Loving on your Database with Denise Gifford, Realtor, 7183 Champions Lane, West Chester, OH (2026)

02/18/2025

t’s not too late to prepare this Pop By and/or VIP Gift ready for April.
April Showers Bring May Flowers.
We have your Real Estate Needs covered this spring.

For Pop By:
Small handheld umbrellas that fit in your purse or car are @ $5.

For VIP Gift:
Huge Golf Umbrella are @ $15.

You’ll have to pay a one time fee for printing set up of $60 plus shipping.

We purchased 300 - $5 Umbrellas = $1,500
And 25 of the $15 Umbrellas = $375
Shipping was $350 + $60 set up = $410/ 325 units = $1.26

Small Umbrellas therefore $6.25
Large Umbrellas $16.26

This one has some staying power too. People will enjoy the umbrella and be marketing for us wherever they go.

Here are the cute cards to go with the Pop by’s.
Image
Insert your pop by cards back here

Pop Bys go to 10% of our Sphere every month. Each agent is delivering 20-60 pop bys.

VIP Gifts for to clients/Sphere that refer at least 2 pieces of business to us each year.

12/05/2024

We Whisk you a Merry Kissmas!!
Fun, easy and something your clients will use.
Buy a 10” or 12” Whisk and fill with Hershey Kisses (red, green & silver) Put into a clear bag with colorful curling ribbon. Attach a card and drop off at your clients home.
For our agent who does not celebrate Christmas she is doing We Whisk you a happy new year (blue & silver kisses)
Whisk – In Bulk – web restaurant https://www.webstaurantstore.com/choice-12-stainless-steel-french-whip-whisk/407FW12.html for $488
Hershey Kisses $85 – 10 Pound Box x 2 = 171 https://www.amazon.com/Hersheys-Christmas-Chocolate-Stocking-Stuffers/dp/B08QZY64KL/ref=asc_df_B08QZY64KL?mcid=03ec31bcfd563987a0ca7da6e5f1fc0c&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693396529367&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8983405971696332300&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9051565&hvtargid=pla-2014823657167&psc=1- 25lb box (the smaller quantity I ordered on Amazon)
Clear Bags & ribbon - $136
Ribbon 8 pks - https://tinyurl.com/TGTRibbons
Bags 400 - https://tinyurl.com/TGTBags

$488 + $171 + $136 = $795
$795 / 250 Whisks =
$3.18 per Whisk
+ Time and effort to create, print & cut cards to attach.

10/22/2024

Halloween Pop-By

Need a last minute October pop-by?
You could also do this for Halloween Treats, Trunk or Treat Celebrations, Open House gifts and more.

We handed these out during our pumpkin patch. I purchased more than we needed so I am going to hand them out for our office trunk or treat. The trick is to put the graham crackers in last minute for they don't get soggy from the Marshmellow/peep. Happy Gifting & Relationship Building!

$4.50 = 150 Bags - $4.50 - https://tinyurl.com/LOYDbags1
$87.50 = 25 Boxes of Peeps @ $3.50 each - https://tinyurl.com/LOYDpeeps
$35.00 = 150 Mini Hersheys - 4lbs $30 - https://tinyurl.com/LOYDchoc
$20.00 = 300 Graham Cracker Squares $2.79 - 7 boxes - https://tinyurl.com/LOYDgrahams
$142 / 150 Bags = $1 per bag

10/03/2024

FALL/PUMPKIN POP-BY

I use these cute pumpkins and drop them door to door on my golf cart in our neighborhood and invite people to the pumpkin patch. The tough part is transporting them from the pumpkin patch or store to where you’re going to have your event. Hopefully, you know someone with a truck and then will need to make a few trips. Luckily we have a box truck so we are able to transport our 6 pallets of pumpkins in one trip.

This is how it is divided out:

Large Orange Carving Pumpkins – 2 Pallets = 100 Pumpkins

Large Crazy Pumnpkins – 3 Pallets = 150 Pumpkins

Pie Pumpkins – 50 per agent = 300 pumpkins

Pumpkin minis – 50 per agent = 300 pumpkins

850 Pumpkins – this year the total was $1,100 and it was paid for by 8 vendors $400/each. The surplus $$ is for food, professional photographer.

I have our pumpkin patch plan available if you wish a copy e-mail my VA Guen at [email protected] and ask for the pumpkin patch plan.

When I go door to door this is what it sounds like…..

“Hi, I’m Denise Gifford, your neighbor on Champions Ln/ Hole 2. I am having a huge pumpkin patch on Sunday October 6th and I would love to see you there. Conversation…….. Good to see you. Before you go, do you know anyone in the neighborhood looking to sell? I have 6 buyers looking for a home here.”

If I know the people more personally, I have a longer discussion.

I order the pumpkins from a local pumpkin market and pay around $1.33 per pumpkin.

I added these cute tags with stickers made at the Library and finally a bow I made from Ribbon at Micheals.

80 Pop Bys

$1.33 Pumpkin

$.35 Bow (Roll $4.99/14 bows) - https://tinyurl.com/LOYDbowroll

$ .06 Brown Tags ($4.59 for 80) - https://tinyurl.com/LOYDbrowntag

$ .03 Sticker (purchased from the Library by the foot) - https://www.midpointelibrary.org/innovation-pointe/

$1.78 Total per pop by

Thanks for reading and have a great October!!

09/17/2024

Closing Gifts vs Referral Gifts

Many people wonder which is better, closing or referral gifts. I usually give a book to sellers with pictures of their home as a gift and a yeti or something I know specifically about the buyer. All gifts are $25 or less. Now on referrals I go a little bigger. I send flowers, and edible arrangement or something more about the person. I was recently referred to a listing and buyer in my neighborhood. Both leads ended in a Million Dollar clients. I live in a golf neighborhood and both men who gave me the clients are golfers. Therefore, I made baskets with Bourbon & Personalized Golf ball with their last names. Reward good behavior and you will get more referrals. Here are the things I suggest when sending a referral thank you. In my case, I do both gifts but if I was only able to do one, then I would choose the referral gift.

Be legal – It’s a gift not a present because of a closing.
Be Creative – Do something they would like, use & appreciate.
Be Strategic – Send the gift (or drop off) at their work. Great way to get new clients.
Be consistent – If you do it for one person, make it your business practice.

Happy Gift Giving and Referral Getting!

Pricing/ Links
Mixbooks - https://shorturl.at/76UUS
Kodiak – Yeti type coolers - https://shorturl.at/RdlUH
Edible Arrangements - https://shorturl.at/wVG67
Flowers – Work with a local florist
Etsy – Golf Balls - https://shorturl.at/uEu0O or https://shorturl.at/lRUgr
Etsy – Personalized Door Mats - https://tinyurl.com/wmxtje45

08/27/2024

"Open House Notecard Follow-up"

Conversion Magnets & Thank You Notecard

People often find it difficult to throw away a magnet, which makes them a powerful marketing tool. So, what kind of magnet can have lasting impact? Our solution is a conversion magnet. Whenever we have a new buyer, seller, or an open house, we include a thank you card along with a conversion magnet, as shown below.

In today’s digital age, handwritten notes are rare, making them memorable. While calendars and sports schedules have a limited lifespan, these magnets do not. People might toss the notecard, but they’ll keep the magnet.

Cost Breakdown:

200 magnets: $173
200 notecards: $140
Total: $313
$313/200 + $0.63 (postage) = $2.20 per card

We recommend ordering through Vistaprint.com (be sure to wait for a coupon!).

08/13/2024

Pumpkin Patch / Step-by-Step / October 6, 2024

In October every year the team hosts a pumpkin patch. Clients, past clients, sphere and the neighborhood are invited to participate. We hold the event on a Sunday afternoon because it typically has the least number of conflicts. If it coincides with local football, we will have that playing in the house. The event is held at the Team Leads Home in a golf course community. People arrive by car and by cart. We have straw bales set up in the backyard along with an array of 300-600 oversized pumpkins for the choosing. Some are orange others are green or “crazy”. We take a photo when everyone arrives and then the kids play, the adults have a fall bourbon beverage and everyone snacks on a fall treat made by the team. There are also smores available to make. Check out the photos at the bottom. Each couple stays for 15 minutes to an hour and we get a chance to really talk to them. I love it.

January 2024
Sent out our annual New Year’s postcard to all our clients with a list of the upcoming events for 2024, including our Pumpkin Patch. So right from the start, our clients knew in January to expect an event in October.

July 2024
Created the September Wetherington Print Ad which will market the Pumpkin Patch for the beginning of October. Wetherington is our Farm and where the pumpkin patch is held.

August 2024
Created and ordered banner for Pumpkin Patch. This will list our sponsors on it.
Created QR code that takes you to Eventbrite to sign up right after twist ice cream event.
Add sign up to our e-mail signature through wisestamp
Created save the date inserts for agents notecards
At the end of the month, make a call to Butterfield Farms and let them know how many bins you would like to order. (Find a local pumpkin supplier to see what pricing can be. Call early because many outsource their pumpkins and may need to order more)
Our contact people are Brian and Brandon. A good phone number to reach them is 513-524-2676.
Denise would like to order 2 regular bins, 2 crazy pumpkin bins, and 1 pie pumpkin bin.

September 2024
At a team meeting a couple weeks prior, delegate who will be making what treats. Each team member should bring 50 of their treats.
Created Eventbrite sign up at the last month.
Each agent calls/e-mails/test to invite clients
Created Pumpkin Patch FB event at beginning of month / Have agents invite all clients and friends at team meeting.
Send a paper invite to everyone in the neighborhood. See below.

October 2024 – Week Before
Take the box truck pick up 6-8 mums, 2 sets of 10 cornstalks, and 6 straw bales and put in box truck.
Take the box truck up to Butterfield Farms and fill with pumpkins.
This will take a whole day to fill up and unload in Denise’s backyard. Make sure to do this on the Saturday before. (8 days)
We use a golf cart to load the pumpkins from the truck to take back and forth to her backyard.
Decorate the strawbale areas with the mums.
Make sure there is additional seating set up outside.

Day Of
Denise will make her signature cocktail (bourbon and apple cider).
Bring water, sodas, regular apple cider for the kids, and some type of hot drink.
Snacks are set up outside

After the Event
Sent a thank you email to all sponsors and attached any photos we had of them at the event.
Send photos of the event to the clients that came. They make great Christmas card photos. We do not include our logo because we want to come from contribution and not from a marketing standpoint but you could.
Turn in photos to the Magazine for the neighborhood magazine.

Created a video of the event and posted it on The Gifford Team FB page

08/07/2024

PSA TO ALL HOME BUYERS: NEW BUYER REP AGREEMENT REQUIREMENT

On August 17th any REALTOR WILL NOT be legally permitted to show you a home unless you have a signed Buyer Representation Agreement with them. (Unless you request a showing through the listing agent - although this will likely require a signature as well).

✅ JUST SHOW ME THE HOUSE!!
Usually it’s not a problem and we can zip over, show it to you and be done, however, starting August 17th NO REALTOR will be able to unlock a door for you without you first signing that agreement 🤯 This will be non negotiable for any person with a Realtor designation.

✅ Wait…WHAT DO I HAVE TO SIGN??
The agreement between buyer and Realtor is a Buyer's Representation Agreement, the contract between you and that Realtor saying you will be working with her/him to buy a home and breaking down the roles, duties and responsibilities. This form gives transparency around how your Realtor will get compensated and who and how that can be collected. Whatever compensation that is on this agreement is the MAXIMUM compensation your broker/agent can receive out of the transaction.

✅ I HAVE TO PAY COMMISSION?
Well yes…but actually maybe no… 🤔
With the new NAR ruling going into effect, advertising cooperating broker and buyer broker commissions will now be BANNED on the MLS.

Commissions are not set by law, are fully negotiable, and may be paid by the seller, the buyer, the landlord, the tenant, or a third party, or by sharing or splitting the fees and commissions between brokers. The maximum amount of compensation will be spelled out in the buyer broker representation agreement.

✅ HIRE A PROFESSIONAL AGENT
Buying a home can be one of the largest financial decisions someone ever makes, so choosing the right Realtor for you is an important decision. So take time to sit down and understand how your Realtor will work for you to help you navigate the path to homeownership.

As the 8/17 date is quickly approaching a lot of changes will happen behind-the-scenes. This new rule with a buyer representation agreement is just one facet of the NAR ruling which will change the landscape of how real estate is sold in the United States.These rulings will likely change the landscape of our agent community and many agents may find themselves out of work.

Having questions is natural and we are here to help. The Gifford Team - Keller Williams Advisors - Cincinnati Real Estate Team is trained on these changes and are ready to serve your real estate needs! So please feel free to ask any questions, if we do not know the answer we will find it! We are proud to serve our community and look forward to helping you on your next home purchase!

07/09/2024

Birthday Cards

During most Holidays we celebrate groups of people or with a group of people. Someone’s Birthday or Anniverssary is theirs alone and should be celebrated. The art of a handwritten note or card has also gone by the wayside. The few cards people now receive are extra special. Let’s talk Birthday cards this week.

Where do I buy and how many cards?
Posty Cards has a 20% off each Fall and I buy cards for the next year. Sign up for the mailer and you may get coupons more often.
https://tinyurl.com/LOYDpostycards
My personal card ratios are @ 50% Women, 40% Men & 10% Agents. I get one extra stack of each so I can add up to an additional 60 birthdays per year. Count how many people are on your list so you can order in bulk. Pricing decreases with higher #’s.
Since I send to married couples, I usually send 3 different cards out, so couples don’t get the same card. I have a Men’s card, Ladies Card & Agent Card. All cards are really gender neutral so are good for all my clients.

How to find a birthday?
Closings – make an extra copy of the ID
Lender – Call the lender to get it if you didn’t make the copies at closing
Ask your friend or client
Look on Facebook
a) Choose Events on the left side of your home page.
b) Go to Birthdays
c) Then scroll over each photo for next month's birthdays. Cross reference your database to add birthdays too existing contacts and add new contacts to grow your database.

I currently send out over 700 Birthday cards per year and that continues to grow.
How do I keep track of everything?

1) Add each person’s birthday to your chosen CRM
2) Create a smart plan
a.) 3 days before the birthday – a task gets sent to you to send out the birthday card
i. I keep Birthday cards in a box by my desk with the birthday where the stamp will go so, I can look at what to send every day.
ii. Depending on what is going on in my clients/SOI’s life the tone of the card may be different. This is why I wait until the morning of the birthday to fill out and mail the card.
b.) 2 days before the birthday an auto text goes out saying “You’ve got a birthday coming up, what are your plans?
c.) This usually gets a response that they would be too busy to engage with on their birthday. Have a conversation.
d.) Day of birthday
i. Send Happy Birthday Video of me signing if close sphere or
ii. Send a GIF and a birthday note via text
iii. Avoid FB as your only communication because everyone else does that too.

Please send your ideas to me so I can file and share them at some point. Thanks, and have a successful week.

For past Pop-bys and other Loving on Your Database Ideas and Tips, follow Denise Gifford on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/LovingOnYourDatabase

Denise Gifford

06/25/2024

What’s the Scoop in Real Estate?

It’s a hot week so who doesn’t love ice cream? July’s pop by is a branded ice cream scoop with a blue culver ice cream chip. In addition to this they get invited to our Ice Cream Party on August 6th.
This is something that was relatively inexpensive to buy and something they will keep. It has our brand & looks clean. If you want to step it up a notch you can get dry ice and ice cream pints and hand out that as well.

$3.04 = $608.80/200
$0 – Culver ice cream chips
$.05 – Bag Cost
$.03 - Ribbon
Total Cost $3.12
Bags - https://tinyurl.com/LOYDbags
Ribbon - https://tinyurl.com/LOYDribbon
Ice Cream Scoops – 4 Imprint - https://tinyurl.com/LOYDscoop

Please send your ideas to me so I can file and share them at some point. Thanks, and have a successful week.

For past Pop-bys and other Loving on Your Database Ideas and Tips, follow Denise Gifford on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/LovingOnYourDatabase

06/11/2024

Promoting your Events through Eventbrite
This week's Database newsletter is about promoting your events. Once you have planned a great event the next step is to get the word to your clients.

1. Create an Eventbrite post (This is the focus of todays letter).
2. E-mail your database through Eventbrite
3. Post your event on FB and pin to the top of your feed. Tag your sponsors.
4. Call your database and invite
5. We e-mail a save the date at the beginning of the year.
6. Create a pop by the month prior to hand out.
7. Send out a text reminder 5-7 days prior to the event.
8. Create a QR Code through the free QR Monkey site so those who have a printed invite can easily sign up.

Eventbrite - Why is it better?

• Most of the e-mail providers will mark your e-mail as spam if it is sent out through your personal e-mail, your work e-mail and by your CRM. Eventbrite has paid the money and can push that e-mail through to your clients in-box.
• Our open rate almost doubled from CRM to sign up genius then again to Eventbrite - we must continue to evolve
• For our shred event & solar eclipse event we made the invitation PUBLIC so anyone could come, and we then received the people's name, phone and e-mail who signed up.
• For our regular events they are PRIVATE and only open to our clients and sphere.

How to create an Eventbrite event:

1. Create an Account: Sign up at eventbrite.com.
2. Create Event: Click the “Create event” button.
3. Enter Basic Details: Fill in event information, location, date, and time, then click “Save & Continue.”
4. Improve Event:
• Basic Tab: Review and edit basic information.
• Details Tab: Upload event image and add descriptions.
• Tickets Tab: Add ticket types (paid, free, donation).
5. Publish Event: Preview, set visibility and audience, then click “Publish.”
6. View Event: Access and manage your published event.

For a more detailed instruction, visit: Create an Event | Eventbrite help center

How To Make a QR Code:

1. Access a QR code generator on any browser, we use https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/
2. Insert your URL into the generator.
3. If applicable, customize your QR code.
4. Download your QR code.
5. Use your QR code for marketing and promotion.

05/20/2024

Father's Day / Summer Pop By
Summer is near & the BBQ season is here
Enjoy the sun, Have some fun
& remember that your referrals
Are always #1

Back side
Your Referrals are flippin’ Grilliant!

Cincinnati OH is known for Montgomery Inn and they have great Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce. Give something that means something in your area.

$2.99 18oz jar - https://www.kroger.com/p/montgomery-inn-sweet-tangy-original-bbq-sauce/0071592318000?fulfillment=PICKUP
$.04 – Round Gifford Team Label for the lid – ordered from the library $2/ft

Total $3.03 + card stock to cut out this card & attach

Loving on your Database with Denise Gifford, Realtor

02/18/2025

12/05/2024

10/22/2024

10/03/2024

09/17/2024

08/27/2024

08/13/2024

08/07/2024

07/09/2024

06/25/2024

06/11/2024

05/20/2024

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