Building a customer list, with co-op branding - By Reed Sawyer

YEARS AGO, when I was in Colorado Springs, we were doing lease options, and becoming proficient at the process.  I persuaded my business partner that we needed to start a “Hands-On Real Estate” training seminar.  We started advertising this on our radio talk show every week, and we kicked it off with a two day 16 hour free preview.  It was free, but you had to register.  We got the names, phone numbers, and email addresses for everyone that wanted to attend.  

Step 1:  Venue:

Once we had two hundred and fifty people signed up, we realized that we couldn’t have this in our back office, so we rented a comedy club during the day, (and gave out discount coupons to all attendees to the comedy club, this helped offset our costs.)  We created a curriculum, that gave details on our process, and signed up co-sponsors that would give out free gifts.  (These were premium items from mortgage lenders, title insurance companies, and other real estate service vendors.)

Step 2:  Presentation:

We presented this with  power point slides, handouts, and humor.  We had over 80 frames on the wall of pictures of houses.  Every picture had the picture, address, and the price paid.  Then as we were talking we would point to a frame and say, “On THIS property, we did…” to increase credibility.  As we continued to use these pictures in our talk, our credibility increased.  

Step 3:  Give a little first:

We gave away a free information packed “preview” that would have been a mastery level seminar for any other real estate training company; then we added a little more.  By using sponsors that would benefit directly from our students, we were able to keep our costs down, and also gain leverage with our service vendors, and bring them business.  Then, once we had established credibility, we offered them masters level classes, PLUS membership in our Real Estate Investor Association, PLUS a newsletter, PLUS access to our mortgage company for financing.

Step 4:  Establish value:

By offering these free previews, we increased our credibility with all of those attendees.  Not every one of them used our services, but we increased our value above and beyond our competition.

Step 5:  Nudge:

If you do a fantastic job of making contact with your list…and then don’t follow up, you will be forgotten.  Instead, do a follow up email every month to “nudge” them into taking action.  Every contact with them should offer a great value added component, that they need to take action to receive.  

Step 6:  Repeat:

If you can do it once, you can do it again.  Make sure that you establish a schedule for contacting your list, and always give them a reason to want to open your email, pick up the phone, or open your letter.  If you bring value they will welcome your contact.  If you are just bugging them to send you money…you become a pest.  

Step 7:  What’s in it for them?

Before I contact anyone, I always ask the simple question, “What’s in it for them?”  Even if they loved you when you first met them, you have to always give them a gift/coupon/sample/joke/laugh in order to have them want to continue to talk to you.  Give them a little something, and they will gladly open your email. 

You don’t need a million dollar advertising campaign to get started, you just have to give a little first, and always be thinking, “What’s in it for them?”  Good luck!

Reed Sawyer
Real estate and finance subject matter expert
Serial Entrepreneur
Licensed business broker,
Licensed real estate agent,
Licensed mortgage broker,
Licensed insurance salesman, (Life/Health)
Multi-state REO sales expert
Lease-Option expert
Radio talk show host
Narrator/Writer/Director
Bachelors of Science in Business Administration
Business Revenue Consultant
Marketing Consultant
Negotiator
Video production expert
Published author

(407) 385-8291(phone)

ReedBetweenTheLines@Yahoo.com (email)