10 Tactics To Maximize The Success Of Your Next Real Estate Event
Hosting or exhibiting at a real estate event this year? Here’s how to crank up the results…
Every event is important. Each one will either snowball the buzz and ROI of future events, or will put up barriers. No matter what your role, you can help elevate the success. And while quality is important, you don’t have to go broke to improve effectiveness.
Try these tips…
1. Location Selection
The location can easily make or break the event. This isn’t just about how fancy or well known the hotel or convention space is either. How easy it is for visitors to get in and navigate it is equally important. If you can’t get there to preview it in person first, then get someone on the ground to give you a video walk through of pulling up, parking, and getting to and around the event space.
Timing is also critical. What time are locals used to going to events like this? Morning, brunch, or happy hour?
2. Widen Your Outreach
Who are you directly promoting the event to? Existing lists, cold prospects on the internet, or locals via the radio? Don’t overlook the massive pools of industry professionals in the area and their spheres of influence. For a couple hundred bucks or with the right approach you can probably obtain lists of local Realtors, mortgage professionals, members of investor groups, and the Chamber of Commerce. In any reasonably sized metro area this is thousands of additional potential attendees.
3. Create Affiliates
If people really love what you are doing and your presentation they might share it with their groups. If you don’t want to leave this to chance, then find a way to really motivate them as affiliates. Perhaps that is cross collaborating to market to each other’s lists, or it may be compensating them monetarily. That could be as little as a dollar per click, $10 per registration, or as much as $100 for each person they refer which actually buys a ticket AND shows up.
4. Have Lenders & Credit Providers On-Site
If you or your vendors are selling something it can help to have credit providers on-site. This may be mortgage lenders, transactional funding lenders, hard money lenders, credit card companies. They should be able to provide pre-approvals or proof of funds letters on the spot. If that isn’t an option have vendors accept PayPal which can facilitate Bill Pay credit to pay over time, or access to lines of Working Capital.
5. Countdown Messages
People are insanely busy today. If they signed up for an event two months ago chances are they have completely forgotten about it already. That might even apply to last week. There is a massive disparity in registrations to actual attendees. Experienced event planners get that this is where they can really make a difference in the number that shows up on the day, and in turn the sales that actually happen. There should be countdown messages at least weekly in the run up to the event. The last week may include daily messaging. Then hone in with a serious countdown the 24 hours prior to, and even once the event kicks off. This messaging may include emails, social media, customized video messages, phone calls, text messages, and even mailing physical tickets or thank you cards. Reach them in their favorite medium, and blow them away prior to the event. That will set them up mentally to love it, and encourage sharing. Send them messages or images of custom items or gift bags you have curated just for them personally and get them in. Each vendor should also be provided with customizable messages and social posts they can send to their own groups, without having to think about it. Perhaps organizers will even them offer a discount on exhibiting based on how many attendees they bring in from those messages too.
6. Clear Instructions, in Advance
Make sure clear instructions and expectations are sent out well in advance. That applies to exhibitors and attendees. Do they need to be there a day early to set up or mingle? They need to know that weeks in advance, not 3 days before. What is the agenda? Is it an event they can pop into at any time during the day, or for one of multiple days, or do they need to be there from kick off to close? When it comes to speakers it may be best to start with your best, preferred line up, and then take them out if needed later, than to start pushing invites with a lackluster lineup. Though a surprise bonus guest is always a welcome move.
7. Active Social Media during the Event
Spark active social media during the event. Invite bloggers, travel writers, magazines, and the press. Record and publish video testimonials. Have live Google Hangouts, set up a blogger lounge, use unique #hashtags. Generate buzz.
8. Create Engaging Experiences for Attendees
A super successful event isn’t just about the quality of information delivered, or a beautiful room. It is about emotions, experience, and creating raving fans that will tell others. Create group huddles over coffee during breaks, bring in lunch (potentially sponsored by a local restaurant), host a pool party afterwards, or organize a tour of the local area if attendees are coming from a long way away. Play on your theme with fun things to do i.e. if you are talking about tactics give attendees nerf guns and have them compete to win a prize.
9. Optimize Follow Up
Optimize and automate follow up. The relationship and returns should just begin with the event. Have ipad registration and collect emails, phone numbers, and social handles. Then automate ongoing follow up. Send out video clips of the event, photos to share, and vendor details.
10. Turn Each Attendee into an Affiliate
Each attendee should become an advocate for the next event. Recruit them to help market the next one. Let them earn a free ticket or make money to buy products if they couldn’t before, by helping secure more registrations.
Following the above tips, most of which are very inexpensive or free, can dramatically catapult impact, action, and ROI. Try them out…
Authored by Best Transaction Funding - the leading source of transactional funding and hard money loans for real estate wholesalers in the US; where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.
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