With children back in school, people returning from vacation, and prepping for the holiday season, it’s definitely autumn. And as a real estate professional, you may be feeling the effects of a slower market.
High-interest rates—Forbes mentions the potential of up to 7%, yikes!—and an uncertain economy has made many would-be buyers skeptical about purchasing a new home. So, getting consistent referrals is the key to maintaining strong sales, even in the tougher months. To help you remain successful this season, we’ve put together a few ideas on how to generate real estate referrals in autumn.
Create autumn-inspired events
Whether you decide to team up with other businesses or create your own event, celebrating the seasons is a fun and effective marketing strategy. Here are a few ideas to celebrate the fall season.
Host a party
If you’re comfortable hosting an event of your own, invite past clients to an autumn or Halloween party complete with fitting decor. You can even host a pre-Thanksgiving dinner complete with a turkey and pumpkin pie!
Consider encouraging guests to invite family and friends, giving you an opportunity to network. Pass out surveys for guests to complete. If you find out what guests’ current real estate needs are, you can follow up with those interested in buying or selling a home.
For a special touch, make homemade autumn treats, party favors, or have a caterer provide local favorites for the event. Along with the treats, you can include your contact information with a ribbon.
Work with local businesses
Plenty of local businesses have adorable, autumn-themed events. Get in on the fall festival action by signing up for a marketing table or offering to sponsor an event. Pumpkin patches, farms, trunk-or-treats, craft shows, and other events where you can expect lots of people mean plenty of potential clients.
Since businesses have connections to locals in the area, establishing a consistent relationship with them can be another way to get referrals. Local citizens, potential investors, and other connections can make magic happen.
Additionally, don’t forget to tag the business and promote your event on social media! Grab interest long before each event by posting a calendar with events you’re attending in advance. Share the event’s marketing to encourage more interest.
Who knows? Someone not planning on attending the event may decide to go out of curiosity, giving them the chance to find their dream real estate agent (that’s you).
Build relationships
Investing in your existing clients can generate more referrals. Remember to follow up with past clients with “thank you” gifts. Give it a seasonal touch by offering pumpkins or yummy baked goods. Avoid common allergens or offer gluten-free or vegan options to ensure your gifts appeal to a wide range of diets.
It helps to be authentic, so you may want to consider adding a thoughtful note. Plenty of people can smell a sales pitch and may avoid interacting with you if you’re only about closing sales. Build genuine relationships, and you’ll have clients (and friends) for life.
Have your marketing reflect the season
Get in the spirit of the season with color palettes and images that say, “Autumn is here!” While you might have a pretty solid color scheme, font, and other designs in your marketing, switching it up makes things exciting.
Use seasonal templates
Apps like Canva can provide pre-made templates in a pinch, some already designed with autumn in mind. Others can be a springboard for a fall theme by switching out the colors with vibrant oranges, reds, and yellows. Pair them with a neutral brown to attract attention to your posts.
For appropriate symbols of the season, don’t forget to include boo-tiful images of ghosts, Jack-O-Lanterns, acorns, and leaves. There are plenty of free-to-use images ready to source for your marketing materials.
We’ve made it even easier by creating fall and Halloween templates for you to post on social media!
Reflect the changing market
As Baby Boomers approach or enter retirement and Millennials and Gen Z search for their first property, you have to always think one step ahead. This means focusing on a particular demographic and establishing yourself as an expert on what your clients really want.
Provide useful content
Providing useful content for clients is key to succeeding in slower months. For example, if your target market is older clients and retirees, consider offering brochures or informational packets on topics such as downsizing or finding the right home for their post-retirement plan.
If your clients are looking to purchase a home fast, offer a quick start guide to finding the right home in a pinch, and include what to look out for before making an offer on a home.
For new homebuyers, take the anxiety out of their experience by hosting a workshop or webinar on the first steps to home ownership. Consider hosting multiple events for people to attend on different days and times. Don’t forget to offer your contact information and explain how you can help ease the home-buying process.
If your clients want to sell their home, create lists or ebooks of staging ideas and handy tips for making their house feel like an autumn oasis for potential buyers. Include relevant tips like raking their leaves, ensuring their heating system works, putting out fresh apples or warm cookies, and putting up tasteful decorations to attract buyers.
How Virtuance can help
Using professional real estate photography is important no matter the time of year. In autumn, getting top shots of a home could be the difference between closing a sale and losing out. With Virtuance, you can have quality pictures of a property to create a wide variety of marketing materials and get more real estate referrals.
Even better? We offer a free listing site and access to our Marketing Suite with every order to ensure you get the most out of your real estate photos to close more deals.
