Commercial Real Estate Brokerage – How to Achieve Effective Direct Mail Strategies

In commercial real estate brokerage, the direct mail process has a place and relevance if you are looking to find and convert new business leads. 

Certainly, emails exist as a convenient communication tool for everyone, but most emails of a marketing nature are deleted very quickly.

If you want your marketing message to be considered across your target market, then a direct mail piece that is personally addressed and matched to the target audience is very powerful in brokerage sales and leasing.

Why is Direct Mail Important?

Here are the facts:

• A direct letter has the potential to show professionalism and relevance. It is hard to do that in an email.
• Any letter that is sent should be followed up with a personal telephone call to move the contact to the next level.
• In sending a letter you can focus on one target, and that is usually to introduce the personal telephone call that is following in a few days.
• A simple letter is better than a lengthy and rambling discourse over a few pages.
• Don’t send too many letters at any one time; understand that calls have to be made and you can only do that with a small number of correspondences sent.
• Small numbers of letters sent consistently over time will get you further with this marketing process.

One thing that many real estate agents and brokers struggle with is that sending marketing related letters takes effort, research, and resources.  There is also a cost of postage to the process that has to be remembered and added. 

Given these perceived ‘negatives’, every letter sent should be followed through with a telephone call to see if a meeting of relevance can be created.

The Direct Mail Marketing Facts

Is this marketing process for you?  If so, then here are some ideas and proven rules to make things work more effectively:

1. Page length – Keep your message to one side of an A4 page, comprising of just 3 or 4 paragraphs. It is a fact that most adults do not and will not want to read a lengthy piece of correspondence.  You must attract the eye of the reader through simplicity.
2. Headline – Given that you should be connecting with certain target markets, the letters should be specific to the target market, and contain a core message that is directed at the person you are writing to. A good headline can achieve that focus.
3. Dot points – Going back to the issue that most people do not want to read drawn-out pieces of correspondence, use some well-crafted dot points matched to the targeted reader so that they are drawn into what is being written.
4. Business card – Always enclose your business card in everything that you send out. The same rule applies to correspondence and direct mail.

These are four simple concepts to be merged into your marketing process. 

From this point on it is just a matter of reaching out to people with well-crafted messages in targeted groups such as property developers, tenants, business owners, landlords, and franchise groups. 

Keep your marketing processes simple, but ensure that they are consistent and ongoing.  That is how you break into any new prospect and or client relationship.