How to Target Renters And
Get Them To Respond

This strategy is similar to some of the strategies I explained in listing articles concerning the use of educational reports. It involves direct mailing renters with a series of postcards and letters designed to generate an inquiry for a free educational report. Once the prospect inquires, you launch a plan for consistently following up until your prospects convert.

One of our agents who focuses purely on buyer agency told us, "Since I don’t carry any listings I have to aggressively market for buyers and this approach has worked great. Every mailing I get 2%-5% response for the free report.

I call them first, to confirm their address and kind of warm them up a little bit. I mail them the report. Then I follow up by phone three days later to see if I can get them to take the next step. If they are a little defensive, I try to put them at ease so they’ll be receptive to me later. Then I put them in my contact manager and follow up with them until they do something."

He also explained, "Every time I mail them a letter or call them on the phone I have something to offer them. I offer to help them get financed. If their credit is bad, I offer to help them get it cleaned up. If they want to look for a particular kind of home, I offer to send them a list of properties in their range. The main thing is I let them know that I’m available to be of service and I try to make them feel at ease."

How effective has this approach been for our agent? He’s doing an average of six to eight transactions a month with it! He does this nine months a year, then he takes three months off and relaxes. Not a bad lifestyle… huh?

So the keys to the approach are:

1. Mail renters a series of postcards and letters offering a free report (course materials).

2. Once they respond for the report, call, confirm their address, and begin warming up.

3. Mail the report.

4. Follow up by phone three days later.

5. Follow up every ten to thirty days depending on their buying temperature.

6. Be consistent in your follow up until they do something.

7. Every time you follow up have some service to offer.

8. In every communication strive to make them feel at ease.

One of the key things to understand with this strategy is: It’s a longer term strategy. Plus, it’s purely a numbers game. When you mail 500 renters a postcard or letter, 10-20 of them will respond for the report. Then with good consistent follow up 30%-40% will convert over the next six months.

Some will convert quickly, while others will take more time and consistent follow up. So over six months, three to eight prospects will ultimately convert to transactions. If you mail 500 renters every month and you consistently follow up with every lead, ultimately you will be producing between three and eight transactions every month from this one strategy. The biggest key is consistency of follow up and the willingness to pay the price for six months to make it happen.

A 6-Step Mailing Program For Renters

With this mailing program you alternate mailing renters an "article" one month (examples in your course materials), a letter the second, an "article" the third and so on. There are three letters and three "articles" for a total of six months. At the end of six months you simply start over at month one and repeat the process. This mailing approach can be done over and over because the renter market is constantly shifting and changing. Plus, after repeated exposure the likelihood of getting a renter to respond increases significantly.

Another consideration is that you may want to carry this process out on an every-other-month basis. Depending on how aggressively you want to cultivate the renter market, you may find it more appropriate to implement a toned down version of the process outline in your course materials. Whichever the case, if you work the system, the system will produce.

All of these materials are on the diskette that comes with your course. Each "article" is an editorially formatted ad that you should print, fold and tear an edge along the top of the ad, and photocopy it on another sheet of paper. This will make it look like you found an article for your renter prospect to read. Then write (or pay someone to write) with a blue felt tip pen, a quick note above the "article" and sign your name. For example, "Mr. Smith, I thought you might like to read this. John"

If you personalize it with "Mr. Smith" it costs a little bit more, but the response rates will be significantly better. Also, I would recommend that you refresh your memory concerning the A pile, B pile theory of Gary Halbert’s. It’s a direct mail fundamental!

In order to consistently get the response rates you need to make this strategy work with peak effectiveness, every "little thing" like "personalizing" your mailer is very important. Plus, once you have a system where other people prepare your mailings, it doesn’t take any more of your time to make it "personal." But the rewards will be increased response rates, better conversion rates, and more commission checks cashed!