Never door-knock again: How geographic layering can grow your business

Leslie DeLuca

5 years ago

September is Marketing and Branding Month at Inman. Tips for better branding and in-depth features on how to take advantage of marketing tools provided by Zillow, Redfin and other platforms are all in the works in addition to insights from experts. You’ll find it all at Inman, as well as our two-day virtual, flagship event, Your Playbook for the Fall Market, in October.

This article was last updated on September 8, 2022.

Who likes door-knocking, really? I have never been a fan of door-knocking for many reasons. I find it to be unsafe, intrusive, and in my area, most homes are second homes, so no one is home most of the time.

I have never done it in my 20 years of real estate as it makes me feel like the Avon lady. But digital door-knocking, now that is something that excites me. It’s about geographic farming with a different mindset.

When choosing a geographic farm, think of the geographic farm as the business model, and geographic layering is the strategy. Let me show you how this is working in my business.

Start in the cloud, and end at the door

Everyone is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube. The internet is your gateway to meeting people.

How do I choose a geographic farm?

Choose a geographic farm by knowing the velocity, turnover rate, average sale price and whether there is a dominant agent (10 percent market share) in the area.

Once you identify your area, get the people to know you digitally.

Create systems that capture those who would be most interested. Make sure you get the email of every single one of them.

Work on developing a relationship online. Then use email marketing and retargeting.

Retargeting

What is retargeting, you ask? You know when you look at that product on Amazon, and then every time you open your browser — there it is? That is retargeting. You have the ability to capture your audience and do the same thing.

Create a custom audience on Facebook in your farm area. Remember that once they click on your ad, they are only inquiries.

Don’t try to close them on the first interaction. They are only inquiring, so don’t call three times in 10 minutes and hang up. That’s obnoxious. Be real, be respectful, and offer value.

You will need to nurture these inquiries so that they find value in your relationship.

How do you nurture? You retarget them with relevant content that you already know they are interested in. Do not send junk. Send stuff you know they care about.

If they clicked on your financial info, send them financial info. First-time homebuyer? Then send them first-time buyer info. Just make sure you are relevant.

Layering

This is how you layer your approach after that:

Send mailers to that same area: This is expensive — and you must be consistent, or it’s a waste of time.
Be the mayor of the community: Make sure you are present in the area, known and involved. How can you be the go-to person for everything in that area? Meet the local business owners by doing videos promoting them. Create Facebook and Instagram neighborhood pages.
Go out and about: Walk in the neighborhood with your dog or kids, and just do videos in the neighborhood about the area: the best park, the prettiest tree, the annoying pothole in the street that got fixed.
Make videos on relevant and interesting topics: Create short one-minute videos with a call to action. Do a five-minute Facebook Live every day. Do this consistently. The key is consistency.

Follow these tips, and when you will meet people on the street, they’ll know you are knowledgeable.

What do videos need to consist of?

Every post should consist of these elements: information, invitation or registration.

Information

Use a call to action such as: “Download the perfect guide to help you buy a house of your dreams,” or try offering a seller guide using a “just sold” or “just listed.”

Invitation

Post a “just sold,” and offer a personal strategy session with you on how homes are being valued in today’s market. They click to a landing page and sign up for a time right online with a calendar link.

Or ask them to RSVP for an event like an open house with a secret link to get inside information. Get creative.

Registration

Offer home valuations: Show what sold in their neighborhood, and say something like: “If you are interested in how this home’s value compares to yours, try my 60-second home value estimation software.” Link to your home valuation site.
Use squeeze pages: Do a just listed video, and talk about all of the staging, upgrades and special features. Say, “Have you ever wondered which upgrades will give you the best return on your investment? Click below to get the five tactics to increase your home’s value.”

Here are a few other topics for videos: