Realtor Magazine Door To Door

I recently read an article in Realtor Magazine entitled “Building Relationships.”  In the article it talked about prospecting that works; specifically doing door to door marketing.  Marc, who is the real estate broker, is the agent who has knocked on a number of doors.  He delivers a pen with his slogan on it to the people that he meets, and leaves a key chain on the door where the home is empty.  He has been very successful and many people are recognizing him in the area.  The agent they featured in the article was Tim Baker.  Tim goes door to door and hands out loaves of bread to thousands of clients.  He gives out bread so that people will remember his “Baker” last name. 

            Since reading this article I have decided to take up door to door again.  My first summer in the business, which was a year and a half ago, I did many hours of door to door because I didn’t have enough business to keep me busy.  I ended up getting 3 listings and closed two sales because of the work I did that summer.  It is a different way than normal to prospect but it can definitely work. 

            The one thing that bothered me about this article was that both these agents spent a lot of money on the products that they handed out.  Each pen cost $2.00 for Marc, and the loaves of bread were likely around the same price.  As a fairly new agent in a slow market it is not easy to come up with the money to hand out free gifts.  I got the feeling from reading this article that going door to door can only be successful if you give something expensive away.  I on the other hand had a lot of success introducing myself, telling others about the market, and then asking for referrals.  I understand that people really enjoy getting free stuff, and that may be the best way to have success in door to door prospecting, but it is not the only way to do business. 

            In the article it stated that Tim Baker makes $9-$10 on every dollar that he spends on door to door prospecting.  To do this however, you need money to begin with.  If you spend $200 on pens that leaves you with only 100 pens to go door to door with, it may not be enough.  I want to encourage everyone who has a smaller budget to get out and prospect by going door to door.  You do not have to spend a lot of money, rather you need to be persistent and be willing to accept rejection.  I do not doubt that giving away free items will work, but it is not the only way to succeed.