OVERVIEW

Our target farming products brand you as the neighborhood expert by consistently delivering data-driven, neighborhood specific marketing pieces to areas you’ve selected over a period of time. Below are best practices to maximize the value of our products and aid you in generating more business.

HOME VALUE ESTIMATOR

The Home Value Estimator (HVE) is a FREE real-time lead generation tool available to all agents using our Target Farming Reports or Just Listed/Just Sold Postcards. On each report or postcard, homeowners are drawn to a map of their home and surrounding neighborhood. A strong call-to-action with the homeowner’s address prompts them to enter a unique code at MyHomeEst.com to receive a complimentary analysis on how sales around their home are impacting its value.

The benefit of the HVE tool is that it completely customizes the web page to the homeowner without requiring any personal information to be entered. To see an example of what homeowners see when visiting the website, go to MyHomeEst.com and enter code AC-VH-CD. The unique code ties back to the property and immediately provides to you, via email, the homeowner’s name, address, phone number, and email address (if available). A text is also sent to you letting you know an email has been received and is in your inbox.

The most important thing to remember is that following up with the lead is crucial to building a relationship for a sale today or one down the road. Each lead you receive from the HVE map means that homeowners are viewing their home value estimate on MyHomeEst.com. This means they have some interest in the value of their property and may be open to a discussion about the local real estate market and interested in a more accurate assessment of their home’s value through a CMA.

Home Value Estimator: How To Follow Up

Phone
If the phone number is available in the lead form you received, contact the homeowner (check the Do Not Call List first) and do a general inquiry to see whether they’ve received your Target Farming Report or Just Listed / Just Sold postcard. This “no pressure” approach is a great opportunity for an ice-breaker conversation. Mention your experience and ties to the neighborhood (i.e. you’ve been a real estate agent there for five years, live there, etc.) and let them know you’d be happy to perform a complimentary home value analysis in-person. The goal is to schedule a meeting where you can meet them face-to-face. If the homeowner is not open to a meeting, thank them for their time and let them know you’re available should they have a need for it in the future or to assist them in any way possible (best schools, best hotspots, real estate questions, etc.). Let the homeowner also know to be on the lookout for future reports/postcards.

Unable to reach the homeowner the first or even second time you reach out to them? Don’t consider it a loss just yet. A three-year study by InsideSales confirmed only a 30% success rate in reaching the consumer on the first try. Furthermore, it was recommended to call them up to six times within a two-week period to achieve a 90% rate of success.

Door-to-Door
Meeting people face-to-face shows them that you are working hard to establish a relationship with them. Since you’re mailing them reports or postcards, you can introduce yourself as a familiar face. Like the phone call approach, take a “no pressure” tactic and introduce yourself followed by inquiring as to whether they received your mail piece. Bring a sample of their letter/postcard to them with your business card and any other information you feel would be helpful to establish your credentials/neighborhood ties. Attempt to schedule a follow-up meeting to do a home value analysis and, if not welcome, thank them and leave your business card, letting them know you’re always available for questions. Homeowner not home? Leave a note with your business card or a small keeper (magnetic business card and notepad) letting them know that you stopped by. Be careful of “no solicitation” neighborhoods, and – like calling a home – be mindful of holidays, early mornings, or late evening time periods where contact may not be welcome by homeowners.

Email
Email is a viable secondary option to an in-person approach of phone calls or door-to-door. Don’t overwhelm homeowners, but diversify your contact methods and reach out in a consistent manner; the odds of connecting with them will dramatically increase. Like contacting the homeowner by phone, approach the email with a “no pressure” conversational style, such as:

Additional Follow-Up Options
A lead indicates someone whom not only views your mail pieces but has an interest in the real estate market and may be more likely to act on selling their home in the near-future. For details, reach out to your designated marketing assistant or postcard representative. Supplementary pieces like these are beneficial for repeat exposure to you, but contacting leads directly is still critical as a first-step.

TARGET FARMING REPORTS

Value-added Target Farming Reports educate homeowners on recent sales in their neighborhood and other similar neighborhoods. Keeping homeowners educated about what’s happening in their community establishes you as the neighborhood expert and is key to gaining and maintaining visibility and generating leads. It is important to review your report to make sure you’re satisfied with what will be sent to homeowners based on your knowledge of the area (comps, introductory letter, etc.).

Target Farming Reports may feature up to six featured available listings, including a property photo, property description and price. Due to state real estate commission regulations, using another agent’s listings requires written permission from the listing agent and/or broker. Many offices and agencies allow agents to feature another agent’s listing on reports. Please check with your agency’s management for that policy. Featured available listings need not be in the associated farm area. It’s a better strategy to promote the same listings to a larger audience – all farm areas – for the greatest impact and lead generation.

Your Target Farming Reports will be delivered to tax roll addresses. You also have the option of mailing to the physical address (situs) or both tax roll and situs addresses. While we’ve already filtered out commercial, builder and bank owned properties, as well as redundancies, you can remove any homeowners from your mailing lists that you would not like to receive your report (i.e. other agents, etc.) as long as you include a minimum of 85% of your qualified homeowners. You can access the mailing list via your client login or your Personal Marketing Assistant. If there are international addresses for homeowners in your farm areas, you may choose to mail to those homeowners at an additional per report charge.

Target farming takes time to build up credibility and trust within a neighborhood, so be prepared to give this process time to work. Sometimes agents get a lead after just the first or second mailing, and sometimes potential clients may hang on to reports and contact you a few months after the sixth mailing when they need you. Commitment to mailing regularly year after year is vital to generating leads. You must be persistent and consistent with your plan to keep yourself visible to potential clients. In addition to sending out the report, schedule time to regularly connect with homeowners in the market. Some of the ways you can do this are:

Phone
Contact homeowners to ensure they’re receiving your reports, and request a meeting to do a complimentary home value analysis. Mention your credentials and community ties, and let them know you’re available to answer questions on the neighborhood and their home at any time. Check the Do Not Call List first, and be sensitive to early mornings, late evenings and holidays.

Door-to-Door
Although more time-consuming than phone calls, meeting a person face-to-face can demonstrate your commitment to them and the neighborhood. Since you’re mailing them reports, you can introduce yourself as a familiar face. Always carry a copy of the homeowner’s report and attempt to schedule a follow-up meeting to perform a complimentary home value analysis.

Additional Follow-Up Options
In addition to sending Target Farming Reports, supplementary material, like Ready to Move Postcards, and Just Listed / Just Sold Postcards , provide an additional way to stay in front of homeowners. These products are detailed below; reach out to your marketing assistant or postcard representative to order.

READY TO MOVE POSTCARDS

Ready to Move Postcards are available to agents using Target Farming Reports. These postcards showcase an agent’s ability to sell by featuring sold properties by both the agent and within their agency. Agents can easily adjust the mailing list to target homeowners who are most likely to move (i.e. lived in a home more than five years), allowing the agent to reach homeowners with a higher propensity to move. Postcards mirror the agent’s branding on Target Farming Reports, allowing for a consistent look and feel to all pieces. A photo of the Target Farming Report is also included on the back of the postcard with a call-out to watch for it in the coming months. In addition to Target Farming Reports, agents can send these supplementary postcards to keep their image in front of homeowners. Best practices for Ready to Move postcards mirror that for Target Farming Reports in terms of phone calls, door-to-door, and additional follow-up options.

JUST LISTED/JUST SOLD POSTCARDS

Marketing to a neighborhood keeps you top-of-mind amongst homeowners. Just Listed / Just Sold Postcards are a great way to show prospective clients your successful transactions and provide them with information about real estate activity where they live.

There are several best practices for Just Listed / Just Sold Postcards:

• It is recommended that you send out postcards every time you list and/or complete a transaction, as this further demonstrates your success in the area.
• Be mindful that photos on your postcard are high quality and best reflect the property to the community. Submit a new photo(s) if necessary.
• Review the property description to ensure it provides the best representation of the property, and submit any additional information to your postcard representative.
• Review comps on the back of the postcard (if available) prior to the postcard going out.
• Include the Home Value Estimator to facilitate real-time lead generation.
• Your photo and agency logo should be current and reflective of your brand. Please review these items, and notify us if you need to update them.

For Just Sold Postcards, bypass the lengthy property description on the back (it’s already sold, so no need to elaborate further) and instead make it about you, your history within the community, and your ability to sell your prospect’s home.

Facebook Advertising

OVERVIEW
Our system brands you as the neighborhood expert by building and maintaining your brand while highlighting your successful transactions as they occur within a specific neighborhood. Below are best practices to maximize the value of our service and aid you in generating more business.

JUST LISTED / JUST SOLD FACEBOOK ADVERTISING
Targeting the optimal audience for your Facebook Advertising Campaign, our system delivers real-time leads and all the branding benefits of Just Listed / Just Sold Postcard mailing but with significantly more reach. We create and launch your Facebook ads to promote your listings with creative copy and a strong call-to-action, prompting users to request more information.

Users don’t want to spend time filling out a contact form, though, especially when using mobile devices. We’ve solved this problem by auto-filling the form from their own personal Facebook profiles.

Each time a user submits their contact information, we’ll email you a notification, so you can pursue your lead. You’ll also have full access to your ad’s performance data – views, clicks, and leads – via the Campaign Status Page during and after the run of your ad.

Facebook Advertising: How To Follow Up

Many people who respond to your ad may be in the early stages of buying or selling their home and might want just basic information at that moment. If you make it a point to stay in touch regularly via phone and email, though, you will likely be the agent they work with when they are ready.

Phone
If the phone number is available in the lead report you received, contact the homeowner (check the Do Not Call List first) and do a general inquiry. This “no pressure” approach is a great opportunity for an ice-breaker conversation that will help you gauge the best steps to take.

Try starting conversations with a question that addresses the homeowner’s wish to learn more:
“Hello! I saw that you were looking for more information on my listing in XX. What questions can I answer for you?

Then, find out why they were curious:
“Can you tell me why you were interested? Do you own a home in the neighborhood, or are you thinking of moving to the area?”

Mention your experience and ties to the neighborhood (i.e. you’ve been a real estate agent there for five years, live there, etc.) and let them know you’d be happy to perform a complimentary home value analysis in-person. The goal is to schedule a meeting where you can meet them face-to-face. If the homeowner is not open to a meeting, thank them for their time and let them know you’re available should they have a need for it in the future or to assist them in any way possible (best schools, best hotspots, real estate questions, etc.). Let the homeowner also know to be on the lookout for future reports/postcards.

Unable to reach the homeowner the first or even second time you reach out to them? Don’t consider it a loss just yet. A three-year study by InsideSales confirmed only a 30% success rate in reaching the consumer on the first try. Furthermore, it was recommended to call them up to six times within a two-week period to achieve a 90% rate of success.

Email
Email is a viable secondary option to an in-person approach of phone calls. Don’t overwhelm homeowners, but diversify your contact methods and reach out in a consistent manner; the odds of connecting with them will dramatically increase. Like contacting the homeowner by phone, approach the email with a “no pressure” conversational style, such as: