How to Improve Sales Performance with Low Foot Traffic

Do you have low foot traffic for one of your new home communities and need to drive immediate sales? Well then keep on reading as this guide gives you a step-by-step game plan for a marketing campaign executed by a Sales Associate that will deliver results, especially for a community that generates low traffic. While this approach is time-consuming, I encourage you to not cut any corners. Follow the steps below and you can expect to supplement your existing sales pipeline with an influx of potential buyers within a month. Even better, once you execute this strategy for the first time, you will be left with powerful assets that will allow you to duplicate your success much more quickly and effectively the next time around.

The marketing campaign is crafted around targeting Realtors in your local area since they already have buyers looking for a home. Doing so will enable you to leverage their pool of prospects to close a deal quickly. Rather than trying to build one-on-one relationships, the goal is to funnel as many Realtors as possible to your community for a single event. This approach not only creates timely urgency but also showcases your product in-person in a time-efficient way, making it easier for Realtors to recommend your community.

1 - Design Your Realtor Event

Plan on hosting your event at your model four weeks out from your initial planning phase. The key to success is to offer a compelling two-pronged “hook.” Ideally, you’ll have something new happening in your community such as a model opening, a new community phase, or a special offer for Realtors, in addition to a great experience. The most typical experience includes specialty catering as well as some sort of raffle prize that you can use to collect attendee business cards. Once you figure out what you want to do, send your ideas to marketing so that they can create a flyer design for you. Below is an example of a recent event that New Home Star helped to promote for one of its agents:

Tip: Including an RSVP call to action in your flyer design will help you gauge attendance levels leading up to the event and will offer you insight to make adjustments for catering or sales support.

Note: Working with your marketing department is key in making sure that you not only have well-designed collateral but also to ensure that your marketing efforts align with the overall builder brand.

2 - Build Your Target Broker Office List

One of the perks of being a licensed sales agent is having access to MLS, which will provide you access to broker contact information. You will need to build a list of broker offices that will be used for in-person flyer drop-offs to market your event. My recommendation is to include every office within 25 miles of your model center, as anything further greatly decreases the willingness to commute to your event. You can use this tool to identify zip codes within a 25 miles radius of your model. From there, search every zip code in MLS, export the data into an excel document, and compile your list into a single file. Be sure to remove any duplicates before moving to the next step.

3 - Create an Efficient Drop-Off Strategy

Visualizing all of the broker offices on a map that integrates with your navigation app is key in creating the most efficient way to make your flyer drop-offs. Google Maps offers this feature with the ability to place pins for each of the offices, that when clicked on, will give you the option for directions. The steps below outline how to make this custom map:

• Sign in to Google and open Google Maps.
• Click “Menu” > then “Your Places” and then > “Maps.”
• Select “Create Map” which will take you to a screen with a search bar.
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 Tip: If you’re having trouble creating a custom map with Google, click on this article for more information.

Copy and paste addresses from your Excel sheet into the search bar. You can copy multiple columns within the same row and still get the search correctly.

• The address search should populate on your map. Just click “Add to Map” and repeat until you finish your list. Below is an example of how that looks like:

• The last step is to share the map with your email account so that you can use it on your phone for navigation. Click on the “Share” button and enter your email address.
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Tip: You can color code the map if you have multiple agents working out of the same community so that you can divide and conquer a large list of drop-offs.

4 - Build Your Target Realtor Agent List

Ideally, you already have a list of Realtors that your company has worked with before, but you can also build one from scratch. One method is to pull all MLS listings in your area that were sold in the last six months within a 25-mile radius and in your price band. Export the list and only include agent contact info in your final Excel document.

Note: Please consult with your marketing department before creating any email campaigns. They will be your best resource for creating campaigns that adhere to the CAN-SPAM Act.

5 - Announce Your Event Details Using Digital Channels

You have your event flyer, drop-off strategy, and a list of Realtor email addresses; now it’s time to begin marketing your event. Start out by sending an email campaign to your Realtor email list announcing your event. If your builder doesn’t have an email client that can process your list, use something like Contactually ScaleMailor MailChimp. Both of these options are relatively inexpensive and can get your flyer out to your target list with ease. Don’t stop there, share your event info on social media and reach out to any Realtors that you’ve personally worked with on an individual basis. I’ve found that starting to market your event 10 to 14 days out produces the best results. It gives invitees enough time to plan ahead, while not being so far out that it slips their minds.

6 - Broker Office Flyer Drop-Offs

Right after you announce your event digitally, you’ll want to visit every broker office in your drop-off strategy. Refer to step #3 and use the map you’ve created there for the most efficient way to visit every office. If you’re unsure how many flyers you’ll need to print out to get complete coverage of Realtors in each office, ask someone on your team for advice. Typically, this number averages to roughly 25 agents per office. With each visit, you will most likely be greeted by an Office Manager. Give them a brief synopsis of your event and ask them about the best way to get these flyers to their Realtors. Before you leave each office, grab a business card that will be used for follow-up.

Tip: If you have the budget, leave a shareable gift like a box of pastries. Branding them can also be a nice and inexpensive touch to stand out.

7 - Send Out a Reminder Email to Your Realtor List

The day before the event, you will want to send out another email campaign to your Realtor email list reminding them that your event is coming up. Use the same flyer but adjust your subject line to emphasize urgency. You should also follow up with all of the business cards you collected during your flyer drop-off.

8 - Follow-Up With Everyone that RSVP'd

Anyone who committed to coming to your event should get special attention and a customized reminder from you. Spend some time by sending out individual emails to those that RSVP’d in order to make sure they have all of the information for your event.

9 - The Big Day: Hosting Your Event

Arrive at your model early the day of your event and ensure the space is prepped and ready. Set up some decorations if you are doing a “themed” event. Draw attention to your event and your model by placing some signage in front and positioning some balloons near the entrance. Have all printed materials ready (inventory homes available, floorplans, etc.) to distribute to attendees. Be sure to have a sign-in sheet set up near the entrance, doing so will enable you to get into contact with attendees following the event. Last but not least, be prepped and ready to give your very best sales presentation!

10 - Follow-Up With All Event Attendees

Hopefully, you had a great turnout during your event with many Realtors in attendance. Reach out to each one of them with a thank you card; include any collateral that you have about your community and your current offerings. If you have a Realtor or buyer incentive, be sure to include it as well. This should be added to your “hot list” moving forward, so use it strategically in future marketing efforts.

Conclusion

I want to mention that this campaign does not replace builder level marketing and should be used by Sales Agents to supplement existing efforts. Hopefully, this strategy drives many attendees to your community and opens up new sales opportunities. One of our Sales Agents based in a tough market with little organic traffic recently followed this strategy and was able to build 35 new Realtor relationships that resulted in two immediate sales. The final hard cost was under $500, making it relatively inexpensive considering the value of assets created, new relationships formed, and sales made. I wish you the best of luck in your next Realtor event!