No Limits to Prospecting Letter Success Today

In commercial real estate brokerage there are no limits to the advantages and results that you can get to prospecting letters.  That being said, you really must understand the process and targets.

To get the matter under control, consider the following questions:

• Who are you writing to?
• What are the pressures of the market today?
• Why will someone need your services?
• What are the segments of the market where you are considered a ‘specialist’?
• How can your letter be special?

From these points it is easy to see that your prospecting letter has to be well crafted with a few targets in mind.  When you specifically handle the letter in a professional way you get better results.

Here are some important facts to help you get the system up and running:

1. There is a cost to the process so every letter should be followed up with a telephone call.  The cost of postage and your time in sending the letters will require effort in follow through.
2. Don’t send out too many letters.  Send 5 or 10 per day.  Consistency is more important than volume.  As I said, it is really critical to follow up all the letters you send out.
3. Personalise everything.  This means that you must have the correct information for the person you are writing to.  Don’t make mistakes here as it can send the wrong message.  Check the personal details of the person you are writing to before you send the correspondence.
4. Send the letters out on a Friday to be followed through with a telephone call in the coming week.  Start making the calls on a Wednesday.  All calls should be completed by Friday.
5. Every letter should be simple.  Use 3 or 4 paragraphs to introduce yourself and your property speciality.  Focus on the ‘pain’ in the market currently and how you can help with that.  Tell the person that you will be calling in a few days.
6. Always put your business card in the envelope.  Don’t include anything else.  It is likely that they will keep your card even if the letter is discarded.
7. Track and measure the meetings you create from the letters.  It is likely that your conversions will be higher from letters than by ‘cold calling’ as a comparison.

It is a good idea to match the letters to separate key issues and target groups.  This says that you should have separate letters for sales, leasing, property management, industrial, office, and retail.  Make your message clear.  Stand out as the property specialist that you are.