PROPERTY MANAGER EDITION
HOW TO SEND SMARTER EMAILS
FEATURED PROPERTY MANAGERS:
THE MOR GROUP LINDA TODD
COVER STORY
MARK HUTTER
LONG TERM GOAL SETTING REACHING THE MILLENNIAL MARKET THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA WOULD YOU LIKE FRIES WITH THAT?
PROPERTY MANAGER EDITION
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MARK HUTTER
THE MOR GROUP
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LINDA TODD
CONTENTS 4) LONG TERM GOAL SETTING
18) WOULD YOU LIKE FRIES WITH THAT?
13) REACHING THE MILLENNIAL MARKET THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA
22) HOW TO SEND SMARTER EMAILS
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Long Term Goal Setting Vision=Perspective=Better Decisions By Barry Eisen
You’ve heard the saying, “The average person spends more time planning a vacation than planning the rest of their life.” It’s probably true because planning a pleasurable escape is easier and more comfortable than planning change, and whatever discomfort (fears?) may be associated with it. 4
Most companies you’d consider investing in or working for have long term, short term and, in most cases, daily goals as benchmarks of performance. However, independent contractors associated with large focused corporations, usually don’t do the planning to create their own comfortable future. Top Agent Magazine
The “whys?” don’t matter. The back story may be very interesting and compelling, but does “why?” solve the problem of an erratic business or personal life? Most all independent contractors either sit down with the owner/broker/ sale manager/boss at the beginning of the year or as solopreneurs, by themselves, and go over goals and business/game plans. But like New Year’s resolutions, by January 15th, they lose focus and end up playing a smaller and more chaotic game than anticipated. This is not just about the business of business, but it’s also about the personal areas of life, as well. And this is not just about business and personal lives, but ultimately about the way they see themselves (self image/self esteem) and create the lifestyle that matches that perception...self fulfilling prophesies.
There are so many ideas and systems about goal setting. Every speaker, sales manager and trainer has an approach. Know what? They all probably work, if the follow-through is committed to. Huge “IF” (I FEAR). Here’s my ofering at setting long term personal and business goals. The best way to predict the future is to create it.
1. Select a target year by which your long term (more than 1 year) goals will be completed. Giving a target date, even 3-5 years down the road, creates at least a small, but real, sense of urgency. Just the act of writing goals down starts a level The “whys?” don’t matter. The back of thought and commitment beyond story may be very interesting and having good intentions. Write the compelling, but does “why?” solve target year across the top of a blank the problem of an erratic business or piece of paper. personal life? The question, “What DO you want instead?” is a good 2. Along the left hand column, going starting point. Not what you Don’t down the page, write the categories want. Describing what you DON’T of your life that represents the want doesn’t give information as to balance and self image areas that actions to be taken to move forward. comprise all of our lives. In her book, Goals are not just targets, they’re Passages, Gail Sheehy lists Physical, guidelines. Financial, Emotional, Educational, Top Agent Magazine
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Family, Social and Spiritual. Unless you have something else---go with these.
makes sense to you... in a draw under your socks or underwear, taped to the back of a closet door etc.
3. On the right hand side of the page, opposite each of the categories, write down 2 or 3 goals for each category. If you choose to not set goals in all areas, great! Do what feels right for you. There are no rules.
5. Look at the list every once in a while (daily, weekly ???) and let it reinforce the actions that will bring you to those, down the road, purposes. Spaced repetition is how you learn most of what you do.
If you have difficulty looking ahead and projecting results, for a moment look back at your previous 3-5 years. What have you done in that time to move ahead in each of these 7 areas? “If you continue to do what you’ve been doing, you’ll continue to get what you’ve been getting.” The reality beyond that often used saying is that in the future, Mother Nature will smack us all around a little harder, gravity will tug on us all a little bit heavier, business slumps will become more pronounced, memory becomes more challenging and spiritual connections become even more distant, etc. What do you want instead?
6. Update your list periodically to reflect new directions and adjustments.
4. Put this goals list in a place that
Accomplishing longer term goals not only gives the rewards of whatever the goals are about, but on a higher level creates the positive self esteem and confidence of accomplishment. Confidence comes from creating victories. Those in therapy, or should be in therapy, experience control issues (usually a lack of control). When you’re in control of your life you generally make better decisions, feel more alive and healthy and usually become a more compelling figure to those around you. Copyright©, 2015 Barry Eisen. All rights reserved.
Barry Eisen teaches personal development seminars and coaches Southern California top producing rEAltorS®. “Your business will never grow more than you do” is the theme; self hypnosis and behavior modification are the tools for playing a bigger game. barryeisen.com, barryeisen@lA.twcbc.com 818-769-4300 6
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MARK HUTTER Top Agent Magazine
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Metro Detroit Property Management is a full service management company that serves the entire Tri-County area, but mostly Metro Detroit, where over 85% of the 1000 properties they manage are located.
MARK HUTTER 8 Copyright Top Agent Magazine
Although he now owns one of the most successful and respected property management companies in Michigan, Mark Hutter initially got his start in the industry working on the mortgage side of things. “In the late 90s, I was working in mortgages and I eventually started flipping houses in the St. Louis area with a partner, which really taught me about the investment side of the industry. I continued doing that when I moved to Michigan in 2001 and also started working with a lot of investors. In 2008, I saw the market was changing and that’s when I decided to go into property management. It just seemed like a better long term strategy. So I got my broker’s license and Top Agent Magazine
started my own company, Metro Detroit Property Management that same year.” Metro Detroit Property Management is a full service management company that serves the entire Tri-County area, but mostly Metro Detroit, where over 85% of the 1000 properties they manage are located. The whole team is dedicated to property management with a goal of not only maximizing their client’s return on investment, but also easing the stressful day to day that goes along with owning and renting investment properties. “We do it all, prepare a property for rent, collecting rent, providing maintenance service, you name it, we do it and can customize the service to each client’s needs. As a licensed Broker I can even Top Agent Magazine
assist with the sale or acquisition of a property, but management is our primary business. I’m proud of the fact that we’ve built our reputation on offering a level of customer service that truly goes above and beyond.” Key to providing good customer service in this business is excellent communication, which is something Mark and the whole team make a top priority. “We are dealing with clients that are not only all over the country, but all over the world, so it’s even more important that we build a high level of trust with them. That all starts with constant, clear and honest communication. We keep everything very transparent and always give the clients any information they want in a timely manner. We want them Copyright Top Agent Magazine 9
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“We do it all, prepare a property for rent, collecting rent, providing maintenance service, you name it, we do it and can customize the service to each client’s needs.” to be 100% comfortable with our service. Not only do we communicate in their prefered method, but we also give them 24/7 online access to their property and account details through our customized web portal.” Mark is active with several small investor groups, keeping on top of what’s going on with the investment side of things, which helps him better serve his clients. He is also involved with his church. When he isn’t working, he spends time with his family. He has a wife and three boys and coaches their variTop Agent Magazine
ous sports teams throughout the year. He also enjoys working out. Mark would love to expand into a new market in the near future, and looks forward to many more years of doing what he loves. “This business is so fulfilling. Every day when I come into the office, I have no idea what will happen. It’s a crazy business, and I tend to feed off of that energy. I could never do the same thing day in and day out. Property management might not seem that exciting, but I promise you, this business is never boring.” Copyright Top Agent Magazine11
To learn more about Mark Hutter and Metro Detroit Property Management call (734) 469-4607, email mhutter@detpro.com or visit detpro.com www.
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#Reaching the Millennial Market Through Social Media by Bubba Mills
The old adage in marketing says if you aim at everyone you’ll miss them all. I know REALTORS® sometimes fall into the trap of attempting to reach everyone and then scratch their heads when they only hear crickets chirping. If you’re one of those (or even if you’re not), stick with me and I might be able to help you.
know how to reach them. For that part, I’ll share two words: social media. Many surveys have confirmed that social media is the Millennials’ dominant source of information, even above search engines. So the best way to build relationships and trust with Millennials is through social media.
The true beauty of social media is not only its reach but its implied advocacy. When Millennials find content they relate to, they share it with their The National Association of REAL- peers. So if one person shares your TORS® has found that Millennials message, it could instantly go to hunrepresent the largest share of recent dreds (or even thousands) of people buyers (32 percent of all buyers last with the inferred praise of the person year were Millennials). But here’s sharing it. the kicker: the overwhelming majority use real estate agents. Are If you’re not using social media, lights and bells going off in your again, check your pulse. Then start learning about social media and get head? If not, check your pulse. active on it. I promise it’ll be well So a great place to sharpen your worth your time. The big ones are marketing aim is with Millennials. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr That’s half the equation—knowing and Instagram. You can Google each who to go after. The second half is to and get a feel for which ones make Let me start with one word: Millennials—those between the ages of 18 and 34.
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Many surveys have confirmed that social media is the Millennials’ dominant source of information. the most sense for you, but all of them have something to offer REALTORS®.
I’m proud of that because I know in this day and age anyone who sells anything must use social media.
Now I’m not one to toot my own horn, but for this topic I will only with the hope that you give what I say a little more weight. Last year, a national magazine named me to its 25 most connected professionals list.
So here are some tips you can start using to reach Millennials on their terms:
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1. First, take time to understand social media. Join them (they’re free!) Top Agent Magazine
Millennials under stand marketers and they’re open to their messages on social media—if the messages are relevant to their lives. Otherwise, they simply ignore it.
and just take it all in. See what it’s all about and what kind of information people share. Spend at least several days learning before you share info. 2. Make sure what you share fits the specific social media outlet. For example, Facebook and Twitter are primarily personal tidbits, news and they’re both fairly casual, while Instagram is geared almost exclusively for visuals and photos. 3. Make sure your information is relevant and useful to improve the chance it gets shared. Millennials understand marketers and they’re open to their messages on social media—if the messages are relevant to their lives. Otherwise, they simply ignore it. Top Agent Magazine
4. Make it interesting. Instead of saying, ‘Gee, I have this great listing.’ Why not just share a picture of a cool looking wrap-around front porch of a house (that just happens to be one of your listings) that was built in the 1940s. Bubba Mills is co-owner and executive vice president of Corcoran Consulting and Coaching Inc. (www.corcorancoaching. com/programs, 800-957-8353), an international consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and the implementation of sound business systems into Real Estate Companies, Mortgage Companies and Small Businesses. Bubba Mills is a nationally recognized inspirational and education speaker, coach and mentor to the top real estate agents and mortgage companies. To find out more about Corcoran Consulting & Coaching, call 1800-957-8353 or visit us at www.Corcoran Coaching.com. 15
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THE MOR GROUP Cassie and Adi Mor are in the business of spreading happiness and positivity. As co-owners of The Mor Group in Las Vegas, they freely admit that the property management industry is rarely associated with words like “happiness” and “positivity.” But they have made it their job to contribute a healthy share of both to investors and tenants for more than a decade. It all began when Cassie, who became a REALTOR® while still in college (15 years ago this year), teamed up professionally with Adi as his listing agent for properties he purchased at the Auction and fixed up for resale. “That was back when everything was really booming,” says Cassie, adding that Adi grew up in the industry; as a teenager, Adi would go with his dad to rental properties his dad owned in Los Angeles and pick up rent or look at maintenance issues. “My dad taught me that owning real estate is the best thing you can do for yourself, no matter what,” says Adi. And when he and Cassie began working together, Adi’s passion for buying and renting properties quickly spread to Cassie. In addition to real estate sales, she caught the property management bug. “I bought a couple of homes and rented them, but I was young, nice, and naive, so of course I got burned,” she says. “I thought I’d never do property management again!” she says. But then came the real estate and global financial crises. At that point Cassie became a buyer’s agent for an REO broker and quickly grew very busy. Before long, the investors who bought those homes needed property managers, leading Cassie and Adi to follow the call. After initially opening a group under a brokerage, in 2009 the couple formed The Mor Group. Although Cassie had sworn off property management, she found that representing other people was a much more positive experience. “We have strict, streamlined processes and protocol,” she says. “And we focus on removing the stress from the process for everyone.” The Mor group, says Adi, manages nearly 200 properties across the Las Vegas Valley, including two commercial properties. “We want to be known as the Zappos of property management,” Cassie says of the Mor Group. “We have a strong team with a really strong culture and core values. We promote positivity, happiness, clarity and transparency to the extent that everyone knows what’s going on.” Communication, honesty and keeping promises are the values that drive their 98% referral business. “Our owners and tenants know we have their backs and will Top Agent Magazine
do what is necessary to maintain a drama-free environment and properties that are in good condition,” says Adi. “A lot of property management companies may not enjoy what they’re doing, but Cassie and I really do love it and we care. That shows.” The Mor Group’s suite of services include helping owners get their property rent-ready; marketing; screening; leasing, smooth transitions between tenants, and more. As their business grows, Cassie and Adi plan to incorporate more automated processes and build a bigger presence within the community. Meanwhile, these two business owners and parents of a two-and a half year-old daughter are naturally very busy, but do find time to give to various organizations and donate to people and causes that are dear to them, such as the Jewish National Fund. The greatest gifts to the communities Cassie and Adi serve, however, are their positivity, happiness and willingness to give without expectations. They stay in touch regularly with owners and tenants and feel so blessed to have all these people put in their lives that they aim to help however they can. Cassie, for example, describes an elderly couple who could not pay one month’s rent. “They just needed a month of help to get on their feet and avoid being homeless, so we paid the rent for them.” she says. “We’re trying to be the nicest property managers out there.” Their tag line, therefore, rings true: “You get what you pay for, and you should always get MOR.”
To learn more about The Mor Group, visit TheMorGroup.com, email cassie@themorgroup.com and adi@themorgroup.com or call 702.501.1085 www.
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Would You Like Fries With That? By John Boe
While you may not have recognized it, the last time you ordered from a fast food restaurant or went to the post office, there is a good chance you experienced some type of cross-selling or up selling. Cross-selling and up selling are well-established and highly effective marketing practices utilized by a wide variety of industries. Shortsighted salespeople are often quick to suggest that customers get irritated by attempts to cross-sell products and perceive cross-selling as an aggressive sales technique. Interestingly enough, consumer research indicates that the reverse is true. The majority of consumers surveyed actually preferred a full range of products and services and appreciate the convenience that is provided through a comprehensive cross-selling approach. Top producing sales reps and progressive companies understand the power of crossselling and recognize it as a critical component for promoting both customer retention and revenue growth. What is cross-selling? Cross-selling is nothing more than a proactive, ongoing sales process designed to provide your customers with a full spectrum of your company’s products and services. Not surprisingly, two of the key elements that drive effective cross-selling and up selling are trust and convenience. 18
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Your customers’ trust in your company can be converted into additional sales that are not directly related to their existing products. The good news about the cross-selling and up selling process is that it’s one of the most profitable and least risky endeavors a sales rep can undertake. It pays to cross-sell and up sell, because when you go the extra mile and provide information about additional products to your customers, you are financially rewarded for helping them make a more informed buying decision.
The first exposure I had to cross-selling and up selling was as a teenager in high school working part-time at McDonalds during my summer vacation. Looking back on my brief tenure at the restaurant, I can still hear my manager’s daily refrain; be polite, keep the counter clean, and always ask the customers if they would like some fries with their meal. Top Agent Magazine
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A couple of years later while attending college, I took a part-time job selling shoes at the mall. I was paid an hourly wage to sell the shoes, but I received a commission whenever I sold any accessory items such as shoe polish, socks, or purses. This was my first taste of commission-based sales and I took to cross-selling and up selling like a duck to water. After I had sold a woman a pair of new shoes, I would routinely hand her a bottle of leather cleaner and a purse to match the shoes. As a college student, the extra money I was able to make from cross-selling and up selling additional products was like manna from heaven. The best place to introduce your customer to the concept of cross-selling and up selling is during your initial needs analysis meeting. Unfortunately, many salespeople fail to take the time to conduct a thorough needs analysis and as a result, do not uncover potential products and services that would be of benefit to their customers. The key to effective cross-selling and up selling is all about guided self-discovery. Through a series of thought provoking, open-ended questions, successful sales reps help their customers identify the products and services that they require. Developing a systematic approach to cross-selling and up selling enhances the customer’s buying experience and brings in additional revenue with relatively low expense and effort. As you prepare for your next sales appointment, I challenge you to look for cross-selling and up selling opportunities that you can incorporate into your presentation. Sales reps who fail to effectively cross-sell and up sell products actually do a disservice to their customers and leave the back door open to their competitors! “The sad truth is that most salespeople forget to cross-sell their products and services. This is a big mistake, because cross-selling gives customers more options and is a good way for a sales rep to make additional income.” – Don Roberts Copyright ©, 2016 John Boe. All rights reserved.
John Boe presents a wide variety of motivational and sales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for sales meetings and conventions. John is a nationally recognized sales trainer and business motivational speaker with an impeccable track record in the meeting industry. To have John speak at your next event, visit www.johnboe.com or call 937-299-9001. Free Newsletter available on website. 20
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LINDA TODD Linda Todd has been wearing her blue REALTOR® earrings several days a week for years. “You could say I’m ‘REALTOR® blue’, like Tommy Lasorda is ‘Dodger blue’!” says Linda, of Grand Junction Colorado, who also happens to be a passionate baseball fan. With 38 years in real estate, Linda is humbled and honored that in 2014 she qualified and in 2015 was inducted into the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC)’s Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. “I was inducted for my advocacy on behalf of clients,” she says. “The National Association of REALTORS® isn’t just about REALTORS®; it is about being focused on taking care of our clients and those we serve.” Since 1978, Linda has worked through nearly every imaginable market in the Mesa County, Colorado, area. Her clients include residential buyers and sellers, but in recent years she increased her focus on residential property management, representing investors who value her service and experience. She began building that property management experience in 1982, when a downturn in the sales market inspired her to discover new alternatives for people who couldn’t sell their homes. “It was sporadic, but as investors moved in, I expanded, working with my personal clients mostly as a supplemental customer service aspect,” she says. Even then, property management was not her primary line of work. “But at one point a REALTOR® colleague from another office contacted me saying he and his partner wanted to visit with me for an hour or so,” she said. “Four hours later I signed them both on as clients and later added another agent who brought in quite a few properties.” In a short period of time, the company’s property management portfolio grew from 60 to 350. Although Linda hadn’t planned to go full-scale with property management, she is glad she did. “It felt good that other REALTORS® wanted me manage their properties as opposed to someone else,” she says. Linda now personally manages 237 properties, with other agents on the team managing additional properties. The key to her success, she says, is “our forthright honesty and making sure we deal with problems or issues immediately.” She Top Agent Magazine
makes an effort to form relationships with her property owners, who receive a wide range of services including marketing and rental; applicant screening; maintenance and upkeep; twice-annual inspections; oversight of renovations and upgrades between occupancies; and, when necessary, working with collection agencies or the courts to collect payments from tenants. “That’s all included in our monthly fee,” she says. “We’re also prompt with our regular monthly reports and accounting.” Her experience advocating for the industry and for the rights of property owners also lends itself to high levels of trust. “I still get goose bumps,” says Linda about her induction into the RPAC Hall of Fame. The honor reflects her dedication to protecting property rights, a passion she likes to share with emerging leaders. “I’d like to grow my business,” says Linda, noting that she still lists and sells. “And we joke that my 21-year-old granddaughter, who just got her license, is my retirement plan!” Linda looks forward to mentoring her granddaughter and to continuing to mentor leadership to others in that age group. She hopes to inspire young professionals to get involved on their local boards and at the state level, “to see the big picture and why we have to protect property rights.” Personally, Linda’s “big picture” has over the years included giving back to the community whether serving as a lead carpenter for Habitat for Humanity, making deliveries for Meals on Wheels, or pitching in for the sake of baseball. For many years she was so involved with the local Little League that a field was named after her. Linda and her husband, Buz, also started a scholarship fund for junior college baseball players and served as a host family for the rookie league of the Colorado Rockies, putting up newly drafted players in their home. Not surprisingly, in addition to golf and her longtime love of real estate, Linda’s personal favorite pastime is attending baseball games.
To learn more about Linda Todd, visit BuyGrandJunction.com, email linda@buygrandjunction.com or call 970.263.7250 www.
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How To Send
SMARTER EMAILS
Email is a great tool for agents to use when trying to stay in touch with their past clients, as well as for reaching out to prospective clients. However, used incorrectly it can make your attempts to reach out seem like spam. The secret to using email effectively is making sure that everything you send out does one thing: ensure that you remain relevant to your contacts. To do this you have to get personal. Personalization will go far to ensure that your contacts are actually clicking on your emails. This means that if you do reply on an automated drip email campaign to build business, you need to customize your content so that it delivers something meaningful to each individual recipient. Here are some steps that will help you do exactly that:
1. SEND A WELCOME EMAIL TO
NEW CLIENTS AND PROSPECTS Rather than simply add new contacts to your automated email drip campaign, make sure to send each new contact receives a warm welcome as well. Sending a welcome email along with adding new contacts to your drip campaign is proven to be 86 percent more effective at catching your contact’s attention. Let them know they are welcome and that you appreciate their interest. 22
2. NURTURE YOUR RELATIONSHIP
THROUGH YOUR EMAIL To let your potential client know that you are thinking about them by sending them useful content that relates to the process of buying or selling a house. Some great topics include credit score information, ways to save money, regular market updates, what buying in your market is like, information about the neighborhood, tips on how they can prepare their home for sale, and other relevant information. A great way to
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add to these emails’ punch is to time them so that they coincide with what that individual is going through and dealing with at that time on their path through the buying or selling process.
3. CELEBRATE IMPORTANT DATES
Everyone loves to be noticed and appreciated. Schedule emails to go to each client that celebrate their purchase anniversary or birthday. Make sure you include a personal note and your own wishes that the year ahead goes well for them. If you’ve been a bit out of touch with your contacts, you might want to send them a friendly hello.
4.
MOBILE-FRIENDLY EMAILS With our phones being akin to mini computers, most people read their emails on their phone these days. So, it is particularly important to make sure that your emails are rendering well on the smaller screens. If you want to make any kind of impact, you have to run a mobile-friendly email campaign in today’s world. You are going to lose a lot of your audience if they can’t read your email on their phones.
5.
TRACK THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR EMAILS AND ALTER ACCORDINGLY The best way to make sure your emails are being read and making the kind of impact you desire is to consistently monitor the analytics,
and see what your readers are actually clicking on and what elements are most popular with your contacts. Going forward you can alter different elements of your email campaign such as content, images, graphics, and even smaller elements like your subject line to draw in more clicks from your readers, and cater to what grabs their attention. You also want to follow a targeted email strategy. The best way to do this is segment your email list based on the data from your CRM and the demographics of your contacts. Different clients are going to be interested in different content. Long-time clients looking to buy a second home or possibly downsize are going to be interested in completely different content than your first-time buyers. A good way to filter your contacts is by looking at which ones are looking to buy or sell, how far along in the process they are, as well as other important information about them.
6.
DON’T SPAM UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES You probably already know that flooding your clients’ emails is big no-no. However, different people have different ideas about what is too much contact. One great way to approach this problem is to ask your clients whether they would prefer weekly, monthly, or occasional emails from you. This way you can cater to each client’s preference.
The emails you send your clients can often be a double-edged sword when it comes to how well they work to bring in business. Following these simple rules will help your emails be as successful as they can possibly be, and will make your contacts much happier with you. So, don’t just send out emails without doing your homework about how to do it right. Your email campaigns can be a powerful tool if you know how to create and utilize them in the right manner. Top Agent Magazine
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