Seminars are great tools to educate prospective home buyers and sellers in person while showcasing your local market expertise. Host a seminar with these simple suggestions for success:
Topic selection: Topic selection is critical and should focus on the real estate needs in your community/area. Do you have a lot of vacation properties or first-time buyers? Or, perhaps you work in an area where many people are retiring and thinking about selling their homes.
Timing: The day and time of your seminars are important as well. Consider doing a “lunch and learn” if you are partnering with a company. Wednesday and Thursday evenings are the best days and times to hold seminars. If you’re focused on first-time buyers, hold these seminars about one month after tax day — these younger buyers might have received refunds and have cash for a down payment. If you’re working in an area with lots of vacation properties, hold a seminar at the end of the season, when people are thinking about purchasing versus renting.
Clarify your purpose: Seminars aren’t for selling — they are for educating. Be sure to clearly differentiate yourself from and provide something of value. Give homebuyers access to tools they can’t find anywhere else.
Partner with someone else: Find a relevant partner to hold your seminar with. Doing so helps you attract more attendees and makes your seminar more interesting. For a retiree seminar, consider having a downsizer attend. For first- time buyers, have a financial planner or accountant join you.
Open your portfolio: Stretch your contact reach by way of personal interests. Connect with your gym, your place of worship, or a local community center that may be interested in hosting a seminar. Start with a local business’ lunch-and-learn to reach a wider audience.
Follow up: Print and hand out powerfully visual take-home swag and be sure to follow-up to set appointments with interested attendees. Don’t loose those contacts – references are crucial to building a successful business.
Extra credit Video promotion: Film your seminar for marketing purposes. Add it to your email signature, send it to prospective buyers, and promote it through traditional media. Today’s homebuyer is visual and will respond to something they can consume quickly.
Build a valuable reputation in your market and gain customers in the process by hosting a winning seminar today.
And, be sure to place any seminar referrals that don’t make sense for you to work into ReferralExchange! We’ll match them with 3 agents from our network, handle all of the paperwork and processing, and pay you a 25% referral fee when the deal closes.