The autumn season has a lot of possibilities for real estate agents. Although the fall is typically a time when the first chill of slowing sales begins, it doesn’t have to cool your progress. So why not use it to your advantage? Families are headed back from vacation and doing more activities locally, so it’s prime season to make new connections. We all know the fall calendar is usually jam packed with activities, so let’s make the most of them.
While mailing prices can put a dent in your direct marketing plans, participating in local events can be a cost-effective way to enhance your exposure. Not only does it make marketing sense, but these are chances to talk and meet in-person potential clients and that’s a hard thing to beat.
Home and Garden Shows
Homeowners attend home shows. And those homeowners can become your next seller client. Stand out from the crowd of contractors by offering something unique, like a cooking demo, a kids craft or a wine tasting. The possibilities are really endless and only limited by your imagination and the rules of the show! While everyone is giving out paper promos, take your marketing a step further by offering an incentive to follow you on social media or for scanning your QR code. Opt for actions that keep you from just being another brochure that ends up in the recycling pile post-event.
Family-Focused Fall Events
Pumpkin festivals, corn mazes, haunted houses and harvest fairs, there’s no bigger season for this kind of family fun. Collaborate with event organizers, farms or fairgrounds and find a way to maximize your presence. Look for fun opportunities that can engage the crowd. You don’t want to be the “boring booth” in a sea of autumn awesomeness.
Pet-Themed Events
From local adoption events to pet expos, people love their pets, especially homeowners. If you’re passionate about pets, you could even help organize a local adoption event and get major publicity out of the day. Offer pet-friendly moving tips, host a presentation on pet-safe yards or plants. There’s plenty of ways to connect homes to pets, because what home is complete without a furry friend.
Holiday Parades
Just as the weather is starting to turn from fall to winter, there’s still time to get in front of your community with local Halloween Trunks or Treats and Thanksgiving parades. You could offer to be a sponsor, but just make sure you get the kind of exposure you want out of the package. A listing on a brochure probably won’t get you the leads like a booth or opportunity to distribute items.
Host Your Own Seasonal Event
If you aren’t seeing the event opportunity that clicks with your needs there’s no rule against hosting one yourself. Just remember the essentials for a fun, engaging event: plenty of fun, lots to do and great music in the background. Connect with a few other local businesses, like a coffee shop, bakery or restaurant and choose a deserving local cause to support. Then put together your own small event, which only needs to last a few hours. It’s an easy, low-cost way to become much better known in your community. It will also set you apart from your competition.
The fall might be a time when sales begin to slow. That means it’s the perfect time to amp up your marketing, building your pipeline, so that you can go into the new year full of warm leads and potential buyers and sellers ready to go.