Thursday, September 16, 2010

Progressive Broker Open Houses

"If you clump them - they will come"

Have you ever thought of doing a Progressive Broker Open House? What is it - well it is where several agents get together on the same day to open several listings. You don't have to limit yourself to only listings in your office - open it up to other agents who have listings near yours. That will also help with attendance since you will have agents in other offices promoting your listing along with theirs.  A great way to build relationships with agents from other offices.
  • Keep houses within a mile of each other. The closer the better. Condo complexes are great for this.
  • Provide directions to each house on the flyer. Put them in a proper driving order.
  • Get together with the other agents and split the cost of a raffle prize.
  • Have agents "qualify" for the raffle by attending all houses. Two ways to do this. Have them drop a card at each house and sort them out at the end. Or have them drop a card at each house and use one of their cards to get initialed at each house that they drop at the last house.
  • Put the MLS numbers with each address
  • "You are invited to 5 Broker Open Houses" makes a title that attracts interest.
  • Let agents know what you are serving for food. You can also have the food split between the houses. Have one agent do appetizers, another sandwiches and a third doing dessert.
  • Bulk email can get the message out there quickly but don't forget to fax. Check with your local board to see if they will send out these kind of announcements.
  • Call all the surrounding agencies on the day of the event to remind them of the "Free Lunch" or "Fab Raffle Prize"
  • Add the agents who attended to your agent email database so that you can contact them in the future.
Feel free to add your ideas to this list - the more the merrier!

Real Estate Agents Marketing Event - Blood Drive




Ever thought of hosting a blood drive? Excellent way to get your name out in the public and do something good for your community. Great way to get you name in the paper. Here are some ideas to increase your attendance.

Challenge local clubs, groups and non-profits - the groups that donates the most pints will "win" a donation to their organization. You decide the monetary amount say $200-500 that will be the "prize" money. Check with you accountant to see if you can also deduct the donation from your taxes.

Ask local merchants to donate raffle prizes. Put this information in your press release.

Hold it around Halloween - Have a vampire themed drive. Dress up for publicity photos and include with your press release.

Create a Power Point presentation that runs automatically in the waiting area or snack area showcasing all of your listings. Don't have any listings? Ask your fellow agents in the office if you can "borrow" theirs.

Send your press release to all the local papers and your Chamber of Commerce.

Host the event in your office if you have a large enough training room.

Signage is always crucial at an outside event - Don't be a "secret" agent

If you have any ideas - please feel free to share them.

Yellow Spider

Shannon Aldrich, Keller Williams Coastal Realty
Portsmouth NH


Yellow Spider, South Berwick ME
Shannon Aldrich
Keller Williams Coastal Realty
Portsmouth, NH
www.RealEstateSeacoast.com

The Broker Open House Kit

Here is a handy way to always be ready for your next Broker Open House
One Cooler on wheels with handle

Pack the following inside using gallon ziploc type bags to keep everything clean and to easily see what you are running low on.
  • 6.5" Paper Plates
  • Small cups
  • Napkins
  • Plastic spoons
  • Plastic forks
  • Plastic knives
  • Garbage Bags
  • Sponge(s)
  • Oven Mitt
  • Travel Salt & Pepper
Now all you need is food and drink and you are ready to roll!
What do you carry in your kit?

Fishing Huts Fishing Huts, North Hampton NH

Shannon Aldrich, Keller Williams Coastal Realty Portsmouth NH TheRealEstateClass.com

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Practicing Pie = Practicing Scripts

On Friday I was told that I was being put in charge of pumpkin pie for the Thanksgiving feast at my cousin's house. Sounds simple enough for the average pie eater. I, however, am up against the legend of my Gram, Helen Sten. Gram made pies. Dozens of them as gifts for everyone from the mechanic who serviced her car to her hair dressers (students always at the local beauty school). She made real crusts that cannot be reproduced. Often I would see her with a small stack of white boxes with a clear plastic window each one with a fresh pie nestled into it. Pumpkin, squash, apple and her perfect lemon meringue's, flowed out her kitchen. Each with a handmade crust, each a work of pie art and Gram's love.

So when I learned that I was off green bean casserole duty and now on pie detail, my heart skipped a beat. My specialty is cookies not pie. Gram was the pie diva, I am the cookie queen. Cookies cook quick. Pie is an exercise in patience. So I set off this weekend to practice pie. Recipes from the internet yielded mostly the traditional pumpkin/sweet condensed milk pie with a couple of interesting exceptions. Notably the Paula Dean pie and a tofu pie. The Paula Dean recipe is of course, a heart stopper of a concoction. The tofu pie would be the first attempt to bake with soy products. This pie would have no eggs or milk to make custard part of the pie but would rely on silken vanilla tofu.

Two pies by Shannon AldrichMy office has been eating pie all week. But why practice pie instead of just make a pie? Because you get better at what you do when you do it over and over again. Practice makes perfect is the simple truth. The same goes for real estate scripts. Practice your scripts until you become one with them. Then you will have the right words flow when you are in the field talking to your sphere of influence. At the beginning you are going to feel foolish standing in front of the mirror with a piece of paper in your hand just reading out loud. But time goes on and sure enough you will have success. Scripts can set you above the rest because you are prepared for the conversation. The same goes for pie - I have test baked four pies now and have a handle on what happens in the life of pie. The agents in my office have tried all the pies and given great feedback on my technique. Like a script, I now know what to expect, how to conquer obstacles and deliver the perfect pie. Pie overflow by Shannon Aldrich

For all of you who have followed the pie saga on Facebook the overall winner in the pumpkin pie tasting was the TOFU PUMPKIN PIE~! Traditional pie came in second place. The Paula Dean pie was most often picked by people who started with "Well, I don't like pumpkin pie but..." So it just goes to show that we need several different types of scripts (and pie) in order to please all of our customers. So go spend some quality time in front of the mirror and practice what you are going to say. Let's get a handle on how to overcome objections and move forward to the closing table.
 Traditional Pie by Shannon Aldrich
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Let's eat pie!

February Holidays

Most months have their big holidays and February is no exception. Valentine's Day is the first one most of think of - with President's Day coming in a close second. Leap Year is here in 2008 and could be an interesting target market campaign with the thought that you shouldn't wait another 4 years to buy a house. Or hold a food drive for Canned Food Month to benefit your town. Invigorate your standard marketing plans with some of the more unusual celebrations. Also check out the monthly and weekly holidays to plan your volunteer activities that will get you out there meeting new people and building stronger friendships. After all people do real estate with people they know

Holidays with Changing Dates
Shrove Tuesday (The day before Lent) AKA Fat Tuesday AKA Mardi Gras is always 46 days before Easter
President's Day (February 18, 2008) Third Monday of the month
Monthly
African American History Month (Black History Month)
American Heart Month
Bake for Family Fun Month
National Pet Dental Health Month
National Cherry Month
Children's Dental Health Month
Library Lovers Month

Weekly
1st Week
National Burn Awareness Week
National Consumer Protection Week
3rd Week
Random Acts of Kindness Week

Daily
1 National Freedom Day
2 Ground Hog Day
4 National Stuffed Mushroom Day
6 Massachusetts became 6th State in 1788
7 Oklahoma joined the Union 1905
8 Boy Scouts Day
11 White Shirt Day
12 Lincoln's Birthday (traditional)
14 Valentine's Day
14 Ferris Wheel Day
15 National Gum Drop Day
19 Chocolate Mint Day
22 Washington's Birthday (traditional)
22 Girl Scouts World Thinking Day
22 National Recreation Sports and Fitness Day
29 Leap Year every four years