Real Estate Marketing Ideas: Speak to Sell

I’m a believer in trying real estate marketing ideas that tie into doing what you love. If you love presenting and teaching, give this fun soft sell approach a try.

Lunch ‘n’ Learns: Old-School Real Estate Marketing

My first real estate speak to sell event was to a group of about 20 hard working blue-collar men and women at a warehouse at lunch time. I was 24 years old and didn’t know it was called a “lunch ‘n’ learn” or a “brown bag.”

I was brand new in real estate and was looking for ways to generate leads, so my broker suggested I “go talk to those guys” about being first-time buyers.

Since then, I’ve done hundreds of lunch ‘n’ learns.

Corporations love them because they get something free for their employees. Employees love them because it’s good information, delivered by an entertaining speaker, live.

If you think you might want to try this approach, here are some ideas that have worked for me:

1. Target the market. Dale Carnegie said that one of the keys to influence is to “Arouse in them an eager want.” Think about your target market and the kind of information they might be craving. Design an appropriate presentation. Any real estate marketing you choose works best when you are laser-like about your market.
2. Approach small to mid-sized companies who are the sort of audience and clients you want. For instance, I like engineers, so I go to companies like Northrup Grummon and offer topics like: “Buying your first small investment property,” or “How to sell your house fast in a down market without dropping your price.”

• The audiences are usually small, but highly targeted. Three people is enough–even better because it becomes a conversation! The information you share at each event might be similar, but how you spin it for your audience makes it different.

3. Have a follow-up system in place. Not all of your audience is ready to hire you, but you can grow the relationship until they are ready. Check out our newsletters for building relationships with long-term leads.
4. Who to contact? Start with HR. If the company is too small for that, go to the boss. Weave in benefits for the boss or HR rep, as well as for the employees. If you can show how the HR rep or boss will look like a hero for providing this excellent workshop, then you’ll have a better chance of getting their approval.
5. Use a “speak to sell” format. This is where you give just enough instruction to whet the appetite, then encourage your audience to take a next step, such as setting a personal appointment with you to go over their specific situation. This call to action is a critical part of your presentation!
6. Plan your presentation to fit the organization’s time constraints. Leave time for questions.
7. Use a form to collect contact information. Survey them about their needs.
8. Provide a free offer, such as an ebook, a commission discount, or a free personal consultation.
9. Look for other opportunities to speak to sell, such as networking events, church groups, and running your own events.
10. Look for partners who will speak on topics with you. A financial planner can explain tax strategies for home sellers. An investor can talk about buying local condos as investments. A home inspector can help sellers prepare for their sale.

Once you systematize them, these small speak to sell workshops can be pretty quick to set up and take down…probably less time than an open house. You get a captive audience that’s interested in your topic and you’re the only expert in the room. How cool is that?

As I said, this is one of the more unique real estate marketing ideas I’ve tried. If you decide to try it, you’re welcome to reach out to me to chat about your plans.