What’s the primary idea that pops in your head when somebody talks to you about a referral letter marketing idea for Realtors? You probably figure I’m talking about getting testimonials from your past clients to use in your marketing, correct?
That can also be an impressive marketing method for Realtors. However, I’m talking about getting a never-ending stream of client referrals from professionals like CPA’s, mortgage brokers, financial planners, attorneys and contractors. And the only thing you’ll need to do is pen a nice little letter, written by the greatest real estate agent (you!).
What referral letter marketing really boils down to for Realtors is this: find a list of professionals with clients likely to purchase or sell a house. Then you need to create a personalized letter about yourself and mail it, by regular mail, to your list of professionals.
Be sure you get distinctive and use an envelope that stands out from every other white, stock envelope in the mail. If doable, telephone each professional that receives your letter, as a follow up task.
You’d be surprised how many successful Realtors use this marketing idea for their entire careers, almost eliminating marketing expenses to produce clients. There’s nothing wrong with following the leader.
The initial step in this process is making a list of these well-thought-of professionals that you want to build relationships with…
- CPA’s
- Lenders (obvious, right?)
- Financial Advisors
- Lawyers
- Building Contractors
- Interior Designers
- Real Estate Appraisers
- Title Reps
- Electrician Contractors
- Residential Plumbers
- Landscaping Companies
- Roofers (residential)
- Tree Cutting Professionals
- Handyman Contractors
- Makes sense?
Several other professionals could be added but that will have you off and running.
Are you wondering how to get the data for these professionals so you can send them your letter? No worries, it’s simple. You’ve got a duo of options but they depend on your marketing budget.
One option is to lookup the yellow pages on-line. I’m sure you already have a specific area you work in, as a Realtor, so it’ll be best to adhere to that. The time consuming part about this choice is the manual labor.
You have to run through each individual listed and find their name, phone number and mailing address. Like I said, this might demand a bit of time but it’s at no cost.
Another alternative for building this marketing list of professionals is to easily purchase a list. In the same way you’re probably on one or more Realtor or agent lists being sold out there, just about every profession has their own list for sale also.
This isn’t some kind of “black market” or illegal list, don’t worry. If professionals, such as us Realtors and agents, sign up for random publications and associations, these lists are compiled and made available for sale to anybody.
Well, now you know where all that junk mail and spam comes from.
When it comes to buying this list of professionals, you have a cluster of list companies to select from. Whichever list company you choose, ideally, they should provide you with each profession you’ll need for your list, rather than going to a separate company for each profession. I tell you, it’ll cost you a few dollars for this list but it’s going to save you hours of valued time!
However you choose to get your list of professionals, once you have it, it’s time to begin penning your “personalized” letter. I can’t detail how to jot down sales copy here, sadly. Learning to pen sales copy is a long topic by itself.
Simply understand for now that you don’t want your referral letter to be a “sales letter”.
When one of these professionals gets this referral marketing letter, they ought to feel like they’re the sole one who got it, even though you might copy most of it and mail it to other professionals.
The point is that you ought to jot down this referral marketing letter as if you were talking to them face-to-face. I’d advise that you don’t make use of the boring, “professional” language style that you read in the letters you receive from your bank. Catch the reader’s interest, write to them like a genuine human being and not like an institution.
By the way, this “personalization” goes for just about all your marketing pieces: postcards, flyers, ads, emails, etc.
What the heart of this letter needs to tell them is that you wish to refer business back and forth, not just take and take and take from them. You would like to be their “go to” Realtor or agent for the remainder of their career. Emphasize how they’ll benefit without trying to “sell” them on it, you know?
You possibly could happen to know something about the company one of these professionals work for so feel free to drop that in your letter to make it more personal. If you know of a client who’s worked with them, drop that in there too. Unless you babble about their momma, for some reason, it’s almost impossible for you to get excessively personal in your letter.
My suggestion would be to definitely create this referral marketing letter in your own words. Nevertheless, if there’s no chance you’ll even contemplate about writing your own referral letter, then go ahead and hire a free-lance copywriter to take care of it for you.
Doing a search on Google will pull up some choices of freelance writers and companies for you to pick from. On some of them you can sift through freelance writers from all throughout the country and world. You can check reviews on most of the writers, find their hourly rates, forward them “interview” questions, etc. You can even place the job you’re looking to fill and get writers to come to you. It’s really pretty convenient.
Ok, so now that you have your marketing list and referral letter written, it’s time to send it out. Only please, no matter what you do, do not send your letter in an ordinary, simple envelope similar to every other “schmo” does that sends mail to these professionals… Please.
Get another unique mailing package or envelope with some color or size to it. You need that letter to stand out from all the other mail this gentleman or gal is getting that day. Also, a perfect way to personalize your letter and get it opened, is to have the mailing and return addresses hand-scripted.
Ponder about how you prioritize your mail. Hand-written addresses go to the top of the stack, every time.
The next thing you need to do is enclose a special marketing piece, apart from your referral letter. A fun marketing piece to include can be a video you produce with Animoto and copy onto a DVD (easier than it sounds).
A buddy of mine used poker chips as his marketing thing when he sent out a mailing for his life insurance business. His subject was “Don’t gamble with your life”.
Isn’t that brilliant? If you desire to be a top producing Realtor like the “big boys”, that’s the kind of thought you want to come up with, or at least be aware of where to get them!
Getting back to this referral letter, I’d advise that you aim them not only to your telephone number but also your website or blog. Be certain you provide them both choices. A number of Individuals would rather call you and others would preferably look over your site first.
This final step is probably the most significant. The number one rule in marketing is “repetition”. Stats from the marketing industry establish that a potential client needs to be exposed to your message at least 7 times, on average, before they are comfy enough to answer back.
So the clear “take-away” is that you have to continue to market to these professionals on your list, more than once. I’d say shoot for once per month, either by phone or another letter, after you do the initial follow up telephone call after your 1st mailing. If you have it, using a professional’s email address would be a good follow up also.
You just need to be extra careful not to smother them with follow-ups. You don’t want to let them forget who you are but you also don’t need to be calling or mailing them every other day.
A small time saving tip: if there’s money in your marketing budget, try hiring a college student or high school teenager to stuff your mailers for you. pen the letters yourself but have your hired-assistant stuff the envelopes with your letters and marketing pieces.
It’s inexpensive labor, just like US companies do when they hire overseas workers for their customer servicing call centers (did I just drop in a cheap shot?).
Bottom line, I just think this is one of the most outstanding marketing ideas for Realtors or agents out there. Eventually, this marketing method can give you a free flow of leads and prospects that can build you into a top producing Realtor or agent, as long as you stick with it and construct these referral relationships right.
Focus on serving them as much as you want them to serve you and the money will flow in!
