How many times have you gotten a letter from a real estate agent (or any other marketer) that was addressed to “Dear Homeowner?”
If you get many real estate letters, you’ve probably seen several like that.
Then, to make matters worse, the letter will go on to use phrases such as “people like you” or “all of you who…” or even “you guys who…”
All of those phrases clearly show that the person who wrote doesn’t know you – and wasn’t writing to you specifically. He or she was writing to a crowd.
But there’s no crowd opening your mail. There’s only you, even though you might hand the letter over to someone else in your household.
Marketing tests show that this kind of letter gets a lower response than a letter written to an individual, so why do so many real estate agents keep right on writing them? Probably because they can’t quite wrap their minds around the fact that even though they’re sending 1,000 letters, each of those letters is going to one individual.
The first step in writing a good real estate letter is to know who will receive that letter, and to tailor it to them and their concerns. That means you cannot send the same letter to first time buyers that you’ll send to clients who are selling to move into a retirement home!
Segregate your lists so that you can send the right message to each list. The more you segregate, the better you can become at writing a “you focused” letter that resonates with the individual who reads it.
Put those names into a good contact management system, so that when you’re ready to send a mailing you can click a few buttons and get letters that say “Dear Mr. Simpson” instead of “Dear Homeowner.”
Does it take a little longer? Of course it does. But there’s not much point in doing any marketing at all unless it’s going to have the desired effect. So make the extra effort.
Now, choose the first category of consumers and think about them. Choose one of them that you know the best and think about their concerns and worries. Think about their daily lives and consider their hopes and dreams.
Picture someone in your mind and write your message directly to that one person.
What do they hope to gain by purchasing a home – or selling a home?
And then… How are you going to help bring about a better situation in their lives?
Next, write a letter that shows how you can help them. Let them know that you understand their position. Tell them specific things you will do for them – whether it begins with providing information they need, preparing a market analysis, or conducting a comprehensive search for homes that fit their specific needs.
If you offer special services, such as home staging or keeping a close watch on new construction while they’re out of town, tell them about it.
Think about what you can do for them and forget all about what their home purchase or sale can do for your bank account.
Zig Zieglar said “If you help enough people get what they want, you’ll get everything you want.”
So just focus on getting them what they want. Then your bank account will grow as a natural consequence.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles @freedigitalphotos.net
