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The Most Powerful Marketing Tool To Find Listings And It's Only 4"x 5"

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired 104763

This is not a new song, but it’s a tune that should never leave your mind once a listing is secured.  There should be a routine that is put into place with every listing.  Just as you plant a sign; hang a lockbox; submit to MLS; and prepare brochures, you need to begin your marketing.

Marketing is not just online.  We are so focused with online marketing that we fail to remember that “not everyone is computer literate.”  We need to have both online and offline methods in place, and the ratio will depend on the group to whom you are marketing and the product. 

35 jackson circle franklin ma

If an agent is marketing an active adult community to the 55+ age group, the offline marketing would make up a greater percentage of the marketing.  The older the buyers, the less likely they are to go online to search for a home.  This group of potential clients would be more focused on the newspaper, homes for sale magazines and postcards.

60 oak street franklin ma

Everyone reads their mail, but not everyone reads the newspaper or picks up homes for sale magazines.  Direct mail marketing with a standard size postcard will be glanced at and if it catches someone’s interest, the reader will take a few seconds of time to read it.  If that reader is thinking of buying or selling a home, the card will be saved for a future phone call. 

 24 laurelwood postcard

Above are samples of this week’s postcards to be mailed to a 200+ home radius of each property.  There are many messages on each postcard.  We know how to market homes and create a pending sale.”  “Call us for a Free Market Analysis.”  “We can do this for you, too!!” 

Nothing more needs to be stated.  The address is there to enable each reader to drive by; see the sale pending sign; and even speak with the homeowner and hear their review of the job we did.  The sale pending postcard makes it easy for the recipient and potential client to “trust but verify” the information.  Once a home is closed, none of that is possible. 

The sale pending card is a very powerful method of shaking the fruit from the tree and finding your next listing.  We’ve have success in many neighborhoods where one listing would lead to five or six more in that same area, and it’s all because of mailing just listed, sale pending and just sold postcards.  Add this task to your list of “things to do” after listing every property and it will lead to more business.  You’ll be glad you did!!!

 

 

 

 

Posted by

 

 

Barbara Todaro, Great Grandmother to Caleb, Santino, Aiden and Gianni       

Todaro Team - Retired

508-918-9148

               

             Copyright © 2009 - 2021 Barbara Todaro

                               All Rights Reserved



 

Comments(137)

Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

Gene....you buy a database of names and addresses from Accudata....they can give you groups by age .... I have 55 to 80 and homeowners.... I buy that group of buyers for all of the surrounding towns to Franklin,...

Jun 27, 2012 09:54 AM
Randy Elliott
RE/MAX Gold - Lodi, CA
REALTOR : Lodi / Stockton, CA

Way to go, Barbara!  Back to the basics should be what we do every day!

Jun 27, 2012 12:42 PM
Kalene Bagwell
Realty Executives Of Kansas City - Blue Springs, MO
Realtor - Selling Blue Springs - Kansas City Metro

Barbara, Thanks for sharing!  Ive seen just listing and just sold postcards but never thought of pending property post cards. I will definitely add this to my list of marketing tools for finding more listings!

Jun 27, 2012 01:32 PM
Anonymous
Flavia Brown

Great post! Pending post cards provide important information to home owners, and are more timely than Sold post cards. Speaking of "Sold," I cringe when I see a "Sold" rider on a post when the rider should read "Pending" or "In escrow," since the home hasn't sold yet. To put up a "Sold" rider when the home hasn't closed escrow is a big lie, and we don't need more lies in our industry. In fact, there shouldn't be any "Sold" rider signs because when the house closes escrow there is no need for any sign. What do you think about that, Barbara?

Jun 27, 2012 04:43 PM
#121
Jeremy Joslin
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - South Windsor, CT
Professional Real Estate Marketing and Sales

I consistantly use just listed and just sold post cards and have had good results but they tend to be expensive.  I will keep the pending postcards in mind. Thanks

Jun 27, 2012 09:56 PM
Woody Edwards
First Choice Realty, Inc - Chesterfield, VA
A Realtor® Who Answers His Phone!

It is so easy (and cheap) to hit an email.  But, you are right......what about the non-computer geeks!  Their money is green too!

Jun 27, 2012 11:50 PM
Brad Baylor
ERA Coup Agency - Milton, PA

Barbara - I actually did the postcards for a sold listing in a senior town-home development.  My broker was inundated with upset homeowners who didn't want people to know what homes were being sold for in their community.  Needless to say, that was a waste of money and resulted in no new listings for me.  I'm just not sure spending money on postcards is the way to go.

Jun 28, 2012 12:09 AM
Bob Miller
Keller Williams Cornerstone Realty - Ocala, FL
The Ocala Dream Team

Hi Barbara, thanks for the best post I have seen in weeks or more.  We work the 55+ communities.  As our market turns the expired list is getting shorter and shorted.  Our other main source of listings has taken its phone numbers off line so we are seriously thinking of implementing your system.  Thanks!

Jun 28, 2012 03:13 AM
Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

I just emailed you, Bob...

Jun 28, 2012 03:20 AM
Al Raymondi
Ocean View Realty Group in Ormond By The Sea Florida - Ormond Beach, FL
Ormond By The Sea Florida - Home and Condo Sales

Thanks for the reminder Barbara, we used to do that many years ago and have gotten away from it.  Maybe it is time to get back to it.  Thanks.

Jun 28, 2012 09:36 PM
Monique Ting
INET Realty Honolulu, HI - Honolulu, HI
Your agent under the sun

Barbara, thank you for sharing this powerful tip with the AR community... I never thought of doing that!

Jun 29, 2012 10:39 AM
Sheila Rasak
Keller Williams Realty-California Coast Property Group - Camarillo, CA

Bravo on an excellent blog post! Yes, each listing you must take into consideration your demographics and market to that generation of homeowners.

 

Thank you for keeping it fresh!

Jun 30, 2012 02:03 AM
Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

Hi sheila.... yes, we need to keep it fresh....updated....and looking good.... we're competing for the business....

Jun 30, 2012 02:05 AM
Cheryl Dukes . . . . . Intown Atlanta
Guaranteed Offer for your Home - eXp realty - Atlanta, GA

Barbara - Looks like you've helped a lot of people with this post - including me. My mind is so full trying to get my "to do" list accomplished, that I fail to think. Thanks for doing the thinking for me. I'm working on my 'sale pending' postcard next - yippeee!

Jul 02, 2012 12:43 PM
Joy Jones
Bluecoast Realty, Real Estate, your Regional Broker - Jacksonville, NC
find joy in home ownership

I like many here  agonize   what is best to do next.  New, old methods.   And the to-do list is long, and things get forgotten.  I will put more effort into this--all of these voices speak volumns.

Jul 04, 2012 12:50 AM
Jenny Durling
L.A. Property Solutions - Los Angeles, CA
For Los Angeles real estate help 213-215-4758

It's great that those work for you. I've yet to have just listed or just sold cards bring be any business at all. Perhaps it's just differeint from one market to the next.

Jul 08, 2012 01:01 PM
Jairo Arreola #SOLDBYVETERAN
PRG Real Estate - San Jose, CA
VA Home Loan Specialist - SF Bay Area
Great job. I have not done a mass mail campaign, but I want to see if I get results/activity from it. I will try with a small area and see what happens.
Aug 11, 2012 04:19 PM
Brian Habel
HomeSmart Advantage - Saint George, UT

I have to believe the comment about not replacing making sure you talk to a lot of people.  I'm seeing more and more comments from real estate coaches taking people back to the idea of specializing in an area.  I see post cards as a way to reinforce that, but not a catch all if you do not have any other ways to spread the word about you in that given area.  I had crazy thoughts like 'what if I got an ice cream truck and made it a Realtor one'... then they it would get them talking.  Ha, ha!  You gotta just let it go on here and ad lib, you never know what is possible.  I've been made a believer and who knows maybe I'd do more than just talk- it has got me thinking about an area in town.

Aug 29, 2012 01:14 AM
Christina Ehli
RE/MAX Platinum - Brighton, Michigan - Brighton, MI
RE/MAX Platinum Brighton MI Real Estate Agent

Brian, I love the ice cream truck idea!  Maybe even giving out FREE ice cream cars to the neighborhood kiddies??  A great way to work a farm. 

Aug 29, 2012 01:48 AM
Wayne B. Pruner
Oregon First - Tigard, OR
Tigard Oregon Homes for Sale, Realtor, GRI

Great post. This was something that I did regularly that I need to reinstate.

Nov 07, 2012 02:25 PM