Sometimes they work, and sometimes all you get for your trouble is a few hours alone. That’s pretty frustrating if you’ve gone to the trouble to send invitations and provide refreshments.

So try this instead:

When you close on a home sale, let your client invite 20 or 30 friends to a closing party! If they’re the sellers, it will be a going away party. If they’re buyers who are new to the area, you can invite the neighbors and it will be a get acquainted party.

Match the refreshments to their lifestyle and preferences, so it will really feel like “their” party. It could be wine and cheese, beer and pizza, or even punch and cookies.

Right now is when your clients love you most and will be glad to introduce you to those friends they’ve invited. And when they meet you in person and see how charming and helpful you are, they’ll be even more likely to think of you when they need a Realtor – especially if you don’t let them forget you.

When you visit with people and hand them your business card, tell them that you occasionally send market reports and ask for permission to add them to your mailing list. Be sure you have a notepad in your pocket for that purpose – not everyone carries business cards, especially to parties.

The day after the party, send a “Glad I met you” note and offer to supply them with any information they might want about the current market. If they’ve handed you a business card, and thus their mailing address, take the time to hand-write that note and send it by postal mail. If not, email is better than no mail.

Once they’re in your drip campaign, every month or so you can send some news of interest, just to remind them that you’re there when they need you.

Use the same campaign for these folks as you do for others in your sphere of influence – you don’t want to annoy them by suggesting that they might be ready to buy or sell.

Your business card should do two things:

• Reveal both your name and your face – so that people who don’t remember your name can connect your friendly and helpful attitude with your face.
• Reveal what you do. If you sell real estate, say where or specify your niche. If you’re an engineer, tell what kind of engineer. If you’re a writer, let them know what kind. For example: Novels, poetry, news, or marketing copy.

Once you have that informative card – give it away to as many people as you can. Here are some ideas:

Start with people you meet in social situations. You don’t have to be pushy about it, just hand them a card and say something friendly and non-threatening. For instance, “Get in touch any time you want to know what’s going on in our market.”

Do the same for people you chat with when you’re shopping or doing errands. For instance, the grocery store checker, the bank teller, and the pharmacist.

And then…

When you pay a local bill by mail, put a card in the envelope.

When you leave a nice tip – leave your card with it.

When you volunteer to help with a project and will need to be in touch with other volunteers, give each of them your card. You don’t even have to mention your business, it’s just the easiest way to give them all the contact information they need.

When you meet with your child’s teacher, give him or her your card. Again – it’s a good way to provide your contact information.

Give your card to the providers you pay – like your doctor, dentist, hairdresser, mechanic, dog groomer, and veterinarian. And remember the people who mow the lawn, clean the house, service the pool, and wash the windows.

Every one of those people is a potential source of business, and you should never assume that they know what you do for a living.

It’s all about THEM.

Stick with the tried and true rule of using “You” at least 3 times as often as you use “I.”

Next, make your message a “gift.” Give them an uplifting poem or a beautiful photo. You could even include a fun holiday puzzle or a link to a heartwarming holiday story.

If you want your holiday message to help make your phone ring, and if you’ve purchased some kind of give-away, offer to send it when they call and request it.

I used to buy both wall calendars and pocket calendars – and folks would come to the office to get them. So – a “Stop by for Christmas cookies and your 2012 calendar” would be good if you have a bricks and mortar office.

You could even thank your past clients for their business and tell them that because of their support, you’ve just made a donation to a worthy cause.

Just remember to make the message your own. Nobody is much interested in receiving a card that says “Happy Holidays” and comes with a pre-printed signature.

Poor them.

Someone, somewhere along the way, told them that was the way to network and pick up new client leads.

But how should you work a room and pick up new client leads?

By taking the focus off of yourself, and being interested in other people. Instead of telling them all about YOU, ask about them. Find out if there’s a way for you to help their business. Get their cards and after the event, follow up.

If you have the opportunity, send them a referral or a lead.

Of course you should let them know what you do – but do so in a way that offers help or information instead of asking for their business.

Coming from a real estate agent, an offer to send a market report – or any other report you use – is a whole lot more welcome than “Who do you know who needs to sell a house?”

First you give, then you get.

Wouldn’t case studies lend more credibility than short testimonials?

We know testimonials work in every service business. But we also know that they are not always believed. It’s too easy to write a testimonial and assign it a fake name – or simply something like “J.W. in Phoenix.” Who is to know, when no address is given?

A case study, on the other hand, tells a story, and clients give their names. They talk about a problem someone had and how you (or your products) solved that problem.

If you think about it, in real estate, most transactions have some kind of story about your service that a buyer or seller would be pleased to tell.

How do you get an interesting case study? By having someone else interview your past clients, then write about it. Why someone else? Because modesty will prevent you from asking enough questions about what you did and how it affected them.

A third party can ask those questions that get people to explain what happened and take pleasure in singing your praises.

Think about it – your clients won’t tell you what you did. You already know that. About all they’ll say to you is that you did a great job, and thanks.

Case studies might be a good marketing tool for you. If you agree, call me!I’d love to help you stand out in your marketplace.

Image courtesy of Dreamstine.

But I met two young men today who are taking matters into their own hands. They came to the house to introduce themselves and deliver a flier.

These strong young men were looking for junk. Yep, scrap metal, car bodies, old refrigerators, etc. They had the right approach, too. They said they’d clean up any mess we needed to get rid of at no charge.In other words, they presented their business as a free service to property owners.

Of course they’re going to haul the scrap to the recycler and get paid for it.  That’s the whole point. But they’ll earn it by the time they load and haul what they find.

What impressed me was that they didn’t just put an ad in the paper and hope someone would see it. They actually got in their pickup and went door to door out in the country.

I wish them well, and I applaud them for not sitting back waiting for anyone to hand them a living.

If you’ve been afraid to tell your clients too much for fear that as a result of your free information, they won’t need you, then read on and see what Bob has to say.

I agree with him wholeheartedly.

Now… Here’s Bob Bly:

Dear Direct Response Letter Subscriber:

A few months ago, a VP at a local management consulting firm
called me for advice on Internet marketing.

He wanted to start a line of information products related to the
firm’s consulting expertise; as I recall, it was something to do
with meeting OSHA regulations.

“But I have to warn you, our president is dead set against the
idea of creating info products on safety,” he said.

When I asked why, he replied: “He is afraid it will erode our
core business.”

For this particular consulting firm, their core business is
helping clients become compliant with OSHA regulations.

For their advice, they charge a handsome fee: $3,500 a day.

The VP worried that if he gave away their knowledge and
expertise in relatively low-priced information products or even
free white papers, potential clients wouldn’t need the firm’s
expensive consulting.

Instead, they’d study the info products, do it themselves, and
save a bundle.

I set him straight fast.

“Producing a line of info products won’t erode your core
business in the least,” I explained.

“In fact, quite the opposite will take place.

“When people see you have published information products, they
will – whether they buy your products or not – perceive you as a
credible expert in the topic.

“This in turn will increase the demand for your consulting
services, rather than cut into it.”

Writing a book on your specialty – or publishing special
reports, white papers, articles, CDs, DVDs, or other content -
positions you as a leading expert in your topic.

You know the expression, “He wrote the book on it.” It implies
that the person is an expert because he is the author of a book.

“It is simply amazing the reverence people have for the printed
word,” says EU, a successful publisher. “Simply because a person
has written a book about a subject, people think he has
something to say about it.”

Selling information products actually widens the net of
prospects who can benefit from your expertise.

It’s difficult to get strangers to hire you out of the blue -
after all, they don’t know who you are, what you know, and what
you can do for them.

But if you package your knowledge in a $15 paperback book,
they’ll risk spending $15 to sample it.

When they read the book, they will know that you know what you
say you know – and believe you to be the expert you say you are.

So when you sell info products, you reach a broader – and bigger
- audience.

What about the danger that the prospect will learn all your
secrets by reading a $15 book, do it themselves, and deprive you
of a big fat fee for your services?

That virtually never happens.

Instead, a qualified prospect reads your book and thinks: “The
author really knows his stuff. But this seems complicated. I
don’t have time to learn it or do it myself. Instead, I’ll just
hire the author to do it for me.”

Yes, there are probably other vendors the prospect could hire to
provide the needed service.

But more than likely, you’re the one they’ll call.

After all, you wrote the book on it.

Sincerely,

Bob Bly

P.S. For more information on how to write and publish a
nonfiction book, click below now:

www.gettingyourbookpublished.com

Bob Bly
Copywriter / Consultant
590 Delcina Drive
River Vale, NJ 07675
Phone 201-505-9451
Fax 201-573-4094
www.bly.com

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