Hi all: Last night Helen Martin of Keller Williams and myself held a homebuyers seminar at the Green Lake Library in Seattle. We felt it was a success and plan to build on it and hold a seminar quarterly. Although we didn't have alot of people attend (3 showed up), we felt we were able to convey a message and we answered several questions from experienced homebuyers who wanted to know about how our business worked. Personally, I love to teach and share and Helen does as well.
Going forward we plan on repeating so if you're reading this here, and live in the Seattle area, I invite you to attend the next one. Although we touched on first-time homebuyer programs such as FHA and Nehemiah, we also talked about how reverse mortgages work and what a customer should look for in a realtor. I discovered that the public is always interested in free, worthwhile information and there are seminar junkies out there always looking to learn something new.
If you have a seminar in you, I encourage you to try it. My next one will cover lending and how to think like a banker in order to secure that loan. Let me know if you're interested in atttending. In the mean time, make it a great day!
Paul
Paul McFadden
I'm thinking of having a seminar in the fall. Did you charge for it?
I think you could, Linda. We didn't and perhaps we would have had more people firmed up if we charged something nominal. Obviously, we gave away some good free information in the form of reports, etc. I think that's the key whether the event is free or not. It's important to leave the customer with something of value. Let me know if you decide to do it. At the very least, we found out how little the consumer actually understands about real estate. Therefore, our job is to educate. Have a great day!
Paul
Congratulations on getting it done and having a decent crowd. It can be very difficult to get people to attend, especially as we get into summer around here. I have a seminar scheduled for July 12th, also with a Keller Williams agent, in Olympia. It will be interesting to see how things turn out.
What type of marketing did you employ?
In the past, we have done target specific direct mail, emails to our current database, and flyers in local high traffic areas. This has typically generated around ten people. We will see if this is still effective. It is so hard to say right now.
I also agree with not charging for the education. We are there to help clients understand the current market and attain home ownership or move-up. I don't believe people would pay for an information seminar unless they were receiving a certificate of some kind similar to the HouseKey program or the USDA program.
Keep up the good work with the seminars. Once you get them rolling it will gain some traction and you should see an increase in attendance.
Good Luck
Paul,
Can you let us all know of your marketing of the seminar? Where you held it? More particulars?
Thanks Jason, for your thoughts. It sounds like you've got it pretty diealed in. I wish you success!
Hi Lewis: We posted flyers, posted online and emailed our databases. The email marketing seemed to work the best. Next time we plan on getting a non-owner occupied list from the title company as we think these are primarily renters. This would probably involve a mailer. We held it at the public library as it's free and all comers are invited. Thtat's what we've learned so far. We plan on holding these quarterly for a while. I think the key is consistency as with anything. Take care.
Paul
PAUL - I am planning on doing a homebuyer seminar in the very near future. I'm just finishing up the program, and finding some people to partner with. Glad to hear that yours went well.
Thanks, Adam. I think the key is to involve others such as a mortgage person , title rep. etc., if you can. Good luck!
Paul