My seminar is coming up in Ft. Lauderdale in a few weeks, and I've been working on my Powerpoint slides. As a direct marketer, our main objective is building a database of prospects and buyers, and yet no one agent I've interviewed for my books ever mentions that to me.
I suppose many of you have an ACT program or other software for gathering names and addresses and phone numbers of prospects who call you. The challenge is that people everywhere, in every neighborhood are real Hot, Warm or Cold prospects. Some might be good people for Referrals.
So, when you do a direct mail program, you might ask them when they are considering selling their home? 3 months from now? 6 months? In a few years...maybe when the kids leave home? Maybe you might pose it as a survey. Fill it out, send it back to you and you'll send them a Gift Card, or a special radio...or something.
Also, that is a good time to ask them if they have neighbors who might be thinking of moving, and you'll send those people a gifts of "tips for getting your home ready for sale".
All of these things begin to help you communicate with these prospects from a knowledge level. If you know the Carlotti Family intends to move in 6 months, you can start communicating now, and make yourself a resource for them. Help them get their home ready, staged propertly and listed of course, with you.
I think asking people when they are moving is a better approach, than "I'm ready to sell your home". Selling and moving are two different ideas. Selling means that you want the commission...and to sign them up. Helping them get through a move and get their home ready for sale...is a more gentle and friendly way to approach a family.
I was talking to a wonderful Realtor in Maryland the other morning, and she said that psychologically a mvoe is one of the more stressful events in a person's life. Even if they want the move, the stress is pretty tough, and often affects their health. So "helping" is an approach you might consider.
Then you may also continue to communicate with the people who have responded with newsletters, or email updates on the market, or notes to them...until the time is right for them to list.
When I was doing the direct marketing programs for Ford of Canada, we set up a database of women prospects across the country, by asking them when they intended to buy their next car. We put them in the database, and about a month before they said they were going to purchase, we sent them a certificate for $200. off the best deal they could make at the dealership. It worked beautifully. We call it "just in time" marketing.
If you're in the library, you might look up one of my other books, Response! The Complete Guide To Profitable Direct Marketing, published by Oxford University Press. It has the whole case in there about Ford, and how we ran the program successfully for many years.
You can use some of these ideas in your own business. The better you target your mailings, emails, and calls...the more you will convert to customers...and the more friends you will make in the community.
I call it Friendship Branding...and I hope you might try it. if you do, please let me know how it works for you.
All the best,
Lois
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