Low-Cost Marketing: Effective “Cross-Linking” Strategy Generates Short Sale Listings

I had an interesting e-mail exchange recently with Zac Pasmanick, a Rainmaker, team leader, Certified Distressed Property Expert, CRS and top agent/broker with the zac team @ RE/MAX Greater Atlanta.  Zac just celebrated (and blogged) his 30^th anniversary of selling real estate in Georgia on June 15, 2009.

Zac sat in on a popular workshop by national technology trainer Allen F. Hainge, and passed along a greeting.  Not to miss a blog opportunity, I asked Zac what he’s doing to generate short sale listings.  Zac BlackBerried back: “I have a short sale web page attached to my Real Pro web site as well as weekly blogging. Those that find me are coming thru Google.”  Knowing Zac, there was more to the story.  Next morning I had a note from Zac’s Marketing Manager, Jenny Pittam, sharing one of the most effective “cross linking” marketing campaigns using online and offline tools I’ve seen.  That’s when things got interesting.

Zac’s Results Speak For Themselves

In the first 6 months of 2009, Zac and his team have taken 12 short sale listings ($2,761,580 combined listing prices), 6 of those are pending lender approval of buyer offers at this time.  If (and when) all 12 listings close (positive thinking, short sales being short sales) Zac’s GCI from his short sale listing campaign will be about $82,855.  In addition, Zac has referred 4 sellers to out-of-his-area Realtors that have the potential for about $6,000 in referral income.  No wonder Zac is a RE/MAX Hall of Fame and Atlanta Board of Realtors Circle of Legends winner.

Short Sale Listings Campaign

Here’s how Zac and Jenny generate short sale listings.  First, they start with two principal websites: www.Zac.biz (Best Image) which is also reached from www.MLSInAtlanta.com and www.ZacSellsAtlanta.com (RealPro). Zac’s blog at blog.Zac.biz is hosted on the RealPro site.  As for short sales Jenny wrote, “the single most effective technique we use to generate short sale listing leads is utilizing our RealPro short sales stealth site at www.ShortSalesInAtlanta.com, which is also reached through the domain of www.SavingFamiliesFromForeclosure.com.”

Building Traffic One Cross-Link At A Time

Next, Zac captures traffic from his Zac.biz home page using an “Avoid Foreclosure” button – placed in the paramount upper-left corner position – to a page featuring a cross link to the SavingFamiliesFromForeclosure.com stealth site. In addition, Zac blogs regularly on short sale subjects such as:

• “Becoming a Certified Distressed Property Expert” (June 15),
• “What are the 7 most common short sale pitfalls?” (April 23),
• “Foreclosure Prevention Community Workshop brought to you by the zac team” (April 15),
• “What are the most common mistakes that can prevent a short sale from happening?” (April 13),
• “How do I qualify for a financial hardship?” (April 10).

All the blogging and web content and cross-linked domains earns high placement in Google.

Advertising-Driven Traffic from craigslist

Into this funnel Zac drives more traffic with ads on craigslist that generate response for his Free Reports, which are printed reports sent to prospects by postal mail to get an accurate and all-important property address.

Report titles include:

• “Three Must-Have Qualifications for a Short Sale Homeowner,”
• “Foreclosure vs. Short Sale: Homeowner Consequences,” and
• “Options and Solutions for Homeowners in Foreclosure.”

Other craigslist ads feature a “We can help” theme or “Foreclosure Prevention Seminar” held in Zac’s office.  Zac and Jenny write, “The cross-linking between our homepage, our blog, and craigslist have all helped people find us through Google.”

Here’s the full text from another craigslist ad:

Worried about the possibility of foreclosure? There are options!

The zac team @ RE/MAX Greater Atlanta, American Real Estate University, foreclosure.com, and the Credit Law Group are presenting a special community workshop this Saturday, May 16th at 10 a.m. to explain the ins-and-outs of your mortgage company, how to seek help, and ultimately, how to avoid the damage that a foreclosure can cause to your family. You can read more here at www.SavingFamiliesFromForeclosure.com and sign-up online. You can also RSVP directly to Jenny by responding to this posting, emailing jenny@zac.biz, or calling 404.564.7250.

We are here to help and look forward to seeing our neighbors on Saturday. If you or someone you know cannot make it to this event, we will be hosting workshops on the third Saturday of every month.

The workshop will take place in our office located at 1057 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, 30306.

To add even more low-cost buzz, Zac includes the following P.S in his team e-mail signature:

P.S. Helping families avoid foreclosure while saving much of their credit is what I’m certified to do. Is someone you care about struggling to make their mortgage payments or needing to sell their home but can’t because it’s worth less than they paid? There are Options! Please visit www.SavingFamiliesFromForeclosure.com for a confidential consultation.

Nice work, Zac.  Cross-linking truly pays off.

Join the conversation!  What are you doing to generate short sale listings in the new market?