Mark Mathews is one of the world’s best big wave surfers. Mark has surfed many of the world’s heaviest and biggest waves including Cape Fear, NSW, Teahupoo, Tahiti, Jaws, Maui and The Right, WA. Every time he faces a wave he faces the possibility of a broken neck or even death. You may think that it takes some kind of extraordinary human with a bizarre breath holding capacity and courage for days to keep doing this year after year at age 37.
Surprisingly, Mark doesn’t see himself as special. In fact he says he’s just a normal guy with average athletic ability and an introvert who manages over-anxiety.
When he was 17 years old his mother became deathly sick with a very treatable disease. However at the time doctors didn’t know what she had. So Mathews was struck with the possibility that he would be supporting his mom for the rest of her life. He was invited to do a magazine shoot for surfing, and because it meant he would earn an income, he decided to do it.
But when he got to the location the waves were easily 500% bigger than anything he had surfed. He says there’s no way he would have done it if it hadn’t been for the fact that his mother was sick.
He always thought that surfing big waves were out of his league. Later he described it as a surreal moment. He did it and because of that experience he suddenly had the intrinsic confidence that he could surf at this level.
A couple weeks ago I wrote about NFL Seattle Seahawks’ coach Pete Carroll. He said that he considers it his job to prove to his athletes how good they are and he does everything he can to build their confidence. He plays tape for them to watch, has them run reps, shows them, tells them, and repeatedly builds them up until they believe it.
Because, Carrol says, when they believe it and the going gets tough then they rise up and face the challenge.
Scott Mann is a retired U.S. Army Green Beret. He has been in many hostile situations where he was shot at and worse. Scott said something that stood out to me.
When he was in Afghanistan he and his troops would demonstrate leadership. They would go on the rooftops and defend against the Taliban. Week after week. Until one local farmer decided to join them. Then another. Then another. From this experience he learned how to create trust and connect with others.
People build confidence by observing, by learning, and by being given the opportunity to “do reps”. Until they eventually come to their own conclusion that they can do it. Everyone of these people experience fear. They aren’t superhuman. They are real people.
Courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s going forward despite the fear.
Scott Mann says to business leaders alike, “Connect like your livelihood depends on it. Because it does. Because we are meaning seeking emotional social creatures.”
These 3 heros have one thing in common. They are confident that you have the ability to play at the same level.
What’s the best way to get more real estate listings from people outside your circle? Matt Yesmaniski was asking himself the same question.
Matt is a fast growing real estate agent in Grand Prairie, Alberta. But to say that his journey in business is interesting, would be an understatement. Today Matt is handling multiple offers every month. But it wasn’t always the case for him. In two words, I would describe Matt as humbly tenacious. He has developed a remarkable resilience as he has overcome numerous obstacles and hurdles.
Matt swung by our HQ a couple weeks ago and we had the pleasure of sitting down and hearing his story.
“My wife was having our baby and I get an email letting me know I lost my job the same day,” shared Matt. And so after discussing it with his wife, he took a bold step, studied hard, took his real estate exam and became a Realtor.
“I assumed that when you started the business you would have a certain level of support from your close net friends and family. And that was just an assumption and I was devastated to find out the reality,” Matt shared.
With a growing family, four kids now, and a drive to serve his clients, Matt forged on.
“I had to develop a certain mindset to overcome that and the mindset was gratitude for who was hiring me as their Realtor,” he continued.
A mindset of gratitude allowed Matt the opportunity to forge onwards. He put effort on serving the clients that he had and it cleared his mind, enabling him to see the strategies that mattered in growing his real estate business.
“I realized that being a Realtor is a marketing business. Plain and simple.”
He explained, “So I segregated the business between brand marketing and lead generation marketing.” To grow his business Matt needed to reach people beyond his circle. So he implemented a strategy that involved both brand marketing and demand generation.
“The brand marketing is like the bus benches, billboards and those sorts of things.”
“And then there’s the lead generation so that’s StreetText.” With lead generation, he explained, “You can measure it so you can manage it.” So he invests in Facebook ads to find people entering his market who plan on selling. And it’s proven to be incredibly successful.
“We have closed quite a bit of business from StreetText, it’s up and around $100,000. Met a lot of great people through it and have clients that are still clients today. So it’s been a phenomenal platform to work with.”
He’s also put into place a great system of follow up and touches. He continued to invest in his systems and now he sends monthly market reports to his network and database. As well he puts on a client appreciation event every Winter and Summer.
As a result, he’s turning his opportunities into clients through his quality of mindset, marketing strategies and follow up activities.
Matt is an inspirational guy. Hanging around with him and I quickly discovered that he’s constantly learning, reaching out to mentors, and growing personally and professionally. I personally am enjoying getting to know Matt and I hope you find his insights as inspiring as I do.
“If you leave your business and you’re not making any money, you have a job. The last thing I wanted to do was go back to an industry where I had a job. I want a business.”
Marly Walters,
Real Estate Agent.
In 1939 Harvard began following the lives of 724 men. It’s the only study of its kind because they’ve never stopped. Every year they interview the participants measure their vitals and even record them having conversations with their spouses.
Today about 90 of the participants still survive.
Here’s the remarkable thing. Guess what the most accurate predictor of long life was?
Robert Waldinger, the current director of the study, said it wasn’t cholesterol or some other symptom. It turns out it was how happy they were with their current relationships.
People in satisfied relationships not only lived longer, but they had less cases of schitzophrenia, dementia and alzheimers.
What does this all have to do with real estate?
The mind is a beautiful thing. And one’s mindset has a powerful role to play on the outcomes of our lives.
Marly Walters, Real Estate Agent
Real estate agent Marly Walters had a marketing background but didn’t really apply it to real estate. She was getting sphere of influence leads and did okay doing a few transactions, but “by no means was doing as well as she was when she was in corporate.”
In her second year she switched brokers, but still was having a hard time getting her business to grow. She did a short stint in commercial real estate, but decided she preferred residential as it was more about the people.
Finally she said, “When I was leaving commercial I said, ‘Okay, there are people out there making money in real estate. And I’m not it. So I’ve got to figure out how what people are doing.”
She did some research into coaching programs. She came across Proctor and that really changed her mindset about the real estate industry.
“What I really need is to get systems and leads.”
So began her mindset shift.
Before her results shifted her mindset shifted in 3 ways.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Getting somebody who would really coach you to build your business and just do what they are doing.
“Just do A, B and C because all these other million dollar agents are doing A, B and C. And just follow the program.”
Marly Walters
Being able to automate and systematize your business. “If you leave your business and you’re not making any money, you have a job. The last thing I wanted to do was go back to an industry where I had a job. I want a business.”
Marly real estate business is growing. She is set on investing herself to grow a team. And it’s working.
Watch a 2 minute clip of Marly Walters’ interview. “What was the shift that went from half a dozen deals to this mindset of I can do whatever I possibly want and grow my business.”
Are you working with a client or prospect who seems reluctant to take the next step? There are three potential reasons for this inaction and you may be surprised to learn that you have the power to overcome all of them.
“You cannot change the circumstances but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.”
Jim Rohn
The greatest opportunity is the one you have in front of you. So let’s discover what you can do to turn “no deals in the immediate future” into an immediate deal.
Do any of these lines sound familiar?
“Oh, let me talk to my husband/wife.”
“Sorry, I’ve just been busy.”
“My house is messy and I don’t want you to see it until I’ve cleaned it.”
“I like it, but I need to see a few more homes before I decide.”
Here’s some tips to help you to guide your client to make the move to buy or list their home a bit faster, all while helping them get exactly what they really want.
Tip #1: Why “always be closing” is a terrible mistake
Think about the difference between a doctor and a salesperson (any salesperson). Who do you trust more?
Too often business professionals start off on the wrong foot and don’t even realize it. Taking care of ones health is a very important task and can often times be one of the more scary journeys a person can go through. Some people freeze and don’t take action when fear and uncertainty pops up. So a doctor does a good job of reassuring their patient and gives them a plan to take action, something a sales person can learn from.
People place trust in their Doctor. Why? It’s simple really. Doctors don’t sell, they qualify. And when they fail to do this what happens? Second opinion anybody?
Take this example. Imagine you visit a doctor that communicates like many salespeople. This doctor asks how your family is and if you’ve had a chance to play golf lately. You know, the regular chit-chat. You respond normally, answer her questions and engage in casual conversation before even getting to what might be ailing you. Without asking about your health or doing any tests, she says, “Here’s a prescription for some pills that I want you to take daily. Have a good day.” With that, she walks out of the room. Now let me ask you this… would you take those pills? Hopefully not.
In this situation, the doctor went for the close and didn’t take the time to learn your needs. Maybe she only had one pill to prescribe, or maybe this Doctor is like Sherlock Homes and could diagnose a person’s needs simply by observing them. But, at the end of the day, you don’t know if you even need the pills, if they’ll help, or if they’d do you more harm. You don’t have enough information. This is how salespeople often approach sales. They rush for the close before they have qualified their prospect, understood their needs or provided a solution that fits their situation.
A much better approach to “always be closing” is to “always be qualifying”. When you qualify your prospect you will discover their budget, their needs (reason for buying/selling), their timeframe. It also means you’ve spoken with the decision maker(s).
Tip #2: Getting people off the fence
How to turn a horror story into a fairy tale.
What happens when you’ve qualified your clients, shown 20 homes that you know fit their needs, and still your client isn’t taking action? This takes us to tip #2 – getting your client off the fence. Have you framed the decision in their best interest?
I watched a family member go through this journey just a few years ago. They ended up working with two different real estate agents over the course of about 12 months. Now, I happen to be friends with both of the agents and I know they didn’t take the change of agent personally. Which shows both their experience in the industry and their character. But what it did do is it gave a bird’s eye view of what happens when the same client is approached by two completely different styles.
Here’s how it went.
The deal was both a sale and a buy. The first agent spent about 9 months showing numerous homes. Taking offers for their home, almost closing the deal multiple times, and with one thing after another, the deals fell through. Eventually, all parties agreed that time was their best friend and to spend a bit more of it to decide what they “really wanted”.
Fast forward to the new agent.
For about 1 month the new agent showed them numerous homes but quickly realized what was really holding them back. The ‘right’ fit didn’t exist. Instead, the clients needed to overcome their uncertainty. It wasn’t about finding their dream home. It was about getting them into a home.
So… he found them a really great home. It was priced fairly, beautifully situated, and most importantly was a safe decision for the couple. The agent made the decision even safer by having taken the time in the first month to learn every possible concern they may have, and adapt and adjust to their needs. He then painted a picture of how they could overcome these concerns with the new home.
“It is situated on parkland, so no one could build behind it.”
“It is in a mature neighbourhood, so the value would be very stable.”
“It was designed by an architect so any remodelling wouldn’t require moving walls.”
“It had the perfect layout for an in-law suite to easily add extra income if that was of interest.”
Within one month both homes were sold, papers signed and the deal was done. There was no reason for them not to take action. The point is, sometimes it’s better to take the time to understand and learn from your clients to discover their hidden needs. There may be underlying issues that are keeping them from selling, or they may have apprehensions you can help them overcome.
Tip #3: Fear of loss is a greater motivator than opportunity to gain
It’s a great line and it applies to real estate sales. But how does it work?
As a child, I saw a bicycle in a shop that I really wanted. I assumed everyone wanted that same bike. So I held onto it for an hour while my folks checked out other items. By the end of the hour, I noticed that no one else had touched any of the other bikes. It was a valuable lesson learned. It’s easy to perceive that if we like an item, everyone must like the same item, and if we don’t take action we may lose it.
All the “slow” prospects and window shoppers are buyers and sellers who haven’t acted … yet. But they will. Highlighting an item as a golden opportunity that is in demand can reframe their buying decision. Suddenly they are faced with the prospect that they will miss an opportunity (a real one) if they don’t take action.
Some people are trapped by the belief that their market is currently a “buyers market” so they can take their time when looking. One useful strategy you can deploy is this. Educate them on the difference between “good inventory” and “old inventory”. There may be lots of undesirable homes on the market, but the home they are specifically looking for is desirable and selling quickly. This could be because of the price point, neighbourhood or the bedroom and layout. It’s easy to prove with a quick analysis of the average time on the market of recently sold properties that match their criteria.
How to implement these techniques:
Ask your prospects questions to find out their worries
Listen, don’t object (very important because people can become defensive easily)
Show them how waiting will cost them money or opportunities (rising interest rates, rising prices, competitive bids, etc)
Have something to offer them that is of value to their concerns (Financial Risk Analysis, Real Estate Timing Analysis)
Conclusion
In the words of my friend Graham Morgan, sometimes it’s important to stop and ask yourself the difficult truths. Are you asking your clients the right questions? Do you have the solution for their problem – without checking to see if it meets their needs? Are you willing to rethink the approach you are taking with them? Are you showing them homes that may not fit their criteria? Do they have the budget?
Now, you may be able to stand tall and answer the above questions with a proud “✓” check mark.
That takes us to the second challenge. Have you addressed all their hidden concerns? As in the example above, sometimes people aren’t taking action simply because they need a guide to reassure them that it is a safe decision.
Finally, reframing a property you know has caught their eye as a desirable and in-demand property can be very motivating to buyers. This is a great reason why suggesting they be the “first to offer” because the home just hit the market works so well.
I’m hoping this article inspires you to tackle your unmotivated buyers and sellers as both an opportunity and a worthy challenge as well. With that having said, there’s just one more thing I want to ask… I’d be grateful if you’d share this article. It would be very appreciated.
With 2018 approaching, it’s a good time to start thinking about new systems and techniques to implement to your business.
We know sometimes getting these things started can be a little hard, so that’s why we’ve created the ability to send email campaigns to your StreetText account!
Building an email campaign will give you the opportunity to create content that goes out to your leads as soon as they come in, and reflects your personal voice and business objectives. Once these are built, you’ll no longer need to worry about scheduling time to get back to each lead – and you’ll be building engagement with each email.
With that in mind, here are some examples of how to create the best email campaign ever, so you can grow your engagement and connection with leads.
Something short, sweet and to the point
Truth is, we’re all glued to our iPhone’s and Androids.
In today’s world, everyone is rushing to get things done and no one has a few minutes to spare. People are busy! Look how busy your life is, and how often you read through all of your emails from beginning to end.
When do you read your emails? Do you read everything or file most of it away into the trash?
Look at your email patterns, and put your mind into how a lead might be viewing your emails. Yes, it’s important information – but if it’s not the right length I assure you people will zoom right past it.
Keep your initial email to your lead short and sweet. Give them the right amount of information to move the conversation forward, and always leave them with something bite-sized that requires them to contact you again. Take a look at our example below:
Give your leads a little bit of information on who you are, your experience, and when you might be available to meet. Something short like this will give your lead the perfect amount of information – without having to read a huge long email…because trust me, they probably won’t.
Don’t just have one email scheduled
Once you build your automation, it’s important to include more than one email on the schedule.
A lot of realtors create campaigns that have 3 or more emails that go out to their leads at different times. Since following up is key, having multiple emails scheduled for weeks down the road will up your chances of leads contacting you back.
Gine Wade, a successful realtor in the Georgia area sends a follow-up letter 90 days after their initial request to ensure she’s touching base with them one more time.
People get busy with work, family, and life! It’s important to remind people because sometimes life gets in the way and they need the reminder. The following is a recommended schedule for your email campaign:
Week one: Introduction/touching base
Week two: Market information
Week three: Common home prices in their area
Week four: Are you ready to sell?
Week five: Setting up an appointment/final bits of information
This five-week campaign will help you stay on track, and touch base with leads multiple times with the right information.
Don’t be a robot
It’s important to remember there’s a fine line between being overly professional, and casual.
I’m not saying you should message your facebook leads like you’re messaging your best friend – but I am telling you to remember to lighten up a little!
After years of working in customer service, and online customer support I’ve learned that people often wonder if they’re talking to a real person or a robot or an automated service.
People like to know they’re talking to a real person. Make your emails professional, but light in how they’re worded.
It’s okay to add some personality to your emails! Adding a personal touch, and personal voice lets people know what kind of Realtor you are. This will put you leagues above the rest, and ensure you’re creating engaging partnerships with your leads.
All in all, building email campaigns will only benefit your business. Take some time to plan it out, and dive into better engagement and better communication with leads.
Book a Demo to See StreetText in Action – Lead Magnet
Let’s be honest. Calling strangers can be very off-putting and that is why not many people enjoy doing so. It’s hard to form an organic and lively conversation with a person who you know nothing about. Not only do you not know their personality, interests, or their stage in life, you also don’t know what mood you are going to catch them in, how they are going to react to what you have to say, or the style they like to converse in.
No wonder that some agents never call leads before they’ve had other forms of interactions with them. That means that they are leaving a big opportunity on the table.
The good news is there are techniques, that once mastered, will make calling strangers easy and effective and, in return, tremendously help your bottom line.
So how can one have that perfect conversation with a lead on the phone? Here are the steps that we’ve designed after talking to a number of our successful agents, analyzing and summarizing their phone techniques.
Here is the 6 steps process to follow:
1. Call them ASAP (Speed to Lead Technique)
According to Leads360 research, leads called within 1 min is 391% more likely to be reached. Staggering, isn’t it? But it makes sense. When you receive a request from a Facebook lead, it means people just saw your ad and were interested enough to request the information. This also means they are on their computer or smart phone and are not busy with anything else. The sooner you can call them, the higher the chances that you will reach them in the right mood. Even waiting 3 minutes, brings your chances down to 98%, while calling an hour later only leaves you with a 36% chance of getting in touch.
As Julia Hurley, a top producing agent with Keller Williams Realty, Knoxville TN, says: When a new Facebook lead comes in, “You call them now, right now, right now”.
2. Gather Ammunition
When you call, you want to come through as someone who is knowledgeable and has done his or her homework.
This is when Social Profile information that you get with StreetText becomes really valuable. Scan through it to understand who your lead is as a person, what their interests are, what the like to do and so on. Look for things you have in common. This will be a huge help in building a new relationship, developing trust, and creating rapport.
Also, make sure to pull up an address or a listing on your computer or phone. Having it in front of your eyes will allow you to ask specific questions as the conversation goes along.
As you are talking, add a compliment or two, something like “Looks like you have a beautiful home” or “Oh, wow, really nice choices on the property, good job!” A small touch like this helps establish that you are a nice and caring person and will bring the other side a little bit closer to you.
3. Create a Strong Custom Opening
With the surplus of junk calls, we all get it’s understandable that people can be a bit defensive when they pick up the phone and do not recognize the number.
When you call, you want to have a strong custom opening that can help you to disarm your lead. Within the first few seconds, you can immediately show that you are a competent professional who knows what they are talking about and that you came prepared. Take a look at this opening line:
“Hi, my name is Jonathan and I am calling from Keller Williams. How are you?”
Now compare it to something like this:
“Hi, Susie, my name is Jonathan and I’m with Keller Williams. I was calling to follow up about the property valuation for 435 Main Street. Looks like you said you’ve done some renovations recently, live a beautiful area, and are planning on selling within 6 months. How are you today?
The first line is what most agents would use when calling their leads. They rush to introduce themselves but don’t mention anything about the other person or the reason why they are calling. Often what the other person is left thinking is: “That’s great, but what is this all about?”.
The second opening is a lot more powerful. It tells the other person who they are, that you’ve got some information about them and that it is going to be an informative call. Inserting hyper-personalized data points helps you disarm the lead right at the very beginning. It’s virtually impossible to say no to someone who’s done their homework and it flatters you out of the gate.
You cannot see it, but at this point, they are probably nodding their head (“Oh yea, I did to that!”or “ Yes, I did request that!”) or at least they are thinking “I’m not sure where they got this from but that sounds familiar”.
Here is another example to use:
“Hi, Susie, my name is Jonathan and I work with Royal LePage. I was calling about the request you made to be alerted to new homes before they hit the market, I see you received our first list and were interested in homes between $300,000 and $500,000. How are you today?”
To use this technique, jot down two to four talking points or insights that prove you did your homework, such as:
Hi, ____________,
My name is ____________ and I’m with _____________.
I was calling about ___________ and I noticed _________, __________, and _________. How are you today?
4. Start a Human Conversation
Now that you introduced yourself, told them what you are calling about and that you have a value in front of yourself, it’s time to start a more personable conversation. How do you do that?
Use Acknowledge Respond Pivot technique (ARP)
You can start by saying something like: Tell me a primary reason why you inquired about XYZ? Or why did you look up a property on Facebook?
They might say that they were just looking around, don’t have interest in selling, or just wanted to know more about listings in their area.
And this is key. What they are telling you in these words is “I don’t want to be SOLD. I want to learn MORE before I’m ready to sell”. As sales professionals, we are taught how to sell. The best approach when you are working with a client is looking at it through their eyes. You don’t what them to see you as a threat, you want them to see you as an ally.
And this is exactly the time to use ARP technique (Acknowledge Respond Pivot). This technique allows you to align yourself on their side, as a person who is not trying to sell something, but a person who really gets them, hears what they are saying and are here to help.
This is how it works:
The first thing you want to do is to Acknowledge them. If they say “I was just on Facebook, looking around, I’m not interested in selling”, repeat exactly what they said, verbatim. “So you were just on Facebook, looking around and are not interested in selling, no problem!”
And than Respond: “So, I’ve got your address pull up right here and it will not take more than five minutes and I’ll have your property value to you.”
And than Pivot by redirecting the conversation in a way you want to go. “How long have you owned the home?” Pivot gets a conversation back to being human and back to working together versus against them. This way you’ve affirmed them, you’ve heard them, you’ve given them a response, and now you are pivoting into a direction you want to have the conversation going
5. Dig Deeper
Now that you’ve got them to this place, you want to start Digging Deeper – this will give you the ammunition that you’ll need later on the call.
You’ll want to start asking questions like:
What’s the number one reason that you are moving right now?
How many homes have you sold before?
Have you ever worked with a real estate agent before?
What was one thing that your real estate agent did that bothered you the most?
What’s the ideal time frame for selling your home?
Make sure you are taking notes of what they are saying. These answers will help paint a picture of who they are and how serious they are. You are also letting them know that you are really trying to understand their needs.
As you are moving through the conversation, building a rapport, probably laughing as you are telling some good stories, you want to take their responses and start repeating it to them at the end.
“So you want your property evaluation because your neighbor sold their home?” and they’ll say “Yes!”, or “So your family is growing and you’ll need an extra bedroom at some point. right?”, “Yes!”. “You like to entertain and you’ll need a bigger patio?” “Exactly!”
What you are doing is that you are telling your future client that you’ve heard them and you are going to help them meet your needs and that is very important.
6. Give a clear reason to meet
The last step is you want to do it to give a CLEAR and OBVIOUS reason to meet. You need to let them know that it’s in their best interest to meet you in person. Maybe you’ve given them a CMA, but it’s only approximate. You have to see the renovations or conditions of their house. You really need to walk through the property to get an accurate idea of what it is. That way they know there is a clear obvious reason for you to have that appointment.
It’s the same way for buyers. You can tell them that it sounds like they have a clear idea of what they are looking for. You actually have couple homes that meet those criteria right now, why don’t we schedule a time where they can come and take a look. The worst thing it will give them an idea of what’s in the market in their price range.
No matter what the reason might be, present it in a way that speaks to them and shows the obvious advantage of meeting in person.
Using and mastering these techniques will help you reach and win opportunities that you might have been leaving on the table before.
Another amazing part of these techniques is once you get good at them, they can be done by anybody on your team, not just by you. You can practice and role play with your assistant or other members of your team to help them get confident and comfortable. You can customize the script the way you need.
When your team member makes that call, the ultimate goal should not come through as you are trying to sell something but as somebody who is professional and sincerely wants to help. They should mention that they are calling on your behalf and at the end of the conversation book an appointment for you.
When you achieve that, the payback is huge. Now, you’ve taken it from a job that you had to do a job that anybody on your team could do. That means you can focus your time and energy on what you are doing best – meeting your clients face to face and growing your business.
Book a Demo to See StreetText in Action – Lead Magnet
Here’s 10 awesome billboard advertisement ideas for real estate agents (and a few to avoid). This article will walk you through the do’s and don’ts for effective billboard advertising to build your brand and generate inquiries.
When they say you only have 10 seconds to make a good impression, they really mean it, especially with billboard advertising.
That’s because while billboards are seen by thousands of people, drivers are busy. Most billboards miss making an impact.
This is why it’s so essential to get the design of a billboard right.
You want to maximize your investment by having your billboard seen by every driver. But you also want to make it clear how they can contact you.
Think of how hard it is to read a billboard while driving. Yet designers often make words small or use skinny fonts. How many drivers wearing prescription glasses miss these ads? Furthermore, drivers only have 1-3 seconds to take in all the information on a billboard. Anything more than a simple sentence will be missed.
So here’s a list of Billboard designs that have done a great job and few that have done a terrible job (so you can learn from their mistakes).
1. Keep the contact information readable
There is nothing worse than seeing a billboard that has something you want, but you can’t read the contact information because it’s too small. Or worse, there is more than one phone number so you don’t know which one to call.
Also, unless your website URL is really short and easy to remember, leave it out. No one has time to enter an URL while driving.
The key to getting inquiries from a billboard is keeping the contact information concise and BIG.
While it’s tempting to include all your contact details and add extra logos and tag lines into your billboard, don’t. It will only serve to clutter the billboard and the information you want people to find can get lost.
Here’s an example of what a billboard looks like when the contact information is obvious.
Make the phone number stand out
This next billboard would benefit from a phone number. But other than that, it’s a perfect example of what a readable billboard looks like. They’ve left out all the things that clutter billboards, like extra logos and titles.
Simple realtor billboard to get the point across.
Here’s a few examples of what not to do as they are not easily readable and contact information is lost.
In this first example the phone number is much too small and there is too much text. As a result it’s hard to read.
In this next example it’s too cluttered which makes it hard to scan for the contact information.
Finally, in this last example of what not to do, there is too much going on in this billboard. If someone were driving past, they wouldn’t know which number to write down. And they have 2 logos, cluttering the sign, and their tagline at the top gets lost.
There is too much going on in this billboard. If someone were driving past, they wouldn’t know which number to write down. Also the phone numbers are too small. They have 2 logos, cluttering the sign, and their tagline at the top gets lost.
2. Match the message to who you are targeting
Do you want more home sellers and listings? Or do you want to work with more property buyers?
Great messaging connects with your target customer. People thinking of selling their home may be concerned about how long it will take to sell or even if their home will sell. Using a message that creates confidence in this area will resonate with these home sellers.
This is probably the best example of a good billboard. Here Amber is playing on her strength in a fun way to communicate her benefit to home sellers. It’s simple, clear and makes home sellers want to work with her.
Home buyers meanwhile have different needs. They may be thinking of relocating, down sizing or finding the right home to match their families needs. Using a message like “Love where you live” or “Your dream home is closer than you think” will ensure you attract more of these types of people.
Attracting home buyers with the right message “Love Where You Live”
3. Keep your billboard’s message about your customer
It can be tempting to tell the world how great you are in an attempt to attract more clients. Great marketing understands that the most compelling messaging is one which is empathetic to your customer’s needs.
“Real Estate Made Easy” benefits the customer and shares this agent’s differentiator.
This next picture is an example of what not to do. While it stands out and is an attractive design, “Leader of the pack” isn’t communicating the value this company likely provides to their home sellers and buyers. This message would make more sense if they were a company that helped people pack when moving.
“Leader of the pack” billboard could be improved if they instead shared the value their clients get when working with them.
4. Match your billboard branding to your print marketing
Billboards are powerful brand builders. They may not make the phone ring every day, but they will get seen every day. You will want to make the most of this opportunity.
Building a brand is all about being consistent. When people see the same brand multiple times they become familiar with it. Soon they will recognize your brand and will immediately know who you are with future marketing.
Below are two marketing pieces that match.
Keep your marketing consistent across different channels. Such as print, mail and signage.
While the tag line here could be improved to communicate how “Smarter, Bolder, Faster” will help the home seller or buyer, their brand is consistent on print and on their signage. Which is excellent.
5. Together, We can turn hope into home
Use positive emotions to create a connection between your brand and the customer.
The combination of imagery and copy can be a powerful way to tell a positive story. When you do this you well you will set your business apart. This advertisement does a great job with their copy, “The best seat in the house belongs in your dream home. Let us help you find it.”
Use the combination of imagery and copy to tell a positive story. When you do this you well you will set your business apart. “The best seat in the house belongs in your dream home. Let us help you find it.”
Edina Realty doesn’t mind taking a few risks with their marketing. By using a positive message, they are turning what could be a terrible billboard mistake into a positive feeling that they really care about home buyers.
Edina is doing a great job getting their name out with fun and compelling marketing.
CocaCola does amazing marketing. There is a reason it remains the world’s largest brand soft drink.
A message that gets a positive emotion across
6. Have fun and stand out
A creative design can catch people’s attention. It’s okay to do something outside of the norm when the previous points we went over are taken into consideration.
Here’s a great example of a billboard that is clearly real estate related, but is fun.
7. Tailgating Isn’t Worth It
Even though this billboard isn’t for Real Estate it does a great job of demonstrating what a good billboard design can do to emphasize the message. Keep your message simple and clear. This is a great example of a billboard that gets the intended point across quickly.
Keep the message simple
Conclusion:
Keep your message simple to clearly communicate how it will help your target customer. Less is more. So show only 1 phone number. And use positive emotions to draw customers to your brand. A lot of people think that shock gets people’s attention. But what they don’t realize is that if it is perceived as negative, people will do what they can to avoid it.
So to recap:
Keep the contact info readable
Match the message to who you are targetting
Keep the message relevant to your customer
Match your billboard branding to your print marketing
Use positive emotions to create a connection with your reader
Have fun with the design
Use the design to emphasize the point you want to get across
Billboards can be a very powerful way to build and establish your brand name in your target market. By aligning it to your brand’s visual identity you will reinforce your name in the community and make it easy for people to recognize you when deciding who to do business with.
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Gina Wade holds the key to address only submissions.
In a recent webinar, Gina explained that she has gotten more clients out of address only submissions that she has from a lead with an email address or phone number.
Crazy, right? Traditionally, these are harder to come by, and a lot harder to nurture…but Gina seems to have the system down pat. So the real questions is…how does she do it?
I had the pleasure of chatting with Gina about this system, which she completely deconstructed for everyone to learn. Address submissions are hard to master, take a bit longer and can often not yield the best results. But Gina swears by them, even saying that she’s “old school with address only submissions. I’ve gotten more clients from addresses than I have from anything else.”
Let’s jump into her process and see what techniques you can add to your business, to make sure you’re getting more clients from address submissions.
When an address submission comes in
When Gina initially has a lead come in, she organizes it in a few different ways. She’ll, first of all, provide the lead with an abbreviated CMA so she can give them an approximate home value. Gina mentioned that this document is usually a few pages, and includes all the information they would need to sell – just not an exact value.
From here, Gina makes sure to send the letter with a nice stamp, and in a hand-addressed envelope. Gina mentioned during our conversation that she loves adding fun, and attractive qualities to her letters because it’s more enticing for people to open. She also admitted that its a lot more fun for her!
Address Submission Follow up
After the initial letter is sent, Gina told us that she waits a total of 90 days before sending an additional letter. We chatted about the importance of giving you leads enough time between your first and second contact, as you want to be remembered, without adding pressure to the conversation.
In this second letter, Gina makes sure to provide her lead with just enough information to want, or need to follow up. This means she’ll ask if they have any questions, if they require any more information, and finishes it off by reminding them that right now is, in fact, the best time for them to sell.
The second letter can be in any style you choose, as this letter doesn’t need to follow any specific format. The purpose of this letter is to reach back out and re-open that line of communication and curiosity. Gina still feels as though using attractive stamps, and a hand-addressed envelope goes a long way – so these are things you can play around with!
For more information, and an example of Gina’s follow up system – click on the link below and download your personal template!
Address submissions are difficult, yes. Even Gina mentioned during our conversation that most of the time, she doesn’t even get an email or phone number from these submissions.
However, Gina is getting roughly 50-100 Address submissions a week, which means that she could have upward to 400 letters sent out in one month.
With that in mind, take a moment to think about how many people out of those 400 will likely contact her back. If you’re dedicated to your practice and put in the time to create and send handwritten letters – the Real Estate Goddesses will reward you with full contacts.
Each of these methods has been proven to work for Gina and can be adapted to your business plan, and style. We recommend whenever downloading documents and systems, to test them out for yourself and change them to best fit your personal voice. Implementing someone else’s methods directly into your follow up structure may not work as well for you, as it did for them.
It’s important to remember to test these and make sure you find the right algorithm for yourself.
To test your market, and to learn more about the many education platforms StreetText has, book a demo with us now! If you wanted to watch Gina Wades Webinar in full, click here to watch it!
Just as Dave Elhke does, Donna Swanzy has her own unique systems that are working for her and her business growth.
In fact, Donna has a unique approach, that goes against the grain with what is standard in the Real Estate world. She doesn’t call leads.
Donna closed 6 deals in one month through StreetText, and 12 deals that month in total. Donna did all of this without making a single call to a lead.
If you’re like Donna and prefer not to call people, and to door knock as little a possible…maybe her strategy can help bring your business to the next level. Read below, and see if any of her strategies and systems that you might want to implement into your business practices!
Stage one
Donna initially gets the majority of her leads through StreetText’s custom-made Facebook advertisements. She doesn’t have to monitor these and focuses on what she does best…listing and closing deals.
Once people click on her Facebook advertisement, the leads will filter through her StreetText dashboard for her to address. Donna has a few different systems she uses, including her CRM, and an organized system for her address only leads. Once these are filtered through, Donna begins nurturing each lead.
Stage two
Once a lead comes in, they will automatically get an email from Donna. This email is automatically sent through her StreetText account and is sent once someone requests a home evaluation. From here, the email provides them with all of the information they would need to initially get in touch with Donna.
To download a version of Donna’s initial lead email, click on the downloadable link provided below.
From here, Donna will handle any and every address submission, because no lead goes unturned. She mentioned in our latest Webinar session that she always contacts her address submissions by letter.
Donna highlighted the importance of making this a handwritten, and very personable letter, as well as providing the lead with all the information they’ll require to keep them intrigued to get their valuation.
Just like Dave, Donna doesn’t provide them with all of the information. She provides them with just enough to stay curious and to contact her back. For an example of the letter Donna sends her address submissions, click on the downloadable link provided below!
When Donna receives a phone number, believe it or not…she doesn’t use it. Donna has made it very clear through several conversations her and I have had, that she doesn’t like calling leads, and doesn’t enjoy door knocking.
Donna has continued to be successful, regardless of using phone calls or not. Her personal mantra is that she doesn’t enjoy being called, or talking on the phone, so why should she do that to others?
This system has clearly been working wonders for Donna. Now, it’s important to remember that Donna does eventually call her clients if need be, and only steers clear of calling when the lead is new, and not a client yet.
Stage five: Email Follow up
Donna explained to that her email systems have changed during her time as a realtor. She initially started by sending emails individually to all of her leads, and is now using a 5-week email campaign to contact all of her prospective clients.
Now, Donna uses Peak Producers, build by Brian Buffini as her primary CRM and will filter all of her leads with an email address through this. Once they are put in her CRM, Donna can place each of these on her pre-scheduled email campaign.
All of her emails are built – each lead will receive an email a week for a specific duration. These will vary, depending on content, and what Donna wants to send out that week. Much like Matthew Nicolas, and Dave Ehlke…Donna focuses on changing these emails and systems every few months. That way she keeps content fresh and enticing for her leads.
For examples of content, Donna sends to her leads, download the documents below.
Donna is a hard-working real estate agent who has tested systems and seen what’s worked best for her business over time. We always recommend that when you venture into building different systems, that you try out a series of different ones before settling on one system. We also recommend constantly changing your approach and systems so your leads stay intrigued, and educated with the content.
Remember, try something – and if you don’t see results…change it! Systems will always need tweaking and changing, even if they’re successful systems. Take the time to know what works, and build similar systems around those strategies. This will make all your future plans foolproof.
Dave Ehlke is a realtor in the Forest Lake, Minnesota area who’s been growing exponentially in the last few months. We had the pleasure of chatting with Dave on several occasions to dive into his practice, and see how he’s doubled his deals from last year.
After speaking with Dave, we understood immediately why and how he has had so much success with his different methods. Dave focuses on being genuine, authentic, and for lack of a better word…is just a regular human.
Often times in Real Estate, people are focused so much on the sale, that building a natural connection and relationship with a client gets put on the back burner. Dave does the opposite.
“Don’t be scared,” Dave says when approaching his leads. Dave mentioned during our most recent webinar that he’ll call or text very casually if its the right time of day that, “Whats the worst that could happen?”
He’s totally right. What is the worst that could happen?
All of Dave’s strategies are built around his personality, and how he interacts with people naturally. This means that they’re working for him and can for you too.
In this article, we’re covering all of Dave’s processes to show you how they are working for him, and how you can take them, and implement them into your own business structures. If you wanted to watch Dave’s Webinar in full, click here to watch it in full!
The Beginning
Dave’s process starts with getting his real estate leads directly from StreetText. These filter in through his custom-made Facebook ad’s and appear in his StreetText Dashboard. Once here, Dave will address these as they come in. Either as an address only submission, phone number, or email.
These are all connected the CRM he uses, which is Kunversion. After they are filtered into his CRM – Dave goes to work.
Once a lead comes in
Once a lead comes in, they will automatically receive an email from Dave that is triggered through his StreetText account. This email thanks the lead for their home evaluation request, and provides them with the information they need to get in touch.
To download a version of Dave’s initial email, click on the link below.
From here, Dave has to decide how to contact the lead. There are several different ways in which he contacts his leads:
Address Submissions:
If Dave receives an address submission, and immediately places them on a 30 day mailer. This mailer could be a number of different things. An educational letter, news about the leads market, or even a seasonal greeting. Dave makes sure this mailer changes every month so his address submissions are getting changing, and enticing information.
An important factor that Dave sticks to is to never leave the lead without homework. Dave will always give his leads a reason to contact his back, even as an address submission or phone number.
As an example, Dave might ask for images of the home, ask if the home was ever damaged by a big local storm, or any other general questions about the property.
Dave makes sure in this 30-day mailer that he gets down to the bare bones, and removes himself from the selling aspect for a brief moment. This means Dave will include a ‘close to home’ aspect for the lead. Ice Cream promotion, local coffee card etc. Send the lead to a local area. Dave also keeps the email content short, with just the essential information. Download the document by clicking on the link below.
Some really valuable pieces to take away from this strategy is that Dave includes a personal touch in the email about the recent storm in their area, which shows that he really knows the area, and factors that may impact your homes value and quality.
Dave also recommends, attaching your schedule at the bottom of the letter or email, to let the lead know when you’re free for a conversation. Even if you aren’t busy, include only a few times so it appears as though you are. Provided below, is another downloadable example of a postcard campaign that might suit the structure of your campaign ideas.
When Dave receives submissions that include both addresses and phone numbers, he has a number of different techniques in order to contact them.
Dave is not scared to contact people. “Whats the worst that will happen,” Dave mentioned during one of our conversations. He also mentioned that “If they contact me at a good time, I’ll give them a text or a call to touch base. Nothing major or overwhelming, but just a conversation to see how interested they are.”
Depending on the time of the day, Dave will also consider sending his lead a text message. Typically, this text will be a bit more candid, and personal as well…following the previous style Dave lives by. For an example of how Dave writes his texts, download the files provided below.
Each of these methods has been proven to work for Dave and can be adapted to your business plan, and style. We recommend ti test them out for yourself and change them to best fir your personal voice. Implementing someone else’s methods directly into your follow up structure may not work as well for you, as it did for them.
It’s important to remember to test these, and make sure you find the right algorithm for yourself.
Other Interesting Blog Posts: Real Estate Leads How to capture real estate leads online today.
When they say you only have 10 seconds to make a good impression, they really mean it, especially with billboard advertising.
