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as noted, I delete about 100 emails a day. This would fall in there.
Find the top 10 agents in your area. Ask for 5 minutes of their time. Ask them if they use professionals, and what they pay. Ask them about turnaround time. See if it's a fit, or not.
Offer to visit one of their listings, to take your own sample photos. That way, they can compare your work. If they like it, offer that one for free.
On other possible variation on the above theme: if talking to the big shots doesn't work at first, because they all have people they use, and know.... then try talking to all the brand new agents, who DON'T have a full contact list yet, and be prepared to offer special billing or rates for them... can you wait till close to be paid? Because a new agent has a lot of costs and no income yet. That would be helpful.
Never spam people.
Sending unsolicited email is spamming.
I really don't see this as any different than a real estate agent going after expired listings and FSBO or sending me a postcard wanting to sell my house. My whole goal is to hit a few agents that have an immediate need for a photographer. One of the things I have learned is that when people search for a real estate photographer a vast majority of them don't know how to find one. If you don't need or want a photographer it wouldn't matter if I met you in person and gave you a $20 bill. I'm not selling illegal products or services. Most of my best customers have come from some sort of "spamming". Whether it be a cold call, random LinkedIn invitation or Facebook contact. The big companies do it ant it works! All I'm asking is what in an email is most appealing to real estate agents. I'm not advocating sending an email every day or every week.
I really don't see this as any different than a real estate agent going after expired listings and FSBO or sending me a postcard wanting to sell my house. My whole goal is to hit a few agents that have an immediate need for a photographer. One of the things I have learned is that when people search for a real estate photographer a vast majority of them don't know how to find one. If you don't need or want a photographer it wouldn't matter if I met you in person and gave you a $20 bill. I'm not selling illegal products or services. Most of my best customers have come from some sort of "spamming". Whether it be a cold call, random LinkedIn invitation or Facebook contact. The big companies do it ant it works! All I'm asking is what in an email is most appealing to real estate agents. I'm not advocating sending an email every day or every week.
You see at least 6 agents here who don't open spam and don't want spam.
"It works" is one of the most specious rationalizations in business and marketing.
We use email for communication purposes. Spam detracts immensely from the process.
I wouldn't mind getting an email from a photographer if it was specific to me regarding a listing I have. I wouldn't regard that as SPAM, personally. I think a successful email would probably have an offer that includes examples of your photographs compared to the non-professional photos originally posted by the agent, and some info regarding how quickly listings have gone under contract following the date of the new photos being posted to MLS. IOW, as an example....agent X had photos she took herself posted on the MLS, had the listing for 30 days with only 3 showings, she then asked me to take professional photos and she had 10 showings and 2 offers in the following 7 days. You get the idea.
The next thing that would get my attention would be a discount. Let's say a typical shoot is $150. If they respond to your email within a few days (or whatever) you'll do the first job for $99 (or whatever). Remember, your goal is to demonstrate your ability and value so agents will call you for the next one.
The third thing that you might think about is offering an additional something as an incentive to the seller in conjunction with the discount to the agent. One reason an agent might be resistant to bringing in a pro weeks after starting the listing is that it implies (perhaps) that the agent should have gone to a pro in the first place (i.e. an admission of something negative) but, if you also offered something as a benefit to the seller, the decision to bring you in late in the game could be presented as taking advantage of a limited time offer for the seller. Just a thought.
I know a woman who is working in that field. She showed up at a Real Estate Photography class with the direct intention of meeting some agents, and she did. I gave her the number of a good agent friend of mine and she now has her for a client. You need to get face to face with potential clients, email spam just won't work. I emailed an agent for some sales info, took two days to get a reply, she had to go through some 1500 emails to get to mine, mostly spam. Put together a portfolio, get a brochure, get the name of the broker of record at a sales office, anything to get an edge. IMHO, do what others have suggested, offer a free shoot or one highly discounted, to break the ice. I'm hoping to get into that biz in a few years, and that's my plan of attack.
I really don't see this as any different than a real estate agent going after expired listings and FSBO or sending me a postcard wanting to sell my house. My whole goal is to hit a few agents that have an immediate need for a photographer. One of the things I have learned is that when people search for a real estate photographer a vast majority of them don't know how to find one. If you don't need or want a photographer it wouldn't matter if I met you in person and gave you a $20 bill. I'm not selling illegal products or services. Most of my best customers have come from some sort of "spamming". Whether it be a cold call, random LinkedIn invitation or Facebook contact. The big companies do it ant it works! All I'm asking is what in an email is most appealing to real estate agents. I'm not advocating sending an email every day or every week.
None of us can claim to represent the opinions nor operating methods of ALL agents/Realtors. Nevertheless, you came here and posted the topic, and within 12 hours you were provided opinions by 8 agents that use photographic services.
Not one of us said that a broadcast email was the way to go.
If you choose to dispute us, then I wish you luck with the agents in your market. But you asked a ? of professionals and were given answers. A variety of responses. If you choose to take the "
But I disagree with you because you do the same thing!" tact ... you will get what you deserve.
What everyone is saying is that agents get LITERALLY TONS of emails telling us that whatever service or product the sender is peddling is going to help our business, and there probably isn't a magic content tip we could give you that would keep the majority of recipients from just deleting it. There are just too many to weed through. That said, you might get a few hits if you try & keep it relevant & are a good communicator.
If you're already in the business, maybe ask your existing clients if they think their offices might be willing to let you give a short presentation at a sales meeting. Not all offices might do that, but ours does, and if you're endorsed by someone they know it may help.
I'm an agent, but started as a photographer (and still do it for a few clients), and I knocked on office doors, leaving behind business cards & brochures offering the first shoot free or discounted, and definitely got some call-backs with that approach. If you're good, and good to work with, you just need that first opportunity with an agent and they'll likely continue to use you.
The one demonstration that stands out in my mind as the most memorable was by a photographer who came to a training meeting and showed amateur pics of a listing then professional pics she took of the same listing. It didn't look like the same house! The amateur pics made the listing look like a dump. What an impression!
For me that’s been the biggest waste of money and time. Realtors are never there. I’ve had a couple of realtors give me a call 8 months later because they saw my card while cleaning out the mail room. It doesn’t work that well here.
Dropping off cards and doing random pop ins is a complete waste of time and no one here is advocating that. Talk to the broker/manager and try to speak at the office meeting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rakin
We are very selective in who we let talk in our sales meetings so be prepared for a No Thanks in requesting to speak.
Sometimes I wonder if there is any vetting process at all in my office in terms of who gets to do a presentation and who does not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by weaverra
I really don't see this as any different than a real estate agent going after expired listings and FSBO or sending me a postcard wanting to sell my house. My whole goal is to hit a few agents that have an immediate need for a photographer. One of the things I have learned is that when people search for a real estate photographer a vast majority of them don't know how to find one. If you don't need or want a photographer it wouldn't matter if I met you in person and gave you a $20 bill. I'm not selling illegal products or services. Most of my best customers have come from some sort of "spamming". Whether it be a cold call, random LinkedIn invitation or Facebook contact. The big companies do it ant it works! All I'm asking is what in an email is most appealing to real estate agents. I'm not advocating sending an email every day or every week.
As my mother always said "if everyone else was jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge would you do it too?" Just because others do it doesn't make it effective and if those folks are in a different profession than you then it becomes even less relevant.
Face-to-face is what you want.
Quote:
Originally Posted by licensedninja
The one demonstration that stands out in my mind as the most memorable was by a photographer who came to a training meeting and showed amateur pics of a listing then professional pics she took of the same listing. It didn't look like the same house! The amateur pics made the listing look like a dump. What an impression!
I have a page in my listing presentation comparing and contrasting some photos from homes I've sold that were listed previously. The difference can be quite startling for someone who hasn't been in the real estate market in a while.
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