real estate prospecting: Postal Mail is Expensive: How to Get Email Addresses & Permission to Write!
- 06/07/11 08:19 AM
Whether you’re farming a territory or prospecting for a specific type of buyer or seller, staying in touch regularly is the way to maintain “top of mind awareness” with them.
And of course, when you’re the agent on their minds, you’re the agent they’ll call when they’re ready to sell. Well, that's assuming that you haven't done anything to irritate them!
So how to get those addresses and permissions?
By offering a bribe, of course!
Whether you go introduce yourself in person or send a letter in the mail, you can offer something to be delivered via e-mail … (10 comments)
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real estate prospecting: Prospecting to List Homes in Probate
- 05/25/11 06:37 PM
Do you prospect for houses in probate, or just wait and hope they contact you?
If you’ve read of the death of the homeowner in your geographic farm area, it seems a bit crass to keep mailing prospecting letters in their name. But if you want to list the home, you do need to make sure the heirs know you exist, and that you specialize in that neighborhood.
So what can you say to people who are in emotional turmoil, but charged with the details of settling an estate?
To reach them you’ll have to offer your sympathy, … (13 comments)
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real estate prospecting: Time to Plant Seeds for Your Summer Crop of Closings
- 03/12/11 09:25 AM
What every business person needs is a growing crop of prospects
– future customers who will ripen one at a time and bear fruit in the form of a steady stream closings and commission checks to fatten their bank accounts.
(That might taste even better than a fresh ripe tomato every day or two!)
But, as we all know, real estate can be a roller coaster ride when it comes to income.
You prospect / farm / market like mad for a while and get some closings in the pipeline. Then you get so busy taking care of those clients and … (8 comments)
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real estate prospecting: Can I Send Just One Letter?
- 02/09/11 05:34 PM
This is a question that comes up every now and then. Sometimes by phone, but this time by email...
The question:
Dear Marte,
I’ve been looking at your expired listing letter sets and thought about trying them. But they’re either 4 or 10 letters, and I really want to send just one letter.
I want to introduce myself and urge them to call me to list their houses. The letter should be short, because I don’t believe people read very much.
Can you write me just one short letter to send to expired listings?
My answer:
Yes, I could … (5 comments)
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real estate prospecting: How Do You Prospect - and How Often Do You Do It?
- 10/03/10 12:54 PM
A study by Thomas publishing co reveals that 80% of all business comes from the 5th contact.
In other marketing studies, gurus say that it takes an average of 7 “touches” to convince a new prospect that it’s in their best interests to contact you. Those touches can be mail or e-mail, phone calls, or in-person visits.
And yet, other studies reveal that only 10% of sales people reach out to prospects more than 3 times.
Is it any wonder that so many sales people think that prospecting is a waste of time? If they send one or two letters … (11 comments)
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real estate prospecting: Some agents getting points, but missing the value of Active Rain
- 08/20/10 06:16 AM
A couple of weeks ago someone wrote a blog about Active Rain members who write "non-comment" comments on blogs just to get their daily points. I wish I could remember who wrote it, but remembering such things is not one of my strong points. So... sorry, someone!
Anyway, after reading that post I started noticing those comments, and I'm getting a chuckle from them.
So often they just don't fit at all. This morning I read several blogs where agents were really just venting - talking about dirty tricks other agents have pulled, etc. So comments that read "Great post, thanks … (6 comments)
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real estate prospecting: This Isn't Prospecting, It's Farming!
- 04/14/10 08:04 PM
Yesterday some words jumped out at me from a web page. They were “Farming vs. Hunting.”
For some reason they stayed in my mind and I kept coming back to those words and pondering them all day. Words and their meanings fascinate me - I suppose that goes with being a copywriter.
Later, as I was driving in to town to do errands it suddenly hit me: For months now I’ve been using the word “prospecting” to describe the many marketing methods you use to gather in new customers and clients.
The real estate letter sets I’ve written for agents to … (11 comments)
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real estate prospecting: The Problem With Real Estate Websites
- 03/27/10 04:59 PM
First, let me say that I know a whole lot of people disagree with me about this. But I still need to say it, and I hope those who disagree will at least consider my point of view.
So… onward.
What do you see first when you visit a real estate website? Most of the time the first thing you see is an advertisement for the community.
Why?
It’s true that in my 19 years selling real estate I did come in contact with a few people who were cruising the entire Northwest looking for a place to settle. Perhaps … (14 comments)
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real estate prospecting: Real Estate Letters - How to Write a Series With Continuity and Why You Should
- 03/21/10 06:09 PM
Real estate letters show up in my in-box all the time, because I visit real estate websites just to see what people are doing. Sometimes I sign up for their “newsletters” so I can see what they’re writing.
Sadly, I have yet to see anything resembling a newsletter. And I have yet to see letters that make me eager to read the next one. I always do read them because that’s what copywriters do. If we aren’t writing copy, we’re often reading it. I guess you might call it an obsession.
Some of the letters just say “If you want to … (32 comments)
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real estate prospecting: Drip Campaigns that Backfire are the Agent's Fault
- 02/16/10 11:02 AM
My apologies to anyone who sees themselves in my rant, but this really bothers me.
A drip campaign can be one of the most effective ways to maintain top of mind awareness with both past clients and future clients, but I'm seeing so many people doing it wrong that I just have to speak out. Instead of creating a feeling of good-will and making prospects believe that "this might be the agent to use," these campaigns are making the agents look like people who don't care enough to pay attention to detail.
So let's start at the beginning...
On a real … (81 comments)
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real estate prospecting: Writing Letters to Listing Prospects
- 01/20/10 06:17 PM
When you’re prospecting for real estate leads, you send a letter.
But how many letters? And what should that letter say?
Most definitely, you need to send more than one. There’s a remote chance, if your letter is dynamite, and if it happens to arrive at just the right time, that one letter will make your phone ring.
But it isn’t very likely to happen that way.
If you think about it, you’ll realize that writing a letter to a cold client is about the same as making a “cold” phone call. They weren’t expecting to hear from you, they don’t … (23 comments)
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real estate prospecting: The Highest and Best Use - of Your Time: Should you be writing?
- 08/23/09 08:02 PM
Is writing your own marketing materials the highest and best use of your time?
You as a real estate professional must wear dozens of hats. Some of them no one else can wear, but some of them could easily be placed on another head, freeing your time for those tasks you do best, and those that put the most $ in your bank account.
Talking to customers and clients face-to-face, for instance.
If you're just starting out and not very busy you can probably wear most of those hats yourself for a while - but even then it depends upon … (47 comments)
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real estate prospecting: Why You Can Sell in Person, But Your Marketing Copy Fails
- 04/07/09 05:45 AM
When you get face to face with sellers, you can get the listing. When you have a buyer, you're able to establish an instant rapport and guide them smoothly through finding and buying the perfect home.
So why do you have such trouble finding those buyers and sellers? Why does your written marketing fail?
You may be using the same tired formula that all agents use: The "here I am" block ads, and prospecting letters that basically say "I'm a Realtor and I'd like to list your house."
This formula doesn't give your prospect even one reason to think that you … (6 comments)
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Whether you’re farming a territory or prospecting for a specific type of buyer or seller, staying in touch regularly is the way to maintain “top of mind awareness” with them. 
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