So Mary Dado of Business Writing, Ink and I have been on a whirlwind tour of 4 South Florida Keller Williams market centers. We went down there to talk about the Fab 5 Contest our region is having and the 33 Touch Program that we developed to go along with it. What the heck is a Fab 5 Contest you ask?!!?

Our region of 29 offices is competing to be the best at sales and lead generation! We KNOW that if we call, email and direct mail to enough people our business will grow. (On a side note – I LOVE lead generating because it gives you the chance to have people call you, it gets you lots of opportunities and it allows you work with only people you like and can truly help!)

Marketing Frequency

100 Calls – You should be making (at least) 100 calls to your sphere, your clients, your prospects and your vendors each month. This ALWAYS seemed overwhelming to me, but now that I am doing it, not so much! I made 12 calls in one day, got two opportunities and one appointment – go figure!

Email – You should email your database each month. This is FREE and if you send interesting and relevant info, people will enjoy getting your emails. I do not advocate sending more than two emails per month unless you are working with a targeted group like investors, since you can overwhelm them and get on the “send to trash immediately” list! If you send a weekly newsletter and do not have a huge drop off rate for your list, you can send two emails IN ADDITION to the newsletter because that will be your baseline for starting.

Direct Mail – I know, direct mail is dead, everyone is using the internet and emails. Except they aren’t. There are many segments of the population that are not online 24/7 to read your information. Also there are people (like me) who get a gagillion emails a day and delete most of them unless they are TREMENDOUSLY relevant. If you send a mailing out to people’s home address (preferably) they will see it and notice it. If you send relevant info they might even stick it on their fridge! Make it a personal note and watch out!

Learning Something

So I was roaming around “pontificating” as Mary Dado says (meaning she can’t get me to keep my mouth shut if I can get 5 people in a room to listen to me!) During these sessions with other Realtors, I asked what they were doing to grow their business. I got LOTS of great answers and learned a few new tricks!

It reminded me that NO ONE knows how to do everything! I make sure to surround myself with interesting people, who cumulatively might know ALMOST everything. We have a “Mega Chicks” mastermind group with 6 intelligent, determined women. I have an internet mastermind group every other week. I hang out with people who are smarter and funnier than I am so that I can learn from them. I ask for help and appreciate when I get it.

Some of the people that we talked to were VERY receptive to trying something that might make their business better. They were not POSITIVE that it would work but were willing to give it a shot – hey what do they have to lose? And they might wind up with a thriving business in a tough economy.

On the other hand, some of the people were SURE that it was not for them. They would NEVER send anything out, or they would NEVER make 100 calls, or they had tried this before and it did not work at all. They didn’t want to be accountable to anyone else for having said they would do something. If this is YOUR knee jerk reaction, is it holding you back? Could you TRY doing something different and SEE if MIGHT work rather than rejecting it out of hand?

I was just sitting here wondering if that was too strong a statement against people who have a closed mind (I don’t want to offend someone I might have met in the last couple of days). But then I realized they won’t be interested or open minded enough to read my blog anyways…:)

No related posts.

While I was an active realtor I was VERY good at keeping in touch with my clients and prospects. It was my favorite part of the job (which is why I am now helping agents and small business owners with their marketing instead of actively working with clients)!

Lead generating is like a really neat game of hide and seek with the prize being someone calling or emailing you with an opportunity! There is nothing more fulfilling than preparing a well thought out marketing piece, generating the content, doing the sticky-sticky of the labels and stamps, then sending it out into the world and having someone notice it and contact you! (I KNOW – I really need help with this, like a marketing 12-step program)

What I have found is that not everyone loves this part of owning a business. It can sometimes seem overwhelming and can fall by the wayside while you are busy doing your “real” job. It can seem really pointless to get MORE business when you are feeling swamped by the business you already have BUT… if you wait until you are less busy then you have lulls in your work (and income).

Some tips to make your marketing less intimidating:

• Do what you like to do (Part 1)! If you like to talk to people then do it more – join a small business networking group, go out for dinner at the same place and get to know the clients and staff (tell them what you do and they WILL refer you!), visit businesses and tell them about your service and how it can help them.
• Do what you like to do (Part 2)! If you like to talk on the phone do it more – call your friends and remind them that you give great service, call your prospects, call your past clients. Make it a part of your daily routine and it will get easier – I promise!
• Do what you like to do (Part 3)! If you are an online guru do that more – send emails with a signature line from your business, have a great website to capture leads, comment on blogs with a link to your site. Internet marketing is a VERY affordable way to go!
• Mail stuff out – Don’t wait until you have the “best” direct mail piece or the most extensive marketing plan finalized, send something. Send just listed or just sold postcards, send your brochure, send a market snapshot or a great article you found, send out helpful tips for your industry, just do it!
• Start an email list – Find out how to set up an email list subscription on your site (I use www.feedburner.com) OR call everyone you know and tell them you are setting up a GREAT mailing and need their email address. DO NOT SPAM them! Make sure you send relevant content and not too often.

Marketing is fun and anyone can do it (remember that at the end of it you will have new clients to work with!) I have one realtor friend who gets a new client EVERY time she sends out her newsletter! It takes her a little money and a while to send them, BUT knowing that it gets her results makes it all worthwhile. While you may never be a marketing nut like me, think of it like a game of hide and seek or an Easter egg hunt and it may seem easier!

PS – If you are a realtor and would like to hand off some of the work to us visit our 33 Touch page for more info!

Related posts:

1. Eyejot – a free email marketing tool!