Some real estate gurus still advocate cold calling to get listing appointments. But this is less possible to do in these days of the "Do Not Call" laws. These laws place heavy fines on those that use cold calling with leads that don't want the unsolicited call. These laws have changed the face of real estate. But they have also improved the real estate environment.
There are friendlier means of obtaining real estate listings. And, these are more effective in generating leads and take up much less of your time and money than the cold call. Give up the cold call and go to more profitable means of getting real estate listings.
Your realtor marketing plan should revolve around identifying what your prospect wants. Then make it easy for them to obtain that want. Capture their attention to get their business and ultimately you will get them to commit to you and they will become your client.
You're saying to yourself that this is what any plan of attact should be. The secret of accomplishing this goal is the powerful advertisment. This advertisment should be pressure free and contain a bait that is valuable to the prospect. After all, what attracts you to certain ads? Isn't it because they offer you something you want and they make it hassle free to obtain that information?
People will come to you if you offer them information that they desperately want and need. If you make it hassle free to get that information. If you offer people valuable information to entice them to call you, they can be come your client with less time invested by you. These leads are contacts that have been pre-targeted to your presentation.
If they contact you about information on selling their home or property, then you have singled them out as part of the active seller market. You then can establish a lince of communication with the prospect and contact them repeatedly until they respond to your message and accept you to list their home.
The old cold call method, sending postcards, or newspaper ads may get you a half-percent response, if you're lucky. Direct response advertising with an exchange of pertinent information will take the response level to a new high. Sometimes 3-5% response. The responders have given you information about themselves in the process that allows you to target their specific needs and wants.
Your conversion rate from leads to listing appointments will improve dramatically. Same goes for the other end of the spectrum with responses from buyers wanting to view listings through you.
You can offer a free, over the phone market evaluation. Since most sellers want to get a handle on what their property is worth, this hits the prospect right between the eyes with the information they are craving. Plus, it makes the lead call or email you.
Surveys have found that people viewing homes magazines are not just buyers. Many potential real estate sellers keep an eye on the local market through homes magazines. Approximately 1 in 5 people reading a homes magazine is a seller according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Other surveys show that up to 21% of people picking up a homes magazine are sellers. What a great place to put an ad to get listing leads.
These sellers are looking for a real estate agent. And it could be you. And, what are they looking for in the agent they choose. Here again, the NAR did a survey that showed the most important concern of potential sellers is "How's the agent going to advertise my home?" This is why they're looking at the homes magazines. To find out how the different realtors advertise.
If they see something entirely different and exciting with your ads, this invites them to find out more about you. Now, if you have an advertisement in your homes magazine listings that gives the prospect the opportunity to contact you and get free information concerning housing sales, plus in a manner that is hassle-free for them with no sales pressure, you are sure to be contacted.
You must make it easy for your leads to respond to your advertisments. There are a couple of ways to do this. One way is to offer free recorded information. The lead calls a phone number and a recording gives the lead the information they are looking for. At the same time, the voice information system obtains the name and phone number of the lead for follow-up. There's no sales pitch, no talking directly to you, and it's hassle-free to the lead.
There are various phone recording technologies that can handle this and at the same time send you a message with the leads information for immediate follow-up. Once the lead places the listing with you, the same technology can be used for following up with those that call in asking about that particular listing.
Secondly, you can use emails for this same response. Emails are rather impersonal and the lead doesn't feel pressured using them to obtain information. One realtor friend of mine uses a sequencial autoresponder through
AWeber to send potential prospects information on how to prepare their home for selling and other pertinent information on the local real estate market.
This is done through a series of emails that outlines what they should be doing to prepare their home today, three days from now, the second week, etc. It makes the home preparation a process and gives specific taskes to accomplish within certain time periods before and after they've listed their property. All of this is done through the autoresponder and thus doesn't take time away from other real estate duties.
Once you've gotten the lead to a listing appointment, you can blow them away with your presentation. Give your prospect a clear and compelling reason why they should choose you over the other real estate agents in your area. Let them draw the conclusion that you are a true real estate professional who understands real estate marketing. And through your marketing techniques, you will be abel to sell their home faster, easier and for the listing price they desire.
Of course, they will be calling you and emailing you as the selling process proceeds. One handy piece of software that I've found to aid me with my email responses to questions has been the
Reply E-Mail Automator This software allows you to write pre-made responses to the most commonly asked questions from your real estate prospects and clients, store them in a database, and when you receive the question, you just click your mouse and the response is automatically typed in and you send it. It save time and money with the advantage that you are keeping in touch with your clients and creating goodwill.
Cold calling is a thing of the past. But direct response advertising has become the better way to get your leads and listing appointments. It's the winner's attitude in selling housing. This is exactly what every seller wants to see in their real estate agent.
