Realtor® Marketing Secrets by Doren Aldana Secret #9: Help Your Realtors Market Their Listings

In last month's article, I gave you a step-by-step game plan for taking Realtors who don't know you from a hole in the wall, and turning them into highly committed, loyal, high-level referral partners. Once you have a new Realtor partner, your job isn't done -- it's just begun! In fact, if you really want to maximize the amount of buyer leads you generate from each one of your Realtor partners, you'll need a marketing system designed to generate more buyer leads for your Realtors. Why? Because each buyer lead you generate is also a new potential mortgage client for you! This is all about win-win marketing. With that in mind, here are the TOP SEVEN, most effective marketing tools I know of for generating more buyer leads for your Realtors' listings...

In last month's article, I gave you a step-by-step game plan for taking Realtors who don't know you from a hole in the wall, and turning them into highly committed, loyal, high-level referral partners. Once you have a new Realtor partner, your job isn't done -- it's just begun! In fact, if you really want to maximize the amount of buyer leads you generate from each one of your Realtor partners, you'll need a marketing system designed to generate more buyer leads for your Realtors. Why? Because each buyer lead you generate is also a new potential mortgage client for you! This is all about win-win marketing. With that in mind, here are the TOP SEVEN, most effective marketing tools I know of for generating more buyer leads for your Realtors' listings...

#1: Fusion Ads. This involves placing a text capture ad in the local Real Estate Weekly newspaper. For best results, withhold the asking price and invite buyers to text the listing code in order to receive more information, including price and financing options, on their cell phone. Each time someone requests more info, you and your Realtor will be instantly notified via email. Then, as an added-value service, you can follow up by phone on behalf of your Realtor to see if the buyers would like to view the property, get pre-approved or hire a buyer's agent.

#2: Just Listed Cards.  What better way to announce a new listing to the neighborhood than to mail out a Just Listed Card to the entire postal code surrounding the new listing. The postcard should have an attention-grabbing headline like, "Just Listed In Your Neighborhood," and should also highlight any unique financing options available, perhaps with a starburst that says, "95% Financing Available!" Of course, it would also include typical features such as the property description, photos, logo, contact info, etc. However, where this card gets unique is in the withholding of the price and integrating text capture, as explained above.

#3: Lead Capture Rider Signs. A rider sign is a sign designed to piggyback or "ride" along with the Realtor's normal For Sale Sign. It's designed to give a call to action that generates leads. There are two different types of lead capture rider signs: Call Capture and Text Capture. Implicit in its name, the Call Capture version invites people to call a 24-hour hotline to receive "FREE Recorded Info & Price." When someone calls, they can hear all the details in audio format. The Text Capture version, on the other hand, invites people to send a text using their cell phone to request this information. At the end of the day, they both accomplish the same thing -- attracting leads! However, text capture tends to be an easier sell with Realtors because it's still considered relatively new and "cutting edge."

#4: Open House Feedback Forms. Believe it or not, a lot of Realtors don't even use a guest registry at their open houses, let alone feedback forms. Implementing this powerful tool will allow you and your Realtors to collect valuable feedback about the property so you can see how buyers and their agents perceive it. Not only that, it can also help you identify and qualify hot mortgage prospects.

Here are a few critical components to consider including in your feedback forms:

  • Chance to win a prize. Let's face it, most people are hesitant to give away their contact info unless there's a sufficiently compelling reason to do so. That's why I recommend offering a chance to win a prize. For example, you could place a headline at the top of the feedback form that says, "Thank you for coming to our Open House. Please give us your FEEDBACK and ENTER to WIN a $100 Home Depot Gift Certificate!"
  • Feedback. Get the prospect to rate various aspects of the property, including its overall condition, landscaping, neighborhood, price, etc. You can also ask what the prospect liked most and what they liked least. This critical feedback will help your Realtor make quick adjustments to help sell the property faster at top dollar.
  • Qualifying questions. At the end of the feedback form, be sure to include the following qualifying questions: 1) Do you have a buyers’ agent to help you find your dream home?  2) Are you pre-approved for a mortgage yet? These questions will flag hot prospects for you and your Realtor.

#5: Email Marketing. I'm on several Realtors' email lists and it's amazing how few of them notify me via email when they get a new listing. In fact, now that I think of it, I can't even recall one time when I've received a "Just Listed" email notification. Not even once! That means there is a lot of untapped opportunity here. All the Realtor has to do is blast out an email to their database announcing the new listing with a link to their website for people to get more information. This ain't rocket science.

#6: Facebook Marketing. Once the email has been sent out, the Realtor can simply cut and paste the exact same message as a status update on their personal profile and/or fan page in Facebook. This allows the Realtor's friends and fans to receive the announcement in their newsfeed. If the Realtor is smart, they'll ask the reader to "Share" the announcement with their Facebook network, which increases the chances that the announcement will go viral! And here's the best part: like email, it won't cost you or the Realtor a single penny to do this.

#7: Facebook Marketing. You can help your Realtors post listing ads in the real estate section of Craigslist and other classified ad websites. To make things easier, I provide my clients with a powerful automation tool that allows you to post these ads instantly -- just three clicks of a mouse and you're good to go! It also allows you to track all your hits and unique visitors. Since many people go to these classified websites to look for properties for sale, this is great way to build exposure.

Another cool feature included with this automation tool is the ability to instantly create single property websites and then publish them to fourteen of the most traveled property search engines on the planet with a click of a button. So it's got a huge syndication effect, allowing you to get your Realtors' listings in front of more eyeballs, more often.

So there you have it, I've just given you the ninth and final secret for attracting Realtor referrals like crazy. In fact, over the past nine articles I've walked you through my entire Ultimate Realtor Marketing System. Admittedly, if you're like most of my clients, you might find this a little overwhelming at first. Relax. It's not as difficult as you might think, especially if you utilize my turnkey templates, tools and technology. If you'll simply take the time to learn and implement the steps I've laid out for you, I guarantee you'll see a marked, dramatic improvement in your ability to attract top-producing Realtor partners who actually send you consistent business.

I've given you everything you need to know to get started. Now it's time to take action. Take massive action and get you'll get massive results! I'm looking forward to hearing your success stories as you go forth and make it happen.¨

 

Doren Aldana Mortgage Professional America

Doren Aldana is considered by many to be the nation's leading Mortgage Marketing Coach. Since 2005, he has been dedicated to helping mortgage professionals attract more clients with less effort, regardless of market conditions. For a free online workshop on "How to Turn Your Realtors' Listings into a Flood of Red-Hot Mortgage Leads," visit: www.UltimateRealtorMarketingSystem.com