If you’re feeling lost with how to make next year better, here’s a very simple way to create a plan of action for your marketing.

It’s a 12-month planning calendar (on 1 piece of paper) that organizes your marketing activity by month and category.

You can create a more detailed marketing plan if you like, but this will help you get started.  Plus, it’s a great “quick reference” for what steps you can take to grow your production.

Take 30 minutes today to:

1. Reflect on this past year — identify where your business came from in the last 12 months
2. Download this 1-page template — fill in your best opportunities to get clients in the coming year
3. Put your marketing plan in a place you’ll see each day as a reminder to follow-through

You can click the example image below to download a blank template:

What’s YOUR best strategy for creating a marketing plan?

Click here to leave a comment or email us to share it with the Agent Inner Circle^® community.

We all face endless distractions in work and in life.  But for real estate agents, juggling your practice with your personal life can be a big challenge.

Here’s a “special edition” article with my best advice for:

• Creating SYSTEMS to leverage your time…
• Maximizing your INCOME by doing what you do best…
• And, how to stay FOCUSED in a world of distractions…

If you want a Top Producer income without sacrificing your personal life, check out one or all of the articles below…

1.  Creating Systems To Leverage Your Time

ARTICLE: How To Create Seven-Figure Systems™ In Your Real Estate Practice

This article shows you how to create TIME and TASK systems to get more done in a week than you used to in a month.

This one simple skill can help you deliver outrageously-superior service to your clients every single time… manage multiple priorities with ease… maximize your income… and cut your work-effort in half or more – all at the same time.

Click Here To Read More…

2.  Maximizing Your Income By Doing Your Highest Valued Skill

ARTICLE: How to Double Your Hourly Income in Real Estate

This article lays out a simple path to double (or even triple) your hourly income in real estate in the next 3 months – spending less time and effort than you’re spending right now.

A tall claim, I know.  But, again, it’s simply a matter of having the right SYSTEMS in place so you can focus on your highest valued skill (which should be working with clients and closing deals so you get PAID), while your systems are attracting new prospects and capturing them as clients.

You’ll learn exactly how to set up “efficient” marketing systems that maximize the VOLUME and SPEED of your transactions, to easily grow your production while working less.

Click Here To Read More…

3.  How To Stay Focused And Get More Done

ARTICLE: The Worlds-Greatest Success Secret

The difference between those who actually see results (incredible results!) and those who just collect a “library of potential” will come down to a simple “Planning and Executing Technique” that involves 3 easy steps.

And because (above and beyond anything else) I want you to achieve great results in your business and life… I want you to learn a powerful process for achieving any size goal you ever desire.

Here are the 3 steps covered in this article…

1. How To DEFINE Goals For Your Business And Your Life
2. How To ORGANIZE and PRIORITIZE Your Work
3. How To STAY Focused And Get Important Work Done

These are skills common to all high-incoming-earning agents (that also enjoy their life, and time with family).

Click Here to Read More…

PLUS:

For more articles, look under the “Time Management” section (in the RIGHT side column under “Categories”)…

Would you like an easy and high ROI promotion to get referrals from your sphere?

Many agents partner with local businesses and host an annual event for their past clients, family members, and friends… for little cost or even for FREE!

Here’s an example from agent Josh Neumann.  Every winter he hosts an event to bond with past clients and fill his lead pipeline called “Movie Morning Madness”…

Josh told us this event is done in January or February and gets him all the referrals he needs for the rest of the year.  Here’s how his system works in his own words so you know how to implement this strategy in your practice…

Each winter, as the temperatures drop to single digits (at least where I’m from!) and after the holiday hustle has settled, I host a movie morning at a local cinema.

STEP 1: Reserve The Local Cinema

There’s a small theater in my local community that lets me reserve a private showing for my clients and their friends and family members.

I’ve picked the movie two different ways:

1. Agree to purchase a set number of tickets for a current running film at the “matinee” or daytime price for each attendee, or…
2. ‘Rent a movie reel’ from a major studio (or the theater itself) and pay a set price regardless of how many people attend.

This usually works out to $150 to $500.

In addition, each guest can help themselves to complimentary popcorn and soda at the concessions for a very nominal fee.

The entire event only costs me $400 to $600 — even though my clients think I’ve dropped several thousand dollars for them.

In reality, I can even get the event for FREE by working with local businesses as “sponsors”.  When you’re getting RSVP’s, simply ask each person if they own a local business or if the place they work would like to be a SPONSOR for the event.  Two or more sponsors could easily cover the entire cost to host any event, and they’ll get several special mentions in front of everyone who attends (more on that in a minute).

Side Note: This movie event works for me — but here are some more ideas for hosting an event for clients…  a wine or beer Tasting Party, Fashion Show, Family Picnic, Comedy Club outing, Sports Clinic, Art Show with a local gallery, Opera or Theater, or New Automobile Preview at a local dealership.  See this real estate marketing article to read more about these other events ideas.

STEP 2:  Send Out Invitations

I send out the invitations a few weeks ahead and do a follow up RSVP phone call.

Even if they can’t make it, this makes a great ‘touch’ opportunity at the end or beginning of each year.

Here’s an INVITATION TEMPLATE you can use:

(Click the image above to download this template.)

MAILING OPTIONS:  This invitation can be mailed as a postcard, included in your Christmas Cards, or inserted in your real estate newsletter.

STEP 3: Host The Event

After I’ve made all the arrangements, and people are showing up on the day of the event…

I hand out raffle tickets as guests enter the theater and do a giveaway prior to the start of the movie.

Remember:  This is a great opportunity to allow clients to promote their own companies amongst each other, and also a way to get other local businesses to donate meals, services, and money to pay for the event.  Give away great prizes and make this a fun time for everyone!

DON’T MISS THIS: This pre-movie raffle also does something else for me… It focuses everyone’s attention before the movie begins so I can THANK everyone for their business and ASK for future referrals, while their family politely smiles right next to them!

Every year this is a HUGE success.  My clients are thrilled by the whole experience — feeling as though I did something special just for them — because NO ONE else in my market does this.

Then, they tell all their friends, family, and neighbors about the event that they’re favorite REALTOR® hosted.  I encourage them to invite more people for next year’s event!

What do YOU do to differentiate yourself and bond with your clients?

Email us to share it with the Agent Inner Circle^® community. Or…

Click Here To Leave A Comment

The main problem with real estate marketing is it gets “stopped”. What I mean is, your promotions don’t get results because they can’t get over three common hurdles for every marketing message:

1. Getting opened
2. Getting read
3. Getting acted-upon

Take Just Listed post cards for example.  They may get delivered, but do you think they ever get read?  They should be called “Just Go” cards because they just go in that round file known as the waste basket.

Here’s a better way to use the Just Listed and Just Sold strategy…

How To Use “Unstoppable”
Just Listed and Just Sold Letters
To Sell More Listings and
Get New Clients

HURDLE #1: Getting your message OPENED

You can’t sell your listings if your prospects never see your promotions.  That may not be a shock to you, but what are you proactively doing to get your message in front of the right prospects?

When I list a home, I do the following to sell it quickly:

• Get a list of names and addresses for other homeowners in the community/subdivision/area (hopefully 100-150 contacts).
• Get normal sized envelopes that you’d use to send a letter to a friend (use colored envelopes if near a holiday, like Red for Valentine’s day).
• Handwrite the names and addresses with my sellers FROM address.

IMPORTANT: I do not put my name or brokerage on the envelope!  This will sabotage your results.

You’ll understand what I’m about to do in a minute, but for now… realize that there IS a way to get your mail opened.  You have to make it personal.  Like their relative sent them a birthday card.  Or, in this case… like they just received a nice letter from their neighbor.  They will open it.  Curiosity will get the best of them.  Wouldn’t YOU open a personal letter from a neighbor?

The idea here isn’t that the neighbors will buy the house.  They probably have several friends or coworkers with the ability to buy in their neighborhood.  Getting the entire neighborhood to see your message is the first step toward having them help you find a buyer.

Many agents try to use postcards to get attention.  But the glossy look identifies them as junk mail.  These postcards may get a 2-second glance but you won’t get people to read the details (except maybe price) or call you…

HURDLE #2: Getting your message READ

I’ve overcome the first hurdle of getting my message opened.  Now I have to do something subtle but extremely important to get my message read.

People hold our promotions in front of them looking for something (anything) to tell them to stop reading.  They’re trying to identify the letter as junk mail so they can move on with their day.  Don’t say you don’t do the same thing.

This happens whether it’s other homeowners in the neighborhood of a property you just listed/just sold or even prospects who are visiting your website.  We’re all asking… “Am I going to get something that interests me or fulfills something I desire?  Or, is this just another promotion I can ignore?”

BREAKTHROUGH TIP: I put the letter in my client’s voice.  More specifically, I do the following:

• I have my seller clients approve a just listed letter I wrote for them in THEIR voice.  And after the sale, I send out a just sold letter in their voice.
• I also put the letter on nice stationary that’s personal.

I’m close to the finish line but have one more hurdle to go before I know my promotion will be effective…

HURDLE #3: Getting your message ACTED UPON

The biggest thing missing from Realtor promotions is a motivating reason to respond.  This is especially true of Just Listed/Just Sold cards which most agents treat as blasting a news update to people.

I find it more effective to offer something of value with a method to respond.  Here’s how I do this:

• Offer free information for those wanting to buy or sell (must be specific — see my example letters below).
• Use a “hotline” number that has a Free Recorded Message (so people feel comfortable calling).

Below are the real estate letters I use as examples:

JUST LISTED & JUST SOLD LETTERS

(click the images above to open the letters in a PDF file)

When I send out the Just Listed letter, I now have an additional 150 neighbors trying to sell my listing.  I know they’ve opened and read my message, and they also have a specific way to send me leads!

After the listing is sold, I send the follow-up Just Sold letter.  This is when I start getting the calls from neighbors who want me to sell their house.  They are great clients.  They trust me from the start.  Why?  Because I was referred by their friend and former neighbor!

Go try this strategy with your listings.  You (and the neighbors around your listings) will be glad you did.

And if you’d like a bank of letters proven to boost your production, plus the knowledge you’ll need to make them work, click here.

What do YOU send for Just Listed / Just Sold notices?

Email us to share it with the Agent Inner Circle^® community. Or…

Click Here To Leave A Comment