Farming a neighborhood or geographic area is a tried-and-true method for generating leads. So is sending direct mail to those targets.
In a recent interview, Bruce Inman, a broker/associate with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene Memorial Office in Houston, shared his winning strategy and process for finding leads.
“Every day, seven days a week, I mail out five Seller’s Reports to prospective clients,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for four years, and I know for a fact that it works.”
Here’s how Inman finds his daily five:
Every morning, he checks for expired and terminated listings. Then, using a map, he searches for homes near properties where he’s had a listing. Then he systematically goes around, in a radius, looking for properties that meet his criteria.
He checks tax records to see how long the owners have been there. If they’ve owned the property 10 – 20 years, and it’s not upside down, it’s a target.
Once he has his five properties identified, his next step is to create a property report to send to the homeowners. Inman uses RPR Seller’s Reports for this, removing pages to make it mailable (about 10 pages). He customizes the front pages of each to include his picture, branding, contact information and a custom greeting message. He also includes a current market analysis to let the owners know how much their home is worth.
Inman binds the pages and puts the report in an envelope with two business cards. He also handwrites all the addresses—a technique he said really resonates with people.
“I have found that the personal touch of handwriting the address has a huge emotional impact,” he said. “And people keep these reports around, because it’s about their home. One couple called me two years after I sent it, and when we met in person, it was right there on their coffee table.”
Inman’s final tip? “You have to be consistent, and stick to doing it every day,” he said. “And don’t get frustrated if you don’t see immediate results. It took me six months until I got a response, and then they just kept coming.”
REALTORS® can follow Inman’s method using RPR reports every day to keep your prospect pipeline pumping.
RPR is an exclusive property data tool provided by The National Association of REALTORS®. Get started today at narrpr.com or visit the RPR Learning Center to access free webinar sign ups, on-demand tutorials and helpful printable guides.
