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Use
an old prospecting tool with brand new tricks. As specialization increasingly
becomes the demand of the 21st Century empowered consumer, today’s agent has a
great opportunity to offer value added services to homebuyer services.
An old tool used in a new way can generate interested prospects though a
tried-and-true business development tool--Home Buyer Seminars-- with a 21st
Century twist. For
many years, agents and agencies have produced homebuyer seminars with reasonable
results. By incorporating a few of
the newest services and communication tools, this marketing opportunity can
easily translate into real profit. Gone
is the attitude of performing marketing services merely hoping for possible
profits and potential results. Today’s
business model REQUIRES that profit drive productivity, which is why these new
applications make producing and hosting home-buyer seminars such a rich
resource. Like
most successful marketing strategies that really generate a pay off, the new
seminar requires systemization combined with strategic alliances and some savvy
zero-based marketing. Here are a few steps to create great response and insure
that this effort will pay-off. Just
ask Buddy West, of Howard Brinton’s StarPower®.
He has reaped the benefits of implementing this great prospecting and
service tool by quantifying every step easily, and systematically, while
producing a 50% increase in business for under $600 a month. Interested?
Read on… Step
#1 – Research your area.
Study the corporate moves in the area, check out who is expanding, sizing down,
opening new locations. Step
#2 – Build true value-added relationships with your lender and affiliates.
They are pleased to help defray costs as you provide them with real
prospective resources and business opportunities that result in qualified
prospects on a regular basis. Step
#3 – Do your homework.
Set up pre-marketing that works. Offer
value-added services to the attendees, like free credit checks and a special
buyer’s booklet that provides important information about home ownership. Mail
and solicit apartment complexes in your area.
Drive traffic to your website and respond promptly to all inquiries via
an AutoResponder, designed with information about your home buyer seminars and
schedule. Get your local lender to
help get the word out through ads and direct mail. Step
#4 – Plan out your event strategy. Superstar Buddy West
schedules one 2 hour seminar a month. Buddy
speaks for 90 minutes and the affiliates never share the stage. However, they
are introduced and available after the presentation for consultation. Buddy
invites his lender, and an attorney. Consider
having a home inspector on premises as well.
They develop collateral materials to hand out and frequently pay to be
included as resources in your buyer book. Step#5
– Build in value.
The free credit reports are an incentive, as well as giving your buyer
booklet a value. Buddy’s Buyer
Book is offered in limited quantities for the first 25 attendees to sign up. Put
a dollar figure on the value of the book so the prospects know its value.
Buddy’s book retails for $149.00 and offered as a sign up premium to the early
sign-up group of attendees. Step
#6 -Monitor your costs.
Have the lender pick up the costs of the hotel or meeting room.
Provide some refreshments, compliments of the other vendors. You, as the agent, provide the database to which the program
is marketed. Step
# 7 –Assign each of your vendors their homework. Each vendor involved with the program must have
approved collateral to disseminate to the attendees. This information is
co-branded with you, the agent, to ensure the loyalty and relationship is
branded to your “team”. Step
#8 – Each vendor should be aware of their role at the program. Buddy is the only presenter
at his successful seminars. The vendors are available at the back of the room.
The attorney is available to answer legal questions and to hand out
business cards, including other information like HUD statements and bio’s on
the firm and its services. The mortgage broker should be prepared with packets
of information as well. Their collateral might include information for first time
homebuyer financing, information on Fannie Mae, FHA and VA loans, an
amortization schedule, and information on their spectrum of mortgages available. Step
#9 - Have a program handout. Let the attendee know how
the program will be presented. The agent is the only speaker, with the ancillary
services introduced at the end of the initial presentation. The other services
are free to offer their expertise on a one-to-one basis.
Promote your next seminar and ask the present attendees to pass on the
invite to their friends or family Pre-sell
future seminars with dates and times. Offer
incentives to referrals from the present attendees as they tell their friends
about future seminars. Step
#10 - All attendees must sign in. Develop a follow-up
program to build an ongoing relationship for those past attendees.
These names are immediately entered into a database system, for several
scheduled follow-ups. The first follow-up is a “thank you” for attending the
seminar. The other 2 letters and subsequent 2 phone calls determine the level of
motivation of the attendee. Buddy and his team don’t take out the prospect
until after they have met with the lender for buyer qualification.
This translates to a qualified prospect before the investment of team
time, money and energy. Remember,
if your efforts don’t produce PROFIT first, then productivity you need to
revisit the time, effort and money for the payoff. PROFIT is the focus of our
business in 2002 and implementing a system that has worked for other superstars
might be your answer! |
