Change their address. This presents a HUGE opportunity for you to help them with this chore and accumulate a lot of names on your database. Here’s a quick and easy strategy to WOW your clients and build your business by sending out “Change of Address” notices. Linda Denovan, a Top Agent from Lake Havasu City, AZ, understands the relationship-building power of this strategy first hand:

“As a closing gift for my buyers I create a note card with a photo of the front of their new home.  I make return address labels for the envelopes and add stamps.

On the back of the note cards is printed  “Made especially for …. from Linda Denovan” with MY phone number.

My information then goes out to all of their friends when they mail the cards showing off their new home.  In addition, I let them know they can “re-supply” their note cards or return address labels at any time.  Not only does it make a great gift but my clients think of me whenever they send a card AND the recipient does too!”

Let’s take Linda’s idea and “kick it up a notch”…

Use This “Change of Address” Post Card System To Clone Your Best Clients…

Here’s how to execute this viral list-building system…

STEP 1: Get a great PHOTO of the home

Linda sends out note cards in envelopes but I’d suggest sending out a post card with an eye-catching photo of the home on the one side and the new address on the other. If you really want to impress your clients, make it an outstanding photo.  Why? Because it does TWO things:  First, it shows you care enough to continue to provide great service after the transaction (your clients will remember this and tell others).  And two, it demonstrates your skill at getting a great photo of a home.  This is a subtle way to have your buyers think of YOU when it’s time for them or their friends to sell their home. If you’re strapped for time you could use an image of a house, with a headline, “We Moved.”  But remember, buyers want to show off their new home, not just their new address…so try to make it look good.

STEP 2: Make a great OFFER

Having your name and number on the cards will help you give you an “introduction” to your clients’ friends.  But an even better approach is to include an OFFER for free information on the card so you can maximize your opportunity for business from this strategy.   What could you offer?

• A FREE market analysis for SELLERS
• A FREE list of homes for BUYERS
• A FREE report for “Saving Thousands When Buying A Home”

The possibilities are limitless…

STEP 3: MAIL the post cards

You’re best bet is to mail the post cards FOR your clients, this way you know they’ll get out.   And it gives you a reason to ask for the names and addresses of their contacts (which by the way you can use to start sending their friends your helpful and informative Service For Life issue every month). Or, you can give a stack of the post cards to your clients.  One bit of advice:  make it easy for them to send it out by putting the stamp on the cards for them.  They’ll appreciate it and more importantly… the post cards are more likely to get in the mail so your offer gets seen. Want an EXAMPLE post card? OK, here’s a “Change Of Address Post Card” a number of agents are using with great success, along with my notes on what makes a great “direct response” post card.

ANATOMY Of A “Change of Address Post Card ”

(Note:  click the image and zoom in to see the detail)

QUESTION:  Can you e-mail the “Change of Address” notice? ANSWER:  Yes, but with a few important caveats…

1. Your buyer needs to send the email so their friends recognize the “From Name.”  Or, if you send the email to their contacts…include your buyer’s name in the “subject line” of the email so it gets opened and read.
2. Still include a great photo of the new home in the email.  Use a system that can produce full-color HTML emails with the photo, new address, and your offer…or have a link to your website with the picture and this information.
3. You could do both — email AND mail these notices to your buyer’s contacts.  Chances are your buyer clients can easily send an email to their contacts, but printing and mailing the physical post cards will be seen as a valuable service to them.

After a few weeks, ask your buyer clients if they got the post cards in the mail and if they need any more printed, or ask them if the emails were sent. Then continue to follow-up with your all your new contacts (now that you have their mailing addresses) with a monthly real estate newsletter that is not all about real estate – so it’s welcomed and valued instead of trashed. Quick Summary… Every time you have a buyer client close, get a list of their contacts and mail a change of address post card FOR them to all THEIR contacts. This strategy leverages off the TRUST your buyers already have with their friends and family… so your mail is seen in a more positive light than when you show up uninvited (as in the case of farming for new clients). Plus, studies show that people make friends and tend to associate with others just like them.  So, if you liked working with your buyer clients… you can use this strategy as a laser-targeted approach to find more great clients. [Ed note: Would you like to use a marketing system that costs nearly $0.00 and can bring you a steady flow of quality, motivated buyers — even during this slow economy?  Then click here to learn about one of the highest-return, lowest-cost marketing strategies you’ll ever use in your real estate practice.]