Low on cash?
Have very few prospects?
Feeling really low?
Don't let fear paralyze your business. I'm going to give you a simple, inexpensive marketing plan. It's going to mean that you actually have to get out and work - so be prepared.
Step 1: Choose a 100-home farm area. Make sure the price range is between $125,000-200,000. Find an area with the highest rated schools. Run a CMA and get familiar with home sales over the past three to four years.
Step 2: Create a one-page flyer. You can use the templates for newsletters in Microsoft Word. On one section you will list sales in the area over the past 12 months. List the address, the sales price, the square footage, bedrooms/baths, and sale date. Even if you get that information from MLS it is also available in the tax records and should not put you in violation of your MLS rules and regulations. For other content write a biography about yourself and put in some information about the market. If you need other content, find a blog on ActiveRain that looks interesting. You could search my past blogs on CLUE reports. You have my permission to use it.
Step 3: Get clear plastic door hanger bags. You should be able to find these at your Realtor Association Store. If you can't find them there go to www.doorbags.com. Deliver your flyers to the neighborhood along with your business card. This might take you a couple hours but it's good exercise, and if your business is slow what else do you have on your schedule?
Step 4: You are going to create another flyer. This one has tips on getting your home ready to sell. Again use Microsoft Word and find a template that works for you. Microsoft Word is a great tool and fairly inexpensive. Make sure all your flyers/newsletters have your picture, contact information, biography, company logo, fair housing symbol, and the following disclaimer at the bottom: "if your home is currently listed for sale with another real estate firm, this is not intended as a solicitation." If there is a Realtor sign in the front yard just keep on walking. This flyer will go out two weeks after your first flyer..
Step 5: Prepare a for sale by owner packet. This packet will have your biography, tips on selling a home, information on your company, and your specific plan for selling homes. Take time and list out everything you do to list and sell a home. You'd be surprised how much you really do. You are going to keep this packet handy so that when a fsbo pops up in your neighborhood, you have it ready to hand deliver to their door step. Never call a fsbo - go there directly. Your are going to use this flyer on expired listings as well so watch your MLS "hot sheet."
Step 6: You guessed it - another flyer. The point here is that if you don't have money to order postcards, or create professional marketing pieces, anything is better than nothing. The third flyer can be on what controls the long term interest rates. You have my permission to use my earlier blog on this topic.
This plan might seem boring and dull, but if you work your farm every two to three weeks with a newsletter of interesting topics, you'll soon become a household name in your farm area. All it takes is one listing to get you going in your farm. From there you can slowly add households.
I've had agents follow this plan with great success and then stop once they had an income. My questions always is why stop something that works. The typical response is that "it's boring" delivering flyers. Funny, but I never get bored cashing commission checks. Do you?
Comments(4)