Realty Relations
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| When a marketing budget is
tight, fresh ideas must be thought of and implanted. That is, if a
contractor’s phone wants to keep ringing. Perhaps the most economical method of marketing is word-of-mouth advertising. As in any service industry, when people see work done, they will ask, “Who did your hair?” “Who detailed your car?” “Who remodeled your kitchen…” Most of you probably have a network of regular clients which whom generate referrals for you. But there is another way to get those ‘free’ referrals from those in need of work- Realtors. Realtors show houses everyday. Many of these houses, while wonderful listings, may not have that one-element buyers are looking for, so in turn, they may need some work. And, you’ve all seen the “Handy-Man’s Special” ads. This means that people looking for houses may know that in addition to investing in the house itself, they will have some work to do. Work more times than not, that they will need a professional to do. This is where your business card comes in. If a realtor has a stack of cards in their wallet, they can readily pass out your card to people who mention that they would like some work done. “Oh, funny you should say that Mr. Jenkins. I know a great deck guy- he can put up that deck you want before summer!” See- just like that, you have a referral. The realtor also wins because referring a contracting company to a homebuyer shows that they are going the extra mile to help them. The people they are showing the house to may come to realize that this could be the house of their dreams, and paint a picture of a deck here, or new windows here. Passing out your business card at that moment could very well help them seal their own sale. In addition, if people have just moved to the area, they will not know a reputable contractor, or have a friend to ask. The realtor often times is their gateway to products and services in their new locale. This builds a great relationship between buyer and seller. So, how do you find a realtor? For this task, you will have to do a little networking. Perhaps someone in your family knows someone who is a realtor and they can do this as a favor for you. If not, see if your city has a realtor’s association. If they do, attend one of mixers and do some mingling. This could work particularly well with a young and/or new realtors’ group, as this group will be more eager to find new ideas to help them. Let realtors know what you specialize in. Pass out your cards. Another way of meeting realtors is to attend home shows. You’d probably attend them anyway for ideas, but always passed the real estate companies by. Stop by and chat. A final way would be to ask you clients for referrals. If they just bought a house, find out who their agent was. Give the a call and say something like this, “Hi Mr. Burkett- this is Dave Prescott. I’m doing a basement for the Taylor’s- they just bought that house in Mill Hill. They mentioned you sold them the house, and I figured that you possibly have some other listings that may need similar work done. Think I could stop by with some cards, that way you can be armed with a professional in case buyers ask…” This could be a very casual conversation. Perhaps even your clients could do the talking for you. |
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