Face-to-face marketing is what’s working best today. But getting face-to-face with enough people can be daunting. Instead of focusing on individuals, think about how you can get in front of groups of people who can send business your way. That’s exactly what one of our longtime Roundtables™ members did and he’s reaping the rewards. Read more below.

Want more referrals? Consider reaching out to the Realtors in your area like John McCloskey does. In 2008, the remodeler, who’s president of Pittsburgh, Pa.-based J. Francis Company, LLC, started giving presentations about various remodeling-centric topics at local real estate agents’ monthly ongoing education programs. He got himself in the door by contacting the office manager of each agency and offering to bring the agents lunch.

These days, McCloskey still brings real estate agents lunch—several large sandwich trays he picks up at Costco—and gives presentations to about 40 to 60 real estate professionals at each lunch-and-learn session. In the past two years, he’s been in front of approximately 1,000 Realtors. “We do not promote our company,” says McCloskey. “We educate the agents about construction practices; the cost vs. value of the most popular remodeling projects; lead renovation, repair, and painting; changes and trends we’re seeing in the remodeling and housing industries; and how to hire a contractor.” The remodeler supplements his presentations with handouts on each topic he discusses.

The monthly presentations are symbiosis at its best. “People expect real estate agents to know everything,” McCloskey points out, “so it’s very helpful to the agents to have us in their back pocket. This is stuff they can pass on to their clients.” The Realtors, in turn, pass on referrals to J. Francis Company, which has gotten several projects from those referrals. To help keep the company front and center in the real estate agents’ minds, McCloskey concludes each session by telling the agents he’ll give their clients free ballpark estimates on remodeling work they’re considering having done.