Automated Marketing Letters Really Do Work in Commercial Real Estate Brokerage

In commercial real estate, a few different marketing approaches work very well.  One such process is that of sending direct letters. In every period of 12 months, you can send a series of specific letters to people within your database.

There are a number of specific goals and targets to focus on as part of the letter sending process.

• Firstly you are trying to establish if the person you are connecting with has any challenges when it comes to property sales, leasing, or property management.
• Secondly, you are marketing yourself as the property expert in the local area.
• Thirdly you are growing your database for future connection opportunity.

Send prospecting letters to new people and prospects in this way every day. A small number of letters sent daily will help you get traction in the marketplace.

Every letter should be followed up with a telephone call when possible; so send a small number of letters each day or week. The ‘extended value over time’ is good. If you follow through those letters with a direct call, you will convert more meetings with new people, and over time those meetings will convert to listing and business opportunity.  Its all about contact and relevance; repeat the process over time.  Letters do that.

Effective Direct Mail Strategy

Here are some tips to help you establish this new business process based on direct mail:

1. Send a series of letters over time. Over a period of 12 months, it is best to send at least one letter every two months to your list of targets or prospects. The object of the letter is to open the door on future opportunity.  If you are really organised in the prospecting process then you can send one letter every month; in that case, you could find that the followup calls required could be difficult given the work volume.
2. Ultimately most of the new business you create will be through personal contact. The letters you send should encourage future meetings and personal contact.
3. Personalise the approach. Focus on the individual as part of your marketing approach; that in itself will require a degree of research when it comes to property ownership, business names, and property requirements. Get to know the right people to correspond with and write the letter specifically to them in each case.
4. Provide relevant information about the local area.  Property owners and tenants like to hear about changes and challenges to property issues locally.  When something is happening from a property or planning perspective, take the time to write an article about it.  Copy the article and include it in any direct mail that you send out.
5. Keep the letter simple and enclose your business card.  If the letter is discarded by the person you corresponded with, the business card is likely to be retained.  Your business card is the most effective marketing tool that you have at your disposal.
6. Show yourself as the property expert.  If you have recently sold or leased property locally, use those property transactions as a base of content in the letters sent out.  Success letters are very powerful business tools for real estate agents and brokers.
7. Stay in regular contact with your prospects to a cycle of sending at least one letter in every period of 90 days.  It is preferable if you can shorten the letter cycle to periods of 60 days or 30 days.  There is a cost involved in direct mail marketing, so ensure that you follow up every letter sent.  Regular contact helps build relevance with the people that you want to know or meet with.

The direct mail process doesn’t replace the need for you to make cold calls, but it does complement the other prospecting activities that you have running currently.  Repeat the letter sending process in a regular way.  Track and measure the contacts and meeting that you create through sending these letters.