Inspiration

Using coffee to attract instructions

RAT 84 (Rawlings Agency Tip)

Bribing homeowners with coffee!

Have you ever thought that the people who stand on your local train station platform waiting for the train each day are your precise target audience? They live locally, and are not unemployed! They are also just about to spend 40 minutes on a train with nothing to do but read whatever happens to be in their hand at the time. It may be a newspaper of course. But it could be something far more interesting - your newsletter/local property market comment/ property advice, etc.

One of my clients, Eddie Robinson, had a great idea when he was promoting his estate agency in Maidenhead. When commuters went to pay for the coffee they had ordered at the station café, the person behind the till would say "No charge today..this one's on Robinson Estate Agents!" and they would hand over the coffee along with Eddie's personal brochure which the commuting/homeowner was happy to read on the train whilst enjoying their free coffee. Captive, receptive audience or what?! For the cost of a newspaper ad, several hundred local residents are not only aware of Eddie's business, they also have reason to speak highly of it. This is a great example of the law of "reciprocity" at work - ie be generous in giving something out that is relevant and meaningful, and you earn the right to their favour in return. Not only that - but they'll also talk about you to others.

If the cost of the coffee idea is a concern, then a watered down version would be not to pay for the coffee, but simply come to an arrangement with the café so that your brochure can be included with every purchase from time to time. You could even advertise on their paper carrier bags.

In some of my RAT's in the coming weeks I'll be looking at how you can make the most of newsletter, mailers, newspaper ads and social networking, especially from a content perspective. In an age where information overload is a problem, what you actually communicate to people, as opposed to just getting your name in front of them, is the key to your influence over your target market. Watch this space or contact me here for immediate details of how I might be able to help you proactively promote your reputation locally so that you generate more appraisal opportunities.

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© Richard Rawlings 2012
Richard Rawlings is the founding director of Estate Agency Insight, which specialises in helping estate agencies harness opportunity through innovative method, marketing, publicity, and training. He can be contacted at or on 0845 838 1354.

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