Are you ready for business?  When you’re ready to build your business, you’ll need the right tools in your toolbox to build a strong foundation, and to make the job go smoothly.  There are literally hundreds (if not thousands!) of marketing tools available to the Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) REALTOR® entrepreneur, but fortunately, there are some that are nearly universal in their usefulness.  While not every one of these tools might be the most efficient for you right now, they make a great default list until you develop a list of tactical tools tailored to your unique talents and personality.

1. A ‘Sound Bite’. This is a seven- to nine-word phrase that distills the essence of your value to a specific client base. When used with your name, company name, and your title, you’ve got a great introduction. Used by itself, it succinctly and clearly answers the question: What do you do?

2. A business card. Your business card shows that you are serious about your business. At the very least, it includes your name, title, company name, email address, phone number, and mailing address. If you don’t include one or some of these, you are showing the world that you are either unprofessional or not to be trusted. If you’re worried about stalkers, get a Post Office box and a generic email address, but don’t make your phone number the only contact point. It makes you looks like a drug dealer or a prostitute.

3. A web site. No matter what you’re selling, be it your time, expertise, or your apple pie recipe, a web site demonstrates your understanding of your core market, and enhances your credibility, as well as providing a 24/7 selling tool.

4. A picture. To be more specific, YOUR UP TO DATE picture. People like to put a face to the name or voice on the phone. Your picture (with your smiling face) helps develop the relationship with your client with absolutely no effort on your part. You can put this picture on your business card, web site, brochure, or just have it in your press kit to accompany any speaking engagements you book.

To be clear, this ‘picture’ thing has been an issue with me for years.  I’ve heard the argument that ‘my attorney and CPA don’t put their picture on their business cards, why should I’?  Sorry, WE are in the people business.  Today, with My Space®, Face Book® and all the other internet sites, people connect with people using pictures now more than ever.  Unless you are marketing to CPA’s or Lawyers only, use the picture.

5. Talk about your fees upfront and/or menu of services. You don’t want to make your clients guess what type of services you offer, or how much they cost, unless you’re one of those people who believe that if your client has to ask the price, she can’t afford you. Even if every sale is completely customized, at least having a baseline established will give your clients (and you) a place to start talking about prices. Remember, a sign that they’re ready to buy is asking the price. If that’s the first question you’re asked, the good news is that you’ve got a live prospect. But if you can’t provide a good answer, you’ve just lost the sale.

6. Contact (note) cards. Use contact cards to follow up a first meeting, thank for a sale, congratulate on a milestone, or just stay in touch. Remember, people do business with people they know, like and trust, and what better way to build a relationship than with charming hand-written notes?

7. An annotated signature line. Your email messages are one of your best marketing opportunities. Be sure that you always include your contact information, and while you’re at it, add something else of value, such as info about your specials, upcoming programs, or a link to your web site. This is especially important when your message gets forwarded to someone who is excited about what you do, and may want to get in touch with you. Make it easy for your prospects to find you.

8. Letter templates. Are there people you need to communicate with on a regular basis? Perhaps welcoming new clients, or communicating with vendors? Save yourself some time by creating letter templates for your most frequently occurring communication situations. You’ll save time, and never have to rack your brain wondering if you included all the necessary information.

9. Scripts. Is there anything worse than making a call, and not being prepared when you get voice mail? Know what you want to accomplish before you pick up the phone, and decide how you want to say it. Being prepared for either a live interaction or leaving a message will reduce your nervousness, and make you sound relaxed and professional.

10. Client testimonials. One of the most persuasive tools you can have is a written testimonial from a satisfied client. It makes your prospect feel more comfortable about buying from you, because someone else has done so and is apparently happy about it. Not that people are sheep, but a personal recommendation from a client is far most compelling than your own good opinion of your product or service.

Carpe diem,

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Most people try and overwhelm people with logic and reason to make the sale or get the phone to ring.  Successful marketing and sales isn’t about either.  It’s not about the charts, graphs, the spreadsheets – they are all great for support, but none have ever made the sale or motivated anyone to do anything. 

It’s the feelings that those things bring to the surface that makes people move.  It’s the fear of loss, the fear of missing out, or even the hope of a wise investment that is based on bettering one’s situation in life.  People don’t move because it makes sense.  They move to satisfy some deeper emotional need or desire.  When we understand that we all make decisions  emotionally then justify them logically every aspect of our marketing or sales efforts will be radically effected and productivity will increase.

Remember, It’s not the height of logic but the depth of conviction that will win people over.

Carpe diem,

If you have missed this video – take the time to watch it.  It does not really have anything to do with real estate, and at the same time it has everything to do with it.  It is on the long side, but it is well worth it.

Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

1 hr 25 min 21 sec – Sep 24, 2007
Average rating:   (1080 ratings)
Description: Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.

You can also download the transcript at his website – http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/ 

Carpe diem,

Being Irresistible Attractive is a makeover for the inside. Yes, it helps to wear nice clothes in the colors that make you glow and to have your hair, eyes, skin, and body looking great. These do contribute to attracting others to you. However, once you’ve handled these cosmetic things, you need to go further in your makeover. That is, you need to go inside to shift things around, learn new communication skills, install healthy conditions in your environment, and in­clude some new concepts. Altogether, these contribute to a person’s higher development and make one attract those people, opportunities, and good stuff that we all want-and that some of us chase-and that few of us naturally attract.

Would you like to have a great assestment tool to use to become “Irreststable Attractive?”  Shoot me an email and I will be happy to send it over to you.

Carpe diem,

“You don’t get what you want, you get what you are.”

I remember being told years ago by a mentor that the financial balance one has in their bank account is a reflection of their self-esteem.  Ouch.  At the time, I was making ok money.  I knew within a dollar how much was in my account (more often than not, because it was less than the $20 minimum that I could retrieve from the ATM).  From that moment, I took it as a personal quest to start building a minimum balance of $100, then $500, then more.  The income was exactly the same, but my balance grew with my confidence and self-esteem. 

I sit down with quite a few people who want to reach higher than their skills and talents will take them. For them, improvement on some base techniques and general competence within their field of endeavor will have them performing in a very short time.  Once they understand that they have to acquire a few tools to get what they want, they are good to go. For others, those having great skills and talent, it is often a bit more difficult to help.  Those are the ones who too often achieve great things quickly and then watch it all fall to ruin as their character deficiencies surface. 

I have found that character and wisdom is developed almost exclusively through pain.  The smart ones apply the pain to themselves through discipline and study other people’s mistakes.  Others, feel the need to go through challenges and heartache themselves and gain through experience.  Either way, you don’t get what you want, but you what you are.

Carpe diem,

Spend as much time cleaning house as you do building an addition.

Metaphorically, anyway. The idea here is that it’s easier to build more after you have perfected what you have. And for most of us, simplification is one of the ways to perfect what we have, given that most of us have too much (goals, projects, pressure, responsibilities, roles, etc.). So try reducing and perfecting while you are adding and building rather than just working hard to add, build, or create more.

Carpe diem,

Some questions to help you evaluate your business environment –  

• What five things do you spend most of your time doing during your business day?
• How much more money could you make if you focused and were properly inspired and supported?
• Where is the stress coming from in your work?
• Are you working with the right people? the best people?
• What conflicts are you having at work?
• What is the most fulfilling aspect of your work?
• What is the most difficult or stressful part of your work?
• What is the most exciting aspect of your work?
• What strengths or skills do you have that are immediately marketable?
• What resources are missing that you feel are necessary for your success?

Carpe diem,

“If you see a snake, just kill it.  Don’t appoint a committee on snakes.” – H. Ross Perot

When running the broker side of the desk, you are sometimes called on to make difficult decisions.  As a broker/manager/owner you are responsible for office culture, casting vision and most importantly, profitability.  Most leaders who have come through the ranks tend to be quick to hire and slow to fire.  Problems tend to drag themselves out.  Take a ruthless policy on snakes (whether they be people or problems) they don’t get better and they only hurt you in the long run.

Carpe diem,

Every once and a while I get something that is just too good not to share. Dean is a fellow Master’s Program Graduate and is the CEO of one of the finest Ad agencies I’ve ever been exposed to. I received this article last week from him and thought it dovetailed into the branding series I wrapped up this last week. I hope you enjoy Dean as much as I do -

If you have a desire to improve your brand identity in the marketplace, step one is to accept that times have changed.

Fifty years ago, you could advertise your brand on a game show and six months later, Presto! – a 30% increase in market share. Those days are long gone. Today, in our over-communicated world, your target market mindset is busy, distracted, and on to the next thing. In essence, your audience’s minds are like dripping sponges – leaving little or no room for another “average” brand message. Feel familiar?

For starters, what is your brand? Aside from the foundation of your business net worth, your brand is the real estate you own in the mind of your prospects and clients. For example, when you think of tissues, does Kleenex come to mind? Golf – Tiger Woods? Car safety – Volvo? Regardless of your business size, your brand is somewhere between front of mind and nowhere to be found in the mindset of your current or potential clients. The goal is obviously for your audience to think of no other business but yours. It’s called dominating mindshare and it’s a discipline practiced by few.

In contrast to yesteryear, where branding was the color of your package, the consistency of your graphics and the face of your product, branding is now the comprehensive experience one has with your company. Today’s branding is a combined effort of how you are selling and servicing your markets. Your brand is comprised of how you promote and persuade, how you care for your customers, and what you stand for within your target market(s). How you sell and service must be audited, stratified, planned, and integrated to ensure repeatable positive experiences. And for your brand to stay intact, the experiences must stay perpetual with every prospect, every client, every business partner, every investor, and every employee. It’s a bold philosophy that will position you as the leader in your category with a brand that has staying power – if you have a commitment to brand.

Selling, as it relates to brand development, is simply how you get the word out. Either through advertising, direct selling, channel selling, direct mail, public relations, etc. The key to effective selling is to first find out what is relevant in the mind of your consumer. Best guessing, by the way, is not a good method for finding the hot buttons.  Research is. For example, one of our clients in the financial services business sells loans to brokers who, in turn, sell those loans to end-users. After some cursory research, we determined that speed of approval (most important), ease of process, and attention to detail were this client’s key points. We built our entire brand platform around simple, accurate loan approval in seconds vs. hours, even days. Every ad, every show, every sales rep, direct mail piece, every phone call, and every detail is built around this message. The brand is speed. The discipline lies in keeping the message consistent, not changing it after three months because the phones aren’t ringing off the hook.  Adjustment is fine, but be consistent with your message, because branding is a process, not a singular  event. You can see again why research of market relevancy is so critical up front. Branding is tricky business, and as a major investment, it’s vital to get it right from the starting line.

It’s a little known fact that the biggest brand opportunity lies in how you serve your clients, not just how you sell to them. Nordstrom’s service excellence has allowed them the luxury of spending less on advertising because their employees’ commitment to excellence has strengthened their brand to near perfection. Every phone call, return, consultation, and purchase is handled so well, that for some, the idea of shopping elsewhere is ridiculous. So while others are spending big to steal Nordstrom customers with advertising, Nordstrom spends more money on training and rewarding their employees to serve clients more effectively. The result? Customer loyalty is sterling and word-of-mouth accolades are perpetual and potent.

Remember, when it comes to branding, the discipline is in the details. Your sales calls, presentations, follow-ups, how you handle client conflict, marketing tools, your building, lobby, dress code, etc., etc., etc all make up your brand. So rest assured, a strong commitment to a comprehensive and strategic brand initiative is your assurance for success.

Carpe diem,

You can also click on one of the following links to have the mastery coaching blog with helpful life and business tidbits geared to real estate’s elite delivered to your computer,

To subscribe to the mastery coaching blog via email

To subscribe to the mastery coaching blog via RSS reader

Hope is a very powerful thing. In fact, I’m not sure there are many things that can trump it. I have read stories from those that suffered great atrocities at the hands of captors in POW or concentration camps and the reason one person made it and another succumbed was a matter of hope. Hope that tomorrow would be better; that there was something at the end of the rainbow, that all the pain and suffering was somehow worth it.

I wake up every day in pain. I had a football injury in high school that resulted in having to have 9 levels of my spine fused and 8 ribs reattached all together with 7lbs of rods, screws, bolts and other miscellaneous hardware. It was a 17 hour surgery, with two teams of world class surgeons.  I had very little doubt I would live, but whether the rest of my days would be spent in a wheelchair was a serious consideration.  I think back to the recovery, the week in intensive care, the countless hours of therapy and remember the driving force getting through it was hope.  Hope that each day would get progressively better. 

Hope, Faith and Love.  There is quite a bit floating out there on the latter two, but without the former, faith and love fall flat.  One of my favorite songs at the moment is Dream Big by Ryan Shupe.  Despite its title, it is a song more about hope than dreams (well, to be technical having dreams are a function of hope).  At any rate I hope it gives you a boost to your day -

Dream Big
Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband

 When you cry be sure to dry your eyes,
cause better days are sure to come.
And when you smile be sure to smile wide,
and don’t let them know that they have won.
And when you walk, walk with pride,
and don’t show the hurt inside,
because the pain will soon be gone.

Chorus:
And when you dream, dream big,
As big as the ocean blue.
Cause when you dream it might come true.
So When you dream, dream big.

And when you laugh be sure to laugh out loud,
cause it will carry all your cares away.
And when you see, see the beauty
all around and in yourself, it will help you feel okay.
And when you pray, pray for strength
to help to carry on when the troubles come your way.

Chorus

And when you laugh be sure to laugh out loud,
’cause it will carry all your cares away.
And when you see, see the beauty all
around and in yourself, and it will help you feel okay.
And when you pray, pray for strength to
help to carry on when the troubles come your way.

Carpe diem,