Summary

This is an explanation of our team’s lead generation systems. These are our team’s most important systems.

Software

Our lead generation depends upon various software, including but not limited to:

• Follow Up Boss - CRM for client details and drip campaigns.

• Meta Business Manager/Meta Ads Manager

Principles

All lead generation systems:

• Accomplish one or both of Brand Awareness or Conversion

• Serve to help potential clients know, like or trust our team.

• Reach potential buyers at different parts of the decision-making funnel.

• Should “touch” potential clients more than once.

Our team’s systems:

• Prioritize lead generation from people who already know, like and trust us.

• Should be remarkable enough to generate word-of-mouth referrals.

Our key systems focus on the following types of leads:

• Repeat business

• Referral business

• Sphere of influence

Our expansion systems focus on the following types of leads to grow our database:

• Sign calls

• Open houses

• Door knocking

Lead Generation Systems

Calls, Notes and Pop-Bys

These are the basics. These are activities that we perform with our current and past clients and sphere of influence. This is a very “Brian Buffini” way of lead generation.

• Principles

  • All of these techniques layer on each other to have an effect greater than the sum of the parts

  • In person contact (a pop-by) is better than a phone call, which is better than a handwritten note, which is better than a text, which is better than an email for nurturing relationships

  • Although it is perfectly acceptable to ask someone for a referral during a contact, we do these activities from a position of generosity. In other words, we should be providing more value that we should be asking (think Gary Vee’s “jab, jab, right hook”)

  • We can leverage some technology (Bombbomb, for example) for these systems as well but it should enhance, not replace the human element of the interaction.

• Calls

  • Have a reason to call.

  • Take notes. Follow Up Boss can record calls, which is extremely useful.

  • Be brief and generous. Friendly but professional.

• Notes

  • Following a call, client event or pop-by with a handwritten note is a fantastic idea. It is almost guaranteed to be opened.

  • These should be put in the mail immediately after writing, as they’re easy to forget.

• Pop-Bys

  • Stopping by with a small gift can be a great idea. We keep a list of items that can be bought and labeled en masse that don’t go bad or expire. They should be useful.

  • A small but memorable tagline should go with the gift.

  • Pop-bys should be short and usually happen on the front porch, unless you’re invited in to see the new baby, the new puppy or the recent renovations.

Tire Change Day (2X yearly)

This is an event that we do twice yearly, generally in April and October for our past and current clients. We may expand this to our farming neighbourhood in the future if we establish one successfully. It keeps us top of mind through various touchpoints:

• Printed invitation in the mail to each client’s home or work

• Two mentions in our monthly e-newsletter

• Two mentions in our printed newsletter

• Phone calls to A+ and A list clients

• Inbound touchpoint when clients call or email us to book a spot on our website

• Reminder email to all clients who will be attending

• 15-minute catch-up with all clients who attend

• Thank-you email with a professional video to our database

• One final mention in our monthly e-newsletter

• One final mention in our printed newsletter

• Video posted on our social media

Thanksgiving Pie Giveaway

We do this event yearly on Thanksgiving weekend in October for our past and current clients. We may expand this to our farming neighbourhood in the future if we establish one successfully. It keeps us top of mind through various touchpoints.

• Printed invitation in the mail to each client’s home or work

• Two mentions in our monthly e-newsletter

• Two mentions in our printed newsletter

• Phone calls to A+ and A list clients

• Inbound touchpoint when clients call or email us to book a spot on our website

• Reminder email to all clients who will be attending

• 15-minute catch-up with all clients who attend

• Thank-you email with a professional video to our database

• One final mention in our monthly e-newsletter

• One final mention in our printed newsletter

• Video posted on our social media

Holiday Kick-Off Party

We do this event yearly on the weekend closest to one month before Christmas for our past and current clients. It keeps us top of mind through various touchpoints.

• Printed invitation in the mail to each client’s home or work

• Two mentions in our monthly e-newsletter

• Two mentions in our printed newsletter

• Phone calls to A+ and A list clients

• Inbound touchpoint when clients call or email us to book a spot on our website

• Reminder email to all clients who will be attending

• 15-minute catch-up with all clients who attend

• Thank-you email with a professional video to our database

• One final mention in our monthly e-newsletter

• One final mention in our printed newsletter

• Video posted on our social media

Closing Gift

We give our clients a closing gift (usually a gift basket) when they close a purchase, sale or rental, along with a handwritten card. It reinforces the relationship that we’ve built together and increases the chance of repeat and referral business from this client. Some important aspects of the gift:

• If at all possible, we try to deliver the gift in person. At the very least we follow up with a phone call after delivery.

• The gift should be delivered within one week of closing.

• Ideally, items should be tailored to the client (eg: treats for their pets, gift certificate to their favourite restaurant) for a more personal touch

• The card must always be handwritten.

Referral Thank-You

We give a gift to people that refer a lead to us, along with a handwritten card and phone call. This reinforces our relationship by showing appreciation for that person’s trust.

• The gift can be small, for example a $25 gift card to Tim Hortons

• The gift should be sent on the same day that the referral was received

• The card must be handwritten

• The receiving agent should call the client immediately to thank the referrer

• Keep in mind that we are thanking the referrer for the action, not the result. It does not matter whether the lead closes or not, we still intentionally show our gratitude for the thought and the trust that goes into referring us.

Referral Closing Gift

We give an additional gift to people that refer a lead to us that closes, along with a handwritten card and phone call. This reinforces our relationship by showing appreciation for that person’s trust, by showing that we can “get the job done” for their friends and colleagues, and that we are organized enough to remember where the referral came from.

• The gift should be on a similar scale as the closing gift for the client themselves

• The gift should be delivered sometime between when the purchase or sale goes firm, and a week after the sale closes. No later than the closing gift itself.

Client Appreciation Events

We do these events throughout the year to show our clients appreciation for their trust and referrals to our team. These keep us top of mind through various touchpoints:

• Printed invitation in the mail to each client’s home or work

• Two mentions in our monthly e-newsletter

• Two mentions in our printed newsletter

• Phone calls to A+ and A list clients

• Inbound touchpoint when clients call or email us to book a spot on our website

• Reminder email to all clients who will be attending

• 15-minute catch-up with all clients who attend

• Thank-you email with a professional video to our database

• One final mention in our monthly e-newsletter

• One final mention in our printed newsletter

• Video posted on our social media

• Examples of events we’ve run:

  • Back-to-school ice cream in the park

  • Summer movie event

Newsletters

We keep top-of-mind with our clients by sending useful, professionally-printed and branded newsletters twice a month. We currently use iXact Contact and Morris Marketing to send these. Some notes:

• eNewsletters are sent via email on the 15th of each month

  • Interesting subject line

  • Introduction video with me or a team member on-camera, along with a written introduction

  • Includes monthly market update video

  • Includes articles of value

  • Includes our current contest

  • Includes links to our listings

  • Includes thanks for our most recent client event, and a video if we have one

  • Includes our contact details

• Morris marketing sends printed newsletters on the first of each month on our behalf.

  • Includes a seasonal greeting

  • Includes our team photo

  • Includes three articles relevant to homeowners or homebuyers

  • Includes our contact information and a clear call to action.

Open Houses

We leverage our listings by hosting open houses for the public with the aim of finding new Buyer and Seller clients.

• Paired with door knocking in the area

• Supported with ads on Social Media.

Door Knocking

We leverage our listings and our neighbourhood-specific buyers door knocking around homes of significance (such as our listings).

• We knock with the aim of bringing value to the people that we are door-knocking to. This is not meant to be a “sales-y” contact point. We offer value by letting people know about open houses, recent sales and invite them to be informed of the sale price of a house once it’s sold, or even an evaluation of their own home.

• During door knocking we gather inside information about the neighbourhood that helps us be more professional and informative at our open houses.

• This is also a useful touchpoint for meeting FSBO listings.

Reddit

I leverage warm leads from Reddit by answering questions in a non-salesy way.

• My account, RLP-NickFundytus, only subscribes to r/ottawa, r/RealEstate, r/RealEstateCanada r/senators and related subs. It’s my “professional account.”

• I never invite people to buy or sell with me, or follow my social accounts

• My only reference to my job is as social proof, eg; “Source: I’m a Realtor in Ottawa, Ontario.”

• My goal when writing is to respond early for visibility and give the best response of all answers given to a question.

• Never respond to trolls, eg; “Realtors are leeches.”

• Always respond graciously to thanks and positive comments

Listing Ads

We leverage our listings with ads to find Buyers and Buyer leads.

• Our main channel is Facebook Lead Ads, as these are cost-effective and feed directly into Follow Up Boss.

• Listing ads are paired up with drip campaigns on Follow Up Boss to:

  • Remind assigned agents to keep in touch

  • Give the buyer the key details on the home

  • Keep in touch and calls to action

Monthly Market Update Videos

Our team summarizes the current market conditions in Ottawa each month. This is posted on YouTube to build familiarity and trust with our team.

• Episodes are shot horizontally

• Episodes follow a familiar structure

  • Hook

  • Short musical intro

  • Recap of stats from Ottawa Real Estate Board

  • Explanation of what these numbers mean and what the market looks like for homebuyers and homeowners

  • Short musical outro

  • Outtakes

Podcast - Realtor in Your Pocket

This recurring podcast is like an encyclopedia for homebuyers and homeowners, explaining each segment of the purchase or sale process in detail.

• Episodes are 30-45 mins, generally with a professional guest such as a home inspector or stager to explain their section of the process.

• Episodes are “home” on YouTube, and syndicated for audio on Simplecast, which distributes to all channels.

• Short clips are gathered for Social Media hooks

• Episodes follow a regular structure:

  • “Hook”

  • Short introduction with music

  • Introduction of guest or topic

  • Conversation with guest

  • Mid-podcast call to action - Follow us on Social Media

  • Conversation with guest (continued) and summary

  • Closing call to action

#CoffeewithKarim

This recurring online segment builds familiarity and trust for our team. Karim answers common (usually authentic) questions in a direct, concise manner with a call-to-action at the end.

• We run ads to these videos to increase their reach

• Episodes should run under a minute (for reels on IG and shorts on YouTube)

• Shot in vertical

Online Lead Generation

One of our new initiatives (Fall 2022) is that we have hired Deluxe Realty marketing and an Inside Sales Agent to generate and convert online leads to appointments.

• Leads are funneled directly to the ISA via Follow Up Boss

• The ISA tracks conversions on Monday.com

• The ISA is paid as an outside contractor (expensed to the corporation)

• Deluxe Realty designs and posts the ads