Why Realtors Need to Market to Professional Referral Sources
This blog is at “request” from a Realtor I work with. I also constantly get questions about Farming a Real Estate subdivision. Should I do it? Does it work? How long does it take to “work?” What do you send to the farm…how often? Do these questions sound familiar to you? Farming Real Estate subdivisions has been around a long time. Other than calling or talking to your friends and family this is how most agents got their business. Technology has greatly changed how Farming is done though. It isn’t about putting the large ad in the local paper or sending out the recipe or sports schedule to a large neighborhood and waiting for the phone to ring. It is A LOT more than that. As I have said before, generic and vanilla messages are thrown away. Thats what you do right? Farming in Real Estate is MUCH more than that today. There are many strategies to envoke a response from a homeowner. Here is a great way to get set up and started…and get LEADS.
How to Get Started…Strategy
Many Realtors I know like to Farm their own neighborhood. In theory it makes sense cause you live there…you know the neighborhood. But Farming your own subdivision is not always the necessary thing to do. When you begin Farming a Real Estate subdivision you want to find a neighborhood or building that has or is:
- Desireable to live
- Has property turnover
- Price Point you want to work
- Has more than 50% of the homeowner have lived there more than 2yrs.
- Has not a high level of competition(there will always be competiton just make sure the sub isn’t saturated)
The reason I said #4 is because people live in their homes on average 5-7+ years. So marketing to people who have equity and lived there less than 2 yrs may not be in your best interest or use of money. The only exception is if you are targeting Short Sale candidates with your Farming Strategies. Speaking of that…it is also a good idea to fined out how many homeowners are upside down or behind on payments vs not. Those are 2 different messages to 2 different groups of people. One is short sale…one is equity sale.
How to Reach These People…Effectively
Ok, now the fun part begins. You have now broken down your Farm from the total amount of houses in the subdivision to a smaller number based on certain criteria. So instead of sending a shotgun message to the entire subdivsion you are going to be sending out a “targeted message to a targeted audience.” This will maximize your ROI(return on investment) and yield more business. So how to do you reach these people? Multiple ways! You can’t just send outbound marketing messages. You should be:
- Create online content…Video, blogs, Optimize everything.
- Create a Social Media Strategy. Set up a FB Fan Page and Twitter account ( if you don’t have one). Get people from your farm to “like” and “follow” you on these top social networks.
- Send outbound marketing messages “Postcards, Letters, Brochures, etc that contain valuable messages and drive the consumesr in your Farm BACK TO YOUR WEBSITE and VIDEOS.
- Create personal engagement. Hold Market Analysis seminars, get involved in the community, Super Bowl Party, Halloween Party for the sub. Get face to face with these people.
- Rince and Repeat…over and over and over.
You need to create the online content piece first. Write blogs and post videos about Buying, Selling, Home Value in, Tips to Selling, How to Purchase a home in…all about your Subdivision name. OWN IT. This will allow you to be all over Google, Yahoo, and Bing for anything related to your subdivision. How can people not find you?
Then…create the social media part next, then the outbound marketing last. You need the other stuff first so you have all the information available and ready to go when you reach these people by means of outbound marketing to DRIVE THEM BACK to your website and social media accounts to “opt-in” and be contacted by you.
If you follow these steps you will be in front of your Farm by means of online and offline ALL THE TIME. If your blogs, videos and social media accounts have the right answers to the Farm’s home selling/buying problems then you will win at Farming your Real Estate subdivision…big time!
Want to Farm a Sub? Stewart Title can Help!
Think you want to start Farming a Real Estate subdivision? Great! Not only can I help you with the stategies mentioned above but Stewart Title can provide you with farm data broken down to your exact perameters. If you are a Real Estate agent in the Washington DC/Northern Virginia area take a moment and fill out the form below and tell me how I can help you!
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DCTitleGuy
Director of Sales/Marketing at Stewart Title
My name is Wade Vander Molen and I am the Director of Sales and Marketing for Stewart Title in Northern Virginia/Washington DC.I work with Real Estate agents and Mortgage Lenders helping them grow their business with Outbound and Inbound marketing strategies. If you wish to meet and set up an appointment call me at 480-203-6452 or email at wvander@stewart.com
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