Who should receive a thank you card?

Once you get into the habit of regularly sending out thank you cards you will find that it takes very little of your time but will produce results that are immeasurable.  You should consider sending thank you cards and notes to:

• Homeowners immediately after a listing appointment
• Buyers who visited your open house
• Buyers who called or who you met during floor opportunity
• Sellers immediately after listing their home
• Agents who showed one of your listings
• The title agent who closed your last transaction
• The mortgage rep who pre-qualified your buyer
• The inspection company that inspected your listing or inspected a home for your buyer
• The home builder who met with your client
• The family member or friend who sent you a referral
• The lender’s short sale negotiator after receiving lender approval

This is a sample of those who help us during our business who would appreciate that we took the time and effort to formally thank them by sending them a handwritten note or card to their home or business.  The card and message can be simple and short.  Here are a few examples of what your thank you card might include:

 Homeowners after a listing appointment

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to visit with you.  I appreciate the opportunity to discuss with you the home selling process.  I am happy to answer any additional questions you may have about the process and look forward to assisting you in the near future.

Buyers who visited your open house

Thank you for visiting the open house I held at 111 Main St. last Sunday.  I enjoyed meeting you and your family.  Please feel free to call me if you have questions about the home or about the home buying process in general.

Agents who showed one of your listings

Thank you for bringing one of your buyers to view my listing at 111 Main St.  I am always excited when I see top agents in the area visiting my listings!  Let me know if your buyer has any questions or concerns about the home that I can help answer.

Start sending cards today

If you have not been sending out thank you notes I would encourage you to start doing so immediately.  You will find that the person receiving the note will appreciate it plus it is a simple and effective way to add to your marketing and prospecting efforts.

Buyers

If you are not working with enough buyers then you should plan on holding several open houses over the next few months. Pick homes that are on busy streets or sought after communities. Agents who have success with open houses walk the neighborhood prior to the open house and personally invite the neighbors to attend.

During the open house successful agents do not act as wallflowers instead they warmly greet each person who walks through the door, engaging them in conversation about the home, or the neighborhood or the real estate market in general. If you are listening you should be able to quickly determine the reason your guest is there and what steps you will need to take to build an agent-customer relationship that will result in future business.

Continue to put yourself in the path of buyers and your business will increase.

Sellers

Having a large, well-managed listing inventory has always translated into success. Expired listings continue to be a leading source of listings.

Listings of your competition that have expired may have never been provided any more information about the current market except that it has “slowed down.” The sellers who really want to sell will appreciate you being truthful. With the competition so fierce, homes need to be priced competitively in order to sale. The best valued home at the best price and in the best condition will result in offers and a sale.

These are just 2 of the steps that an agent who wants to increase their business should take. These steps work for those agents who work them continually.

You are closing business.

Yes I understand that you are communicating with vast amounts of people, building relationships and adding to your center of influence, but the real test, the proof will show up in your bank account.

If you are spending the time and energy online for business, good business dictates that you be paid for your efforts. Have you listed a property, sold a house, or received a referral from an online source? Congratulations! Your efforts are paying off. Or do you spend many hours a day online with nothing to show but a lot of new friends? It’s time to seriously reevaluate your online business plan.

At the end of the day your online success is not measured by the amount of people you know, or the number of people you follow or the number of people who visit your website or blog. From a business standpoint your success is measured by the dollars earned.

In order to change your results you will need to change your approach. You should consider:

· Spending less time engaging other real estate agents and more time finding people in your area to get to know by listening, commenting and discussing topics that are important to them.
· Changing your message. Are you spending the majority of your time discussing with others ways to build a better mousetrap? The buying or selling real estate customer are more concerned with local area information, home prices, and available inventory than they are about fixing NAR.
· Asking for business. I know, you were told social networking is like a cocktail party and you would never walk up to someone and hound them about business. Instead of a cocktail party, you may want to think of your social marketing efforts as attending a chamber of commerce or business networking lunch. You can still enjoy good light-hearted conversation but when the time is right, you should never be afraid of telling people who you are and what you do.

If the Internet and social marketing are one of the tools you are using to generate business, then it better being doing just that.