Category: Strategy

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On Marketing Strategy

The best email campaigns to grow your business

With 2018 approaching, it’s a good time to start thinking about new systems and techniques to implement to your business.

hands-coffee-cup-apple

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:

Screen Shot 2017-11-15 at 2.54.24 PM

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
Book a Demo to See StreetText in Action – Lead Magnet

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How To On Marketing Strategy

How to have a productive conversation with a lead on the phone

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:

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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”.

Screen Shot 2017-11-14 at 12.51.31 PM

 

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?

facebook lead generation

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.

facebook leads

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
Book a Demo to See StreetText in Action – Lead Magnet

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Case Studies On Marketing Strategy

“I’ve gotten more clients out of address only submissions”

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!

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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!

Gina Wade – Follow up letter

Important things to remember

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!

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Case Studies On Marketing Strategy

Donna Swanzy – The systems bringing her success

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.

View More: http://kimhayesphotos.pass.us/donna

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.

Donna Swanzy – Initial Auto Email

Stage three: Address Submissions

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!

Donna Swanzy – Reasons to Sell Example

Stage four: Phone Numbers

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 Swanzy – Drip Campaign High Demand Letter

Donna Swanzy – Drip Campaign Informative Letter

Donna Swanzy – Drip Campaign Market Activity letter

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.

 

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Case Studies On Marketing Strategy

Dave Ehlke – The Strategy behind the success

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.

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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.

Dave Ehlke – Initial Automated Email

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.

Dave Ehlke – Ice Cream Strategy

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.

Dave Ehlke – Post Card example

Dave Ehlke – 30-day mailer example

When email and phone address are included:

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.

Dave Ehlke – Email example

Dave Ehlke – Text Message Example

 

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:
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Introducing you to the proven strategy that will grow your business

 

 

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Interviews On Real Estate Strategy

How Matthew Nicolas is using Facebook lead generation funnels to grow his client base and build a successful business – 200 transactions and beyond

“We actually just did our numbers. 15-20% comes from StreetText. That’s why we love it, that’s why we keep putting more money behind our ads.”
Matthew Nicolas

Facebook Lead Generation
With 200 transactions under their belt last year, they are one of real estates fastest growing teams. Matthew Nicolas and his team are all-stars, in every sense of the word. But they are also just regular down-to-earth people. He’s a giver, having freely shared many of his marketing techniques with Realtors across North America, and also an incredibly positive person.

In our last interview we learned that they were on track to grow their business another 25%, you can see that interview on Top Producer CRM here. Now, one year on, our Co-Founder,  Stephen Whiting sat down with Matthew again via a Google Hangout Webinar to discuss the Facebook lead generation strategy that they are using to help fuel their growth.

Getting to over 200 deals a year with Facebook lead generation

Stephen – “Before we jump into your Facebook Strategy, let’s learn a bit about you. You’ve been in the business for a few years, and last year you were named one of Canada’s Top 100 agents, is that correct?”

Matthew – “Yes, this is my sixth year. In that time we’ve doubled our business a few times. It’s been a really exciting road.”

Stephen – “That kind of growth could be hard to sustain, but you seem to be thriving. From zero to more than two-hundred transactions a year, what was the most important thing you did to get you to the volume you do now?”

Matthew – “It’s the systems. They created efficiencies and leveraged our time. Without systems, we fall apart. And we’ve gone through that too. Where we’ve tried to jump a little bigger than we should and couldn’t manage that level because we didn’t have the systems in place.”

“Without systems, your head is spinning, you don’t know where you are at. Having systems allows us to focus on just 4 things: repeats, referrals, mega open houses, and online lead generation.”

Stephen – “Today we’re going to talk about your online Facebook lead generation with StreetText. What percentage does StreetText represent to your business?”

Matthew – “We actually just did our numbers. 15-20% comes from StreetText. That’s why we love it, that’s why we keep putting more money behind our ads. We like how it functions too.”

“There’s a two-pronged benefit. You are going to get business from StreetText and you’re also going to close more business if you’re letting more people know you understand how to market on social media and how to capture leads from it.”

Stephen – “With so many leads, how do you find the time to respond to every one?”

Matthew – “How we find the time is the systems. Every time there is a way I can automate something or have someone else do it, we implement that.”

Stephen – “What was the thing you implemented that really helped you leverage your time?”

Matthew – “It was Top Producer CRM. I use Top Producer with StreetText and it’s worked really well for us. It helps us manage the leads.”

“It takes time to build a database, but it’s all in the database. Get your leads into your CRM, put people on a campaign, and just keep dripping on them.”

“You’ve got to try to automate as many things as you can. See if your office has a postcard mail-out service. Try to systemize things as the best you can because if you’re trying to do everything yourself it can get unwieldy and you just start falling apart.”

Stephen – “It sounds like staying organized with good habits is freeing up your time.”

Matthew – “The first system was to make a habit of putting new people that I spoke with into the Top Producer’s database right away. So we can start doing email campaigns and things from there. Now if I’m out on a Sunday and I put a bunch of names in from an open house event and then forget a name, I can just look it up.”

Stephen – “One last question, anyone who follows you on Facebook will know how positive you are. How do you stay so upbeat?”

Matthew – “I try to be a positive person every day. I think that every day we get a new chance to start over and do things better than yesterday. First of all, I’ve got a great team around me and I’ve partnered with some great companies like StreetText.”

How to run Facebook lead generation  on StreetText as a proven way to reach new clients.

StreetText gives you proven Facebook ads and funnels you need to capture and convert Home Seller and Buyer Leads. Marketing is probably one of the most important jobs that need to be done as a real estate agent to grow, if not the most important one. But, it takes a lot of time to and knowledge check in on Facebook ads to ensure they are getting the results you need. StreetText setups and manages your Facebook ads for you, so you can get back to doing what you do best – creating relationships and closing transactions.

1. How does StreetText Facebook lead generation work?

StreetText’s Facebook lead generation works by running your advertisements on Facebook’s news feed. StreetText designs, sets up and manages all your campaigns for you.

Interested Facebook users then click on your advertisement and are taken to your StreetText funnel where they provide their contact details in return for information from you.

Facebook Lead Generation

Don’t know what to offer to attract clients in your neighbourhood? Don’t worry, because StreetText will walk you through the best performing campaigns on Facebook.

2. Why should I be advertising on Facebook?

If you are looking to grow your business now is the time to leverage Facebook Advertising. By leveraging Facebook you can target the right people with the right message.

There are over 1.86 billion monthly active Facebook users. With the majority of users over the age of 25.

25-34 year age range: 24.4% of users
35-54 year age range: 31.1% of users
55+ year age range: 15.6% of users

This means that 80% of your target neighbourhood and market are actively on Facebook. Never before has any advertising media allowed you to reach (and target) this many people.

Facebook Lead Generation Demographics

3. After setting up a Facebook lead generation funnel, what do I do next?

Now you will need to respond to your leads. First, you will want to reply with the offer they are expecting. You can have downloads automatically sent to your leads via StreetText.

If you are offering a custom report or personalized list then it’s best to reach out immediately letting your leads know that you are on it. Even if you’re busy with appointments over a weekend, your prospects are happy knowing you have reached out to them.

4. Connect StreetText to your Top Producer or other CRM

Systems make managing a lot of leads much easier. Connecting StreetText to your Top Producer or other CRM is easy to do and takes less than 5 minutes. But it will save you many hours in the future.

5. Add all your leads to a drip-campaign

Here’s how Matthew Nicolas explains why he adds all his StreetText leads to marketing automation.

“Through the research we’ve done, we’ve found that most internet leads are about 280 days out. So you do need to have those systems in place to keep the touches going so you can convert. Even though we got 20 leads last month and we listed 2, we know that we are just scraping the surface. We’ve only grabbed the low-hanging fruit. We know there are still 5-10 deals in there, but they are justing coming later down the road.” Explains Matthew.

Matthew doesn’t just send emails. He also sends a mailout to every new lead that comes through. Going above and beyond sets Matthew and his team apart in the eyes of his prospects.

6. Learn from the best practices and share with other smart agents like yourself

StreetText Facebook lead generation takes digital door-knocking to a whole new level. We find the people who are interested in listing or buying in your market. They may be one day out or they may be one year out. However, it doesn’t matter how qualified a new prospect is as nothing will happen unless you can win an appointment. Real estate is a relationship business.

Fortunately, StreetText provides webinar strategies and an Insider Group community that connects you with the agents who are great at winning appointments.

Here’s what Matthew says when he’s prospecting. “We’re trying to build a relationship, again we don’t know these people. If we just got an address and knocked on the door and said hey, ‘I’m here for the walkthrough.’ People would say, ‘what are you talking about?’ Conversely, if you get a phone number and immediately call them, ‘Hey, can I come for a walkthrough?’ You’re missing a step. Upon each lead, you’ve always got a goal.”

Matthew continues, “If you just get the address the goal is to try to make some kind of contact with them to understand what they are looking for. If you get the address and an email, the email should be to try to book either a call or an appointment. If you get a phone number, start with a text message. We’ve just found that it works better.”

7. Track the weekly performance of your ads

StreetText will send you weekly reports of your Facebook ads. This makes it easy to track your ROI and results of your campaigns.

And you’re all set for growth!

It’s really easy to get setup with a high performing campaign through StreetText. By connecting your account to Top Producer you can ensure you’re leveraging your time efficiently to grow your business.

It’s easy to set goals to grow, but without active advertising that works and a good CRM, it’s just as easy to get overwhelmed or find your goals slipping from your reach. Matthew is reaping the benefits of a system without losing any of the important and personal touches his future clients need. As a result, his goals are insight and achievable.

Are you ready to reach new clients in your Neighbourhood on Facebook?

Test your market today in just 7 days on StreetText

StreetText offers a FREE 7-day market test, you only have to pay for your Facebook ad spend. You will get a proven Facebook Advertising and Capture Funnel setup for you. Access to the StreetText backend. One-on-one phone consultation with a Facebook conversion expert to go over your ad and results. And most importantly, you will get to see how many addresses and leads you can generate in your market for $9/day.

Start your 7 Day Market Test and reach new clients on Facebook today!

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On Marketing Strategy

3 reasons why you want people talking about you

Sometimes the best sales are ones that occurred organically, and referrals are just that. A conversation from one person to another about how great you are, how quickly you close deals, or how you go above and beyond for your clients. It’s one client telling their friends and family about your brand.

Word of mouth is a powerful way to build your brand, but can occasionally be difficult to break into. It’s virtually free marketing – which is why its so important to break into. Gaining clients organically saves you time, money, and also let you know you’re doing well enough to be talked about within your community.

With all of that in mind, let’s talk about some tactics towards building your brand by word of mouth.

People refer who they trust

It might be a cliche statement, but trust me when I say it’s all about trust. People want this tip to come from a reputable source – someone they can count on. Whether this is the opinion of a social figure they find trustworthy, or a friend or family member.

More and more, people are trusting different sources for word of mouth referrals. This can be anything from customer reviews, testimonials or even news publications. Think of the last time you scrolled through Instagram and noticed your favourite blogger posting a picture with a new brand of workout gear they’re trying.

Screen Shot 2017-05-18 at 9.44.50 AM
Source: @Bethanymenzel on Instagram

Instagram is one of the top places where people can advertise a brand, and followers migrate to whatever their favourite socialite is showing off.

I’m not telling you to build an Instagram account and start advertising left and right (you totally can…), but I am telling you how important word of mouth is in today’s world from a social aspect.

The same goes for podcasts and purchasing something based on the podcasts sponsors. Trust me, I’ve done it! I’ve purchased several things based on items my favourite podcasters are selling because I trust their referral and opinions of the product.

I know exactly what your next question will be….”So how does this apply to me, Elysse?” Well, I’m glad you asked!

This is an important mindset to keep when searching for leads. If your leads trust you and your brand, they’ll more than likely turn into a client and even a sale. Building trust with the families and people in your community will go a long way when increasing your word of mouth referral.

Network, follow up, and start meaningful conversations.

Engagement will naturally build trust in your brand. The more people see and hear things about your brand, the more comfortable they’ll be when reaching out to sell their home.

Forbes magazine writes that “you should give them a reason to talk! Talk about amazing products, great service, insider knowledge, social elevation, incredible stories, unbelievable facts or even funny disclosures.”

Give it a try – what do you have to lose?

Consider your wow factor

Another key component is that everyone needs a wow factor. How do people remember you? What are you doing to stand out? Often times, people brush off the importance of providing leads with a little coffee card, or holiday treat. Do you want to be remembered for your service right? Well, this is the first step.

Dazzle leads right from the starting gate with a small token of your appreciation for reaching out. A great example of a company that does this is Starbucks.

puppuccino
Not my dogs….but I really wish they were!

Typically, if you go through Starbucks drive through with a dog as your co-pilot, they’ll provide you with a dog-friendly treat for your furry friend. This truly keeps me coming back, because they provide me with something nice for the dog standing awkwardly in my centre car console while I reach for my iced coffee.

Small actions like this will make you stand out, make people talk about the cool things you’re doing, and get people to keep coming back for your services. Stand out over the additional agents in your area competing for the same lead.

If someone puts a little care into who I am as an individual, I’ll trust their motivations are genuine and feel more inclined to follow up in the future, and talk to their friends about you.

We also recommend considering local shops before popular places. People will find value in how you know the community and the places people enjoy to go.

Does your lead have small children? If so, send them an ice cream voucher! Do they have a dog or a cat? Send them something for their pet! Trust me, these small actions go a long way.

How does this apply to Real Estate?

Be social, be active, be noticed. We’re in the age of social media, where everything is accessible, and everyone is at our fingertips. If people can get to know you vis social media and have an idea of who you are, they’ll be more comfortable approaching you.

Post about your clients, families you’ve worked with and your connection to your community. Someone who is active and known is much more approachable than someone who is a bit of a mystery.

People want to know they’re interacting with a real person. Someone with a personality and isn’t just there to make the sale. I want to know just as much about my agent, as I’m sure the agent wants to know about me.

Creating a business page Facebook account will give your leads the chance to get to know you before they contact you. Get a nice recognizable picture, client testimonials, and a personal bio. These will allow for a little bit of transparency in your life and business.

Consider the power of giving your clients different ways to talk and share their stories with you. Let your clients know you value them and look at them beyond being a sale. Give them reasons to naturally rave about your services.

At the end of the day, a sure fire way to build word of mouth referrals is to just ask. If you have a great working relationship with your clients, ask them if they know of anyone else selling, or even buying in the near future.

There’s no harm in asking for it – if you don’t ask, you’ll never know!

 

StreetText gives you the opportunity to make the first connection and start that conversation through Facebook Marketing. What are you going to do to keep that conversation going? How are you going to grow your word of mouth referrals?

For more information, click below to book a demo, and to see how StreetText can help you start conversations.

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How To On Marketing Strategy

How to write a follow-up email that gets appointments

Email inquiry follow up

real estate leads generationHave you ever responded to an email inquiry and then heard nothing back? It can be really frustrating. You take the time to respond to someone who says they are interested in your services, and then … crickets. The frustration can grow when you get multiple inquiries, send multiple emails, and still get no responses.

The problem is, it’s much too easy to simply stop responding to inquiries.

That said, the process of writing an email that gets responses is actually easy, when you know what to do.

We have a handful of awesome email examples from our top agents that can help with some of that uncertainty.

What is Inquiry Fulfillment?

Part One
Real Estate Lead Generation

Did you know that there is an ancient art behind responding to inquiries? Inquiry responses, AKA Inquiry Fulfillment, has been around a long – long – time.

In fact, it’s practically a science. Talented copywriters have documented their processes to turn written inquiries into sales since type-writers were still considered high tech.

And, the crazy thing is, that when you apply their process to email, it works!

The tragedy is, that too many people treat response emails as an afterthought. All the time and energy goes into the ads and capture funnels. In the words of one these copywriters, Robert Bly, “Simple letters can carry powerful ideas just as easily as ads.”

The key to successful inquiry fulfillment? Be friendly, courteous, and helpful. Tell the reader how you will help them solve their problem.

Here are 7 writing tips:

1. Thank the prospect for the lead. “Thanks for your interest!”

2. Highlight key sales points. You may feel compelled to include every reason a person should work with you but don’t. Instead, pick one or two of the pertinent points and emphasize that in your email. “Unlike conventional … we provide a personal service that is … for your needs.”

3. Tell the reader the next step they need to take in the process. Make it easy for them and suggest a course of action. “In order to provide you with a list of homes that match your needs, please send me the home requirements you are looking for.”

4. Write in a conversational tone. Your email is from one human to another. Not a corporate entity or auto-robot. “Warmth, humor, understanding and an eagerness to be helpful are what make you the super real estate agent you are.”

5. The word “you” may be the most important word in your vocabulary. A “you” orientation means thinking about what the reader needs, wants, and desires. It means not touting your own horn. Remember, a response email is a personal communication, not a cold response. Write about how your services “will help you understand the market and be better prepared to sell your home for the best return.”

6. Be concise. Less is more in emails.

7. Make it look professional. Proofread for errors in spelling, grammar, and content. It’s your name on the line.

 

Follow Up Email Subject Lines

Part Two
Real Estate Lead Generation

Subject lines are critical to getting your email opened. You can craft the world’s best email, but it’s a waste unless people are reading it. Here are a few that some of the top sales professionals are using to get their emails opened.

After an Initial Inquiry

  • Re: [initial inquiry]
  • [name], quick question

After No Response

  • Are you still interested in [what they inquired about]
  • Did you still need a [what they inquired about]
  • Any updates?
  • It takes two to tango

After a Response

  • Let’s talk
  • Re: [response]
  • [name], recommended we chat
  • Let’s have a 10 min call on this?

 

Follow Up By Answering Their Question (Almost)

Part Three
Real Estate Lead Generation

This is the easiest one to get wrong. You’re a helpful person, you’ve written in a friendly tone, you’ve followed all 7 guidelines above and put together a detailed response answering every question they had.

The biggest reason someone doesn’t respond to you? It’s because they got every question answered and don’t need anything else (yet). The second biggest reason people don’t respond is because they don’t trust you (yet).

So it’s important to answer their questions, almost. You want to answer enough to establish trust and provide value. But you also want to give them a good reason to respond to you.

Here’s an example:

“Thank you for your inquiry for a home valuation. I’ve done some research in your neighbourhood and see that there is a big price difference between houses in your size range. I’ve attached a list of recent sales in your area. However, without a walkthrough of your home, I can’t give you an accurate value. Please let me know what time works best for you to see your property.”

In this email, the inquiry was for a property valuation. While it’s possible to give them a valuation without seeing the property, it’s not in either persons best interest to do so. You want to build a relationship with them, and they want to get the most accurate valuation they can. By leaving the valuation out, you give them a good reason to respond to you.

 

5 Follow Up Email Templates

Part Four
Real Estate Lead Generation

Writing emails that get responses isn’t hard, not when you understand the process. Here are 5 templates you can use, tweak and test that follow these principles to get conversations.

Use Case: After An Inquiry

Subject – Re: Property Inquiry

[Name], thank you for your inquiry about 394 Main St.

The home is in a beautiful location, if you haven’t already seen it I would definitely recommend you view it in person.

We have availability to view it

Tuesday between 9am-3pm

Thursday 2pm-5pm

or Saturday 9am-4pm

Please let me know what time works best for you?

[signature]

 

Use Case: Get an 80% Response Rate After a Voicemail

Subject – Sorry I missed you

Hi [name],

I just called to [explain your purpose].

In my voicemail, I mentioned that I’ll try you again on [date and time], but feel free to reach me whenever works best for you at [phone number] or shoot me any questions via email.

[signature]

Use Case: After No Response

Subject – Are you still interested in [topic]

Hi [name],

Are you still interested in [topic]?

[signature]

Use Case: After No Response

Subject – Do you need help?

Hi [name],

Let me know if you need any help with [topic]?

[signature]

Use Case: Old Lead (3-6 months)

Subject – Re: House Hunting

Hi [name], I just wanted to check how your home search is going? is there anything I could be doing for you?

[signature]

Conclusion:

Real estate leads generation

Good luck with your emails. Please let me know in the comments below how your follow-ups are going. Please share any suggestions or great tips that you’ve found are working for you! As other readers will appreciate it.

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How To On Marketing Strategy

5 tips on how to turn address only submissions into contacts

It’s much easier to call, email, or text a lead…so why is it so hard for us to go door to door? Why is approaching someone directly such a scary thought? Most of us approach people every day and it’s not at all a big deal. We purchase our morning coffee from a total stranger, we sit next to a total stranger on the subway to work and end our days buying groceries for dinner from a teller we’ve never met before. Every day we put ourselves in positions where we’re interacting with strangers – and it doesn’t seem to faze us. So why is the idea of going door to door so difficult?

We all get address submissions, and they can sometimes be overwhelming. So here are 5 tips for making these interactions much easier, and how to turn them into full-fledged contacts.

pexels-photo-220076

1. Introduce yourself: provide your lead with a bit of information on who you are, and how you’re going to help them.

This can be done in many forms. If you’re feeling incredibly brave, you can introduce yourself in person. This can often be a very successful method for some, however, if you believe you aren’t able to do the bold introduction, say hello through a nice handwritten card, or a typed letter. These are the easier methods for some,  and they also save time. Leads are busy, just like you and I…so dropping off a letter might be a better option when giving your leads an introduction. You’ll have a better chance of getting an email or phone number by adding some personal touches to your address only interactions. Click here to see an example of the methods Donna Swanzy uses to close deals.

2. Use this initial interaction as a way of enticing them, but keep them wanting more – be direct with your purpose and who you are as a realtor.

Provide them with the information they’ll need to bite at the chance to sell their home. Since you haven’t done a walkthrough of their home to know what its true value is, provide them with a few numbers of similar homes in the area or an estimate. If someones interested in selling, they’ll want to know exactly what their home is worth – which means if you provide them with a rough idea of the cost, they’ll want to contact you again to get a firm idea of their property value. Give them just enough in that first letter to make them incredibly curious.

3. To leave a lasting impression, provide them with a small token of your appreciation for reaching out.

This could be a coffee card or coupon for your favorite ice cream parlour. Something that’s personal to your neighborhood and makes your lead think “wow they really know this neighborhood.” Giving them this small item will let them know you’re appreciative of the contact, and make you stand out from the other dozen realtors in your area. You want to have a ‘wow’ factor that makes you stand out amongst the crowd. With this, they’ll be more inclined to give you a call or send you an email about the evaluation.

4.  Provide them with a list of past clients so they can look into contacting people for information.

This will put them in a bit more of a comfortable position when considering selling and when considering reaching out. If your lead can contact past clients of yours to see how you function, how you sell, how doing business with you was, it might allow them to be a bit more comfortable contacting you with follow up information. Word of mouth is a powerful tool, so having past clients talk you up will help with any type of lead you have in the future.

 5. Consider that every lead will be in a different situation.

Empathize, or ask why they’re selling. Get to know the reasons why they want to move on from this specific property. People will appreciate you getting to know them, and understanding why they reached out for the evaluation in the first place will show value and trust. It’s also important to consider that people do things at their own pace. Keep nurturing your address only leads, because people might not be ready to sell right away. Don’t give up on them, and provide them with the support and guidance they may need for making the decision to sell. They might just need it all for a rainy day.

For more information on address only submissions, Facebook marketing strategies, letter examples as well as the best ways to contact your leads, book a demo with us today!

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How To On Marketing Strategy

How to “Test Your Market” on Facebook

When you are looking to attract new seller leads on Facebook, there is simple math you can use to determine if your ad is performing well or not.

Everything comes back to your goal. Is the campaign moving you towards your goal with an acceptable ROI? Or not.

Math used in the video.

Goal: $80,000
Lead cost over 7 days: $10
Daily ad spend: $9
Monthly Leads: 27
Annual Leads: 324
Conversion %: 3%
Deals: 9.72
Average commission: $10,000
Revenue: $97,000
ROI: 17.23X

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