I double-dog dare ya!

I got it again in the mail yesterday. The usual real estate postcard:

“HEY, Look at me, here is my big mug, I just sold a house!” Whoopty doo!

Another poor schlep plucking down her hard-earned money on a lame direct mail campaign. When will these people learn?

Geo-targeting (direct mail to a specific geographic area for the uninitiated), is one of the LEAST effective direct mail methods.

Yeah, I can just hear you yell at your computer:

“But Borino, I sent some Just Solds out last month, and I got a listing. Ha! So what do you say to that, Mr. Marketing Know It All?”

Listen to me… Don't waste your time with another "JUST LISTED" or "JUST SOLD". Or worse: "I'm your neighborhood specialist". Stop putting your neighbors to sleep, please!

Everybody and their grand-aunt that’s been in real estate since the Great Depression does it, it's way too generic, and it lacks a good marketing HOOK. Here is a better approach…

Step One: Good List
You need a good focused list - a specific group of people that have one thing in common. For example:

• Expired listings that are over one year old
• Vacant For Rent properties
• For Sale By Owners selling for more than 60 days
• Properties occupied by the same owner more than 20 ears
• Multiple non-owner occupied properties owned by single out of state owner
• Seniors over 65 living in 4-bedroom homes
• ...and on and on. You get the idea.

Step Two: A Good Sequence
Put together a SEQUENCE OF MESSAGES, letters, or postcards, or even better – a combination of both. And here is the most important part…

In each letter or a postcard speak SPECIFICALLY to your target audience. Here is an example of a postcard message:

***
Selling a house without an agent can save you up to $17,492! Visit this web site for a free report and find out how.
www.YourSpecialWebSite.com

***

Now, can you guess which list this piece would go to? Yep, all FSBOs on your list. Then you have a nice simple site explaining the benefits of selling without an agent. Get it? Give your audience information they most likely want. Specific, targeted, and RELEVANT.

Qualified, interested leads hit your site, some will sign up and you can start a follow up mail campaign.

What should you send? Easy. Useful information about the market, the selling process, how to fix a house before selling it, how to qualify a buyer... anything a FSBO should know. But here is the best part…

You don’t mention anything about listing with you – YET. Let them enjoy their short flirt with real estate. You and I know Jessica Simpson has a better chance of winning a Nobel Price for science than an average FSBO actually selling in today’s market.

Take your time and play the role of an adviser – think Robert Duvall in Godfather.

No pressure, no slick selling. You’re there to help. And after a while you become their logical choice to list and sell their property. Just keep in touch until most FSBOs realize it takes A LOT to sell a house and they may be biting off a lot bigger chunk than they can chew... Cancellieri to the rescue. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Back to our mailings… Follow the same process with all your target marketing lists. Help landlords with rent comparisons, market statistics, or recommend good carpet cleaner.

Send old-timers interesting information on a new Florida retirement community with golf and yoga.

Mail expired listings success story about other expireds that have relisted and sold.

You with me?

Every campaign you execute carries a targeted specific message that is RELEVANT to that particular group.

And the best part is your mailing lists don’t have to be huge or expensive.

Step Three: Repetition
It’s ridiculous to believe any one shot mailing is going to uncover everybody interested in your service. Think about your own life. You’ve probably received some offers that you were interested in but you never acted on.

To overcome this, you’ve got to create a plan for multiple contacts. Many marketing experts say it takes up to seven contacts to convert a lead into a client.

Finally, test and adjust. Learn, see what works, fix or discard what doesn’t.

The more you know, the better you get. The better you get, the better your marketing will be… and the more money you will make.

And don’t EVER mail that old boring “JUST SOLD” again. I dare ya. I double-dog-dare ya!

Now go out there and Get 'em!

Borino