Tech Savvy Team's Highest ROI is with Print Marketing: Here's Why

We talk a lot about how real estate agents and brokers are finding phenomenal (and affordable!) success with Facebook Ads.

Today, however, we're going to turn the tables and introduce you to a husband and wife team who decided to spend less on Facebook advertising and more on old-fashioned print marketing. Why? Find out more below--and discover the 3-piece mailer that drives seller leads to them.

Using Tech for Offline Marketing

When you hear of an agent forgoing cheap, digital ads in favor of expensive print mailers, "tech savvy" may not exactly be a personal trait you associate with them. But Dustin and Devon Fox of Pearson Smith Realty rely on a technology platform called Listings-to-Leads to create their marketing collateral, as well as their area's public records/tax system to identify mailing recipients.

For each of their listings, the Foxes send out two mailers. One invites neighbors to the first open house, and the second—a "just sold" piece—details their strategy for getting sellers top price.

So how do the mailers perform?

"In the last four months, we've listed six properties directly from this and have four more coming soon," says Dustin. "The average sale price is $695k, and the average commission is $17,375. For each listing, our total spend is $625 between two mailings."

To help us better understand why the ROI on their mailers is so high, Dustin shared the three pieces that their first mailer consists of:

1. Open House Invitation Letter for Nearby Homeowners

The centerpiece of the Foxes' first mailer is the letter below that invites homeowners near their new listing to the initial open house. More importantly, the letter plays to homeowners' self-interest by stating that the sale of this home will affect the value of those around it--and invites the reader to contact the Foxes for more information.

"It's offered the highest ROI for our recent business," says Dustin.

The letter (here's a live example) is one of several tools and marketing templates offered by Listings-to-Leads. It's customizable, and the Foxes edit the flyer to make it specific to the neighborhood they're sending it to.

2. Client Testimonials

What's the secret to gaining legitimacy and trust in the eyes of prospects? Client testimonials!

In every mailer, the Foxes include a sheet of testimonials from past clients. Devon puts this sheet together using the online design tool Canva. Each testimonial includes the phone number of the client so that prospects can call with questions.

"This super-charges your reviews and gives them immediate credibility," says Dustin. "We ask each sale if they mind getting a call if we ever need a reference. We’ve only had a couple actually get called."

3. Calendar Magnet

For the final mailer component, the Foxes include a calendar magnet. "Our magnet forces us to use two stamps, but also gives us the possibility of the homeowner having something to hold onto," says Dustin.

Indeed, the three components of this mailer give the package some real heft--and compels homeowners to take a second look. "It’s more expensive than postcards," says Dustin, "but I know almost all of these are at minimum getting opened and read."

To select nearby homeowners to target with their mailing, the Foxes use the map function in their tax system and choose the 250 houses closest to their listing.

What About Facebook?

Though print mailers remain the core of their lead generation activities, Facebook is still part of their strategy. "We're using a smaller budget and have narrowed our focus to the same small radius that our mailers go out to," says Dustin.

Their other trick for saving time with Facebook ads? Outsourcing—so to speak. "It’s very time consuming, but we pay our kids to do it for us."

Brokers, arm your agents with the online and offline tools they need to win more listings. Learn more about Listings-to-Leads today.