RISMEDIA, December 1, 2009—Ed Blackwell’s been in real estate for 15+ years—all with Keller Williams Realty—but is still fairly new to the Lowe’s REALTOR® Benefits Program. And even though he’s one of 12,000+ Realtors in the Houston area, Blackwell believes that the Lowe’s program will eventually make him stand out from the rest.
“I use the Lowe’s REALTOR® Benefits Program home-seller cards,” says Blackwell, based in Spring, Texas. Thus far, Blackwell, who’s only been using the Lowe’s program for about eight months, is very excited about the plan.
The cards are custom-designed with the Realtor’s photo on them, which Blackwell says is a big distinguisher for him because it adds credibility by showing his affiliation with Lowe’s. “Lowe’s is a very prestigious name and these pieces are so professionally done—the entire concept is great.
“I am so impressed by the design and look of the direct mail pieces—they’re very eye-catching,” he adds. “If I were a seller, they would immediately catch my attention.”
To date, Blackwell says he’s already sent out home-seller cards to all of his clients and plans to continue doing so. “It’s like anything else—the key is consistency,” he says. “You have to keep going and eventually people will catch on.”
Additionally, Blackwell believes that the slow market pickup will have a large effect on his business as well as how often people take advantage of the Lowe’s coupon provided on the home-seller cards he’s mailing.
“The market here is starting to rebound,” he says. “That in itself will help in the responses I receive. More people will be interested in selling their homes and, therefore, more people will be interested in taking on more home improvement projects that we typically see come along with a home sale,” he believes.
Moving ahead, Blackwell says that once sellers begin to associate him more with Lowe’s, other agents will most likely begin to notice. However, he doesn’t plan on sharing his secrets any time soon.
“Each person has their own way of marketing and doing things,” he says. “I certainly