The marketing secret every child knows

People respond to repetition. If you are a parent, you know how hard it is to refuse repeated requests for an ice cream or a desperately wanted toy.

If you are not a parent, you probably remember asking, even begging for a toy, a treat or permission to stay up past your bedtime, until your parents finally gave in.

Your prospects – homeowners that are 30, 60 or 90 days late on their mortgage payment – are similar. They may need to be asked repeatedly, too. The reality is marketing has never meant to be and will never be a one-time shot. It may take more multiple “touches” to create the trust and rapport necessary for a homeowner to work with you. It’s a well established rule of marketing that any communication is most effective when it is repeatedly brought to the attention of your target market.

Armed with an exclusive list of borrowers in pre foreclosure that recently missed a loan payment, you can send one message out and get a response. One transaction will pay for the cost of your campaign and put a lot of money in your pocket. Yet the best results come from using your database for repetitive marketing.

This principle of repetition is especially true when contacting distressed borrowers because many homeowners in preforeclosure are in denial, or may not warm immediately to a stranger. It’s worth repeating that homeowners must trust you first, before they give you permission to work with their lender. Familiarity builds credibility, which in turn builds trust. Your initial message should stress the magnitude of what will happen if the homeowner chooses to do nothing. Each subsequent message should escalate in tone and urgency.

We’re often asked what the best marketing vehicle is to generate a response. Is it a post card, a phone call, a letter, a knock on the door, or is it best to drive them to a website? The answer is all of the above. There is no silver bullet. Rather, it is constant exposure to your service that is the biggest determinant of success.

The more touchpoints you set up with distressed borrowers, the easier it will be for them to contact you and trust you. If you are persistent, you will have a smile on your face just like the kid with a belly full of ice cream that he/she convinced mom to buy.

For more insight into marketing to distressed homeowners, visit us at www.preforeclosuredata.net, call us at 607-785-8158, or e-mail us at [email protected].