jonwashburn: Marketing ideas for the broke ass real estate agent (Chapter 1)

These marketing ideas are for the motivated, and broke ass agent.  It is important to note that if you already are fairly successful you will probably scoff at these ideas.  That is okay, they are not for you! It is also worthwhile to mention that if you employ even a portion of the ideas with the vigor and passion required for success in real estate sales, then you will likely not need to employ these strategies for long!

(Disclaimer: I know it is very unprofessional to swear in a blog post, and I will do my best to not do it in the future. This time it just slipped out and by the time I realized that it was on paper, it was too late to take it back.  However if this explanation is not sufficient please contact Bob Stewart, ActiveRain's Director of Community Relations and Member Happiness)

 
Power of the Sticky Note

Forget about expensive listing / pre-listing packets. Compile and drive by your list of new daily expired, cancelled, off market, and FSBO listings; delivering to each of the houses a handwritten Post-It note on their door.  Write a bold statement on the note about how you can help with the home owner’s sales problem. Don’t forget to leave a name and phone number, because EVERYBODY respect the power of a sticky note, and they will call you back.

A “Talking House” can also be a Talking Car

A Talking House is a radio transmitter that broadcasts a marketing message recorded by it’s owner to a limited range of 100 yards or so. Most real estate agents use it to broadcast information about a listed property.  But this box could be much more valuable placed inside a car marked with a compelling marketing message on the outside.  “Tune to 89.9 within 100 yards of this car to learn how you can save thousands on your next home purchase".

 
Marketing HUD homes

In most markets, licensed real estate agent can easily register to become an “HUD Registered Agent”. This means that you are allowed to show and sell all HUD owned homes.  It usually also means that you are allowed to market HUD owned homes, even if it is not your listing. Having some listings to advertise is a critical step to obtaining buyers.
 

Advertise Your Listings on Craigslist 

Now that you have listings to advertise (remember the HUD homes in the last item?), put them everywhere you can.  Start with Craigslist, then use Postlets.com to syndicate your listing to tons of other top sites. 
 

Use Your Business Cards

Make it your mission to hand out 20 business cards every day. Hand it out to everyone you come in contact with. If the opportunity presents itself, like giving a card to your waiter with your bill after dinner, write a note on the back. Make in memorable.

Use the Press
Nope, just kidding.  This guerrilla marketing tactic is way overplayed and much too difficult to control.  Be consistent with the other tactics and you will likely find your way into the press.

Flip the Script 

Be nice to the outside title and mortgage reps that visit your office.  Most of your peers treat them like they carry the plague, but that is just nonsense. Next time they invite you to lunch or coffee, offer to meet them in their office.  Bring cookies or pizza for their entire office and introduce yourself. Mortgage and title people run across unrepresented buyers and sellers everyday.  Put yourself in the position to get business from them. Then return the favor and refer it right back.

Zillow Discussion Forum

Present yourself as an expert to potential buyers and sellers by participating in the Zillow Discussions forum.

Be a Zillow bird dog

“Report” every mls listing in your market to Zillow.  This may be in violation of your MLS guidelines, but I have not heard of anyone getting in trouble for it, yet.  When you report a property for sale you get your picture and a link to your profile listed on that property’s page.

Give Ice Cream at Open Houses

There is only one thing to give to people visiting your open house. A quart of ice cream! It is a little bit of a dirty trick, but it could go a long ways to selling your client's home. The ice cream limits your clients' choices to either staying at the house and eating it with you; where you can proceed to expound upon the virtues of the home, and work on establishing personal report rapport so that they will choose you as their exclusive buyers agent.  Or they can go home and put it in the fridge and think about the virtues of the home.  Either way, they won’t be looking at other houses anytime soon.

(Note, this tip works better in the summer.)

Pull a Mike Ferry

It seems that Mike Ferry believes that cold calling is the only way to market.  Although he might be doing his creative thinking from inside a little box, cold calling does work and it is free.  Just don’t get caught calling numbers on the Do Not Call registry.  That will cost you.

Participate in the Trulia Voices Q&A. Buyers and sellers frequent the site. Sure there are more agents than potential clients, but if you put the effort in and provide top quality and personality rich questions, you are sure to snag a client sometime.

Offer a 50% Referral Fee

No question that if I was broke I would take referrals at a 50% fee all day long. Just make sure to let the real estate world know about your decision.
 

Blog About Your Community

Perhaps the most powerful and cheap way to make your way to the top of the search engines and earn loads of business is to start a hyper-local blog and write about a neighborhood. The key is you got to be very specific. For example a Seattle agent may choose to specialize in the Queen Anne community and could register QueenAnneSeattle.com.  Include as many pictures, and videos as possible.

*If you can get the cooperation (and written permission) of other agents in your market, blog about their listings. If you are having trouble getting their permission up front; visit the house and write about the listing first, then show them what you wrote. Once they see that it is a positive review then they will be more likely to give you their permission.  Sure it is a little extra work up front, and they could say "no", but even if only one half of the agents give permission it is still more than worth it.  You will likely be the only agent in your market blogging about listings. This is a huge advantage!