Agents love to sent out postcards, and flyers, and emails. These are all good marketing techniques, and they work. In Miami, realtors are now using their personal photo on business cards, so when someone receives an email, or a flyer or postcard, they can put a face to a name. It seemed a little outrageous at first, but it works. People remember you by your face, and if you leave a card at someone’s door, and they see you again, they recognise you, and you have just removed a very important obstacle.
I can’t imagine why anyone would put their picture on a business card. Nobody cares what people look like…they care what you can do for them. I would rather use the space to print more of my message.
It would never cross my mind to look to agents for marketing ideas. Pictures of them are the biggest waste of space out there. Nobody cares who they are, what they do, or how they look.
A homeowner with an asset roughly 10 times what that agent probably makes doesn’t cares how they style their hair or wants to recognize them the next time they solicit at the door.
That’s a marketing 101 mistake. Talk about how you’re going to help them then when you’re done…tell them how else you’re going to help. Benefits, benefits, benefits.
Here’s another classic mistake. Putting their face or company name and phone number on a For Sale yard sign that’s in bigger print than the FOR SALE text. A sign right next door to me had ads on the sign to list other people’s houses along with two numbers and broker name and in tiny print “for sale”. I’d fire that agent immediately. Their more interested in lead generation than selling my house. btw, they didn’t sell their house 3 months later so put it back up for rent. Given the san diego market they’ll probably be renting it for the next 7 years before prices come back. That’s a hard lesson.
Ok, I will tell you the reason. You go to someone’s home, because you either have a buyer for it, or you want to get the listing. You knock on the door or ring the bell outside of the electronic gate. No one answers. These people dont want you to be coming to their home ringing the bell of their gated 5 million dollar home. You leave, but first you leave your card, maybe with a note on it, and they see your card and your picture on it. The next time you go there they will know who you are. If you don’t think that is a very positive thing for you, then you are most likely not selling many properties, and most likely you are selling no luxury property.
I have to completely disagree with that. Nobody is going to do business with you just because they know what you look like. Sorry, I just think that is way off.
Ok, Bobo he King, if you think it’s way off, so be it. Don’t do it. I have been a top producer in Miami Beach, Florida for many years, and this is an extremely competitive marketplace,and I have also earned those big bucks that that put me at the top. I have done what I talked about. Not that long ago, I earned well over 100,000 dollars in comissions, from just one sale. How did I get that person who sold through me, to listen to me? I met him. When he saw me, he already knew my face from the card I had left with the housekeeper. It was easy to talk; I didnt seem like a total stranger. I have done what I just described over and over again, so if you are making those types of sales, then please feel free to criticize as much as you like. This is my last post regarding business card marketing. Thank you.
I agree Bobo. It sounds more like fantasy than fact that someone would do business with anybody because of a picture.
I think they’re missing what really worked which was persistence, door-knocking and that they have something to refer to (i.e. a card). That’s the lesson here. Of course if you can get someone else to do the door-knocking that’s even better.
If I looked like Claudia Shiffier would you take a look at my business card and read it? :-* ha-ha. I guess to each their own on what they want to do with advertising. I am still racking my brain on advertising the site below.
I agree. A picture, I’ve just never understood. I wouldn’t do it. No one really pays attention to the picture.
I’ve seen many agents. Sometimes, the picture does not look like them at all.
I say use the space for the message. However, if it works for you, keep doing what your doing.
A small suggestion for anyone here who is an agent/investor. Read the book “How to Get Rich in Real Estate And Have a life” by Wayne and Lynn Morgan. It’s great for marketing ideas, networking ideas, what works what doesn’t, what brokers want you to know, and what your clients really want to hear/see/know/get. It’s the single best investment besides my internet subscription that I’ve made in my business.
In real estate it not about how many people you know…
It about who knows you. As a Realtor you have to market yourself and your abilites. A picture goes along way.
What does he teach that’s different from other books? I can’t remember anything standing out when I thumbed through it. It seemed like a summary of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad " and other books I’d read, so I didn’t buy it.
Both agents and investors need to just stand out in the prospect’s mind, so if you have a more sincere picture, fine. I can tell you that I’ve never met an investor with their picture on their business card and doesn’t seem to matter. For agents, having a picture on the card seems to help when someone hasn’t met you face-to-face and aren’t being referred to you.
Wayne’s book is NOTHING like Rich Dad, Poor Dad. It’s truly a “This is what you need to do to have clients banging down your door, and to serve them best.”
I"m not a big fan of the picture on the card either. My agent, for example, printed out what seems like millions of them with her pitcure on them. A month later she cut her hair and changed the color. It looks like she handing out a totally different persons card, but because of the amount of money she spent she doesn’t want to throw out the old business cards. I’d hate to think I can’t get a haircut because my business cards will become outdated, lol.
Out of curiosity though, what does everyone reccommend as the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of your cards? Aside from the Obvious: Name, Number,Address, etc.
Is there anything that you feel makes your business cards stand out? I’ve been using the slogan “Let us Help YOU when no one else can”. I think it helps considering i’m moving toward pre-foreclosures.
some realtors and loan officers here are using the same concept. I am noticing that Keller Williams agents here put their pics on their cards.
I do feel that seeing a face can affect some sellers because it becomes more personal.
The most important aspect is how you can help them. You can’t list too many ways you’ll help them achieve their goals.
the lady from miami looks like kathy ireland and it helps her get in the door with mostly men…just kidding…in my area realtors have there picture taken with a cell phone to the ear-ugh!!!
are we supposed to think they were making a deal while posing for a camera at the picture people store in the mall? somebody smack me twice! ;D[i][/i]
Hahaha… that’s funny and I’m starting to see more pictures of that Wall Street look with the cell hugging the ear ;D
There are a lot of reasons why brokers and RE Agents put their picture on the business card…
They could argue that it makes the person they’re going to see and negotiate a contract with less uncomfortable since those people will already have some sense of familiarity with them because of the picture.
Two, it is definitely a means to promote the agent by the brokers, especially in a time when brokers are competing with one another for top agents. Showing their picture on cards , billboards and in the newspaper makes the individual agent feel as though their brokers is helping them succeed.
Third, is conformity by both the broker and the RE agent… In all industry there is this feeling that “I have to it the way they’re doing it” without putting into the equation of why are we doing it this way…
Fourth, the RE agent who is actually networking, having a their picture on their card will tend to promote the networking efforts.
Now lets get back to marketing through business cards…
A lot of people have business cards but don’t really know why they have them other than to hand out at cocktail parties or use for handy-dandy pieces for jotting down quick notes and telephone numbers. I’ve seen other people with nice-looking cards, but are only willing to give them out selectively as they’re “too expensive to just toss around.” But these are, at best, poor uses for this potentially powerful marketing tool.
Business cards are commonly viewed as a one-to-one ratio of effectiveness. What I mean by this is, what is typically expected from a card being handed out is that only the individual who receives the card might respond by calling the printed number or visiting the Web site, if it’s even listed on the card. This is a shortcoming of intention in how they should be used.
Business cards work best when they’re handed out aggressively in conjunction with the right personality. Here’s the information behind why business cards can work far beyond the one-to-one ratio:
People want to be helpful to their friends, family, acquaintances and, in many cases, even their colleagues. When someone mentions they need something, most people will offer up their knowledge and connections. Here’s an example:
Two people are standing in line at the Checkout Counter of a grocery store and they happen to start talking about something, anything – let’s say “cars.” Person “A” says they need a new one. And if person “B” knows of a reputable car dealer, (possibly an oxymoron, but just the same) she will likely tell person “A” of this dealer.
This type of thing happens all the time, everyday. And if she actually had this car dealer’s business card, she could give out his phone number or even a spare card.
If you’ve grown somewhat cynical over time, you might have some doubt to the reality of these kinds of random acts of kindness. And you may even be right. Maybe there’s only 30% of the people who will actually do this kind of thing; we all know that people can be self-centered. So how does one increase this percentage and get others to aggressively promote you?
This is done the very same way that the car dealer did with this pretend woman (person “B”). He offers a “Birddog Fee” (a reward) for all referrals who end up buying. And this is what you will do as well. People will then, either out of the kindness of their hearts or through selfish greed, recommend you as the BEST real estate investor around! Now you’re looking at a much higher percentage of people readily promoting you for free unless they find you a “live one” who ends up selling their house to you or buying one that you want to sell.
It’s amazing how far people will go for a simple reward. I happen to think it’s out of the goodness in others, and the fact that people simply love a pat on the back. And giving someone a check for 100 bucks, heck even $500.00 if the deal is a good one, is a very nice way to tell someone they’ve done a good job.
The way to do this is rather than give a single business card to everyone I come in contact with I give 2 or 3 business cards and tell them: “I give up to $500 to anyone who refers someone that I end up buying a house from, just for giving them one of my cards. Just write your name and phone number on the back of these cards. I ask everyone who calls me where they found out about me. If your name is mentioned, you get the commission. It’s that easy!”
I take it one step further, I ask them to gather the persons name and telephone they are referring me to and call me with it. This is better assurance that their effort of promoting me will reward them with the referral fee. Believe me, people who feel comfortable with you will call you with this information.
Now you have others handing out your cards for you. The more you do this, the greater the number of people you have working for you as a supporter to your cause – to help people sell their houses, and for you to make a darn good living.
So Who Do You Give Your Business Card To?
There are three types of people you will be giving your business card to who will help you promote your business:
- people you know,
- your acquaintances, and
- people you don’t know.
I wont go any further, I wrote an entire book on promoting through business cards and can say it works well especially for the investor who has a limited resource for marketing…
Good Luck