Realty411 Magazine Featuring Eric Counts, Credit Nerds | Page 41

This is a very basic overview of the way a real estate
deal goes from start to finish.
1. You spend a lot of time and money generating leads
2. Your marketing results in the seller contacting you
about the property
3. At some point you will have a phone conversation with
the seller
4. The next step is to look at the property if the initial
screening call went well
5. You inspect the property and decide whether or not to
make an offer on the property
6. After negotiations that offer is accepted or rejected
7. If the offer is accepted you will proceed to the
closing/settlement (and get a testimonial)
If you look at the process it’s all pretty mundane. Ask
yourself this; looking at these steps, is there anything there
that would create a remarkable customer experience? I
don’t think so.
So let me ask you this:
• If nothing were off limits, what could you do?
• What would you change?
• Is there a way to “reinvent” the way this process evolves?
• Where can you innovate?
Let’s Do a Little Brainstorming Here
Let’s start with #1 which is lead generation and look at
how you might reinvent the direct mail process.
If everyone is sending the same direct mail pieces;
letters and postcards, what can you do differently? How
about sending out a newsletter with helpful homeowner
tips as your first mail piece? Instead of starting with a
letter or postcard that says “I want to buy your house”, you
begin your relationship with “Hi I’m Sharon, and I have
some helpful tips for you today”. The point is to make a
different first impression than everyone else.
Think of it this way; send the sellers something they
will enjoy reading and in the process they will be
introduced to you as a person rather than a business that
wants something from them (their house). By doing this,
over time you become the trusted resource in your market.
At the bottom of your newsletter let them know that you
buy houses and share your contact information.
Taking this thought one step further, why not replace
one letter or postcard every quarter with something that
would be useful to the sellers like a quarterly newsletter or
market update? Information to create these information
pieces is readily available on the internet, so it’s really
pretty easy.
Doesn’t that make a whole different impression than a
“we buy houses” letter or a postcard that’s all about you
and your company? You bet it does.
Final Tips
I would like to
challenge you to look
at each one of those
steps in the average
real estate deal and
think of a way you
can “reimagine” the
way you do business.
Find ways that you
can be remarkable in
this crowded
marketplace of real
estate investing.
Sharon Vornholt
Louisville Gals Real
Estate Blog
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