Prospecting Letter Cycles and Systems

It is a fact that prospecting letters really work in commercial real estate brokerage.  That being said you do need a plan to the process.

As a marketing process, it is not just a matter of sending out letters and hoping that people will call you back.  In most cases they won’t call.  You have to make the prospecting letter process work by directly contacting the people you sent the letters to; you do that within a week.  Let the letter sell your contact call.

The original letter opens the door up for your call and contact.  In that way you can get more meetings with the right people; those meetings can then lead to listings and deals.

Here are some tips to help you with this process of prospecting.

  1. The letters should be sent on a Friday or Monday so they are received on a Wednesday or Thursday.  Start the calls on the following Friday and carry the calls into the next week.
  2. Send the mail outs in groups or market segments.  In that way you will keep ahead of your calls.  It stands to reason that too many letters sent out at once create too many calls.  Stay under control with your marketing efforts so you can connect with the right people.
  3. Every letter should be written with the reader in mind.  Craft the correspondence with a message or theme that will attract readership.  Understand the groups that you are writing to and what they will be attracted to.  The groups will normally be investors, tenants, buyers, sellers, property owners, and franchise groups.  Every direct mail piece should be crafted and written for the target group.
  4. Keep your message on one page and carry it over 4 paragraphs.  Simplicity is the key to readership.
  5. Use a ‘tag line’ or header that attracts the reader to the content.  You can get some good books on ‘phrases that sell’ to help your correspondence.
  6. Send the direct letters every 60 days and base the correspondence on a new and different message each time.  You can use market information and changes as a base topic to write about.  Look for changes in the market to help you with that.

This should not be your only marketing and prospecting process.  It should complement ‘cold calling’ and ‘drop in’ calls to businesses and property investors.   Every day it is a matter of talking to new people in a meaningful way.  Over time you will build your contact base of prospects.

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