Real Estate Agents - How to Get Noticed
November 16, 2008 by Alissa Avolio
What is the key to getting noticed, being remembered, and getting referrals? It’s simple actually, the answer is building strong, lasting client relationships. The most effective way to do this is by keeping in constant contact with them and leaving a gift behind to remind them of you later. A phrase used for this type of self advertising is “Pop By”. You want to Pop By clients, old and new, on a regular basis.
And it doesn’t matter which market you find yourself in. If it’s booming, you need to keep in constant contact with all your many clients and hit the pavement to get those FSBOs in your trusted hands. When it’s a slow, dragging market, you need spend a lot of time building long lasting relationships with the few clients you have at the time so they think of you every time hear of a friend who wants to sell. And you need to hit the pavement and gobble up those listings that have expired. After all, who wants to be sitting at the office making cold calls all day? Every agent’s dream is to be working completely by referral. And this is done by keeping in constant communication with your clients and building new relationships with their referrals.
So what’s the best way to do this simple key thing? The answer is simple and FUN! The most effective way to do the above is by quickly stopping by and bringing the client, or prospective client, a small personalized gift that can be left behind to remind them of who you are. The main point is for this gift to be personalize with your contact information. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to purchase the minimum of 300 letter openers (as cool as they are) with your logo painted on them. You can do this much more economically, creatively and with a lot more flexibility by creating your own tags or putting your business card with the gift.
So start a campaign! Whether it’s gobbling up those expireds, getting the latest FSBOS to trust in you, or keeping your past clients within arms reach, you need to start a campaign that’s all your own. Use gifts that are small, inexpensive and something you can easily personalize by attaching a tag or business card. Another key point to this style of gift is to add a smart, witty tag line so the client actually remembers what they read. You can make cookies and write “I’ve got the recipe to your success.” This is a concept advocated by some major business coaching companies here in the states. www.harpoonmarketing.com focuses on creating these items for real estate agents who don’t have the time (or creativity) to create their own.
Are you going to focus on gobbling up those expired listings? Search the MLS every morning to grab that listing that expired at 11:59pm last night. Be at their door hours after it has expired and represent them before anyone else get’s the opportunity. For expired you want to bring an item that’s not too pricy – you don’t want to invest too much in someone that might close the door on you. But is definitely something to break the ice when you randomly show up on their door step. Something that catches their attention and/or entertains them. I have a client that gives little miniature flash lights to all her expireds and “Spot Lights” their home to get it sold. Another clients using little tool shaped candies to say that she has “all the right tools to get the job done.”
Some key points:
- Have you already branded yourself? Pick gifts that highlight your brand.
- Use several different “levels” of gifts. Have smaller, less expensive gifts for lower priority clients and nicer slightly more expensive gifts for your A clients.
- Bring gifts specifically for your clients children or pets. When the clients sees that you have paid attention and know about their family and personal life, they are more willing to trust in you and take you in as part of that life.
- Specify it to the season or holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas make this type of marketing great fun.
- Get creative and have fun!
Point being, spend some time building a brand and hitting the pavement to really get to know your clients. Besides, sitting in the office simply calling to say hi get’s really boring. So get creative, get out there, and get busy!
Author: Alissa Avolio
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Quite informative and interesting article.
I’m new to the Beaufort, South Carolina real estate market but I’ve gone all in on building and developing a website. What do you think? Thanks, Todd.
I can’t tell you how important that website will be to you! Just be sure to develop great, keyword-rich content. Pay attention to what you need to do to capture search engines, but keep your potential clients’ needs in perspective. Good luck!
Hello, that’s a good post, I agree with most of what you are saying. Do you think that this will have a postive effect on our marketplace over the next few months?
Thanks again and all the best!
Mark
Being a successful real estate agent is all about marketing a product and that product is yourself. Anytime you are meeting new people you should approach that meeting as a new marketing opportunity. http://www.ivyequity.com
I think you are totally right. The cost of keeping client’s loyalty is ridiculous if you compare with the powerful potential of their word-of-mouth.
Last year we sent a gift to all of our clients who bought with our agency and we had a great feedback.
Greetings from Spain,
I think small gifts are fine for clients that you already have under contract but gifts for prospects, even cheap ones, don’t demonstrate the value and people are expired want their home sold not a receipe for food. We use a marketing message of “We will sell your home in 29 days or we will sell it for free” and we recommend agents come up with a compelling marketing message.
Real estate is a people business not a house business. You ever wonder why nurses and teachers make great agents? It’s because they truly care about others. Use the caring approach to everyone you meet, see how far it gets you.
RealtorsParade.com is a Real Estate web design firm. For $1.00 / Day you get an Instant Real Estate Listings Website to enable you our your users to list homes for sale and apartments for rent, and provides a powerful search similar to the professional realtor websites. Allow visitors to list for free, or enforce free or paid registrations.
“Since signing up with RealtorsParade.com, my business and sales have increased exponentially, and users of my site are very happy as well.”
Features:
Testimonials
Site Solutions
User Registration to Sell
User Registration to Buy
Private Member Section
Users May Update/Modify Listings
Send Listing to a Friend
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“RealtorsParade has been part of WestMatch Realtors company since 2006 and has been very accessible, and has taken care of any of our needs in a quick manner.”
Thanks for sharing. I think being innovative and creative is important as you mentioned. What special efforts should one put for a online real estate business through a website?
check this guy out he’s working with our office. its very cool:
grandtourz.com
sorry wrong site this is his sample page. he can put you on your page to pich yourself: its very clever and cheap, he’s adding to my site for less than $200.
smartgroupstudios.com
As regards an online real estate business, I think a website should be clean, clear and easy to use. Do not over clutter the pages but most importantly you need to implement an online marketing campaign otherwise knowone will find your site.
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I believe in the saying out of site out of mind, the more you keep in contact with your clients the more likely they are to remember and recommend you.
I think you have an interesting idea for staying in front of your clients… maybe not for prospecting new business. but this seems valuable for selling homes and listing homes for sale by getting referals. Visit my site for philadelphia homes for sale
Treating clients as close friends is really the best way to make lasting and memorable relationship. The most severe challenge for a marketer is how to tie leads that we’ve hardly collected become continuously customer.
very insightful tips. i like your key points. creativity is indeed the key.
-corell
great post, if you are an agent who is just sitting in the office hoping someone will call you are wasting time. If you are not marketing you are not working
I totally agree with you that sitting in office will not be fruitful in getting clients. I am new in Real Estate business and i am in a foreign country, which means i have no connection and don’t know people in this place.
How do you think i should react?
From where you think i should start?
I got many nice tips as online advertisments, gifts, maybe magazine, etc…
A great post. I agree that it’s an effective means of gaining past client and database business; but less so for getting new business.
But I do believe that agents should have plans for both; and here you present a great plan for 1 of them. That’s half the battle right there!!
- John Carle, ReMax Edmonton
Edmonton, Alberta Real Estate Agent
http://www.knock-knock.ca
I have wated agent after agent waist money with local real estate magazines. Maybe they get a call or two but the return is so small it’s just not worth it.
Want to get noticed? BUILD A GREAT WEBSITE!!! It takes a ton of work but if it were easy, everyone would do it. Online marketing it the way to go.
My site,
Another way to get noticed…
Providing clients with referrals for movers and resources for moving is a great way to further build goodwill and help ensure a glowing recommendation long after the deal is done.
ManageMyHome has a bunch of helpful articles, such as:
-Helping kids make the move (age-appropriate tips)
-Damage protection for household goods
-Moving Cats and Dogs by Car
-11 Tips for Packing Your Kitchen
Agents - make a list of the “value adds” that your service, experience and brokerage bring to the table. Establish what sets you apart from the competition and seek out new ways to market your listings and give your clients what other agents/brokers cannot and do not. Part of any successful marketing campaign is finding ways to consistently reinvent yourself without reinventing or confusing your brand.
Great discussion,
An internet strategy is only as good as the conversations it leads to…
Buyers and Sellers are in need of reliable local Real Estate information… The more focus th information the better the visibility…
Let’s all have an awesome 2009.
Key Yessaad – Real Estate Internet Strategist
Sending recipe cards, calendars and magnets is all well and good.
I got a Christmas CD once, from a realtor, and it has turned into my favorite of all time!
How about a telephone call? I’d say it is just as meaningful as a gift….
This is some great advice for anyone dealing with clients in any business but in real estate is even more important to keep your clients happy and keep yourself visible, you don’t want them forgetting about you when it matters most.
Some great points in the comments…
I find that individual real estate agents have different strengths that will come into play when trying to get noticed. The affable networker can always find a way to get themselves noticed (and this works exceedingly well in real estate). A more technologically savvy agent will develop and maintain a solid website that can garner much attention. What’s most important in my opinion, is leaving people with a strong impression on the ability to perform desired services well. Getting noticed will only take you so far if you can’t back it up.
Robert E. Wasser
Associate Broker / Owner Prospera Real Estate
http://www.prosperarealestate.com
Financial Crisis & Foreclosure Defense
The “War on Debt” Bootcamp Feb 7th and 8th
I’m a big believer in sending my past/present clients useful information on a regualar basis. I have over 20 serious clients I could not help at the time they came to me due to credit history etc. Instead of loosing contact i keep them in the loop about new way to cut cost, save money etc. Usually just by sending helpful article by an e-blast. It only takes a few minutes but I have had about 4 closed referals from that resulted from the 20 clients I couldn’t help. I believe you can turn any lead into something so don’t loose contact info and take good notes on everyone.
This is a good list for retention. As agents, we always want to retain a portion of past clients and by carring out the actions on this list you will have success.
Great comments and ideas. I’m interested in Idaho Land
and agree that the personal touch can reap great results. Thanks for the encouragement.
I think that it is great to remember how much customer service and relating to the client can really help. It’s easy to lose this focus.
Great post. It is easy to keep and earned your business and their referral from past clients than new customers. Better investment on your time and money.more quality leads. staying in touch with your past clients is the key to get a new business from them.
Thanks Alissa, I have been selling property in Cyprus and have strayed away from the personal services that we get used to in the U.S. I am coming back in a couple of months and I need to remind myself how things work again. http://www.cyprus101.com
Thanks for sharing your great informative post. I agree with your article, all the information are totally right. Hope this will make positive effect on our marketplace over the next few months.
Helpful stuff - thanks! I agree with the earlier comment too … got to get out of the office and meet some people.
I could not agree with this article more. In a market such as this, continually working new angles is so important. Every agent that is still in the business right now probably has done something special ,and risen above the status quo. Now we need to do ever MORE!
http://www.LeasePhilly.com
Thanks for the tips.
If there are any new developments with on-site sales teams in your area try be-friending the on-site agents. Often, the customers they are selling to have existing homes they need to sell before signing on a new home or moving in. The on-site agents will often refer you for free to help themselves make a sale.
http://andrea-realestaterollercoaster.blogspot.com/
Anyone know a good traveler mug customized print company?
Let me know please, thanks!
Pop-by’s are definitely important as an avenue to stay in constant contact. Implementing systems that allow you to spend more time marketing is really important. Update Lane (www.updatelane.com) allows agents to manage more listings in less time and stay in constant contact will all of their clients online throughout the marketing and closing of the property. You can manage your work flow, schedule showings, collect feedback, track competing properties, and share all files online - keeping your clients in the know with what you’re doing and educated on the market so they can make informed decisions. This allows agents to spend more time marketing - and doing pop-by’s.
As a Realtor in Cincinnati, OH I think it’s also really important to develop a web presence. This is not just owning a website, but creating traffic to that site, and having a call to action on the site. As opposed to just giving people free access to MLS Search and whatever.
Great site! I check in every now and then and I am always impressed with the variety of content. Please keep my site in mind for Vero Beach Real Estate.
When I look for an agent I want someone who is a go getter and is not afraid to think outside of the box. To many real estate agents get stuck in a certain mindset and I think that is why many agents are dropping out of the business now. I think those that go the extra mile will be the ones who are noticed and then the referrals will roll on in.
http://reitvshow.com
An interesting and informative article.
Thank you.
Interesting article.. I’ll keep in mind all the keypoints you gave. Especially about branding myself.. Thanks and more power to you..
-david
At http://www.findbuyers.com, we value the needs of the customer, whether seller or buyer, by matching properties for sale with buyer preferences. With free registration, create your buyer and/or seller profile today.
Well people, my name is Jill and i’m a real estate agent from LA, to be honest getting noticed in this business is n ot that easy since the environment is savage. Otherwise i’m always surfing the web in order to find different and useful tools to improve my work. The other day i received an e-mail from a new Real Estate search engine, completely free, called Novaprop.com. The site is like YouTube bu only for real estate, i reccomend you to try it, after all is free and is helping me to gain more clients.
Take care, hope it helps you
(Novaprop.com)
Are you a real estate agent with clients that:
-Own more then 4 real estate properties
-Can’t find conventional financing(foreign nationals)
-Seek a turn-key investment that cash flows that covers :100% of your mortgage payment
100% of your property taxes,
100% of your homeowner association fees and dues
100% of your management fees,
100% of your maintenance costs
100% of your utilities
Look for strong real estate investment markets
Want to capitalize on significant tax breaks(the biggest tax incentive in US history).
when we start business with real estate market we need to well professional real estate agent because agent have a full knowledge
make the decision to purchase a home, talk with a real estate agent who can give you expert advice and valuable information. The purpose of this initial meeting is not to sign a representation agreement with the real estate agent.
yes, experience help you a lot when it comes to real estate business because you need to know some important facts or you are in trouble
The Bakersfield CA real estate for sale market reversed dramatically over the past couple years. The time has come to take advantage of the good deals. Bakersfield, CA homes for sale are now at about the lowest prices many investors have seen in many moons. This economic slump has hurt many homeowners. On the positive side that even those in the worst shape will be able to come out of this hardship and be in a more stable position in the near future. Bakersfield, CA homes for sale prices today offer many reasons for excitement for both first home buyers and investors the same. Put this with the fact that home buyer’s interest rates have dropped so much, and it makes purchasing a home in Bakersfield a pleasant thought. Therefore are considering their next home purchase very enthusiastically. Bakersfield, CA homes for sale may now give you a great opportunity! One very important thing to think about when buying or selling is the fact that having a dependable real estate agent can save you a great deal of time and help you find the best deals and avoid mistakes.
Brad
Thanks, it’s an useful post. It is verry important to stay in tooch with your clients!
In this market, every detail counts. Thanks for another good article.
-aspire
http://www.realestateadvantage.net
Great food for thought. In this market the best way to get noticed is by getting results. Clients will judge us by perforamance not empty whish lists. “It isn’t all about us, it is about them!”
Go Gorrilla! And answer the phone when it rings!
Jeffrey Owen
IonHomeInspection.com
Katy, Houston, Sugar Land TX
Word of mouth is hands down the best marketing strategy out there. Nothing beats having a personal reference and past experience.
Its really like you said “BE CREATIVE”. In this market more then others in the past, you need to stand out in a unique way. We live in a age of 4 second attention spans, you need to grab them quick.
For me, it’s all about the internet.
The nice thing about the market today is that the strong will survive. The weak will not take the iniative to change their marketing plan. Keep up the good posts.
to making a him self good real estate agent firstly must have a knowledge about area and place.A select an agent that will offer you a buyer’s package loaded with savings and values such as house bucks to cover items such as moving costs. In addition to that, gift cards, decorator allowances and even a free cruise for luxury home buyers! Feel free to browse this center.
Don’t you think, it will be a little too costly for agents working at small scale, to keep on distributing gifts to their potential clients …? But I agree with the main concept … you need to stand out from the crowd one way or the other.
Good article and really fits the todays market. Very similar to RE/MAX’s 100 Days To Greatness
A buyer may also need to have a real estate agent so that it would be easier to find the proper home to buy. This is generally more beneficial for those out of town buyers as they can be a big help during your search for property that can fit your needs and your budget
When you make the decision to purchase a home, talk with a real estate agent who can give you expert advice and valuable information. The purpose of this initial meeting is not to sign a representation agreement with the real estate agent.
I really like the idea of a system with tiers. By putting a process in place where you do certain activities on certain days, it gets easier to make it a habit. Then separating your prospects and clients into groups and providing different gifts lets you track what actually works best so you can make your system better over time.
An overlooked yet effective method for attracting cusom to real estate agents is to work with home stagers. These people will boost any properties your company is selling, making them more deisrable and mor eprofitable, which is always good for business reputation.
Another way to get noticed is have a good reputation, a good place to start may be here: rateyourbroker dot com
It is very useful trick for getting business
I think to get attention or noticed by many clients is by just keep promoting your products, by all means you have to bring your product to your prospective clients.
Thanks for the informative article — very interesting and useful too.
Expireds are a very good way because no many people think about it .In my city Ploiesti, Romania , people always look for new listings but forgot about expireds.
I hope this will be helpful. If you are currently a landlord or are thinking of becoming one,and you can also contact this site.
Well..no doubt this strategies are very advantageous but as the matter of fact we are not initiative ones as i have seen this people using such schemes before….We need to hit some thing new like they say “In this World money is not a new thing, But the way u invent it”.
Thanks Alissa! Do you have any good suggestions for the small personalized gift to leave with clients? It’d be great to hear from anyone if they have any unique (but inexpensive!) gift ideas.
The author of the article very much. Article is very good, I read with great interest!
I think this kind of approach is always the best. Forget worrying about link-building for your website, or getting to the top of Google (which both of these are fantastic ways of meeting people). The best way to benefit is lasting relationships. The quickest and easiest way to build your business is to have someone else build it for you. And that is by someone else referring your services.
Doing expired listings works, but in this market, there are mainly short sales and foreclosures. I have to admit, in a better market, showing up at the door of a freshly expired listing is a great way to become a top agent.