Last week’s message was about following a few simple rules when reaching out to real estate prospects. This week has to do with the content of your letters.
You know that I believe reaching out to real estate prospects – whether by email or postal mail – is a wise idea. It keeps you top of mind and allows you to gradually gain their trust. That is – as long as your messages say something useful.
If all they are is a brag-fest or a “Hire me” message, they’ll have the opposite effect.
What can you say that’s useful when reaching out to real estate prospects?
You can convey information that they might not have known. For instance, you can send:
- Just listed / under contract / just sold notices
- Market reports
- News about developments in the neighborhood or nearby
- Buyer and seller advice
- Advice related to your niche
Writing to real estate prospects with just listed / under contract / just sold notices allows them to be “in the know” in the neighborhood.
And you know, most people like to be the ones who have “the scoop.” Even if they have no interest in selling, most do like to know what’s going on around them.
If you’re writing to your territory, or a territory you would like to dominate, you can send these cards even when the new listing is not your own. Unless you claim ownership of the listing, you are merely informing the neighbors.
If you don’t want to compose your own messages, use the ones in the set I wrote for you.
Market reports should interest everyone – depending upon how they’re written.
A compilation of dry facts might well be ignored, but if you include a brief narrative that explains those facts, your prospects will enjoy reading them. You might also write a paragraph about how your area compares to the national trends.
Right now, you can (and perhaps should) include messages that urge listing prospects to think about what’s going on in the country – and perhaps list soon.
If you don’t tell them, they may come back in six months wanting to list at March prices or higher – and be upset because you didn’t warn them.
News about local developments is always welcome.
How many times have you driven by a construction site and wondered what was being built? If you have that information, share it when writing to real estate prospects.
You can also share the news if you know what will be going in to a vacant building. As I said before, we all like to be in the know.
Buyer and seller advice is good – especially if it’s not the same old thing.
Are there bits of advice that you always give your clients once you’re working together? Share some of it when writing 
to real estate prospects.
Your advice might relate to negotiations, getting a house ready to go on the market, doing pre-inspections, or perhaps how to make low-cost, high-impact renovations. The topic isn’t as important as the relevance and value of the advice.
Advice related to your niche could help your potential listing clients avoid trouble.
Some niches, such as divorce and probate sales, have greater potential for seller errors with financial consequences. Warn them about the pitfalls ahead of time.
If you don’t enjoy writing…
You’ll find letter sets for both these niches, plus others, plus a variety of staying in touch letters, when you visit my Prospecting Letters Page.
Browse for what you need, and if you can’t find it, let me know. I love writing new sets.
