3 Referral Myths – Or Why Your Phone is Not Ringing

There are three inalienable truths about building your business through referrals; you need to ask for referrals in person, you need to make it as easy as possible for someone to pass on a referral to you and you need to make the referring person aware of how grateful you are for them thinking about you and your business.

Okay there are at least 10 other truths, but start with these three and your business will thrive.

But why doesn’t your phone ring off the hook with client’s referring you to their friends and associates? I think it boils down to these three myths that many of us believe in about referrals.

Myth # 1.  Customers Know What You Do and How Your Services Can Benefit Their Friends

Fact: Not in a million years. When was the last time you told them?

Never assume that they are fully aware of the many services you provide and how those services

The Capitoline Wolf with Romulus and Remus

can benefit your clients’ associates. In fact you may be surprised at how little your clients know about what services you offer. They rarely know exactly how your services can benefit their friends or associates or even if your services are appropriate for others.

If your clients are confused about which services you offer and which ones would benefit their associates, they probably won’t refer you. It is important to simplify your services and describe them in easy to understand terms that everyone can understand. It’s also important to focus on just one or two of your services when you follow up with your clients. Make it easy for your clients to refer you.

Myth # 2. Your Business is Uppermost in Your Clients’ Minds At All Times

Fact: Give your head a shake! They don’t even think about you because they are too busy with their own lives and business.

Your clients rarely think about your business and your services. They have a million more pressing matters that they must address. This is one of the most costly misconceptions small business owners have about their customers. They think their prospects and customers will remember them when they are ready to buy.

That coupon or even gift certificate you gave them six months ago is hidden under a pile of unread magazines, or under the refrigerator.

If you want to bring your business to the top of your clients’ minds, then you must follow-up with them on a consistent basis, with helpful information and special offers.

Myth # 3. Your Clients Are Always Looking for Referrals for Your Business

Fact: Not even your mother is.

Have you ever had someone hand you a stack of his or her business cards and then say, “If you come across anyone who you think might be able to use my services, please pass along one of my cards”? What did you do with those business cards? Round-filed them? Threw them away? No one keeps your business cards in their pocket just waiting for an opportunity to promote your business.

Almost always the referral comes when someone is talking to your client/customer about your particular service or business and a light goes on and they say “I know so and so and think they would be able to help / sell / assist you”.

One last stumbling block which could be myth number 4. Your clients know you need referrals to build your business. To the outside world we are all doing well and it does not appear we need business. You are probably telling people how busy you are which is a sure sign you don’t need referrals. Stop! Let people know you would like their referral business and they will start to think more about how they can help.

Home Buyers Twice as Likely to Use Online vs Print to Find an Open House

This is a blog post about home buyers, real estate, marketing, websites and search engine optimization so it has a little bit for everybody.

A survey commissioned by Trulia and conducted by Harris Interactive shows that U.S. home buyers are twice as likely to use online sources than print sources to find open house information.

Trulia is an online listing service so these results reinforce what we already know from other surveys including the National Association of Realtors surveys that show more than 75% of home buyers plan to start their home search on the web.

Key Survey Results

• 62 percent of U.S. home buyers reported using/planning to use online sites to find open houses.
• 53 percent who use/plan to use information from real estate agents
• 36 percent who use/plan to use neighborhood signs
• 31 percent who reported using/planning to use print sources, including newspapers and local flyers to find open houses.

I work with a lot of Realtors and read a lot of real estate related marketing information and there is a large percentage of Realtors that voice the opinion that open houses are a “waste of time” and say “I have never sold a house at an open”. They might want to take note that this survey shows that 91 percent of home buyers attended/plan to attend open houses during the home buying process. I think this is proof that an open house is an important part of the marketing mix.

I have created a number of websites using Ubertor web templates and the biggest selling point is how effective their blog platform is with search engines. When a Realtor takes 30 seconds to add an open house to their website using the Content Management System a blog entry is created automatically. This blog post in turn has proven extremely effective in web searches.

I am going out on a limb here as I do not know where you are located, but if you do a Google search for ambleside open house I will bet the majority of your results will be websites using the Ubertor platform. What is ironic is the first website on this search is Tony Breen who is one of my clients and I added the open house a year ago and it still gets him results.

Screen Capture of a Google Search for Ambleside Open House

If you are interested in a new website that search engines actually find without spending thousands on SEO please call Mike at 800-568-8338 or send me an email at marketingguy@shaw.ca.

Realtor Marketing in 2009 – What’s Going to Change?

In a recent national survey conducted by The Real Estate Book, a leading publisher of online and in print real estate information in North America, top real estate professionals agents disclosed they are dedicating 75% of their marketing spending to specialty print, personal websites and Internet marketing.

Why the change from newspaper? In the past few years the goal was to work with sellers and acquire listings. The more listings you acquired the more likely you were to advertise the listings in the newspaper. In 2009 due to the economy and the housing crisis the priorities have changed:

# 1 – finding more buyers
#2 – showing current customers you are working for them
#3 – getting more listings
#4 – promoting your name to other agents

Now Realtors are using the internet, where reportedly more than 75% of people start their search for a home.

Dan McCarthy, chairman and CEO of Network Communications Inc., which publishes The Real Estate Book and nearly 30 media brands in the housing area, adds,

“We have discovered that real estate agents who spread their marketing messages between efficient print and Internet resources experience significantly more impact in driving leads than using one medium or the other solely.” He continues, “There is no question the U.S. housing market will never be the same.  But, at the core, it will not be all that different.  The practical and emotional reasons that a person buys or sells a home will stay the same, even while the tools and resources that they use to complete that transaction change and evolve.”

Among its findings, The National Real Estate Agents Study revealed that:

• More than half of respondents (57%) spend more than $500 in a typical month on advertising, marketing, branding and promotion. The median monthly spending on advertising, marketing, branding and promotion is $622.
• Respondents said that in the current economy, the most important goal is “finding more buyers,” followed by “showing current customers you are working for them,” “getting more listings,” and “promoting your name to other agents,” with agents using specialty print stating significantly more likely than non-users to worry about showing current home shoppers they are working and about promoting their names to other agents.
• Respondents spend about 25% of their media spending on each of the following:
  • Specialty print
  • Internet marketing
  • Broker’s own Web site
• Virtually all respondents use some form of Internet marketing. Over the next six months, the channels respondents expect to spend the most money on are Internet marketing (40%) and the respondents’ own personal Web sites (32%).
• The median amount spent on Internet marketing is $196 each month. 38% spend more than $250 per month on all forms of Internet marketing.
• 86% of the respondents had a personal web site in addition to their broker web site.  61% spent money on search engine marketing to promote themselves.  25% used blogs or social media as a promotional tool.
• Only 5% of those agents surveyed expect to spend more on newspaper ads.
• 85% of respondents measure the effectiveness of the money they spend marketing their services.
• 78% of respondents track the leads they get from various media and other sources.

If you enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss the next one click here to get my marketing posts by email as soon as they are published. You will be prompted for an email address and you are set to go.

A 72 Hour Open House!

Kye Grace is a successful Realtor in Vancouver, BC and I think his latest marketing idea is brilliant; a 72 hour open house.

What is The 72 Hour Open House?
The 72 Hour Open House is like other Vancouver Real Estate Open Houses, except that it doesn’t stop for 72 hours after it starts. Visitors are welcome to view the property day and night through the weekend. There is no time that you may not come view the property, noon, midnight, 4 am. Whatever works for you, Kye Grace will be there to show you this Gastown loft and highlight the benefits of the Gastown lifestyle. Kye will be at the suite with a sleeping bag, a pillow and three days worth of food. He will not be leaving the building the entire time.

When I asked him why his reply was simple “My clients pay me well to sell their property. They don’t pay me to tell them ‘the market is tough’, ‘not many homes are selling’, ‘people aren’t spending money right now’.”

What makes this event even more unique is that people all over the world will be able to follow along on the live online video feed, Twitter or the ‘The 72 Hour Open House’ blog. Kye will participate in the live chat on the online video feed and will Tweet and blog the weekends happenings.

Business Planning for Realtors (and Everybody Else)

The previous post was a broad look at Planning for Business (as opposed to a Business Plan) and this post is a more specific follow-up for actually creating a detailed Business Plan.  A lot of my readers are Realtors so this plan is specific to them, but any business can substitute the word “orders” for “listings” etc.  The main message is that before you can move forward you have to know how you got to where you are.

Step 1 – 2008 In Review

• Listings (orders) taken?
• Listings (orders) closed?
• Listings expired?
• Escrow sides opened?
• Escrow sides closed?
• Commission income?
• Where did your clients come from in 2008?

Step 2 – Set a Financial Goal

• How much money do you want to make in 2009?

Step 3 – Calculate Sales Volume Required to Achieve the Goal

• How many sides (orders)  must you close?
• How many closed sides will be listings?
• How many closed sides will be buyers?
• What percent of your listings will result in a closed sale?
• What percent of your buyer clients will close?
• How many hours per week will you work?
• How does that translate to $$ per hour?

Step 4 – Review Strengths and Weaknesses

• Which activities do you still do that no longer work?
• What do other agents in your office (and beyond) do, which seems to work for them?
• What are you really good at?
• What are you weak at?
• How can you make your strengths work better for your business?
• How will you manage around your weak areas?
• What are the key threats to your business?
• What do you do different than the competition?

Step 5 – Examine and Review Present Systems

• Do you have a Sphere of Influence referral program?
• Do you have a marketing budget?
• A general business budget?
• Do you have a work schedule that you adhere to?
• Do you have an effective system for:
  • Contact management?
  • Listing process?
  • Escrow process?
  • Time management and blocking?
  • Tracking your marketing?
  • Tracking your income?
• Do you know what a system is?

Step 6 – Review Your Marketing Material

• Review all of your marketing material and any collateral marketing material that touches a client or prospect.
  • Is it consistent?
  • Is your information up to date and accurate?
  • Is it necessary?
  • Does it work?
• Is your website up to date?

Step 7 – Investigate and Implement New Social Marketing Tools
Take a look at what others are doing and determine if it will help your business.

• Blogging
• Facebook
• Linkedin
• Twitter
• Video

So now what?
Just answer these questions on a piece of paper and you will have a snapshot of where you currently stand.  Determine your specific action plans for the next 12 months, lay out the time frames and then schedule it all.  Don’t make the schedule too tight.
Lastly, but most importantly is the accountability process.  You need to hold yourself to account and regularly review your progress.

Thanks to Mike Butson, General Manager for Coldwell Banker Ponderosa Real Estate operations for the bulk of the Realtor related plaaning steps in this post.

Real Estate Marketing Survey Results

We hear a lot of doom and gloom about the Real Estate business and I wonder how Realtors in the U.S. are tweaking their marketing strategies to respond to the changes. I have advised my clients that they need to reconnect with their sphere of influence and start working with buyers. We put a lot more emphasis on direct mail, keeping in touch by phone and email and educating clients.

QuantumDigital an online service provider for direct mail, on-demand digital printing and eMarketing solutions commissioned a survey of 10,000 real estate professionals comprised of a variety of real estate professionals.

The  purpose of the survey, titled “Real Estate Marketing Survey,”  was to understand  the following:

• How  real estate professionals are currently spending their marketing dollars;
• How much they are spending;
• How their marketing mix is structured;
• What online and offline channels they are using to communicate with prospective clients, existing clients and other professionals in the business.

The top ten core themes of the findings include:

1. Direct mail, newsprint, email and online marketing are the defacto marketing channels for real estate professionals.

2. On average, agents and brokers typically spend 10 percent of their gross commissionable income (GCI) a year on marketing – 4 percent of which is allocated to direct mail and six percent to online/web/email channels.

3. Sphere of influence is still the number one way to get new business. (Read my post Referrals and Your Sphere of Influence)

4. Email is used for customer retention and follow-up while direct mail and online marketing are used for customer acquisition. (Check out my company inboxFX Email Stationery)

5. Sixty-seven percent of real estate professionals are now part of an online social network.

6. LinkedIn and Facebook are the top two networking/social platforms.

7. ActiveRain.com and RealTown.com are the top two cited real estate blogs.

8. Realtor.com, Craigslist and corporate/brokerage Web sites are the three most popular listing sites.

9. Whether mailing or emailing, real estate professionals typically hit 200-400 local contacts.

10. Real estate professionals need to touch their market at least 18 times per year to forge solid memory of their names and faces.

If you enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss the next one click here to get my marketing posts by email as soon as they are published. You will be prompted for an email address and you are set to go.

Realtor Marketing – Do Just Sold Flyers Work?

A lot of my clients are Realtors and this blog started out with an emphasis on Real Estate Marketing, but evolved into a general marketing blog over the first few months. For non-Realtor readers I am going to sprinkle a few more Realtor-specific posts into the mix every month, but I am confident the content applies equally to most businesses. I hope you enjoy reading them.

The Million Dollar Question? – Are Just Sold flyers an effective marketing tool?

One of my clients send Just Sold flyers to about 3,000 homes in the area surrounding the listing, but they always have

Just Sold Flyer in Black and White - Click for larger image

an important message and a call to action. Humor is always a big part of the message and some people have commented that they look forward to them. The combination of seeing a few Just Listed and Just Sold flyers over the course of 6 months can influence who a seller calls for an evaluation.

Most of the feedback is anecdotal, but there is no question the campaign is making an impact based on the number of people who make comments to the Realtor and the number that mention the flyers during listing presentations. Many of the recipients are clients of the Realtor so it helps to keep them at the top of their minds too.

We print 80,000 color shells at a time and then imprint in black the listing photos and text for the current listing. The cost for the shell, imprinting and mailing works out to about $ 0.21 each, plus labor of course, but we reach 3,000 homes for $ 630.00. If the average of 7% of people move each year there are 210 homes that will come on the market or about 17 per month.

Just Sold Flyer in Color - Click for larger image

The answer is yes! Because there is no more effective way to target these 210 homes.  If the timing is right the homeowners will read anything about real estate that comes through their door.

It is our challenge to provide the most compelling marketing material to stand out among all of the other direct mail.

A well-written Just Sold flyer educates the public that there are two sides to a transaction and that the Buyer’s Agent plays an important role representing their interests.

Just Sold Flyer in Color - Click for larger image

The flyer to the left was mailed out at a time when the average days on market was on the up swing and provided a forum to explain the importance of pricing a home properly.

The flyer on the right was sent out after a home had been on the market for a few months without

Just Sold Flyer - Click for larger image

selling so most of the neighbors would know it had taken a long time to sell the home.  The Just Sold flyer provided a forum to explain “Not Everything Sells in a Week..but it is Sold”.

Just Sold flyers should be considered as part of your overall marketing mix as they reach the people most likely to need your services and provide a forum for differentiating your marketing from others.

Real Estate Newsletters: 5 Essential Tips to Make Clients Adore You

While this post is directed at Realtors the tips apply to all types of businesses and services.

Simon Payn of ReadyToGo Newsletters provides some excellent advice for increasing the effectiveness of your newsletters.  Coincidentally they have a great service that gets an editable newsletter in your hands every month for only $ 29.97 per month. Or contact me and I can take care of all of the details for you.  Click on the images below to see a sample of my 2 page version. These can be totally customized for your use and I can provide them pre-printed and ready for delivery.  Click here for a sample of a customized version.

Sending a real estate newsletter to your farm isn’t about getting a client or a listing right there and then. Unless you hit their mailbox at precisely the right time – just when they are looking for an agent or wanting to list their house – you’re in the business of building a relationship rather than making a sale.The best way to build that relationship is to provide a newsletter that meets the needs and interests of your farm.

Do it right, and you’ll grow a farm of adoring fans.

1. Make the newsletter about them, not you. You’re probably sick of me going on about this…but it’s the #1 rule. People are not interested in you, they are interested in themselves. If your services are mentioned at all, do it on the basis of how you can help them, how you can meet their needs.

2. Write articles that are useful, interesting and entertaining. Create articles that make the reader think: I never knew what! Or: What good advice!

3. Keep up a regular schedule. Relationships aren’t built sporadically; they take regular contact over time. That’s how trust is created. So send your newsletter  at least monthly.

4. Be truthful. Good friends don’t lie. So nor should you in your newsletter. A lie can wreck a relationship.

5. Be upbeat. Nobody likes a downer. Who wants to form a relationship with someone who’s always bringing bad news? Think of good, upbeat, positive things to put in your newsletter. Then you’ll be a welcome friend.

Follow these rules and, over time, you’ll build a strong farm of people who will adore you and your newsletter.

If you enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss the next one click here to get my marketing posts by email as soon as they are published. You will be prompted for an email address and you are set to go.

Recent Business Card Designs

I get a lot of readers interested in business card design so I thought I would showcase a few of my recent designs for Realtors. While I don’t consider myself a graphic designer I have a unique design style for business cards that many of my clients find effective. In addition I only print on thicker card stock with a unique silk finish that people love to rub. The silk finish makes the cards waterproof, almost impossible to tear and the corners do not get ragged in your wallet.

If you are interested in making a better impression with your business card give me a call, Mike Blaney, 800-568-8338 or email me at marketingguy@shaw.ca.

If you already have a design and just want me to print them on the thicker stock with the silk finish the price is only $ 195.00 for 1,000 cards with color on both sides. If you are interested in my design services you should budget between $ 75.00 and $ 150.00 for the layout although you should contact me for a quote.

So what do I recommend?

Use the Back of the Card
I always use the back of the card to de-clutter the front and in many cases provide a space for people to write notes.

Make the information easy to find
Most people need your phone number, email address or web site so all three should be in a larger font and easy to read.

Highlight Your Brand
Your business card is like a mini billboard and should accurately convey your brand.

Make it into an advertisement
Add your slogan or a call to action as sometimes this is the only marketing they will see from you.

Cari Gililland – Phoeniz Realtor

Part of a re-branding for Cari.

Click on the image below to see Cari’s matching email stationery from www.inboxfx.com.

Dayna Wosk-Pipke – Realtor – Vancouver

This was a totally new branding for Dayna.

Click on the image below to see Dayna’s matching email stationery from www.inboxfx.com.

Garth Raven – Realtor – North Vancouver

Part of a re-branding for Garth. As an avid boater I came up with the slogan “Helping you navigate the world of Real Estate” and added the compass. There is also a picture of his boat on the back as a conversation piece.

Steve Burk – Realtor – Vancouver/Osoyoos

Click on the image below to see Steve’s matching email stationery from www.inboxfx.com.

Leslie Sutton – Realtor Vancouver

Part of a complete re-branding of Leslie.

Click on the image below to see Leslie’s matching email stationery from www.inboxfx.com.

If you enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss the next one click here to get my marketing posts by email as soon as they are published. You will be prompted for an email address and you are set to go.

20 Ways to Blow it with Your Sphere of Influence (SOI)

I am like a broken record when I give marketing advice to Realtors and people who run small businesses. At the top of my list of free advice is to nurture your sphere of influence (SOI). Why? Because most people want to do business with someone they know and trust and most people feel good about helping your business and their own SOI by providing a referral. So why market to total strangers when you have dozens of raving fans itching to help your business?

There is a fine line between staying in touch and communicating useful information to your SOI and pestering and I thought this list compiled by Jennifer Allan, a top producing real estate broker in Denver, a published author, a speaker and a trainer was perfect to share with you. While it is geared to Realtors it applies to all businesses.

Twenty ways to blow it with your SOI:

1. Ask a friend to lunch and give her your sales pitch (every time).
2. Call your friends on the first Monday of every month and ask if they have any referrals for you.
3. If they don’t, ask them why not.
4. Angrily (or tearfully) confront your friends and family if they use another real estate agent or service provider in your field.
5. Take on business you aren’t qualified to handle.
6. Blow off your friend’s housewarming party, but expect her to be loyal to you.
7. Attend your friend’s housewarming party and sales-pitch everyone to death.
8. Tell everyone you know how lousy the real estate market or economy is.
9. Tell everyone you know how overwhelmed you are.
10. Tell everyone you know how depressed you are about your business.
11. Send out an announcement letter with typo’s and misspellings.
12. Send your friends frequent “forward this on for good luck or else” mass emails.
13. Pepper your language with four-letter words.
14. Borrow money or books or tools or whatever and don’t return them in a timely manner.
15. Don’t return social phone calls or RSVP’s.
16. Try to hijack referral fees from your family’s pre-existing real estate relationships.
17. Ignore your SOI in favor of mass-advertising projects (then get your feelings hurt when they use someone else).
18. Contact your friends only when you’re looking for business.
19. Offer bribes to your friends for referrals.
20. Sell real estate “on the side”.

To learn more about Jennifer’s books and philosophies, please visit her website.