Real Estate Marketing Strategies: Don’t Forget Those Closest To You
By JD Esajian on December 22, 2014
It is only human nature to want to cast as big a net as possible for your business. You often hear that business is a numbers game: the more people you reach out to, the more likely you will find someone that wants to work with you. While this is certainly true, it also takes more time and resources to make a new contact than to grow your existing ones. As the end of the year approaches, you should take some time to reach out to the people that have helped your business grow throughout the year. If you neglect who got you to where you are currently, your future prospects may not be as great as you thought. Take care of those closest to you and your business will surely benefit from it.
There is a lot that goes into closing a real estate transaction. It is not enough for you to do your job. You need everyone involved to fulfill their roles as well. On any given deal, you may have two sets of realtors, two sets of attorneys, a buyer, a seller and possibly a mortgage broker. Instead of quickly moving on to the next deal, you need to reach out to all of these people as quickly as possible. Assuming that there were no issues during the transaction, everyone will likely develop a working rapport. This can be a good time to set up a meeting for a cup of coffee or even a lunch. At the very least, you can ask to put them on an email campaign or monthly newsletter. These are people that you are familiar with and have had recent success with. There is no excuse for not following up.
The manner in which you follow up will say a lot about you and your business. A text message is better than doing nothing, but it doesn’t replace a phone call. A ninety second phone call to an attorney thanking them for their help and their hard work will do more to build a relationship than any letter or email. You don’t need to put on a hard sell during the call. Simply express your appreciation. They will surely remember this when you reach out to them at some point down the road. Another nice gesture is the hand written letter. A simple card, no longer than a few sentences, will make you stand out from almost everyone else in the business. Most investors are so worried about the next deal and how much they made that they do not do the little things with the people that made the deal possible. A hand written letter makes them feel appreciated and important. If you do this on every transaction, you will find yourself with at least a few deals a year that you would not have had.
Striking while the iron is hot is important, but it is also critical to stay in touch throughout the year. You should make a spreadsheet of everyone involved in every transaction for the year. Every few weeks, you should send them a message or even stop by their office and say hello. If you have fallen off, you can still salvage the relationship at the end of the year. All of their information should be on your spreadsheet. Sending them an email or card shouldn’t be that difficult. Signing your name is nice, but may not be enough. You should spend a few minutes writing something personal or something that may have happened during your transaction together. Your goal is to get them to remember you so in the future if they have a deal they think of you. If you take the extra time to write out a nice card instead of just signing your name, you will get much more out of it.
A card can lead to a phone call, which can lead to a meeting, which could lead to a deal, which may lead to a working relationship. If you focus solely on growing your network from the people you work with, you will get more referral business and reduce the amount of time and money spent on marketing for new leads. Not only will you spend less but referral deals have a much greater likelihood of closing. If someone in your network sends you a referral that you take care of and treat right you can bet they will continue to do so anytime they get a new lead. This will also help enhance your reputation and they will tell someone in their office or their network just how great a job you did. It all starts with stepping back and focusing on the people closest to you.
Everyone likes to feel appreciated. Doing small things like sending hand written letters or meeting for a cup of coffee should be done after every deal, but rarely are. There is plenty of competition in almost every investing area. It is the little things that can make you stand out. If you take care of the people that have helped your business grow, they will take care of you.