And one of the best ways for us to do that is to have our customers tell you themselves.

CUSTOMER: Steven Sharpe
HOMETOWN: Chattanooga, Tennessee
POSITION: Residential REALTOR® (he does a smattering of commercial work, too)
COMPANY: Keller Williams Downtown Chattanooga
HOW LONG: 6+ years

HOW MUCH BUSINESS LAST YEAR/THIS YEAR: 19 closed transactions in 2012, on pace for 35 or more in 2013. Steven has been a customer of Happy Grasshopper for about a year and a half. He’s a very happy Happy Grasshopper and we promise he hasn’t been paid off. FOR REAL. The thoughts here are his and his alone. None of the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Or the grasshoppers. Or even the ants.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE HG FEATURE: “It’s low-impact email. I love that it’s casual and conversational. It allows me to stay top-of-mind with the people I’ve done business with and other folks I actually know, and that I don’t have to talk business to do it. Also, I get multiple email options with each cycle. There are always 4 or 5 to choose from; each is lighthearted and engaging. The tool is helping me to build relationships. It’s just right.”

WHAT KIND OF RESPONSE DID YOU GET TO YOUR FIRST HG MESSAGE? “This is one of my favorite stories. I sent my first message and almost immediately, a guy that I’d been trying to reach for more than two years responded. He said he loved the message and it reminded him right away of why he’d wanted to work with my in the first place. He told me he wanted to move out of the city, so he had me list and sell his home, then help him buy a lot where he built a new hunting lodge.

Because of that one email--and I think I was still on my $5 trial period--I made a little more than $26,000 in commissions, and it’s entirely attributable to Happy Grasshopper.”

HOW MANY REPLIES DO YOU TYPICALLY GET FROM HG MESSAGES: “I have about 130 people in my Happy Grasshopper database--I only include people I’ve worked with before or actually know--and get 6 or 7 replies to each message. That’s not opens, but replies. That’s about a 5.4% REPLY rate, and I think that’s pretty darned good.”

HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN A NEGATIVE RESPONSE TO AN HG MESSAGE? “Nope. I’ve had a couple of people opt out--that’s to be expected with any messaging campaign--but no one has in more than 6 months. But no one has ever said they thought the messages were silly or anything like that. My feedback has been pretty terrific.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF HG’S SETUP PROCESS? “Oh my goodness. It was so easy. I just uploaded my file and sent the first message. I think the whole process took less than half an hour. And the reports that we get are super-easy to read. The analytics and information about open rates give me just what I need to know.”

HOW MUCH REVENUE WOULD YOU SAY YOU COULD ATTRIBUTE TO HG? “Well, I’ve told you about the customer who responded to the first message. That was $26K right there. I can’t say exactly how much revenue that’s come as a result, but I can tell you that there were two transactions on the very first message and there have been 5 or 6 others over the course of the past year. There isn’t another product I use that gives more bang for my buck than Happy Grasshopper.”

WILL YOU CONTINUE TO USE HAPPY GRASSHOPPER? “Oh, absolutely! I love the service and will keep on keepin’ on. I think it’s great. Easy and a great value! My name is Steven Sharpe, and I’m a VERY happy Happy Grasshopper.”

Recruitment ... and Other Dirty Words

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:22:43 -0700

Recruitment. For lots of business people, the mere mention of it makes them want to rinse their mouths out, as if they’d just run through their own, personal version of George Carlin’s “7 Dirty Words You Can’t Say on Television” (if you've never seen this bit, check it out. It's NSFW in every way, but hysterically funny).

Bleep. Bleep. Censored. Blocked. Bleep.

Like it or not, in many of industries, solid, effective recruitment is imperative to business success. Business is booming and you’d like to keep it that way. The best way is to attract talented people to help in that endeavor. But the sticky part is that your competitors want the same thing. So how do you differentiate yourself from the competition? How do you make your business stand out?

Make Your Messaging Taste Sweeter.

You talk about your the great people in your office. You talk about the great benefits you offer. You talk about the great community work and the great culture you’ve established. But really, isn’t everyone talking about those things? They are, and this is why you need to make your messaging stand out. You want to make the recruits you want--the ones that are right for your office and your team--sit up and take notice.

Enter Happy Grasshopper Recruits.

We’ve taken the best part of Happy Grasshopper for individuals and put it to work for your recruiting effort. We’ve developed a specialized set of questions that identifies the sorts of recruits that are best for your office, as well as the ones who’d be the worst. Once we’ve identified what you need, we craft messaging around what YOUR office needs--not anyone else’s--so you’re attracting the right people; the ones who will get the job done for you in a way that achieves your goals, both financially and culturally.

Happy Grasshopper Recruits. It’s coming soon and it won’t leave a bad taste in your mouth; it’ll just leave you hungry for more.

Want to find out more? Hop on over to Happy Grasshopper and check it out. We're looking forward to your visit!

What Does It Mean To “Keep In Touch”?

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:31:43 -0700

When you’re in high school, people sign your yearbook just before the end of the school year, with whimsical, sentimental thoughts, like, “K.I.T.!!”

K.I.T.? Did that actually happen? No.

When you’ve met someone at a conference or had a casual lunch, often someone will say, “Let’s keep in touch.”

“Keep in touch”? Did that actually happen? Probably not.

When Happy Grasshopper says, “KEEP IN TOUCH”, these aren’t just words; we mean that you really should.

Keeping in touch with customers, clients, and friends--your sphere of influence--is one of the basic tenets of business. If you stay in contact with these people, they will continue to be your customers, clients, and friends ... because they’ll remember who you are! What could be more important than that?

Why is keeping in touch so important?

It’s important because anything that you’ve done for people in the past is, sadly, ancient history. Most people think in terms of “what have you done for me lately?” Even if you’ve done a great job for someone in the past, if you haven’t bothered to keep in touch, when those people need a service like yours again, they’ll call the last person they spoke to who provided it.

If you kept in touch, that person would be YOU.

Make sure you have a plan in place to keep in touch with your friends, your customers, your past clients ... everyone. Happy Grasshopper provides a consistent, easy way for you to keep in touch with your contacts without you having to worry about time spent or what to say. You never know when “the moment” will strike that any of these people will need your services. You want to make sure that you’re top of mind with them when that time comes.

Keeping in touch is the key, Happy Grasshopper is the way.

Stop other and request a sample. We’d like to keep in touch with you, too!

Reap Rewards When  You Sow Your Relationships

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:46:31 -0700

When was the last time you really tended your customer relationships? Those need to be cultivated in much the same way as you would a garden. If you want them to bear fruit, you have to put in some effort & give them a little TLC.

Most professionals spend a lot of time gathering leads--these are the seeds of your business. But once they have them, they neglect them. They don’t get watered or weeded or fertilized. And, as in any untended garden, the seeds wither and fade away.

Cultivating and maintaining relationships with your customers, friends, business associates, or anyone else is no different, really.

Do you have bins and buckets and boxes of customer “seeds”? Most business people do, and it’s likely you’re no different. When was the last time you looked at them? Even if they’re uploaded to a shiny database, they’re not doing anything for you unless you’re showing them some attention.

Tend the garden.

Prune your customer list. Weed out the dead leads. The ones that remain should be cultivated and cared for. Reach out to the people in your sphere. Show them you’re paying attention. Start conversations with them. Do that, and you’ll start to see the fruits of your labor.

Start conversations and watch your garden grow.

All REALTORS Have the Same Problem

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:53:47 -0700

REALTORS® have a problem.

They're always ready to sell, but people are very rarely ready to buy.

Often, agents turn to email marketing to help solve this problem, but their messages focus on the needs of the sender. They send market reports, just listed & sold postings, or home buyer tips ... these could be helpful to someone who's actively looking for a home. Otherwise? Not so much.

Happy Grasshopper has a better way.

Happy Grasshopper's messages focus on the recipient. Instead of trying to sell to someone who's not ready to buy, they focus on starting conversations that lead to deeper relationships.

Our professional writers create engaging, conversation-starting messages & send them for you every 3 weeks. That's 17 emails per year to help you maintain the relationships that are essential to your successful business. And Happy Grasshopper does it all for you. We call it Effortless e-Nurturing.

Treat your customers like friends instead of sales opportunities. Thousands of agents and other professionals rely on Happy Grasshopper to help them keep in touch.

Try e-Nurturing with Happy Grasshopper. Stay in touch, effortlessly. You'll get happy; we guarantee it.

Get a sample here.

Email Marketing's Big Problem

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:07:45 -0700

You may or may not know this, but e-mail marketing has a problem. Lots of them, actually. But the biggest one is this:

NO ONE READS IT.

Do you want to know why? Because for years, we’ve all been listening to the same load of hooey about how to use it. We’ve all been trained to use a tool--that’s a really GREAT tool, by the way--in a way that makes people look away.

Think about it.

You open your e-mail and there’s a shiny, templated “message” filled with real estate facts, figures, data, testimonials about how great its sender is at his job, what awards they’ve won, and so and so forth with gobs of factoids that, really, no one is interested in. Would you be interested in reading that? Be honest.

One thing that salespeople seem to forget is that while they’re always ready to sell, not everyone is ready to buy. If you got a message filled with data about selling your home, but you weren’t thinking about selling your home at that moment, would you bother reading it? No way.

It’s time (get ready for a big, smelly buzz word) for a PARADIGM SHIFT.

It’s time to think about a new way to use e-mail. It’s time to use it in a way that nurtures your customers, but doesn’t pester them. It’s time to use it in a way that keeps you and your business in their minds, but isn’t pushy. It’s time for something simple, but something powerful.

That’s where Happy Grasshopper comes in.

Our e-mail messages contain no sales pitches. That’s right, NONE. They’re simple messages written around pieces of media--articles, videos, photos, and the like--that are relevant to the time they’re sent. They’re human interest pieces that help you start genuine conversations with them instead of trying to sell them something.

Doesn’t that sound like a message you’d rather receive? It’s not fancy, but it’s effective. Happy Grasshopper provides a solution to e-mail’s BIG problem. Give us a try for just $5. We’ll bet Happy Grasshopper can solve your big e-mail problems, too.

Daylight Savings Time Is Dead. Long Live Daylight Savings Time.

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 18:16:50 -0800

If it’s time for anything, it’s time to breathe some new life into your e-mail.

There are many certainties in this life: death, taxes, and that you’re sure to get an e-mail reminder from your REALTOR that it’s time to “spring forward” or “fall back”. This is great information, sure, but it’s the same, year in and year out. It’s expected and, let’s face it, probably gets ignored more often than not.

It’s time for something different.

Most e-mail campaigns—drip or otherwise—talk AT the recipients. They are jam-packed with shiny templates, clickable doo-dads, and lots of data that do little to capture your customers’ attentions. Wouldn’t it be nice, for a change, to talk TO your customers?

That’s what Happy Grasshopper makes possible.

Instead of making things flashy, we make things simple. We make it possible to stay on the minds of your customers without flash and dash, but with content that’s compelling, thought-provoking, and relevant to what’s happening now. I know that if it was me, I’d be far more likely to remember the person who sent me a message about an inspiring story, funny video, or captivating photo—and who wanted to have a real, human conversation about it—than I would the one who sent data that were irrelevant to me.

“But those statistics are important--my customers need to know the market conditions!”

Yes. They sure do. But really, the conditions of the market aren’t going to influence a person to buy or sell a home. They’re going to do that when they’re ready to do that. Until then, those data just don’t matter all that much. If, instead, you’ve been actively engaging them, really talking to them? Well, they’ll be much more likely to remember you when they are ready to make their move.

It’s time.

Those messages about Daylight Savings Time (and yes, we’re looking forward to when it kicks in, too!) and all of those other classics of the real estate profession (see: recipes, changing the batteries in your smoke detectors, and “now really is the best time to buy a home!”) are fine. That’s it: they’re just fine. But wouldn’t it be great to have something a whole lot better than fine? Something that doesn’t talk about Daylight Savings Time, something that gives you time to do all of the other important things that make your business work?

It’s time for something new. It’s time for Happy Grasshopper.

EXIT Realty Welcomes New Approved Supplier Happy Grasshopper!

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:50:38 -0800

We are really excited to be working with EXIT. They have put together a great package for thier agents. If you'd like to find out more about the packages or you have other questions about the partnership please feel free to contact me or call us directly!

Have a happy day!

Via The Team at EXIT Realty (EXIT Realty Corp. International):

Sharron Richards, VP Broker Services for EXIT Realty Corp. International recently announced that Happy Grasshopper has joined the elite group of companies in EXIT Realty's Approved Supplier Program.

Happy Grasshopper tackles email marketing in a completely new way by creating and delivering fun, friendly messages for real estate agents that start conversations with their clients. It's as simple as picking a new message once every 3 weeks and watching the replies arrive. Happy Grasshopper's clients report results after their very first send. In fact, they guarantee it!

Read More

Want Relevant Content? Try This

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:35:27 -0800

One of the most common questions I get about Happy Grasshopper is, "If the email marketing messages I am sending aren't about real estate, how will they help me close more business."

The answer is simple. Relevant Content

It is easy for today's consumers to search for homes. It's easy for them to get an idea of what their home might be worth. They don't need you to explain the buying or selling process, that information is readily available as well. The thing that differentiates you, is you ability to truly connect with people. Not you ability to deliver a monthly marketing report.

Providing relevant content doesn't mean providing content about your industry to someone who is only marginally interested. Providing relevant content means giving the recipient with something that will engage them. No sales required.

I could go on about this, but Albert Lexie is far more interesting and inspirational than anything I could tell you.

Here is my challenge to you. Share Albert's story with your database It's worth sharing. Don't use his story as an opportunity to ask for referrals. Just share his story and link to this video: http://youtu.be/D4nFAjJy2f8

I think you'll be surprised how they respond. I'd love to hear about it.

My first email added nearly $400,000 to my sales and $12,000 to my GCI

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 20:12:16 -0800

"My first email added nearly $400,000 to my sales and about $12,000 to my GCI. Not too shabby for a $5 investment, huh?" - Brian Rayl about his first email from Happy Grasshopper.

We are always so touched when one of our clients shares their experiences with Happy Grasshopper. Here's what Brian has to say:

Via Brian Rayl, Dallas Park Cities TX Real Estate 214-699-1799 (B&B Realty Group - Keller Williams Dallas Park Cities):

I wanted to take a moment to recommend one of my favorite vendors, Happy Grasshopper. Celest Grupman, Dan Stewart, and the rest of the team at Happy Grasshopper do an amazing job. So let me tell you why you should give Happy Grasshopper a try.

Happy Grasshopper is designed for your "Have Met" and sphere of influence. It allows you to maintain contact with these people automatically, about every 3 weeks. They send short, timely emails that entice the person to engage with you and interact. These emails are NOT real estate related in any way, except for your email signature which reminds people of who you are and what you do. There is an example of my last email at the end for you to check out.

This style works great for me. I do not like pushy sales people, and sending something like a 33-Touch that is nothing but real estate seems far too pushy for me. I use this to supplement real estate related newsletters with some non-real estate material to build a relationship and build raport.

Everyone who talks about how to conduct business on Facebook say that about 90% of your posts should be PERSONAL and only about 10% business. So why should email be any different? Don't beat your email contacts into working with you again, nurture them into WANTING to do business with you again.

Happy Grasshopper has engaged my email list more than any of my marketing reports ever did. This is not a mass email that goes out to all of my prospects. I have a limited list of around 300 people that involve my sphere of influence, past clients, and referral sources. Every time an email goes out, I can almost be guaranteed 5-10 replies. When is the last time your market report got that many replies?

I encourage you to give Happy Grasshopper a shot. You can visit the website and request a sample email. Try them out for $5 for the first month and see if you don't get a great response from your sphere and clients. If you don't, they will refund your money, no questions asked. One email was all it took for me. My first email added nearly $400,000 to to my sales and about $12,000 to my GCI. Not too shabby for a $5 investment, huh?

Here is the last email that was sent:

Are you a Monopoly fan? I just saw this article that says Hasbro is going to eliminate one of the classic game tokens and replace it with something new. What do you think they're up to? Does is really make sense to eliminate a shoe, wheelbarrow or top hat, just to replace it with a guitar, robot or helicopter?

Just goes to show that change is really dependable. What sort of changes are going on in your life?

Best wishes,
Brian

Brian Rayl - Keller Williams Elite

Click Here To Search For Homes

If you know someone looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate, I would be honored to give them the top notch service you would expect of me!

e | Brian@BBRealtyGroup.com

p | Cell: 214-601-4192 (call or text anytime!)

w | http://FindDallasHomesForSale.com

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Brian Rayl, REALTOR®, e-PRO, SFR
B&B Realty Group - Keller Williams Elite Park Cities
214-699-1799
Brian@Rayl-Estate.com
www.FindDallasHomesForSale.com

Specializing in Highland Park real estate, University Park real estate, and homes for sale in Dallas and anywhere in the Dallas area.

What 98% of Top Producing Agents Do That You Should Too

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 18:57:45 -0800

What are agents making over $100,000 a year spending their resources on? Surprise, it's email marketing!*

It's the perfect time to put new systems in place. Have you made email marketing a priority? If not, it might be time to give it some consideration.

So how do you get started? Here are some tips:

1. Define Your Audience and Purpose

Are you looking to communicate with past clients, friends, and acquaintances so that you can get more referrals? Are you looking to improve the relationships that you are trying to build through networking? Do you want to better communicate with leads you get from sign calls, open houses, or your website? Are you trying to become the king of local in your area?

The first wrong turn many make when starting a new email marketing campaign is failing to really understand their audience. Sending a market report to your buddy from the Y is more likely to make him feel like a mark than a friend. That is, of course, unless he asked you for it.

Audiences can be classified into two groups: Friends and Leads. Don’t get caught up on the terminology just yet. First, let me explain.

Friends are people who know you and with whom you’ve had some personal contact. You know “Friends” to varying degrees. They can be anyone from your mother to someone you met last night for the first time at a cocktail party. The two qualifications for people in your “Friends” category are that you have a real desire to have further interaction with them and they have to know who you are and why you are contacting them.

Leads are people who you know who are actively looking to engage in a business relationship with you. If your mother has decided to look for a new home, she can be classified as a lead. The email marketing campaigns you plan for your Leads Group need to be much more targeted than those you plan for friends. This group generally requires some sub-grouping in order to deliver them truly meaningful content.

*Note: Many people in your database will fall into both categories. After a few interactions, leads will quickly become friends. Friends will also turn into leads when a need arises for them. The important thing is to not to alienate people in your contact sphere by not respecting the kind of relationship you have with them.

The Right Message

The right message is a different message for each of these groups. Sending just listed fliers once a week to your “Friends” will quickly irritate them. Neglecting to stay in close contact with your “Leads” will translate into missed opportunities.

What to say to Leads!

Give them what they need. If they need market data, make sure you are the source for that. If they are looking for listings – provide them appropriately. They may need tips on home ownership, a field guide to their new city, or help finding great places to eat, shop, and integrate in their new neighborhood. Providing meaningful content to leads should be easy once you have taken the time to understand who they are and what their needs are.

What to say to Friends!

While you don’t want to treat your “Friends” like leads, sending regular communications will help you deepen the relationship you have with them and keep you on top of their mind so that when they have an opportunity to refer business to you they remember and act. Sending quick notes, holiday greetings, remarking on funny things in the news, and reporting to them on important events in your life are all appropriate communications.

There are plenty of tools to pick from. Happy Grasshopper is one of the easiest for staying in touch with your friends - Check out this blog by Karen Salmon about how easy it was to incorporate email marketing into her business. Like her - you'll be shocked on the immediate results it will bring.

Read Karen's Blog here >>

*Per Chris Smith's presentation at Inman Connect NYC, viewable here. (Jump to 8:04 for quote)

The Only New Year's Resolution You Need to Keep

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 21:09:55 -0800

Have you started thinking about your business resolutions for the New Year?

We've all heard these statistics for years.

50% of leads receive no follow-up at all
95% of leads receive no follow-up after 3 months
Average response time for lead follow-up is 36 hours

In recent years, there has been an explosion of tools that are marketed to help you follow up. We have evolved from card files and day planners. There are a plethora of CRMS, autoresponders, email marketing tools, and lead capture mechanisms on the market.

Alas, while the tools continue to get better, their users—more or less—still don't follow-up. Every sales professional out there has some sort of tool meant to make it easier to stay more organized and follow-up more effectively. Worse, some automated systems simply spam the lead until they flee for cover without ever having spoken to the sender. With these systems in place, busy sales professionals have even less incentive to put in the hard work of following up.

Most of us will make New Year’s resolutions this year. Here are the top 5:

Lose Weight
Spend more time with the family
Save Money
Quit Smoking
Help Others

Here’s my challenge to you: Learn how to really follow up with your leads. No quick fixes, no temporary measures, no plans that you never get around to. Spend the next week and make a fundamental improvement.

For example, don’t spend a half day cleaning up your database and uploading it into a system and then suddenly find yourself 6 months from now realizing you never sent a single communication. Don't spend a week picking out templates for a new email campaign and designing the perfect signature line only to realize you have writers block and nothing to send. Don't purchase any more tools and then cancel them in 6 months realizing you have never sent anything.

Want your business to grow? Dig into your database. Follow up immediately with new leads. Don't give up on leads after 3 months. Stay consistent, stay top of mind and business will follow.

Good luck. And have a Happy New Year.

Want some help? Happy Grasshopper can help you follow-up automatically. Get a sample here: http://happygrasshopper.com

Get Your Beta Invite

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 22:21:09 -0800

Beta Alert!

Hey ActiveRainers. When we started Happy Grasshopper 2 years ago, the members of the AR community were instrumental in the successful launch of our tool. We can't thank you enough.

We are getting ready to launch a new tool and we want your feedback.

Happy Grasshopper helps you engage with your sphere to stay top of mind and get more referrals, but what are you doing to engage with your leads.

Do you want your leads stop shopping and commitment to you? Position Me will help you start conversations and build relationships that turns leads into clients.

It's a custom writen done for you solution that will help you convert more web leads to clients effortlessly.

Want to participate in our secret BETA? Request an invitation here: http://position-me.com

Is it a Conversation, or a Speech?

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 20:53:58 -0800

My partner sent this to me this morning: "She had lost the art of conversation, but not, unfortunately, the power of speech." ― George Bernard Shaw

I'm not sure if he was just sharing something he found interesting, sending a suggestion for a blog post, or just giving me a hint! Maybe it was a little of all 3.

I can definitely forget about the Art of Conversation, especially when I am stressed or have a deadline.

I was thinking about this today when I went to the printer to pick up my Christmas cards. Have you ever received a holiday greeting that was more like a speech than a greeting?

Or worse.. have you ever received one that was more like a sales pitch.

I'm glad I got the reminder just in time to spend some extra time while I am writing out my Christmas cards.

Do you send out holiday cards? How do you keep them from turning into sales pitches? What is your favorite way to start a conversation?

I'm interested to hear what you think.

Happy Holidays Everyone! I hope your December is full of friends, family and great conversations.

Emails That Get Response

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:48:39 -0800

Have you ever tried to contact someone by email and then not received a response?

Of course, who hasn't had that happen...

Focus on these 3 steps and I guarantee you'll get replies.

1. The "I, I, I" test

Before you send, do a quick scan for the word I. How many times did you use it?

You failed if the email is all about you and not the person receiving the email. Start over...

2. Keep it Short

Also make sure that you are getting straight to the point and focus on one question per email.

When's the last time you read one of those email newsletters we all receive? Did you respond?

Enough said - don't send it.

3. Ask a question

Think about email as a conversation, not an information essay. Hey, articles are a great way to introduce new information to an audience. Just don't use your email like a publishing house. An email is an equivalent to a virtual phone call, not a lecture. If you give the receiver a chance to chime in about their own thoughts and opinions something magical will happen.

They'll actually respond.

Happy sending!

P.S. - Learn how real estate pros are getting referrals everyday from automated emails they didn't even have to write themselves. Click Here

What do you do with your testimonials?

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:04:47 -0800

Do you ask your clients for testimonials?

Do you use them?

There is nothing like social proof. Stop telling your potential clients how great you are, instead share what your clients have to say. Here's a few ideas how:

Build a book of customer love. It is easy to do and makes a huge impact. You can have it printed out or share it online, I used the site Issuu.com to display this one.

Open publication - Free publishing
Ask for recommendations for your business on LinkedIn. You probably have a profile on LinkedIn with plenty of recommendations on it, but do you have a business page as well. We set up a business page, added our service and then asked customers to review us there. We get over 600 hits a month on this page alone. Check it out here.
Make a testimonials page on your website. Okay - this may seem obvious, but most sites don't have one. We mixed video testimonials with written ones and it is the 3rd most viewed page on our site. This is how we set ours up.

Tip: Cyndee Haydon of Tampa, FL is a master of getting video testimonials. She gives amazing service which is key, but she also asks for the testimonials at the right time. She doesn’t just ask people to review closed transactions, she asks them to review showing experiences as well. Check out how she does it here – http://www.sandbarstosunsets.com/clients/

Trick or Treat - Thanks for the Referrals

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 20:51:00 -0700

We had a lot of fun trick or treating on Wednesday night. Renton's first Halloween wasn't candy field, but he did lap up the ohs and ahs that were handed out by our neighbors as we made our rounds and spread some cuteness around the neighborhood.

I did pretty well myself. While we were out saying our hellos, I got 2 referrals. Don't you just love that.

"Knock, knock -Treat or Treat."

"Ah, what a cute little lion. Oh, by the way I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and he needs some help. You should give him a call, let me give you his number."

We should go trick or treating more often.

________________

It got me thinking about when I get referrals. I almost never get a call out of the blue from someone telling me they have a friend in need. It is always happens when I bump into someone at an event or around town.

It is the true power of top of mind awareness.

Want more referrals? Find ways to bump into people more often.

At any given time, a handful of people in your sphere have referrals they can give you. You just need to find more ways to bump into them on a regular basis so they can remember to share them with you.

Happy Grasshopper can help you "bump" into people on a regular basis. The best part - we take care of everything, even the writing. We will write and send a friendly message for you every 3 weeks. Just pick your favorite and wait for the replies. (They are guaranteed!)

Check out what these users are saying on Facebook:

You can read more on our Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/happygrasshopper
-- or try it for yourself at HappyGrasshopper.com!

What's your people strategy?

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 19:19:34 -0700

I just ran across this Seth Godin blog post on the Agent Caffeine FB page. Both are excellent sources of inspiration when you need a little pick me up.

Godin's post asked: "Do you have a people strategy?"

He goes on muse about why we are all suddenly concerned about having a blogging strategy, a social media strategy, a web strategy, or a mobile strategy.

Do we really need so many strategies?

There is only one thing that matters, and it's people.

At the other end of all of these tools is a person.

The technology hasn't really changed anything. People want the same things today that they have wanted for centuries.

Good advice
People and information they can trust
Laughter
Inspiration
Knowledge
Entertainment

Focus on people and you'll have all the strategy you need.

Need some ideas to refresh your people strategy? Get some ideas at HappyGrasshopper.com

Why Try To Meet Me If You Aren't Going to Follow Up

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:52:24 -0700

I love open houses! In fact, it is a favorite Sunday afternoon activity. We're trying to see a wide variety of properties and get a really good feel for where we want to move our growing family.

Here's a stunning fact: of the 25 or so open houses I have been to this year, only 1 agent has asked for my email address! Unfortunately, that agent hasn't followed up. It drives me a bit crazy really, because I just don't understand. We're qualified buyers with excellent credit and we even have a listing once we choose an agent. Why doesn't anyone follow up?

I attended another open house yesterday and decided this time I would ask. The agent didn't have a sign in sheet and didn't ask for any contact information. When I asked why, he said "people don't like to give it out." He also said that following up was too time consuming.

Do you agree? I was completely surprised. Is it really too much work to follow up with the people who visit your open houses?

I spent most of last night thinking about it. The agent I met was absolutely wrong! Here's why:

HE SAID:
People don't like to give out their contact information.

I SAY:
This may be true, but why not ask? If they are so deeply offended that you asked for an email address, chances are they weren't going to be your customer. No one ever decided not to buy the home of their dreams because you asked for their email address.

HE SAID:
Follow up is too time consuming.

I SAY:
Then find a better way. DO NOT GIVE UP!

Even if most of the people you meet aren't ready to buy or sell today, it makes sense to pay attention to them. That includes people who walk into open houses [think me:)] You just need an automated way to stay in touch with them until they are ready.

Good News: Marketing to people who don't need you right now can be easy, take almost no time, and be very, very cheap.

You just have to get in touch. At Happy Grasshopper, we write fun, friendly emails that get great results. But if you want to do it yourself, here are some tips:

Send a message at least once a month - I recommend every 3 weeks
Keep them short, friendly, and non-salesy
Do not talk about yourself, your firm or your listings
Include a method for easy opt-out
Include your picture or logo and your contact information

The trick is to be friendly and non-threatening. All of us (me too!) put our guard up when it comes to email. It's easy to spot junk mail the moment it hits our inbox, even if it gets around our spam filters. Short messages, written in plain text can generate much better results than you can imagine.

Click here to see some sample emails now.

The Truth About Email Marketing

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:41:07 -0700

If you have an email marketing list with over 20,000 names, don't pay any attention to this.
If you spend more than 10 hours a week working on your email marketing, don't pay any attention to this.
If you employ a full time marketing assistant who is an expert in email marketing, don't pay any attention to this.

If you are hard working, self employed real estate agent who'd like to benefit from simple email marketing that can make a difference in your business. Read On.

There is a lot of advice about email marketing on the web. You can find 1,000s of blog posts on when to send, how to write attention grabbing headlines, and how to create perfect calls to action for your email marketing campaigns.

There are dozens of email marketing services that provide beautifully designed templates and tools that will help you A|B Test your messages.

I'm here to tell you none of that matters.

Yup. I send millions of emails a year, it's practically all I do and I'm saying it. It doesn't matter.

How could that be true?

Because all of that advice isn't helping you do the one thing that matters most. Actually send an email.

The truth is that if you don't send, your subject line doesn't matter. If you don't send, your call to action isn't important. If you don't send, it doesn't matter what you graphics look like.

You are not an email marketer. You are just someone who wants to use email marketing to get more business. There is a difference between these 2 things. That difference is the amount of time you are actually willing to spend to send an email.

It's not complicated.

The more often you touch your sphere the more likely they are to send you referrals. The more referrals you get. The more business you'll close this year. Email is one of the easiest ways to touch your sphere.

Here's the truth about using email marketing in your business:

Sending an email to your sphere (for most REALTORS® this is around 150 to 250 people) at least once a month will result in some new closed business this year.

The Deeper Truth: This will work even if your email just says, "Just thinking of you. I hope you have a great week."
(That being said, I hope you try just a tiny bit harder.)
Some people will unsubscribe.

The Deeper Truth: As long as your unsubscribe rate isn't 100%, your a'ok. Your reaching more people than you would if you weren't sending anything at all. Some people will gladly read and respond to your emails, others won't.

You've probably unsubscribed from an email campaign this week. Can you remember which one? Did you take the time make note never to do business with them again? Probably Not. You just clicked unsubscribe and continued on with your day. Unsubscribe doesn't mean, I'm not going to do business with you. It just means, hey, I'd rather not be contacted in this way. No biggie, now you know and can contact them in some other way.

Jerk Alert: You may get a negative comment about your new marketing program. Shake it off. Anyone who feels the need to respond to something you've sent in a negative way is likely not a person you want to do business with.
Not everyone will open your email.

The Deeper Truth: You are looking for engagement. You are looking for the people who will answer back and say, "Thanks for thinking of me. I hope you have a great week too." Nothing else matters. If they didn't open your email you didn't lose anything. Well, that is if you followed my advice and you didn't spend half your day worried about your subject line.

So that is the truth. If you are't contacting your sphere at least once a month to say hello and in some way remind them that you are still in business you are missing out. Email marketing is hands down the easiest, most cost effective way to do this.

You can even get someone to do it for you. Check out Happy Grasshopper to learn how.

Are You Cultivating Your Relationships or Just Hoarding Them?

Celeste Grupman (Happy Grasshopper) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:00:21 -0700

Be honest.

How many Facebook friends have you only met once or twice and never spoken with again?
How many open house leads have you added to a database and never followed up with?
How many networking events have you come home from holding stack of business cards that you never looked at again?

Yet, we are perpetually looking for new leads. We are constantly trying to figure out how to drive more traffic to our websites, how to meet new people, and how to make more friends.

It's Time to Stop Hoarding and Start Cultivating

Hoarding is a funny thing. It starts with a small amount of something you care about. For my husband that is newspapers. Don't ask me why. He can't seem to recycle or throw them away. But, before you know it a weeks worth of papers turn into a months worth and the next thing you know you have a whole room full - or in my case, a couple of storage units.

Do you have several of storage units full of contacts?

I bet you do. I bet you have some in a CRM. You have a couple of spreadsheets worth. You have some in your email system. You probably even have a stack of business cards collecting dust.

Relationships don't grow from business cards sitting inside shoe boxes. They don't grow from contacts sitting inside CRM systems waiting to be touched.

Relationships grow from conversations. Conversations happen when you stop hoarding and start cultivating.

Dust off your database, pick up the phone, send some emails and start cultivating.

---------

Happy Grasshopper is here to help - learn how to follow up automatically here.

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Trick or Treat - Thanks for the Referrals

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Why Try To Meet Me If You Aren't Going to Follow Up

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