In my last article, I walked you through the second step of my seven steps for building a strong, profitable partnership with top-producing Realtors.
In my last article, I walked you through the second step of my seven steps for building a strong, profitable partnership with top-producing Realtors. More specifically, I showed you how to grab the attention of top-producing Realtors in your area by using a unique, outrageous, 3D mail campaign – otherwise known as a “Shock ‘n’ Awe” campaign. Now that you’ve got their attention, here’s the next step...
STEP 4 – Follow Up By Phone
As a general rule of thumb, you’ll always increase your conversion rates on your direct mail campaigns if you follow up by phone about a week after you send each mail piece. To do this effectively, it’s helpful to have a good script to keep you on track. Here’s an example of what you might say when you start making the follow-up calls:
"Hi, is Ralph there please? Hi Ralph, this is John Smith calling from ABC Mortgage. I just sent you a strange dynamite stick with a letter crammed inside that shared some powerful information on how I can help you explode your sales. Do you have a brief moment? I'm just curious, did you get a chance to scan the letter?" If they say no, you say, "No worries, I'll just give you a quick rundown right now if that's okay." If they say yes, you say, "What do you think of what you've read so far?" And then no matter how they respond, you ask them the basic qualifying question (BQQ).
The formula for the BQQ is: If I could _______ (benefits offered to prospect), would you ____ (take a specific action)? For example, you might ask, “If I could show you how to attract more quality listings and sell them faster for top dollar, would you be open to meeting with me for 30 minutes in the next week or two?” And then you just shut up and let them answer the question.
How they answer that question will determine if they qualify for your time or not, because if they say “no” they're probably not the right fit. However, before you let their “no” disqualify them, say this: “No worries, this may not be for you then, but may I ask you one more question before I let you go?” They'll always say yes. Then you say, "May I ask why you say no? Is there any reason in particular why attracting more quality listings and selling them fast for top dollar is not of interest to you right now?" And then just let them answer.
I guarantee you they won't be saying those benefits are not of interest. Instead what they’ll say is something like, "I'm already working with somebody, I already have a mortgage broker, blah, blah, blah.” That's where you say, "Okay, no worries. I can appreciate that. It wasn’t my intention to step on any toes. In fact, I’m not even asking you to pull away from your existing relationships. All I’m asking is, if I could show you how to take your business to the next level by attracting more quality listings and selling them faster for top dollar, would you be open to meeting with me for 30 minutes sometime in the next week or two?"
As you can see, all you need to do to overcome that all-too-common objection is simply empathize with them, let them know you understand their concern, address the concern and then ask them the BQQ for a second time. If you follow this formula, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how many times you’re able to turn each NO into a YES! And here’s the best part – rather than relying on the whim of the Realtor to throw you a lead every once in a while, this new approach focuses on adding unique value by showing them how to attract listings they wouldn't have attracted otherwise, attract buyer leads for those listings they wouldn't have attracted otherwise, and in doing so, all those new leads are technically yours since you're the one who helped them originate them in the first place.
So, you no longer have to be stopped by that same old objection Realtors give you, that they’re already working with a mortgage professional. Why? Because you’re offering something unique and compelling that no one else is offering. You’re positioning yourself as an irreplaceable, indispensable asset on their team, instead of just another replaceable commodity selling so-called “best rates and best service.” Since most of your competitors are content to follow the herd, it doesn’t take that much to rise above the mediocre majority and STAND OUT from the clutter.
But we’re not done yet. A good follow-up script should always set clear expectations by communicating the main objective of the meeting. To accomplish this, you might say something like, “Just so you know, my primary purpose for this initial meeting is to learn more about your business so we can identify the lowest hanging fruit and the hidden opportunities for breakthrough. Then, provided you’re sufficiently impressed, we can schedule a second meeting where I can give you a detailed custom-tailored proposal on how to take your business to the next level. Fair enough?”
So, as you can see, it's not about giving them a sip with a fire hose – talking about how great you are. It’s all about asking good quality questions, listening, taking notes – and if it makes sense to do so, offering them a prescription to cure their pain.
Now for the next step…
STEP 4: Follow Up By Email
We’ve covered a lot of ground so far, so let’s recap. At this point, you should have compiled a “Top 100” list of award-winning Realtors in your market area, sent them at least one postcard or letter, and followed up by phone a week later to book “discovery” meetings. Since you’re on the phone with the Realtor anyway, you might as well ask for permission to send them weekly marketing tips via email. Almost everyone will say yes. Once you've got their verbal permission, then you can follow-up by email with helpful tips for growing their business – not sales pitches, but tips.
After testing various kinds of email formats, I've found video tips to be more effective than static email content. In other words, the email text is designed to compel the reader to click the link to watch the video. I call this “teaser copy” because it's designed to tantalize, intrigue and pique their curiosity enough to make them want to click the link.
Just in case you were wondering, here are a few sample topics of email tips that will get Realtors’ attention:
- How to Profit from Expired Listings
- How to Get Your Referral Partners to Promote You
- How to Turn FSBOs to a Flood of Buyer Clients
- How to Convert More of Your Listing Presentations into Signed Listing Agreements
OK, there you have it. I’ve just given you four killer content ideas for your video tips that will grab your Realtors’ attention and get them banging down your door, eager to learn more. By the way, just in case you don’t want to do all this stuff from scratch, my company has a Done4U Video Marketing Service that does all the heavy lifting for you, including the creation of your scripts, PowerPoint slides, etc. We’ll even record and edit your videos and upload them onto your video platforms! How much easier can it be?
In my next article, I'll walk you through step five of my seven-step formula for building strong, profitable partnerships with top-producing Realtors. You'll learn the critical ingredients necessary for conducting highly successful Realtor meetings that lay the foundation for long-term, loyal referral partnerships. Stay tuned…
