1) You need signage.
Got it. We have a "portable" yard sign that is a light-weight reproduction of the real thing. Assembled it stands almost six feet tall. It includes my name rider. This was in addition to the freebie Buyers Guide and Real Estate Book stacks, cards, and signage for the 5% donation.
2) You need a hook. Lemme print you a coupla pix of your average "country farm" with a good ol' boy holding a rifle... Or a picture of a ventilated soda can... Something like that... The average customer needs to be led to the thought "hey, if I buy a place, I can shoot there."
It would be a hook if everywhere outside the city limits didn't already fit the description. The "hook" is the donation part.
3) Display, display, display...
Did it, did it, did it...
4) Approach them - don't just sit there.
As much as that appeals in the marketing sense, it's a turn-off for most folks when it comes to real estate agents (think "in-person" version of the middle-of-dinner telemarketer). I don't like it done to me and I'd rather not do it to someone else if at all possible. It makes me just like the guy on the next table who's selling the super-absorbent towels and multi-colored dusters by waving over every passer-by. For now I'll leave it at level eye contact and a solid nod. I may, however, take an extra box of Buyer's Guides next time and walk around handing them out (with my card attached, of course).
On the upside, today was better. There was more diversity in the crowd and a few folks were casually interested. I did get one solid lead and feel reasonably certain it will end up in a listing. There was one old fart who already has his house listed with a competitor. He spent about fifteen minutes telling me how good his house was and can't understand why the other guy isn't getting it shown. Never mind the fact that it's a two-bedroom in a neighborhood of lookalike, cookie-cutter three bedrooms, and that he has it priced $5,000 higher than anything else on the market in that area.
I'll chalk it up as a qualified success for now. I've already signed up for the show in January.
Oh, and I helped a buddy find a dandy little nightstand gun, a Ruger Security Six. It had plenty of holster polish but was tight as a drum and sported an almost-new set of Pachmyers. From the looks and feel of it I'm guessing it was carried a lot and shot a little. Price was fair to all and a darned sight better than what he could have done on anything new.
Brad
