Will these techniques work for a Realtor

In a good market, those techniques might work.

I don't think it's effective to target random high earners - these folks usually have bought before and have an agent they are loyal to or an agent in their neighborhood or social club.

More effective is to target a neighborhood of homes with a long term campaign (like a year) of bi-weekly letters giving real info on comparables available, sales in the area, staging tips, etc.

I've done this myself with a partner years ago and it worked well for us in a good market. We were lucky as our first two listings in that target area sold in days and that gave us a big boost in business. That was years ago but when we tried it again in a different area after an economic downturn, it didn't work as well and was marginally profitable considering the time involved.

Currently the RE competition is fierce and even top agents who sell millions a year (before this market) tell me they are taking on anyone interested in buying either now or in the future. They hope to gain future sales when the economy eases by creating a bond with "lookers" now. A friend who worked in the past only with high end properties now gets her sales from first time buyers at the low end of the price range.

Working with only pre-qualified and ready to buy customers makes sense in a good market. Right now, unless you have the experience and can prove you are getting sales now, it may not be the best strategy to have such high requirements for customers.

What's important is to do anything and everything you can think of these days. A good direct mail campaign could get your name in the minds of people and if you seem to know what you're talking about, it could help in the future if you persist with it.

Developing a strategy is important but I think you need to base the plan on what sector of the market in your area still has activity rather than what price range and type of buyer you would prefer to work with.

My broker once laughed at me when I took on the listing for a development of low end building lots for sale. They were priced at 8-12K each and way below the price range I usually worked in. He thought it was a waste of time but changed his mind when I began selling 20-30 of them a month. You have to work where the money is still flowing - no matter what the price range is.

kay

You may want to look into direct response techniques to beef up your campaign. Your techniques may work but you've got to word them right and have at least a 2 step system in place to prequalify those leads.

But congrats on thinking out-of-the-box. Notice how most realtors do the same thing every other realtor out there is doing? It's a monkey-see, monkey-do mentality out there in realty world.

I just had a client who places ads in Harmon Homes every month. In March, she decided she wanted something different. We decided on a classic direct response advertorial. She was nervous because it was so different but she called the day after the ad ran so excited because her website was getting so many hits.

And of course, the people hitting the website were leaving their contact information as well. So now she's got a ton of new leads to market to...all from one little ad.

Welcome to the world of marketing!

Evy

Thanks to everyone for their comments. I felt the direct mail approach would be successful if the right message was used. Now I'll order a couple of the books in forum discussing best copywriting books and begin the process.

Best wishes,
Steve