QR Codes and Smile Stops: 31 can’t-miss marketing angles

What do you get when you bring agents from all over North America together to share the top tools, skills, and strategies that have helped them market themselves, stay top of mind and build their businesses in the last two years, even through a pandemic? Marketing magic, that’s what!

So much magic that we wanted to share some with you. We took a deep dive into three powerful agent brainstorming sessions to pull some of the best marketing ideas from each.  See what resonates with you.

Which of the 31 will you put to good use?

1. Use VideoAsk.com to get video testimonials from your clients that you can use on your site and on your social media platforms. Asking for testimonials is best done directly after closing when clients are the most engaged.
2. Send at least five handwritten notes to people in your sphere and farm per week with messages of hope, resilience and kindness. This one simple strategy has become a staple for re-engagement that has agents raving about the results. 
3. Use BoxBrownie.com to enhance your listing photographs, create a virtual tour and a virtual floor plan. 
4. Have a “pie party” at least once a year. This is especially effective during holidays. Send out emails/postcards sharing when and where people can reserve their pie. It’s a great way to bring people into the office.
5. Add “smile stops” to your marketing calendar. Pick five past customers a month and surprise them with a quick stop-by and small gift. Here are some ideas: Starbucks card or Frappuccino bottle with a tag, “Thanks a latte for being an awesome client!” Bottle of Simply Lemonade with a note, “You’re simply the best! Thanks for being a great client!” Cellophane bag with highlighters and a note, “Working with clients like you is the highlight of my career! Thank you!”
6. Label your listing photos with the names of the rooms. (Master bedroom, living room, dining room, second bedroom, etc.) You can use easy tools like Canva to add labels.
7. Get the rental leads from colleagues who aren’t interested in following up. One agent converted four of her six leads into buyers and successfully placed the other two.
8. Use your past experience as a niche. A former police officer shared how he is now doing buyer and seller Q&As for police and fire departments in the area. He hosted five Zoom calls in one day, converted many to new clients and added new recipients to drip campaigns. He drops off treats with contact information and workshop information at local stations around his market. Other example professions: Teachers, counselors, military, etc. Recognize that you are more relatable and “speak the language” of people who are currently in those fields and that will help you to help them more effectively. Think about how you can use your past connections from a former career to find new ways to prospect.
9. Host virtual buying and selling seminars.  You can advertise them via social media and direct mail. Get sponsors such as mortgage lenders, title reps and real estate attorneys involved to help promote and speak at the event. 
10. Sponsor a food truck to come into your neighborhood farm. This is a treat for the neighborhood, and food trucks are small businesses that need our help right now. See if they will put up a banner that you are sponsoring free menu items, and take lots of pictures or stream to your social media.
11. Snap fun pictures of your community and neighborhood farm and text them to people in your sphere with a fun caption. One agent got four referrals in one week just because she took this approach.
12. Go through the list of your past clients who haven’t left a review and ask them if they wouldn’t mind. You’ll surprise yourself by how many are happy to do it.
13. Head to Etsy and get custom seed packets made with your name and contact info, as well as a message such as “Seeds of Hope for a Better Tomorrow” written on the packs. Mail to clients with a note that says, “Think of me when they bloom.”
14. Buy flags and put them by the curb at the front of your farm in a big bucket for neighbors to take one for their yard. Attach a business card or message with your branding to the stick. It’s a great way to bring a community together.
15. Create a community library in your farm area — fill it with books and games and invite people to share and participate. 
16. Make this the year you update (or get) a contact relationship management (CRM) system and plan follow-up with past clients.
17. Start a food drive to help the local food pantry and members of your community.
18. Keep people informed with market updates and insights by offering a free neighborhood report (a fancy way of saying comparative market analysis) to let them know what their home is worth in this market.
19. Send voice texts to your sphere and potential clients. It differentiates your communication from your competition. 
20. Try using BombBomb.com videos to communicate with your sphere and past clients. One agent found that people loved the personal touch. For example, she sent one that said, “Drove past your house, your landscaping is fantastic! Just wanted to chat and connect!”
21. Facilitate a neighborhood cleanup day. Have some fun activities for families, and get sponsors to help with cleaning supplies and spreading the word.
22. Interview local small business owners to spotlight what they are doing to give back to the community and to help them increase their business. In return, you are spotlighted as well, and your community members have a new awareness. It’s a win-win-win!
23. Interview teachers from the local schools to spotlight how they are making a difference. Consider a “Teacher of the Month” or of the week.
24. Kindness counts: One agent shared the importance of treating every person you encounter with professionalism, kindness and respect. She was working with buyers whose contract with a seller fell through due to issues with the property. The client moved on to find another home, but the seller reached out to her a few weeks later and asked her to help them sell their home. During that process, she met the neighbors of that seller, who also hired her to help them find a new home. She emphasized the importance of expressing gratitude to everyone you encounter and focusing on serving others through your business. You never know when your service to others will lead to more business coming to you.   
25. Join your local Chamber of Commerce, which is an excellent way to network through the dozens of events they hold annually. The chamber also lists the business information of its members at their events.
26. Consider creating a QR code for one of your listings and create a window “cling” for your car. One agent did this and a person walking in the parking lot of a shopping center saw the code and scanned it out of curiosity, which led to her obtaining a listing appointment. 
27. Add a QR code to your yard signs and mailings to help broaden the reach of your listings. 
28. Warm up your vocals. One agent shared the ultimate personal touch that she does for her clients by calling them to sing “Happy Birthday” on their special day. It costs her nothing but her time to reach out by phone, and her clients are always thrilled to get her call.  
29. Host a client movie night at your local movie theater. One agent was able to rent an entire space for just $250. Contact your area theaters and see what the costs are for you and invite your VIPs.
30. Try Authorify. It’s a company that publishes ghostwritten books with your name, likeness and information on the cover and credits you as an author. It’s an impressive thing to include in packets sent to potential clients. They offer more than 20 real estate-related book topics, such as expired listings, books for sellers, buyers, investing, probate and more.
31. Become a business partner for your local elementary and middle school PTAs. One powerful way to endear yourself in the hearts of local parents is to support your local schools. Contact the PTAs of your area elementary and middle schools and find out how to become a business partner. Often that will mean inclusion in their school events, branding in parent newsletters, even opportunities to sponsor special functions. Schools, teachers and parents all need more help than ever before. Be a resource they can count on. 

We hope you love some of these ideas as much as we loved hearing them during our monthly brainstorming sessions. It’s a powerful thing when like-minds come together to share solutions. Have fun with them, but don’t get overwhelmed. Pick a few to put into your marketing plan for this quarter, or this year, and run with them.

We’d love to hear how they go. Until then, know that we’re here to help. Good luck and happy marketing!  

Darryl Davis is the CEO of Darryl Davis Seminars. Connect with him on Facebook or YouTube.