The Personal Marketer

Marketing can be expensive, especially when you're working on commission. And, as the old adage goes, “It takes money to make money.” But, the question remains, how much money does it take to successfully market your real estate services? Unfortunately, there's no easy ROI formula for Realtors®, but there is a way to maximize your marketing budget. Your highest ROI can be achieved by spending more time building relationships with existing clients than chasing after new leads.

Finding new clients can be expensive and time-consuming.
Many real estate agents pour money into expensive online real estate platforms. These platforms are highly competitive, and even the most conservative plans can cost you between $200-$300 per month. So, what's the solution?

Repeat business is much less expensive. The vast majority of clients who are extremely satisfied with their home-buying experience want to work with their Realtor® again in the future. The problem is many of them have lost contact with their agent by the time they're in the market for their next home. Your positive relationship with past clients can continue to develop with a relational marketing strategy that requires much less time and investment than developing a new client. And when your past clients are in the market again, they'll know how to contact you.

Relationship marketing means more referrals.
Your referral business will grow rapidly as you continue to remind past clients about the great service you provided them. With your name top of mind, they'll happily refer you to their friends, family and coworkers.

We'd like to share a referral from one of our highly satisfied customers.

“Without repeat business, a real estate company is going to fail. They can go out looking for new business over and over and over again. The cost involved in creating new business is far more expensive than the consistent follow-up that it takes to create business from your existing clients,” says Wayne Murray of Weichert, Realtors® who has been using the Client Follow-Up Program for 15 years. “That's an opportunity where you're going to create business for a lifetime.”

Are you ready to create business for a lifetime?
Check out the Client Follow-Up Program. This marketing program keeps you in touch with your past clients with 23 mailings over 5 years for only $25.

While it may take money to make money, with the Client Follow-Up Program, you won't need an expensive marketing budget to stay in contact with past clients, who are your best source of referrals.

Keeping up appearances is essential to selling a home quickly and for the right price. Most agents agree that home staging is an important piece of the selling puzzle. But, how it's staged can be the difference between making a sale or making a bad impression. In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors®, 62 percent of seller's agents agree that tastefully staging a home significantly shortens its time on the market. In addition, 77 percent of buyer's agents say that a home well staged makes it easier for their clients to visualize themselves living there. The numbers don't lie. This can be your secret marketing advantage. But, how can agents stage a home well without interior design experience? Check out these practical tips.

Update the atmosphere.
It's important to talk to your clients about how some simple changes can make their home more attractive to potential buyers. For example, a fresh coat of a neutral-colored interior paint reinforces a positive first impression.

Eliminate dark spaces.
Natural light isn't just on-trend. It's also good for you. Give potential buyers what they want and light up dark spaces when staging a home. You can add mirrors to provide depth, open up curtains and blinds to let in more light, and stick to a neutral color palette for the décor to keep things bright and airy. 

“Variety is the very spice of life,
That gives it all its flavor.”
– William Cowper

As a real estate professional, you want to spice up your print marketing for your specific audience. But, what flavor of information do your prospects and clients really want from you? With high-quality content and images, The Personal Marketing Company offers these 5 varieties of newsletters, tailor-made to keep you top-of-mind with your prospects and clients.

Here are the success-proven newsletters that are published for them each month:

Homeowner's Update: Home improvement is a popular topic for most homeowners. Articles about interior decorating trends, boosting curb appeal and adding value to your hme are hot topics for nearly anyone with a mortgage. Add value to your clients' lives by providing content that keeps them up to date with the latest and greatest in home trends. 

  

The time is quickly approaching for real estate professionals to start planning for Generation Z. The oldest of this generation are now in college and, as a whole, show strong indications that homeownership is one of their top life goals.

“Wait. Generation Z? Didn't the Millennials just take over? How am I supposed to keep up?”

Don't worry. There is some forgiveness when it comes to marketing from one generation to the next – thanks to the overlap of shared experiences. For example, Millennials and Gen Z both grew up in the digital age, experienced the social effects of unprecedented terrorism, and saw cultural milestones like the country's first African-American president. Thanks to these shared experiences, marketing to Gen Z at the start will be much like marketing to Millennials. However, the similarities will become fewer and fewer over time.

Now is the time to get your plans in place for a generation unlike any other. Here's why.

Good news for home sales
Recent polls indicate that 97 percent of the upcoming generation view homeownership as an ultimate life goal, one they see within reach in their late twenties. Additionally, 81 percent plan to use a real estate professional to buy a home. While many are still teenagers, the oldest of this generation are now in their twenties and thinking seriously about the future. And, to cap things off, Gen Z will make up 24 percent of the global workforce by 2020.

Unprecedented debt
The size of this generation may be good news for future home sales, but the cost of higher education could potentially delay their ability to purchase a first home. In fact, 46 percent of Gen Z report feeling burdened by their financial situation. Though they may have debt, the generation appears to be more fiscally conservative than Millennials and Baby Boomers. The majority describe themselves as deal-seekers who would rather save than spend. Moreover, comparison shopping is at an all-time high with this generation, thanks to their inseparable relationship with their mobile devices (phones, tablets and laptops). This means they will be well-educated, thorough and prepared buyers.

How to reach them
Gen Z are more resourceful, informed and multicultural than any other generation before them thanks in a large part to the media saturation. The majority of this upcoming generation want companies to approach them to make a sale, and they want a good deal. As it pertains to marketing, their attention span on average has been studied to be four seconds less than that of Millennials, suggesting that highly targeted, honest, to-the-point marketing will be necessary to reach them.

So, what can you do to ensure you succeed in the future marketplace? Do your research on Gen Z now and going forward, so you can stay on-trend and relevant. A decisive, high-quality, well-rounded marketing strategy is a must. For a generation that receives the majority of its information digitally, a healthy dose of engaging online content with standout print marketing will be the one-two punch that secures their trust. Don't you want to be their agent?

The quantity and quality of the mailed, emailed, and socially shared content you provide to your clients and prospects matters. But, have you considered how the seasonality of that content can help you build relationships and establish a trustworthy reputation? Sharing season-appropriate content shows that you are paying attention to shifts and changes in the market. It also gives you the opportunity to create a conversation with your audience about things such as the weather, holidays and timely to-do lists. Providing seasonal content can help you stand out from the crowd as an engaging source and friend to potential prospects.

Here are three tips for curating your content on a seasonal basis.

Turn holidays into touchpoints.
It's easy to overlook the holidays when they seem unrelated to closing a sale and generating new leads. However, this personal touch helps your potential clients see that you are friendly and approachable. Send greeting cards for the holidays, mail handwritten birthday cards, or share unofficial holidays on social media such as Take Your Dog to Work Day. These are golden opportunities to relate to your clients as a caring individual, rather than a high-pressured sales person.

Turn seasonal to-do lists into friendly reminders.
Every homeowner should have a to-do list for around-the-house upkeep, but not every homeowner necessarily knows what he or she needs to make a priority each season. This is a great opportunity to share knowledge and establish yourself as an all-around home expert. Send reminders in the spring and fall for homeowners to clean out their gutters, share landscaping tips on social media, or offer recommendations for local businesses and service providers with whom you have a working relationship.

Turn real estate wisdom into seasonal reading.
The real estate market can undergo significant changes each season. As an agent, this is your chance to share your valuable knowledge with your client base and potential leads. Translate market research and trends into bite-sized advice for prospective clients via newsletters, social media, postcards, or other mailings. This will initiate a dialog between you and your prospects, helping turn cold and warm leads into hot ones.

Do you need help providing seasonal content to your clients and prospects? Check out our Spotlight Newsletter or browse through our seasonal postcards. 

In today's consumer experience on social media, visibility is vital to a real estate agent. LinkedIn is one platform that's ideal for networking and building your brand, followed up with your print marketing. So, how can you get the most out of LinkedIn without spending too much valuable time on it? Here are five easy ways to connect via LinkedIn.

1. Be thorough.
After signing up for LinkedIn, it will prompt you to fill out key information about yourself, your career, your company, and more. Don't procrastinate on this step! These are the details that your contacts will use to vet you.

2. Show off your work.
Once you've added your details, it's time to shine it up a bit. Add a recent professional head shot for your profile picture, share and upload pertinent videos and media, and link up your other social media accounts.

3. Connect with local groups.
LinkedIn offers many groups for all kinds of industries. Connect with local, regional and national groups to show those who view your profile that you're well-connected and established among your peers.

4. Stay active.
Whether you're posting original content or sharing trending articles, you can't go wrong by staying active online. This also shows those who view your profile, especially potential clients, that you have the experience to compete in an ever-evolving marketplace.

5. Share content across platforms.
When you share content from LinkedIn on your other social media and networking platforms, you communicate to a larger audience than just your LinkedIn connections. This keeps your appearance and your content fresh across multiple platforms.

These easy ways to excel at LinkedIn will help you stand out on the platform, make professional connections and generate new leads. A well-rounded digital and print marketing strategy helps you reach your clients and prospective leads better than just one or the other. Want more information on how to improve your print marketing strategy? Contact us today!

In an increasingly crowded online space, marketing can get complicated, not to mention expensive. There are all kinds of pitfalls you have to avoid, and if you don't already know the platforms like the back of your hand, you're in for a steep learning curve.

It's time to get back to what works.

Simply put, print marketing gets through to your prospects and clients in a uniquely personal way that digital marketing just can't. Here's proof:

Recent studies have found that printed marketing materials activate the part of the brain associated with desire and valuation. This results in an emotional response that digital marketing does not trigger. In fact, the studies found that print marketing holds advantages over digital in many areas.

Print marketing advantages:

• Allows more time for reviewing
• Stimulates the brain
• Quicker recollection
• Encourages desirability
• Demonstrates value

Digital marketing advantages:

• Appeals to short attention span

Occurring in both:

• Name or brand recognition
• Willingness to pay for products or services

What exactly does this mean for you, the real estate professional?

Your prospects and clients will benefit from receiving print materials and are more likely to feel a personal connection with you when they open their mailbox. In the real estate world, that personal connection is foundational to your success as an agent. So, why wait? Everybody likes getting mail, you know!

The Personal Marketing Company provides high-quality print mailings that impact prospects and clients both consistently and effectively. Do you still have questions about marketing materials? Read our blog, “Is print marketing dead?” for more answers.

You can shout anything from the rooftops, but if the right people still can't hear you, shouting is pretty pointless.

It won't matter if you have the best marketing materials in the world, if those mailings are not showing up in front of the right people, you're invisible. That's why targeting your audience isn't just recommended, it's necessary.

Start with farming.
Defining a farming area is the first step to targeting your audience. These are the neighborhoods where you will consistently send print materials branded with your name and smiling face. If you target the right areas and keep the mailings coming on a regular basis, you will begin to turn cold leads into warm prospects, and then red-hot clients.

Harness the power of your list.
If you don't have a list of contact information for past clients and current leads, then you're behind. Compile this list and then use Client Follow-Up to continue sending targeted marketing materials. This is about re-contacting a client base who already knows you, trusts you, and would likely recommend you. Targeting their mailboxes with valuable and memorable print content will increase your chances of landing repeat and referral business.

Target your digital media.
Email and social media marketing can be powerful tools if you use them correctly. First, create professional profiles that are separate from your personal profiles on each social media platform you intend to use for business purposes. Then, send invitations to family, friends and clients to “like” or “follow” your page. If you use paid ads, make sure you focus on a very narrow audience. Target ads to people of typical home-buying age and within your small geographic region. Even better, use tools like Google AdWords to pinpoint people who search specific terms like “real estate in X city.” Only send emails to people who have “opted in” to receiving information. Try to avoid adding someone's contact information to an email list without permission. It's illegal, as well as a bad marketing practice.

Targeted marketing is a must. Don't let your efforts fall on deaf ears. Target your audience to increase your chances of turning prospects into repeat clients. 

In today’s digital age, you can connect with your clients in many ways to ensure you always stay top-of-mind. Sharing information on social media, sending quick emails, and enrolling your clients in an after-sale follow-up program are all easy ways to ensure your clients don’t forget about you.

Following up your online or mailed contacts with a phone call demonstrates to clients that you're putting even more effort into maintaining this relationship. It also shows how much you care.

Calling a client doesn’t have to take up a lot of time in order to make an impact. Be strategic with your phone call and keep it short. Have a genuine reason for contacting your clients, such as sharing some new information about a subject that's of interest to them. Always be cognizant of your clients' time. If you leave a message, offer to call them back. For example: “I'll call you back tomorrow evening unless that's not a convenient time for you.”

Consider phone calls to clients as a way to build genuine relationships, not just an item to cross off your to-do list. Having an actual conversation and hearing a person’s voice is powerful in a time when instant messaging and technology reign supreme. By including phone calls in your daily routine, you'll begin making real connections that build trust. And, you'll have made a friend for life!

Print media is a powerful marketing tool, and we have 40 years of success with real estate agents relying on our marketing materials to prove it.

However, a gaping hole exists between well-designed print materials and a flier thrown together on Microsoft Word. In fact, it is the difference between attracting new clients and losing out to your competition.

People expect great design. Successful brands that capture the hearts of consumers have set a very high standard for graphic design. Brands like Apple carry their sleek design theme from their products to their digital marketing, and right to the architectural design of their stores. Consumers identify with the positive experience they have with Apple products because the whole brand appears clean, polished and high-tech.

Great design is often invisible, terrible design is not.
In order to have that staying power, mailings must catch and hold attention. Terrible design will definitely catch attention, but for the wrong reasons. The reality is, great design means it's invisible, making it easier for the recipient to read and interact with your piece. Professional graphic designers use their knowledge of contrast, space, size, and other organizational skills to visually communicate your message in the most effective way. Bad design means your message is muddled, hard-to-read and will do nothing but annoy the recipient.

Prioritizing design is a sign of professionalism. In a world where corporations set such a high bar for design, entrepreneurs and independent contractors have had to learn how to prioritize aesthetics. Great design is a sign that the business cares about how it appears to its customers. It’s also a sign that the company is up-to-date and operating at a level of professionalism that affirms their customers' loyalty.