I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend.
During the holidays it seems that the real estate business always slows. Besides, who really plans to spend their Thanksgiving going through open houses, and their Christmas/New Year's moving to a new place? Plus, if your climate is anything like the
weather in Canton, Ohio, the thought of moving in the dead of winter seems a little unappetizing.
If you're in the real estate industry, that's the bad news.
The good news is there is no better time to prospect.
For many people, New Years resolutions go beyond the often unfulfilled self promises to eat healthier and work out more often. They often include life accomplishments, such as buying their first home, buying a larger home, buying a home better suited for their family or financial situation, buying an investment property, buying a second home, or more.
Some people may go as far as hiring a physical trainer to help them accomplish their health goals. Why not hire a real estate agent to help them accomplish their investment goals? The best part is, if you don't use the physical trainer, you've blown a lot of money. If you don't end up using the real estate agent, you've lost nothing.
If you're a real estate agent, you probably already seek to find, with every new person you meet, when they might be looking to sell or purchase their next house. But this time of year gives you a better reason than ever to make the approach. An introduction can be as simple as:
"I'm Sean Cutright with Delta Media Group Real Estate Company. I'm working with several families right now to help them plan their real estate purchase/home sale in 2009. Do you think you might be looking to buy or sell in the next year?"Once that person has become a contact, put them in your
contact management system and start marketing to them. If they're searching for homes now, set them up with a
My Home Finder account to receive automatic E-mail updates from you of new listings matching their property search specifications. If they're not ready to look until a set period of time, enter them in an interval-based drip marketing system to receive automatic E-mails from you offering tips on buying their first home, getting approved for a loan, etc. Send eCards of open houses, new listings and more. Take advantage of the E-marketing tools you have available.
If you're not using a real estate Web system like this, you may be losing some valuable name-awareness potential with prospects. But Delta Media Group can help.
For more information, contact me at scutright@deltagroup.com, or visit
www.deltagroup.com.
Sean CutrightDelta Media Group