Real Estate Marketing Blogger

One of the areas you’ve selected to farm is a large apartment complex. This just has to be a great place to farm. After all, isn’t it just crawling with people looking to buy a home? The answer is an unequivocal - probably.

There are a couple types of people who rent. Some people seem to rent for the long term and never become buyers. Many, however, are either currently looking for a house, saving up for their down payment, or, at least, planning to buy at some point in the future.

Your job is to make yourself known to these potential buyers and, more importantly, to get them to contact you. When farming these areas, your primary contact with the people who live there will almost certainly be through the written word. Speaking of which, this might be a good time to talk a little about what to keep in mind when writing these marketing materials.

The first thing you want to do when writing anything to potential clients is to decide exactly what you are trying to accomplish with the letter, flyer, whatever. Almost everything you write should have the goal of getting the reader to call you. Don’t make the mistake that you are trying to sell them a house. No one buys a house from an advertisement and you would be doing him or her a disservice to even try.

Whenever you begin to write to anyone, start with a single sentence describing the purpose of what you will write. Keep it right there with you while you work and don’t lose sight of it as you go. Look carefully at everything you put down to make sure it is really working towards the goal you’re trying to accomplish.

Almost every sales letter consists of the same three elements:

The Introduction – Begin with a major attention getting benefit. You only have a couple seconds to get your readers interest before your letter gets thrown in the trash. A good way to start is often with a question. “Have you thought about how easy it may be for you to buy a house right now?” “Wouldn’t you like to get out of that apartment and into a home of your own?”

The Body – This part should continue to list other benefits for the potential buyers. You could talk here about tax advantages, building equity, or anything else you deem appropriate.

The Call For Action – Here you need to ask the reader to do something and you want to be specific. “Give me a call today to discuss how I can help you become a home owner.” “Pick up the phone right now and call me at 555-555-5555.”

Remember, potential clients don’t care about those letters after your name or that you are “Number One” in the office, city, state, or country. They don’t care that you’ve sold millions of dollars of real estate. The only thing they do care about is what you can do for them.

Don’t get the wrong idea, it is important to let your potential clients know what you have done and how many years you’ve been at it. The only reason for this, however, is to show them they will be well represented by an accomplished professional that can and will look after their interests. Just don’t let your resume be your whole message.

Filter everything you write through the eyes of the persons who will be reading it. Tell them what you will do for them. Be as specific as you can. Tell them that you will take the time to listen to them. This is one of the biggest complaints people have with their agent. Tell them you will understand their wants and desires and you will work with them to accomplish the common goal of finding their new home. You will use your training and knowledge on their behalf and they will benefit from the partnership you will form.

Another area you will need to concentrate on if you intend to work with renters is financing options and, oftentimes, more modest homes. Many of the people you will be working with will be young and just starting out. There will be many new families or singles buying their first home. They will not have had the time to build up a strong credit rating, a large down payment, or both. Also, many young people may have already made a mess of their credit history with the ease of getting credit cards and will need the services of a good mortgage broker who can advise them what they will need to do in order to secure financing.

You may be telling yourself that I sound like I’m trying to talk you out of working with these young people. In fact, it’s just the opposite. I think these potential clients may need your services the most. And don’t forget, if you are the agent responsible for getting them into their first home you will probably be the same person that puts them (and their friends) into their future homes.

Whenever you start marketing to a new farm you will first want to plan out what material you will send and how often you will send it. Remember to go in knowing it will take time before you see real results. If you expect to see clients pouring in after a month or two you will almost certainly be disappointed. But, if instead, you write out a sound and realistic strategy to begin with and follow it, you will see results.

Now, I don’t know about every area of the country but it has been my experience that very few agents consistently farm apartment complexes. A few agents may send a letter or postcard a couple times a year but that’s about it. When they get no response, they tell themselves it was a waste of time and money and that ends it.

One plan that an agent might consider is to have a selection of letters and postcards and then alternately send one of each every month. If the complex you’ve decided to focus on permits, and also affords you access, you might want to hand deliver one or maybe both of these. Walking the area will allow you to meet many of the people you are trying to reach.

The letters and postcards you use can show available homes in the proper price range, talk about some of the advantages of buying versus renting, or point out other benefits of home ownership. If the laws in your state allow, you can give sample monthly mortgage payments for various loan amounts at current interest rates. Even though you need to be careful with this type of information, it can be one of the most effective ways to show someone they can afford a home.

Another common strategy is to counter anticipated objections or concerns the potential buyer might have, thus eliminating all the reasons they “can’t” buy. For example, many renters think they don’t currently pay property tax since they don’t own the property. Perhaps they just don’t think about the fact that the owners of the apartment they are renting, who do pay tax, pass this cost on in the form of higher rent. Try to think of any objections a person that is renting might have for not wanting to buy and look for ways to satisfy them.

Condominiums may be the answer for some of these renters since they offer some of the advantages to apartment living (no yard work for one), and many of the same advantages of traditional home ownership (interest deduction, equity buildup, etc.). I have never seen a market that didn’t have a number of reasonably priced condos.

he list of problems with renting an apartment goes on and on. Here are just a few. Noisy neighbors that sound like they’re coming through the wall, no washer and dryer or a common set at the end of the hall, first come first serve or unsafe, uncovered parking, the inability to make changes like paint or carpet colors, dogs barking, music blaring, and the 19 year olds that just moved in across the hall. Many of these and more will be familiar to just about anyone that rents an apartment anywhere in the country. Convincing them they don’t want to rent isn’t usually a problem, showing them how they can buy doesn’t have to be either.

As I write this in June of 2007, interest rates are still low and most of the country is experiencing a record number of unsold homes on the market bringing home ownership within reach for many renters for the first time. There are challenges to overcome but renters in apartment complexes can be great sources from which to find potential buyers in need of your services.

One of the best types of farms you might choose to work is one where you can walk from house to house.  This will allow you to hand deliver your flyers or door hangers directly which not only saves you the money you would spend on postage, it more importantly gets you out in front of the people you are trying to get to know. When you first go about deciding the areas you will farm, pay special attention to the areas you can walk.  These may turn out to be the most fruitful of all.

One of the many advantages of working this type of farm includes getting to know the area from a street level perspective.  There is simply no other way to get this information. Driving through the neighborhood will never give you the same feel for the area that you will get from walking.

Another advantage to working this type of farm is that you are almost certain to meet some of the owners each time you walk it. If you vary the times you walk you can be sure to meet different persons each time.  Walking the morning hours during the week will allow you to meet many stay at home mothers (or fathers) out with their children. This is also a good time to get to know the retirees out working their yards.

Changing your walk time from the morning to the late afternoon and early evening can completely change the people you meet and even give you another way to look at the area. Just imagine the impact you could have on a prospective buyer when describing how the neighborhood looks at the end of the day with the sun going down and the lights coming on and the stars coming out. Sure, its pretty much the same scene everywhere but you are setting a mood that rings true because you’re talking about something you’ve personally seen.

The best time to walk your farm might be on the weekend since this is the time when most people are working in and around their house. They are not as rushed and may be more receptive to allowing you to take a few minutes to introduce yourself.

Try to vary the times and days you walk your farm. In this way you can expose yourself to the greatest number of people. Everyone seems to on a different schedule and if you really want to get the most out of your farm, remember, this might be the best way to do so.

 Direct mail can and does get your name out there but will never really replace the basic human need that we have to see and meet someone face to face. Think about the people you remember from your own life. Can you really recall the names you get bombarded with in sales letters or advertisements? Or, do you remember the people that you have met in person and done business with? That’s the difference, names vs. people.  Make sure you are one of the latter and not the former.

Walking your farm is also an easy way to introduce yourself to any FSBO’s that you may run into. Be prepared for these encounters since it will probably be your only chance to actually “happen upon” the seller.  You should have already done your homework and looked up comparables for their property, as well as knowing what all of the other homes in the area are listed for. Having a ready plan for how you would market their property can go a long way in convincing the seller to give you the chance to help them.  And remember, even if they are dead set against listing with a broker, they probably still have questions about the process that you could help with. This just might be the way to convince them to list if they see you as willing to help even when you aren’t getting paid.  And, at the very least, you might find yourself getting a call from a friend of theirs after they recommend you.

If your farm consists of apartment buildings where you are trying to convert renters into buyers, you will probably run into fewer people to talk with unless, of course, your locale lends itself to a lot of outdoor activities like barbecues, playgrounds, or sporting areas.  In general though, these areas are harder to get to know the people who live there than in neighborhoods of single-family homes.  Remember though, the tradeoff of not meeting as many residents might just be worth it. Depending on the particular area, many of these renters can be converted into buyers.  You can help many of these people realize their dream of owning their own home but in order for you to be the one to help them they have to know who you are. Take the opportunity to invite everyone you meet to an open house that you’ll hold in the near future.  Talk about where the house is and why they might be interested. Remember to sell the benefits, not the product.

Each time you walk your farm make sure you are prepared to meet the people in it. This may sound obvious, but many agents aren’t really prepared. Do you have business cards in your pocket?  Do you know all the recent sales in your farm and the surrounding areas? Do you know the ages and specific builders of the houses? You may not think this last item is very important but I guarantee you will run into more than one someone that will bring it up. Are you ready to talk about how you can help with any real estate question? Give some thought to the questions you will be asked and the answers you might give.

Another thing to remember when walking your farm is that you must not put any of your handouts in U.S. Mail boxes. By law, these are only to be used for U.S. Mail. The easiest solution for what to do with them is to use thin plastic bags designed specifically for this purpose. They have a circular hole cut in the top that should be hung on a doorknob. Two obvious problems with using these bags are they are not very environmentally friendly and homeowners may even become upset because of it. Another option is to use a heavy card stock for your handouts (a good idea anyway) and insert them in between the door and the jamb. The last thing you want to do is to have people think you are littering their neighborhood with garbage.

Something that you will want to have at the ready as soon as you get done walking is a log to make notes in each time you walk your farm.  Some of things you will want to write down are the names of everyone you meet along the way. Make a few notes about what you spoke about and whether or not they might be interested in making a move sometime in the future. Write down spouse and children’s names if you were told them. It will probably be remembered that you were told them and you’re image will certainly improve if you can recall them the next time you run into their owners. In general, write down any information you learn about the people and the homes in your area. Eventually you will want a database of every home in your farm and all of this information that you are collecting will go in it.

Selecting and working the right farm will not only jumpstart your career but, if worked properly, will pay you dividends throughout your career.  While there are many criteria to think about when deciding on what area to farm, it is important to think about how you will go about getting your name out there. Walking is certainly on of the best ways to do this. And don’t forget a final benefit, think about all the exercise you will be getting but couldn’t seem to find the time for.

If you need any more convincing that walking your farm is very important to your success in becoming the top agent in that area, consider this. Deciding to buy or sell a home is usually an emotional time for most people and they will naturally feel more comfortable working with someone they believe will look after their interests every step of the way. They need to know you will be there to handle anything that comes up and that you will really put their needs first. Isn’t it easier for them to think about you this way after seeing you week in and week out walking their neighborhood?