Prospecting Letters at the Push of a Button in Commercial Real Estate
In commercial real estate brokerage, prospecting letters are a very powerful source of new business leads and listing opportunities. For this reason it is important that you are able to send your prospecting letters at the ‘push of a button’ and in a frequent way. Database software will help you do that.
What is the ideal frequency for sending these letters? The answer is about once every 30 to 60 days to the separate and specific market segments such as:
- Property investors
- Tenants
- Landlords
- Business owners
- Owner occupiers
Regular Prospecting
So why send prospecting letters regularly? Over time they will help consolidate your brand as an industry specialist. Certainly, the letter process works better for individuals than on a brokerage basis. That being said here are some more rules to sending these marketing letters:
- Keep your messages simple. A single page with 3 or 4 paragraphs will help convey the key message.
- Use a ‘title’ or theme for the letter that attracts the eye of the person or market segment that you are focusing on. Use the theme to help with your follow up calls to the people in the despatch.
- Always sign your letters personally and do so in blue ink. It shows people that you have taken the time to get involved in your correspondence and the letter is not just another piece of ‘marketing material’.
- Enclose your business card and nothing else with the letter. As a general rule do not put any brochures inside the envelope. You want your correspondence read; so the business card is to be the only ‘enclosure’.
- Each letter should be crafted with a property type and or reader in mind. Whilst you may be sending out plenty of letters, they should be to groups within your database so it makes it easier to establish a clear and relevant message. There will be real differences between letters for property investors, business proprietors, and tenants.
- Each piece of correspondence should be personally addressed. The connection to the reader must be professional and relevant.
- Have a story to tell about the market that will help them read the content. A good story is valuable to readership and the follow-up call.
- Always and wherever possible follow up the letter with a telephone call. The call will further consolidate your brand and business image. Every call should be supported by informational based questions. Get to know what the person is thinking and doing in property today. Are there some things that you can help them with?
- Make it easy for people to contact you as a result of each correspondence piece. That is why the business card is so important. You want them to keep the business card for the time that they require property help in the future.
You can craft great messages and marketing themes for all of this by using tools and books containing ‘words that sell’ or ‘phrases that sell’. The choice of words will help lift readership and relevance.
