We all know that the key to success in any business is Lead Generation and Marketing. So when a real estate office relies only on their sales teams instead of investing in its own lead generation and marketing, it can lead to big issues.
If a high-performing agent decides to leave and take their clients with them, the office will be fighting an uphill battle to retain those clients. After all, these clients have been prospected by the agent and they have built relationships with these people. Even if you retained all the contacts, another agent would be starting from scratch to build those relationships while the agent who left will most likely continue to nurture those same people.
Regardless of what model you are running in your office, you should have some Prospecting and Marketing systems in place. In fact, the way the landscape is changing, I believe this is the biggest opportunity for offices moving forward!
Prospecting Speedometer
I created something called the PROSPECTING SPEEDOMETER for agents which explains all the prospecting and marketing activities available to them and the ROI on each. This enabled agents to quickly decide what activities they needed to be doing to help fast-track their businesses. During my 3-day Agent Success System submersion, I then help them create a MULTI LAYERED PROSPECTING AND MARKETING SYSTEM to help them automate as much as possible and be kept accountable to the activities they have chosen.
With offices it is no different. There are some slight adjustments that need to be made, however, the overall structure of the prospecting speedometer remains the same. This is also a fantastic strategy to share with, and connect to, your sales team so that you are complimenting each other rather than working against one another. The worst thing you could do is send mixed messages out, confusing the public.
PROSPECTING & MARKETING SPEEDOMETER
Data Capture & Retention – The most important part of Lead Generation is of course the capturing of details. Believe it or not, this is where most offices fall down. This important job is left for the reps to enter the data into the CRM, and well you can imagine how that goes.
Automated Thank You email – Once details have been captured, send a WELCOME or THANK YOU email asking to stay in contact so that you can one day serve their real estate needs. This is also a great opportunity to win favour and be remembered, so including a free coffee voucher or something of value that will make them take notice and remember your business is a MUST.
Nurturing phone calls – The office should have a part time customer service manager to call all contacts at least twice a year. This will cement the client is in fact being looked after and cared for by the office. Notes will be recorded in the CRM for the next time the client is called or if any further action is needed to be taken.
Testimonial requests – Social proof is the best form of bragging. It is also a great idea for the customer service person to call all buyers, sellers, tenants, and landlords to ask for a testimonial. The best method is for the client to give one over the phone and the customer service person to write it down. These testimonials can then be used on all of your marketing and prospecting collateral.
Database Marketing – Email marketing, direct mail, and letterbox drops are just three different ways you can connect with your clients. Don’t complicate it, just create a system that utilises all three and put them into a sequence. I use the ‘jab, jab, jab, right hook’ method created by Gary Vaynerchuk.
Example:
July – newsletter , christmas in July competition letterbox drop/EDM
August – newsletter, direct mail (price drive letter)
September – newsletter, spring into action appraisal drive
October – newsletter, SOLDS EDM
November – newsletter, magnet drop important numbers
December – newsletter , santa letter drive, christmas cards
REPEAT
Marketing Campaigns – It is important to engage with your clients and prospects by getting them to opt in for a gift, competition, or event. The whole idea behind this is to grow your database or audience and work as a give-to-get for your existing clients. There are so many themes you can choose from, I’ve collected a few here as an example that you can use:
- January – Australia Day
- February – Valentine’s Day
- March – Footy Tipping
- April – Easter
- May – Mother’s Day
- June – EOFY
- July – 7 Year Itch
- August – Dob in a Seller, Catch it before it falls
- September – Father’s Day
- October – Halloween
- November – Everything is For Sale at a Price
- December – Christmas Santa Letters
Social Media – The great thing about social media is whatever you are pushing out on EDM, Direct Mail, or letterbox drops can just be mirrored on your social channels. You should also have a ‘Like Ad’ and an appraisal generating ad generating leads.
Solds/Invitations – A great thing to use as filler for all mediums are SOLDS and invitations. However, remember to make them property specific and include a WOW factor, testimonial, and voucher in order to give them a huge impact and get noticed.
Events – Another great way to show clients how much you care is to invite them to an event. This can range from cheese & wine tastings in the office to a movie night or even a kids events such as a christmas party or easter hunt for the kiddies. If you want to get to your clients hearts, put events on for the entire family, they will absolutely love it.
Sponsorship – This is a great way to get the office staff bonding. Sponsor one of the staff members or someone in their family in a sporting event or charity event and get the rest of the staff to get behind and support them. You could even create your own cheer squad then head out for drinks, this is amazing for office culture and creates a great profile for the office and your brand.
Anniversary cards/Birthday Cards/Christmas Cards/etc – As an office, you should always be looking for ways to make contact and connect with your clients, especially those that have supported you or done business with the office before. It has never been easier to do this with technology and automation.
Print Advertising – Although most see this is a dying medium, in some areas it is still very prominent. The biggest downfall of print advertising is that it is hard to measure the ROI as most people don’t say they are responding to print advertising. However, it is very important in brand awareness and profile building. There are two types of print ads that you should always run together:
- For Sale ads
- Paid for by the sellers
- Sold ads
- Paid for by the office.
Just with everything else you do, print advertising should either be consistent or not at all. Weekly or fortnightly works best.
There are so many things that can be added into your MLPS that I can’t list them all here. If you’d like to discover exactly which tasks you should be focussing on, get in touch today and I will help you go through your entire business to see where the gaps are and how to fill them.
