Prospecting First Time Home Buyers
First time home buyers can be the most fun real estate group to work with. They are eager, full of ideas and the easiest to prospect for! Because they are new in the world of real estate, they almost always need a realtor to guide them through the journey! You can find them in several different places and in a number of different ways. Here are a few ideas to help you in your search.
Social Media is the place to be! If you write posts about having a great house to sell and the pricing is excellent and it is a first time homebuyers dream, you will have prospects by the boatload. Find and share posts and topics that young buyers are interested in. Subjects such as “buying your first home” or google search “what are Millennials looking for in a home”. Post a five point list of ways to save money for a down payment. Or another five point list of what to look for in your first home before you sign the contract. Then, there are the zillion ideas for decorating your first home, landscaping your first real backyard and how to make the attic into the perfect guest bedroom. Share as many “dream” first homes as often as possible. Your followers will be so thrilled with the ideas and high hopes that you provide.
When you take someone out to show them a house, take a picture of you with them standing in the front room by the fireplace or on the front porch with a line that says “Out looking for the Dream House”. Post these pictures often so that your followers can see just how busy you are and how good you are at finding that perfect home for your clients. Do the same thing when you put out the Just Sold sign or hand over the keys to the house. You can easily develop an image as the realtor who cares; the realtor who takes the fear of buying a first house away; the realtor who makes it all seem so easy.
Make sure that your approach to first time homebuyers is done their way. Do you text or call on a phone? Do you send information through email or snail mail? Do they use Snapchat? Do you? You need to use the communication tools that these particular prospects use. You can set up systems to reach your first timers in a mass mailing like a text blast or Snapchat message that goes out to all your prospects.
Direct mail is another way to reach first timers. Since many of these people are living in apartment complexes, you can select an area of town or a particular zip code that has lots of apartments and sent to everyone through the Every Door Direct Mail services at the post office. Design a mailing piece that is directed toward the first time home buyer and send. The artwork, the message and the graphics should be attractive to younger people. Use fonts and pictures that are current and cool. Show homes that this age group would gravitate towards and have them text you for more information. You can again send information about saving for a down payment, how to fix their credit scores, home prices and financing ideas.
Another place you can find first time homebuyers prospects is through your former clients. If you sold a home to a family with children, those children grow up and want homes of their own.Go back over your records and check to see who has children who have grown up and contact them with a postcard or email and let them know that you have a listing for the perfect home for a first time buyer. Set up a seminar that covers the basics of home buying that they can attend with their young adult children. Letting your past customers know that you have the perfect house for their children is the easiest prospecting ever.
Ask for referrals from your current first time home buyers. They have friends who have friends and generally they are all making the first of many life markers together. If they don’t want to pass on the names, give them the opportunity to pass on your information by giving them a special bonus for their effort such as movie tickets or a coupon at a local brewery. Get creative and be the one who is there for these young buyers!
Direct Mail Marketing is one of the best advertising strategies you or your business could utilize to reach customers and prospective clients. It is cost-effective, versatile, highly customizable, quick and easy to set up, reliable and helps you stand out from the typical marketing routines of your competitors. The advantages of direct mail marketing are limitless! Also, the results of your marketing efforts can be measured and tracked easily when using direct mail – no more complicated analytics or time wasted wondering what works and what doesn’t. Using highly-target mailing lists, coupled with unique letters and envelopes, direct mail campaigns ensure your potential customers heed your message by putting your advertisements directly into their hands. In the spam-riddled world of today’s online marketing, using direct mail to publicize yourself makes every cent of your marketing budget count with a high chance for a strong return on your investment. Let Everest Direct Mail & Marketing help you reach your Direct Mail goals.
