Creating Connection, PART TWO: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How

I’ve written about Michael Port’s excellent Book Yourself Solid and wanted to share another of his thoughts on turning strangers into friends and friends into clients.  The basis of his approach is that we can improve our business if we stop interrupting people with our marketing messages and instead add value so we can offer them our services as friends.

A few Playbooks ago we covered the first three of Port’s plan for creating connection, the Who, What, and Where, so now it’s time to think about the When, Why, and How of that plan.

Once you’ve determined your target market (the Who), you need to consider When. When might those folks or institutions might be looking for your services?  Keep in mind that many people sell and buy homes when there is a personal life change like a new job or a transfer, a marriage or divorce, the list can go on.  While we rely to a great extent on referrals and repeat business, most folks don’t buy a new house every few years the way we buy cars—or we used to, anyway!  So how can your marketing efforts consider the When aspect and target potential clients based on those situations?

Next, probably the key ingredient in creating connection, the Why question.  Why should your potential client choose you?  What makes you the best choice to provide real estate services for them?  Port recommends putting modesty aside, and letting folks know “The best thing for you is ME!”  Here’s where that mastering our stats can come in handy, of course.  It’s far easier for most of us to point to a great stat that demonstrates our success rather than crowing in general terms about how great we are.  Find those stats that show the potential client your power so you don’t have to just tell them about it.

Finally, we come to the How of creating connection.  Here, Port recommends we consider how we want our potential clients to interact and/or engage with us.  By that, he doesn’t just mean a question of telephone or postcard, but how we will take an initial contact and turn it into a relationship that leads to a transaction, whether that’s in a month or three years.  How often do we remember to follow up on the hits on our website?  How often do we provide useful and engaging information to our potential clients?  How often do we push our communication up Michael Mayer’s communication pyramid to that face-to-face level to truly cement that connection? 

Make sure your marketing plan includes all six of the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How elements, and see how far your business can go!

David M. Hassler

Director of Coaching

Remember the Roman God Janus

In ancient Roman religion and myths, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, passages, endings and time. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. The Romans named the month of January in his honor.

Well, it’s not January, but July 1 does mark the half way point in the year and that means it’s a good time to remember Janus and look to the past and to the future.  The stats—and our busy daily schedules—tell us the market is definitely on the rebound, so the time is right to take a look at what has worked and where we could improve, and then to set expectations and goals for a strong second half of 2013.  Remember, the first thing we need to do is to Master our Stats for not only 2012, but to look at the trends over the last few years to find areas for differentiation and for improvement.  Did you sell more homes in Sunnyside Acres than any other agent?  Was your “Days on the Market” a bit longer than the average?  Only by digging into your stats will you be able to note these details and take action to correct them—or take advantage of them in your marketing.

Once you’ve Mastered your Stats, then you can Create your Roadmap for the second half of 2013 so you’ll have a clear, detailed path for your activities to help you reach your goals for the year. 

Remember, your coach will be there to help you dig into Mastering your Stats and Creating—and fine tuning—your Roadmap.  Our coaches have some great new tools to assist you in your analysis and your planning—along with all Five Keys to a Strong 2013—so you can make more money per hour this year!

David M. Hassler

Director of Coaching

Creating Connection: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How

I’ve written about Michael Port’s excellent Book Yourself Solid and wanted to share another of his thoughts on turning strangers into friends and friends into clients.  The basis of his approach is that we can improve our business if we stop interrupting people with our marketing messages and instead add value so we can offer them our services as friends.

The first step is to determine and focus on the who, that is, our target market for clients.  Of course, that’s a basic element of our business plan but it’s always good to remember and reiterate it.  Whether it’s buyers or listings, REO’s or short sales, a certain zip code or price range, the better we define our target client, the more success we can have in establishing our connection with people.  If you haven’t done so already, take a few minutes and think about who is your own ideal client and keep that in mind so you don’t waste time chasing after those that won’t pay off—or whom you won’t best serve.

Next is the what, in the sense of what it is your ideal client is looking for.  A bank and a first time buyer and a seven figure seller will be looking for very different services and very distinct backgrounds and qualities in their broker.  The more you understand and can tailor your business and approach to genuinely serve that client’s what, the more connection and success you can achieve in that target market.

The third step is the where.  Where do your target clients look for your services?  Online? Magazines?  Other professionals? Cocktail parties? Most established and successful brokers rely on their sphere of influence for a high percentage of their business through referrals and repeat business.  We’ve enjoyed a busy year so far as the market has tightened, and most of that volume seems to have come from that tried and true channel.  But we also don’t know how long that bubble may last, so it’s important that we not forget to make sure we have other channels open to those strangers that we want to turn into friends and clients.  Take a few minutes and consider where your ideal clients will be looking for you, and make sure your plan proactively addresses those areas, so you can be better prepared for the long term.

Next Playbook, we’ll cover the when, the why, and the how of creating connection.

David M. Hassler

Director of Coaching

Taming the Gorilla

As a follow up to our Playbook of several weeks ago, “Beating the Competition at Their Own Numbers Game,” we’ve had a few more conversations with agents facing that hurdle in their markets, and come up with some additional insights to use against that gorilla positioning.

When facing a competitor you know will be touting their larger size in the market—or even just a subdivision or zip code—it can pay to help your potential client think about what that grandiose slogan of “We’re the biggest” or “We have more signs in the yards” or even “We sell more houses” really means to them and how it impacts their decision making.

When you dig into it, does size always mean quality?  Maybe it’s possible, but typically we don’t equate largest size with highest quality.  Do you go to Wal-Mart or Target to buy a top quality business suit or bottle of wine?  The finest leather shoes or freshest cigar; the best wild salmon or rarest single malt?  Hardly!  While Wal-Mart and Target have their advantages and we all may shop there from time to time, we certainly don’t equate those mega-gorilla stores with the word “best.”

As we said in the earlier Playbook, one aspect of having more signs in the yard is of course pure competition and dilution of exposure for that new listing.  Why would a savvy seller want to put themselves in that situation?

So, what might a seller consider the “best” instead of the biggest when selecting a listing agent and company? 

Wouldn’t that include things like how fast we sell our listings and how our average sale price compares with the competition, for both the company and for us as an individual agent?  For starters, the inside page of our new Rock Solid Marketing Plan has a startling chart showing that Prudential agents achieved the highest average sales price across the USA, by a margin of nearly 11% over the closest competitor.  Wow!  Talk about a great “best” stat. 

Again, it’s mastering those stats we keep talking about, and we continue to see how important they can be and how those details can help us trip up that gorilla!

David M. Hassler

Director of Coaching

Safety First!

This week at the sales meeting for the Indianapolis Metro offices, the guest speaker was Sargent A. J. Gwyn, from Atlanta Georgia.  The retired detective’s message was to remind us that we can take proactive steps to protect ourselves—and our clients—from the kinds of situations we too frequently read about or hear on the news.  While such occurrences are fairly rare, it’s wise to be prepared and to remember the basics we’ve all been taught, as well as some new wrinkles.

One of the best things Sgt. Gwyn told the group was to trust your gut instincts when it comes to assessing a new client or an open house visitor.  He quoted statistics that showed our gut instincts to be accurate the vast majority of the time, so he suggested we think of our gut “as our best friend” and to always listen to our best friend! 

He also noted that the most of home invasions occur on Thursday, and that the majority also occur from Monday through Thursday from 9am to about 2pm when chances are the homeowner is less likely to be around.  Good to keep in mind.  For open houses, he suggested being careful where we spread the word of such events, and he mentioned it could be a good idea to list another agent or even a spouse as hosting the open house with you in order to intimate that you won’t be there alone.  And of course we always remind our seller clients to safeguard all valuables, prescription drugs, and firearms.

Finally, we all remember some of the other basics:  Always let the buyer enter the house or the room or the stairway first, in front of you, never behind you; always maintain your personal space and step back if needed to maintain a six to eight foot separation from the other person; always maintain eye contact, as this will both let you gage the person’s intentions as well as giving you an air of confidence; and finally be aware of the person’s hands and where they are.  We’ve all heard these at some point, but we probably don’t always put them into action.

So don’t forget to be proactive and to trust your best friend!

David M. Hassler

Director of Coaching