Now I have your attention. Good….

It used to be only advanced agents used follow up systems. And most of them only followed up with people who wanted to list their home - they did nothing for potential buyers. Well, times have changed - big time!

Any agent who wants to thrive in today’s market should be using an advanced follow up system for both buyers and sellers. A good follow up system will build a relationship with a potential customer with consistent, value added communication. 

What adds value? Well sending a potential buyer a message “I just checked my schedule and I am free Friday from 1 to 5, lets go see a home” is NOT a message of value.  In fact, most canned email messages that you get from a software company actually hurt your relationship with your potential client!

If you want to make it in this market, then you are going to have to focus your efforts on adding value and building relationships.

Your goal is to move a lead who says ”I Don’t Know You” to a client to says “I Know and Trust You”.

Here a some quick tips on how to build relationships

• For people that you only have their email, send them good message about the market and what is going on 2x a month. These are personal messages you write yourself. It does not have to be long, a few paragraphs will do it!
• If you have a few leads (and the time) then make each email personal. If you don’t have much time, then you can send the same email to everyone.
• If you have their phone number, then call them back right away and make a follow up call when appropriate. Don’t hound them, but checking in every few months is great.
• People are getting so many emails every day that they do not value emails any more. If you really want to impress someone, then physically mail them something of value. The classic thank you card after first meeting someone still works. If the person is new to the area, mail them a book about your city! If you create a newsletter, then send it to them.

Relationship building is how you turn a lead into a client and a client into a referral making machine!  Your follow up system should not be a hounding system, where the potential client feels like you are stalking them. You will need to setup reasonable times for follow up emails, calls and letters.

Finally, consistency is very important. Don’t just send one message, you need a system and a schedule. I believe all agents should be using a contact management system to help them with follow up. If you have a decent business, go ahead and buy Top Producer. If you do just a few deals here and there, then use Constant Contact (fewer features, but very low cost).

Given the popularity of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Zillow, Active Rain and lots of other sites - Your website should be the “hub” of your online marketing activities. It should “attract” potential buyers and sellers like bees to a flower. You should put some time into your web site every month.

In 1999, all you needed was a one page “brochure” site that talked about you. I see this type of website all the time (usually because the broker will give it away for free) - but it is not going to cut it in today’s demanding environment.

Your website needs to show you are an expert in real estate in your niche area. Here are the key principles your website should follow:

Give before receiving - Your web site should have lots of free information a buyer or seller would be interested in. The best web sites will have:

• Unique articles on your area of town. This includes the different subdivisions, activities, schools, etc.
• How to articles on how to prepare your home for sale, how to interview a lender, etc.
• Market updates that include average sale price, number of homes sold and a brief analysis on what is going on in your local market
• Links to other important local sites, such as government, schools and local associations
• And most importantly, an excellent home search that is easy to use

Set you up as an expert - Your web site should show you are an expert in both real estate and your niche area. Both your articles and your testimonials should show you are an expert. In addition, go ahead and say that that you are an expert in real estate in the xxxx area.

Show you are in high demand - In general, people want to work with professionals who are busy and are in high demand. You can show this with:

• Testimonials from clients that are more than “Sally was an excellent agent.” Have testimonials that show how you listened and helped them solve their problems.
• Recommendations from business partners such as mortgage brokers, staging professionals, remodeling companies, etc.

Demonstrate your likability - Your web site should present you in a friendly, likable fashion.

• Site is clean and easy to read - it should not look like a used car salesperson’s website!
• Your personal photo is casual, not stuffy
• Your articles and information are professional, but not stiff and dry
• The pictures on your web site are warm and inviting

Encourage a person to contact you - You want leads from your website. To do this, you need to:

• Offer free reports that address a life event. For example if you have lots of older people in your niche area you can offer “How to sell your estate home” or “Practical Downsizing guide”
• Offer free reports or guides that anyone buying or selling a home would be interested in such as “9 Outside Improvements You Must Make To Quickly Sell Your Home”
• Have multiple ways for people to contact you, including email, phone and fax

Print this list and do an honest comparison to your current website. How do you stack up?

Do you want to see a good website? Check out Jennifer Cox’s web site on Mason Ohio Real Estate.

Request a free copy of the Real Estate Insider from Pro-Quest
to learn more about using these marketing techniques in your business!

At the same time, now is a great time to grow your business. I was reading my Wall Street Journal Monday morning and this headline grabbed my attention:
“An economic downturn is a great time to start a business. It sound paradoxical, but think about it. Costs are lower, and more talent is available, thanks to layoffs. Prospective clients are more likely to try a new supplier … Established players, too, are focused on cutting costs instead of increasing market share”

But you won’t increase your market share in this economy with traditional advertising. The advertising that you used for years is just not cutting it anymore.

The same Wall Street Journal article went on to listed the top five common flaws people make when starting a business. Their #1 flaw is also the #1 change you have to make to your advertising if you want to take advantage of the emerging economy!
#1 Business Flaw- “Here I am, Never Mind The Problem”
Any business that leads their marketing and sales efforts with “Here I Am” is doomed to fail. The average Joe out there is pre-occupied and worried about their job, car, family, retirement and health. Their mind is so full of negative thoughts and problems that they can’t even register your name, much less remember it later. Advertising that leads with your name is just not working anymore and don’t sit around waiting for the good ol’ days to come back – they are gone.
So what do you do about it? How do you grow your business with all of the negativity out there? How do you jump out of the crowd and get people to call you? Easy - focus on solving your customer’s problem!
What’s rattling around in your target customer’s mind that keeps them up and night? How can you help solve these problems? To figure this out, you need to start with the problems people have when they buy or sell real estate.
Once you have a good list of problems, figure out how you can help them solve the problem. Here are some big problems you can target:

• I am getting divorced – offer a “Divorce – 7 Mistakes People Make With Real Estate” report
• I am getting transferred to a new city – Offer a free relocation guide
• My mom died and I need to sell her home – Offer an “How To Sell The Estate Home” guide
• I can’t take care of this big home and I need a smaller place (downsizing) – Offer “How to downsize without losing your mind guide”
• I lost my high paying job and got a job with less pay and now need to move to a smaller home – Offer 25 tips to sell your home quickly in today’s economy

Other problems are small nagging questions, but they are great questions to solve

• What is my home really worth and can I even sell it – Offer a free over the net home eValuation
• Where can I find a list of foreclosed homes to buy – Offer a foreclosed home list
• How do I get into the MLS to search on homes for sale – Offer free MLS access
• What is happening to real estate in my neighborhood – Offer a real estate report

You can see there is no end to problems you can help solve. You should lead all your postcard, internet, flier and newsletter marketing with offers to solve a problem. Remember - It is important to have multiple offers out there, don’t get stuck on solving just one problem.
In future success tips I will help you figure out how to get your new marketing messages in front of the people you want as clients.

To your success,

Greg Pitstick & Bill Brown
LGM3 – Lets Go Make More Money
P.S. We just created a free training workshop on how any agent can easily convert more leads to clients. You can turn more leads into clients with the tips you will learn during the free½ hour audio training. You can also download the free cheat sheet guide that is a great everyday guide. Register for this free training at www.lgm3.com/workshops.

I ran across this story the other day that proves my point

They’re Just Not Paying Attention Anymore!

The big digital TV switchover finally happened last week and about 2.8 million homes filled with clueless Americans were left without a television signal - even though the government announced the change over 4 years ago and has since spent over $2 billion dollars on TV ads warning about the impending change. They even offered $40 coupons so that everyone could get the antennas at no charge that were needed to handle the new digital signals!

I suspect that there were millions more that didn’t know about the change, but were unaffected by it because they already were subscribers to cable or satellite TV.

Now, I’m far from a TV junkie and only watch a few hours per week. I never watch, read, or listen to the daily news. On top of that, I have a DVR that records my favorite shows and allows me to fly past all of the commercials, yet I couldn’t help but notice the constant messages scrolling across my screen during my shows informing/warning me about the change.

Let this be a huge marketing lesson for you…

Never underestimate the enormously difficult task that you have of first, capturing your clients and prospects attention, and second, getting them to take action.

Friends pay attention to friends and rarely pay attention to strangers. That’s why it’s so important that you start to develop a close relationship with your clients so that you can get your message across to them when you need to.

So if you want to grow your business, you need to keep in touch with your target clients/farm area. Now is not the time to pull back. If you do, you will watch your clients forget about you, referrals drop off and you business will wither away.

Keep up the advertising!

Pictures can make a huge difference in selling a home - and good pictures will make your client happy!   I recommend people hire a true professional with good equipment to take the pictures of their listings.  Good photographers are charging agents $75 to $125 to take really good photos.  Some may charge more if they have to drive further.  Remember - the expense is worth it!

Notice the picture in this article?  It is a professional photo.  I have been in this house - the picture looks much better than the actual kitchen.  The lighting makes all the difference.  This home had lots of interest and sold quickly because it showed really well on-line and the price was reasonable.

You should feature your professional photo service in your listing presentation.  Make the point that you actually PAY for a professional photographer to take really good pictures of their home.  Have side by side pictures - one you took and one the professional photographer took.  Make the point that pictures really matter!

One agent said “I have several pages in my listing presentation. One of the pages has photos that I got from the MLS. Another page has my professional photographs. I will ask the client - If you knew that over 80% of buyers were making their first cut of homes to see based on photos on the internet, which photographs would be better at getting buyers to your home!”

So - how do you find a good, professional photographer in your area.  Most good photographers do not advertise much, they use word of mouth to get business.

• Ask other agents and your broker who they have used.
• Search on Google for your area
• Ask the mortgage brokers you know
• Ask the home inspectors
• Ask at the good camera store (not Best Buy)

Here are some good questions you can ask when talking with the potential photographer

• Samples - Ask to see sample photos that they have taken in the past
• Equipment - A good photographer will use a SLR camera, not a point and shoot cheap camera.   Good equipment enables a photographer to take good pictures quickly without touching them up on the pc.
• Number of shots - How may shots will they give you and will they give them to you on a cd?
• Do you edit your pictures - A few photographers will adjust their pictures on Photoshop before giving them to you.   If they have good equipment and good lighting, they will not have to do this.  You just want to hear their opinion.
• Do I Own The Photos - Who owns the photos? It is the requirement for most MLSs that the broker / agent own the photos used. You want to have full rights and ownership to the photos.
• Technique - Ask them what their technique is.   A good photographer should tell you their approach to getting the best shots of a home.  For example, they may say they like natural light and a wide angle lens that makes the rooms look larger.  They may also like different angles that give good perspective to a room.  If they don’t have a technique, then they are not very professional.

You should have at least two photographers you are comfortable with so you always have one available.  Remember to have the home staged, clean and ready to go before the photograher shows up!

Have you noticed the number of news papers that are going out of business?  Or the TV stations that are having problems.  Or better yet, the number of empty billboards?   Companies are moving away from interruption based advertising and moving towards attraction marketing, leaving the interruption based advertising companies to go bust.

So what is attraction based markeing and how can you use it to make more money?

The current housing boom started around 2000 when investors took money out of the stock market and put it into property.  This boom was then fueled over the years with easy credit, speculation and debt driven consumption. People were buying and selling for fun.  Their home was going up in value forever and they could use it as an ATM machine.

In this go-go market, most agents would get out of bed in the morning and there were good leads  waiting there for them to act on .  It was easy to make  money.   Good, effective marketing was not required. The reality was, clients did not expect a lot from their real estate agent, they just wanted a piece of the action and the agent was a means to an end.

Those days are gone - we are now entering a new value based economy.   Attitudes have shifted and we listened to your customer, and here is what they are saying:

1. I Want Value - People want to clearly see the value in the services you are providing.   Think about it.  What is the value you really add when you list a home?  Do you take professional photos, are you offering a guarantee, do you build a web site just for their home?  What is the value you are adding - and more importantly, does your client know it? Your clients also want you to add value every time you talk to them or send them an email.   By the way, your picture adds absolutely no value!
2. I want an Expert - People want to work with an expert.  You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a real estate agent in most cities.  Your client whats to know you are different, that you are an expert in both the local area and in real estate sales.  What are you doing to show your target client you are a true real estate expert?   You have to go beyond the certifications and show your expertise in all of your marketing.   Stand back and look at how the world sees you.   Go to your web site, look at your marketing material.  Are you an EXPERT or just another agent.
3. I Will Take Longer to Act - People will take longer to buy or sell a home, they are skeptical and move slowly.  You will need new, value focused, follow up systems to stay in touch with your prospect while the work towards the purchase or sale. You will need to “date” your prospects over time.  Don’t try to push the person into buying or selling before they are ready.
4. There are Fewer of Us - Now only the motivated person will be in the market.  Your client is motivated because buying or selling a home solves some a problem (relo, divorce, more kids, failing health, etc).    The job of your marketing is to get the motivated prospect to contact you.  Your job is then to work add value over time and help the client.

The agents who adapt to this new, emerging economy will thrive.  The agents who don’t will have a hard time making ends meet.