RISMEDIA, July 12, 2010—Editor’s note: The Lowe’s Program for REALTORS® is free for NAR members and offers personal marketing tools from Lowe’s through their partnership in NAR’s REALTOR Benefits® Program.
For Doug Curtis, an important key to continued success is staying top of mind with his clients.
While he’s only been working full time in real estate since 2008, he understands the fundamentals and the importance of engaging your clients long after keys change hands. One of the tools he uses most is the Lowe’s Program for REALTORS®, and more specifically, Lowe’s Inside Out e-newsletter, which is sent via e-mail to Curtis’ lists of consumers at the beginning of each month.
“The thing I struggle with is that you have to stay in the back of clients’ minds,” says Curtis, a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker D’Ann Harper, Realtors in San Antonio, Texas. “The Inside Out e-newsletter is a non-intrusive way to do that. You can’t continuously bother people with phone calls, so this is a good way to keep a touch point…and it works.”
“Just the other day, I was at Starbucks and ran into a client. He came up to me and told me that he loved receiving the Lowe’s Inside Out e-newsletter, so it’s an interesting, mutually beneficial agreement.”
Curtis says he’s so happy with the e-newsletter, which includes a monthly article from Money magazine, and articles on trends, buying, selling and moving, that he continues to add more clients to receive it each month.
“What’s great about it is that the articles are positive and show how the market is beginning to come back,” he says. “The articles are helpful toward getting people off the fence.
“Plus, they are topical—sometimes by season, sometimes by the market—so there’s always something that comes from it that you can discuss.”
For Curtis, using the e-newsletter gives him a great advantage in his marketplace.
“One thing that a lot of REALTORS® fail to do is follow up after the deal is done,” he says. “With the e-newsletter, you’re still there and interested in helping out with your client’s future. Communication is key and not enough REALTORS® realize that.”
Another positive of using the e-newsletter: showing a partnership with Lowe’s adds instant credibility.
“It adds a professional image to the delivery of what you’re sending when you are partnered with a company like Lowe’s,” says Curtis. “You stand out a bit more, too.”
Being part of the Lowe’s Program for REALTORS® and using the Inside Out e-newsletter is a no-brainer for Curtis. “I don’t understand why every agent isn’t using the e-newsletter,” says Curtis. “I’m glad for myself, but they are really losing out on an opportunity for free marketing. It takes five seconds to add a new client to the e-newsletter distribution. That’s five seconds of time that could make a huge difference down the line.”
For more information, visit www.lowesrealtorbenefits.com.