Get Business At Events
Get Business at Events with Your Book
Your real estate business relies on people — people who want to buy or sell houses and people who know people who want to buy or sell houses. It makes sense that the more people you meet, the more your potential customer base grows. To thrive, you need to convey your message to those people.
You want them to understand that you’re authoritative, experienced and skilled. You know the real estate industry, from the trends that affect home sales in your neighborhood to the intricacies of financing deals and writing contracts.
Your books can establish your credibility and status as a real estate expert, and events are the perfect way to get them into more peoples’ hands.
Every month, thousands of people gather at special events and mixers. These are opportunities for you to meet people and, with your books, establish yourself as someone with whom they want to do business. But to be effective, you need a strategy.
How to implement your strategy:
- 1Make a list of events that will be held in your area. Farmers’ markets, art walks, home shows, senior expos, or even local fairs can be great places to get your books into a lot of hands.
- 2Contact whoever hosts the event and reserve a booth or location. Allow plenty of lead time. In many cases, this will be months for large-scale events such as conferences and conventions, and perhaps only weeks or days for smaller local gatherings.
- 3When you arrive, set up a table or booth. If possible, put up a banner that says, “Free Real Estate Books on Buying or Selling a Home.” Put all of your books on the table.
- 4Smile when people approach. Try to start a conversation and get their contact information. Don’t be timid about starting conversations with people who walk past. Most attendees at such events are browsers who allow themselves time for such encounters. Simply ask, “Hello! Would you like a free real estate book?” Agents who master this approach — people who really know how to work a trade show or similar event — learn not to be afraid to ask people if they want free stuff. As a result, they get a lot of leads.
- 5Don’t fool yourself into thinking you don’t belong. I recently went to a farmers’ market and saw some interesting people. A farmers’ market is usually a place where farmers sell their fresh produce and meat products, right? Wrong! At this farmers’ market, I saw a church representative, a roof/gutter replacement contractor, even a Cutco showman.
- 6Remember, events you host or sponsor are great opportunities, too! This strategy works equally well at mixers, such as those held by your local chamber of commerce and local or regional business clubs. These, too, are excellent places to give out your books, although the exhibit opportunities might be more casual and limited.
The key to succeeding at events is having enough confidence in your abilities to stand behind what you offer. When you give people a book, you pique their interest, and they’re more receptive to listening to you because they respect you.
Case Studies
A member named Sheri made a sale to someone she met at a chamber of commerce mixer. This person mentioned they were looking for a home, so Sheri gave him her buyer book. The buyer contacted her a few months later and bought a home with her.
Getting Established
Here’s another case study, about an agent named Christine. Not only does Christine hand out her books, she also hosts events to promote them to the public. As a relatively new agent, she’s only been using her Business Card book for a few months. So far, she has given out 50 copies. She’s focused on building her reputation in her community but has already used the books to get appointments with prospective clients.
“I’ve been calling them ‘Savvy Seminars for Homeowners,’” she said of the events she hosts.
Christine and her team invite members of the public to learn more about their business and home-selling strategies, then hand out the books. “Last time, which was just last Wednesday, we had 14 people come, and they all were interested in selling their homes. So, it’s really kind of been really successful for me."
Christine said she wrote a press release for the book. “I got some interest with that and also I give them out at open houses and offer them through social media.” She follows up with people by phone or email, “Then I put them on my weekly newsletter and I follow them on social media and try to keep in contact with them as much as I can.” She’s been gaining great exposure and plans to get the books into some local shops for giveaways.
2 Listings in Two Hours
Sharon has been a Realtor for 11 years. She said she was attracted to Authorify because she wanted to develop a competitive edge — some powerful way to differentiate herself from other real estate agents in her market.
She received a small number of free sample books with her name on the cover and was impressed. “The funny thing is, I see you guys marketing on Facebook a lot, but I’ve never seen the product actually in hand,” she said. She placed a few books on a coffee table in her office as an experiment, to see how her co-workers would react. The response was electric: “She’s got a book! She’s got a book! So awesome!”
She ordered more books, which arrived on a Friday. The following Sunday, she attended an event. She and another real estate agent met up with some clients, watched people milling around, and listened to the live music. “Then for an experiment, we sat at a table where I knew absolutely nobody. I threw two books on the table, and people started picking them up and looking at them,” Sharon said. “It was like fire: ‘This Realtor, she has a book!’”
“I got two listings on Sunday for people I never even knew because of the books,” Sharon said. “One is about $550,000; the other one’s probably going to be pitching in the [$800,000 range].”
Not surprisingly, Sharon decided she wants to order more books. “The way that people respond to you with the book … it just puts you at the top. You’re a professional in what you do. It’s not a business card.” She encouraged people to create books for themselves and to share books with their friends and family.
“I think it’s truly a great product,” Sharon said. “I’m really excited. I think that it’ll probably make me a lot of money this year, using it. It has something of value to it. It has something to hold onto. You’re not likely to throw your book in the trash; they’re always going to keep it somewhere in the house.”
To Summarize:
Take Action:
With your book and this advice, you have everything you need to turn events into lucrative listing opportunities. Don’t miss out on your chance to get your name and brand out. Take 10 minutes and look up events in your area. Find the right opportunity, and get yourself involved. If you don’t take action, someone else will.
