Your Business Card Can be a Calling Card for a New Client and Money in Your Pocket!
I liked this posting on the importance of a professional business card. I thought I would repost this so that others too could also read and learn from the articles they read here on line and on active rain
Do you hand out your real estate business card?
Every business or sales person has a business card. Its an industry standard that has been around for years. Realtors have become very creative with business cards including QR codes and Social Media Links. There are may business card themes that have a landscape design, local landmark or a house. There are all shapes and sizes of Real Estate Business Cards to choose from!
We drop our business cards in fish bowls or baskets for prize drawings at restaurants and trade shows. I've been to networking events where everyone goes around and swaps business cards. Even our mobile phones are equipped with Apps that will scan and store business cards.
Did you ever think your real estate business card would actually stimulate your business or create a lead for you?
In my local real estate market here in Southwest Louisiana, it is customary for Realtors to leave a business card when showing a home. It is not uncommon to spot various Realtor's business cards left on counters, dining room tables, in foyers and kitchen bars in homes for sale. The larger the pile of cards usually indicates the long length of time the house has been on the market!
I'm not sure how this business card practice got started and how long this has been a real estate ritual here in Calcasieu Parish, but I understand the concept. By leaving your business card you are letting the homeowner know "hey, I showed your house today" and when the homeowner returns home they find the card and they know their home was shown. Leaving a business card behind says, we have been here!
I'll admit that I am a bit lazy when it comes to following this "calling card" practice and I don't always leave a business card. When you are getting in and out our the car and houses juggling your car keys, MLS sheets, cell phone and opening a lock box, remembering to leave a card is just one more thing to add to the list. However, I may have a new outlook on this practice since my business card just sealed the deal on a new listing for me!
Last Fall I showed a Buyer a nice home in South Lake Charles. My Buyer liked the house alot, and we actually went back to view the house a second time. It turns out that my Buyer found another home she liked better so we never made an offer. I don't remember leaving my card in the house but I must have.
After Christmas, I received a call from a Lake Charles home seller who wanted me to list their home. As the home seller shared more details with me and told me the address I remembered the house and mentioned to the seller "I showed your house, I remember it very well..." The house never sold, and when the listing with the "Boutique Broker" had expired the sellers still needed to sell. The seller shared with me that they realized they did not get any exposure or marketing of their home from the small Broker when it was previously listed . In the meantime they had done some research online and found me while searching for a Lake Charles Realtor.
I met with the sellers, completed all the listing documents and put the lockbox on the door. Before leaving I said "oh let me give you a card with all my contact information on it" The seller replied "I already have one, when you said you showed my house I went back and looked through our cards and found yours!" "That is another reason we chose you"!
I'm not the only Agent with a success story like this. Recently another agent in my Century 21 office got a new listing because they had shown the seller's house several times, leaving a card each time. The Seller renewed the listing with this agent because they felt like the agent was promoting their property by showing it over and over to a pool of buyers!
If you think your business card is just a wasted printing expense or only good for stuffing into Christmas cards, think again!
Your business card is a calling card that can result in money in your pocket!
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For more information on Lake Charles Real Estate, visit my website. You can search homes for sale in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and view up to date information on Lake Charles Subdivisions, Neighborhoods
If you are planning a move to or from the Lake Charles, LA area, I can help! I am a full time licensed Realtor in the State of Louisiana and am affiliated with:
Century 21 Mike D. Bono & Co.'s
4410 Nelson Road, Lake Charles, LA, 70605 USA
337-478-1578 or 337-499-9592
CENTURY 21® is a registered trademark owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal housing Opportunity. Each office is independently owned and operated.
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Marilyn Boudreaux Copyright 2012
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