Three Mistakes to Avoid when Hosting the Perfect Pie Day
Courtesy KellerINK
It’s that time of year, folks. The time to make high-value touches to your database and build your business even bigger. Oh, yes, and it’s also the holiday season.
These two events don’t have to compete for your time. Why not try bringing them together by hosting a Pie Day for your clients?
Last year, Jay Papasan showcased how to host a successful Pie Day in the TwentyPercenter by highlighting Laura Gillott, whose team recently gave out 1,000 pies and gained sixty-five referrals! This holiday season, we want to fill you in on how people often suffer Pie Day disappointment, and how you can avoid it.
1. Mismanaging the Messaging
You can pull out all the stops and plan the coolest event in the world. But if no one knows the event is happening no one can show up to enjoy it. Often, people plan an event, send one invitation or RSVP, and then wait for people to come, only to be disappointed when attendance is low. To avoid that scenario, you need to get attendees excited about attending a Pie Day with a thorough, thoughtful, and effective messaging plan.
Start your messaging four weeks out from the Pie Day. Depending on your business, you might reach out to your entire database or just your past clients. You can choose emails, texts and calls (in a TCPA-compliant manner), or a combination. Your first outreach should be an invitation to the event. Include the specifics of the event, ask for an RSVP and time commitment of when they can pick up their pie, and let them request a pie preference if you are offering multiple flavors.
A week later, send another email blast asking announcing “last call” to reserve a pie. This will pick up any stragglers and build anticipation for the event. Let them know you’re about to place your order so people feel a sense of urgency to respond.
One week before the event, remind each respondent of the date, time, and place to pick up their pie. Tell them you’ll be there in person and are excited to see them and wish them happy holidays.
Finally, the day before the event, send one final reminder. It’s easy for people to miss things on their calendar during such busy times of year.
2. Not Working Your Event
Hopefully, the number of people showing up to your event is overwhelming. If this is the case, you may be tempted to set out a table of pies with a check-in sheet and hit the road. Don’t! This is your best opportunity to talk to your clients, get up to date on their lives, and gain referrals. (One note: Before you start rewarding referrals with anything of monetary value, please check with your broker to make sure you are complying with RESPA guidelines.)
Face-to-face time with clients is an invaluable tool for a real estate agent. You’ve likely spent a good chunk of change on the Pie Day event, so get your money’s worth by talking to your attendees. This is when you can educate them about the valuable resources you have to offer. If you have a newsletter you’re promoting, let them know how to sign up. If you’re planning on throwing other events, ask them for their opinion on what they’d like to attend. You should also spend this time truly getting to know your clients. Knowing what’s happening in their lives will help you better serve them and in turn grow your business.
3. Not Following Up
That’s it; the Pie Day is done.
Not so fast! The Pie Day doesn’t actually end until you’ve reached out to two groups of invitees: the people who came, and those who didn’t.
Message all the people who attended. Let them know how great it was to see them and how much you appreciate them. Ask them how they enjoyed their pie and collect any feedback for the next time around.
To the people who didn’t attend, let them know you missed seeing them and would love an opportunity to talk in the near future so you can catch up on what’s going on in their lives. Let them know if you’ll be holding other events and that you’re there to answer any questions they may have about real estate or anything else.
A Pie Day event can be wonderful for your business, so don’t miss out on the rewards of your hard work by making these three mistakes.
Have you hosted a Pie Day before? Did you come across things you’d change in the future if you hosted one again? Let us know on our KellerINK Facebook page. And don’t forget to check out our KellerINK blog for more insightful reads.
