Use Your Books in Waiting Rooms

It’s a simple fact of life: if you go into any sort of doctor’s office — or even the mechanic — you’re going to have to wait. That’s why they provide a table or shelf of easy reading materials for you to peruse while you’re there.

What if your book was sitting on one of those tables or shelves and the right person happened to pick it up?

Believe it or not, several of our members have gotten listings because someone picked up their book while they were sitting in a waiting room. This strategy is so simple and can gain you exposure to people you may not have otherwise been able to reach.

Here’s how to get your books into waiting rooms in your area and open the door to a whole host of new potential clients.

1. Identify Places You Can Leave Your Book.

Make a list of all the places in your area with waiting rooms. You can use YellowPages.com to search for businesses and offices in your area. Here are some examples of professionals and businesses that utilize waiting rooms:

2. Ask Permission to Put Your Book on the Shelf.

Once you have a list of places to leave your books, work your way down the list and contact them. Start with businesses you actually patronize because they’ll likely be more receptive to giving you permission.

You can write an email to the business explaining what your book is all about or call to ask permission. Even better, you can drop by with a copy of your book in hand and ask if you can leave it on the table. People are much less likely to reject you if you show up in person.

Here is a script you can use when you call or drop by with your book:

“Hi! My name is ________. I’m a patient/customer, and I have an unusual favor to ask. I’m not sure if you know this or not, but I work as a Realtor. You know how you leave those magazines in the lobby for people to read while they wait? I have a book about real estate that I offer to people. I wonder if you’d mind if I left my book inside your lobby with the magazines? Anyone who is waiting can read it. Would that be OK with you?”

If you deliver this script in person, hold your book in your hand as you talk. Right when you say, “my book,” reach out your hand and give your book to the person you’re speaking with.

If they say no, move onto the next office. Eventually, someone will let you leave a copy or two behind. Once you get more confident in your approach, you can get your book into waiting rooms all over your area.

3. Offer to Return the Favor.

If you’re consistently met with resistance from local businesses, you can offer them an incentive for letting you drop off your books. Here are some ideas to pique their interest:

4. Leave Your Books Behind.

You may be more inclined to simply leave a copy of your book behind the next time you visit your doctor or local mechanic. It’s very unlikely that any business will take major issue with you leaving your book on their shelf, and most probably won’t even notice.

If for any reason a business calls you to ask about the book, you can simply ask permission at that time.

Lorena’s Success Story

When Lorena obtained her first set of books, she gave them out to people who provided services — her dentist, hairdresser, nail technician, and others.

“I went to my regular visit to my dentist and he usually asks me, ‘How is the market?’” 

Her dentist told his office manager about Lorena’s book.

“She said, ‘The dentist told me you have a book and that you sell houses.’ I said, ‘Yes, I do.’ ‘Well, I have a house for sale. Why don’t you come over to my house?’ We made an appointment for about three or four days later. When I arrived at her house, according to her address, I had already prepared a quick CMA, and I put in a book for her, as well.

“I was talking to her and her husband about what I do, and they happened to be the pastors of the church. So they told me they want to sell their house and the church … I opened my folder and let them know what I could do for [them], and I had an autographed book for them as well, so the pastor was very interested.”

Lorena got the $500,000 listing for the office manager’s house — a six-bedroom home in a nice neighborhood. She also agreed to co-list the church with a commercial agent and received her regular commission on the sale.

Cindy’s Success Story

Cindy, a Colorado agent with 10 years of experience, had only been a member for 6 months when she shared her success using the books.

“What I did was I dropped off books for waiting rooms at the local hospitals and car dealerships and dentist offices, that kind of thing. And I’ve received phone calls. I think I’ve gotten a total of five calls, and each one of them listed with me. I sold their house.”

To Summarize:

Take Action:

The next time you’re sitting at your dentist’s office or waiting for the mechanic to finish your oil change, leave your book behind or ask the office manager for permission to do so. You might just get a call in a few weeks from someone who happened to peruse it while they were waiting to have their teeth cleaned.

How to Wear Your Book on Your Sleeve

Have you considered the idea that you don’t always have to TALK about your book with someone first to get them interested? There are also nonverbal ways to share your book with others. This is especially useful in busy situations such as these:

You might be questioning whether some of these occasions are “appropriate” places to talk about business, especially when people are trying to have fun. But that’s exactly the point! If you advertise your book creatively, you don’t need to be the party pooper and constantly bring up business — when people ask you about it, you can tell them.

Ways to Wear Your Book or Wear Something that Promotes it

Stumped for ways to “wear” your book? Here are a few of our favorites.

First, here are some suggestions of items you can wear — but feel free to get creative!

Now, here are some ways to promote your book on the item:

Does it actually work? YES!

Believe it or not, some of our members have started great conversations about their books by wearing shirts, pins, or stickers that say “Ask me about my book!” That means you can do the same.

One agent we spoke to at the National Association of Realtors 2019 convention said it was an ideal way to break the ice and get her books in peoples’ hands at business and community events.

To Summarize:

Take Action:

Download an image of your book cover from your confirmation email. Decide whether you’re going to put it on a shirt, pin, sticker, or tote and decide which verbiage you’ll use to capture attention. Then, wear your items proudly!

Sending Your Book To Purchased Leads

No matter how many organic leads you manage to reach in your business, at some point, you may have to purchase a list of leads to expand your reach (if you haven’t already).

But rather than burning through hundreds or even thousands of purchased leads using techniques with low conversion rates (like cold-calling), you can take a more focused approach to get listings.

When you purchase a list of leads, send them a copy of your book or send out flyers offering copies of your book.

Once you send out your books or book flyers, you can follow up, rather than blindly approaching your leads for the first time over the phone.

When you follow up after sending your books, your cold calls turn into “warm calls.” You can call with a reason other than asking for their business.

Say something like, “Hi, my name is Agent. I sent you a copy of my book, and I just wanted to see if you received it and if you have any questions.”

By the time you follow up with your leads, they’re already familiar with you because they received your book. Our members have a much higher conversion rate following up after sending out their books than they did cold calling.

By increasing your conversion rates on the leads you do purchase, you can buy less leads and experience greater success.

Where to Purchase Leads

There are a number of places to purchase leads, and some are more expensive than others.

I've seen agents run ads on Facebook and Google and other places and spend $10 to 30 per seller lead that comes in. That's crazy when you can get hundreds — if not thousands — of leads for almost nothing.

Redx

You can get hundreds of great seller leads from the Redx.

I pull thousands of old expireds from the MLS, and Redx does ALL the work to research them for me.

Here’s how it works:

When you sign up for Redx, you pay a monthly fee, and it lays out the different types of leads available to you.

You can go back three to six months into your MLS and pull up houses that expired. Download the data yourself as a CSV or ASCI file, upload that data into the REDX, and they’ll do all the research.

Redx checks to see if the homes you’ve inputted have been relisted. It checks to see if the homes have been sold and if a house sale is pending.

Once they've checked the status of the homes, they’ll pull the phone numbers for you, including cell phone numbers.

You can also go back a year, two years, three years — even four — to find old expired leads. You will have little competition for these listings.

Melissa Data

I sometimes use a data collection site called Melissa Data to collect leads

Here’s how to get started.

To Summarize:

Take Action:

Next time you purchase leads, don’t spend thousands of dollars racking up a list of thousands of leads. Instead, take a smarter approach with fewer leads and spend less time cold calling with little to no success. Add your books to the formula, save money, and convert more leads.

Use Your Books to Turn Cold Calls into Warm Calls

Cold-calling.

The very name sends a chill down many sales professionals’ spines.

Cold-calling has a slim 1-3% success rate for initial appointments, yet so many continue to use it as a primary method of prospecting. Consider some of the other problems inherent in the cold-calling process: 

Fortunately, there’s a better, “warmer” approach to calling potential clients. We call it “warm calling.”

Warm Calling

What is warm calling? Warm calling is when you provide your leads with something of value in advance — such as your book — then follow up on the phone or at their door four or five days later. It’s not unusual for an agent to get two to three times as many listings as they would by cold calling alone — or mailing out a book without any follow up.

With this method, by the time you make direct contact with your prospective clients, you won’t be a stranger. They’ll already have seen your face on your book. You’ll be the real estate expert and author who sent them the free, informative book! Who wouldn’t want to work with an agent who literally wrote the book on home buying or selling. This is a great way to avoid the soul-crushing rejection that usually accompanies cold calls. It also helps you stand out from your competition.

If prospects live near your office or your home, or if they’re “on your way,” drop your book off with them. Some agents have reported getting listings on the spot. If hand-delivering books is inconvenient or not allowed in your area, mail them the book. (We have separate packages available for drop-off and mailing, as well as options for agents who wish to include additional materials, such as an Agent Comparison Chart, Marketing Plan, Reference Letters, or a Photo Brochure.)

Once your leads receive your book, you have to follow up to keep yourself in front of them.  Even if your leads don’t actually read your books — or they just skim the content — chances are, they’ll recognize your face and remember your name.

An agent in Florida sent one of his books to a seller lead. The seller read the book and contacted him to list his house. Many other agents have done the same thing and experienced the same result.

Go through your contact list and find all of your seller leads. Next, mail a book to each of them. Send a copy to all of the “I want to sell” leads who agreed to receive a copy of your book. Just put Post-it® notes in the book that say something like, “I wanted you to get a copy of my new real estate book. It details all the strategies I will use to quickly sell your home for top dollar.”

Leveling the Field for New Agents

Cold-calling can be especially intimidating for an agent who is relatively new to the real estate industry. Books offer an effective way to bridge the professional gap. Jessica, an Authorify member, said she had only worked in real estate for five years, although in that time, she held various roles on high-producing teams and also in real estate law.

“In my listing package that I sent to these homes, I included what makes me different. I included that expertise and having experience on many different lanes inside of real estate, which I believe evens the playing field for me, compared to others who have perhaps been in the industry longer.” 

Jessica positioned herself as someone who understands the nuances of real estate, including market trends, paperwork, and everything there is to know about the lending and closing processes.

There’s a saying in sales-related industries: Success sells. Customers are more comfortable with the idea of doing business with you if they know that lots of other customers have enjoyed a successful experience under your guidance. Jessica found that the books were a great way to overcome this hurdle.

When they received her books, Jessica’s prospects seemed to take her experience and skill as a given. They asked her advice on how she was able to overcome the obvious shortcomings of homes that were outdated, in need of renovation, or suffering because of other sales barriers

In short, they expected Jessica to be an expert on things that were troubling them. This took the focus off “selling” herself — especially given her relatively short experience in the real estate business — and put the emphasis on selling homes, where she wanted it to be.

To Summarize:

Take Action:

So step away from your list of cold leads and take a different approach. Send out your book and follow up with a phone call or drop-by visit. I bet you’ll never go back to cold calling again.

Use Facebook Ads to Position Yourself as an Authority

We all know or can guess by now how much data Facebook collects and uses to target ads to each specific user. That’s why when you search for a specific item online, that item and similar products are likely to pop up on your Facebook feed in the future.

So if you’re not using Facebook ads for your business, you’re missing out on a direct path to people who could be interested in working with you. You can target prospective clients by creating a custom audience and running ads promoting your book. Targeting past clients, your sphere of influence and anybody who might refer you is your best bet.

Learn how to create your custom audience and start running ads if our How To Create Facebook Ads For Agents Course.

Valuable Ad Content

Before we can talk about what works in a Facebook ad, let’s talk about what doesn’t work. An ad that simply asks, “Are you thinking of selling?” or “Are you thinking of buying in this city soon?” won’t get much, if any, response. You have to provide people something of value that will motivate them to contact you or click on your ad.

There are five components to a good ad: 

Once you set up your ad, you can create a cold audience, based on their interests and wants, or you can just import your own and choose your budget. One of the biggest mistakes is not using the detailed targeting feature to its full extent. Be sure to include information on location, interest in buying or selling, neighborhoods, and any other factors that will help you select your target audience.

Utilizing Facebook’s pixel is a giant part of this, as well. Anyone who lands on your value page gets a pixel installed, allowing you to follow up or re-target them online. It creates a more targeted warm set of leads.

They already have interacted or shown interest in one of your pages. By doing this, you eliminate spending money on ads being shown to people who have no interest.

People are more inclined to look at an article or interact with something on Facebook as opposed to looking through their email. Usually, when people are in their email, they are working or trying to get something done. The same cannot be said for people while they are browsing Facebook.

There’s also a detailed step-by-step written walk-through on how to set up these pages and your ads.

Use Your Books

Offer your books to everyone you know on Facebook. Facebook can be a great source of business. Where else can you consistently stay in front of all the people you know? You can step up your reach by positioning yourself as an expert with everyone you know.

Go to your author site and find the book you want to offer out. Copy over the URL from the top of your browser and paste it onto your Facebook post. A “FB Preview” of your book should pop up in a few seconds. Once it has popped up, type some text before the URL you copied.

The text you put before the URL can say something like, “Thinking of selling your home? I’ll give you a FREE copy of my real estate book that shows you how to sell your home for top dollar fast. Just click here.”

Once everything looks OK, click “post.” That’s it. You’re done!

Results in Action

According to Lou, one of our members, when he received his initial order of books, he posted a picture of them on Facebook with an announcement.

“Then, another gentleman, who I had known previously as a result of seeing my book posted on Facebook, said, ‘Hey Lou, I’d like to talk to you. I’ve got an opportunity, a piece of real estate I need to get sold.’

“When we spoke, I found out that that piece of real estate was real estate that he had inherited from the death of his uncle and that he was the co-executor on the estate and he wanted me to come over and take a look at it to see what it was worth.  

“I went through the entire process with him. I gave him a home evaluation, and we listed the property, and we wound up selling the property within 24 hours of it going into the MLS at full price. We sold it at $379,000,” Lou said.

“I’ve got a listing right now, and it also came about as a result of the book. It’s a single-family home in a town called Hainesport, New Jersey, and that will be a $499,000 listing when it comes to fruition. That came from a referral who I’d given the book to.”

In addition, Lou has two more listings that also came from the books. One was a duplex in need of rehab. “We sold it at $379,000, full-price offer,” Lou said. “We listed it at $379,000, sold it at $379,000, and he’s just ecstatic because he never thought he’d get that much money for the property.” In this instance, Lou had grown up with the seller, although they hadn’t seen each other for nearly 25 years.

“We had connected on Facebook, but had not really communicated at all on Facebook, and it wasn’t until he saw the posting with my book on Facebook that he called me to see what I thought about this piece of property.”

What was especially interesting to Lou is that his old friend had been sitting on this piece of inherited property for months. The seller had been talking to other agents and had only reached out to Lou after Lou posted a copy of his book on Facebook. “The book was definitely the trigger,” said Lou. “I’ve got several other opportunities in the pipeline. I’ve got a listing right now that I’m waiting on, and it also came about as a result of the book. It’s a single-family home, and that will be a $499,000 listing when it comes to fruition.”

The duplex seller made contact in response to his Secret of Wealthy Home Sellers post. Lou posted on both his personal and business accounts. “I posted a picture of the cover of the book, and then I posted along with that some verbiage: ‘If you’re thinking of buying or selling and want to know what the value of your home is, please don’t hesitate to give me a call,’ and ‘Click, and get a free copy of my book and let me know if I can be of service, yada, yada, yada.’ I’m actually meeting with another gentleman tomorrow who is a real tech expert, and he’s going to help me to really focus on utilizing Facebook as a marketing tool in conjunction with my book.”

To Summarize:

Take Action:

Take these 5 components I shared with you and start creating Facebook ads. Your ads won’t be perfect the first time, but they will never improve unless you go ahead and start. The trick to making a successful Facebook ad campaign is for you to be consistent, so don’t overwhelm yourself financially (or in any other way) trying to do it all at once. You will dramatically increase the longevity and effectiveness of your campaign if you spend small amounts of money on ads regularly rather than dropping the big bucks all at once. This also allows you to implement new ideas that are more likely to come little by little when you take action on a consistent basis.

Replace Your Business Card with a Book

Did you know there are roughly 10 billion business cards printed each year? And of those 10 billion, a whopping 88% — or 8 billion — are thrown out within a week of being handed out?

But still, business cards continue to be a standard in the professional world.

The biggest reason business cards fail is because people often don’t need the service of the person offering them at that exact point in time. Most people don’t want to save business cards for months and months just in case they might need a particular service in the future.

This is why we recommend using Authorify books in place of business cards.

Why? Because books hold intrinsic value and aren’t likely to be thrown away.

Even if they’re placed on a shelf and collect dust, they still have a continuous presence in someone’s home. And when your leads do decide to buy or sell, a lightbulb will go off in their heads about “that agent who gave me a book on home sales.” They’ll dust off the book, check out your number on the back cover, and give you a call.

But to use your book as a business card, you have to keep copies on hand at all times. A lot of our agents keep a stack of books in their cars, purses, or briefcases. That way, even if they aren’t specifically out doing business, they can grab one if an opportunity presents itself.

These are just a few of the ways you can use your book in place of a business card:

Any way you would use a business card, you can use your books.

And besides simply giving out your contact information, your books provide value to the people who receive them. Business cards are 100% self-serving. People know you’re giving them out for one thing only — to gain their business.

But when you give someone a book, you’re providing them with unsolicited value and a wealth of information that could help them whether they choose to work with you or not.

The bonus is that it provides all the same information you would share on a business card but speaks volumes more (no pun intended).

Results in Action

Fred, a veteran Realtor, told us about his results shortly after he became a member.

“I’ve been in this business for about 30 years, and I cannot remember ever having someone walk into the office looking for an agent.”

That is, until a guy who had moved from Pennsylvania walked into Fred’s Virginia Beach office

“He had been trying to sell a home himself, here in Virginia Beach. He said one weekend he came here to cut the grass and to just check on the house. He got tired of it and wanted to talk to an agent. We just happened to be the first real estate company whose sign he saw on the road, and I just happened to be the only agent in the office.”

Fred, who had just started with the real estate firm, was still waiting for his business cards to be printed. “I said, ‘I don’t have a business card, but here’s my book. It gives you all the information you need to sell your property.’”

The walk-in looked at Fred’s photo on the book cover, then looked at Fred, who said, “Yep, that’s me.” The visitor grinned and wanted to talk more. The two men sat down in the office. Fred shared some tips about the neighborhood, then got on the computer and showed the guy recent sales in the area. The guy learned that he had overpriced his property.

“We set an appointment to go out and look at the property with him and his wife because she was actually the decision maker,” Fred said. When they all met at the house, Fred walked through and gave the couple some ideas on how to make the home more attractive to potential buyers. “By the time I was finished, they were both ready to put the house on the market with me.”

You never know when or where you’ll find an opportunity to present one of your books to a prospective buyer or seller. Fred related another story about a recent trip to his local YMCA, where he plays basketball Tuesdays and Thursdays in a pick-up league.

Until recently, he had not thought of these games as opportunities to connect with potential clients. Then, on a recent Tuesday, as teams were being selected for the evening, he was introducing himself to the other players. Fred happened to have a couple of his books in his gym bag, so he decided to take a bolder approach than usual.

As he and another player introduced themselves, he said, “Hey, I’m Fred. I’m a real estate agent. By the way, do you know anyone that is looking to buy some real estate?” He was surprised when his new teammate replied, “Yes, I’m looking to buy some investment property.” So, Fred gave the man his buyer book and got his information for a follow-up. After they finished the game, Fred set up an appointment to show the man a $450,000 multi-family property.

The guy ended up passing on that property but is thinking about buying a larger home for his family and a multi-family property for an investment, provided he finds the right deal. So, because Fred was bold and gave away his book, he has two potential sales.

“I’ve been handing out business cards for years, and people just throw the cards away. They have no reason to hold onto them.”

The Author Advantage

As Fred demonstrated, his books provide more value than a business card ever could. Why? There are a lot of reasons.

Few of us have met the authors of our favorite books. And yet at the same time, we feel like we know and can relate to them. A helpful, friendly, authoritative, yet light-hearted book tells readers that the author is helpful, friendly, authoritative, and a pleasure to work with. People will take your book home, read through it, then come back ready to do business with you.

Giving someone a free copy of a book with your name on it will give you instant credibility, start building immediate rapport, and separate you from your competition. That’s why our system works for Fred — and so many others. The key is to find the best way to use them for your business.

To Summarize:

Take Action:

We’ve all had moments where we felt like we lucked into something just by being in the right place at the right time. But luck is really where preparation meets opportunity. If you prepare by keeping copies of your book nearby at all times, when the right moment comes along, you’ll be ready to seize opportunities.

Increase Your Listing Appointment Conversion With Your Book

You can dramatically increase your listing appointment conversion rate by bringing books to those appointments. If you’re not struggling to get appointments, but you are struggling to close deals, the books can make all the difference.

There are a few ways you can get your books into your potential clients’ hands during listing appointments.

Results in Action

Mark was already a successful agent, but in one year, he doubled his close rate using books.

“The percentage of listings that I now get when I go on these appointments is up to about 90 percent, when it had been trending at about 45 percent a year ago. The book is an amazing tool to use.”

He called the book his “secret sauce” — the added component that helped him differentiate himself from a crowded field of real estate agents. A former brand manager, Mark understands that the books are an important component in an integrated marketing program.

“Brand management isn’t about one thing. It’s about total reinforcement. It’s the total package. It’s the total marketing effort, and so to me, the book is what seals the deal.” 

He’s been using the book as the final piece in his pre-listing package.

“When I meet with my potential listing clients and I show them all the stuff I do to market their home, I throw in that we have a book as well that shows you how we list homes and sell them for more money.”

When you give someone a book, you leave it up to them whether they actually want to read it, but it fortifies the position that you’re not the same as every other Realtor.

“I’m a Realtor that now looks like I’ve written books on the ability to sell homes for more money — or the most money. Fortified by all the things I do when I’m marketing a home, I think it’s a one-two knockout punch.”

So far, Mark has used the books primarily for re-targeted marketing. He works hard up his brand awareness. He hasn’t used the books to fish for clients. 

“I’m getting enough appointments and I’m pretty busy, and as a result, I’m using the book to reel the fish in,” he said.

“The advertising for my brand alone, let alone for my business, helps me to get a lot of leads,” Mark said. He got into the business in 2009, in one of the toughest real estate markets, but he made it work. During a recent year, his firm took in $40 million in revenue.

“I have referral companies — referral agents — that connect with me because of my profile. Once again, I still go back to the proposition, if I’m almost doubling my capture, I think the book is hugely related to that.” 

He added that he wants to go back after people he met a year or two ago, before he started using the books. If they haven’t listed but are ready to list now, he’ll use the books as a tool for those sellers, too.

To Summarize:

Take Action:

Now that you know the best ways to use your books on listing presentations, turn your next one into a listing by positioning yourself as an expert. With a book in hand, you don’t have to sell yourself — you’ve already shown the value you bring to the table.

8 Ways to Use Your Digital Book

Have you been using your digital book? If the answer is no, it’s definitely time to start! The digital version of your Authorify book is included with every membership level, and it’s a great way to reach more people than ever before. You can show your leads that you’re a knowledgeable agent who can guide them through a successful transaction.

Here are a few reasons we recommend making the most of your digital book:

As with all of our products, we want to help you succeed. Here are eight ways you can use your digital book in your real estate business.

Prospecting Strategies

Meeting leads is a big part of any real estate business, and using your digital book can make the difference between leads thinking you’re just another agent and recognizing you as someone who actually knows their stuff. We suggest including the link to your digital book on any prospecting materials you send out to potential leads. Here are some strategies:

1. Share your digital book link in pre-listing packages.

When you send out a pre-listing package to a prospect, include a link to your digital book. You can share the link in your introduction letter, on its own “Read My Book” flyer or, really, anywhere the lead will easily see it.

2. Send your digital book link in email or text introductions.

Sending an email or text to a lead to see if they are interested in selling is the perfect way to share your digital book. They’ll get a better sense of your knowledge, and, of course, they’ll learn more about you from your Authority website. Put the digital book link in your email signature and include it in the text of the actual email.

3. Put a link or QR code on any printed materials.

Any printed materials you leave with prospects —  flyers, postcards, brochures, etc — should invite people to view your digital book. It’s a simple way to share with leads that you’ve written a book without actually giving them a printed copy (unless, of course, they request one).

You can also create a free QR code that your leads can scan with their phone cameras and instantly be linked to your digital book. This saves them the hassle of typing in your link. You can visit any number of free QR code generator sites, like qr-code-generator.com and create your own QR code image that you can download and use on all of your printed materials.

Referral Strategies

Anyone who has a career in sales knows how important referrals are —  and how they can make or break your business. Earning solid referrals should always be a goal, and Authorify members can and should use their digital books to help them do so. Here’s how:

4. Email or text a link to your digital book for past clients to share with everyone they know.

When you have a satisfied client and the time comes to ask them for a review or testimonial, go ahead and send them a link to your digital book. Remind them that it’s free for anyone in their own circle of friends and family to read — and that you’d love to hear from anyone they know.

5. Share the link to your digital book whenever you connect with someone you met through someone else.

If you meet a new potential client through a former client or someone in your sphere, simply tell them where they can access your digital book if they’d like to read it. Say something like, “[Insert name] enjoyed reading my book; you might find it useful, as well.”

Online Marketing Techniques

Your digital book works best in your online marketing, so don’t neglect to share it on social media and in any of your profiles on various real estate websites.

6. Share links to your book on social media.

Have you included the link to your digital book on every social media profile you have? Whether you’re a LinkedIn user, a Facebooker, or an Instagrammer, don’t forget to shepherd your followers to your book so they can learn more about you. Put the link in your “About” information so anyone who visits your page can find it. We also recommend sharing the link as a post every now and then with a headline like, “Looking to sell your home? Check out my book that shows you how to get the most money in the least amount of time! Click and read it now for free!”

You can also encourage shares of your digital book by holding a contest for people who share your posts. Enter them into a drawing for a gift card to a local restaurant or tickets to a sporting event.

7. Share links to your book on Zillow, Realtor.com, and other real estate websites.

Add a link to your book on all of your real estate profiles, Google My Business, or any place your contact information appears. These are prime locations to add a link to your digital book so anyone who looks you up can read it.

Closing Strategies

A great listing presentation includes a variety of elements, from testimonials to cutting-edge visuals, and aims to overcome any possible objections the person may have to working with you.

8. Include your digital book link in your listing presentation.

As you work through your listing presentation, reference different chapters in your book to address various concerns and prove your expertise. You can share your link with the homeowners at any time to show them where they can read more after your presentation. Even if they don’t list with you at the appointment, you’ve given them something they can reference later on and learn more about what you offer. Make sure you leave them with a written out copy of your digital book URL and/or a QR code to scan.

To Summarize:

Take Action:

Did you know that your Authorify Marketing Success Coach can help you with any of the above strategies — or brainstorm along with you on any new ones you dream up? Marketing Success Coaches aren’t just for welcoming you to Authorify and helping you figure out how to customize our products. They can also offer assistance on ways to use your books — digital included — so you quickly grow your real estate business. For more on what your Marketing Success Coach can do for you, flip back to the intro on the front of this newsletter.

Wondering how you can use your book to dominate listings in your local neighborhood? Or maybe a prospective neighborhood where you hope to do business? It's simple. 

The USPS offers a service called Every Door Direct Mail that allows you to mail every address in a specific zip code for a bulk fee. 

A typical 5x7 postcard mailing costs 35 cents per unit. The cost of EDDM Retail is $0.18 per piece, plus drop shipping costs.

Here’s how to implement your own EDDM mail campaign.

1. Figure out the type of campaign you’d like to send.

There are many types of campaigns that can be used to successfully farm an area.  

Example Copy: 

JUST LISTED!

Check out this beautiful home at ADDRESS.

Contact AGENT at PHONE or EMAIL to find out more!

Example Copy:

OPEN HOUSE!

Where: ADDRESS

When: DATE/TIME

Hosted by AGENT

PHONE

EMAIL

Example Copy:

HOW MUCH IS YOUR HOME WORTH?

Contact AGENT to find out!

AGENT

PHONE

EMAIL

2. Include your book cover on the back.

No matter which campaign you choose, you should promote your book on the back of your postcard.

Include the link to your book lead page, where people can read it for free or request a free copy. Follow up with anyone who submits the form on your lead page.

3. Choose where to send your postcards.

There are a few ways to determine if an area is a good one to farm:

4. Select a postcard design from our Free Templates!

As an Authorify member, you have exclusive access to our free postcard templates using Canva. Our team has created dozens of beautifully designed postcards to fit all of your needs.  Browse through dozens of designs, customize your desired template and download the image.

Results in Action

Cathy Blight, an agent near Thompson Lake in Michigan, has had a lot of success using postcards to farm her area.

“There are about a thousand postcards that I send out, not just to the lakefront homes, but to the neighborhoods behind — the wake access homes, we call them.

“So what I did this time was I refined it a little bit and I went into the records to see what were non-homestead properties. And non-homestead by Michigan tech standards is a home that you do not — that you don't live in, it's not your primary residence. It’s either a rental or a business or a second home, a cottage or a vacant lot. So I specifically wanted to make sure I got to them.

“So by doing that, what I did was when I went into the deed record, instead of asking them to send it to the address, I asked them to send it to the taxpayer's address. And that way I would get people who didn't actually live in that home. So that worked out pretty well. Then on the postcard, I put an offer about getting my free book, you know, on selling your property. And I got three responses.”