Happy April and welcome to the 2nd Quarter!
Here’s a quick video from me to get you fired up!
Strategy Matters and Passion Rules!
Tom Ferry
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Coaches Unleashing Their Inner Rock Star:
Marketing Food For Thought from a Guitar Hero Commercial!
Watching the Oklahoma/UNC basketball game the other day with my sons, a Guitar Hero commercial played that caught EVERYONE’S attention …
Watch …
During a great match up, we watched BRILLIANT marketing at work.
Here you have 4 legendary NCAA Coaches dancing around in white boxers, like Tom Cruise in the movie “Risky Business”, during a great weekend of college basketball.
Now, most have us have seen Guitar Hero commercials before, and then tend to make us take notice, but this one I thought was perfectly executed to the audience. It is a great reminder for us as we create new marketing initiates for the 2nd and 3rd quarter of ‘09.
See, Guitar Hero got it right.
They created another hit using iconic faces (the Coaches and Metallica) and played this commercial to an audience who would “get the message” loud and clear (college basketball fans.)
Let’s bring it back to your real estate business …
In your current website, email, postcard, magazine or other forms of marketing you are currently running, are you constantly thinking about the consumer (or possible client) on the other end?
Remember, the marketing you are using, IDEALLY AND IN A PERFECT WORLD, is to get that phone to ring … (many agents spend time and money creating brand awareness and distinction in the marketplace.)
In what I do, everyday I am receiving marketing pieces from my clients asking me to evaluate and improve response rates. Here’s a short list of some of the most important items we discuss in these coaching sessions:
- Is the message relevant right now? Remember, times have changed. What you used to say about yourself in 2005, might not be the best method to use now in 2009.
- In your printed material, is the font and style choice actually readable?
- Is the language you are using clear and to the point?
- Do you have a call to action to encourage someone to call you?
- Is there a clear way for someone to reach you?
- If there is, are you picking up the phone or answering your emails in a timely manner? (This is a big pet peeve I hear from consumers time and time again … they are calling agents to want to work with them and the agent sometimes is non-responsive to their inquiry.)
- What are you spending?
- What have been your results from previous campaigns?
- Do you know where your business had come from in each campaign?
- Are you embracing any web 2.0 marketing strategies?
As you know, this list could go on and on …
So let’s use 4 Icons singing in their underwear as a visual reminder … ummmm, ok let me rephrase that, just a reminder … in order to have homerun marketing campaign that causes consumers to take action, we have to think about the points we have brought up today!
Strategy Matters and Passion Rules!
Tom
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I just saw something great from Move Inc … ready for this!!!!!
Almost 25% of Americans plan to buy a home, despite economic conditions!
“While half of all Americans are concerned they or someone they know will face foreclosure in the next six to 12 months, 23 percent of adults plan to purchase a home in the next five years, and 53.5 percent of them happen to be first time homebuyers”, according to a new survey by Move Inc., released this week!
So my two simple questions/thoughts for you today are this:
- In order to capture the 53.5% of first time home buyers … what type of outreach and marketing are you doing currently?
- What other POSITIVE signs are you seeing out there?
I look forward to your comments!
Strategy Matters and Passion Rules!
Tom
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In honor of March Maddness … when this basketball strory crossed my desk, I had to blog!
The headline was: “Connecticut Team Ends a 19 Year Losing Streak”.
19 seasons of playing their hearts out and these ladies from Wolcott Tech finally win a game for their school. This school had to play an astonishing 265 games with out one victory on the court … imagine that!
If you were on their team, would you still stick around, game after game? Would you continue to come to practice with a smile on your face and excitement for the game? I always say that winners are created in the time when everyone else wants to quit.
Well these ladies and the coach and school sure did, because finally in December, they ended their losing streak to win a game!!
If that’s not a simple reminder for us to keep our head in the game, even when the going gets tough, I don’t know what is!
We all have moments in our life, where we feel beat down by the media, the economy, our family, clients, you name it, the negativity can get to us … but we have got to remember is our power comes from our ability to take a loss and move forward. Simply taking action when we feel like we’ve got nothing left helps us to get to where we want to be.
As markets start to rebound, it’s time for all of us to wipe the dirt from our shins, pull ourselves together and get out there and find someone who wants to buy or sell. The ball is being passed to you … are you ready to take a shot?
Do the things that give you the power!
It’s time to get in the game again! Let’s go!
Strategy Matters and Passion Rules!
Tom
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#1. We are excited to announce that Cindy Haggerty won our “Coaching Client You Tube Contest”!
We had so many of you create truly great videos … it took a few weeks for us to pick a winner! To everyone who participated, thank you, thank you, thank you and well done! It was wonderful to see your faces and hear the reasons why you’re in coaching! For some of you, this was your first experience using You Tube … way to go! All of the videos came out great! We will be featuring these on our website next week!
Cindy … congratulations on winning. Check out this link to see what Cindy said in her video…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfkZvWmQe-E
#2. An email came across our desks this week, that some of you may be interested in participating in The Wall Street Journal, LORE and Real Trend’s Top 400 in Real Estate!
We would love to see your name among this group of agents … if you’re interested in applying, here’s the information you will need. The application form is simple to complete!
Click here to download an application.
The deadline to submit a completed application is April 15, 2009. The final ranking of winners will be published online at the end of May 2009 on The Wall Street Journal’s RealEstateJournal.com and on the LORE Web site. For more details please contact REAL Trends at realtrends@realtrends.com.
Have a great weekend!
Strategy Matters and Passion Rules!
Tom
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So, have you ever turned on the television or opened a paper and seen a familiar face of a client or friend starring back at you???
Well, it happened to me last week!
The woman who gave birth to Octoplets in Southern California in January has been in a media frenzy, across the globe. From Oprah, to Dr. Phil and every media outlet in between, there’s no escaping this story … (unless you’re doing something smart, ignoring the news right now and reading some great books!!!!)
There my wife Kathy and I are the other evening, scanning through the channels, trying to find something “light” on tv … and all of a sudden, I see the face of one of our great coaching clients giving in an interview to the local news … “Wait a minute- that’s Mike Patel, Kathy. Hold on, we gotta watch this! I wonder what he’s up to???”
We both listened intently to Mike talk about his recent sale in La Habra. And to whom did he sell his listing to???
Yep, Nadya Suleman … the mother of the newly born 8.
Now, as agents and real estate professionals, one of the primary functions of our job is to list and sell homes, helping clients to get to where they want to be in life.
Mike did just that last week … just to a bit more media hype than most of us get on a Monday.
I knew there had to be a “story” there to share with all of you, so I sent an email to Mike with a few questions about the sale and he kindly answered them for me below …read on!!!!
Tom Ferry- “Tell us about the sale representing the sellers, as they sold their house to Nadya?”
Mike Patel- “This was an expired Listing I took on Christmas Eve… the seller sounded frustrated so I told them not to make a bad decision and we talked. He gave me the appointment and I went there and listed the house.”
Tom- “Was it a quick sales process?”
Mike- “The sale was for 10-15 days, but closed in 7 days. It was seller Financing (AITD) a lot of down payment and we have 1 year payment in reserves in an escrow account.”
Tom- “Anything interesting or unusual in the sale?”
Mike-”The buyer’s agent/buyers actually liked other 2-3 homes in the same neighborhood…. but the Listing Agents of those homes, when they were called, did not know lease options/seller financing… and they did not respond to buyer well.
So, when the buyer agent called me, I told her to just bring the deal at full price and I told them that I will take care of the seller. Timing was also very important, as they had to find a house before the babies were to be released, so they were looking for a 10 day escrow with seller financing. I jumped right to help …and so now we have the closed transaction.
Most importantly, my seller is very happy and got a big check!”
Tom- “Well for the sake of the babies and your clients … I am glad you were the agent to help them get it sold!!!
How was dealing with the media on this sale … anything like you have dealt with before? I imagine it was interesting for you, to say the least!!!!”
Mike- “This is the first time I have dealt with the Media like this… I was very comfortable with them… I have 14 years of Toastmasters International training, so I used that!!
I answered about 50-60 media calls (all major networks.) I was also live on CNN Talk Radio! The experience was awesome and quite a trip. I have learned a lot and this exposure put me in a different perspective. I have just raised my standards!!”
Tom -”How have you maximized on your media exposure to benefit your business?”
Mike- “I had my son record the news clips and I added the clips my you tube channel the same night. I already have a you tube link from my website www.mikepatel.com.”
I just changed the home page again today to show Top Producer snap shot link…. I am having our company do a press release to come next week… talking about the expired listing and how I sold it…. I also put links on Facebook and Linked In.”
Tom- “What are your goals for 2009 in real estate?”
Mike- “30 deals for 2009 is in my business plan!”
Tom - “Why are you in our Coaching Program … what value do you receive?”
Mike- “I was in coaching before for 3 years… and realized the value of that coaching experience… so I got back into your program …
It’s always good to have a mentor/guide to have you progress faster than on our own. It also gives a chance to be in touch with other agents in similar situations.
Your Coaching also keeps you on pace with what is happening in the industry. The networking within the coached agents seems to be very, very useful as far as role playing, sharing ideas, links, etc, etc…”
Tom- “Thanks Mike. Congratulations on the sale … and I look forward to hearing a lot more from you! Keep on doing what you’re doing! I want to see you at our Focus Event in April!”
Passion Rules!
Tom
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This past weekend I had the honor of spending a few days with Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield, authors of the very successful series Chicken Soup for the Soul. While talking with these two great thought leaders, we spoke about the need for support in our local food banks in these trying times. Food Banks from Oahu to Omaha to Orlando are hurting and desperately need our support and contributions.
As compassionate and concerned citizens and real estate people, it’s time for us to step up, if we can, and help.
Something as simple as buying an extra bag or rice or can of beans every time you grocery shop and donating these items would make a world of difference to people in need. A lot of these families in need are our past clients, friends, co-workers and neighbors. These are people who have never “asked” for anything for society before. This is the time when people come together and help our fellow friend.
I figured out a way we could help in my area this month. I am hosting 4 events in Southern California and in every marketing flyer and email I am adding the following P.S.
“P.S.
Currently our local food banks are in desperate need of contributions. If you can spare it, please bring some non-perishable food items to this event, which we will then take to the local food bank on your behalf. 1 in 8 Americans right now is struggling to feed their family. If you can, please bring a food donation.
It is my intention to raise the awareness of hunger in our nation, right now. The need has not been greater.
Just think, if everyone 1 or 2 items or a few dollars, the world of difference we could create quickly! We think of ourselves as a supportive community, where ideas and action go hand in hand. It’s time for us to take some action!
Tom
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