Homes Magazines Lead Generation
Strategies in Action Kit June 2002

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Listen:    Click Training (33 mins.)

Learn:

An Automatic Prospecting System (APS) is like a big funnel — your lead generator attracts hundreds of consumers, then your free recorded message gives out information to hundreds of consumers and "funnels" the motivated, ready-to-act prospects to you. The more suspects who call your hotline and go into your funnel, the more qualified, ready-to-act prospects you will receive — and it's all done automatically.

The first step of a profitable APS is lead generation — compelling as many suspects as possible to call your hotline so your free recorded message can do its job. The single most powerful lead-generation strategy is offering something consumers desperately want — information on how they can truly better their lives.

Peggy is Afraid

Consumers don't want a relationship with you. At least, not yet. Until they form their own conclusion that you're different, they will perceive you as a salesperson — no matter how big your ad, or how many claims you make about trustworthiness and experience. They fear that as a salesperson you will say anything you can to "sell them" in order to make a commission.

If consumers wanted a relationship, they would pick up the Yellow Pages and call someone in your profession. The reason they don't call is because they know that our industry is full of salespeople interested in making commissions. Harry Beckwith describes this very real fear in his book, Selling the Invisible. In the book there's a chapter about Peggy, the typical consumer. As Beckwith says, "Peggy is afraid."

Everything you do on the phone either compels Peggy to want to meet you OR scares her away. For coaching around Potato Chip Marketing — offering "tasty morsels" of information that the consumer wants, and making it easy and nonthreatening to get it — go to MORE Document #5554, "Compel Consumers to Want to Take That Next Step," and listen to the Click Training, "The Simple Secret of Potato Chip Marketing."

Because consumers have experienced firsthand — or heard about — difficult interactions with real estate and mortgage salespeople, they call Realtors and ask for "the address and price." They call Lenders and ask for the "best rate." They resist divulging their name or phone number because they want to collect information without hassle from a salesperson. They've been there before. Peggy is afraid.

Thus, "Use me because I have service, honesty, integrity and trust," ads generate a very poor return on investment because the few consumers who do respond see you as a commodity — one of thousands of salespeople looking to make a commission. They call eight Lenders and jot down eight rates. They call five Realtors and write down five addresses and prices. You become nothing more than just a bunch of numbers and notes on a page full of numbers and notes — one of a half-dozen salespeople who tried to get the prospect's name from him that day.

As a result, you busy yourself fielding calls from half-hearted, suspicious suspects, giving out information to "tire-kickers" with no results — because the consumer sees no difference between you and everybody else.

The Perception Of the Prospect is Everything

Testing has proven that the easiest, quickest and most effective way to position yourself as unique is to tell consumers something of huge perceived benefit to them that they didn't already know. When your lead generator causes consumers to slap themselves on their heads and exclaim, "I didn't know that!" your results soar.

For both real estate and mortgage professionals, a tested, proven way to stop consumers dead in their tracks is to advertise home loan programs with "zero down payment" or "surprisingly low down payments." This simple concept has proven to be an enormously powerful lead generator because our industries have done such a poor job of letting consumers know their options.

More than 95% of the public think that $20,000 to $60,000 is required to purchase a $150,000-$500,000 home. In fact, there are zero down payment loans available for all price ranges up to $4 million dollars. MORE Document #5243 is a must-listen for Lenders who are tired of competing on rate. Listen to this Click Training and discover how easy it is to eliminate the rate conversation forever.

Zero or Low Down Payment Ads Work in Any Market — in Any Price Range

Insert the words "zero down payment" into the headline of any ad, for any price market, and response increases — in many cases by a factor of three to five times. Hundreds of different combinations of words, offers, phrases and headlines have been tested against "zero down" and have been unable to beat those two simple words. (See MORE Document #9082 to learn more about the power of offering zero down payment in any market.)

The results of marketing "zero down" to young, upwardly mobile professionals are often startling. In every market there are thousands of professionals with 700+ credit scores, combined annual incomes of $70,000-$150,000 or more, with $5,000 to $15,000 or more in the bank and untapped 401k plans.

These young professionals think they need $30,000 to $80,000 to buy a $200,000-$400,000 home. They don't know about 401k programs, gift letters, 95% PMI, 80/20 loans, or any of the dozens of zero down programs available nationally.

This lucrative market is currently renting. They pick up Homes Magazines and page through them, hoping they will somehow find something affordable. But page after page is full of listings of homes with no prices, no terms, no monthly payment — no information. Every page looks alike, full of salespeople hawking their services, all claiming to have more service and honesty than the salesperson on the next page.

The only purpose of a lead-generating ad is to cause suspects to STOP dead in their tracks, crave the information you're offering, and follow your call to action. Period. And that's what this month's campaign is all about.

The Homes Magazine Lead Generator

Nancy Anderson of Houston, TX and Lyle VanDenbos of Milwaukee, WI were both brand-new real estate agents when they joined the By Referral Only Community. As new agents, they needed to build a fire in the Before Unit of their businesses. This month's Before Unit Strategy worked very profitably for them, at opposite ends of the country.

Lyle and Nancy each ran this month's full-page Homes Magazine lead-generator ad. Their strategic alliance partners paid for the ad, so it cost them nothing (see next month's Strategies in Action kit for information about selecting strategic alliance partners). They both generated multiple transactions each month as a result of the campaign.

Before you implement this strategy, we strongly urge you to listen to both of the interviews Terry and Dean did with Nancy and Lyle in MORE Document #5601, "Homes Magazine Quality Buyer Lead Generator."

How it Works:

  1. Download the Full-Page Ad Publisher file from the CD.
  2. Identify your target area. Reflect on the upper end of the first-time buyer market in your area — the type of homes that would appeal to young, upwardly mobile professionals. Identify the upper-end price range for first-time home sales in the area you wish to target. For example, if first-time homes in the Oakbrook area sell for $90,000 to $150,000, you may wish to select $120,000 to $180,000 as the range for your hotline script.
  3. Put any information required by law or statute about your profession or company name on the very bottom of the ad in no larger than 8-point italics (unless otherwise required by law, statute, franchise or broker). If no law or statute requires this information, leave it out.
  4. Choose a photo that is representative of the target market you wish to attract. For example, if your target market is $110,000 to $180,000, select a home that is representative of $180,000 homes. Free photos are available at www.clipart.com and many other websites, or take your own photo with a digital camera.
  5. Download the appropriate Lender or Realtor hotline script from the CD. Realtors: If you are not conversationally fluent about at least four good zero down home loan programs for this price range, take a By Referral Only Lender to lunch and learn the basics.
  6. Edit the script with the price range, area, your name, company name and phone number. Change nothing else in the copy.
  7. Record your hotline script.
  8. Place the lead-generating ad in the local Homes Magazine.
  9. Track your hit and lead costs (see MORE Document #5575, "Tracking Your Lead-Generation Results," for tips on tracking your numbers).

Download These Templates:

Get MORE information:

  • Doucment 5554 — Compel Consumers to Want to Take That Next Step of Meeting With You in Your Office: Lead generation compels prospects to call you to learn more. They're open, with a receptive attitude. What's the next step?
  • Doucment 9082 — The Power of Offering Zero Down Payment in Any Market: Why offering "zero down payment" as a lead generator boosts results in every target market we've tested.
  • Doucment 5575 — Tracking Your Lead-Generation Results: When you know your numbers, you know what works best in your target market and your marketing becomes even more powerful and productive.
  • Doucment 5243 — The Zero Down Home Loan Consultation: A must-listen for Lenders who are tired of competing on rate. Listen to this Click Training and discover how easy it is to eliminate the rate conversation forever. Geared to consultations for $200,000 to $1,000,000 loans.

Samples/Templates:

Full-Page Ad


Information Hotline Script for Lenders

Hi, this is Bob Adams with ABC Mortgage Company. Thanks for calling my free Information Hotline.

I started this service because many consumers think that they need tens of thousands of dollars to buy a $120,000 to $240,000 home these days. You may have talked with Realtors or Lenders who have told you that you need $15,000, $20,000 or even $25,000 to buy a lovely home in Grand Rapids.

Five years ago, that may have been the case, but it is no longer true.

Today, there are literally dozens of little-known home loans available for very low down payments for homes in the $120,000 to $240,000 price range.

You've probably discovered that local banks and home lending companies still offer only the traditional two or three standard types of home loans — all requiring large down payments.

We are not a bank. I'm a loan consultant. My fees are paid by the Lender so there is no fee to you for my service. Unlike banks, my specialty is home loans. Our computer network searches through 436 home loan programs throughout the United States to find the best home loan programs. This allows me to find the very best loan to meet your personal objectives — be it low interest rate, low monthly payment, or low down payment.

For example, we presently have three home loans that allow you to buy $120,000 to $240,000 homes for absolutely zero down payment; two loans with less than $3,000 down payment that enable you to own the home free and clear in under 15 years; two loans where the Lender will pay all of your closing costs for you; and three loans with interest rates that begin at under 4%.

Here at ABC Mortgage Company we use computers to search out the very best home loans to meet your personal specifications and home ownership goals. We call this free service our HomeLoanFinder Service, and it searches through 436 different home loan programs and matches them exactly to your needs.

To qualify for these home loan programs you, or you and your spouse combined, need to earn a total of at least $___________ per year, and have a record of paying your bills and rent on time for the past 18 months.

There is no cost or obligation to input your preferences into our HomeLoanFinder system. It's as easy as a phone call. Just give me, Bob Adams, a call at ABC Mortgage Company at 555-1234 between 9am and 4pm, Monday through Friday to learn more about how many of these new government-backed home loan programs you qualify for. Or, you may leave your name and number at the beep and I'll return your call weekdays between 10am and noon or evenings between 4:30 and 6pm.

This is the end of this recording. Thanks for calling, and best wishes in your home search! Here comes the beep.


Information Hotline Script for Realtors

Hi, this is Bob Johnson with ABC Realty. Thanks for calling my free Information Hotline.

I started this service because many consumers think they need tens of thousands of dollars to buy a $120,000 to $240,000 home these days. You may have talked with Realtors or Lenders who have told you that you need $15,000, $20,000 or even $25,000 to buy a home in Grand Rapids.

Five years ago that may have been the case, but it is no longer true. As a matter of fact, right now there are four government-backed home loans that enable you to buy a $120,000 to $240,000 home for absolutely zero down payment.

It's easy to learn what homes and home loans are available with my new HomeFinder Service. Each night my HomeFinder computers access the Grand Rapids area Multiple Listing Service and search through all the information on every home listed in the entire area by every real estate company.

The computers sift and sort through all of the new listings, automatically finding and matching the homes that meet your exact specifications. The system then mails, or if you prefer, automatically faxes or e-mails you that information on a daily, weekly or twice-weekly basis… your choice.

The HomeFinder Service gives you access to inside information normally available only to real estate agents. From the privacy of your home, on a daily basis, you receive information about every single home available in the area of your choice, and you receive this information even before many other real estate agents have seen it!

As you receive information about homes you're interested in, you can study, compare, and drive by the properties on your own. When you find a home you'd like to see, all you need to do is give us a call and we'll make arrangements to get you inside the home at your convenience.

My HomeFinder team is totally service oriented. We're not salespeople. At no time will you ever be made to feel under any pressure to buy a home. When you find the perfect home, you'll know it. And then you'll tell us.

In addition to the HomeFinder Service, the HomeLoanFinder computer network searches through 436 home loan programs throughout the United States to find the best home loan programs for you. This allows us to find the very best loan to meet your personal objectives — be it low interest rate, low monthly payments or zero down payment.

As you can well imagine, there's just too much to tell you about on this brief recorded message, but it's easy for you to get more information. Just give me, Bob Johnson, a call at ABC Realty weekdays at 456-3948. Or, you may leave your name and number at the beep and I'll return your call weekdays between 10am and noon or evenings between 4:30 and 6pm.

This is the end of this recording. Thanks for calling, and best wishes in your home search! Here comes the beep.

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