Real Estate Agent Marketing Secret That Sends Motivated Buyers to You Every Month

What do you imagine if you hear the marketing phrase, referral letter marketing? I'll bet you $100 you're guessing that I'm talking about testimonials and recommendations from past clients.

That's a wonderful plan for marketing as well. Although, I'm referring to you getting a career-long stream of clients from other respected professionals in your region. And all you'll need is a "down-to-earth" letter that you jot down yourself.

In a nutshell, referral marketing letters for Realtors can be summed up like this: get a list of other professionals in your "farm area" that will have the type of clients and prospects you're looking for. Then, sending it by regular mail, create a personal letter to your list of respected professionals.

When it comes to the envelope you send your letter in, make certain it stands out and isn't the same white envelope we spot everyday. Be consistent about following up with each professional by telephone, regular mail or email at least 1 occasion each month.

There are a ton of "top producing" Realtors who utilize this single technique to create the bulk of their closings. Don't worry, there's nothing dishonest with copying what the "big boys" do.

The initial step in this process is making a list of these respected professionals that you wish to build relationships with...

• Certified Public Accountants

• Mortgage Brokers (undoubtedly)

• Financial Planners

• Lawyers

• Building Contractors

• Interior Designers

• Appraisers

• Title and Escrow Officers

• Residential Electricians

• Residential Plumbers

• Landscaping Companies

• Roofers

• Tree Cutting Professionals

• Residential Handymen

• Makes sense?

Scores of other professionals may be added but that will get you off and running.

So how can you get a detailed list of all the professionals you'll desire to work with? Wonderful question, glad you asked. There are a duo of choices for you but they depend on how much money is in your marketing budget.

You can sift through the on-line yellow pages, which is an economical option. I'm positive you already have a certain area you operate in, as a Realtor, so it'll be best to adhere to that. If you don't mind the manual labor, this can be a good option for you.

You'll sift through to get the complete name, phone number and mailing address of each professional. This method can take a long time but if your marketing budget is small, this is the free of charge way to go.

A different choice for compiling your list of well-thought-of professionals is to just purchase a list. In the indentical way you're probably on one or more Realtor or agent lists being sold out there, just about every profession has their own list for sale as well.

These types of lists aren't dishonest at all (unfortunately for some of us). Some individuals don't know but these types of lists are compiled and available for sale when professionals, like us real estate agents, join an association or give their info to a publication that they subscribe to.

It's an eye opener, isn't ir?

You have more than decent choices when it comes to picking a list company to buy your list from. Rather than going to one list company for a list of atto
eys and another company for financial planners, you should choose a company that provides all the professions you require in one place. Purchasing your list will cost you some marketing dollars but you'll salvage yourself a pant load of torment and working hours.

So once you have this marketing list of professionals (however you prefer to acquire it), it's time to create your very personalized "referral letter". I don't have space here to enlighten you about copywriting, sadly. That's a matter all by itself.

For now, you ought to understand that this letter can't be a regular "sales" letter that you'd mass mail to a farm area to generate listing leads, ok?

Even though you may replicate some or most of your referral marketing letter and send it to other professionals on your list, whenever these professionals get your letter, they ought to feel like they're the only one who received it.

Imagine about how you'd talk to these professionals face-to-face and jot down your letter in that way, that's the big idea here. Do not be like your local bank and write some kind of "this is so boring I could vomit" referral marketing letter. Grab the reader's curiosity, write to them like a real human being and not like an institution.

The "meat and potatoes" of the letter needs to explain that you wish to create a professional relationship with them where you can refer business to one another. Your intention is to be their "pocket Realtor" who gets all their referrals, for free! Specify for these professionals however they will profit without "selling" them, make sense?

You possibly could happen to know something about the company one of these professionals work for so feel free to throw that in your letter to make it more personal. Perhaps you personally know of a customer who's used that professional, toss that in the letter also. Unless you begin talking about their momma, there's no way you can get too personal.

Writing this marketing letter yourself would be my big, chief suggestion. But if you simply detest penning this sort of marketing material, you can rent an economical independent writer to do it for you.

Doing a search on Google will pull up a number of choices of self-employed writers and companies for you to pick from. With several companies, they even let you to screen through their writers from across the world. It's great because you can sometimes see their reviews, pricing and even forward them a question to "interview them". You might go as far as posting the project you need accomplished and waiting for writers to apply. It's pretty terrific.

O.K., you've got your marketing list of professionals and you've written your referral letter, now we need to send it out thru the regular mail, not e-mail. Just please don't just send it in a plain white envelope like everyone else... Please.

Instead, grab a unique looking envelope that has some different size or color to it. The idea is that you need your mailing piece to stand out among every other letter that professional is getting that day. I'd also urge you to compose the mailing and return addresses by hand so that you increase the "personal" effect of your letter.

Stop and ponder about which pieces of mail you open 1st. The letters that appear to be hand-written get opened 1st, correct?

A bonus you'll need to enclose, in the package, is some type of marketing piece in addition to your referral letter. A creative marketing suggestion possibly could be a DVD that you produce through Animoto, showcasing yourself (not as overwhelming as it sounds).

A friend of mine used poker chips as his marketing gadget when he sent out a mailing for his life insurance business. His slogan on the poker chips was "Don't Gamble on Your Life".

Sheer genius. That's the kind of creative idea you want in order to stick out from your competition, or at least you need to understand where to get the ideas!

Getting back to this referral letter, I'd suggest that you aim them not only to your phone number but also your site or blog. Make sure you provide them both options. Several professionals prefer to speak on the phone and others like to check you out online first.

The final step we'll address is absolutely critical. The mother of all marketing principles is "repetition". Stats from the marketing industry establish that a potential client needs to be exposed to your message at least 7 times, on average, before they are comfortable enough to answer back.

Following up with this marketing list of professionals is essential to getting the highest reply rate that you can. I'd say shoot for once per month, either by phone or another letter, after you make the first follow up telephone call after your 1st mailing. Emailing them would be an option too, if you have it.

Just please be careful about not smothering them, however you decide to follow-up. It's a fine line but you need to tell them why you should be their "go-to" Realtor without coming across in a rude or irritating way.

As a side note, if you have the marketing money but don't have the time, think about hiring a teenager or college kid to stuff these mailers. You can write down the referral letters yourself but have your hired-hand address the envelope, stuff it with the letter and marketing piece and have them send it out.

It's inexpensive labor, just like US companies do when they hire overseas workers for their customer servicing call centers (did I just throw in a cheap shot?).

Seriously, this is simply one of the best, long-term and short-term marketing ideas for Realtors. In the long-run, you can see yourself with a substantial flood of client referrals from these professionals, as long as you devote yourself to forming these relationships.