Maximizing Your Potential!

More and more people are getting connected through sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc. And while these are a great way to find old friends and make new ones, they have to be approached with some caution.

I recently saw an article on the National Association of Realtors website saying that very little if any actual real estate business or lead generation, for that matter is done on the web.

Ultimately, the business of buying and selling comes down to who do you know, who do you trust?

This is not to say that you can not start to establish relationships through these many social media sites. Not that long ago I met a new person via a friend. He recommended that I check out this gentleman’s Blog.

I did so and it turns out that he knows two really good friends. I suggested that we go out for coffee. We did so and had a wonderful time. He is not a candidate for my services but a great person to know and who knows, I might get a referral as a result, down the road.

That is social marketing, at it’s best. Please note, I was willing to ask for an appointment. If you don’t do that, what’s the point??? All to often, I will run into clients who are afraid to ask for the appointment for fear of rejection.

So, the person says, ‘No!’ Next!

Ask for the appointment and start building you pipeline.

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So, the big thing on everyone’s mind seems to be marketing. And frankly, if it’s not, it ought to be!

You ask, Why???

Simple, if you want to grow you business you HAVE to be willing to tell others about yourself and your service or they will never know what they are missing!

So, what the heck is marketing? Let’s define it, from the Oxford American Dictionary: Marketing is the ‘action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.’

Selling is an integral part of marketing. It is not a separate subject that has nothing to do with marketing Selling is part of the marketing process.

The biggest problem that I run into with clients is that they do not have a marketing budget and even if they make money, almost by accident, they do not set aside money to further market themselves so they have more opportunities so they stay small and are reactive rather then proactive, about their business.

Next time I’ll explain a little more about how to be pro-active without spending an arm and a leg!

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I advocate keeping it simple.

For mailings, I suggest that you send one piece per month. I have my clients alternate with a postcard, then a newsletter. The postcards are seasonal, meaning… Happy Easter, Happy 4th of July, etc.

The newsletter is a little more tricky. The main thing you want to provide them with is something of value. I pay attention to articles which come out in Sunset or AAA magazines which I feel would be of interest and then I do a little research on the internet to support what they have said and then flesh out a nice article.

Provide you clients with tips on how to make their life better or helpful lists for spring/fall home maintenance.

What would you like to know? More than likely, your clients would like to know this too.

If doing this is too much for you and you don’t have an assistant that you could delegate this to, I recommend that you use a service. These are provided by some very reputable companies so as Vista Prints, Quantum Mail and Impact Marketing, to name a few.

Next time we will talk about the various social marketing sites out there.

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Let’s face it, all of us would like to make more money. Perhaps we’d like to buy a new car, or purchase an investment property, or maybe, take a nice vacation. It’s possible that what you really want is a ton of referrals.

If you really take a hard look at the above list, you will note that all of these things are an Inflow, they will somehow benefit you. One of the things I ask my clients to do when I cover this specific topic in my seminars is the write the word, ‘Desire’ in parentheses above the word, ‘Inflow’ in the above equation and the word, ‘Interest’ above ‘Outflow.’

In case you didn’t know it, genuine interest in your client or prospect is the cheapest form of outflow you can make.

What is wild about this is that if you are dealing with a client and all you are thinking about is the commission you will earn when you close the deal, no matter what you say, the client will instinctively know that all you really care about is that darn commission and they will fight you every step of the way.

However, if you really care about the client, and do NOT look at them as a big dollar sign, they will feel this and be much more willing to work with you to overcome any objections they may have.

The next time you meet with a client, be very certain that you like them and can be interested in helping them achieve their goals. Be willing to walk away if this is not possible.

You will both be happy that you did!

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One of the biggest misconceptions that most people have is that marketing costs a LOT of money. No doubt, McDonald’s spends a LOT of money on marketing and advertising. And, not just money for radio, TV and newspaper/print advertising but all the costs associated with that. Mind you that is spread around to all the franchisee’s, but still…

So, let’s say you do not have millions of dollars to invest in your marketing. How can you have a BIG impact with a SMALL budget?

I’d like to take an excerpt from one of my favorite books, “The MILLIONAIRE Real Estate Agent,” by Gary Keller with the help of Dave Jenks and Jay Papasan.

This is from the Chapter, “Earn a Million – Stage 2,” specifically the section titled, “Playing the Numbers Game.”

He says, “Interestingly, many agents are seduced by the search for the perfect marketing image and invest large amounts of time and money in this pursuit.” He later goes on to state, “Our experience working with top agets has taught us that even as important as your look and message are, there is a much stronger correlation between sales leads generated and the consistency and frequency of your message than between sales and the creativity of the message. No matter how you slice it, lead generation will almost always come down to a game of numbers.”

As a coach I have observed this so many times that it is a ‘no-brainer’ for me. I just push my clients to get out a higher volume of information, whether it is more calls, more doors knocked, more open houses participated in or a mailing going out every month.

And now, with the proliferation of internet marketing opportunities available, it is incumbent upon all of us to get up to speed if we want to capitalize on this emerging market place.

I encourage you to come up with a plan, keep it simple and stick with it.

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