Need advice marketing myself as a Realtor(r)...what would prod or encourage a response from YOU to employ me?

Question

Hello!! I was licensed in one state, moved & had to become licensed here. I've been in "the business" since mid-March. I send out 25 weekly Open House invitations to other agent's houses (I have none yet so I hold other's listings OPEN), I have business cards & a website my company provides, plus I'm building my own site as we speak. I'm very creative with Desktop Publishing & have lots of ideas, but limited cash to spend. WHAT ADVERTISING or marketing would YOU respond to if you needed services or info from a Real Estate Agent?
Postcard in the mail?
Offer of a free service?
Seeing my pretty picture? (lol, it is kinda cute, though)
Seeing my logo on the back of my jacket at the movies?
Glossy ad in a local magazine or a personal newspaper ad?
Goody bag handed to you at your doorstep from me?
What? Please list the idea YOU would buy into.
Please help. I've got to make some money to have something to show for all my hard work & knowledge. Thanks!

Answer 1

I don't uderstand why real estate and loan officers are not sent to some sort of marketing school.

My advise to you is find out if your office assign areas to work in your office if not locate an area near your real estate office or as close as you can get. The area you are seeking should have a minimum of 5000 homes. Get your title officer to give you a farm package for that area. Staples can run you off about 5000 flyers for approximately $275 or somewhere in that area. If you can afford color flyers with a pic of yourself great.

On the flyer introduce yourself as the new real estate agent for the area and that you are there to assist in any real estate matters. You should also have a little bio about yourself. You can walk this area and put out the flyers yourself or hire some local kids to put out the flyers. Pass these flyers out at least 3 months in a row. Do not place these flyers in any mail boxes, use a rubber band to attach them to the door knobs.

Now that you have established yourself as the real estate agent for this area, your 4th or 5th correspondence should be a newsletter about your services. Your professional team might also want to add a column in this newsletter explaining their services. You should also seek from the post office a bulk mailing stamp.

To help pay for this newsletter remember those business owners that allowed you to put a flyer in there business. See if they want to advertise in your newsletter a business size ad 1/3 page ad or whatever. You might also want to get an attorney or tax preparer to run a paid column each month even a dentist of doctor explaining things about their proffession and how to prevent illiness of tooth decay or whatever.

Now find the local business in the same area, place these same flyers in the business that will allow you, make sure you leave a card with all the business people you speak with. You will be able to find holders for your flyers at staples or Office Depot. You should visit these business owners at least twice a month to change your literture and just to make sure your holder is neat and in order and still full.

Once your flyers have been placed you should start assembling yourself a team of professionals that can help you in your business. You are not limited to these but you need an attorney, a loan officer (Not one that work in your office if your office do loans as well as real estate-but an independent, there are things you will be doing with this person that perhaps you can not do with one that is in your office), a title officer, a tax preparer or CPA, an escrow or closing officer (escrow officer) a home insurance agent, a notary and anyone else you think you need to assist you in your professional career. Now you should give them some of your business cards and you take some of their business cards. You should pass out their business cards to people that you run into that need their services. They should be willing to pass out your business cards to people they meet that might need your services. You should call or meet these individuals at least once per week.

This is not a quick way to get a listing but a way for you to establish yourself as an expert in real estate in your area. The listings will come as time goes on. Sell yourself.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

Answer 2

First off - the fact you can come here and tell people and self-reflect makes you a strong and very admirabed individual. I am sorry to hear of the problems you have had - again the fact you have got through them and are here to tell the tale makes you a great person. The one thing I can't accept is that it is 'too late'. People can get help at any stage of their lives - it is never too late. Your dreams are great and there is no reasons why you cant still be a model and all the other things. However, do you have other dreams, like children, getting married, getting a high powered job. None of these are really time dependent. Life seems so short for you, but you likely have 60/70 years left on this earth and can achieve so much. Listening to you, and the strength you show - I am sure you will get where you want to be. The therapy will help and please see it through. Dont also forget the crisis centres which have people within them who will understand who you are and how you feel. Good luck and god bless you.

Answer 3

im sort of in the same situation. but recently from reading all these questions that others ask and answer i have learned alot. as from this point i believe you should get out and visit those who are selling their homes buy owner in your area. some may have been on the market a while and looking to get help. also i know you said mail ;outs were in personal . but get your farm list, from the title company or on the har.com website if your a member and mail to those in your immediate area. type a perosonal letter saying dear neighbor and when you address it send to the owner name shown.

Answer 4

knowing that you had done your homework when giving a listing presentation;

sales comps, price per square foot comps, services included in the cost of your commission; how much work will you put into advertising my home for sale; what services you will use to make sure that my home is prominently listed for sale, basically getting the feeling that you will put forth 110% effort in getting my home sold.

Answer 5

Seeing you in person and knowing that you sincerely want to work for me.. I think that would be your best bet. Just my opinion. Ads and mail just seem too impersonal..

Answer 6

YES FOR ONLY $1,500.00 YOU TOO CAN SELL REAL ESTATE! This is the great lie all realtors are told! Yes, for $1,500.00 you can take classes (at least that’s the cost in Birmingham, Alabama) to learn everything you need to get your license, but not much on what it really takes to sell homes.

Most experienced agent do not want to bother with newer agents. When I first started, over a year ago, I was with a different company (Birmingham’s largest real estate company at the time) and I remember asking some of the older agents for help. While a few would help, for the most part, I was told, you just got your license, you should know what you’re doing. Now I’m with Keller Williams Realty, North America’s fastest growing realty company, and since it is the only realty company with profit sharing, every agent in the office has a financial gain in how well that office does, so everyone is more then willing to help out, but more on Keller Williams later.

First we will talk about what it takes to be a realtor, then we will talk cost – for if you do not have what it takes, you will be throwing money away, no matter what the cost is. If you have what it takes, it is well worth the cost!!!

You should be out-going, not afraid to talk with strangers you meet in the mall, stores, etc. You can’t get all bummed out with rejections, trust me, you will get allot of rejections in this line of business. You also need to be a good teacher as well as a good listener. And most of all, if you can remain calm when the world around you is going to pieces, you will make a good realtor.

If you read some of the questions and answers from Yahoo, you will see EVERYTHING is the realtor’s fault, and allot of times, this is true, not because realtors are bad people or trying to pull something (although some do). It is because the realtor did not take the time to explain to the Buyer/Seller how it all works, then if something goes wrong the client has no clue and feel they have been cheated.

Also, before I forget, EVERY realtor, works for a Broker, that is just how it works, but you will learn that in realty school. In Alabama you can not be a Broker until you been an agent for at least two years

COST

My first year I invested a total of $5,000.00 (Spread out over the year) over and above the cost of my classes and I only pulled in $3,000.00. For a total net income of minus $2,000.00 plus or minus a few hundred. This year, so far, I spent $2000.00 and made, to date $30,000.00. Next year I plan on doing even better!

As you can see, it cost money, but the rewards, well, they speak for them self!

Most real estate companies have what is called OT time (Opportunity Time). The way this works is, you are the agent of the day. You sit in the office and answer the phone. You mostly end up setting up showings for other agents listings, but if a call comes in with someone looking to sell or buy a home, you get that lead, remember, it is only a lead, it is up to you to turn in into a sale or listing. This is only an OK way to get clients. The BEST way is through marketing yourself. That is mainly where the bulk of my budget goes, to marketing myself.

If you remember earlier, I said each Keller Williams agent has a stake in how well the office does, I think, most Keller Williams agents are helping other people not just because of the profit sharing, but because this is just the type of people Keller Williams attracts! Keller Williams culture and belief is

WI4C2TS
W – Win-Win – or no deal ( make it a winning deal for everyone)
I – Integrity – Do the right thing
C – Commitment – In all things
C – Communication – Seek first to understand
C – Creativity – Ideas before results
C – Customers – Always come first (This one I truly believe in)
T – Team Work – Together Everyone Achieves More (another one I truly believe in)
T – Trust Starts with Honesty
S – Success – Results through people

Keller Williams has some GREAT in house training on how to get listings and market yourself, just to name two of its many classes. Best of all, if offers passive income through profit sharing!

Real estate is not for everyone, but it is a good business to be in, and yes, it is not a job, nor truly a career, it is a business you need to work and grow. True, you work for a broker, but you work as an independent. Most Brokers could care less if your selling or not, you pay a fee just to be in the office on top of your commission splits, so the brokers are not loosing any money on you. The most common split is 60/40 – you keep 60 and the broker gets 40. Some companies will let you keep 95 to 100%, but the monthly fee is like $1000.00. Each office is different. Keller Williams offers 70/30 splits for new agents, (Monthly fee, called a desk fee is $30.00- once again each office is different) then after you paid a set dollar amount for the year ($19,500.00 for my office) then you get to keep 100% for the rest of your anniversary year. You can, however start off at a 90/10 split, BUT then you must guarantee to pay that set amount. So for me, If I took the 90/10 split and only earned enough to have paid $17,500.00 in commissions to my office, at the end of my anniversary year, I would have to write a check to Keller Williams for $2,000.00. It is for this reason a 90/10 split is not recommended for newer agents, in fact, some Keller Williams brokers will not let new agents get the 90/10 split for that very reason.


Interview with Keller Williams Realty
The only real estate company that offers profit sharing
GREAT company to work for, GREAT training on how to market yourself, in any market.

If you would like more info on a career with Keller Williams Realty, go to my web page http://www.pauld-kw.com and on the top you will see "Sell a Property" Click on that, then click on "A career with Keller Williams" I think you will be very impressed. You can also e-mail or call me and I will be more then happy to talk to you about Keller Williams or send you some more information. [e-mail]

Also, if you wish, I can have someone from your local Keller Williams office contact you.

BEST of luck with your new career!