What Is Geographic Farming?

Real estate geographic farming, also known as geographic farming or prospecting, is a proven method of marketing your real estate profile or business to a specific neighbourhood or local proximity so that it raises awareness of your personal brand, captures leads, earns referrals and gains listings. When used effectively, farming provides an excellent opportunity to connect with potential sellers in a specific area.

The aim of geographical farming is to eventually become the expert, thought leader and ultimate voice of real estate in that particular area. Owners of that neighbourhood know you as the local area expert and will recommend you to other residents as well.

Geographic Farming is the most powerful way to grow and maintain a successful real estate business. It allows you to establish your brand and centralize your listings and sales in one geographic area. To be a successful farmer you must commit to an area and understand that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Setting up these expectations and being in the right mindset right out of the gate is the key to success.

Benefits Of Geographic Farming For Real Estate Negotiators

By focusing all your energy on one specific area, you will become the expert in the area and know all about it, which is very beneficial to all your clients. Geographic farming is thought by many real estate agents to be the quickest way to see consistent lead generation.

Benefits include:

Lead generation
Raises brand awareness
Creates expert ‘branding’ in specialty area –
Create trustworthiness (most important trait in property)
Earn referrals
Gain listings – centralise listing and sales in one area

Direct mail Ethos

Proper direct mail ethos are important. Each direct marketing piece sent out WILL HAVE :

List – with the most powerful geo-data in Malaysia. Reach by areas, income level and ethnicity.
Offer / CTA – each piece will have a purpose and an offer to get recipients to ACT.
Trackable – able to gather genuine updated data

Geographic farming targeting options

Choosing the right location or area to specialise will be the foundation for your success. Many real estate negotiators choose target areas that are close to them and that they are familiar with, because of the fact that they are more likely to already know every detail about the neighbourhood. So start by farming your own neighbourhood because it also make you easily available to your clients who are looking for a last-minute home viewings.

Our targeting options include:

Location
Property Type
Owner Income Level
Ethnicity

How To Farm A Location

1. Choose farming location

Work areas where you live, that you are familiar with and that you like, or a price range you would like to be in.
Choose quantity of homes (1,000 – 5,000) depending how big your team is and consider your budget simultaneously

2. Create farming budget

What is the total amount you can allocate to farming? Figure out how much it will cost to hit every house at least 2X/month at a minimum

3. Committing to a successful farm

Remember farming is a long-term commitment…and CONSISTENCY of connecting with the people in your farm is key. Homeowner’s need to hear from you, see you and receive information from you on a regular basis.
Deliver value – be the farm expert. Your role as the go-to agent in an area is to be the most knowledgeable person about the area…you are the FARM EXPERT. Specifically, what is happening with the values in the neighbourhood, how many are currently on the market for sale, what new initiatives can possibly be affecting their home values. What are the specific issues these homeowners want to know about and how can you bring them the answers

4. Staying connected with your farm

As we mentioned before, consistency is key so each month your marketing plan should include varied communications from you.

Examples:

Sold cards
Proof of Success piece
Market updates
Free home equity updates
The inside scoop about the neighbourhood trends and news.

Quickest ways to dominate a farm

Know your inventory – every time a home comes on the market you should be previewing it. Homeowners come and go but that home is there for years to come. You need to know as much about the inside as the outside. Make notes after previewing to put in your farm folder.

As soon as a new home owner moves in, you should welcome them in. New homeowners have no pre-conceived ideas of what the neighborhood is like so it would perfectly natural for you to drop your contact and introduce yourself as their Neighborhood Professional Realtor. To let them know you are there to be of service to them and their family. This will put them at ease with you immediately. Think how much faster you will know everyone in your farm by these simple tips!

Quick domination comes from having a plan and following it religiously. You must out-work and out-service competition to succeed. Like all areas of lead sources, plan ahead –plan your budget, plan your marketing, plan your schedule so your system is predictable and profitable.