“Don’t wait for your ship to come in if you didn’t send one out to start with!”
“Don’t wait for your ship to come in if you didn’t send one out to start with!” A prudent and wise saying that could have been penned by one of our dealers or one of their sales representatives. Today I want to share with you a marketing program that is easy and effective. I’m talking about sending letters to new homeowners.
We know that 4 out of every 10 new homeowners will purchase a security/smart-home system from someone within their first 6 months of moving. New movers are one of our best source of business. We also know that on average, homeowners move every 6 years. That means you will never run out of new mover prospects.
Finding a list of new homeowners is easy. Redfin, Zillow, and Realtor.com are a few of the online sites that are free to use. Using the filters you can search for recent closings in a particular ZIP Code or community. I suggest you focus on the newest closings each week. At minimum you will want to mail 100 new homeowners per week so make sure to choose an area that will give you plenty of new closings. On Redfin, I filter using closings in the last 7 days.
Look in the Dealer Portal under Resources and you will find a list of Marketing Materials to choose from. Recently, we have added a New Home Owner flyer that can be customized. You can edit to add your phone number and email address. You will want a quality color copy that you can either print yourself or go to your local office supply store.
Make sure to mail your flyer in a plain white envelope that you have hand addressed. People have a difficult time not opening a hand addressed envelope. Even if it is addressed to “New Homeowner”. Consider customizing your mailing. A yellow Post-it note with a hand written message adds a nice touch. If you have some testimonial letters from customers or reviews online, consider including those as well.
The key is consistent activity. If you plan to mail 100 per week, mail 20 per day. Also, commit to doing this for at least 4 to 6 weeks before evaluating your results. Some of your potential customers may not call immediately. You can expect 1-2 new customers per 100 mailings if you follow this process. Your cost per 100 mailings should be around $100.
The final piece of advice I will give you is that you need to answer your phone. If the potential customer calls and fails to reach you, they will seek out a purchase elsewhere. Also, decide whether you will turn the call into an appointment for an in-home presentation or whether you will go ahead and make your presentation on the phone call. I currently offer training classes on both approaches. Be sure to attend one.