Just Listed / Under Contract / Just Sold
Letter templates you can use today…
One of the best marketing techniques you can use is to send just listed letters to homeowners in the neighborhood every time you take a new listing.
- The first one to announce a the new listing
- Next, one to let the neighbors know it’s now under contract
- And finally, one to celebrate the closed sale.
Why all agents don’t use them is a mystery to me.
When the home in question is your own listing, these cards demonstrate that you are an agent who gets things done.
But what if the house is not your own listing?
What if you’re a new agent and you have no new listings?
You can still use these letters to generate business for yourself – as long as you don’t pretend that you’re the listing agent. (Yes, this is important. False advertising is against the Code of Ethics.)
How? By simply announcing that there is a home for sale in the neighborhood, and showing those homeowners why that might matter to them.
The first reason is, of course, the fact that they may have a friend or relative who would like to live nearby.
The second reason is only of interest to the homeowner if they’ve been thinking about selling. That reason is the fact that the listed house will bring more people into the neighborhood and generate interest in living there.
If you happen to be in an area where multiple offers are the norm, it means there could be a few other buyers who like the neighborhood but “lost out” on the house that was listed. They’ll be glad to see other choices available.
There could also be buyers who came to see the first house and liked the neighborhood, but found that the house wasn’t quite right for them. They’ll be interested in seeing other homes in the same neighborhood.
The “Just listed” letter set includes copy for:
Two “Just listed” letters – one generic and one to personalize with the address and a few attributes of the neighborhood.
Two letters to use when a home goes under contract. One is a simple announcement, the other says “I told you this would happen!”
One “Just sold” card, which reminds the homeowner once again that this sale has left other buyers still interested in the neighborhood.
One follow-up card. This one offers to put the homeowner on your list to receive market reports.
Also included: A brief document you can leave with the homeowner after your listing presentation. This reminds them of what you’ve said in the cards – the first home listed has created interest in the neighborhood, so why not take advantage of it?
You’ll need to make some effort…
These letters are designed to be customized with details such as the address of the new listing and the attributes of the area. You could alter all of them to make generic “one size fits all” letters, and I have included a generic version of the “Just Listed” letter, but I don’t recommend it.
If you are the listing agent, do edit the copy to include that information.
If you are the listing agent, I recommend adding a photo of the new listing.
You can also customize with information about you and your business. For instance, you can mention that you live in the neighborhood, that you’ve already sold X number of homes there, or that you have an X% list to close ratio.
How to create your cards…
While you can use this copy in a letter, postcards or greeting cards are also good choices. In fact, you might want to mix them up. Send a postcard for the first one, then follow up with a greeting card or letter format.
If you want to use postcards or greeting cards, you’ll probably need some kind of publisher program. Then you can either print them yourself, or take a camera-ready PDF to a printer to have copies made. Which method is best probably depends upon how many cards you’ll be sending.
How many cards should you send in each mailing?
As many as you can afford. If you’re on a tight budget, begin by mailing to every other house on the block and across the street. As the cards bring you more business, invest part of your earnings into expanding your reach. One successful agent I know mails these cards to several hundred homeowners in the same subdivision each time she gets a new listing.
If you haven’t been using this tried and true method of reaching new listing clients…
Now is a good time to start. This set of 6 letters plus a “leave behind” is offered at only $39.
Row of mailboxes Image courtesy of anankkml / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Home for sale image courtesy of stuart miles / freedigitalphotos.net
Checkmark success Image courtesy of cooldesign at FreeDigitalPhotos.net