1. Quit Farming and Start Prospecting. “Farming is marketing yourself to strangers. That’s the slowest way to get into real estate. Prospecting is working with past customers.”
2. Prepare Your Prospect List. Organize contact information on past clients and customers into a database for mailings. Use a real estate specific software, like an add-on real estate program for MicrosoftOutlook.
3. Start a Monthly Campaign. People tend to trust the familiar, this regularity might encourage prospects to call her when they’re ready to buy or sell. “Sending postcards every month is the most cost-effective marketing activity you can do,” says Zaby. “It’s more valuable than e-mail because 95 percent of all e-mail is never opened.”
4. Create a Professional Look. Find and use real estate–specific products on the market that offer libraries of mailers that can be customized with a Realtor’s information, photo and logo.
5. Make Time for Follow-up. Use a vendor to handle printing and mailing, and then use the time saved on mailings to follow-up with the most promising market: past clients and customers. “Make five to 10 calls a day to these people,” says Zaby. “It might take you two months [to get through your list], but there’s no doubt in my mind that if you called them four times a year and sent them something once a month, you could whip up some repeat business. When you talk to them — and this is the key to contact management — always schedule another time to either call or get together.”

Meet the Expert:
Pat Zaby’s contributions to real estate through speaking, writing, and software development have earned him the recognition and respect as one of the industry’s authorities. For more information about Zaby, visit www.PatZaby.com.