14-Day Action Plan to Improve your Real Estate Marketing

Like most agents, you probably have a few long-term goals for your career. For example, this year, you might be aiming to land more listings, boost your income, hire an assistant, dominate a real estate geo farm — to name just a few possibilities.

But with all the attention paid to long-term goals, it’s easy to overlook what can be accomplished within a very short timespan.

You can do a lot in just a couple of weeks!

If you wanted to get healthier, for example, you could hire a personal trainer on Monday, start an exercise plan on Wednesday, and cut carbs by 50% that weekend. The following week you could start eating a lighter lunch and going for a walk after dinner. That two-week plan would not only create inspiration and serious momentum towards your long-term goal, but also give you a sense of achievement right away.

And that’s motivating.

You can do the same thing with your real estate marketing.

Say you set the goal to improve your real estate marketing, so you’re generating more real estate leads and referrals. If you were to put together a 14-day action plan, it might look something like the following.

• Day 1: Make a list of real estate geographic farming areas that have potential. Building a successful geo farm can be one of the best marketing investments you can make and become a source of high-quality “you’re the only agent we called” leads for years.
• Day 2: Analyze those areas for size, turnover, type of buyer/seller, proximity to your home, and other characteristics to determine which would be a good fit for you.
• Day 3: Choose a real estate geographic farm to focus on. Then commit to jumping in with both feet and making it a success.
• Day 4: Find the best real estate marketing system you can for geographic farming. Make sure it includes a direct mail newsletter that consistently positions you as the go-to agent for the area. Residents need to hear from you regularly, every month, and a good geo farming newsletter makes that easy.
• Day 5: Schedule time to doorknock the area (safely) and introduce yourself to homeowners. Strike up conversations. Tell them you’re the agent for the area and invite them to call or email anytime they have real estate questions or need advice.
• Day 6: Visit local businesses that serve the area. They might become good referral sources for you. Some might be interested in advertising in your real estate newsletter.
• Day 7: Find out if the community has a Facebook Community Page. If not, start one and invite residents to join.
• Day 8: Review your list of past clients. Put a checkmark beside those you haven’t been in contact with for a while.
• Day 9: Sign up with a good real estate marketing system for client referrals. (Previous clients can be a goldmine of referrals and repeat business, if you stay in touch with them.) Be sure the system includes an engaging real estate newsletter that keeps you top-of-mind and builds those relationships.
• Day 10: For those clients you’ve lost touch with, give them a call. Apologize for not staying in touch and offer to send them your high-value real estate newsletter. Also, offer to do something extra for them, like an updated market value assessment.
• Day 11: Update your real estate CRM so you’re sure you have the correct names and addresses of your previous clients.
• Day 12: In your CRM, set up alerts for quarterly phone calls to your past clients, birthday wishes, annual visits, and so forth. That will ensure you never miss an opportunity to build relationships that lead to referrals.
• Day 13: Make a list of ideas for a client appreciation event, such as a neighbourhood BBQ, online colouring contest for kids, or charity drive. You can invite both your past clients and your geo farming residents. Events like these not only position you as the agent everyone wants to recommend, but often results in new real estate leads, too.
• Day 14: Review your real estate marketing changes and improvements over the past two weeks. Celebrate the progress you’ve made. Then make plans for the next 14 days!

Notice that none of these daily tasks take particularly long to do. Yet, little by little, over a two-week period, your real estate marketing takes a quantum leap forward. And you’re much more likely to reach your long-term goals of more real estate referrals, leads, and listings.

A 14-day plan like this also gives you more energy and confidence. On Day 3, for example, when you get your geographic farming system in place, you’ll probably start imagining yourself as the number one agent in that area.

The effect is a little like Olympic sprinter Andre DeGrasse blasting from the starting blocks. In just two weeks, you’re taking a series of small but determined steps towards your real estate marketing goals that dramatically increases your chances of success.

So give this technique a try.

This week, write out a 14-day plan to improve your real estate marketing. And don’t forget — getting the right systems in place will make everything in your plan work better.