Marketing to realtors can prove fruitful in your candle business. However if not approached properly your efforts will not produce any favorable results.
So how do you approach realtors?
This is a frequently asked question when it comes to this particular niche. Another FAQ is What kind of letter do you send? I’ll answer the second question first – as this is a quick and easy answer: I don’t send letters to realtors. Working with realtors requires building rapports. Firing off a cold call letter will only cost you time and postage and will mostly likely end up in the trash.
Which leads me into the original question of how do you approach realtors. It’s all about building relationships. If you’re going to try to convince other sales professionals – the realtors, that they can trust their closing gifts to you, you’re going to need to take some time building that trust.
The ideal situation in working with realtors is to start with a realtor you know. If you don’t know any then perhaps ask friends or associates for referrals. Almost everyone knows at least one realtor or knows someone who does. Remember that you are not trying to sell a product. You’re offering a service and you’re solving a problem.
Don’t tell the realtor what you have to offer. Ask the realtor what they need. Ask what their budget is. Imagine if you offered a $75 gift basket for each closing/settlement and their budget was $25. You would have lost the sale before you even had a chance. Be prepared to have various solutions in different price ranges. Have samples made up to show. Presentation is everything. Take time to make your gift basket something the realtor can be proud of.
If you’re going to offer client closing gifts you should plan to have on-hand inventory. A realtor will want to call you when they need a gift and they certainly don’t want to hear that it’s going to take 2-3 weeks to order. Stick with something neutral. Each new home owner will have his/her personal tastes so if you stick with something cream colored you can never go wrong or be concerned with clashing colors.
If you’re thinking that you don’t know any realtors, and you don’t have the funds to have any inventory and you’re not convinced you can beautifully package the gift baskets the perhaps you may want to consider another niche.
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