Real Estate Marketing and Lead Generation Plan

What do you think of when someone says "referral marketing letters", in terms of marketing tips? Wish to bet $50 that you think I'm talking about getting letters of recommendation from your former clients?

That's a great plan for marketing as well. However, I'm talking about getting a lasting stream of client referrals from professionals like CPA's, mortgage brokers, financial planners, atto
eys and contractors. And all it'll take is just a personal letter written by you, the world's most fantastic Realtor.

In short, this referral letter marketing approach comes down this: Get yourself a solid list of respected professionals that are most likely to have the same sort of clientele that you would maintain. Then you merely jot down a personal letter that sincerely shows off who you are and send it to this list in the regular mail (no email).

Get creative on the envelope or package you send it in, as well as some type of extra marketing piece, like a DVD you produce using Animoto. Follow up with each professional by phone, if possible, and proceed to mail/contact them once per month.

A number of Savvy Realtors and agents borrow this one marketing tactic to fuel their real estate businesses for their entire careers!

Let's begin with a sample list of these professionals that have the clients you're searching for...

• CPA's

• Lenders (apparent, correct?)

• Financial Advisors

- Real Estate Lawyers/Atto
eys

• Remodeling Contractors/Handymen

• Home Stagers

• Real Estate Appraisers

• Electrician Contractors

• Residential Plumbers

• Landscape Contractors

• Tree Trimming Professionals

• Residential Handymen

• Get the concept?...

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

Are you wondering how to get the data for these professionals so you can mail them your letter? Great question. Depending on how many marketing dollars you have, there are a duo of options for you.

Probing through the yellow pages, on-line, is a cheap choice. I'm confident you already have a certain area you operate in, as a Realtor, so it'll be best to stick to that. If you don't mind the manual labor, this can be a wonderful choice for you.

You need to compile each professional's phone number, name and mailing address. This option is entirely free but undoubtedly more time consuming than some Realtors might like.

Easily buying a list of these professionals would be your other choice. In the same 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 too.

These types of lists aren't illegal at all (sorry to say for a few of us). These kinds of compiled, professional lists are regularly for sale because professionals (like us real estate agents) willingly sign up for random subscriptions, associations, events, etc.

A bit surprising, huh?

You have more than decent choices when it comes to picking a list company to purchase your list from. Rather than going to one list company for a list of atto
eys and another company for financial planners, you should select a company that provides all the professions you demand in one place. I tell you, it'll cost you a few dollars for this list but it's going to salvage you hours of valued time!

Whether you prefer to pay money for your list or compile it yourself, as soon as you have it, you can start crafting your referral letter for these professionals. Sadly, copywriting is a topic of its own and we just can't get into it right now, or else you'll be reading a novel today. Copywriting and writing sales copy are topics wholly on their own.

Just realize for now that you don't want your referral letter to be a "sales letter".

You can copy and re-use your letter for each professional but the referral letter itself needs to make each professional who gets it, to feel like they're the only one in the universe that you sent it to.

The trick is writing your letter as if you were speaking to each professional in-person. Don't use a cluster of "salsey" cliches` and standard "professional vernacular" that you read in the letters you get from your bank. Grab the reader's interest, write to them like a real individual and not like an institution.

This is off subject but this kind of "real person" marketing goes for all your marketing pieces: classified ads, emails, postcards, etc.

The "meat and potatoes" of the letter needs to describe that you desire to build a professional relationship with them where you can refer business to one another. The ultimate result you're looking for is to be their preferred Realtor for all their clients who need real estate services. You need to stress how they'll benefit from this relationship without doing any selling, got it?

If you know something personal about their company or the area they work in, drop it in the letter. You possibly could know of a client who's used them in the past, drop that in there as well. Unless you talk about their mom, for some reason, it's almost inconceivable for you to get overly personal in your letter.

My suggestion would be to definitely create this referral marketing letter in your own words. Although, if you're the kind who can't stand penning any sort of letter to anyone, you can simply look for a solid self-employed writer who can pen it for you.

Do a Google search for "self-employed writers" and you'll get various companies to select from. With several companies, they even let you to screen through their writers from across the globe. The excellent thing is a few of these companies allow you see reviews on each writer, how much they charge and even contact them with "interview questions". On some sites, you can place an opening for the project you need written and have freelance writers apply to you. It's really pretty convenient.

Now that you have your referral marketing letter completed and your list of professionals to mail it to, let's get them mailed out. Only please, no matter what you do, do not send your letter in an ordinary, simple envelope similar to every other "schmuck" does that sends mail to these professionals... Please.

Look for a mailing box or another envelope that will stick out amongst all the mail these professionals will be sorting through. Your intention is to stick out similar to a sore thumb, in a great way, from all the mail your list will be getting. I would also hand-write the address and return address, as it'll seem to be more personalized to the recipient.

When you gather your mail, which pieces do you open right away and which ones do you toss without a 2nd look? The priority goes to letters where the sender hand-wrote the address, everytime!

A bonus you'll want to include, in the package, is some kind of marketing piece in addition to your referral letter. A fun marketing piece to include can be a video you produce with Animoto and copy onto a DVD (easier than it sounds).

One of my friends, a life insurance salesman, sent out a similar mailing and included poker chips with his contact info on them. The slogan he printed on the poker chips was "Don't even think about gambling with 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 be aware of where to get the ideas!

Getting back to this referral letter, I'd advise that you point them not only to your telephone number but also your website or blog. Be certain you provide them both choices. You just don't know which professionals prefer the telephone or to suss you out on your website first.

This final step is probably the most significant. The number one rule in marketing is "repetition". Statistics from the marketing industry demonstrate that a potential client needs to be exposed to your message at least 7 times, on average, before they are comfy enough to answer back.

So the unmistakeble "take-away" is that you have to continue to market to these professionals on your list, more than once. After you've sent your initial referral letter, try following up by regular mail or a phone call about 1 time a month. If you were able to get or purchase their email address, feel free to start emailing them as well.

You just want to be extra careful not to smother them with follow-ups. It's a fine line but you need to inform them why you should be their "go-to" Realtor without coming across in a rude or irritating style.

As a side note, if you have the marketing cash but don't have the time, think about hiring a teenager or college kid to stuff these mailers. write the letters yourself but have your hired-assistant stuff the envelopes with your letters and marketing pieces.

The hired labor will be cheap and you can focus on other things like home tours and follow up calls.

In all sincerity, when it comes to Realtor marketing advice, referral letter marketing will set you up as a top real estate agent for years and years to follow. In the long-run, you can see yourself with a lasting flood of client referrals from these professionals, as long as you devote yourself to forming these relationships.

Focus on serving them as much as you want them to serve you and the money will flow in!