Is Geographic Farming Dead? EP76

On this episode of the Realtor Fight Club podcast, hosts Jenn Murtland and Monica Weakley are fired up about today’s topic. Is geographic farming dead? Today’s topic is a controversial one!

 

Episode Highlights: 

• In shocking fashion, Monica believes that geo-farming is dead while Jenn sees the use.
• Most people don’t know how to do it in the first place, so they end up doing it wrong.
• Mail, door-knocking, and events are all different ways that are still important to connect with a community.
• Don’t make the mistake of picking some random neighborhood out of a hat and sticking to just mail.
• A realistic expectation of success when geo-farming a neighborhood is at least 2 years.
• There are a variety of factors that go into how long it will take geo-farming to work.
• Monica thinks it can work, but just doesn’t believe that most agents will do the necessary work.
• Most agents don’t understand how to convert people from one step to another in the correct way.
• One way that Jenn advises to help with door-knocking efforts is to carry a gift bag with you.
• Monica thinks that instead of using money to geo-farm, it can be used to create a smaller amount of strong relationships.
• To figure out the attrition rate, look over the past 5 years and take the number of sales divided by the number of houses.
• Jenn likes the aspect of intentionally focusing her marketing efforts on a certain neighborhood.
• Monica thinks that agents could create some sort of shared resource for the neighborhood that could help them get to know people quickly.
• Even if you do move to a new area, you can still get referrals from your sphere.
• Maryann Ries is a high-profile agent in Cincinnati that focuses on geo-farming.
• When it comes to advertising, it all comes down to reach and frequency.
• In order to be successful in geo-farming, agents need to update their thinking on geographic marketing.
• Maryann has gone from door knocking to targeted Facebook ad campaigns as an adjustment to COVID.
• There are a plethora of benefits that come with focusing on a certain geographic area.
• Ideally, agents that are geo-farming should be marketing to their area on a daily basis.
• Agents could use the buyers’ current location as a way to expand the geographic reach.
• Maryann knows that you have to commit to a campaign to make direct mail worthwhile.
• The more signs that Maryann has up in a certain area, the more calls she receives.
• Project yourself as always working with how you dress whenever you are out of your house.
• Stay updated on your market activity and preview every house that comes on the market in your farm.

3 Key Points:

1. It’s important to pick a neighborhood with which you have some sort of connection.
2. In order to successfully geo-farm, agents must be willing to allocate the necessary money and time, at least 2 years, or it’s a waste of time.
3. While both Monica and Jenn agree that geo-farming can work, Monica believes that most agents won’t stick it out for the necessary time.

Resources Mentioned:

• • Jenn Murtland (website, LinkedIn, Facebook)
  • Call Jenn at (513) 400-1691 to discuss transitioning to eXp Realty
  • https://jennifermurtland.com/Vault/
  • Monica Weakley (website, LinkedIn, Facebook)
  • Realtor Fight Club Podcast Facebook page
  • Maryann Ries (513) 470-0564, email
  • Vulcan7