Would you like to use a marketing system that costs you nearly $0.00 and will bring you a steady flow of quality, motivated buyers and sellers – even during a deep recession?

Then keep reading, because this will be one of the most valuable and powerful marketing strategies you’ll ever use in your practice. I’m very serious. Keep reading, you won’t regret it…

I’ve seen booms and busts in real estate over the past three decades of my career. And regardless of the market I’ve never stopped looking for proven ways to make my marketing dollars stretch as far as possible.

Today’s market requires you to stretch like never before.

Most businesses (and agents) cut marketing programs during slow times and, in the process, lose tremendous market share and revenue. What they also don’t realize is a recession is an opportunity (actually a mandate if you want to survive) to gain an increasing share of a declining market.

It’s in times when everyone else is cutting back that you need to market MORE not less.

Question is, how do you market more frequently AND

more effectively while spending LESS money??

Here’s how: First, your selection of the right “market” is at least 80% of your success. And the most valuable market (and business asset) you own is your House List, or what some agents call your Sphere of Influence.

They include your past clients, quality leads, friends, family and acquaintances who know you or know OF you. These are the people most likely to welcome and respond to your message (especially if it’s value-oriented – more in a minute).

They’re also the highest quality people you’ll ever work with in your practice. They qualify and close at the highest rates.

Don’t have a “house list”?

Then start one. One of our agents started adding just 2 people a day to her database (past clients, family, friends, common associations such as church, community organizations, etc.), and in her first year alone made over $122,000 in commissions from the group.

And she keeps making a growing $6-Figures each year from them. Not bad in my book.

OK, now, the way you “market” to your House List is to do something radically different from what other agents are doing…something that will set you APART from other agents, bring great VALUE, bond a deeper RELATIONSHIP, AND give people specific REASONS to communicate with you and use your services.

Your communication needs to have 3 purposes: 1) converting leads to clients, 2) generating new clients, and 3) motivating referrals and repeat business.

I’m talking about creating a very, very different, but simple-as-pie EMAIL Marketing Program.

But remember, you don’t want to be sending “pitch” emails to folks – that will just make them angry. Instead, you want to send them something that will be welcomed and valued on it’s own merit.

And here’s how you do it – step by step…

STEP #1: Find “The Right” Kind of Contact to Send – Something That WORKS.

This is going to sound like a pitch, but read on because it’s important.

I want you to go to www.ServiceForLife.com, and scroll down BELOW the input form, and click on the “order” button.

Or you can call my office and speak with Michele or Karen at (800) 622-2540 (land line: 520-546-1349) – they’re terrific people. Be sure to ask them for the special limited-time “Agent Inner Circle Member Deal” (don’t forget, OK?).

Why do this?

Because for just $67 a month you can get a ready-to-use newsletter that is written FOR you, engineered with ALL the elements you need to make it “work”: 1) High Readership Content, 2) 7 proven “Bonding Elements” to build the relationship, and 3) 14 Specific “Offers” to convert leads and generate referrals, word of mouth and repeat business.

You could spend 15 to 20 hours a month researching, writing, editing, rewriting, etc. your own (and still not get it right) or you can let me do it for you. Be smart – you practice real estate, I’ll write your marketing communication. Seriously, just do it – you won’t regret it.

OK, now that you’ve done that, here’s the “radically different” part: You’re going to convert your newsletter to a simple .pdf document and EMAIL it out.

Why do it this way?

People will welcome your .pdf document because it’s PERSONAL and DIFFERENT and will stand out, and can be read on-screen or printed out (by the way 99% of all computers have Adobe Acrobat Reader already installed, so nearly every human soul can read it just by clicking on the attached file). AND…they can very easily forward it to family and friends on their email list – free viral marketing for you.

Plus, there’s another use for your pdf newsletter and I’ll share it with you at the end of this article – let’s keep going…

Step #2: Here’s how to send your newsletter:

1: Customize your newsletter as usual as if it were written by “you” (another very important reason to use Service For Life!®), updating it with your contact information, phone, email and web sites – just like you do every time you send it. It’s very easy.

2: Convert your documents to an Adobe Acrobat File (.pdf). If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat full version on your computer you can get a free .pdf converter online by either going to http://www.adobe.com/acom/createpdf/ or http://www.freepdfconvert.com, or you can search Google or Yahoo, etc. for a “Free PDF Converter”. It’s Free, Easy and very Fast.

3: 3: Send your .pdf newsletter out by email attachment. When your issue is ready to go you can email it to your database of contacts one of three ways:

• Send using your existing email software since it’s free and takes just seconds (Outlook for Windows, or “Mail” for Macs). Just create your message (see below), enter your recipients from your address book, attach the document, and “BAM!” you’re done. This is best if your list is smaller than 100 people.
• If your list is bigger than 100, you can send your direct-response newsletter using an “email send” software. You can also customize your message using a merge function. Investigate these programs I’ve used with success: www.Group-Mail.com or www.ColoradoSoft.com. These simple programs will allow you to store your contacts in a simple database, and send right off your computer (no, I’m not an affiliate trying to sell you email software – I’ve used these myself).
• If your list is really large (5,000+), or you want a more powerful list server, send using an online-based list server. Companies I have used include: www.GetResponse.com, www.AWeber.com, or www.ConstantContact.com.

Here’s the message I want you to use in your email:

Again, merging the first name is optional, but I like to do it because it’s more personal. Don’t forget to ATTACH your newsletter to your message. And please don’t spam folks – it angers them and is horribly ineffective as a marketing strategy.

OK, that’s it. Easy, don’t you think? And get this: It will take you about 20-30 minutes a month to do this – TOPS.

Listen…I mean this…please don’t be like the “mediocre masses” who cower and whimper in the face of challenges. This is what separates the “players” from the “posers.”

You can do this. All it takes is a small commitment and a few minutes of your time – that’s it. I’ve seen it work wonders for a lots of agents now. Just try it and see for yourself. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

OH…and I almost forgot: Don’t forget you can also add your .pdf newsletter to your website! Search engines love .pdf’s, so you’re getting more bang for your buck. AND…having a new issue on your site each month motivates people to return.

So don’t wait. Do it now – it’s dirt cheap, amazingly effective, and “may” be the ONE thing you do to survive and prosper during this crazy market.

Before I started using Service for Life!^®, I was always looking for ways to stay in contact with my clients after closing. As a result, I developed a checklist for closing day.

First of all, when I return to my office to turn in the closing paperwork, I make a copy of the HUD settlement statement for my files, and one for the client I just closed with. I address an envelope with their mailing address and I stuff it with the HUD along with a brief hand-written note that says something to this effect: “I hope you’re still enjoying your new home. You’ll need the enclosed form for your taxes this year, so I thought I would save you the trouble of digging it out of your files.”

Then I ask them to drop me a line or give me a call because I would love to hear from them. I don’t seal the envelope just in case I need to add something later. I put the letter in a file of letters to be mailed in January.

Secondly, I set a reminder in my contact manager to drop them a line in about a month to remind them to apply for their homestead tax exemption (it takes about that long for the deed to be recorded). I include any necessary instructions and the appropriate phone number (I have actually created a form-letter email for this; it only involves copying and pasting).

Third, I set a reminder for one year out to acknowledge their one-year anniversary in their new home and to provide them the name and number of the termite company that provided the clearance for their closing, and finally, I add them to my client list at www.lowesrealtorbenefits.com. Lowe’s will send them a 10% off coupon in my name.

These (the three here, plus sending Service For Life!^® monthly) are four service-oriented ways to remind my former clients that I am out there!

One of the most powerful ways to build credibility and prospect for new clients at the same time is to use education as the cornerstone of your marketing.

By educating people about the important aspects of buying and selling, you’re differentiating yourself from other agents in a very professional way (making you the stand-out choice) and building exclusive relationships that will bring you more clients and referrals over the years.

Here, agent Bill Brannon offers residents of a subdivision or area a free Home Selling Course (not a “seminar”) where they’ll learn important topics like staging, how to appeal to buyers, how to price your home, how to work with real estate agents, and more.

Offering a course like this will certainly create credibility and bring more clients, but perhaps even more importantly, when you host educational courses, you can add every one of the attendees onto your House List for sending a monthly direct-response prospecting tool such as Service For Life! (www.serviceforlife.com).

Do you think you could do the same thing as Bill and offer regular educational courses to are residents?

This is a terrific way to infiltrate any geographic market and make yourself the stand-out expert. But remember to capture these folks into your House List and continue to nurture the relationship month after month.

Do just that and you’ll be building a strong personal market share generating profits for years to come.

Here’s the invitation Bill uses. I would suggest you test not only a post card, but a very personal letter (“A-Pile” mail) sent to area residents.

“Here’s a great idea Jessica Tripp uses to increase readership of her Service For Life!^® direct-response newsletter (www.ServiceForLife.com). And the great thing is, this same method can be used to improve the results from any mailing you do – whether to a farm or your SOI (house list)…

“Instead of doing a ‘Client of the Month’, I do a ‘Friend or Neighbor of the Month’. I randomly select someone’s name from my contact list and give them a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant. They have to call me to claim their prize. Just this month, I started printing ‘Look inside to see if you are the winner of a $25 gift certificate to (the local restaurant)’ on the outside of the envelope to entice more people to open it.”

Submitted by Jessica Tripp, REALTOR^® (Thanks Jessica!)