Rich Shipley

RISMEDIA, Dec. 1, 2008-"While the Internet has brought new sophistication to real estate sales and newspaper advertising continues to be used, there's something much more powerful than both," states Rich Shipley, director of Marketing for Entertainment® Publications.
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"Closing gifts may help, but only if they have a long ‘shelf life,'" says Shipley. "A box of chocolates, for example, may be greatly appreciated upon receipt, but could be gone and forgotten in a week. You want to be associated with a gift that has lasting value, one that makes your client say "Hey, look what I got from my real estate agent.' Of course, if the client was less than satisfied with your services, he or she will not mention the gift and will not sing your praises. The gift cannot create word-of-mouth marketing on its own; it merely extends word-of-mouth power."

"There will be clients who think highly of you, but who are not necessarily motivated by a perceived relationship inequality to tout your services," says Shipley. "A simple request on your part - "Would you kindly pass the word around to friends and relatives about my services?" - can help launch their word-of-mouth campaign."

Rich Shipley and his team at Entertainment® help real estate professionals all over the country leverage word-of-mouth marketing.

Used as a holiday, thank you, and/or closing gift, "It's a personal marketing tool that keeps your name out there," says Richard Shipley, director, Program Development, Entertainment Publications."It's important for a Realtor to find a way to get repeat business and referrals from customers.

"Your loyalty is the key to success in the possibility for repeat business.What our product does is establish a relationship and maintain the bridge from initial contact to the next opportunity," Shipley says.

RISMEDIA, Dec. 1, 2008-"While the Internet has brought new sophistication to real estate sales and newspaper advertising continues to be used, there's something much more powerful than both," states Rich Shipley, director of Marketing for Entertainment® Publications.

RISMEDIA, Dec. 1, 2008-"While the Internet has brought new sophistication to real estate sales and newspaper advertising continues to be used, there's something much more powerful than both," states Rich Shipley, director of Marketing for Entertainment® Publications.
...
"Closing gifts may help, but only if they have a long ‘shelf life,'" says Shipley. "A box of chocolates, for example, may be greatly appreciated upon receipt, but could be gone and forgotten in a week. You want to be associated with a gift that has lasting value, one that makes your client say "Hey, look what I got from my real estate agent.' Of course, if the client was less than satisfied with your services, he or she will not mention the gift and will not sing your praises. The gift cannot create word-of-mouth marketing on its own; it merely extends word-of-mouth power."

"There will be clients who think highly of you, but who are not necessarily motivated by a perceived relationship inequality to tout your services," says Shipley. "A simple request on your part - "Would you kindly pass the word around to friends and relatives about my services?" - can help launch their word-of-mouth campaign."

Rich Shipley and his team at Entertainment® help real estate professionals all over the country leverage word-of-mouth marketing.

Rich Shipley, Director of Marketing at Entertainment® Publications, is one of the smartest clients I've worked with. He builds tests into every program, and sometimes they're contrarian in nature.

One of his most successful involved selling the Entertainment® Book in quantity to Real Estate Brokers as holiday and closing gifts. His re-sell package to previous buyers was a sample book, letter and other materials shipped in a generic white carton.

Instead of taking the re-sell for granted and down-sizing, he put the sample book in a custom-made die-cut box. The box itself had an arresting photo and clear statement of benefits. He increased what was already a double-digit response by 48%, and more importantly, increased revenue per name of his list by over 89%.

3. Go retro.

Often it pays to know the ancient history of direct mail. In another test, this one to recover older accounts in a different market segment, Rich Shipley took the control letter and highlighted key phrases with yellow shading.

"More and more Realtors are learning how this Realtor benefit can improve their bottom line," said Richard Shipley, director of Program Development for Entertainment Publications.

"Realtors who purchase Entertainment books every year tell us that the coupon books not only make fantastic client gifts , but they also make a great personal marketing tool to get more referrals and repeat business, " said Richard Shipley, director of marketing at Entertainment Publications.