In a previous article, I talked about how “multi-sequence” mailings have a higher ROI than one-shot mailings.

If you want an easy way to triple the effectiveness of your marketing efforts, it’s your lucky day, because today I’m going to share why multi-sequence mailings are the real “secret” to finally make your marketing work.

Now before you dismiss this as hype… I’ve proven this system myself with 4, multi-million dollar companies including a successful real estate development and brokerage company.

So take two minutes to read this profit-multiplying article on how to create a “Multi-Sequence Farming System”…

When you decide to farm, you may send out one of the following farming pieces to a defined area:

• a post card
• a letter
• a flyer
• an email

And in most cases, you send it only once, get little to no response and think it’s money flushed down the drain.

What if you could increase the response by sending follow-up mailing to the same area?

Here are some eye-opening numbers…

If you can improve your conversion rate by just 4% – instead of converting 1 out of 50 prospects you now convert 3 out of 50 – your income could TRIPLE.

With actual numbers… let’s say your average commission is $4,000, and if you mail to 500 prospects, and only convert 2% (a common response for a direct mail piece).  You would get 10 clients from this mailing, and at $4,000 each, you’ll make $40,000.

But what if you could raise your conversion rate from 2% to 6%?  You would now have 30 clients, and at $4,000 each, you’ll make…

$120,000 From The SAME List!

How do you do that?

STEP 1:  get a great mailing list.  When farming, narrow your efforts to a focused area in your community where there is 1) enough turnover in home sales and 2) fewer “dominant” agents.  You can use your computer and MLS data to research this in under an hour.

STEP 2: use “Multi-Sequence” Marketing that I teach in Step 1 of our 3-Steps System and that I explain below.

This type of marketing uses a SERIES of letters, post cards, or emails  sent over a short time period which dramatically increases response.

How To Create A Multi-Sequence Farming System…

Contact/Mailing #1: Should be a promotion sent to a specific prospect with a specific offer (or offers) about something important to them.

Remember to test your farming pieces on a smaller list before ramping up your efforts to a large group.  You want to know if the offer on the marketing pieces works before spending money to farm hundreds or thousands of prospects.

Here’s an example #1 letter for farming a specific area (click image to download):

Contact/Mailing #2: Should be a follow-up (a “SECOND NOTICE”) that is sent about 7 to 10 days after the first contact, referencing that first contact in the introduction, and continuing the offer.

Here’s an example #2 letter for farming a specific area (click image to download):

Contact/Mailing #3: Should be a follow-up (a “FINAL NOTICE”) that is sent about 5 to 7 days after sending the second notice, and making a stronger appeal for your offer.  At this point you should emphasize an expiration date, or motivate action through some type of urgency (such as a limited quantity of free reports if that is your offer).

Here’s an example #3 letter for farming a specific area (click image to download):

You can continue this process as long as it is profitable for you, but years and years of marketing have proven the “Multi-Sequence” marketing strategy to be very, very profitable.

The letters I provided here should give you an idea on how to create your own farming campaign – only this time, you’ll start making money!

[Ed note:  These letters include specific OFFERS for a reader to take action and call you.  You can create your own "Home Audit" template and "Special Report", or get the ones included with the “The Million Dollar Agent Marketing Toolkit”™.  These resources come as bonuses along with a powerful collection of pre-written letters you can use in your practice.  Click here to learn more...]

Even though the internet is all the rage these days, agents are still using direct mail with fantastic success.

The key is to get your mail opened, read, and acted upon.

If you’ve struggled to get new clients with direct mail farming, chances are it’s because your mail was seen as “junk mail” and trashed before ever opened.

Here are 4 essential secrets direct marketing pros use to get past this junk mail hurdle and make big money with direct mail, and how you can use the same strategies for your real estate prospecting…

SECRET #1:   Make it “lumpy mail”

Have you ever heard of “lumpy mail”?  Lumpy mail is the process of inserting “something” into an envelope or doing something “unique” to make it stand out, involve curiosity and get opened.  It’s also known as a “grabber”.

The “thing” you include must tie-into your message inside. For example, one agent mails their farming pieces in a small brown paper bag with a stamp.  Inside, the letter headlines, “Here’s Why There’s No Free Lunch When Selling Your Home…”  The letter talks about “you get what you pay for — so why would you use a discount broker and steal from yourself?”

The letter then talks about the risks of using a discount broker, all the ways the agent can net the homeowner as much or more than a discount broker, makes an irresistible, completely risk free offer for a “Free Home Audit” and a “Free Special Report”.

The agent also uses a few great testimonials and statistics about their success (proof). The letter is then followed-up by a second and third notice.  Can you see how that gets noticed and acted upon?

SECRET #2:   Make it “personal”

Another way to get your mail seen is to make it so personal, the reader thinks it’s just for them.  Here’s what to use on the envelope to make your mail look personal:

• Hand addressed
• Return address is personal with name
• Commemorative “live” postage stamp
• Monarch size envelopes

All of these have a personal appeal vs. junk mail – and they get opened.

SECRET #3:   Make it “blind”

Have you ever received a letter with just a return address and no business name?

This works great when farming to new areas – your prospect’s curiosity will help your mail get opened.

Here’s a blind envelope template you can use when farming (click the image to download the template)…

3-Steps To Use Your “Blind Envelope” Template

STEP 1: Save the document to your computer…
Click the image or download this 6×9” BLIND ENVELOPE template by Clicking Here.

STEP 2: Personalize it with your information…
DO NOT put your name or your broker’s name at the upper left-hand return address. You can disclose your broker at the END of your letter inside of the envelope. Just use your return street address.

STEP 3: Direct impression right on to your envelope…
You can add merge fields to the template and then run the envelopes through your printer to “direct impression” the return address and the recipients address (or send the template to your printer with your mailing list).  But DO NOT use mailing labels.

Curiosity is one of the strongest human emotions –  if you don’t have a relationship with a mailing list this can be one of the best ways to get your mail actually opened instead of being quickly identified as “just another promotion to throw out”.

But remember, curiosity alone won’t help you build a stable business.  You also need to be marketing to a hot prospect, give compelling proof, a great offer, and call to action.

SECRET #4:   Make it “multi-sequence”

Multi-sequence contact always out-pulls single contact.  This applies to follow-up with leads or with farming an area.

Direct mail pros have found that you may spend 2 or 3 times more to send out a sequence of 3 letters, but because the response rates are so much higher your ROI is also higher.

To send a multi-sequence mailing successfully…send your first mailing, then a second notice about 7 days later, then a third notice another 7 days later.  You can continue to send additional follow-up mailings or contacts until it’s no longer profitable.  But first start with a 3-step sequence rather than the usual one-and-done mailing agents usually do.

I’ll write more about “multi-sequence” mailings in an upcoming article, but for now realize that you’re leaving money on the table by not continuing to follow-up with a sequence of mailings.

One last piece of advice from a 35-year direct marketing veteran…

Instead of spending hours each month toiling over how to put together real estate promotions to use with these mailing secrets…use pre-written templates that work.  Check out the numerous examples that appear in our archives, organized by category (on the right side).

You can put together a “swipe file” of direct mail promotions that you have at the ready… or use a collection of proven templates like this toolkit of real estate sales letters for just about every situation you could face in real estate… click here to learn more.

Do you send holiday cards to your sphere?  There’s a big mistake you could be making causing your message to get lost in the “holiday clutter”…

Try this unique promotion as the end of the year approaches to maximize your income in December AND pave the way for a great first quarter.  This strategy is all about “client recognition and appreciation” (one of the cornerstone’s of my Service For Life!^® personal marketing system).

Agent Nicole Nekolny sent in an idea that reminded me of a brilliant holiday marketing strategy.  And below her description I outline the steps to use this in your practice.  Think about how you could use this strategy this Fall to skyrocket your December production…

Here’s Nicole’s brief description:

“Throughout the year I keep a record of all the homes I list and sell.

As the holiday season approaches, I review my year and thank all of my friends, family and clients for their help in making my business successful.  I include past years clients as well.

This works great in the Fall…when things are seeming ‘ghost-townish’, I send out mailings and call anyone who might need my services.  It usually produces one or two new clients each year.  Well worth a few minutes of my time.”

Here’s the Step-by-Step Process To Use A

THANKSGIVING PROMOTION to

Bolster Your Income:

This may sound shocking, but… STOP sending out Christmas Cards to your sphere as the ONLY holiday contact you have with them.  These promotions simply get lost in the clutter with all the other holiday cards in December.

What’s far better is sending a special ‘Thanksgiving Card’ that makes your sphere (House List) feel appreciated and gives you a surge of new business to fuel your December production.  Here’s how it works…

Step 1:  Get a LIST of your clients

This could be your entire sphere-of-influence on your database (what I call your House List), or it could be your best clients who have sent you a referral or done a transaction in the past year.

Step 2:  Use a greeting card sized envelope

And make your mail look personal… hand address or use a handwriting font to mail-merge your clients name on the front of the envelope, try not to use mailing labels, and use a first-class postage stamp.  See my other mailing tips in this recent issue.

Step 3:  Send out a SPECIAL Thanksgiving Card

Don’t use a bland, ordinary card with pumpkins or fall leaves…use one that stands out and gets noticed.  Plus, have a heartfelt message inside that bonds clients to you through “client recognition and appreciation.”  Here’s an example funny thanksgiving card I found online…

Step 4:  Use an “Insert” to Make an OFFER

This is important:  You must have an offer in this promotion for it to bring you business.

What can your offer be?

Inside your greeting card include an “insert” that says something like…

Do Not Open Until You

Display Your Greeting Card

The curiosity gets the best of the recipient and they open the insert right away to find out what’s inside.

Then on the INSIDE of the insert, offer them:

Final tips:  send your card out with a first class stamp, on the Thursday before Thanksgiving.

This way it arrives just in time for their holiday meal, where they could be talking with friends and family about potential buying or selling.

And follow up with a sequence of contacts…either with a personal phone call or another reminder mailing for your special offer.

Do you think you could mail 100 letters to a neighborhood, generate 10 calls and take 2 listings? Helaine Forte just did…and she’s going to show how you can do it too.

Every now and then we discover a marketing strategy so powerful, it could end up making some agents downright rich. I think we have found one of those ideas.

The value here is not just in seeing this idea first-hand, but in understanding the brilliant marketing behind it and applying it throughout your business…

One of the marketing subjects I teach agents is the profitable use of direct-response marketing. I’ve been doing it for over 30 years in various industries and it’s never failed to make millions.

Once you understand the elements that motivate consumers to open, read, believe and act on your behalf, the real estate world becomes your treasure.

Today I want to share with you a brilliant strategy used by agent Helaine Forte (no relation at all).

Helaine sends out a simple targeted letter that is loaded with powerful strategy and psychology, and you’d hardly know it just by reading the letter. But before showing you this deceptively simple letter, I want you to understand the elements at play so you can use them correctly yourself.

First and foremost, Helaine learned that consumers sort their mail while standing over the trash. If your letter doesn’t make the “A” pile (bills, birthday cards, personal letters, etc.), it’s going into the “deep six.” You could be offering Free Gold Coins, but your message would never be seen.

So here’s what Helaine does (in her own words)…

“I never use labels. Going along with what everyone else was doing, I used to get free labels from the title companies when I farmed for business. I never received a response, until one day I was out of labels and addressed the envelopes by hand.

I received 10 calls out of 100 letters and got 2 listings! Since then I experimented with using larger envelopes of higher quality and got even better response. Instead of tossing my correspondence in the trash, homeowners felt I was really interested in them and that they were hand-picked by me.”

OK, so Helaine’s been paying attention with her marketing, and discovered the magic of “A-Pile” mail. But she didn’t stop there. Take a look at her letter and then read the important elements she uses below it.

I’ll bet you’ve seen lots of letters similar to this one, but this one is different in subtle but important ways. Here’s what Helaine says…

“As you can see, I tell the sellers a little about their new potential owners. I also give them a chance to contact their own REALTOR^®, which gives me credibility. It makes it more believable since lots of agents tell owners they have buyers. Oh, and the people I describe are REAL BUYERS that I am working with.”

Do you think you could use a simple letter like this to generate lots of listings? The secret is…

1. Get your mail delivered by making it “A-Pile.” I would add to this using a monarch size envelope, hand addressed with a 1st class commemorative stamp and hand signed. Hand address your return address, or use those personal labels you use with holiday cards (do not place your broker on the envelope unless required by law).
2. Make your mail very personal – meant specific to the person receiving it (so they think they’ve been “hand-picked”, as Helaine puts it).
3. Create credibility by mentioning something specific about your buyers (who they are), and ask your reader to call their agent.