Perhaps it is old school to do face-to-face marketing, but I have long touted the benefits of getting in front of Realtors®, affiliates, and associated professionals (e.g., insurance agents, title representatives, escrow representatives, and loan officers). Yes, I know that social media the da bomb, but what about word of mouth? Do you think that it is dead?
The Realtor® Caravan / Broker Open House
If you want to increase your closings, one great way to do this is by attending the Broker Open House. I’m not sure about your neck of the woods, but in San Diego County, all of the Broker Open Houses start with a one-hour meeting before the tour. The tour is great because it gives you an opportunity to get better acquainted with the market and also to preview a few homes, but the meeting is a pretty great way to connect with other local professionals.
You may wonder why you would need to go to the meeting? Well, for one, you definitely want the other Realtors® in attendance to get to know you. Believe it or not, if you submit an offer on behalf of a buyer to an agent who knows you (or may just have seen your regularly at caravan), you increase your chances of getting your buyer’s offer accepted—especially in a multiple offer situation.
Simply put: the listing agent thinks something like this: “I know Melissa. She seems so nice, pleasant and fun to be around, that I am going to encourage my clients to accept her buyer’s offer.” In fact, I’ve even had listing agents specifically tell the agents in my office—when in multiple offers—that they have gotten their offer accepted because the listing agent knows me (not the buyer’s agent, but me—the broker). So, your face-to-face reputation can go a long way towards getting an offer accepted.
Your Biggest Competitor Should Be Your Ally
You’ve probably heard, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Not true with real estate. Your “enemy” (your biggest competitor) should be your ally. (In fact, everyone should be your ally.)
Case in point: There is a ginormous benefit to marketing your property listings to other agents, affiliates, and associated professionals. Just ask any local title representative how many Realtors® he or she speaks to on a given day? What if one of those agents just happens to need a 5000 square foot Victorian on 1 acre and you have the only one in the county listed for sale? While it is excellent to market to the consumer online and through direct mail, when you also market to the affiliates and associated professionals (make those folks work for you), you increase the visibility of your property listings ten fold.
One caveat: I’m not talking about those garbage online flyers that you can make in about 5 minutes and the marketing company will mass mail to every agent on the list, I am talking about clever and creative ways to get the information into the hands of those who can help you to sell your property. This can include open houses, ice cream parties, sun down events, and personalized weekly newsletters among other things.
Here’s How It’s Done
What’s the #1 epic formula for marketing your listings? It’s getting face to face with Realtors®, affiliates, and associated professionals. (If you don’t know where your local marketing sessions are held, maybe it is time to make a call to your local association and find out.)
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