Does anyone go to MLS meetings?

[jessicarucco]

Hi there, just wanting opinions on marketing at MLS meetings. What do you guys think? How do you do it?

[Troy]

I'm not quite sure what MLS meetings you are talking about.

Do you mean where everyone talks about their new listings? If so, it's called caravan by me.

If so, then yes I think it's worth your time, but you have to be extremely proactive. At some of those meetings there's just as many LOs, Escrow reps, & Title reps as there are RE agents.

Sit in the same spot and make a point to talk to two new agents each meeting. See if you can make buddies with one of the agents (preferably one of the more social ones) and hang out with them before and after the meeting. People will always come talk to them and you'll score brownie points from association.

Find out if you can sponsor the bagels or donuts that are usually provided. Usually, that means you get to give a 60 second speech about you and your company. Don't ever talk about rates or the excellent customer service you provide. Put together something that will very very specifically help a real estate agent deal with a buyer or deal with a seller. Maybe you can go through and put together a guide book for realtors containing all local services that pertain to marketing a listing.

For Example:
1. A list of all advertising departments phone numbers and rates to all local newspapers
2. A list of websites that provide just listed/just sold mailers and prices
3. where to get a simple craigslist template for posting your ads.
4. A list of a couple of call capture companies with prices and the companies/prices that provide sign riders
5. list/rates for color photo brochure printers for the open house
6. rates/numbers for local staging groups to stage the property if necessary
7. A couple of local caterers for simple open house lunches
etc.
8. A list of other free websites you can advertise on.

Then put together a quick sample marketing plan for them to use when they sell their next listing.

THEN......OFFER TO SPLIT THE MARKETING COSTS IF YOUR MORTGAGE INFO CAN GO ON PART OF THE MARKETING

Just try to be a little different and try NOT to be forgettable and you should be able to make some friends and do some business.

troy

ps - welcome to my humble forum!