It's a Numbers Game but Worth the Wait

It's a Numbers Game but Worth the Wait.

Last year, a friend of mine sold her house. This was the first home she owned and unfortunately she was going through a divorce, so they were selling. She had no idea about how Real Estate works, all she knew was that she had to sell. I asked her how she choose her Real Estate Agent.
She told me, “Well, I’ve been living her for 5 years, and about once a month for the past 5 years, I’ve gotten a postcard from this agent, so I called her.” I laughed… it really was that simple.

Many agents start postcard campaigns and give up after about 4-5 months. As indicated in the scenario above, you may not get a payoff for many years, but guess what, the $9,000 commission the agent made on my friends home paid off big time.

We do just listed and just sold postcard campaigns for our client Ann Liebecki, of Shorewest Realtors Wisconsin. She has figured out of 26 listing appointments she landed 2 of them due to the just listed/just sold postcards she does. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but if she gets those 2 listings, they will pay for the postcard campaign for the year and probably the next.

Here is a REALLY detailed summary of the success we have had doing a campaign for Ryan Gable, StartingPoint Realty (also Carrie’s husband) over the last 5 months.

ABSTRACT:This campaign was designed for StartingPoint Realty, Inc. located outside of Chicago, Illinois. This company specializes in first time home buyers so targeting high end renters was the focus. This campaign is a monthly campaign and this case study covers the first 5 months (will be updated in the coming months).

THE CAMPAIGN:The target audience is renters that are paying $1,000 per month (or more) in a specific area that this agent does business in. The campaign is a monthly 4 x 6–full color postcard. The postcard is mailed to the SAME list each and every month. We made the assumption that most of these renters would be within the age range of 20-30’s. With this in mind, we developed each postcard with a hip/young feel. (Looking more like Gap ads than your average Real Estate postcard.) It was ESSENTIAL that these postcards were custom and not the cookie cutter postcards that most Real Estate agents use. It was also ESSENTIAL to provide a call to action which is explained below.

THE CALL TO ACTION:There are three.
1) Direct the renters that are potential buyers to sign-up on the Agent’s website to receive auto emails for properties that are for sale (IDX).
2) Direct renters that are potential buyers to sign-up for the monthly “First Time Home Buyer” seminar that this agent gives.
3) Direct renters that are potential buyers to call this agent for general information.
EXECUTION:With our call to action clearly understood, RealSupport Inc. designed the postcards and implemented the monthly mailing. At this point, the only time spent on this project by the agent is approving proofs. The postcards go out the first week of each month.

PROJECT COSTS:Based on 2,500 piece mailing
RealSupport: $150 per postcard
Printing & Mailing: $00.39 per card = $975.00 per month
Total Monthly Cost: $1,125.00
Total Project Cost (5 months): $5,625

RESULTS:Each postcard (5) was sent to 2500 renters over 5 months
Total Leads: 21
Definition: Leads in this case are considered:
Renters that signed up on the IDX on the agent’s website and agent was able to contact directly.
Renters that signed up and attended the monthly Home Buyer Seminar.
Renters that called or emailed the agent directly for more information.

Of the 21 Leads received over 5 months:
Agent has closed/pending 3 leads- Total commissions $11,360.00
Agent is currently showing property to 1 lead
Agent showed property to 1 lead but this lead seemed to get cold feet and has stopped looking
Agent had 4 leads that are solid and will be looking the first quarter of 2006

Current Profit (minus $5,625 in costs) in 5 months: $8,735
Potential Future Profit (projected commission based on $200,000 home) $25,000

Now, tell me that isn't worth the wait!!