TECH@WORK: Lead Generation

BY MICHAEL J. RUSSER

E-market effortlessly

Take the grind out of Internet client cultivation.

To many salespeople, e-mail drip marketing is the ultimate fantasy—a powerful way to stay in contact with previous clients and cultivate new prospects without having to pick up a phone or knock on a door. If you aren’t aware, these click-and-forget systems let you automatically send a series of timed e-mail messages to any group of people with a common interest—first-time buyers, move-up sellers, and so on.

But today, with the increase in junk e-mail, drip marketing campaigns face hurdles—getting your message read, ensuring your messages will be perceived as valuable by customers jaded by spam, and complying with the new anti-spam law.

The solution? Deliver value-added content at three specific points in the sales cycle to people you can legally contact.

1. Pre-transaction cultivation. Drip campaigns, such as regular e-mail newsletters and market updates, can help build rapport and trust with prospects from the time you’ve made initial contact to the time they’re ready to buy or sell. Topic options: home improvement ideas and tips for improving credit.

2. Transaction support. A drip campaign is a great tool to help your clients stay current on their transaction’s progress. With regular e-mail updates, you’ll cut down on calls about whether the buyers have been approved for their mortgage or when the home inspection is due. Topic option: a reminder to pay all utilities before closing.

3. Post-transaction marketing. After closing is an ideal time to use a drip marketing campaign to build referrals. Regular e-mail will keep you in the forefront of past clients’ minds. Topic option: a reminder to rekey the home after closing.

Can the spam
Keep in mind that drip e-mail should never be used to generate new leads. It’ll work only with leads who’ve already given you permission to e-mail them. Otherwise, you’re spamming prospects and damaging your goodwill.

New federal commercial e-mail rules also now require that you include a return e-mail and postal address on all e-mail, a functioning opt-out mechanism, and a clear notice if the e-mail message includes an advertisement or business solicitation.

Most important, each drip e-mail message you send must be perceived as highly valuable to recipients or they’ll quickly become annoyed. For tips on developing effective e-mail campaigns, reread my May 2002 Ask Mr. Internet article, “Automating e-mail contact” at REALTOR.org/realtormag.

Get help
Several companies sell real estate–specific tools that do a good job of drip e-mail.

• Intersend (www.intersend.com). One of the easiest drip e-mail systems to set up and use, this program can be run from your Web browser. It comes complete with prewritten campaign options, which saves you time but may also limit your marketing flexibility. Cost: $29.95 per month
• Sharper Agent (www.sharperagent.com). This system lets you divide your contact list into more subgroups than Intersend so you can target your message more effectively. It also offers a broader range of materials, including custom flyers and postcards. Web-based Sharper Agent, which offers both drip e-mail and snail mail, also does a great job of keeping track of all contacts made through the system. Cost: $29.95 per month
• Gooder Group (www.goodergroup.com). This company’s Rainmaker e-Central system has great prewritten campaigns, including newsletters and reports, and a suite of real estate lead-generation products for both print and Web. The program can have a steep learning curve, however, so it may be best run by a skilled assistant. Cost: $78 per month, plus a one-time setup fee of $199.
  
  Used wisely and legally, drip e-mail marketing can help grow your leads into a bushel of business and referrals. Misused, it can drive business away.
  
  Russer, better known as Mr. Internet, is a technology speaker, trainer, author, and consultant. Read his column every month at REALTOR.org/realtormag. Contact him at help@askmrinternet.com.
  
  Neither NAR nor REALTOR® Magazine evaluates or endorses these products.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

For more about creating effective, legal e-mail campaigns, click Current Links at REALTOR.org/realtormag.

FACTOID
Spam has prompted nearly 30 percent of e-mail users to reduce their use of e-mail.
—Pew Internet & American Life survey, February 2004