Sep
28
Last Friday THE LATEST NIELSEN COMPANY REPORT confirms what other research companies have revealed–advertising spending is in a weakened state.
On the losing end were some long-suffering print categories: Local newspapers were down 8%; national newspapers fell 5.9%; business-to-business magazines were off 5.7%; local magazines tumbled 5.2%; and local Sunday supplements gave away 4.7%.
I know a lot of you still have plans on spending advertising dollars on traditional media. Some even plan to spend more. With that in mind, I thought I’d share 3 classic articles I wrote on the fundamentals of advertising and marketing.
Exploit Your Cutting Edge “Secret Weapon
Make Your Newspaper Ads 750% More Profitable
These date back almost ten years. But still relevant. Or are they? You tell me.
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Sep
26
Mastering Technology: How to Be More Effective in Real Estate
Filed Under Real Estate Marketing, Technology | 5 Comments
The real estate industry is historically behind when it comes to technology. Why is that?
In an intriguing post called “You Can Lead an Agent to Technology, but You Can’t Make Them Type,” Elizabeth Weintraub argues that an agent shoots herself in the foot if she ignores the web and what it offers.
Perhaps this has something to do with the demographics. NAR says average agent is a 57 year old female.
Then you have posts by Kelly Roark over at Future of real estate marketing. She writes about Agent 2.0. She quotes her colleague Pierre Calzadilla, who’s trained agents for years on how to integrate technology into daily business, recently profiled what Agent 2.0 looks like:
- Not “tech savvy,” but “technologically empowered”
- Highly proficient in marketing, workflow and time management
- Aware of and open to new innovations, and how they can fit into one’s business
- In tune with consumer trends and changes in buyer/seller behavior (e.g., Gen X/Y)
- Appreciation for “old school” techniques but with an understanding of the value in adapting these techniques to new mediums
Further on in her posts she does an excellent job pointing out the key to successfully using technology: adapt the best offline techniques to use online.
That’s good advice. So exploit these traditional techniques.
And the thing to remember is this: if a piece of technology–whether a blog, Facebook or Twitter– doesn’t some how save you time, save you money or make you money, get rid of it.
Furthermore, always make sure you are in control. You are the master and technology is the slave. You make the plan, then you work it.
Regardless if real estate is behind when it comes to technology…it is never to late to start. And it is not as intimidating as you might think. I promise.
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Sep
24
What Real Estate Agents Should Know about Twitter
Filed Under Networking, Real Estate Prospecting Ideas | 1 Comment
While not for everyone, Twitter is a new communication tool that provides the real estate agent several opportunities to connect with online communities.
Maybe.
A tool embraced by the early adopter, the real estate agent using Twitter can benefit from thought leadership, connection to the influencers, additional message reach, access to mobile communicators, real-time communication. But more importantly, the opportunity to build relationships through conversations.
But here’s the deal: this tool is probably only good for those who may already have a blogging strategy or are high-communication individuals. Before you decide to use Twitter, make sure it fits in your marketing plan.
And consider this: although there is no formal data, it’s likely audience and user base consist of early-adopter social media folks and influencers, with an average age of 30-45.
What is Twitter?
Twitter is really much like blogging, but on a miniature scale. The character limit is 140, which requires that users simplify their message.
Twitter has social network features, so users can add or remove friends, for example.
Think of Twitter as a new instant-messaging tool: users can blast messages to their community of clients or prospects, send private messages, or search.
Twitter, till now, has been for the highly engaged, early-adopter, pro-technology user. It’s highly likely that these users participate in other forms of online publishing and communication, like blogging, Facebook, and mobile activity.
What to Publish?
Having in mind the 140-character limit, users are publishing the following types of content:
What are you doing?: Users will tweet information related to them, from “Liddy baptized at 9am” to “taking Mali out for a walk,” or even questions like “what should I do in Vancouver?”
Responding to others: Members within a connected network (this means you are following them and you are following them, and this is easy as pie to do: search, find and click “follow”) can respond to each other using the reply symbol “@”—such as “@Vancouver is a great city. You need to visit….”
Links: Drop a link to an interesting article about your market or your most recent blog post.
And dig this: when your URLs are 130 characters are shorter, Twitter will automatically convert them to a TinyURL. However, TinyURL pushes people through a Preview Page first so you can “safely” see the full URL before proceeding to the target page.
In my opinion, this is annoying. This is annoying because all your friends aren’t probably going to push you to a pornographic or unsuitable page. Use Urltea instead when putting URLs in Tweeter from a PC.
Here’s What You Need to Know
Savvy Twitter users realize that effective communications isn’t about just pushing content to readers. They also start conversations with other people.
This is not just a broadcast tool, it’s also a conversation tool. That means you can reply to followers using the “@” symbol, and engage in dialogue.
In essence, use this tool as a global chat room: respond to others, build relationships, and listen in. Like blogging, the rule of anti-marketing marketing is required for success: engage your community.
Also, Twitter is “opt-in,” meaning that users choose to “follow” a twitter account. Abuse that good will and followers will unsubscribe.
Getting Started
Check out Rafe Needleman’s (CNET) “Newbie Guide to Twitter” or watch this video. For the rules of engagement read Brian Oberkirch’s “Advanced Twitter: Don’t Tweet Like A n00b.”
So, what’s the best way to learn? Experiment. Try creating a personal account before deploying a brand account. Also, creating a Twitter account might be a good idea if you don’t have a blog. It’s a super easy, simple first step.
But first, evaluate whether it’s right for your audience. My best guess is that 20-40 somethings in urban areas are your most likely candidates. If that doesn’t describe your market, you might be a lonely Twitter user.
Another thing: at the moment, Twitter is not an SEO strategy. That means there is no value to your website or search rankings when using Twitter.
Sep
21
Obsession: A Painful Lesson in Options
Filed Under Persuasion, Real Estate Negotiation, Real Estate Sales Tips | Leave a Comment
When it comes to personal freedom among the citizens of the world’s countries, Americans tend to stand apart.
Germans, for example, are willing to obey strict building codes to preserve the historic beauty of their cities.
Canadians are willing to accept stricter gun control laws for personal safety.
Americans, on the other hand, have an incredible desire for personal freedom, no matter how destructive it may be.
We have a tremendous desire to feel free; we don’t want to feel like we’ve been outmaneuvered and only have one choice
left open to us.
The Lesson
That’s why when you are in a closing situation you should always give the other side two options from which to choose.
The key to the Two-Options technique, however, is that both options must be acceptable to you.
You say, “Well, Jack and Jill, I don’t think that there is any question that you should buy this home…the question becomes, how do we work it out so that you can live comfortably with the investment?”
“Let’s take a look at these two different financing plans and tell me which would be best for you. One is a…”
The takeaway lesson here: never back anyone into a corner by saying, “Take it or leave it, they won’t reduce the price.”
Chances are they will probably leave it.
The Pain
Then again, I’ve been in positions myself where I got it into my head that I had to have something. And I wouldn’t budge. Later I regretted the decision.
Have you ever done that?
And have you ever been in a situation where you saw a client who was hooked and it was obvious no amount of reason could persuade them differently?
At that point, are they truly free?
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Sep
19
In the first season of 24, Jack Bauer was coerced into assisting a political assassination, by threat of harm to his wife and daughter.
By threat of blackmail, the five main characters in The Usual Suspectsare coerced into paying back a debt to Keyser Soze.
And in The Empire Strikes Back, Lando Calrissian is coerced by Darth Vader into double crossing Han Solo, as bait to trap Luke Skywalker.
As you might have guessed, these are all examples of coercion.
If you’ve been following our blog or subscribing to our newsletter for any length of time, it should be clear to you that I don’t believe marketing or sales should be coercive. I think you’ll know that I think it should be the opposite, meaning it should allow someone to choose freely and willfully.
The fact that some people use influence or persuasion to get money a lot of times puts the idea of selling, marketing and persuasion as evil. Puts a bad taste in their mouth. And yes, of course, persuasion has been abused throughout history. And will continue to be abused.
At some point in time, however, we all use influence to get things in life—time, love, friendship, fame, power, loyalty, and yes . . . money too.
But here’s the irony—persuasion works best when it’s invisible. The most effective influence leaves people with the impression that they have made a completely independent decision based only on the facts.
With that in mind, here are nine tried and true selling techniques that fly under a prospect’s radar, disarm cynicism, and yet still powerfully persuade. You can come to you own conclusions about their level of evil.
- Reciprocation: People tend to return a favor. Thus, the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing and selling. In his conferences, Robert Cialdini often uses the example of Ethiopia providing thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid to Mexico just after the 1985 earthquake, despite Ethiopia suffering from a crippling famine and civil war at the time. Ethopia had been reciprocating for the diplomatic support Mexico provided when Italy invaded Ethopia in 1937.
- Commitment and Consistency: If people commit, verbally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment.
- Social Proof: People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in a late 70’s experiment, one or more confederates would look up into the sky. Bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. Living in the same neighborhood or subdivision where you are selling homes and sharing that fact with your clients is an example of social proof. This information will immediately make your client feel comfortable with buying a home in that area because they already “know” someone else doing it.
- Authority: People will tend to obey authority and celebrity figures.
- Liking: People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them. The Guinness Book of World Records listed Joe Girard as the “World’s Greatest Retail Salesman” for 12 consecutive years. What was his secret? He built and maintained relationships.
- Scarcity: Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying there are only three homes with a particular floor plan available in a new subdivision works. If it is true, of course.
- Honesty: Try pointing out the flaws of a home upfront, and being brutally frank. In this day and age of exaggeration and fine print, people are so disarmed by simple and intentional honesty that they will pay closer attention to the rest of what you have to say. You’ll have more credibility in the prospect’s eyes when it’s time for a purchase decision.
- Storytelling: Stories engage a person’s mind and emotions in a way that dry sales text can never accomplish. It’s also something they will never forget. In addition to the literal story that you tell, every good story provides a connotation that allows the reader to draw their own conclusions. And since people rarely argue with their own conclusions…
- Teaching: When we learn new things, we grow new neural connections in our brains as we expand our knowledge. And brain research confirms that emotional engagement is linked to learning because it helps us recall relevant memories stored in our central nervous system. Teach someone about a homes history, architecture or unique materials–and don’t forget why the material was used–is simply smart selling.
Sep
18
Okay, something a little different today. In as many words as you need, answer this question:
I’ll go first.
Over my 25 years in sales the single biggest thing I’ve always struggled with is cold prospecting. I’ve always hated it with a passion. And how many potentially good real estate agents punish themselves and die a slow miserable sales death because they can’t get themselves to do it? In Feb. 95′ I came across what I now do: a way to generate hundreds of warm inbound leads without cold calling. I thought: can it really be this easy? I have to share this. And have been at it for the last 12 years.
I limited myself to 100 or less words, but you don’t have to. I set that limitation because I didn’t want this to be about me. I wanted it to be about your story.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
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Sep
17
In the following weeks I’m going to zero in on some of the Web 2.0 technology for real estate agents. Each post will aggeregate all of the favorite links out there on each application.
This week, Facebook.
The definitive post on Facebook and real estate: Marketing real estate on Facebook. Isn’t this the bottom line?
The future of real estate marketing through social networking is now. (via.)
Facebook could make or break real estate.Or Joel Burslem thinks.
If you haven’t heard yet: Facebook deliver authentic consumers, rather than faceless “uniques” and can do so in specific niches.
It was an exclusive in April of this year: Facebook may launch local classifieds.
Using Facebook as a Real Estate Collection Source. Another Burslem screed.
The web’s most comprehensive marketing and advertising engine for real estate professionals, Point2, creates Facebook real estate app.
Drew Meyers at Zwillow says you can add zestimates to Facebook.
Just for grins: Creepy discovery on Facebook.
In conclusion: hypertargeted advertising is the holy grail of online advertising. Social networks like Facebook and social media can deliver that more accurately than a portal or destination site.
So, do you use Facebook? If so, is it all its cracked up to be? Or is it just trumped up hype by tech pundits and fringe agents?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
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Sep
14
The title of this post is lifted directly from Joel Burlsem’s post. There’s good reason for that.
Lately I’ve been researching mobile advertising and mobile marketing for a different industry [fundraising] and came across Joel’s July 3 post. Joel makes a great point about the iPhone:
Realtors are going to love this thing. But more importantly, the average Joe is going to love this thing. And for that reason more than any other, the iPhone could be what really kickstarts mobile real estate.
The thing I want to bring up with Joel’s post is not that he is wrong…but that he is right. And that is part of the problem.
See, I’ve got into a number of recent discussionswith Realtors discussing the explosion of technology like smart phones, mobile videos and social media on the web. And invariably at some point the concern or worry that always seems to creep up is this: there is so much out there, how do I know what to use?
As one reader pointed out “It’s not enough to just sign up….you really have to participate [in social networks]…I think the concept of it all is truly fabulous, but honestly, I’m feeling quite overwhelmed!!”
Me too. And that brings me to my solution.
Your real estate marketing Strategy
When discussing mobile marketing or vlogs or social networks like Facebook what you have to remember is that all of these things are tactics and campaigns that fit underneath the umbrella called your marketing strategy.
They are tools you use to help you reach your larger goals. They are not ends in themselves.
A carefully-planned real estate marketing strategy is your compass. It shows you where your true north is. It’s also part of a larger business plan, which, in the end, should drive all of your decisions. It is the big picture. The view from 30,000 feet.
Calculated v. Reckless Risk
In his book Failing Forward John Maxwell talks about the two kinds of risks: calculated and reckless.
Calculated risk plays to your strengths. Reckless plays to your weaknesses.
Calculated risk has a small room for error. Reckless has no room for error.
Calculated risk meets the needs of others. Reckless meets only your needs.
Calculated risk is built on a plan. Reckless is built on reaction.
The last example is the point I wanted to make.
According to Moore’s Law, it is more likely in the future that you are going to bombarded with even more technology and marketing ides than less.
And with so much out there for you to look at its easy to fall into a reckless state of reaction. You might find yourself throwing money in different directions. More importantly, you might find yourself [if you haven't already] throwing your time in all different directions.
But you have to avoid that if you want to remain profitable. If you want to remain married. If you want to remain sane.
So, would you agree it’s even more important than ever to have a firm marketing plan in your pocket?
Count the Cost
Think about it: it may take you several days, even weeks, possibly fifty hours over the long haul, to knock out a solid real estate marketing plan.
Does that sound painful? Don’t have the time?
If you find that painful, look around you and ask yourself these questions: what’s most important to me, right now, in my business and my life?
How does this tool fit into my business plan? My marketing plan? My life?
What will it take away? What will it give in return?
Here’s what I know: invest more in less people. And less things. For those things that you isolate as most important to your business and life deserve your absolute best.
It’s all about returning back to the basics, folks.
While mobile real estate might thank the iPhone for it’s proliferation and while real estate networking might owe its success to social media, you will definitely thank your marketing plan for keeping you focused, profitable and sane.
Sep
12
Essential Crazy Wisdom
Filed Under Real Estate Negotiation | Leave a Comment
In 2002 I read a book called Essential Crazy Wisdom by Wes Nisker.
In that book Nisker draws from the philosophies and religions of the East and West to discover the madmen, dreamers, and unconventional wisdom seekers who turned wisdom and used it in an intrinsically contrary way.
Their wisdom at times stood completely off the scales of normal human judgement. Dangerous, you might say, but these off the wall thinkers produced some of the most powerful ideas in history…
Just think what a little crazy wisdom then could do for your real estate business.
That’s why today I want to show you how crazy wisdom can be used in negotiation.
Overcome the Stale, Lifeless Routine
First, Nisker talks about the idea that it is impossible sometimes to see the very nature of the shape of box if we are completely inside of it.
In real estate, especially if we have been in the business for a number of years, sometimes our ways of negotiation or mediation or conflict resolution become stale or lifeless. We often hit a point of where we lack creativity to solve problems.
Or, we get completely stuck doing the same thing over and over again that handling the testy seller this way doesn’t get results.
In a situation like this, it’s best to bring in a third person who has a fresh view of the situation. Or, simply allow some time to pass, whether its just one night or one week. Breaking away from the situation allows you to gain a new perspective to it when you return.
Get a Lobotomy
The second notion of crazy wisdom applied to negotiation is that of gaining many perspectives.
Go to a new place. Hang out with different people. If you’ve been a member of your chamber of commerce for 15 years, consider becoming a Rotarian or Shriner. Consider visiting a new church.
Better yet, hang out with people you wouldn’t normally get along with. Whether they have opposing political, social or religious view. Find out how they think. See life how they live it, how they move in it, how they view it.
If you have a buyer who is fussy about details and your not, try to step into his shoes and see where he is coming from. Understand why he is fussy about details. This will allow you to gain a new perspective, an understanding of that person. You are tyring to disrupt your normal pattern of seeing things. You are giving yourself a healthy lobotomy.
And once you see things differently, once you understand that person, you will empathize and find almost magically the negotiations getting back on track.
In the long run, taking yourself out of your comfort zone might sound crazy, but it will make your wisdom wiser, deeper, wider. It will make your negotiations more fulfilling, satisfying and rewarding.
The End Is Not What It Seems
Another way you can apply crazy wisdom to negotiations is the idea that agreements rarely end with a verbal or signed contract. In a lot of ways, there is much more negotiation to do on the other side of the negotiation.
This is the idea of the end actually being the middle. It means that even though the ink has dried on the contract, your work has really just begun. You, my friend, have to keep many of the details of the home selling or buying process moving, post-contract.
That Is Blasphemy
At one point in his book Nisker quotes the British playwright George Bernard Shaw: “All great truths start as blasphemies.”
This is true, isn’t it? Think about negotiations.
Typically, early in talks parties treat each others truths with scepticism and sometimes scorn. But as trust builds these truths are generally accepted and creatively built upon to produce a new, until then unheard of solution.
Or parties don’t build upon these truths and eventually the talks crash and burn.
The lesson here: build trust with people and eventually your truths on both sides will come to life and create something that neither of you could have created on your own.
Finally, crazy wisdom shows up in simple questions.
The Scientist Who Asked Simple Questions
Nisker noted that Albert Einstein was infamous for asking simple, near-childlike questions. But the questions cut through the smog. They got to the heart of the matter. And quickly. Think about children.
They question everything. And as parent at times you find yourself wondering, “Why do we believe that? Why are things that way? They don’t have to be that way, do they?”
Simple questions are not offensive, but in the same sense very potent weapons. So learn how to frame simple questions that get to the heart of the situation, and you can keep negotiations effecient and effective.
Now, get out there and apply some of this crazy wisdom to your business and life. Then get back to me and let me know if I’m off my rocker with this stuff or not.
Here’s to your success!
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Sep
10
6.5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Blog
Filed Under Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Prospecting Ideas | 2 Comments
In the past I’ve asked you the question “Should you start your own blog?” in the real estate blogosphere and even went as far as giving you a somewhat step-by-step process on how to go about getting started. I basically gave you reasons why you should blog.
Today, my approach is a little different.
Believe it or not, as popular as blogging is, and as powerful as the motivation is for joining the bandwagon, there are good reasons why you shouldn’t blog.
Here are 9:
- You are not a very good writer. This is a tough one because you have to evaluate your own writing ability. And you have to be honest about it. But ask the hard question before you start to blog. If you can’t definitively say that you are among the most compelling writers in the real estate blogosphere, then you will be swallowed alive by the hordes of great blogs. Now, if you think you have the writing chops to become one of the best bloggers in real estate, then by all means, consider the next question.
- Your point of view or voice is not compelling. A unique point of view requires creativity. And if you don’t have a creative bone in your body, your blog will bore everyone to tears. (I take that back: you won’t bore anyone to tears because you won’t have many, if any, readers.)You might be a great writer–a great technical writer–but that doesn’t translate well to a blog. Furthermore, no one is really interested in a well-articulated opinion that is mainstream, old or cliched.Part of being a good blogger requires you think about what is already being posted and figuring out how to oppose or improve or provide a unique angle on a subject that is already out there. (For instance, I originally started this post as ”reasons why you SHOULD blog,” but during research noticed there were at least 10 REALLY good posts already out there. [I didn't search past the first page.] I then asked my self: “What could I do differently?” Voila.)
- Your ideas are not focused. Grow-a-brain is a hugely successful blog, partly because it has a wildly-wide range of subject it covers. But if you read it for at least you’ll notice one thing: Haran Levin has a clearly defined format. He keeps all of his content in the post tightly related.Some bloggers like Chris Garrett or Joel Burelsom are focused on their flagship content. As am I. Flagship content provides a true North on the compass. A direction, a focus. As a blogger, you should almost always steer in this direction. That also means you don’t treat your blog as a meandering diary or brain dump.
- You do not have a wealth of experience readers can relate to. If you are eighteen, trust me, you do not know the inner workings of the world. However, just because you ‘ve been a truck driver for thirty-five years doesn’t mean you have a wealth of experience that resonates with people.
- You plan on posting every other month. Or whenever you get to it. If you can’t commit to a schedule (and I highly recommend that in your initial planning you set down a schedule for blog posts and then stick to it), then don’t start.I placed this one further down the lists because it isn’t a deal killer. But don’t expect a high readership or community involvement. You can get away with random blog posts because most people who read blogs do so through a rss aggragetor. This means all they have to do is check their aggregator to see if any new feeds have come in. Once they are subscribed to your blog, they’ll probably remain subscribed. However, if you plan on posting far and few in between, you better post hard-hitting, well-planned posts. In email marketing, the rule of thumb is this: daily emails equal short, pithy messages. Weekly emails equal longer, informative messages. Monthly equals long, deeply-researched, valuable posts. You can post once a month, but you’ll have to make each one count. Otherwise people will just ignore you.
- You plan on NOT allowing comments. Great blogging is about creating a feedback loop. In fact, that is what the whole trend of social media is all about. Creating a conversation, good or bad, with your readers. Observation has shown that places where the feedback loop is closed lose readership. People want to be part of the conversation. Besides, a lot of good bloggers base their content on questions asked by their readers. I’ve seen book agents do this. One good thing about this approach is that you don’t have to think about what you want to provide as content. The reader decides. And giving the reader the choice is all about what the web is becoming. If you plan on “not dealing” with comments, so be it. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.
So, am I wrong? Was this bad advice?
I’m pretty certain that it isn’t. This is stuff I’ve learned from watching the industry and talking to experts for two years. But you tell me. Am I missing something?
Now, I will say if after reading this you do not care if you get one lead or you do not care to add to your bottom line, then feel free to start a blog. I will not bother you. But since it is important to me to see you succeed, I simply thought I needed to share with you the other side of the coin. My point in doing so is that your decision needs to be well thought out.
Tip 6.5
You thought I forgot, didn’t you? Not at all.
Here’s the deal: choosing not to blog will not sink you financially. It will not starve you or make you disappear from your marketplace. Blogging is only one spoke in the wheel of marketing. You should be doing plenty of offline marketing. And plenty online, too. But that doesn’t mean you have to blog.
Now I do recommend you interact with blogs. Not only read them, but comment as well. This way you can build a presence in the blogosphere as an authority without having the headache of managing your own blog. And as long as you have a link back to your website with a clearly visible way to get a hold of you, you’ll generate buzz and hopefully leads. Leaving comments has great value. People will start tracking you down for information and answers.
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