By Rita Santamaria
Marketing, planning, prospecting, and implementation are the four keys to success. The most important key of all is implementation because the other three are useless without taking action. It helps to have a checklist that contains both interactive and lead generation activities.
- Marketing
It is important to regularly showcase your company and also let your customers know you are thinking about them. Having a client appreciation event at least once per year is a great way to do that. You need to be “touching” them as often as possible through weekly blogs, monthly newsletters, brochures, emails, holiday cards, and anniversary and birthday cards. Social media and e-blasts work when marketing to those you already know.
When you personally go into your business farm area and attend functions where people already know you (called centers of influence), this is an example of marketing. Volunteering to help a group is another example of marketing. If you do a good job, people will call you because they already know you, trust you, and see you as the “go to” person in your industry. In addition, they are more likely to refer others to you.
- Planning
Do you know your geographic area? You must establish and work a geographic area so you get to know the results or metrics of your success in that specific area. What is your territory? How would you rank yourself on a scale of 1 – 5 with 5 being excellent?
There are also demographic farm areas. These areas are identified by age, activities, and community involvement. This is where understanding generations and the difference in selling, advertising, and networking make a huge difference in your success. The way one generation values your expertise can be different from another generation. You need to know the difference in techniques and stereotypical expectations based on generational expectations.
- Prospecting
When you personally work to expand your personal sphere of influence into a group of people who do not know you, this is known as prospecting. Prospecting involves calling on people and being prepared to hear why this customer will not use you; rejection is a normal occurrence. They are going to tell you why they use someone else. This is great information as it will help you overcome objections from the next person while giving you valuable insight as to what is important to this customer. The law of averages demonstrates the more persons we call on either in person, on the phone, or with social media, the greater the percentage increases for new business. Instead of texting, personally call potential clients whom you’ve met but have not yet established a business relationship. It is far more effective.
- Implementation
Your personal advertising budget and the implementation of that budget may move your direction to personal marketing and prospecting. This produces a higher metric for success than impersonal or spending money. Contests and giveaways where you have personally been visible are good examples and the return on your investment will pay off in referrals. Even though many companies and individuals are marketing through the development of a personal monthly newsletter, it is an impersonal way to market. In addition, direct mail pieces for a targeted market is still impersonal and perhaps not worth the investment.
Always write 10 personal notes per week to people who know you. This is personal and works well and the return on investment of stamps and time is impressive. Volunteering for marketing and recruiting events is personal and a wonderful return on your time with potential referrals. When you attend local and national conventions, this only works for obtaining business if the educational seminars you attended gave you good insight into better business performance. Be sure to always prospect while you are attending these events as well as attending sessions.
These tried and new initiatives will help you achieve the success you desire; it is all about implementation. Without implementation your success is limited to luck. Work your plan.
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Rita Santamaria is the owner and CEO of Champions School of Real Estate which was founded in 1983 and is a five time Pinnacle Award Winning School. The Champions School of Professional Development was founded in 2012 and has grown in a short time to be a leading development venue for individuals and companies. For more information, visit their websites at www.ChampionsSchool.com or www.TheChampionsProfessional.com
