Rob, what kind of "personal Promotion" do you do on the flip side of the flyer?  I have seen an agent here that used the flip side to market her other listings.  My client (a buyer) grabbed one and was completely turned off and said she would never use that agent.  She didn't like that she was marketing other properties at the property she was supposed to be selling.

I would love to hear what kind of personal marketing you are doing!!!  I would like to try something, but don't want to upset my sellers or potential sellers/buyers.

Shelly

Rob, First, I have the property literally on my sign and not as a rider.   Next, I have a full color brochure with a map showing the areas amenities from a supplier known as hometurfonline.  I do not have the price on the listing as I want to force the buyers to go to my website or to place a call.  They do.  I blog about my property and its information on P2A and it comes up on the internet.  I find that it takes about 4 days for it to pop up.  Every last one of my listings has a pen with its own URL, my company affiliation and my name and cell phone number on it.  People will take the pen before they'll take my card.  I am also a builder/rehabber and therefore I have kept all the names of the people who have come to my open houses and let them know when my next house is up on the market and looking forward to their comments.  I always put on the disclaimer.  I always have lunch at my open houses or if it is an upper bracket home then I will have wine, cheese, caviar, etc. and have an open house in the evening.  The lunch allows for casual conversation and more openness and the wine, cheese plays on the lifestyle.  

I have put the marketing on the flip side of my fliers and have also added links to my singlepropertysites so that I will capture more buyers.   We are hired to market.  So, if the condo on Montrose is on a flyer for Claremont and vice versa, then I'm doing my job.  I even have finance programs that are mentioned on the flip side for bond programs that would benefit every last one of my listings and then I have the photos and information of my other listings.  

I also fell in love with the paper that Kinko's uses for their copy machines.  It's a color copy paper with a slightly heavier weight and I use it in my brochure boxes.  

I handwrite out 100 invitations and hand deliver them to the people in the neighborhood and invite them to my open house telling them we'll be serving lunch and will they be attending?  Man, I've had people that didn't get an invitation and come and then get upset because they didn't get the invite and I learned to carry extras.  

I also send out postcards (1,000) in the neighborhood announcing the listing, telling them that we've had activity but buyers looking for a different style, size house and if they knew of someone to please reach out and let me know.... good quality color postcards with the stamp.

Always, always a quart of good ice cream in the fridge in case someone shows a little interest in the property and I throw it at them so they won't continue looking but end their day thinking about my listing.  Always takes people by surprise.  

Always have bottled water, small coke, diet coke in the fridge for them as well as fresh Starbuck's coffee at all open houses.  

I do alot more but at least here's some of my marketing techniques.  

Say hello to Michigan for me.  I'm originally from Grand Rapids.

Barb Van

LOL Oh Barb I love the ice cream.  Do you give them a coupon for the area drycleaner?  

Great advice everyone.

Jana

I have recently started using business cards that have the property info on the other side. I put about a hundred of them in the brochure box for people to grab. People seem to like it. Works nice for the properties and works great for me too ... the more of my business cards are out there, the better!

thanks for all the information Rob.

shelly

Rob, no I do not have an assistant and I work smart.  

On the fliers, get financing options that most agents do not know about and put that on your fliers.  In Chicago I've dealt with "target areas" for financing, bond programs by the City, County and some State.  If the buyer is a State Employee, does Michigan have a bond program for them?  I get more business off of the financing programs then off of the listing information on the backside of the flyer.  I do not put a mortgage person or bankers name on my flyers.  I get financing information all the time, qualify it and put it on the back of the flyers.  That's where the business is coming for me.  I meet and discuss, make the connection and then sell them a home.  I understand that "Michigan" is doing so creative financing.  The family business does commercial/residential appraising for the west half of Michigan and my older brother told me the other day that he is seeing deals coming through with two years for payoff with seller financing.  Is that true in your area?

I know about the buyers in Michigan.  They are hard to crack.   I am third generation in a family of real estate professionals in Michigan and the fourth is already at the family business.   Since you have a family life, I would spin off from the parents of my childrens friends, church, school functions - man, there are a ton of them there.  I am an "aunt" to about 15 of each one of my nephews and nieces friends.  That's been alot of weddings and alot of homes that were sold.  And there friends have referred to me.

Rob, I really believe its about the consumers perception of us, on an individual basis.  The attraction in action has to be in place and by that I mean, you are a walking encyclopedia for real estate and you have ears - lots of them.  I am sure you are doing this but everytime I go home to GR I have to sift through the people that literally stand in line at church to talk to me after the service about all their real estate needs, questions or concerns.  If people find out that I'm coming home, I'm getting emails - can you meet with us?  While I am licensed in Illinois only, Michigan has been getting alot of business from me.  Yes, my younger brother is in real estate, not everything goes to him.  I match needs with expertise.  

Rob, think about the catered lunches for upper end homes.  Upper end homes - the consumer is out there looking for the home and generally not using an agent until the tail end of the deal.  For instance, I have said that I am also am a builder/rehabber.    My clients, friends know that I am completing a $1.2M home in Chicago.  I always keep the door open and have given considerable time to allow the neighbors and consumers who stop by unexpectedly to visit the home and I talk to them about the energy efficient elements that I put into homes that will save them tons of money.  This past Friday, I was at the house from 5:00 a.m until around 11:30 p.m.  I was in my construction garb and I literally had non-stop traffic in the house from about 5:00 p.m.  until 11:30 p.m.  I was invited to a block party just a couple blocks north where my last project was.  Long and short, I told everybody at the party, the people that drive by and stop to say " you are building an awesome house" - I literally invite them to the first evening open house and they will come.  If you cannot do evenings - what about a late Saturday for the consumer for that special party?  

On the personal invitations - I have a set format and I print them printed out in non-stock size so as to stand out.  I also have those little ribbon thingies at the top that I personally do when I get home at night - a pain - but it really sets me apart.  I hand deliver them myself but this past Friday and Saturday - I took care of alot of the invites because the people were all in one place together.  I was asked for my latest pen and I told them that I didn't have them on me but if they came to one of the opens I would have one set aside for them.  I spend about $1.29 to $2.00 per pen, but they have my a good source of business for me.

Try the ice cream - its a hoot!  I use Baskin Robbins ice cream.  At tax time they have an ice cream that is named after that period.  But generally as a whole, I use any ice cream with BR that has carmel & chocolate in it.  They pack it for me the day of the open house and off I go.  The buyer's don't eat it at the house because I always have food for them (pizza, pompei, no subway though - chicken wraps and brownies)  I give them the ice cream when I see them "bite" on an interest about the house or making a connection with me.  As they are heading out the door, I ask them to wait because I forgot something and in a brown paper bag comes the ice cream.  They always peak and smile.  No, I don't put it in a cooler because the concept is - I want them home either (a) eating that ice cream or (b) make sure that I'm the last stop they make because the ice cream could melt and make a mess in the car.  No coolers, Rob.

Jana, no coupons for the dry cleaners but I'm telling you - it works in cold or warm weather.  

Rob, I've been in Chicago for about 25 years now.  I started my training in understanding Chicago by working as an appraiser and understanding the neighborhoods, the people and then it swung into sales and now sales and building/rehabbing/design work.  I was in the real estate business in Michigan.  The family business started in 1911 by my grandfather.  He was full scale in real estate (councilman for the City of Grand Rapids, Appraising, Sales, and was President of the Michigan Realtor Assn and the Grand Rapids Real Estate Board).  I was my grandfather's "tag along".  I went to a meeting with the Board of Directors of a bank in GR at the age of 5 because I wanted to know how banks made money.  I'll never forget that one - He had asked me if my questions were answered and I told him "no" because alot of white haired men kept postponing things to the next meeting and I didn't see how in the world banks made there money from postponing things.  Had a nice lunch with him and a good explanation.  My Dad is 80 now and was a developer, sales, appraising, consulting with some "big wigs" and I learned alot from him.  He made us start from the ground floor up - doing research, downsizing plans onto a 5" x 8" graph for three levels, to delivering appraisals to the banks, savings & loans and talking to the presidents of the banks (kids are a big asset in this business, btw) to doing research for sales, gathering and applying all information onto the appraisal form for the summation of the value.  We had to go to the lumberyard one Friday of every month to understand the costs of construction and to be able to monitor with market reaction.  My father had over 40 investment properties and I managed them for him at the age of 16.  I had to maintain the construction sites from age 7 till I was 16.  that mean removing those tabs off the cement, collecting nails, keeping the lumber organized.  I rehabbed my first home at the age of 18, under my father's direction and he threw me  10 acres of commercial land to subdivide at the age of 19 when I was in college.  His instructions were:  get this subdivided to make it the most profitable, let me see the subdivision, get the infrastructure in and let's get them sold.  His first two sales (under land contract, btw) paid for the whole parcel.  I built my first home for my brother Jim when I was 19.  I had to stain the summer home every couple years with my older brother.  We had responsibilities and the experience has been the best foundation and memories that I wouldn't trade for this world.  

Barb

Thanks to everyone for the great ideas. May I borrow a few :)

The ice cream tack is BRILLIANT! Wouldn't make it home out here with temps still over 100 but could work in spring and fall.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE 'catalog style' post cards. Have 'em made in super jumbo with 6 properties on one side, little blurbs under each one.

Then send copy to each of the sellers and wherever I'm targeting for whatever reason. Something for everyone and more apt to be retained.

The ice cream idea is great! My husband who has been in sales for 30yrs told me about that one! He started out as a saleman for Baldwin Piano and he said that they would do that so the potential customer would have to go straight home and not stop at other retail stores or risk an ice cream mess! Maybe I will try it too!

Greetings from Nothern Michigan!

I lived in Grand Rapids 18 years, my oldest daughter graduated from Forest Hills Northern and my husbands business is there. Accounting Practice!  My Father is from Chicago and I have a cousin that is a policeman there!  Small world.  I would love to take referrals for anyone you know looking to buy in the Sleeping Bear National Park Area.  We have been coming North for 30 years and lived here on Glen Lake for the last 10.  If you get a chance check out www.LEELANAUandBENZIErealestate.com

Thanks for the ideas..I really like the Pen idea Barb.

Living in this rural area I like to put a variety of price ranges on my fliers

and sometime I included vacant land.  I find that alot of people on vacation don't know the pricing here.  If It's waterfront property I include other waterfront listings sometimes. on other lakes or rivers that have a cheaper or higher price tag.

Barb, I like the ice cream idea. Do you think we could get Ben & Jerry to do a "Very Berry Realtor"? Vanilla ice cream in a slow stir with real blue berry, strawberry with chocolate cover banana slices re-frozen. It would be right up there with Cherry Garcia. I think I have got to run out to the store now. Good Nite!

Mary, I'll keep you on my list.  It is a small world.  Keep me posted on your inventory - I have alot of connections in GR that invest in vacant land - especially in the "woods"..   I also have people interested in investing in Michigan - let's get together on this!

Greg - Nice!  Smart concept.