3 Things Realtors® Misunderstand About Postcard Farming

Postcard farming is one of those things that basically every agent needs to do. If you are just getting into the real estate industry, it's a great way to build your exposure and pick up new clients.

Even if you are a seasoned professional that maintains a book of business primarily built on referrals, postcard farming is important. It keeps your funnel full. As you help people sell their homes, and those people move out of the area, the leads you get off of postcard marketing will replace them, ensuring that you never run out of potential business.

So for something that is arguably so important to success, you would think that every agent has heavily studied postcard farming practices and are experts at it, right? If you said "yes," you would be wrong. Most agents are making pretty serious mistakes with their postcard marketing campaigns, and it is costing them business.

Today, I'd like to share three common mistakes that are keeping agents from the success that they so richly deserve.

1) Geographic Postcard Farming is a Marathon, NOT a Sprint

So many times we see agents excited about starting a farming campaign. But after a month or two, they are frustrated, lose interest and quit doing it. The source of the frustration is that they weren't getting calls, felt it was a waste of money and the only thing that made sense to them was to stop. It's a natural human response to want to get results right away with anything we do, but this is not a realistic expectation.

Geographic farming is a process. It takes time to build your brand awareness in your geographic farm, and patience is a key element. In general, we see agents taking around 6-8 months to start seeing measurable results in their farm areas.

There are ways to speed up the process a bit, such as starting out by sending one postcard per week for the first eight weeks (commonly referred to as 8×8), and then paring it back to once per month. However you choose to do it, the key here is that whenever you embark on a new marketing campaign, you need to make sure your expectations are realistic.

2) Content is Important, but CONSISTENCY is Everything

The single most important element of a geographic farming campaign is consistency. There are so many other agents in your marketplace trying to get the same listings you are trying to get.

With all this competition, homeowners are getting tons and tons of solicitation from other agents. The result is that it becomes harder and harder to stand out from the crowd. The trick to make your name synonymous with "real estate expert" is consistently being in front of homeowners, showing them your brand, and reinforcing their opinion of you as the real estate thought leader for their area.

Secondarily, consistency with your real estate postcard farming is necessary simply because a homeowner selling their home is a timing thing. You cannot force someone to sell their home. They will wait until they are ready, and when they are, you want to be in front of them so they immediately think of calling you to schedule a listing appointment. Consistent postcard mailings aid this.

3) It's Really Not About You, AT ALL

This is a tricky one. As an agent, you are your own boss and you are the one that generates all the incoming business. So on that front, you need to be a shameless self promoter. The thing is that, at the end of the day, you need to toe the line and clearly, without question, convey to the homeowner what's in it for them.

By nature, we are all a little selfish. When it comes to selling their home, homeowners are no different. You need to craft your messages so they show your strengths. "Toot your horn," but be clear in showing how that strength is specifically going to benefit the homeowner in the sale of their home.

DO NOT use phrases like "Top x%" or "President's Elite Club" or any similar vague reference. Homeowners don't know what these are and they certainly cannot connect how that will help them with the sale of their home. It's a tricky line to follow, but it's a very important line to consider.

So there you have it. Geographic farming is complex and, of course, has many elements. If you consider these three things when planning your geographic farming campaigns, you will be starting off from a position light years better than your colleagues.

To view the original article, visit the Leading Agent blog.