How a Revolutionary New Marketing System can Double or Triple Your Real Estate Commissions This Year.

For Real Estate Agents/Brokers only How a Revolutionary New Marketing System can Double or Triple Your Real Estate Commissions This Year. This report will teach you how to build a real estate marketing machine that works while you sleep to help you to DRAMATICALLY INCREASE your real estate commissions, have buyers and sellers lining up at your door, and coming back year after year. From: Jeff Charlton 174 Chesterfield Ind. Blvd. Chesterfield, MO 63005 1-800-378-0378 Dear Friend, If you are like most real estate agents, your commissions the last few years have steadily gone down, even though you have worked harder than ever. Your pain is shared by the entire market. The trends in the real estate market make it more difficult every day to earn even the same commissions you earned just a few years ago. The good news is you do not have to succumb to these trends. I am sure you have heard the old axiom work smarter, not harder. In this case, that is absolutely true. Over the next few pages, you are going to be introduced to a unique system, one that is the only system of its kind in the U.S. that will rock your world! You find out methods to dramatically increase the flow of leads using the same marketing dollars you are already spending. We will teach you how to build trusting in relationships with those prospects, so that when it comes time for them to buy or sell a house, they think of you first. Prospects won t even talk to any other agents and they hire you right away. And forget about having to reduce your commission levels. I will show you how to get full price every time. Learn how to create a stream of repeat business unlike anything you have ever seen before. 1

So let's get started. First, I want to talk about some of the disturbing trends in the market that are affecting your commissions. According to a USA Today study, housing prices are still declining in most areas of the US, and the bottom of the market has still not been reached. Bank of America did a study in 2010 that showed average commission rates have fallen from 6.2% in the year 2000 to 5.0% in 2010. This study shows that the number of agents who discount commissions is growing. In addition, the trend in agents that offer do-it-yourself type services, for 3% or less commission, is also growing. FSBO websites are growing. It is easier than ever for a homeowner to list their house in the MLS and sell their house without the services of a real estate agent. These sites not only offer marketing services, but contracts, and other support needed. Additionally, the trend in by-side agents and websites, who rebate commissions are growing. There is also a growing trend in the use of buyer agents. In 2008, Consumer Reports did a study that showed the average sales price for homes where a buyer s agent was involved, was $5,000 less. That means all agents involved got less. All this adds up to lower and lower commissions per sale. Let s look at your competition other agents. If those realities are not tough enough, there are more agents joining the ranks. In 1997, there were 614,072 agents. In 2007, there were 1,067,017 agents a 40% increase. The NAR predicts that this number will grow another 14% in the next 10 years to around 1.2 million agents. Add to that the fact that 87% of new real estate agents do not renew their license after their first year, (Bureau of Labor Statistics.) and it equals a flood of inexperienced agents every year who only serve to dilute the market even more. This flood of new and inexperienced agents adds to the perception that a lot of people have that real estate agents do not add any value to the process. This perception makes it even tougher for good agents to get their point across to the consumer. Additionally, this flood of new agents is dividing the pie into smaller and smaller pieces for everyone. Even bad agents often find a way to get a listing or sell a sell a house or two before they drop out. Often, these agents do not know how to sell value, so they just drop their price hurting the entire market. At a minimum, since there are more agents trying to compete for the same business, the average sales per agent is dropping. The Internet is also creating more competition for agents, and making it more difficult to add value to the process. The NAR did a study in 2009 that showed that 94% of homebuyers used the Internet at some point during the process. This is all bad news for real estate agents. 2

The bottom line is you are doing more work, and are earning less money. Before we get into the solution, let's look at the top nine reasons why most real estate agents fail. (Remember, 87% of new agents fail their first year only 13% renew their license.) No strategic business plan. No sales process. No marketing system. No effective lead generation system. No unique selling proposition. Poor follow-up. No system to generate trust in clients. No system to ensure success. Do not attract a broad enough audience. It may seem obvious, but for you to be one of the 13% who does renew their license, and does succeed, you need to have a strategy, and business plan, that solves all of the 9 problems above. In a nutshell, you need to build a system that following 6 key elements. 1. Increase effectiveness of your marketing get more leads from the same money spent. 2. Build better relationships with prospects and clients build trust. 3. Stand out in crowd of agents. 4. Show value to your clients so they keep coming back for more. 5. Have a system that works to generate consistent flow of leads every month no matter how busy you get. 6. Have a follow-up system to ensure leads in your pipeline remember you when it comes time to buy or sell. Before we get into specifics, let's take a look at what the National Association of Realtors has to say about how home owners choose a real estate agent. This information comes from their 2009 study. 50% of homeowners rate trustworthiness among the most important factors when choosing an agent. 98% considered honesty and integrity as very important. 90% consider knowledge of the purchase process, responsiveness, and knowledge of the real estate market vital. 67% of buyers contacted only one agent when searching for an agent to assist them. 3

If you look at the key elements, it boils down to one thing - building a relationship. If you take the time to build a relationship, based on honesty and integrity, and go out of your way to help to educate the prospect, you will be seen as an expert and someone they trust. The most important statistic is 67% of buyers contacted only one agent. This means that if you do right things, prior to the time a person is ready to hire a real estate agent, there is a good chance you will be the only agent they think of, and get the job. The question you have to ask yourself, is does your current marketing system promote feelings of trust, honesty, and knowledge in your prospects and clients? Does your current marketing system position you to where the clients or prospects think of you first? Let's look at what you can do to make people think of you first. Before we get into that, we need to take a look at what most real estate agents are doing to market their business. Most real estate agents use what I would call traditional marketing. They send out just listed, just sold, and farming postcards. They also send recipes, calendar magnets, sports schedule magnets, notepads, etc. They also might pay for small signs and billboards found in grocery stores, park benches, bus stops, and anywhere else someone is willing to sell ad space. The most successful agents might pay for billboards along the side of the highway. They might also advertise in newspapers and magazines. In most of these cases, the message simply tells the reader that they are a great agent, and that the recipient should call them if they want to buy or sell a house. Although these methods do work to spread your name and face around town, just about every one of them appeals only to people who are ready to buy or sell a house soon. Not that this is bad, however, all of these methods only appeal to a very small percentage of the total market. The fact is, at any given time, only about 3% of the marketplace is ready to hire a real estate agent. There is another 6-7%, who are open to the idea of buying, but not necessarily ready to move. The other 90% have little to no interest. Using traditional marketing techniques is only going to appeal to the 3% of the market who are ready to buy or sell, and possibly the 6-7% considering it. The marketing dollars are wasted on the other 90%. In addition, since just about every other real estate agent is marketing to that same 10%, and most are using the same methods, it is extremely difficult to get noticed. Traditional marketing techniques only appeal to the 3% of the market who are ready to buy or sell. Additionally, price (commission rates) becomes a much larger factor when you're focusing on people who have already decided they are ready to buy or sell. It can become a bidding war at the point. The reality is, there is very little return on investment using traditional marketing. Yes, the largest and most successful 4

agents still use this, but they have big budgets and can afford to get a low return. This only represents a very small percentage of agents (less than 3%). The other 97% need to be much smarter with their marketing dollar. Before we move on, let's review the key points so far. 1. The majority of people hire the first real estate agent they talk to. 2. Trust, Knowledge, and Integrity are the main characteristics they look for. 3. Traditional marketing does not appeal to 90% or more of the market. 4. Competition is fierce using traditional marketing. Now for the solution. There are two main strategies you need to consider. 1) You need to widen the appeal of your marketing so that it attracts 100% of homeowners in your farm area. 2) You need to use a method of marketing that positions you as an expert in real estate, and also promotes trust, honesty and integrity, and makes the prospect think of you first when it is time to buy or sell. (We call this education based marketing, but more on that later.) Now you might say, what good does it do me to market to 90% of the market who are not ready to buy a house? Before I answer that, let me throw out another statistic. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans move on average once every 5 years. This is a key point to consider. By marketing to the 90% of people who are not necessarily interested in buying a house right now, you have the opportunity to position yourself as an expert, and build a trusting relationship with those people when the pressure is off. They're much more likely to be open to speaking to you when they're not in the market right now. If you are successful in building the relationship we re talking about, and it finally comes time for them to buy or sell (likely in the next five years), they are likely to think of you first, and not even speak to any other real estate agents. That means you get a client without having to worry about the competition. That also means you probably will not have to reduce your commission rate to compete with some low-baller agent who only knows how to compete on price. There is another added benefit. When people move, they not only need to sell their house, but find a new house. Once again, if you only have a relationship, and you are seen as an expert with integrity, you would be the likely choice to both list the property, and also find them a new house. You can earn two commissions! Okay now let's get to the solution. Americans move on average every 5 years. US Census Bureau The answer to both finding new prospects, converting existing prospects, getting repeat business and establishing yourself as an expert and trusted agent, is education-based marketing. 5

Just what is education-based marketing? In a nutshell, it is offering market data, free of charge, that informs and educates prospects and clients. You are constantly looking for tips and pieces of interesting data, that is not widely publicized information, that will inform and educate your market. You do this both in the prospect acquisition stage, and also in the relationship building stage, and you do it as a free service. This immediately positions you as an expert, and trusted ally instead of a pushy sales rep. How does this work for me? Instead of sending out postcards that simply ask a client to contact you for their real estate needs, you send out postcards that offer a free special report about an interesting topic that would appeal to anyone that owns a home, or potentially could own a home. Examples of some of these headlines are as follows. 9 Hidden Dangers in Your Home That Could Poison Your Family 8 Little Known Dangers in Your Yard That Could Harm Your Family Pet 7 Little Known Tips to Protect your Home Value in a Declining Market 10 Tips and Tricks to get the Highest Appraisal Value on Your Home Don t Sign Your Life Away! 7 Things You need to know before signing on the dotted line. 7 Hidden Dangers to Your Child s Safety in Your Home Is Your Home Secure? 11 Security Risks you Never Thought About 9 Hidden Dangers You Need to Know to Keep Your Pets Safe during the Holiday Season. 11 Must Do Tips to Safeguard Your Home While You are on Vacation 8 Costly Home Buying Mistakes that could turn your Dream Home into a Nightmare Notice that each of these headlines is very compelling and would attract just about anyone who has a family or home. It does not matter if the headline talks specifically to people who are interested right now in buying or selling real estate. Because remember, your goal is to collect leads from people who will likely buy or sell sometime in the future. Anyone who already lives in a home or has a family whether they own the home or not - is a likely future client. The wider the appeal, the more leads you will collect with the same marketing dollar. More is always better when it comes to qualified real estate leads. Your goal is to get as many prospects into your pipeline as possible. You will notice every one of these headlines has a call to action. That means it is asking for the recipient to do something to respond. Most typical real estate marketing does not have any call to action, which results in very few leads. The only people that will call a number shown on a typical 6

farming postcard is someone who is ready to hire an agent, and even then, if you have done nothing other than give them your photo and info, they have little motivation to call you. However, if you are offering them some very interesting information, that does not depend on whether or not they are ready to buy or sell, the likelihood of them calling is much higher. Also notice that most of them warn of some pending danger? Why? Because it has also been proven that people respond to potential danger or pain at a 400% higher rate than a promise of a potential gain. Think about it. Would you want to know of some hidden dangers in your home that might poison your kids? The fact is people respond to these types of headlines! This type of marketing works to generate more leads for 3 reasons. 1) It appeals to everyone. 2) It is compelling, and has a call to action. 3) There is no obvious sales pitch. Education-based marketing has a second major benefit. It positions you as an expert, and a person with integrity. It does this by offering homeowners valuable information that can help their families with no obvious sales pitch attached. The minute you add a sales pitch, the effect is dramatically reduced. To maximize the impact, when people, respond, you HAND-DELIVER the special report. You don t try to sell them anything at that time. You simply meet them, have a nice conversation, ask a few questions about their future plans, give them your business card, give them the special report, and get their contact info. Then you put them into your follow up system, and keep in touch with them on a regular basis. After 30 years of actual experience using education-based marketing, this method is 90% more effective in generating leads and increasing sales. Chet Holmes Author, The Ultimate sales machine You continue to offer other special reports as part of your follow up system, to give your prospects and clients access to more compelling information on a monthly basis. By continuing to expose them to information that will affect their family in a positive way, about not only the real estate market, but the types of issues relating to their home, positions you as an expert. By offering this information for free, with no expectations attached, also builds trust and integrity. These are the building blocks of future client relationships and for furthering current client relationships. You will also find that it is likely you are the only agent in your area that is doing anything like this. How many real estate postcards, calendars, sports schedules, or recipes do you get in the mail at your house? Do any of those cards make you feel like the agent is really good? Does getting a recipe in the mail make you feel the agent is an expert on real estate or cooking? Now I am not saying that you should stop sending out all of the current postcard designs you use. Just listed and just sold postcards have their place. Recent sales data postcards are also good to use. These postcards do show that you have had success and does go to establishing some credibility. But these 7

do not have a call to action and will not generate any calls except from prospects who are ready to make a move. Remember, this is only 3% to 10% of the market. To turn these old school postcards into more effective response devices, all you have to do is add a call to action on all of these postcards, that uses compelling headlines and offers free special reports. On the back of your just listed postcard, why not add a compelling special report offer? Do you have to use postcards? No, you can use this type of marketing on any advertising medium. However, the benefit of postcards is that you can target a small area (your farm), and keep your budget fairly limited. As your success and commissions grow, you can expand your farm area. How often do I mail? We recommend choosing a farm area and mailing to that same farm area every month with a different special report offer. We also recommend sending out a Just Listed and Just Sold postcard every time you list or sell a house. We recommend doing a recent sales in your area mailing at least once a year. All postcards should have an offer of special reports or some valuable service you will provide for free. As your success grows, expand your farm area. Always put some of the money you earn back into marketing. When you get a person to respond to a postcard, always hand-deliver the special report. No emails on that first contact. Remember, you are building a personal relationship. You need to do that face-to-face. Be sure to get their contact information and email address and put them into your automated followup system. That system will continue to give the client additional special reports and other valuable information. Once a person has responded to an offer of a special report, you will market to them every month ongoing. That s it! This is not rocket science. But it works. If you are already mailing postcards, all we are suggesting is that you change the way you do it and watch your results soar. If you have never used any sort of direct mail marketing in the past, doing this will give you more leads than you will believe. Do it! If you want to find out more information on our revolutionary new real estate marketing system, give us a call at 800.378.0378. Jeff Charlton Founder of Real Estate Postcards Online.com 8