Nadine Larder

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How to Market During Social Distancing

By Nadine Larder on March 14, 2020

Society has really been turned on its head thanks to Covid19.

Whatever you might think about the severity of the illness or the overall response to it, the fact remains that it has caused significant disruption in the way our society is operating this spring. And that’s going to make real estate marketing challenging.

Fortunately, you can still market your business AND real estate during times of social distancing. Here are some tips to get you started!

Use Postcard Marketing to Stay in Touch

This probably won’t be the best year to do a door-to-door popby campaign, at least not until summer. Fortunately, you can still get your smiling face in front of prospects with farming postcards!

As a lot of in-person events are canceled or postponed, you’re not going to have the opportunity to shake hands – which may be for the best right now anyway. But you can still maintain contact on a regular basis by sending monthly postcards.

By using a variety of approaches – from seasonal postcards to noting specific holidays to inviting folks to get a market analysis – you can stay fresh and relevant through the mail.

Get started with farming postcards today!

Lean on Social Media

Social media is another way to stay face-to-face without being, well, face-to-face. There are SO many things you can do.

Live video open houses. At a time when having a crowd isn’t a good idea, you might consider making your open houses this spring virtual. You can do a Facebook live at your listing, walk around and showcase the best parts of the home, and answer questions live. You’ll save time, energy, and keep everyone safer!

Use video to answer questions. Homeowners have a lot of questions, whether they’re getting ready to sell, trying to maximize their renovations, or just trying to keep their property in top shape. As a Realtor®, you have a lot of expertise. Share it online!

Post humor and inspirational quotes. In tough times, be an uplifting voice. Consider appropriate funny memes, encouraging quotes, and other positive content. After all, no one can get enough of baby Yoda! It can bring a smile, which can be exactly what someone needs.

Show Care as You Show Homes

Showing homes is something that has to be done in person. Be sure to take care of yourself and your clients as you do so.

First, start with a lot of photos of homes to help weed out properties so you don’t have to visit as many. Then, don’t go out if you’re ill and don’t be shy about canceling if your clients are ill. Missing one day of showings may seem like a major inconvenience, but a two-week quarantine is a LOT more inconvenient.

From there, follow the CDC’s standard advice – wash your hands regularly, avoid touching your face, and sanitize surfaces as much as you can.

Don’t Stop Marketing!

While we need to maintain social distance for a while, that doesn’t mean you can’t do your real estate marketing. Keep your brand growing and your face in front of prospects. Take advantage of print marketing, social media, and common sense.

We’ll get through this, and your business will be stronger than ever!

Categories : Uncategorized

Tags : real estate marketing ideas

A Lesson From Rick Pitino – Why Homes Don’t Sell

By Nadine Larder on March 11, 2020

I saw an interesting article the other day about Rick Pitino’s Indian Creek Mansion. He’s been putting it on and off the market for 10 years – so why hasn’t it sold?

Like most mansions, it’s not for a lack of amenities. But it is falling prey to some of the common problems that home sellers have – no matter how big the house is.

So whether your next client is selling a $20 million mansion or a $250,000 ranch home, help them learn from Rick Pitino’s mistakes so their home can sell quickly and profitably.

Sometimes It’s the View

It’s very hard to imagine that a home on Indian Creek would be lacking a view, but Mr. Pitino’s home does suffer in that regard. Instead of facing the bay, it faces a canal. That makes it less desirable – but the premium pricing doesn’t reflect that.

When you talk to home sellers about the price they’d like, remind them that unchangeable things about the home – including location, view, and lot size – can make a big difference. Unless they want to spend a decade selling their home, they should price that in!

What Does the Buyer Want to Do?

One expert reviewing Pitino’s listing pointed out that most people buying a mansion there don’t want someone else’s mansion, they want a posh living space of their own design. This is especially true if the home wasn’t built in the last 10 years.

As a result, it’s the land value that affects Pitino’s home the most, not the property itself. Buyers want a wow factor, not an “old home.”

And it doesn’t help that Rick’s home is on a smaller lot than most in the area – 1.23 acres compared to the usual 2 acres.

As you review your seller’s listing, think about what a buyer will want from the property. Help them understand the impact of the land value vs. the value of the building. It’s unlikely that a buyer will ignore the home’s value, but they may not place as much of a premium on it as the seller does.

How Motivated is the Seller?

One problem Pitino has with prospective buyers is that it doesn’t seem like he’s that interested in selling. After all, he doesn’t seem to need the money, and he didn’t exactly price the home to move.

If the seller isn’t motivated, especially on a high-value home, buyers will move on. The same is true for your clients. If they aren’t particularly motivated to sell, they may be very picky with buyers and squash deal for little reason.

Be sure you – and your clients! – understand their true motivation before you all sign a listing contract to work together.

Price, Price, Baby

In the end, the reason Rick Pitino’s home hasn’t sold is a simple issue of high pricing vs. perceived value. The price he set doesn’t take into account the variety of drawbacks that potential sellers see with the property.

You know, as a real estate agent, that the most important thing you can do is get your sellers to choose a reasonable price. Perhaps you can use the example of Pitino’s non-starter to help them see the light!

Getting ready for a listing presentation? Be sure your business cards are in order, and consider getting some real estate brochures as well!

Categories : Listings

A Quick and Easy Tool to Elevate Your Open House

By Nadine Larder on March 9, 2020

Holding an open house is challenging. There are safety issues to consider and so much preparation – and all of this distracts you from the real purpose of the event, which is to show off and sell a home!

Fortunately, there’s a quick and easy tool you can use that can make everything a lot easier. Best of all? It costs less than $10!

Use unlined notecards to create mini-signs that help you highlight the home’s best features in a classy, unobtrusive way.

Cards Catch the Eye

Have you ever seen a small sign and found yourself leaning and squinting to read it – even though you have no idea what it’s about?

Me too!

Everything from bumper stickers to store signs to plaques at a museum draw your eye and make you curious about what’s being said. The same applies to your homemade notecard signs. Buyers will lean in and read them instinctively.

Go For Upscale Notecards

While you can get a pack of plain white cards for a couple of bucks, it’s best if you upscale the presentation to match the home. You can get plain cards in a variety of colors, for example, or even choose those that have a metallic sheen.

Consider decorative notecards that have a bit of a design on them for some special flair. You can often find a variety at office stores or online. Choose cards that have some weight to them, such as A6 cardstock.

Once you have the cardstock, consider how to write on it. If you have great writing, you can do it yourself. Otherwise you might want to ask a friend with great flair, or print them in an appealing (and readable!) font.

What to Highlight

Once you’ve got some fancy notecards, what do you highlight?

Walk around the home and think about what you would want a buyer to know. Also, think about the questions you get from browsers most often. New kitchen appliances, a new heating system, special molding, or recently updated windows are great candidates.

You can also highlight smart home features or eco-friendly upgrades. A smart-enabled thermostat or reclaimed wood shelving can be great selling points!

Hang up your cards with simple double-sided tape or use non-damaging hanging strips if you’re worried about paint.

Create a Curated Open House Experience

When you use notecards to call out the best features of a home, you’re creating a curated, museum-like open house experience. In fact, you may have buyers go back through the home to make sure they haven’t missed any of the notes!

This presentation will show your thoughtfulness while also drawing attention to key features in a polite way. You can be much more sure that buyers won’t miss a thing.

Ready to get started on your next open house? Check out our flyers and make sure you have plenty of updated business cards available!

Categories : Uncategorized

Tags : Open Houses, selling real estate

Communication is the Key to Successful Client Relationships

By Nadine Larder on February 26, 2020

Today, we are featuring a guest post from Noreen Payne, a South Florida agent!

As real estate professionals, our goal is to ensure that our clients have the best experience when buying or selling a home. We, as real estate professionals, are in one of the few industries where competitors must work directly together to accomplish their goals.

From the initial showing all the way to closing we are side-by-side working through issues and ensuring that our respective clients have a wonderful experience. Why is this important?

Aside from providing a positive, stress-free experience for consumers – it can lead to referrals! There is no greater compliment than a referral from a past client! To have our phones ring is the key (no pun intended) to our success.

Connecting with a Referral

It’s exciting when we get a call from a referral for a client and then establish a relationship with said referral on our introductory call. We work hard to establish a relationship right from that first phone call. We take the time to understand the client’s goals and needs.

In the following example, my referral was a buyer. I’ve built the relationship and have gone to great lengths to understand their likes/dislikes and goals and now it is time for our first outing. While I feel like I established a great foundation – my first outing is the true test.

Communication and Showings

I scheduled showings for our out of town new buyers who had very limited time but knew exactly what they wanted. Our day was packed, showing them various exclusive gated communities and at every showing we were met with professional and gracious showing agents until one where the showing agent sent a showing assistant who was not only 20 minutes late but met us for the showing with the wrong key!

While I know that I have done everything possible to prepare for a successful day, our buyers do not understand why this showing has gone awry and are feeling frustrated that we are now heading off track for our perfectly timed day.

Consequences of Poor Communication

Our very pleasant day of back-to-back showings quickly got awkward. This scenario made not only me look like I didn’t plan well but also left a very negative impression of the showing agent as well.

This is just one of countless examples of how we as professionals can work together in our communication efforts to make every experience pleasant for our clients. From the minute a showing is requested whether via directly with an agent or via an online showing request service, it is imperative that we communicate with each other in a timely and efficient manner.

We are all busy but we are also here to help one another whether on the buying or selling side. A simple call or text goes a long way in setting the expectations such as waiting on a seller, to confirm a showing request, or if running early or late for showings to let the other agent know and to help keep us all on track to ensure that everyone’s time is valued and respected.

How is Your Communication?

How do you do with communication? Everything from your business card to your print marketing should show your professionalism. You also need to be sure that you communicate clearly with other agents and your clients.

Good communication is essential – it’s time to brush up on your skills!

Noreen Payne is a partner in the All About Florida Homes team of Lang Realty. She and her co-partner, Amy Snook, provide concierge-level real estate service in South Florida. She is currently Chairman of the Board for the Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce and is on the Board of Directors for The Achievement Center for Children & Families, and is an active volunteer with The Caring Kitchen.

Categories : Business Practices

Tags : communication, real estate referrals

How Video Can Help You Build Your Personal Brand

By Nadine Larder on February 21, 2020

Video marketing is a powerful tool. It engages vision and hearing at the same time, while also putting you personally in front of your prospects. It builds relationships and helps people feel like they know, like, and trust you.

Even more importantly, 83% of those who use video for marketing report that it helps them get new leads, while 80% say they get direct sales from their video outreach.

A lot of Realtors® are familiar with the idea of using video to market their listings (although they may not do it – more on that next week), but what about using video to help grow your personal brand?

It doesn’t have to be hard or scary. Here are some tips that can make a big difference!

Start With Social Media

Social media is a place where people share themselves and their brands on a regular basis. No one is going to be surprised or put out if you shoot a video where you talk about your life as a real estate agent. That makes it the perfect place to start.

If you choose Facebook, you can even just “go live” and do a candid video giving a few tips to homeowners, talking about your life in real estate, or sharing other fun or helpful information. It doesn’t require a glam setup or a lot of money. Just be you!

Scared? I get it. Consider setting your livestream to Private so that no one else sees you. You can practice until you feel more comfortable going live publicly!

The key is to be authentic. You might feel like your personal quirks will put people off, but the truth is that both Millennials and Generation Z prefer real, unfiltered video over fancy commercials.

Types of Videos to Share

Once you’ve gotten comfortable sharing a quick live video on social media, think about how you can branch out. There are so many ways to help build your personal brand with interesting, informative videos.

Here are a few ideas you can try.

Interview Industry Experts

Buyers and sellers rarely understand how many people are involved in a real estate sale. You know, of course – there are a lot! From mortgage brokers to inspectors to escrow agents, it takes expertise to finalize a real estate deal.

Consider removing some of the mystery of the real estate deal by doing an informal interview with one of these professionals. You can even do a series, where you have interviews with each type of person!

You can ask them common questions and let them talk about their role in a real estate transaction. They can even share common mistakes to avoid.

A series like this could bring in a lot of new prospects and really boost your personal brand and name recognition in your area!

Share Tips and Tricks

Having a variety of video lengths, from longer to shorter, is a key strategy in video marketing. Sometimes people need in-depth information, and other times they just have a few minutes.

Consider creating shorter tips and tricks videos to go along with your interviews. You could create a “Top 5” series, where you share the Top 5 things people should do to get ready for a sale, or Top 5 spring cleaning tips, or Top 5… anything really!

As long as the ideas are interesting to homeowners, you’ll be a hit.

Share Personality and Humor

Another way to use video to grow your personal brand is to showcase your specific brand of humor and personality. Everyone is different, and that’s not a bad thing.

Create videos that show a slice of “behind-the-scenes” life, or share a neat fandom you have, or introduce your pets to the audience. Anything you can do to just be yourself and show how unique you are will draw in your target audience.

You’re not for everyone, but you don’t want to be. Instead, you want those who are drawn to you to be really drawn to you.

Get Your Personal Branding Going Today!

You can’t rely on your broker to do your marketing for you if you want to be successful in real estate. This is especially true because you may need to change brokerages at some point in your career.

Instead, use business cards, videos, and other marketing materials that have your unique personal flair to help you stand out in the market. Get started now!

Categories : Real Estate Marketing

Tags : personal branding, social media marketing, Video Marketing

How to Build a Powerful Personal Brand

By Nadine Larder on February 19, 2020

What is a personal brand?

Essentially, it’s the reputation you have as a business and in business. As a Realtor®, your personal brand is essential because you personally provide the service.

You may also have a broker, but that brand doesn’t define your business. You can change brokers, but you can’t change YOU!

How do you build a powerful personal brand? The good news is that a lot of the tips of branding a business apply to personal branding as well. Here’s what you need to know.

Determine What Makes You Different

The way you serve clients isn’t like anyone else. If you think of yourself as “someone who buys and sells houses,” you’re no different from tens of thousands of others. But if you think about what makes you unique, you can see how your service stands alone in your market.

You can differentiate by having a unique attitude – be playful and fun, or be extremely data-oriented, for instance. You can be different because of who you serve – maybe you focus on older folks who downsize or on finding homes for young families.

No matter how you slice it, you need an answer to the question, “Why should I choose you as my Realtor® rather than the dozens of others who offer the same service?”

Once you have that answer, it becomes the foundation of your personal brand.

Build Up a Good Online Reputation

Just like any business, you need a strong online reputation. This involves claiming your Google My Business profile and social media handles. (You don’t have to be active on all social media, but you want to have your name claimed in case you decide to later!)

You also want to build your brand by encouraging positive reviews. You can get reviews from anyone, even folks who didn’t close a deal with you! As long as you treated them professionally and they had a positive experience, they can share that on your behalf.

As you interact on social media and your website, be sure you maintain yourself in accordance with your uniqueness and brand at all times. Don’t be like this chef who turned a minor criticism into a major debacle by losing his cool!

It takes time to build a reputation, but as you do, you’re building your personal brand. This will pay off in great leads and consistent business for years to come!

Combine Your Online and Offline Outreach

Connecting with audiences online is an important part of your marketing mix, but nothing will replace offline marketing. From sending seasonal postcards to being present in your target neighborhoods, you need to be sure you’re visible in your market.

Fewer people are marketing through the mail these days, which makes it the perfect place to stand out. I even get mailers from Google, so don’t think I’m making this up!

And of course nothing replaces the rapport and trust you can build by being present, face-to-face with your target market. Whether you do pop bys, participate in local events, or walk your dog through the neighborhood, it’s important that people know your name, face, and personality.

When you combine online and offline marketing, your personal brand will have staying power. You won’t go out of business if Facebook crashes or Pinterest changes its model. That’s important – you don’t want to be reliant on someone else for your marketing platform.

How’s Your Personal Brand?

I saw a quote that sparked this article. It was, “Branding is what people say about you when you are not in the room.” That’s the essence of your personal brand.

What do people say about you when you’re not around? Do they know who you are and what you do? Do they have a positive opinion of you? If they look you up online, what do they find? Do they ever see you in the neighborhood?

If you haven’t been working on your personal brand, there’s no time like right now. Get some business cards and farming postcards today. We’re here to help, so contact us anytime!

Categories : Lead Generation

Tags : branding for realtors, Marketing Mix, personal brand

How Do You Fire an Awful Client?

By Nadine Larder on February 6, 2020

We’ve all had them.

The nightmare clients. They say they want to buy a home, but six months later you’re still doing showings. They are slow to get their paperwork together. They call you constantly and refuse to respect boundaries. Unrealistic expectations abound.

Or maybe it goes a step further. Maybe they are trying to dishonestly hide problems with their home. Perhaps they are disrespectful, use crass language toward you, or make you feel unsafe.

Regardless, there are times the relationship isn’t working out. How do you tactfully let them go?

Screen Clients Carefully Before Signing an Agreement

One way to avoid awful clients in the first place is to screen them carefully before you work together. Real estate agents can definitely fall into the trap of being too eager and signing with new clients too quickly.

As someone told me early in my real estate career, “Buyers who buy, buy!” Essentially, if they are willing to move forward, they will do it quickly and decisively. So before you sign a buyer’s agreement, require them to be prequalified. Notice how quickly they move forward. Do they make excuses, delay, or drag their feet?

If so, you just found a “buyer” who probably isn’t ready.

With your listings, pay attention to how they talk about their home. Do they seem to have unrealistic expectations of a sale price? Are they listing their home simply to “kick the tires” on the market without any intention to follow through? Do they make the changes you suggest, such as decluttering, minor repairs, and yard work?

If they aren’t honestly going to sell, don’t spend the time.

Build an Exit Into the Contract

Both your buyer’s agency contract and your listing agreement should include escape clauses. This protects both you and the client from being stuck in an arrangement that isn’t working.

The contract can list specific reasons for termination, but there should be an allowance for unlisted causes as well. You’ll want to include a termination timeframe and require written notice, of course.

When the contract includes an out, you’ll never feel like you have to keep going with a bad client.

Let Your Broker Know

Unfortunately some agents try to hide their clients’ bad behavior from their broker and coworkers. While you certainly shouldn’t gossip, there’s nothing wrong with admitting things aren’t going well and you need help.

Sometimes a broker can step in and talk to the client for you, helping resolve a situation. Work with your broker to record what’s gone wrong and what remedies have been tried.

Keep Things Professional

No matter how angry or frustrated you are with a client, it’s important to take the high road. Keep things professional and stay in control of the situation.

If you have documented the problems and made good faith attempts to resolve them, and you’re still having issues, it’s time to move on. Arrange a meeting to let them know you will no longer be able to represent them. Stick to the facts of the matter and avoid personal attacks, no matter how the client responds.

You can have a cancellation of representation agreement already drawn up and ready to be signed. Be sure the cancellation includes another real estate brokerage or attorney who they can contact as an alternative. Give them a copy and keep one for yourself.

Be professional yet firm in the entire encounter. You don’t want to have the situation escalate or to go back on your decision. Be sure the meeting is in your office and that your broker is present.

Move on Professionally

Whew, it’s done! Once you’ve terminated a bad client you’ll feel a great sense of relief. However, it’s important to stay professional even after the termination. Don’t badmouth the client, gossip about them in the office, or share the story on social media.

Instead, get your marketing materials in order and get back on the road to finding profitable, easy-to-work-with clients!

How do you ensure your clients are dreams instead of nightmares? Share in the comments!

Categories : Business Practices

Tags : buyers agent tips, Listing Agent

Why You Need a Buyer’s Agreement EVERY TIME

By Nadine Larder on February 2, 2020

There’s nothing more frustrating than spending a lot of time showing homes to a buyer, only to have them decide it’s not time for them to make a move right now.

Wait – yes there is. There most certainly is.

It’s even more frustrating when you spend time showing a buyer a bunch of properties, and then they DO buy – with someone else.

That’s why you need to protect yourself with a buyer’s agreement.

Protection Through a Buyer’s Agreement

A buyer’s agreement protects you, but it also protects a buyer by listing clear expectations from each party.

A seller generally has an agent protecting them and representing their interests. A buyer needs the same thing – not just to show a home, but to walk them through the buying process, negotiate on their behalf, and connect them to the professionals that can help finalize a deal.

As a Realtor®, you can’t afford to provide these services for free. Your time is valuable, and you don’t want to spend dozens of hours with someone only to have them make an offer through their cousin, or aunt, or some other random person.

It’s not in a buyer’s best interest to represent themselves, especially with a builder or FSBO. They simply don’t have the leverage to make the deal work out in their benefit, and are likely to be taken advantage of.

Talking to a Buyer About Representation

A lot of agents are afraid to require a buyer’s agreement because they think it will scare off the buyer. In fact, there are a lot of websites that unfortunately advise a buyer to avoid getting “locked in” to something that they may not want.

You can help your buyer understand the idea, however, by focusing on how it’s a benefit to them. Explain that you have the expertise to walk them through every stage of the process and that they are at risk if they try to negotiate alone.

Also, let them know that if they aren’t happy with working with you, they can terminate the buyer’s agreement. Create a notice window – perhaps two weeks – and make sure that any home you’ve already shown will still result in you getting a commission if they buy it.

At the same time, protect yourself by creating a termination clause on your end. You don’t want to be stuck with a nightmare buyer either – so make sure you can end the agreement if needed too.

While it’s 100% true that a buyer’s agreement protects you from them wasting your time, you never want to say it this way. Focus on how the agreement helps them.

Make a Buyer’s Agreement Part of Your Process

Having a standard process for both buyer clients and listing clients will help make onboarding and working with clients much easier.

Just like you (hopefully) have a marketing process that includes updated business cards and print marketing, make a buyer’s agreement a part of your day-to-day operation. You deserve it – and so do your clients.

Do you insist on a Buyer’s Agreement? Why or why not? Share in the comments!

Categories : Buyer

Tags : buyer's agents, buyers agent tips

4 Choices Every Realtor® Should Make

By Nadine Larder on January 29, 2020

Being a successful Realtor® certainly isn’t easy, despite how it’s sold to a lot of wide-eyed recruits looking for another source of income.

You have to establish yourself as the go-to real estate agent in a specific area if you want ongoing regular business. It takes a lot of guts, sacrifice, and consistency.

However, you can make choices that make it easier. As they say, we are what we consistently do. By choosing to have specific mindsets and take specific actions, you can create the habits that will help you be successful.

What are those choices? Take a look.

Choose a Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is a very hard choice to make in today’s results-oriented, short-term society. However, it’s essential if you want to overcome fear – especially fear of rejection – and move forward successfully.

A growth mindset is about viewing your setbacks and challenges as growth opportunities. It’s the idea that your abilities can be developed, they’re not already set in stone.

Too many of us see every setback, rejection, or failure as a referendum on who we are as people and professionals. They aren’t!! Instead, choose to realize these are chances to learn and do it again, better.

A growth mindset allows you to challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone. You can make cold calls to FSBOs without fearing rejection. In fact, you might find you make great connections and are able to educate homeowners!

Choose Time Blocking

There are a zillion “hacks” for productivity, but everything boils down to getting yourself to sit down and focus on your most important work.

Rather than trying to hack that, simply schedule blocks of time for your most important tasks. You might decide you need to spend ten hours a week on marketing, or five hours a week on your social media outreach. Schedule those blocks into your calendar. Do the same for other key priorities. Everything else can fit around them.

Within your blocks, use the Pomodoro method to stay focused. You work 25 minutes and take a five-minute break, and then do it again. Every few segments take a longer 15-minute break.

If distracting thoughts or other priorities come to mind, simply write them down to be dealt with later. This will free your mind from trying to remember it while you’re focused on work.

Oh, and tell your coworkers you’re in a meeting or otherwise not available. After all, this is the essential stuff you need to succeed!

Choose Achievable Goals

Why do people never seem to achieve their New Year’s resolutions?

It’s not because doughnuts are more appealing in January than they were in October! It’s because no one is willing to start small.

I have a friend who did this. She set a new earning goal in her business for 1Q 2020. And then she expected to hit it, every day, straight out of the gate. Guess who got discouraged and felt like a failure? Yep.

Fortunately, she was able to reflect and realize that she needed to build up to this new income goal. She needed to create new systems that would allow her to earn more without getting burnt out. So she took her large goal and broke it into manageable steps.

What about you? There’s nothing wrong with having big goals. In fact, visualizing big-picture possibilities in your career is a key way to stay motivated. However, you have to break those big goals down into small steps if you want to actually achieve them.

Don’t be afraid to start small. Choose achievable goals.

Choose to Market Consistently

You knew this one was coming – I’m a huge proponent of consistent marketing. However, the reason why is that it really works!

Yes, you’re in the business of buying and selling real estate. But you’re really in the business of convincing others that they need to buy and sell real estate and that you can help. In other words, you’re in the marketing business – if you want to be successful.

We make it as easy as possible for you. We have easy-to-use farming postcard templates you can customize, business cards that help you stand out, and much more.

Create a monthly marketing schedule that gets you in front of ideal clients all year long. You’ll thank yourself when you have consistent business!

Your turn: What are the most important choices you’ve made that have helped you be successful? Share in the comments!

Categories : Real Estate Marketing

Tags : consistent marketing, mindset for marketing, productivity

4 Ways to Master Farming in Your Local Area

By Nadine Larder on January 23, 2020

We’re seeing a lot of our clients stock up on marketing materials at this time of year, and that’s awesome! We love to help set you up for success with business cards, postcards, and more.

Today, I want to share some secrets – and not-so-secrets – about how to be successful with the #1 way to build your brand: Farming in your local area!!

Farming is building up a consistent reputation in a target neighborhood or area through regular outreach. We’ll share the details on how to succeed here!

Choose the Right Farm Area

The first step to succeeding with a farm is to choose the right neighborhood(s).

You should pick an area close to where you live so that your farming efforts can be consistent without needing a lot of travel time. Also, scope out what other agents are already operating in that area. If a single agent already gets 80% of the listings, you’ll have a hard time getting in!

Look at how much buying and selling activity there is. Also, pay attention to the price point. Is that the demographic you’ll have an easy time connecting with? Will the area support you in your quest to be financially successful?

Finally, pay attention to whether you like the area yourself. It’s pretty difficult to sell a product you don’t believe in, so choose a farm area that you really enjoy!

Mail Postcards Once a Month

Once you have your target area, it’s time to introduce yourself! By using high-quality farming postcards once a month, you can meet people where there’s very little competition anymore – in their mailbox!

Usually, people only get bills (and election ads) in the mail these days. A colorful, bright, and fun postcard can mix things up, and will definitely get noticed!

By sending one once a month, you start to build consistency instead of being a one-off ad. People who didn’t notice your mailer in month one will start to pay attention in month three. Plus, it shows you’re really committed to the area, not just taking a scattershot approach.

Mailing monthly postcards doesn’t have to be expensive. We have deals on them all the time (sign up for our email list to get them!) and you can use Every Door Direct Mail to mail them to a farm. Postcard rates are less expensive than regular letters, too, so you can also use a mailing list!

Be Present in Person in Your Farm Area

A lot of time real estate agents are happy with everything until I get to this part. You have to show up in person! How can you really get to know and trust someone enough to do a $300,000 transaction with them if you’ve never met them?

YES, go door to door. If you’ve been mailing postcards, it’s easy – just ask if they got your mailer! You can also create a pop-by goodie package with a playful pun and fun, seasonal, and useful items.

YES, be present at neighborhood or local events. Go to fairs, festivals, grand openings, and fundraising events! Is the baseball team doing a donation night at the local pizza place? Go, donate, mingle, and meet people! Go to local high school plays and concerts. BE PRESENT. It’s a great way to connect in a non-salesy way.

YES, find ways to be in the area. Walk your dog there, or borrow a friend’s dog. Take your kids to local parks. Or, just go for a walk! You can strike up a lot of friendly conversations just by being present.

Create a Community Page on Your Website

This is one of the ninja hacks that will make all of your other efforts take hold much more quickly. Create a community page or blog on your website that is focused on your farm area!

You don’t know how many times I’ve wondered what a new construction project is about, or felt like I was the last to know about a new restaurant or business. As a real estate agent, you can provide your prospects with all kinds of helpful information, from where there are Christmas light displays to what time the 4^th of July parade begins.

To extend your reach even farther, share snippets of information on social media with a link back to your page. When people click, they will find other useful community events and information – and see all of the wonderful real estate work you’re doing as well!

Are You Ready for a Successful Farm This Year?

If you haven’t been consistent with farming, make this your year. Sign up for our email deals of the week and stay ahead of the game with farming postcards, pop-by supplies, and more.

Plus, take the time to get out into your farm area, and create a community page that shares information everyone wants to know. You’ll be the go-to Realtor® in the area in no time!

What are the most successful farm tactics in your area? Share in the comments!

Categories : Farming

Tags : community outreach, farming, farming postcards, Pop-bys