Let me be quite frank with you about how this industry works. Most postcard market companies that focus on helping real estate professionals are out to sell you empty promises how their postcard products can make you money fast. They push this idea that if you market, market, market your phone will soon ring, thus making their claims true. When in reality, with any amount of noise making,  you’re soon to turn some one’s head. However, that’s not proof that a product is truly effective or saves you work and time on your dollar spent.

It’s all about the offer you pitch to buyers and sellers that make you stand out from others. And it will always be that way. In fact, just stop and think about the last time you bought something from a retail store. What was it that compelled you to move forward with that product? Was it on sale? Did it just hit store shelves? No matter the reason, the “offer” is what moved you. Whether you bought it because it was 50% off or you wanted others to see you as cutting edge, there is an “offer”and you appropriate value to that offer. And that’s just what Realasponse.com does with real estate marketing.

Our postcards come equipped with offers. Attractive offers to buyers and sellers that are hard to turn down. Because the one thing that any buyer or seller wants is good information that will either help them save money or make money; that this is done by sharing valuable information. Information we help you market and offer. Other postcard marketing companies don’t do that.  It’s practically a do-it-yourself kit with no instruction. We’ve done the work for you.

Remember, people will only pick up the phone and call you once they are compelled too. Offer something valuable and meaningful to them. That’s the Realasponse.com difference.

Author: Teri Evans

Source: The Wall Street Journal (wsj.com) (visit article)

Looking to cut costs amid the recession, Alicia Settle initially thought it would be a good idea to eliminate her company’s annual direct mailing.

Spending about $20,000 on the personally signed letters, which offered customers a discount on early orders, seemed indulgent for Per Annum Inc., which sells city diaries, albums, and planners in the struggling corporate gift market. But after swapping snail mail for email last year, Ms. Settle saw a 25% drop in early orders compared with the same period the previous year.

“We realized we had made a huge mistake,,” says Ms. Settle, president of the New York firm.

The affordability of e-marketing, along with the explosion of social media and the desire to trim costs in the recession, has prompted many small companies like Per Annum to slash traditional direct-mail budgets. U.S. consumers received about 5.2 billion pieces of direct mail in the third quarter of 2009, a 27% decline compared with 7.1 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to Mintel Comperemedia, a research firm that tracks direct-mail marketing.

However, some entrepreneurs who were quick to write off direct mail as too pricey or passe are finding it’s not so easy to dismiss.

Ms. Settle says that at first she blamed the economy for the dropoff, until she “started hearing from customers that they never got their ‘reminder’ in the mail.” Ms. Settle quickly sent a postcard mailing in June, which recouped the 25% loss, she says.

Costs are still taken into account. Many entrepreneurs find that the boiler-plate methods of the past – such as purchasing mailing lists and sending fliers or coupons to a mass audience – often aren’t cost effective. Instead, business owners are creating personalized mailings, which may include special offers or other valuable information, and sending them to a hand-picked list of current and prospective customers.

The idea is to send something that’s more appealing than “junk” mail and potentially more noticeable than an email message, says Eric Anderson, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. That allows business owners “to offer a personal touch the larger firms may not be able to have,” he says.

To save money, Peter Taffae, founder of ExecutivePerils, a Los Angeles wholesale insurance broker, stopped his small firm’s humorous postcard mailings last year. The colorful marketing pieces showcase the insurance broker’s offerings through satirical movie themes, such as “Full Metal Policy,” a parody of “Full Metal Jacket” and Singin’ in the Renewal,” from the classic film “Singin’ in the Rain.” About 2,000 current and potential clients received the postcards, which cost the company $4,000 to send out every four to six weeks.

“We would visit some clients and notice they were hanging the postcards on the wall, collecting them,” says Mr. Taffae, who says he secured $270,000 from a new client who chose to do business with the firm in late 2008 after receiving the postcards.

“After two or three months [of no postcards], we got a lot of emails and phone calls asking us, ‘Did you take me off your list?’ I figured if even 1% complained, then a much larger percentage were thinking about it,” says Mr. Taffae, who restarted the postcard mailings in November.

William Kapas, president of J.C. Kapas Real Estate Co. in Rochelle Park, N.J., says he has secured clients as a result of his high-gloss, four-color monthly mailings that list who has bought or sold restaurant properties through the firm.

“Our clients look forward to knowing, and it’s a little bit of gossip, too,” says Mr. Kapas, who exclusively uses traditional mail to reach clients. “I think it’s easier to delete the electronic junk mail without taking a second look.”

Mr. Kapas spends about $1 a piece for the monthly mailings, sent to about 2,200 current and prospective customers.

Prof. Anderson says other business owners are trying to figure out how to integrate Web marketing – such as email campaigns, banner ads and social networking sites – with direct mail. “The introduction of new media has forced [business owners] to go back and revisit the whole playbook on what’s the best way to communicate with customers,” Mr. Anderson says.

Ms. Settle, for instance, plans to use e-marketing to complement the hand-signed direct-mail piece, not replace it.

Meanwhile, Mr. Taffae is starting to take his satirical approach to YouTube; he’s created a parody of F Troop, the 1960s sitcom, to promote his firm online.

“Gosh darn it” (or stronger) Sean McDonald (name changed to protect the not so innocent) exclaimed. “That’s the second listing presentation that I went on this week that the owners chose someone else. What do I need to do to stop this from happening?”

When Sean doesn’t get a listing he calls the seller to ask why. There is no consistent answer.

This is typical.

Sean hired me to work on his listing presentation. He knows that I work with Agents who take over a hundred listings a year. He asked me what these Agents do that he needs to learn.

Twelve Distinct Skills

There is a lot. It is all simple, not easy, but simple. There are twelve distinct skills and proficiencies below. They are listed at the end of this article.

Reputation

First, the Agents are known. Most of their listing appointments are with people who know them or know of their reputation. You can easily create this same advantage.

Your marketing and networking establish the foundation for your success. It is how you become known.

Do you communicate regularly with your primary sources of business, that is, your past clients and your Spheres of Influence? Is there a geographic market you wish to dominate, perhaps just your street? Do you send them something regularly to those markets? Does it have a significant presence of you? Is the main message that you sell Real Estate?

Presentation Structure

I asked Sean to talk me through his normal listing presentation. It was obvious that he was winging it.

Do you have a structure to your listing presentation? Does that structure begin with your preparation and continue through to twenty four hours after the presentation?

Preparation

Preparation is both the key to your confidence and the key to the seller’s confidence in you. How much time do you take to prepare pricing, your marketing plan and review your entire presentation as it applies to a particular client?

Your First Impression

OK, let’s say you are well prepared. You are standing at their front door as they open it. What kind of first impression do you make? Do you take subtle control with your questions? Are you careful with what you wear? Do you bring them a small gift? Do you have a structured process from the time you walk over their threshold until you are sitting down with them beginning your presentation?

Your first impression directly relates to the ease with which you get agreement and have the seller’s trust on pricing, negotiations and whether or not they send you a steady stream of referrals.

You only have one chance to make that first impression. The seller’s first impression of you will open the door to a permanent great relationship and an easy transaction or end the relationship at that appointment.

Your Opening Questions

OK, let’s say you made a great first impression and begin your presentation. Do you have a thorough set of questions that uncover the seller’s motivation and urgency, plus questions that show you care more about them than about the listing?

Actively Listening

Those opening questions, plus your ability to actively listen, and your sincere attention to them are enormously powerful and important to your success.

Your Marketing Plan

OK, let’s say you have their rapt attention. Do you have a structured marketing plan, the things you do to attract buyers and get the property sold and closed? Do you have a marketing/listing book, computer (PowerPoint) presentation, or a folder of materials to show examples of your work?

Here’s a subtle advantage that can be the difference between success and failure. Do you present your marketing plan powerfully, showing the advantages, benefits and asking for agreement as you go? Or do you simply review a bunch of items?

The strength of your marketing plan and your skill at presenting it determines whether you get a commission challenge, whether they choose to go for sale by owner, or whether they choose to interview other Agents. The strength of your marketing plan and your skill presenting it impact whether you get a priced right listing with a cooperative, enthusiastic seller on the spot or not.

Presenting Pricing and Value

OK, let’s say that so far they are impressed by you, perhaps even more than they expected. Now it’s time to present pricing and value.

There are two reasons that most listings expire. Either the Agent did a mediocre job preparing pricing and value or presenting it.

I always refer to this as pricing and value because the most common mistake of even the best Agents is that they treat the price as if they controlled it. “My price,” they will say.

Let’s get this right. It is always their price, the seller’s price. You advise the seller on price. They choose it. When you master the language and attitude around this subtlety you will never lose a listing you wanted because of pricing.

Do you take an overpriced listing? I say, trust your judgment. There are times to take an overpriced listing and other times to pass.

Gaining Agreement and Signatures

OK, let’s say you have agreement on pricing. They like and trust you. How do you proceed to getting the listing paperwork signed? Do you use a seller’s net sheet? Do you have the paperwork mostly filled out ahead of time? As you complete the paperwork, are you involving the seller, gaining their agreement as you go?

Then do you call within twenty-four hours to reinforce their decision and assure them that you are already working to get their property sold?

The Critical Key: Practice

On the whole, there is one simple yet critical key to perfecting your listing presentation. It is the main reason someone taking a hundred or more listings a year will beat you in a competitive situation. It is this. They get lots of practice. They are conducting two to ten listing presentations a week.

The simplest and most critical key to perfecting your listing presentation is practice. Do you schedule one to two hours once a week to rehearse your listing presentation, so that those weeks when you don’t have a live one you still get stronger?

Facing Fewer Objections

Once you have a structured well rehearsed listing system objections become easy to handle. Top listing Agents confront fewer objections because each time they hear the same objection a second time, they build a strong answer into the structure of their presentation to prevent it from arising in future presentations.

The strength of your listing presentation can dictate the success of your career. A successful listing presentation is more than getting the listing. It is creating a relationship that gets the property sold with cooperation and ease. This leads to your being the Agent they will refer for as long as your marketing and reputation keeps you on top of their mind as their REALTOR®.

Sean MacDonald is getting most of the listings he goes after, now. The biggest hurdle for him was recognizing that great listing Agents don’t have to have the latest tools or the fanciest scripts.

Top listing Agents simply worked long and hard to build and practice a solid strong presentation.

Once the basic structure is mastered, you work on your sales and presentation skills. Once you get the listing you constantly work on delivering the service your promise.

There is a lot to learn. It is all simple, not easy but simple. With dedication, hard work, and practice a great listing presentation is in your future.

Following are the twelve skills and proficiencies that lead to the strongest possible listing presentation.

1. Reputation
2. Presentation Structure
3. Preparation
4. Your First Impression
5. Your Opening Questions
6. Actively Listening
7. Your Marketing Plan
8. Presenting your marketing plan
9. Presenting Pricing and Value
10. Gaining Agreement and signatures
11. The Critical Key: Practice
12. Building the answer to objections into presentation.

Rich Levin is one of the most successful Real Estate coaches in the nation by virtue of the measurable results of his clients and creator of the Real Estate Hierarchy of Success, a working model for understanding and planning your business.

Check out our just listed postcards, prospecting post cards, farming postcards, just sold post cards, and many more! Here are our keywords:

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We offer just listed postcards, just sold postcards and real estate postcards of all sorts.

But for many agents that choose to market themselves with real
estate postcards that are plagued with recycled messages and weak
visuals; their days at marketing to today’s buyers and sellers are
almost just about up. Why? Because today’s seller and buyers knows the
game and is being persuaded by the “commission debate” to seek out
selling or buying a home them-self. Companies such as Redfin
are helping consumers to see that the market and times are-ah-
changin’. What agents have to do is PROVE their value. And guess what?
Offering a Free Market Analysis or Free Consultation is not going to
cut it these days! They expect a consultation and are being moved daily to refer
to ball-park estimates on Zillow or Trulia (regardless of how far off they are).

Postcard marketing is not dead, however, the old way of just sending
any ol’postcard in the name of having to touch the prospect is absolutely
the wrong way to think about effective marketing. Prospects aren’t
laughing at real estate postcards with animals having talk bubbles with
cheesy saying. It’s no time to be cute! It’s all about being effective.
With the market the way it is, they’re looking for answers.

And what’s better than meeting prospects at their door and offering
to address what is already on their minds; then by sending postcards
that do, in fact, that. Grab they attention and get them to act.

Check out Realasponse.com and view our demo for more.

Real Estate Postcards, Just Sold Postcards, Just Listed Postcards, Real Estate Marketing

Here’s the scenario: you’re checking the MLS hot sheet for expired listings … it’s a good day. More than 30 show up. You grab the phone and start dialing for dollars.

It’s a scene in thousands of real estate offices every day. It’s also one of the biggest time wasters in an agent’s life. Yes, you read that right, it’s one of the biggest time wasters you can do.

Nothing against “expireds”. In fact, expireds are a perfect target for agents because these are people who’ve proven they want to sell and move. And actually, I believe if you approach expireds the right way, you can make a darn good living on them and them alone.

But the problem is timing. Take careful note here: most agents are picking the fruit before it’s ripe.

Repeat after me: “I will pick no fruit before its time.”

What happens when you join hundreds of your fellow agents all jumping at – and reaching for – the same apple? You get trampled. You get frustrated. And you get lost in the crowd.

Here’s a stat for you to nibble on: a newly expired listing gets anywhere from 15 to 25 calls from agents a day when it first becomes expired.

A bunch of agents jumping, reaching, clawing for one apple that’s not ready to be picked or enjoyed — yet.

Consider the homeowners whose listing has just expired. First, because their home didn’t sell, agents are likely not at the top of their “I love” list. They have that bad sour apple taste in their mouth. They’re upset. And most importantly, they didn’t get what they desperately wanted.

It’s a time when emotions run high. So here’s the secret to making a living with expireds: WAIT. Wait and let the fruit ripen before you start picking. Let homeowners get their bearings back. Let the wound heal.

How long? I say give it three months.

“But oh Bob, all the expireds will be gone. There won’t be any left in three months.”

Bologna! There are thousands of homes out there that have been off the market for many months. And believe me, agents get shunned and shut out by the newly expireds every day.
 
By waiting three months you automatically distance yourself from the pack, and – here’s the kicker – you don’t appear desperate. Nobody wants to hire a desperate anybody.
 
So how exactly should you approach a three-month-old expired?

First, be dripping with empathy. Start with emotion. Let them know you know how they feel. Personalize the circumstances. Ask open-ended questions to learn why they wanted to move in the first place and how not selling has impacted their life.

Then move from emotion to facts. Share your numbers – the average days on market for your listings and your list-to-sell ratio numbers. If your numbers are lacking, share your brokerage numbers.

Then become a teacher. This is key. Listings expire because agents don’t educate the sellers about the market place and where it is. When your client’s expectations get off track at the start, nothing good happens.

Explain why listings expire – the number one reason is price. NAR reports that if a listing doesn’t land a contract within 21 days it’s typically overpriced by four to six percent.

And if the seller doesn’t let you have a say in determining the price, be wary. And don’t take the listing if you feel it’s overpriced. That’s a total waste of everyone’s time.

So the lesson is this: there’s virtue in patience.

Expireds can be fruitful. But just remember, you have to know when to pick your fruit.

Best of luck to you!

Bob Corcoran is a nationally recognized speaker who is founder and president of Corcoran Consulting Inc.SM, an international consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching, and the implementation of sound business systems into the broker’s or agent’s existing practice.

I can show you how to have fun and how to meet every seller and buyer in the neighborhood. In the same step, I can show you how to create a massive personal promotional campaign and form an alliance with your lender while being a hero to your sellers.

I never liked open houses much. They were always too slow. I never could control the quality of client that, out of courtesy, service, and reputation, I had to wear a smile for. Even though I was missing my favorite “F” words - faith, family, fitness, fun, friends and freedom, I trudged through. I met a speaker who said, “Just say No’ to open houses.” The sellers sometimes don’t understand, so I devised a system to make it fun, massively profitable, and effective.

After fifteen years of doing these open houses and watching others do them, here is the finished system:

Assemble no more than eight properties for a 15-minute open house on the second Sunday from today. Get all the homes to have something in common, i.e.: same general price, size, or all within your local historical district. Keep them within a mile of each other if possible.

Call all the sellers so they can get the homes ready for your big event. Explain it could bring out hundreds of people and that you will have two salespeople in the home while its going on. You will have an ample supply of brochures and maps. Ask them if they might prepare some sort of refreshment. Inform them we will be there and be gone within fifteen to twenty minutes (watch or hear the smile).

Also, mention that your lender will be present to pre-qualify, that there will be a sign announcing the event in their yard, and that some of their neighbors will be invited by written invitation. If you can’t find enough of your own sellers to make the event, try the in house listings. Everyone needs an open house to be done.

Next, contact your lender and request his/her services. Explain they will be meeting most potential sellers and buyers for a given geographical area. Then explain that they will be made famous for their ingenious service and they will share in the glow that comes from a unique, effective real estate system. Tell them to have their notebook computer for pre-quals and see if you can get their help in a joint ad that announces:

Walter Sanford of Sanford Systems and Dixon Judd of XYZ Mortgage announce a wonderful real estate event — eight homes in the Riverview District will be open in 15-minute intervals with five-minute travel times.

Here they are:

1026 Cobb Blvd. Open 1 - 1:15
825 S. Chicago Open 1:20 - 1:35
etc.

Dixon will be on hand to pre-qualify buyers, and he will be giving out pre-qualification certificates with the amount of loan that you qualify for.

Refreshments will be served at many of these fine homes (watch the crumbs).

Maps of the tour will be available including a brochure on each home.
Walter will be on hand to inform you about all the recent sales in the neighborhood and even tell you what your home is worth!
NOT TO BE REPEATED FOR ANOTHER YEAR!

Bring your tennis shoes, your car, your appetite, and, maybe if you like a house, your wallet!

P.S. You will be given a ticket for every home you and your family visit. All tickets will be put in a bowl at the end of the tour. At the last home, we will pull out one ticket and the lucky visitor will win a $100.00 gift certificate to our new local restaurant, PICCOLOS!

You can probably split the cost of the gift certificate with your lender. Heck, how many new buyers, sellers, and refinance connections is he/she going to make?

We now should have the sellers and their properties. Make sure you have keys. Next, start making a tour map to hand out to everyone and include all your contact info. Have up to 200 brochures ready on each property. Also, get plenty of business cards or personal brochures ready.

Counsel the sellers on what it means to have a “show ready” home. Explain to your lender that their real job is to quickly determine buyers from sellers. Then they are to sort the ready buyers from the not so ready buyers and introduce only the ready buyers and sellers to me. The contest tickets will be the foundation of your database. Place the ad so it runs a week before the event.

Some finishing touches are to get out the reverse directory and invite ten neighbors, via postcard, from around the block of the homes on tour. Furthermore, you will need a minimum of ten yard signs that need to put up at least five days before the event. They should have your name on them. You should get the credit!

There should also be someplace to announce ?Open House 1pm to 1:15 p.m.? (or whatever time), the day, and the date. I had chalkboard signs made up after I got tired of taping paper signs over my regular signs! You might want some directional signs, especially for the first house. Once you have them at the first house, you probably have them for the tour.

It’s Sunday at 12:50 pm; you, your lender, and one helper (family member is okay) are at house number one. It is not unusual to have 20 - 40 people waiting to get in. You let them in and the fifteen minutes are up. Your helper stays behind to clean up and lock up.

You and your lender go to house number two. You and your lender are both pre-qualing and pressing the flesh like crazy! There is certainly not enough time to be bored! People are slapping you on the back and telling you this is a great idea! They’re telling you that you are a real estate genius!

House number three is across the street from a competitor’s listing. The seller of that house is out mowing the lawn. He sees 85 people go into the home across the street (the pied piper effect) and he goes in to call his listing agent to ask where his buyers are!

As you move on to new houses, you are meeting more sellers and buyers - some want you to make an appointment with them! At house number four, two buyers come up to you at the same time and tell you they “love this home!” Both see each other and return to separate rooms to plan their acquisition strategy.

You get to house seven — but wait, in the newspaper ad, house seven was only listed as a SECRET, NEVER BEFORE SEEN, SUPER BONUS LISTING ! It’s true. I actually called two FSBOs, whose houses met the criteria, negotiated a fee over the phone and told them to get their homes ready for a lot of buyers at 3pm! Those FSBOs haven’t seen or heard that many buyers in one place, except in urban legends. You’re a hero!

Everyone has a great time. The nice young couple wins the dinner at the last home. Your helper picks up the signs and flags then you sit down to look at your winnings!

Both FSBOs thought it was great, and one of them wants to talk to you in a week. You double ended one of the properties by the Wednesday after the event, and one of the lookers brought their agent back to see house number five again. All of the sellers cannot believe the amount of activity. You have two “down the road” new sellers to follow-up with. Three “ready to buy” new buyers that are pre-qualified have appointments with you this week. Your lender has a couple of refis and some more buyers to work with on financing challenges, plus all the new business you are going to give him/her!

You now have new database entries to add to your follow-up system, and don’t forget to write thank you letters to everyone. Don’t forget the sellers! Call the local paper and tell them about the success - maybe they will cover the next one. Maybe you can start a local neighborhood renaissance.

Walter Sanford is a top producing real estate agent and speaker who travels the country delivering systems and strategies to top producers for higher productivity and client satisfaction.

Investing in advertising, and it is an investment, is all about return. Have you looked at the price of Yellow Page and newspaper display advertising? In the case of newspapers, it costs hundreds of dollars for a single day. That can add up very quickly, draining your marketing reserves before you’ve had the opportunity to earn an income.

Before you know it, you’ve spent hundreds of dollars on a newspaper ad, and how many potential clients will see it on that particular day, in that particular section?

There is a way around the advertising dilemma, and its postcard marketing. Full color, gorgeous postcards that catch your clients’ attention and stretch your marketing budget further than you can imagine.

How? Simple really, unlike newspaper or yellow page advertising you’ve diversified your marketing without increasing your costs.

Postcards are a great direct marketing tool; you can mail them as reminders to existing clients, new or potential clients or even bulk mail them as unaddressed advertisements to entire regions. That’s what I do, and it works!

Ever month, I send postcards directly to a list of clients I have not heard from in a while, just a friendly little “howdy” message to remind them I’m still around. Then I sent a thousand unaddressed promotional postcards to a ZIP code I want to generate business in, the end result is that with one postcard I capture two markets!

That’s pretty amazing but what’s even better is that I can use the same postcard as a handout at trade shows, mail outs through my local Chamber of Commerce meetings, I can leave them behind after visiting clients, I can post them on message boards and even send them as teasers in my monthly invoices.

So there you have it, a cost effective marketing tool that can be utilized again and again with little to no risk, for far less than the price of advertising in your local newspaper!

Christopher Ross, UE is a freelance designer