Create a Heirloom with Celebrate Plate + Fudge Gift!

[KennethandTiffany]

I am trying to get some new leads for business and I thought about trying to get in with some realtors. I know they get TONS of info from businesses trying to market gifts for their clients. I am going to make some easy fudge and wrap it in tulle (after I put in in a baggie of course!) with my biz card attached with ribbon. I made a label to put on the back of the card that says the following:

Surprise those special clients with our one-of-a-kind Celebrate Plate! This beautiful plate comes complete in an elegant gift box with a commemorative document to list the special dates and occasions when the plate is used. It’s a great way to create a family heirloom that is sure to be passed down for generations to come!

I thought it would be better to just focus on one gift instead of everything (it's easier for them). PLUS, I figured the fudge would make it stick out more than all the other info they get. Has anyone tried anything like this before? If so, any pointers?

 

[ShanaSmith]

I think that is a great idea. I would also hit them up to book a show. My director says that whenever her business is down she goes to realestate offices and asks for booking.. and always gets them

 

[Cindycooks]

I think that is a great idea. I would also hit them up to book a show. My director says that whenever her business is down she goes to realestate offices and asks for booking.. and always gets them

My friend who is a consultant just sold 10 of the Celebrate Plates to a realtor and get this - they also bought the Slice and Serve to go along with the plate and are having the clients name and date engraved on the server! I think it is such an awesome idea and wish I had thought of it! My friend is in the next town over, so I am going to hit on a couple realty offices here and hope I can use this!

 

[jonna]

There was another thread that had a letter attached asking Realtors if they wanted to use PC products as closing gifts. It's a wonderful idea and I plan on sending a few out to the realtors that I know!

 

[nicolespcshows]

Does anyone know where that realtor letter is located? I can't seem to find it. Thanks,

 

[KennethandTiffany]

Realtor letterHere's the one that I found....I just didn't want to send too much info, since I will just be dropping it off....wanted to keep it short (biz card w/info on back) and sweet (fudge!)

 

[krzymomof4]

I am definately going to give this a shot!!

 

[[email protected]]

QuestionI too have thought about this idea, but haven't done anything yet. What do you say when you walk into the office? My fear is the rejection.

 

[KennethandTiffany]

I also have a photography company and we have done some marketing in the past with realtors. The problem with direct contact is that they are swamped with info from all different companies. There is usually someone in the office and you can just tell them that you wanted to drop off some info about gift sets for clients. There is usually a table where companies can put their info for the realtors. That's why I am doing fudge with the info, hopefully it will stick out! The only problem with not actually giving it to the realtor in person is that it makes it harder to follow-up. I guess I will try to give it to them in hand if they are in the office, that way they might remember me! Plus, realtors get this sort of info all the time, so they won't be looking at you like you are crazy for approaching them!

 

[pamperedalf]

I mailed a letter to each realtor in the office then did follow up calls afterwards, I have not gotten any bites yet, but am still trying.
I went online, and almost all offices list there sales asociates on their webpage. This was enough info to send them all letters. You never know!

 

[KennethandTiffany]

Thanks!I will check that out online, thanks! That does make it easier, at least I have a name that I can use when I call to follow-up!

 

[Kelley Sells]

I'm also a full Time RealtorHi Folks,
I am a full time Realtor with RE/MAX here in Plymouth, MA and yes, we DO get flooded with mortgage companies, sign companies, marketing companies, soooo much info.
BUT, I have polled my realtor friends with this idea and they thought it was great.
Depending on the realtor, my average gift amount is 100.00 to a buyer or seller to say thank you for allowing me to be part of their new venture. AND it is usually last minute so that I know what they truly need so it is not like some of the gifts that are giving and tossed out.
THIS is a fantastic idea....it not only gives my folks something that everyone could always use, EVEN if they have it, but it helps me later on. For a new buyer, great way to meet the neighbors, so why not have the party with me?
So another thing you could look into to is the most recent sales in the area and the new buyers name and send them a welcome packet with that idea of throwing a party and meet their new neighbors......

Why not go to Open Houses on Sat. or Sun. and drop by the fudge with a card and letter to the agent in charge? Sometimes an Open house is Busy, sometimes not....THAT will leave a great impression....food ALWAYS wins over realtors....LOL....

But thank you for sharing your ideas.....

Much Success.....
Kelley

 

[PamperedPrincess74]

Thanks for that information Kelly.
Two Sundays ago I dropped by two open houses in my neighborhood. To each one I brought a loaf of PC Beer bread in a Valentine's Day bag with my card attached. At the first one, I talked to a prospective buyer who wanted to have a show as soon as she moves into her new house (wherever that may be) and at the second one, the realtor ordered FIVE classic pizza stones with racks to give away as gifts. I was SO excited!

 

[Cindycooks]

Awesome Idea Kelly! I hadn't thought of dropping by Open Houses! There are like 100 houses going up in my neighborhood alone, my town is booming cuz we were recently on the Today Show as one of the best places to retire...so great idea! My friend in the town over just had two Celebrate Plates ordered for a realtor - I think thats a neat thing for them to give.

 

[mkrich]

I have also been thinking about sending letter to realtors in my area. I put together a letter based on the ones available on this site and a listing of sample gift sets. I went on-line to get names and addresses of the realtors and there are SO MANY! For one office there could be 30-40 realtors. One of my thoughts was to actually print a letter to each person (I think people tend to read something actually addressed to them rather than "to whom it may concern") and send all the letters for one office in a large envelope or drop them off. Has anyone else done this in mass quantities and what are your suggestions for handling a large number of agents? Thanks!

Melissa

 

[mkrich]

Sample Realtor DocumentsCindy requested that I post my realtor letter. There are two files, the letter and my sample packages.

 

[krzymomof4]

Melissa,
Here is what I did and now I am sooo excited. I looked up all local real estate agents in my area in the phone book. I then looked to see if they had a website. If they have a website with alot of agents, I picked the one who was listed as the Broker. It is my understanding that they "run" the office. If there was no broker or owner listed, I kind of picked one out of thin air. I ran across one large real estate agency that had pics of all their agents. I chose one I thought looked like she would be one of my hostesses, I know that sounds crazy. I just did this the first part of this month and decided to pick up the phone and follow up with phone calls. I called 5 of the 11 agents that I sent letters to and one has a friend that sells PC and the other wants me to call her tomorrow evening at her home. I may not get a realator sale from this, but maybe she wants to have a show!! I will be making more calls tomorrow. Like they said you have to get the no's before you get a yes.

Leslie

 

[mkrich]

Keep my Fingers Crossed!Leslie,

Thanks for the input! I did go on several real estate websites and there are a ton of agents in each office. I didn't want to pick only certain people to send the letter to, because what if I picked the wrong person and they just threw my letter away! So, I picked 3 offices (each with 30-40 agents) and printed a letter for each agent. I sealed each letter in an addressed envelope and put all the letters into one big envelope. I am going to mail the big envelopes (postage should be cheaper than all 100 or so individual envelopes. I am then going to call every single one of them in about a week to follow-up. It will be quite a large task to call them all, but hopefully I will get some sales and hopefully even some bookings! I am in SS Month #2 (due to Hurricane Katrina) and really want the monthly bonus, but don't have any shows scheduled the rest of the month, so I am hoping this will push me over the top!!

Melissa

 

[I Have the Tools]

Wow! this is a great idea!
Has anybody approached the sales people in model homes? I'm going to brainstorm on that tomorrow morning and work up a plan on approaching these as well.
We have bunch of model homes around here and oftentimes during the weekdays it can be rather slow.

Kris

 

[Kelley Sells]

Another thoughtHi Folks,
I'm thinking about what catches MY thoughts when a vendor comes in, naturally free stuff....I have one mortgage person who came in, the 1st day, I talked it up for about 5 min with her, the next day she sent me this small bag with a Chip Clip, some note pads and a thank you note, she is now my go to for mortgages, I send my leads her way, not truly because of the free stuff but that she took the time to send me a thank you note, there must be 6 mortgage companies if not more that come through the office EVERY week and 2 out of the 6 follow up, but it was the hand written note, and the Chip Clip had her info on it, and LOL I have used that to get her number....LOL...so little things go a LONG way....she is a great business partner and now a friend....life is funny....
Use the Pan scrapers, put them in a small bag with a tie and your card attached to the tie, put a flyer in the bag....

Kelley

 

[I Have the Tools]

I sure wish I could get the documents you all attach to come up on my (old) computer.
Does anybody know of any other way to get them?
Or what I'm doing wrong?

Kris

 

[luvs2cook]

Realtor Letters with Order formI've actually been to several model homes where the development has 20+ homes. I re-created the letter to include an order form. So, once they decide, they can send it to me via US Mail.

However, it is a good idea to meet the sales person in the model home so they can put a name with a face.

 

[Harrle]

Funny momentSo I just had to share a little humor I had with a relator friend of mine...

This new neighbor/relator friend of mine is just getting his business off the ground and I asked him about giving PC for Thank You/Closing gifts. His response was "I give Target Gift Cards" - now he said this because I am also a PT Taget 'Team Member' (besides FT Mom and PC Consultant), so he knew either way he was 'helping me out - so to speak.' My response to him was 'how are your clients going to remember YOU when all they are going to use that Target gift card for is groceries or cleaning supplies for their new home?' Can we say 'gone in 60 seconds!!!' What I really wanted to say to him and I could have since we are friends is "Do you think your clients are going to remember and think to refer you everytime they 'use' the toilet paper they purchased with that Target GC??" I restrained myself - hoping he may think about it some more and call me for an order! I think I will e-mail him with the Celebrate Plate and Slice & Serve idea - you just never know!!!

Thanks to everyone who contributes their ideas!!!
Leea

Wave 1

 

[cookingabcs]

amazingYou all and your idea are amazing. I'm in SS2, my sales are very low and my bookings are non existent, partly because I really don't have much of a business mind (or know wha tto say in follow-up calls). BUT I do know several realtors and this is a wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing it with all of us.

I'm actually having my first open house for my neighbors this weekend and several of them are realtors so this could be a great kick off

God bless you all and may your business grow by leaps and bounds!

 

[gilliandanielle]

I got all jazzed up one day and found a list of local Prudential realtors. I got about 10 names down the list when I say a local PC directors name. It is a fairly common name, so I contacted my director to see if it was the same woman. She confirmed that it was, and she also said that at least in my area most real estate companies either have a PC consultant as a realtor, or already know that it is out there and don't want it. It really discouraged me!! That is one of my biggest fears--- Walking into the lion's den and trying to sell PC to another consultant and all of her friends and coworkers!! Good luck, and maybe I'll gather enough balls to contact another office!Gillian Wright
#417481
Wasilla, Alaska

 

[Kelley Sells]

Don'tLet that bother you, you make up your flyers and do YOUR own thing, because SHE is a director and a realtor, and SHE thinks or says noone will be interested doesn't mean ANYTHING (or that SHE can't seem to sell them). In the long run, YOU can contact other businesses besides them.....The Celebrate Plate is a GREAT item to give as a gift. I'm tired of handing out 100.00 worth of nothing, I'd rather give them 100.00 worth of YAHOO items....LOL...

Do NOT let this discourage you.

The 1 biggest fear for ANYONE in sales in ANY form is REJECTION.....don't be afraid of it....they can't kill you, they won't take your 1st born (although sometimes your inclined to WISH they would)......rejection can only hurt you if you let it, look at it as a challenge.....I have ALWAYS been the one to fear rejection....and THAT has gotten me down to low points....

SO, look in the mirror, smile honestly, take a deep breath, go make your flyers and cards and whatever materials you may have and go to the office, introduce yourself and lay it on them......the WORST that can happen is they 1.) tell you no solicitations
2.) take your flyers and throw them out when you leave.
3.) BUY LOTS OF STUFF....

Be sure to sell the fact that they can use the Pampered Chef to set themselves up for WARM CALLS......they give the closing gift, 3-6 months they send a kitchen tool, they then have a REASON other than "hows it going" to call, "I sent you a little something in the mail, be on the look out for it. I'm sure your family and friends are enjoying seeing your new home, do you know of anyone that is interested in buying or selling a home at this time? blah blah blah"....then another 6 months, same thing......this is a GREAT way to get their referral business going....problem is realtors don't KEEP IN TOUCH with their past clients/customers.....so THAT is a HUGE selling point, soooo easy to do.....

Okay, now, pull those boot straps up and GO GET 'EM.....

 

[reesefamily5]

Okay, has anyone gotten this response yet?

I called a realty company that I sent a letter to, and this is what she told me. They have to be careful about the thank you gifts because it is illegal to give thank you gift to their clients.

Does anyone else here think she just said that to get rid of me. I have never heard of giving a thank you gift as being illegal.

 

[CarlyK]

That is really weird and I have honestly never heard of that, but maybe it is a state thing? Gosh, that is really odd though. I didn't think a thank you gift could be illegal either.

 

[LakesideMom]

This is such a great set of ideas! Thank you for sharing. We have a lot of realtors in my area - I am going to give this one a try!