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CONTACT WALTER

559 S. Washington Ave., Kankakee,IL 60901

P.815.929.9258 P.815.929.9200

walter@waltersanford.com

Dear Walter, It was a pleasure meeting you during your recent event in Laguna Hills, CA. I appreciate the material your covered during the event and wanted to thank you for your generosity on gifting me the "Beating the Competition" sales system. Jose U. Jaramillo, Keller Williams

READ WHAT OTHERS SAY

Creating Leverage from Your Database Using Direct Mail/E-mail June 26th, 2017 | Posted in General Real Estate, Other Interests, Real Estate

As you know, testimonials from your past clients really can be a valuable tool to help you build credibility and value in a competitive real estate market place. With all the time and money that it took to get the listing, the lead-generation systems implemented in preparing a CMA, making presentations, and then following up — not getting the listing can lose you hundreds or maybe even thousands of dollars. Getting the signature on the listing requires the seller feeling comfortable with you.  Testimonials from people just like them are HUGE!

A testimonial is someone else saying that you are good at what you do.  It actually becomes the truth when someone else says it!  Having endorsements in writing is what makes this tool even more valuable, and when presented in the pre-listing confirmation package, on your website, or E-mails, it provides the necessary impetus to push you over the top.

If you serve your customers well, a few will send you letters or E-mails every now and then, but you have to be pro-active in your sales efforts by learning to ask for letters and E-mails.  Try saying, “Would you be willing to find a couple of minutes to put what you just said to me in an E-mail and send it to me?”  Getting it on letterhead or personalized stationery is even better!

Seldom, will anyone refuse to write such a letter; however, getting them to follow through on that agreement is another issue.  If you just leave it at that simple request you get a small percent of the letters promised.  People do not mean to break their word, they are just busy so to keep the process going, send them a E-mail thanking them in advance for their kind words.  This is a subtle reminder to keep their word.

If you have not received the testimonial within a month or so, and especially if this particular person is an influential person, call him or her on the phone. The client often brings up the letter first and apologizes for not getting it out to you yet.  Say, “That is okay. I know you are really busy.  Here’s an idea. Would it be helpful if I sent you a few thoughts from other past clients? You can edit or rewrite all you like and then send it to me on your letterhead, okay?”  People usually agree to this. I have collected dozens of letters this way. You may feel this is a very gutsy question to ask, and perhaps it is, but seldom does anyone refuse.

Just take the best lines out of your best testimonial letters and have them check off the ones they like.  When it is a letter that you really want and they are dragging their feet, as a last resort, write the letter for them using the clauses they thought matched their experience.  Always work off a closing checklist that reminds you to get this valuable piece of mail.  Mine requires that I receive a testimonial letter before I can put the file away and the client is marked in the database for a follow-up call.

Let me say that again: you cannot take the file off your desk until you receive a testimonial letter or E-mail!

There are a few things I like to see in a testimonial letter.  You will want to further help your seller.  I even used the following letter on my website on how to write a testimonial.  A primer on how to write a testimonial letter really increases your chances of success!

Thank you once again for agreeing to put your thoughts in writing about our business relationship. In the past, some of the best testimonial letters I have received include some of the following points. One of the greatest favors you could do for me would include some of these points.  Please remember, the most difficult task I have in this business is replacing great clients such as you. 

  1. Please outline the nature of the challenge or problem you had prior to meeting me. 
  1. Explain how professional and effective my presentation of options to achieve your goals was. 
  1. Could you discuss your satisfaction with the plan my team and I implemented? 
  1. How easy and pleasant is it for you to work with my team members and me? How easy was it to communicate with us? 
  1. Do you have any present plans for further or ongoing use of my real estate services? 
  1. Could you please explain the high value, appropriateness or importance of any insights that I might have brought to light at our meetings? 
  1. Did the outcome exceed your expectations? How? 

 

Thank you so much for your help. I cannot tell you what your endorsement will do for my business. 

Sincerely,

Walter Sanford

Sanford Systems

 

Can you tell I am serious about this stuff?  Make sure you get your well-deserved testimonials and don’t forget to put them on your website!

I can build a whole listing presentation just around the testimonials. Your direct mail campaign should always make reference to your testimonials.

Please put your testimonials under different headings so you can match the testimonials with the client or the promotion.  I placed them under the following headings:

  1. Luxury homes
  2. FSBO sellers
  3. Expired sellers
  4. Investor/builder sellers
  5. Probates/estate sellers
  6. 1031-Tax Deferred Exchange sellers
  7. Professional sellers
  8. Mature sellers
  9. Out-of-state owner sellers
  10. Relocation seller

 

I have the same files for buyers, too. Sometimes a testimonial would go into multiple folders/categories. By the way, I also had icons on my home page that allowed me to deliver services to these demographics and also showcase the testimonials under these demographics.

Lead generation is what builds your business and keeps your pipeline full, no matter what the market says!  Grow Your Leads: Just Add Wa(l)ter is a hefty book full of detailed and complete prospecting systems, and it includes the data CD (digital copy).  This is also a great manual for an assistant.

Call 800.792.5837 and ask for the $50 blog special on Grow Your Leads: Just Add Wa(l)ter.  Check out the content details here: http://www.waltersanford.com/shop/grow-your-leads-just-ask-walter/.

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