Last Updated on April 24, 2017

Do you think you could mail 100 letters to a neighborhood, generate 10 calls and take 2 listings? Helaine Forte just did…and she’s going to show how you can do it too. Every now and then we discover a marketing strategy so powerful, it could end up making some agents downright rich. I think we have found one of those ideas. The value here is not just in seeing this idea first-hand, but in understanding the brilliant marketing behind it and applying it throughout your business… One of the marketing subjects I teach agents is the profitable use of direct-response marketing. I’ve been doing it for over 30 years in various industries and it’s never failed to make millions. Once you understand the elements that motivate consumers to open, read, believe and act on your behalf, the real estate world becomes your treasure. Today I want to share with you a brilliant strategy used by agent Helaine Forte (no relation at all). Helaine sends out a simple targeted letter that is loaded with powerful strategy and psychology, and you’d hardly know it just by reading the letter. But before showing you this deceptively simple letter, I want you to understand the elements at play so you can use them correctly yourself. First and foremost, Helaine learned that consumers sort their mail while standing over the trash. If your letter doesn’t make the “A” pile (bills, birthday cards, personal letters, etc.), it’s going into the “deep six.” You could be offering Free Gold Coins, but your message would never be seen. So here’s what Helaine does (in her own words)… “I never use labels. Going along with what everyone else was doing, I used to get free labels from the title companies when I farmed for business. I never received a response, until one day I was out of labels and addressed the envelopes by hand. I received 10 calls out of 100 letters and got 2 listings! Since then I experimented with using larger envelopes of higher quality and got even better response. Instead of tossing my correspondence in the trash, homeowners felt I was really interested in them and that they were hand-picked by me.” OK, so Helaine’s been paying attention with her marketing, and discovered the magic of “A-Pile” mail. But she didn’t stop there. Take a look at her letter and then read the important elements she uses below it.

[[Date]][[Firstname]] [[Lastname]] [[Street]] [[City]], [[St]] [[Zip]] Dear [[Firstname]], I am writing this letter to inform you that there is interest in your home. I am currently working with two qualified buyers anxious to move to Sonoma. We have driven through several neighborhoods, previewed many properties, and they find your area most desirable. If you are interested in selling your home to a local business owner or a CEO of a senior care organization, please ask your REALTOR® to call me, or you may contact me directly at [[your phone number]]. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely [[Your Name]] [[Broker]]

  I’ll bet you’ve seen lots of letters similar to this one, but this one is different in subtle but important ways. Here’s what Helaine says… “As you can see, I tell the sellers a little about their new potential owners. I also give them a chance to contact their own REALTOR^®, which gives me credibility. It makes it more believable since lots of agents tell owners they have buyers. Oh, and the people I describe are REAL BUYERS that I am working with.” Do you think you could use a simple letter like this to generate lots of listings? The secret is…

1. Get your mail delivered by making it “A-Pile.” I would add to this using a monarch size envelope, hand addressed with a 1st class commemorative stamp and hand signed. Hand address your return address, or use those personal labels you use with holiday cards (do not place your broker on the envelope unless required by law).
2. Make your mail very personal – meant specific to the person receiving it (so they think they’ve been “hand-picked”, as Helaine puts it).
3. Create credibility by mentioning something specific about your buyers (who they are), and ask your reader to call their agent.