We are all bombarded with advertising every minute of every day. It’s no wonder most of us have trained our brains to ignore all the noise and focus on what is important to us. If you have been in the real estate industry for any length of time, you know how hard it can be to get noticed. Marketing companies promise you increased prospects if only you buy in to their fancy business cards layouts, and personalized give-away gizmos. Unfortunately the truth is that unless you already a top 10 producer chances are you aren’t able to afford to compete against the big guys through marketing efforts alone.
The trick to growth is word of mouth. The old saying “A happy customer will tell 1 or 2 people, an unhappy one will tell everyone,” is as true as it gets. The key to getting recognized is by making your clients happy and keeping yourself at the top of their mind so they refer you to their friends and family. Practicing this business philosophy is probably the single best way to grow without breaking the bank.
It doesn’t make sense to invest thousands of dollars trying to attract new customers when your best advocates are the customers you already have. My experience in the industry has shown that time and time again money is spent on having the perfect logo, the best headshot and high-glossy flyers but no thought goes into carrying the same message through with piece of advertising that is likely to stay with the client the longest… the closing gift.
When my husband practiced Real Estate he was often so busy with all the walk-through’s, inspections and paperwork that he had no time to get a closing gift together. I would help take on this task, but without personally meeting his clients I never really knew what would be appropriate. Did they drink wine or where they recovering alcoholics? Do they like fruit or are they allergic to strawberries? There really was no sure way to know. Usually I stuck to the tried, true gift card from a nearby hardware store and a plant. Neither of which did a good job of reminding the new homeowners of all the hard work and good customer service they had received by working with my husband.
In most cases, after 3 or 4 years, some of those customers had completely forgotten who had helped them with their house purchase and the worse case scenarios ended up buying their newest home straight from the listing agent and giving that agent twice the business by listing their home with them!
As I reflect on all the postcards, the nights of stuffing envelops and the 200+ American flags dispersed throughout the neighborhood one 4th of July; I am dumbfounded that we never stopped realized that we were overlooking what could have been the most affective marketing tool at our disposal. Whether you are a new agent or a seasoned veteran please take my advice and invest in a closing gift that speaks to you and the services you provide your customers. More over, be sure that this gift bares your message and contact information to remind your clients about how much you care for them and their business.
Think practical; what would you like to receive if you were just getting into a new home?
My company, RocLok Hide a Key, Inc. just launched a line of closing gift packages to help take the guess work out of the equation. All of the packages include 5 RocLok Hide a Keys that have a personalized message inside to remind your clients how much you care about them and their safety. Since the message can also have your contact information, they will know where to find you when they want to refer your services to a friend or family member. Plus who could ever forget getting a rock in a box as a gift? Sign up for our Business Benefit’s Program today and save up to 25% on all RocLok Hide a Key products!