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Walter Sanford is an international speaker and author of 14 books for real estate salespeople
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Letter-Perfect Business Tools
Build your client base with letters that compel buyers and sellers to respond.
BY WALTER SANFORD
How do you ensure that your phone rings off the hook with calls from buyers and sellers who are motivated and excited about your services? The answer’s in the mail.
Effective direct-mail and e-mail letters build interest and name recognition among buyers and sellers and prompt them to call you for more information or to take advantage of a free service that you offer. Responding to these calls is much less time consuming and much more productive than cold calling.
To create letters that compel prospects to call, you have to convince your customers of your commitment to serve them before you ask for their business. You do this by focusing your letters on how much you can do for them and by offering free rewards for replying.
The following are a few of my favorites business-building letters. They’ve made a huge impact on my clients; I would like to see you add them to your systems today.
Letter One: Check the Excuse You Heard Most Often From Your Salesperson" />
First, let’s look at a letter tailored towards a target market--expired listings. Your objectives with Letter One are to convince prospects to consider listing their property again; to demonstrate what you can offer them that their former, unsuccessful salesperson couldn’t; and to get them to commit to a listing presentation appointment with you.
Because these sellers might carry a sense of frustration from their past real estate experiences, they could be a little more hard-boiled than most. The checklist of “top excuses” they heard from their last salesperson offers an creative, attention-getting method of identifying with their concerns. The letter also supplies a built-in response mechanism, since they have to send in the checklist to receive their freebie.
It’s also important that your letter offer benefits services that fit the specific needs of the target market you’re reaching. In the case of expired listings, the service they want is often new marketing ideas that will succeed in selling their homes. Offering a document such as “Twelve Secrets of Selling Your Home,” which contains hints on how to price homes to generate the most prospect interest, gives expireds a reason to respond. Note that all these letters provide several avenues through which prospects can contact you--Web site, phone, and mailing address. Whenever possible, give prospects choices on how to reach you.
Letter Two: We Have A Buyer Who Is Interested In Your Property!" />
Our second direct mail effort is a good “first contact” letter to solicit inventory for your buyer-clients. Its benefits are immense. You present sellers, who may be considering listing their home, with a potentially ready, willing, and able buyer. You also impress them--and your buyer clients--with your enterprise in looking for inventory outside the confines of the MLS. (Prospective buyers who receive this letter will also be impressed by how hard you’d work to find them a home.) Third, you are increasing your chances of both listing a property and selling it. If you succeed, you’ll have expended the same amount of energy for what could be twice the return--always a smart business move.
You’ll notice that several times throughout the letter, I emphasize my discretion and reinforce to the prospects that I’m not trying to pressure them to sell. Remember, you’re trying to create a perception of trust that will garner a return call. Giving prospects the hard sell at the beginning of your relationship isn’t going to win them over. In fact some owners initially might be skeptical that you really have a seller. (Never use this letter if you don’t.)
Instead of high pressure, demonstrate your commitment to service through offers such as the guaranteed, three-hour return call. Then provide a link to you Web site where they can find out more about you, and let them come to you.
Letter Three: Closing Thank You and Comment Sheet" />
A follow-up letter can build referrals and repeat business that will keep your phone ringing consistently, if not immediately. Follow-up is a crucial part of the real estate sales process, one that too many salespeople fail to carry out. This customer-satisfaction-survey letter not only shows customers that you care about making your business better, but also helps you hone your real estate skills. This straightforward letter gives customers the chance to give their honest feedback about your service, with questions such as “What did you like about working with me?” and “What could we do to improve our service?”
It’s also important to offer them an incentive for responding, in this case, points in my “VIP Client Club.” The program is designed to reward the client who provides me with referral information. For example, if clients call me to update their contact information, such as a new phone number or e-mail address, they earn one point. They earn two points for giving me a referral that I pass along to another salesperson, who then pays me a referral fee. If they give me a referral who lists who with me, they get three points, four points if the listing sells. When clients accumulate 20 points, they're eligible for a 20 percent discount on their next transaction with me. This club opens the door for regular contact with past clients and moves you to the top of their mind when they need a real estate professional again (or when someone asks them if they know a good salesperson).
And as with all the other direct mail offers, making it easy for the customer to respond to the satisfaction survey is paramount. Give customers the option of completing the survey online if technology fits your market profile. And don’t forget the stamped, return envelope. Watch the referrals and references come your way.
The beauty of these and similar business-building mailings is that they can be delegated easily to an assistant and don’t require the energy needed for cold callings. Mailings let you offer your services to prospects with a minimum of effort and produce informed, enthusiastic clients that will make you smile every time the phone rings.
Ask Walter:
Q. How would you deal with sellers who believe that their home is worth vastly more than comparable proprieties in the area? I am working with a couple whose neighbor listed a home for 25 percent over market value; it sat on the market for months and never sold. Still, my sellers’ heads are now filled with inflated dollar signs and they refuse to lower their asking price.
A. A great question and a real easy answer! It sounds like these sellers don’t understand the difference between listing price and sales price. Too often, salespeople will agree to an unrealistically high listing price just to gratify the seller and get the listing. Unfortunately, houses with unreasonable listing prices don’t sell.
I assume you’ve already tried to go over every sale in your client’s area and equalize them by square footage and amenities. This process, which is essentially the same process you use to do a comparable market analysis, uses a table to factor in how the home’s size and amenities affect a home’s relative value. If your clients still isn’t convinced once they've seen your analysis, maybe you should take them on a tour of properties in the area, showing them what other homes that have the same amenities are really selling for.
Next, you can offer to get an appraisal. Make this offer to your doubting clients If the appraised value is closer to your list price than theirs, they pay for the appraisal. If their suggested selling price is closer to the appraiser’s estimate than yours, you pay for the appraisal.
I would also question your clients' motivation at this point. I can’t imagine a really motivated seller just sitting on a listing for an extended period and refusing to lower the price. I would offer a price reduction or a cancellation of the listing.
Just because a house lists for an exorbitant price, doesn’t mean that’s how much it’s worth. With the steps above, maybe you can reason with your customer. If not, move on.
Sincerely,
Walter S. Sanford
Want selling and marketing advice? Send your questions for Walter Sanford to salesclinic@realtors.org | | |
