Looking to boost your conversion rates or unlock new instructions? A Buyer Letter or Home Finding service campaign could be your ace in the hole.

While technically a unique selling point for your agency, promoting a Home Finding service also makes for a compelling and high-impact letter campaign.

You’ll typically introduce this service during a valuation or market appraisal — it’s the kind of offering that helps you stand out from the competition. During the appointment, show vendors how your agency can actively support their onward move, rather than leaving it to chance.

Presenting the Home Finding Service to Vendors

Bring your laptop or tablet to the valuation and include the vendor in the process directly. Use Audience Builder’s filtering tools to work through their ideal criteria together. If your filters narrow the results down to very few or even zero available homes, that’s your opportunity to have a meaningful conversation about expectations, flexibility, and other potential areas.

Initially, try running the search with off-market properties excluded — this gives a clear picture of just how limited the market is right now. Then, flick the off-market filter back on and layer in additional logic, such as “not sold in the last 6 years” to highlight homeowners who may be more likely to consider moving.

This simple comparison clearly demonstrates the real-world value of your Home Finding service.

Example scenario:

Let’s say we run a filtered search with the following:

• Area: WD24
• Property type: Semi-detached
• Bedrooms: 3
• Budget: £300,000 - £400,000
• Ownership - Private
• Internal area: minimum 750 sq ft
• Off-market: excluded

In this example, we’ve located just 3 listings. Not many to pick from but this is a good thing. You’re selling the problem before you offer up the solution.

Now re-run the same filters via All Properties and filtering out Land Registry updates in the last 6 years. Suddenly, 62 potential properties appear — all matching the vendor’s criteria.

Now that’s a conversation starter.

“Instruct with us, and we’ll contact these homeowners on your behalf.”

At this point, the vendor is likely to be excited — you’ve just shown them an entire world of homes beyond the portals. The next step? Pair this approach with a Dormant Marketing strategy.

The Power of a Dormant Marketing Strategy

A major sticking point for sellers is not having their next home lined up — and as a result, they delay putting their current home on the market. Your Home Finding service helps overcome this, but pairing it with a dormant listing approach makes it even more compelling.

This strategy is twofold:

• It helps improve your conversion and win more instructions.
• It protects the time and resources you’re investing in your vendor.

How to present it:

“If we get you signed up today, get photography done, floorplans sorted, and your listing prepped — we’ll add you to our Dormant Marketing plan. No pressure on viewings just yet. We’ll quietly look for your next home, and when the right one appears (either from our letters or online), you’ll be ready to launch at a moment’s notice.”

You’ll have secured the instruction — not by pushing the standard pitch, but by providing genuine support for what the vendor cares about most: their next home.

You could even go a step further and offer this vendor the first viewing opportunity for any homeowner who responds to their letters. It’s a brilliant way to reinforce the exclusivity of the service.

Note: You’ll want to make sure your vendor agreement allows for a dormant marketing setup. Propalt doesn’t advise on contractual terms, but this should be clearly documented in your client agreement. For example, what happens when a vendor who's signed into a dormant marketing approach finds their next home, not via your letters, but via a competitor's listing? Your competitor is likely to ask them about instructing their home. 

Why this benefits you, too

Once a vendor agrees to this strategy, they’re committing to you when the time comes to list. That means your investment in letter campaigns and time is protected. If they do end up placing an offer on a property listed by a competitor, they’ll already be in a position to move — and still list with you.

Should I charge for this?

That depends on your goals:

• To increase valuation conversions? Offer the service for free to vendors who list via your agency.
• To generate additional valuations from the recipients? Keep it free for everyone.
• To unlock additional revenue? Offer it as a premium consultation service to cash-rich buyers who haven’t yet chosen an agent.

Whichever path you choose, just one successful outcome often more than pays for itself.

“Sounds like a lot of effort...”

It’s true — like any great strategy, consistency is key. A Home Finding service offered sporadically won’t make much of a difference. But delivered consistently across all valuations? That’s where the real value lies.

In fact, this was a top-performing campaign during 2021–22, albeit in a rather different market.

Structuring Your Letters

“Struggling to find your next home? Start your search with us.”

This isn’t just a catchy line — it’s a powerful way to position your agency as the one that helps people take the next step, not just sell their current home.

When crafting your home finding letters, make sure the offer is passed forward. Framing it as a benefit for the recipient as well as your current vendor gives the campaign the best chance of delivering a double return: securing the initial instruction, and generating new valuation opportunities from those receiving the letters.

Remember, moving house is often an emotional and stressful experience. In a 2023 survey, over half of respondents rated it the most stressful life event. What keeps people going is the thought of their next home. If you focus on helping vendors with the exciting parts — not just the logistics — you’ll enhance their experience, strengthen your reputation, and boost the likelihood of future recommendations and glowing reviews.