Direct Mail Strategies for Commercial Real Estate Agents

In this time of technology and e-mail, the traditional letter is even more effective and powerful as a marketing tool.  Far too many commercial agents rely solely or largely on e-mail as part of their marketing effort.  Develop a direct mail strategy to add to any other marketing activities that you currently undertake.

In saying all of this, the direct mail process should only occur if you are prepared to follow-up each and every letter sent.  When it comes to commercial property, most of the new business we create is through trust and personal contact.  For this reason the letters that you send should be focused on two things.  They are:

• To introduce yourself as a local commercial real estate expert of relevance to the prospect.
• To seek a meeting with the prospect and provide them with local market information and knowledge.

If you send a letter on this basis, you are not confusing the marketing message and you are simply introducing yourself.  This makes the telephone follow-up process quite easy and specific.

Here are some specific tips to apply to the direct mail strategy and letters sent today.

1. The letter that you send should be simple in format.  Three or four simple paragraphs are sufficient to send right the message and request a meeting.  Keep the letters simple in every respect.  You want the person to take your call when you make it in a few days’ time.  The letter is really encouraging them to take your call.  When you make the call, you are then encouraging them to a allow you to meet with them.  Keep things simple and centered on these basic processes.
2. The only thing that you should include in your letter should be a business card.  Far too many agents send bulky marketing material and brochures.  Most of that will be put in the rubbish bin fairly quickly.  If you send only a business card, that is likely to stay within the possession of the client for some time.  That is exactly the goal of your letter.
3. Break your letter up into three simple paragraphs of two or three sentences each.  Tell the client about the local property market and recent changes that may be of interest to them.  Tell the client that you will be ringing them in the next few days to talk about those facts.  The primary goal of your letter is for the client to take your call.  When you make that call, you want them to remember you.  That is why the business card mentioned earlier is part of the contact strategy.
4. When you sign off the letter, do it personally in blue ink.  That will then show the prospect that you have personally committed to the dispatch of the letter.  If your standard letter signature is somewhat illegible, it is better to develop a legible signing process for your marketing letters.  That will then show the client that you have taken time to identify yourself formally and correctly at the base of the correspondence.  You have a name; make sure the client can read it.

The traditional direct mail strategy is of importance and significance when it comes to marketing yourself today.  Make sure you follow the above points so that your correspondence can be converted to the meeting that you require.