Take your career to the next level with an Interactive Marketing Plan. To get to the top of the heap, today's real estate agents can't just be good salespeople. They must also be expert marketers.

The best agents in the field already know this fact. According to NAR, realtors in the highest sales bracket spend 26% of their yearly income on marketing. Marketing efforts can come in the form of print promotion, outdoor advertising or Website development.

Intuitively, this makes perfect sense. Your customers are expecting that you will develop a detailed marketing plan to sell their home. If they see that you are adept at marketing yourself, they will feel more comfortable hiring you to put together a sales and marketing plan for their property.

Agents need an Interactive Marketing Plan to market themselves

So how do you become an expert marketer?

The best agents adopt something called an 'Interactive Marketing Plan'. This type of plan integrates personalized ads in a number of different avenues. A typical IMP includes:

Personalized Print Promotion: Postcards, Calendars, Newsletters

Outdoor Advertising: Billboards, Bus Boards

Website Development: A personal website that is easily searchable from major search engines

Such a plan keeps your name 'top of mind' with all of your customers for referral purposes and also with any prospects in your local area.

To keep costs down, you may want to divide your marketing budget into the following: 50% Print Promotions, 25% Outdoor Advertising and 25% website Development.

Lean towards a larger print component.

Although, it's important to have a mix of promotions, it's also smart to lean towards a larger direct mail print component that will reach your target audience where they are most relaxed and open to your message -- their homes. Every good marketing strategy has a strong personalized print element because nothing is more effective than a beautiful printed piece with your photo and contact details that lingers around in their house for weeks.

To make the most of your direct mail campaign, you can send your customers and prospects a different kind of collateral every month. To keep their attention, you could send them an eye catching jumbo post card in January, an informative newsletter in March, a useful notepad in May, a gorgeous magnet in July, a different newsletter in September and a calendar in November.

Don't skimp on your image

All of these products should have your photo and personal contact details so that your customers and prospects are reminded of you all year long. As well, you should always make sure that you use a friendly and credible picture that represents you as the trusted professional that you are. When it comes to choosing a photo, try to choose a shot that will endure over time -- something that you would like your clients to think of every time they think of you. Never skimp on the quality of your print materials or on your image -- you'll only regret it later.

Darrell Goertzen is the president of Teldon Marketing . For more advice on Personalized Marketing, you can email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For 25 years, Darrell Goertzen has helped sales professionals turn their businesses around. His insights on how to best use marketing strategies in combination with negotiation tactics has benefited agents across North America. As president of Teldon Marketing, Darrell guides teams of real estate specialists who assist agents with expanding their presence in their local markets.