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.

If everyone who might possibly use your services or buy your merchandise was aware of you and what you have to offer, your revenues would increase. But, a whole lot of people who might love you don’t even know you exist.

Unfortunately, “same old, same old” ads in the local news won’t get their attention. But if you do something unusual, you’ll turn into news, and becoming news will give your exposure a giant boost.

What does that have to do with Halloween?

One thing you can do that will get you noticed AND create goodwill in the community is hold a pumpkin give-away.

We did that one year when I had a real estate agency, and we got both a story and a photo in the local news – two weeks in a row. On top of that, we attracted the favorable attention of dozens of people who had only been marginally aware that we existed.

I forget the monetary cost, but it was far less than the price of two newspaper stories!

We contracted with a pumpkin grower to deliver two bins of small pumpkins – you know, the big cardboard bins that sit in the grocery store filled with pumpkins, melons, or corn.

Then we offered one free pumpkin per child. All they had to do was come to our office to get them – accompanied by a parent.

Another time I purchased a few hundred American Flags on sticks (that held our business cards) and we handed them out in the parking lot at the post office a couple of days before the 4th of July. That was a LOT of fun.

Both of those events got people talking about us and our agency for days.

Why talk about Halloween right now? Because if you want to try it, you need to get those pumpkins ordered!

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.

This is a very small world, and you never know when you’ll meet someone who is either a resident of your community, or plans to relocate there soon.

You might also think that since you’re on vacation, you won’t be talking business. But think about that again.

We Americans seem to sort and define people by what they do for a living. That means one of the first things a new acquaintance will ask is “What do you do?”

How do you ask a new acquaintance to take your card? Easy – by asking for theirs. If they don’t have one, jot down their information on the back of one of yours, then hand them yours and tell them to call if you can be of assistance.

If you’ve struck up a friendly acquaintance, you could suggest meeting for coffee some time. If you share a hobby, you could offer to introduce them to some of your friends who also share that hobby. And of course, if what they do for a living interests you or could benefit your clients, let them know that they’ll be hearing from you.

You really never know who you’ll meet or how the meeting could benefit both of you.

For instance – a few months back I wrote web copy for a real estate broker in Texas. By a chance conversation with the lady who checked out my groceries here in Idaho, I learned that her son was moving and would need a real estate agent in my client’s city. So I was able to give a referral.

Who would have predicted that?

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.

Believe it or not, none of the brokers I’d worked for had EVER mentioned keeping the names and contact information for anyone once their transaction had closed.

So – My broker let me take copies of my current listings and contact those folks when the listings expired, but that was it.

Worse, when people called the office looking for me, the secretary told them I was in the phone book, but I wasn’t in real estate any more. Of course that wasn’t true – I had opened a competing agency.

I’d rather that didn’t happen to you!

Whether you work in real estate, insurance, lending, or any service industry, you will have built a following. You have or have had clients who want no one but you.

You need to keep them!

Hopefully, you have the names of all those folks you were dealing with. If not, consider doing all you can to gather them before you leave your current position.

If you have the names and contact information , you can take them with you.

How? Begin with the personal touch…

You can accomplish a lot on the telephone – calling the folks who know you well and will be happy to hear from you. Do follow those calls with an email or a letter, reminding them to change your work address and phone number in their files. If your email has changed, be sure to write and tell everyone.

For the others, you’ll need to send some carefully composed letters.

“Hi, I’m over here now!” isn’t going to cut it!!

Instead, take the time to think back about the service you gave. What did you do that your clients valued and appreciated most? What did you do that others in your position didn’t take the time to do?

These are the things you need to mention in your letters – to remind those past clients of why they value you.

When you write them, use your name, your photo, and the name of the agency where they knew you. It’s tough on the ego to realize that your name alone might not be enough, but it’s reality.

Instead of feeling hurt, just remember that people are busy and their minds are cluttered with thousands of thoughts. They might remember your face without remembering your name. So you need to give them a few “thought prods.”

Remember that your letter needs to focus on your reader and the benefit they’ll get from getting in touch with you. Frame it as “good news” for them.

And if you need help… contact me at marte@copybymarte.com. Writing good letters is what I do.