mailboxesDear Zuess,

I’ve been sending real estate flyers out to my neighbourhood for six months now and I haven’t received a single call.  It’s a lot of work, time and money. I am thinking about quitting and trying something else.  Is this a wise decision? Any other ideas?

Crystal

Dear Crystal,

If attracting clients was as simple as sending out a few real estate flyers, everyone would be in real estate and we really wouldn’t be worth the fees we charge.

The way home sellers choose their realtor is a complicated and a somewhat unpredictable process.  It is unique to each individual and while some are methodical and logical, others make the choice from instinct or intuition.  Regardless of their process, it is far more complicated than receiving a flyer (likely one among hundreds) and picking up the phone.

Sending flyers out to a neighbourhood on a consistent basis is a good first step in a farming strategy.  It is not farming by itself.  You will need to find 3 to 4 ways to touch the people in your farm on a regular basis and you will need to be consistent with this touch for a very long time before you can expect a return on your investment (ROI).  To speed the process up, you will need one of those “touches” to be face-to-face or voice-to-voice.

Farming, a metaphor for a community based marketing plan, is not for the faint of heart.  It takes creativity, tenacity, persistence, and belief that it will pay off in the long run.  Most realtors will quit farming before they have any significant return.  On the other hand, farming done well can build you a dream business. Imagine being the real estate geo farmingresource of choice in your neighbourhood. People who know and like you will suddenly be calling on a regular basis to list their homes!

If you want to know more, then email us (suze@thenatureofrealestate.com) for a copy of our resource paper titled Geographic Farming.

Zuess

Columnist, The Nature of Real Estate

 

Dear Zuess is a column dedicated to offering tips for real estate agents that want to create lasting connections with their clients. Do you have any real estate binds you’ve been in lately? Drop Zuess a line at suze@thenatureofrealestate.com