Archive for personal marketing
Grab this No/Low Cost Effective Marketing Method
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Want a no/low cost effective marketing method? Herea��s an inexpensive, yet very effective method to stand out from the crowda��writing articles to establish yourself A�as the a�?real estate manager of choicea�?.
We become managers because we love to succeed through others. Most managers thrill to track their agentsa�� developmenta��and recognize that at least part of those agentsa�� successes are attributed toA�the managers who support themA� So, great managers develop the skills of training, coaching, and consultinga��the methods they use to develop their agentsa�� careers.
However, ita��s not enough to have the skills. These managers must also help agents find them! In this blog, I explore an inexpensive, very effective method for managers to use to promote themselves. (It works, too for agents to promote themselves as experts effectively and inexpensively).
The Problem
You can have the best product or service in the world. Yet, if you dona��t let others know about it, the product or service doesna��t succeed. Ita��s the same way with managers. Too often, these same highly skilled, highly effective managers think that agents will, on their own, simply figure out that these managers are exceptional and join them. Not so. Unfortunately, many agents think that their success will be due to other factors such as:
The amount of good floor time given in a particular office–or Internet leads, or Relo leads–or any of those ‘reactive’ lead sources unscrupulous managers promise agents to get them to sign up!
The name of the company
The real estate market at the time
The amount of desk fee or commission structure
If any of these were true, the agents in that particular office would all be making the money of their dreams! We know thata��s not so. You know youa��re a great manager. You know youa��ve helped agents succeed at a high levela��fast. How do you promote this fact to hire more great producers?
Advertising And Public Relations: Do You Have Both in your Recruiting Strategy?
Too often, real estate companies and managers use a one-dimensional approach to recruiting. They look to institutional advertising only to recruit agents, just as they look to home advertising to find buyers and sellers. There are three concerns with relying on paid advertising only for recruiting:
1. The agent is over-communicated with todaya��everyonea��s doing it
2. The cost of mail and newspaper advertising is ever-increasing
3.A� It relies on the strategy that all managers are the same, ita��s just the company thata��s better
Revving Up your PR
Instead of spending so much money in advertising, and/or relying only on one type of marketing, expand your recruiting strategy to a different method of promotion: public relations (PR). Specifically, add to your recruiting strategy writing articles, getting them published, and using them for various recruiting tactics. You can use the same articles in your blogs. Why PR? First, it costs nothing except your time. Second, an article has a much higher a�?trusta�� level than an ad. Third, youa��ve got little competition. Fourth, you can use those articles in a myriad of ways to promote yourself:
In mailers
In your office entry a�?Book of Greatnessa�? *
*See the link below for the contents in a Book of Greatness
In your pre-first visit recruiting package
In your recruiting presentation
Click here to get your complimentary ‘how to’:
Create your recruiting Book of Greatness for your entry.
How to ‘Market’ your Brand
How do you create trust? How do you differentiate yourself? How do you prove you really are what you say you are? In this market, everybody and their brother tells potential recruits and clients they are the best. You can’t afford to be one of the crowd!
This resource shows you, step by step, how to gain trust and differentiate yourself in a graceful, effective manner–a manner that’s comfortable for YOU. See it here.
Are You Promoting Yourself? 10 Tips for Managers
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Here are ten tips to gain platinum level trust. Why is gaining trust so important? Managers are also salespeople. We salespeople can’t sell anything to anyone without first establishing an exceptional level of trust–an increasingly difficult thing to do. The ten tips I shared on in a recent radio show can help sales and management professionals build a ‘platinum level’ of trust.
The Ten Tips
1. Learn non-verbal skills and apply them in writing, on the phone, and in person to establish rapport in an increasingly a�?cold inquirya�� world.
2. We believe what others say about a salesperson, not what the salesperson says about themselves. Use testimonials; check evaluation websites to see what consumers are saying about you.
Check out www.realestateratingz.com and www.incredibleagents.com. Find other sites (like Zillow and Realtor.com) that display testimonials from your agents’ clients. What are they saying about your company?
3. Help your agents create an after-the-sale survey and use it consistently. If therea��s something wrong, fix it fast.
4. We believe what we see, not what we hear. Show, dona��t tell. Use visual presentations consistently. And, as a trainer, I know that people retain only 10% 3 days after hearing it. But, when they also see it, they retain 60%. Which retention rate do you need to gain trust?
5. Flip your sales presentations. Ask questionsa��lots of questionsa��first. Educate. Finally, sell (well, you wona��t have to sell).
6. Tell the truth attractively. Show evidence, dona��t try to scare the client into action by predictingA� the future.
7. Evaluate the agent/client for long-term relationships. Is the agent/client someone you want to add to your a�?tribea��?
8. Use a�?tough lovea�� with a client to tell the truth, turn down a clienta��to stay true to your values. Do whata��s best for the client.
9. Re-cap. Regularly, stop and re-cap with the client. Do this, too, when you cana��t meet client expectations.
10. Book of Greatness: Dona��t brag about yourself in the middle of a presentation. Create a a�?Book of Greatnessa�� to use in your pre-first visit so your clients get to know you and your approach to sales.A� (See Marketing You for more information on that Book of Greatness.)
How to ‘Market’ your Brand
How do you create trust? How do you differentiate yourself? How do you prove you really are what you say you are? In this market, everybody and their brother tells potential recruits and clients they are the best. You can’t afford to be one of the crowd!
This resource shows you, step by step, how to gain trust and differentiate yourself in a graceful, effective manner–a manner that’s comfortable for YOU. See it here.
More Tips on Using Publicity for FREE Marketing
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Here are more tips on using publicity for FREE marketing.
In an earlier blog, I gave you advice about how to create a steady stream of publicity as a recruiting and image-making tool. Now, Ia��d like to share a few more tips on writing articles or blogs.
From writing all those articles and blogs, here are the three most important lessons Ia��ve learned:
- A smaller topic is better
- Less ideas are better
- More examples are better
So, in about 400-500 words, you’ll only have time for one to three ideas and examples. Make the examples ‘real life’. Also, be sure your article is as perfect as you can get it before submitting. These editors don’t have time to work with any of us in extensive editing. The person who submits articles “ready to go” gets published much more often!
How to Find Appropriate Publications for Your Talents
Pick up your favorite real estate magazine or newsletter. See the kind of articles that the publisher likes. Note the length. Ask yourself: Why would my articles be a benefit to that publication? Then, contact the publisher for article specifications and submission policies. Youa��re on your way to standing out as an exceptional manager!
Make a list of hard copy and Internet-based magazines and newsletters. That becomes your a�?distribution lista��. Each month, I submit at least one article to my lista��all at once (your contact management program is invaluable to put your PR contacts in a field so you can communicate easily). I have a a�?templatea�� that I use, which points out the link to the article. In it, I point out the value of the article/blog to the reader. I ask the editor to include my biography with a�?hot linksa�� so readers can get the free documents I usually provide with each articlea��and can go to my website.
Make Publicity Distribution Really Simple…..
A new resource I just discovered: Recently, I signed up for an article submission service, so I could widen my scope of influence. Check out Submit Your Article.
Now, you are on your way to free publicity, a heightened image, and much improved recruiting, and it didna��t cost you anything!
Give me your tips on using publicity as a free marketing tool.
Want More Tips on Marketing YOU?
Why not optimize your personal ‘brand’ by marketing yourself more effectively? And, with methods that cost little or nothing? Here’s a great resource for you, Marketing YOU. Check it out!
How to Help Your Agents Gain Confidence
Posted by: | CommentsHow many of your agents would you say are truly confident in themselves and their sales abilities? I’ll bet less than 35%! And, that lack of confidence means they won’t make lead generating calls, they won’t follow up, they can’t close, etc, etc, etc. So, what would you bottom line be like if you could increase your agents’ confidence levels? Here’s how to help your agents gain that confidence.
Work with them to ‘bring the rest of their lives into real estate’.A� If you have a new real estate agent, you know he/she is probably feeling he/she doesn’t know a thing! Or, if they are seasoned, they aren’t taking advantage of the skills and talentsA� developed in other parts of their lives.A� In a sense, they are ‘secret agents’, letting the client think that all we have are some real estate skills.
Help Them Recognize and Utilize all Those Life Skills They Have
Okay. We know the new agent has little experience in sales. So, it’s understandable that they don’t have high confidence.A� But, I’ll bet your new agents have life skills that, if they recognized them, noted them, and showed them, would help clients appreciate them AND dramatically raise their own confidence levels. Same with your seasoned agents.
Note: We in leadership need to do the same exercise. After all, agents choose us for what we can do for them–not what that great big, impersonal, giant corporation called the company will give them!
You Need High Confidence to Succeed in Sales
One of the problems with not using your whole life experience, is that it leaves us with a lack of confidence in real estate.A� Here’s an exercise I call Bringing your Skills and Talents to Real Estate Clients. Why is this important? When wea��re new agents, we think we know nothing. Wea��re constantly humiliated with our lack of knowledge, and inability to handle objections. We get so tired of a�?nosa�� that sometimes we forget that we are capable, honest, caring, responsible humans. We actually come into real estate with a whole adult experience of widely developed skills, qualities, and natural talents. These are much more useful to us than we give ourselves credit for. For us experienced agents: We fail to promote all those life skills we have gotten and we sub-consciously p ut to use in real estate. So, we sound and act like every other real estate agent people come across. That leads to less converted leads and less confidence.
Gaining That High Confidence and Promoting your Value
Let me give you an example. As many of you know, I was (and am) a musician since age four. But, when I went into real estate, I felt like I knew nothing! And, it is true I didna��t know anything about selling real estate. But, I carried with me many great skills into the business that in turn carried me to success fast. Can you guess what some of those skills werea��and are?
Had to practice piano 2-4 hours A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� Tenacity
Put off mastery for years A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A�A� Persistence
Followed direction of a coachA�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A� Coach ability
Had to compete in performanceA�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A� Confidence
Show, not Tell
How could I show one of these traits that I had from all those years as a musician? Let’s take tenacity.A� Here’s the example and how I showed it:
In my first year in the business, I actually presented an offer and went back and forth, getting counter-offer after counter-offer. I ended up with 10 counteroffers–and the sale! I just never gave up, because I felt it was in the best interest of both parties to buy and sell from each other. In my Professional Portfolio, I showed that marked-up purchase and sale agreement with a note on how it happened and the outcome. How else could I share that quality? I could show testimonials from my clients in social medial, and in my Professional Portfolio.
Managers: Do This Exercise With Your Agents: Bring Your Skills and Talents to your Clients
Draw three columns. Name the first a�?skills and talentsa��. Name the second a�?benefits to clientsa��. Name the third a�?how/where to show clientsa��.
Now, list at least three skills and talents from your former business life. What about these skills/talents are benefits to clients? How would you show this? Where would you show this?
Enlist a Partner
If youa��re having some a�?mind blocksa�� on how and where to show these benefits to clients, enlist a partner to brain storm the possibilities with you. Once you start crafting these, youa��ll get much more excited about your ability to help peoplea��along with that confidence to expand your leads and help more people.
How to Get that ‘Believability
Clients believe what others say, not what we say.
Be believable.A� Show examples ofA� your traits and qualities. Get testimonials. Your confidence will soar and you will be able to serve your clients much better.
How Believable are You?
If I were moving to your area, and had to choose an agent prior to getting there, how would you prove you’re the agent for me?A� My resource, Marketing You, has dozens of ideas on how to show and prove your worth to potential buyers and sellers. It shows you how to make a dynamic portfolio (your Professional Portfolio). Using the strategies here also helps clients accept your advice. It provides you great confidence. It helps you win more often. For $59.95 and instant access (everything is digital, nothing sent to you), why wouldn’t you invest in Marketing You? Find out more here.