3. Start Thinking About Product
Once you have an idea of some of the businesses you’ll be targeting, it’s a good idea to start thinking about product. Not that you should ever approach a client product-first (the conventional wisdom of focusing your sales efforts as a means of solving problems for clients, and not their product needs, of course still holds to the real estate market), but having an easy list of helpful products ready for your pitches will of course be of help. Below is a small list of pointers collected from past Promo Marketing articles on products that can be helpful with different parts of the real estate market.
For open houses, consider food gifts:
Mike Shulkin, president of Chicago-based A La Carte, mentioned that food is the most popular product at these open-house events. “When prospective tenants visit the [senior living] buildings, the landlords want to give them a promotional packet including some snacks,” he said.
(From Oct. 2012’s Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number: 8 reasons selling to senior care is easier than you think)
Investment always takes planning:
Bill Mahre, president of ADG Promotional Products, Hugo, Minn., listed the best markets for planners are office workers and note-takers. “Traditional strong markets like real estate, education, law firms, accountants and banks still use large quantities of planners since they are a good value and ideal for note-taking,” he said.
(From June 2012’s Penciled In: The 11 must-knows of designing a perennial calendar or timeplanner promotion)
Portable computing is a must:
“A key market that has been overlooked is college bookstores,” Richard Flashenberg, managing director of the Colemax Group, Glen Rock, N.J. said. He also suggested corporate events where tablets or e-readers are given to attendees, as well as industries that rely heavily on iPads and tablets, such as real estate, logistics and hospitality.
(From Oct. 2012’s Plugged-in Promotions: A guide to the best electronics and accessories)
