I received a call this last week with the request that I give some more ideas for getting new business. Hope some of these ideas appeal to you.

1. Farm a community that has a good turnover. Farming, traditionally, is a long-term endeavor. You need to introduce yourself, establish yourself as the community expert, publish a monthly newsletter, and offer "giveaways". Once you've sent two or more newsletters, in addition to looking for listings, you might point out in your newsletter that now is the time to buy, and that you would appreciate it if they would let you know if any of their friends or neighbors are thinking of buying a home in the near future.

2. Sponsor a Buyer's Seminar. Offer refreshments, offer a free credit report by having one of your favorite mortage people available at the seminar, have a home inspector explain the value of home inspections, and perhaps even a tax accountant who can talk about the tax benefits of owning a home.

3. Ask your broker if he has a database on former clients of the brokerage who were serviced by an agent who is no longer with the company. Seek permission to call them to see if they are looking to buy or sell.

4. Contact all the buyers you've sold to in the past two years. Tell them that the greatest compliment they can give you is to give you a referral. Ask them if they know of anyone who might be interested in buying a home. Be sure to emphasize the great interest rates that are available and the large inventory of homes from which to pick.

5. Call your local community college and ask if you could do a Home Buying Seminar, free of charge, for them. They'll do the advertising and promotion for you.

6. You can use this same Home Buying Seminar for Senior Centers (some seniors are looking to downsize), Homeowner Associations, and Rotary Meetings.

7. Call your family and friends. Call your neighbors. Call the members of your church or the parents of your son's little league baseball team. Call your doctor, your stockbroker, your hairdresser. People who know you are more likely to work to help you get business.

The following ideas were taken from an article in REALTOR^® magazine. (The entire article was in the September 1, 2006 publication.)

Create Walking Billboards

"I give out t-shirts that have my company's logo on the front and my contact information on the back. The most effective people to target for my giveaway are those who work outside in the public eye. Gas station attendants, ice-cream stand workers, landscapers, and others who do outdoor work are the best. I also give t-shirts to all of those nice people who allow me to place my 'directional' signs on their front lawn; not only do they let me use their lawn for my sign, but they get a free shirt … and I get more free advertising!"

Find Garage-Sale Gems

"One of my favorite prospecting ideas is to coordinate the community garage sale. The participating home owners e-mail me all of their contact information, and I provide the county permit, ad in the paper, garage sale maps, and signage. The whole event costs me less than $50. On the day of the event, I stand in front of the community handing out maps to the homes, with the goal of meeting every home owner face to face. Often, people have a garage sale when they're preparing to sell their home, so it makes for the perfect opportunity to further your brand, build your data base, and flush out the listing leads."

Do Good Deeds

"I held a food drive to benefit my local emergency food bank. I called everyone on my mailing list a couple of weeks before the donation pick up. I called again two days ahead of pick up. The response was so great that it took me two days to pick up all of the donations. I had great conversations with clients and people on my list who hadn't yet used my services. The food bank received over 500 pounds of food. I received follow-up calls of appreciation plus two listings and several referrals."

Supersize It

"Sometimes when I go through a fast-food restaurant drive through, I will pay for the car behind me and ask the cashier to give them my business card and tell them to have a great day. I love to look in my rear view mirror at their shocked expression as I pull away! It puts a smile on my face and on theirs, too."

Hope this helps!

See you next week!

Back to Ronnie REALTOR^® Archive >>