Best strategies for advertising real estate services

[Timothy Church]

A quick question for all those who offer services to others within real estate. I currently own a vacation rental management company and we've had great growth from 15 units to 75 in the last two years. Up to this point it has just been word of mouth or existing clients for growth. Now I'm looking to move things forward and start actually advertising.

Has there been a particular medium that you have found good luck with for advertising services? I'm working on trying to get my head around Facebook ads but I haven't got it set up properly and it is going out to a rather broad market. Should I focus on more direct marketing such as mailers to existing vacation rental properties or maybe going to more meetup to interact with other investors? 

Just was curious if something has stood out for finding real estate investor interested in services.

[Tyler Solomon]

Find a facebook ads virtual assistant to dial in the adds (worth the cost IMO). Networking events can be very helpful. Even something as simple as reaching out to other RE professionals such as lenders or agents and asking them for referrals. Offer an incentive with it too.

[John Underwood]

We gets cards and letters all the time from PM's wanting to manage our 6 bedroom cabin.

Try doing that.

[Eliott Elias]

Cold emailing. Sell your services to every single lease listing in your market and offer a lower property management fee and better service than what they're being offered 

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Timothy Church:

First off, recognize that your business has grown because a lot of people entered the short-term market in the past few years. If the market turns, many of them will sell and go away. You need to be prepared to lose some clients.

As for marketing, I think direct-mail marketing is a good tool. You can buy lists for absentee owners in specific areas that you know work as short-term rentals.

Another option is to market to real estate brokerages. Explain your services, your fees, what areas you work in, etc. Then offer a referral fee for anyone they send to you that signs a one-year contract. 

[Debbie Boman]

Hey Timothy!

As a real estate agent working with investors, clients are always looking for GOOD property management. We were talking about this a couple of day ago with an STR group I belong to with members all over the country. Good STR management is hard to find. So, agents in your area are a great idea. Maybe start an STR meetup? Include agents and STR owners?

I actually have a couple of units in Galveston ( I self manage), but know that it is needed.  We should connect and see how we can help each other!

[Leslie Anne Morris]

I do omnichannel marketing with Vintory. 

[Timothy Church]

@Nathan Gesner I recognize the effect the market has had. At our max we were actually at 95 properties but have had a dip due to the market slowly correcting.
 

It was actually one of the reasons I've started looking outside of just organic growth for the future as I would like a decent pipeline set up.

[Timothy Church]

@Leslie Anne Morris I'll have to take a look at that. I hadn't heard of it before. Has it had decent ROI for you?

[Leslie Anne Morris]

Quote from @Timothy Church:

@Leslie Anne Morris I'll have to take a look at that. I hadn't heard of it before. Has it had decent ROI for you?

Yes

[Bob Lachance]

Hey Timothy,

I have virtual assistants who do advertising and marketing for me. They do my email marketing, text message marketing campaigns, social media, and cold calling. I've had great success getting the word out ever since I had them on my team.

Hope this helps!

[Drew Sygit]

@Timothy Church

Why does everyone want to spend money chasing strangers – and ignore their own personal network?

Per this NY Times article, the average American knows around 600 people.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/science/the-average-american-knows-how-many-people.html#:~:text=The%20average%20American%20knows%20about,do%20you%20know%20named%20Kevin%3F

Per the US Census Bureau, the average American moves 11.7 time in their life, which based upon an approximate lifespan of 84 years, works out to be about every 7 years.
https://www.census.gov/topics/population/migration/guidance/calculating-migration-expectancy.html#:~:text=Using%202007%20ACS%20data%2C%20it,one%20move%20per%20single%20year

So, if the average American knows 600 people and they each move about every 7 years, that means that the average American knows around 85 people that move in any given year.

How many of those moves do you want to be involved in?

To maximize the number of transactions you’re involved in you will need to:

• Be Top of Mind when they think about moving - which requires consistent reminders.
• Be seen as an Expert – which requires a consistent message and Evidence of Success stories
• Gain their Trust – which requires communicating integrity

So, start out by listing everyone you know in an Excel spreadsheet.

Why Excel? Because later, you can easily use it as your mailing list! Create columns for Name, Street Address, City, State, Zip and then contact info: Last Contact, Relationship, Status, Email & Phone.

IMPORTANT: do NOT ask people for THEIR business, ask for referrals! Why? Because they will get defensive if they feel you are pressuring them. Remember, they can always refer themselves😊

Now, make it a goal to call at least 5-10 of these people EVERY day and ask a MAX OF THREE off the list below of who they know that:

• Just inherited a home
• Had a loved one pass away
• Is behind on their mortgage or tax payments
• Has a relative that can’t take care of their house anymore
• Has a house they’re having trouble selling
• Is facing bankruptcy
• Knows a probate attorney
• Knows a bankruptcy attorney
• etc

Why only three off the list per contact? Because on average, we can only remember three things at a time. If you try to go over the whole list, you’ll lose the attention of an average person and they won’t remember anything!

It should only take you about a month or two to contact everyone on your list and then the tough part – you start all over again.

Why the repetition? Because it takes repetition for people to remember things and you have to be top-of-mind when they encounter a potential client for you!

Have you ever been to McDonalds? Of course you have! So, why is McDonalds still spending billions on advertising?

One more tip – people remember stories that trigger their emotions. So, tell a story of how you (or a fellow wholesaler) helped a seller out with their challenge(s). Change your story each month as different stories will resonate with different people AND use each story to emphasize one of your “who do you know…” questions.

As you start closing deals, you will need to reinvest your profits into mailing lists and other scalable activities to grow your business.

One last thing – we recommended you create a Status column on your spreadsheet, now we’ll explain why. If you find someone that seems to know a lot of people needing your services, wouldn’t it make sense to focus more resources on them? Conversely, you will run into people on your list that just seem to be a waste of time, so you’ll want to avoid them. So, create status codes for both of these and a few in-between codes to help you work smarter, not harder.

[Wale Lawal]

@Timothy Church

The real estate market goes through many ups and downs and is dependent on several factors such as interest rates, economic conditions, and job growth.

Regardless of how the market behaves currently, both novices and pros can apply many strategies that can propel the business forward. This article examines some of the key strategies that can be employed to expand your real estate business.

1. Identify the target market
2. Budget for marketing expenses
3. Create a website and use social media
4. Encourage referrals and word-of-mouth
5. Respond quickly
6. Publish a real estate newsletter
7. Dispel questions on the need for a real estate agent
8. Plan for success
9. Develop brand awareness

Read this article for more information https://articles.bplans.com/9-...

All the best!