Real Estate Agent Magazine Article ~ July 2017
"Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games." ~ Babe Ruth
I’ve been around the Real Estate business most of my life. Paradoxically, I’ve never been a real estate agent or broker. I’ve never worked for a mortgage, title or escrow company. But I have done business with these real estate related businesses for over two decades.
My first exposure to the real estate business was in my teens when my mother, Sally, became real estate agent; by the time I was in college she was a broker/owner with her own office, and dozens of real estate agents, in La Jolla, California.
Sally had a flair for branding, naming her office Glencourt Properties. “Glencourt” being the old telephone exchange name assigned to La Jolla.
When I first started selling promotional products, Glencourt Properties was, pardon the “Top Gun” simile, a target rich environment.
Yes, it helped that my mother was the owner/broker and she was one of my best clients, but many of the other real estate agents also became my clients, allowing this promotional product selling newbie to take off!
By extension, I also got to know and sold to the many of the title and escrow reps who visited Glencourt Properties.
So what had I learned in these formative promotional products selling days? The same thing that is relevant today…
Be Memorable!
Promotional products help a real estate agent to be memorable and being memorable goes a long way in building relationships with prospects and clients.
I found that the real estate agents that used promotional products, often in conjunction with their "farming$quot; efforts, where more engaged with their prospects and clients. They were also typically the high-income earners.
How can the use of promotional product be so effective, you might be thinking?
Simply put, once someone accepts a real estate agent’s branded promotional products, that real estate agent has begun a relationship with that person, one that will continue throughout the useful life of the promotional products given.
This means that a real estate agent that adds promotional products into their marketing mix will increase interest in, as well as cultivate a positive impression of, that real estate agent.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
According to a recent study, conducted by Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), the trusted leader in the promotional products industry, they found that:
- More than half of consumers have a favorable impression of the businesses and organizations found on promotional products.
- 20% of consumers make a purchase immediately after receiving promotional products. While this may not be true when it comes to selling a house, it is true when it comes to a real estate agent selling themselves and their credibility.
- 83% of consumers recall a person’s or company’s name and their products or services offered because of promotional products they had received.
- 8 out of 10 people like receiving promotional products, while 7 out of 10 people find online advertising intrusive and annoying. Don’t be Annoying!
What is a Promotional Product? Let’s break these two word into separate definitions:
Promotion is a term used frequently in marketing. It refers to raising awareness of a product, service or a brand to generate sales, and creating brand loyalty.
Product is what a company or organization offers to the marketplace, including products, services, as well as any complex solutions that consist of both products and services.
They are two of the four basic elements of a comprehensive market mix known as the Four P's: Price, Product, Promotion, and Place. I will discuss the Four P’s in greater detail in future Real Estate Agent Magazine issue.
Promotional Products, sometimes called, Schwag, Freebies, Tchotchkes, Trinkets, et.al., are products typically branded with a logo and/or slogan plus other pertinent information.
Promotional Products are usually given away without consideration to promote a company or organization as well as their image or brand. They are often given away at trade shows, conferences and networking events or as part of guerrilla marketing campaigns.
Promotional Products are a sensory medium. Adding a logo, slogan or missive to a product turns a real estate agent’s message into a marketing experience their prospects or clients can, depending on the promotional product, Smell, Taste, See, Hear and/or Touch.
Any real estate agent, regardless of the real estate company they are associated with, no doubt understands that THEY are their own brand. Whether they’re just getting started or they have years of experience, one of the best ways to enhance and promote your own Brand is through their use of Promotional Products.
As a real estate agent, you’ve chosen to engage in the noble profession. One where you often help the dream of home ownership come true for first time for many. A profession that is requires a great deal of professionalism and knowledge.
You should expect the same level of professionalism and knowledge from the businesses that you choose to use in your marketing efforts, including where you acquire your Promotional Products.
Text of an article published in Real Estate Agent Magazine ~ San Diego County May 2017 Issue
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