Magnetic Real Estate Leads
A 5 Step process To Securing More Sales For Less Than A Cup Of Coffee
Jan 02 2010
Posted by Greg Reed as Greeting Card Marketing, Prospecting
ATTENTION: Real Estate Brokers, Mortgage Brokers, Financial Planners, Insurance Brokers (and other small business operators)
Would you invest $15.28 to secure $10,000?
If you answered ‘Yes’ read on. If you said ‘no’ then read on to discover why you are washing tens of thousands down the toilet.
In real estate, mortgage lending, insurance underwritng and even financial planning, there is an extended period between when a sale begins and ends. During this period there is much tension and stress for most parties involved.
It has always been my view to ‘over communicate’ during this period to ensure a satisfactory outcome is achieved for all parties; mine in particular.
This is why I developed and use the “Reed 5 Step Customer Care Programme”.
Communicating with a transaction’s parties is easy to do and in the same vein, easy not to do. At the end of each week I send an email to all concerned giving them a status update on the progress of the deal. People like to be informed.
While this is ok and essential, I go one step further to provide some ‘outrageous’ communication. I want to ensure my name is on the mind of all parties involved and to ensure the process concludes in a favorable result.
Outlined below is my 5 step process based around my own business of selling real estate in Queensland, Australia. Obviously you’ll need to adapt this appoach for your business which may include adding some steps or increasing the time line.
Step 1
Once a purchaser has signed a contract to purchase a property, a card is sent congratulating them on their purchase. The card should arrive in 2 -3 days.The heading inside the personalised card reads:
Congratulations!
You Have Already Won
The card then briefly outlines what the process is from here. I then conclude the card with:
Thank You
We Appreciate You Choosing Us
Step 2
In the first 5 business days the purchaser has the option of opting out of the contract. This is referred to as the ‘cooling off’ period. It is also during this time that they normally have the property inspected by a build and pest inspector. Once again this can be a tense time for all parties, so Card 2 is sent on day 5. I use a few different healines here:
Your House Has Passed With Flying Colours
14 Grange Crescent Says ‘Thanks’ For Believing In Me
Step 3
In Queensland most properties are sold subject to finance which is usually required to be satisfied within 14 days of the contract date. This is probably the most stressful period for both the buyer and the seller; not to mention the real estate agent, finance broker and lawyer. My 3rd card reads:
Sit back, relax and have a latte on us
Congratulations on your finance approval. You’re now half way (assuming a 30 day settlement) to owning your new home at 14 Grange Crescent, Ascot. Why not sit back, take a breather and enjoy a coffee on us……. etc etc.
I include a Starbucks gift card with the greeting card. I would also send a card and coffee voucher to the seller as well.
Step 4
With settlement of the property occuring in 30 days of the contract date, I’d send my fourth card in this series with the headline:
Welcome Home
I also include a little gift for the purchaser; usually something for the home. If the purchaser is an investor, I might include a book on real estate investing or something similar.
I also send a card to the seller and include a gift basket in appreciation for their choice of selecting my agency.
Step 5
Within 2 – 3 days of the card and gift packs arriving to both the purchaser and seller I send my final card asking each party for a testimonial letter. I usually help each party by providing a few questions they can answer about our service during the transaction process.
Once again I normally enclose another Starbucks card to thank them for sending a few words to us.
Not everybody does it but we usually get over 50%. These testimonial letters are gold and help us secure more business.
Natuarally during the sale process we are talking to all parties as well as providing email updates. We also send the lawyers and finance brokers involved some Starbucks gift cards as well during the process. Lawyers and finance brokers are great referral sources for our business.
Now, in reading the above you can see this ‘outrageous’ process secures us a lot of ‘$10,000 sales’ (average commission for our area but of course this can be much higher. $15,000, $20,000 or even $50,000) for a token outlay of around $15 – $20 plus gift baskets. We have very few contracts fall over. Communicating with all paries lowers their stress levels and increases our chances of the sale concluding favorably.
The biggest investment in the process is time and effort.
But we’ve come across a service that simplifies this for us. We are able to choose from over 10,000 quality, physical cards, upload a message in our own hand writing, inlude a photograph; all for under $1. We simply click ’send’ on our computer and the company prints the card, puts a stamp on it and posts it for us. We don’t leave our office. The service is global with printing facilities in the US and Australia.
We can even select gifts with this company and they’ll send them for us. We can choose from gift cards, books and magazines, personal development, car care, gifts for him, gifts for her, home, office and many more. Yes Starbuck cards are included!
The process can be automated so that cards and gifts can be sent at future dates. It’s easy.
You can discover more about this service by registering at www.getloyalcustomers.com
To more ’secured’ sales!
Greg Reed
Discover the ‘inner secrets’ of a $400 mill selling real estate agent. www.getloyalcustomers.com
Get More Loyal Cash Spending Customers For Your Real Estate Business
Nov 17 2009
Posted by Greg Reed as Greeting Card Marketing, Traffic Generation
How To Give Your Customers The WOW Factor For Under $1
Oct 19 2009
Posted by Greg Reed as Greeting Card Marketing
69 Days To Christmas – Don’t Forget Your Real Estate Customers
Oct 18 2009
Posted by Greg Reed as Greeting Card Marketing
Hasn’t the year flown! It feels like yesterday that we were sitting down with family and friends for Xmas dinner and now it’s just 69 days before we’ll be doing it all again.
So now’s the time to start preparing your Xmas card list. Who’s been good, who’s off the list and what new friends, business associates,business prospects and customers need to be added.
Now that your list is coming together how are you going to let these people know you care about them at Christmas.
Are you going to send an email,e-card or a real card?
The first two are quick and easy but very impersonal. You’re definately sending a message of “you don’t mean much to me” as well as displaying your cheapskate nature.
Physical Christmas cards are better but they take effort. You’ve got to go to the card supplier or newsagent, look through hundreds of cards, read each message, select some and then fork out a kings ransom to buy them. You are going to buy something decent, aren’t you? I mean you’re not thinking of going to some trash n carry store and buying a $2 card for your best friends and business customers, are you?
Surely not for those customers who put thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars into your company’s profit barrel each year, which in turn pays you some hefty commissions.
Tell me you’re not thinking of doing that, are you?
Good. Now once you’ve got your cards home, it’s time to pull out your list and start writing. Now it doesn’t have to be much because the card company has filled most of the card with a heart felt message like “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”. Wouldn’t it be nice to have your own personal message? Reserved for the rich and famous you think? Not really. But more on that later.
Once you’ve taken a full day of your weekend (when will you ever get a break?) writing and addressing these cards (and isn’t it a pain to find everybody’s address. Wouldn’t it be nice to have them all in one place?), you have to go to the post office to get the stamps and post the cards.
And isn’t it amazing how the que at the post office is always extremely long and more so around Christmas.
Sending Christmas cards is a very painful experience BUT it can be very worthwhile especially for your business customer relations. (as well as telling your friends you really care)
Here’s the 7 Etiquette Rules Of Sending Greeting Cards:
1) Send the real thing! e-Cards are entirely too common, and rarely show the attention to detail that sending a real card demonstrates.
2) Personalize it! Never limit yourself to the message that came in the card. Always add your own personal touch or flair. And stay away from your company card. Sounds like you are plugging something.
3) Never use address labels for the recipient, or metered postage. Use a stamp and handwrite or type the envelope.
4) When complimenting someone in your card, be specific with them about what it is you like about them. Don’t just say you’re a good person, be more specific (example: ‘I like having you as a friend because you take a sincere interest in the things that matter to me!’).
5) Make sending cards a habit instead of an occasional afterthought. You’ll find your relationships will grow as you express yourself to the people that matter to you.
6) Don’t wait for special occasions to send a card. Holidays and birthdays are great, but an unexpected card for no particular reason can have a great impact too!
7) Don’t print it, stuff and send it yourself. Let us do that for you!
Did you like that last point?
What if you could select a high quality card, personalise it and send it to all your friends and customers WITHOUT leaving your office desk.
You merely login to the software on your computer, select a card, write your own heart felt message, select your customer/friend and hit send.
Our company then physically prints your card, places it in an envelope including your return address, puts on the stamp and posts it!
And all for less than the cost of a cup of coffee. In fact most of our customers can do it for under $1.
Want to find out more, please visit Custom Christmas Cards
But hurry there’s just 69 days to Christmas. Make this Christmas memorable for those you care about.
You’ll Never Need To Ask For A Real Estate Referral Again
Oct 15 2009
Posted by Greg Reed as Greeting Card Marketing, Referral Marketing
You may think that you just need to have a network of people who know who you are and what you do. True to a point, but more importantly you need to have a network of people who like you and trust you! The deeper the relationship you build with your past, present, and prospective clients, as well as other personal and business contacts, the more referrals you will get! In a nutshell; the amount of referrals you get is directly proportional to the level of trust and affection people feel for you.
Many of the greatest referral marketers of all time urge business people to start a habit of sending out sincere greeting and thank you cards.
Car Salesman Joe Girard
Joe was named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the Greatest Salesman in the World, because for twelve consecutive years he sold more cars than anyone in the world! He simply sent heart-felt, hand-written thank you cards to everyone in his network of customers and contacts. ALL of Joe’s business came from referrals! Many of the greatest referral marketers of all time urge business people to start a habit of sending out sincere cards.
Harvey Mackay says;
Harvey Mackay says; “Short handwritten cards yield long results. In sales, never underestimate the importance of the personal gesture, and right at the top of the list of effective personal gestures sits the handwritten card. Always send memorable cards and personal notes when you are reminded of a person.” . . . Harvey is the author of two New York Times #1 bestsellers. According to the New York Times his books are among the top 15 inspirational business books of all time.
Tom Hopkins writes;
“Because I understood that building relationships is what selling is all about, I began early in my career to send thank you cards to people. I set a goal to send ten thank you cards every day. Guess what happened? By the end of my third year in sales, my business was 98% referrals!” Tom Hopkins is a sales legend and is recognized world-wide as a master sales trainer.
Author and Networking Guru Bob Burg teaches;
“Thank you cards are one of the most powerful tools in building a huge network, both professionally and socially. People with the most impressive networks are typically avid card writers. It’s one of the best techniques for long-term winning without intimidation. I suggest getting into the habit of immediately sending out cards”. Mr. Burg (Endless Referrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts Into Sales) has long been the authority on connecting with clients and building win-win relationships.
Realtor Danielle Kennedy now lectures;
“Write customers personal, handwritten cards frequently. If you run into an old customer anywhere, follow up with a handwritten card. In this electronic communication age of email, the handwritten card with a postage stamp gets more immediate attention than ever”. Danielle Kennedy proved herself a master seller in the field of real estate and has written several books on how to sell real estate successfully. She has since moved to the lecture circuit, where she conducts motivational and sales seminars.
Former GE’s Jack Welch
Much has been said in business books and magazine articles about Jack Welch’s habit of sending handwritten cards to his GE subordinates. Jack Welch sent handwritten cards to anyone in the company who he felt deserved personal communication, whether to motivate, correct, or congratulate, from top management to laborers. Jack is the celebrated leader who, between 1981 and 2001, turned GE into one of the largest and most admired companies in the world.
Dr Maya Angelou says:
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. Maya Angelou: Poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director.
If you learn how to make your customers and clients fall in love with YOU, you will never be stuck scratching your head wondering how to attract more customers to grow your business. Sending personalized, handwritten, meaningful cards through the mail is a simple enough idea, but until NOW it has not been an easy thing to do in an ongoing and organized manner. For you to develop a relationship of trust with a large network of people you will need a system for sending out your hand written and personalized cards and managing those relationships over time.
Now this process has been automated AND the costs involved have been reduced. You can now utilize an online greeting card system that prints (with your own handwriting and signature) and mails your cards worldwide.
Let me walk you through this system at http://www.dollarmarketingtips.com
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