If you have not worked as a real estate agent before, you’ll soon find that it pays to learn some innovative marketing techniques. You will marvel at how some of these methods work, provided you use them consistently.
One of the best methods you can use as a realtor is to farm leads in the real estate market. To start farming, mail out flyers or postcards. By targeting your audience or determining the boundaries where you plan to list and sell homes, you’re already half down the path to real estate success.
 |
| Real Estate Farming |
Sending out postcards or real estate farming flyers: how to begin
To begin your journey, you need to figure out where to send postcards or real estate farming flyers. The area you map out should be one that is not too saturated with other real estate agents. By selecting an area that needs coverage, you can position yourself as the go-to person to contact if someone needs their house listed or if they want to buy a house.
The 4 steps you need to follow
When using direct mail to farm a real estate area, you need to follow 4 steps:
- Target a community in which you’re highly familiar
- Select a price range on which you’d like to focus
- Don’t target an area that other agents already dominate
- Find an area with a higher turnover of properties (at least 6%) *
To figure the turnover rate in a location, you’ll need to divide the number of homes in the area you’ve chosen by the homes sold in that locale in the past couple years.
To start farming your targeted zone, send out flyers or postcards to about 300 residences and send the mailings bi-monthly.
Design your mailing so they address the people on your list
Next, you’ll have to customize your postcards or flyers for the recipients on your mailing list. For instance, maybe you’re sending out postcards to people who currently rent. In this case, you might phrase your mailing by saying, “Are you tired of paying monthly rent?
To get the wanted response, send out flyers or postcards for about a year and stay committed to the process. Your mailings may be targeted, as well, to investors of rentals, empty nesters, or people who live in a certain school district. In any of these cases, you’ll want to send a message that will help them find a solution for their current real estate needs.
You might also send out postcards with special offers. These offers may include a free home inspection or a gift card to a home improvement store such as Home Depot. You might also feature an offer in the way of a challenge. For example, you might say, “If I don’t sell your home in 90 days, you don’t have to pay me my commission.
When sending out flyers or postcards, include a professional picture of yourself and make sure you include all your contact details. Make yourself known in your target area as an expert in the real estate field.
Plan for the future – begin with real estate farming
Real estate farming can open up new opportunities for you as a realtor. By using direct mailers in your market area, you’ll realize a higher amount of sales and more recognition personally and professionally.