There’s an old sales adage that says “People buy from people they know, like and trust,” and public relations (PR) is one of the most cost-effective ways to build the awareness, goodwill and credibility that help influence buying decisions.  Not that we would suggest that REALTORS® use PR to the exclusion of all other marketing tactics, but a healthy dose of PR, combined with a little advertising, direct mail, or other tactics, can provide a big sales boost for many small businesses.

But how can you determine if the campaign is worth the investment?  You might think that gauging a campaign’s impact on immediate sales makes the most sense, but bear in mind that only a direct sales campaign can be measured that way. 

Most marketing programs for small businesses, especially retail, professional services (REALTORS®, CPA’S, etc.) serve to generate a pool of potential clients.  The onus for converting prospects into customers rests with the client, not the campaign.

Here are a few ways to measure the results of your campaign without relying on raw sales data. As with many marketing tactics, tracking the results of your PR campaign can be difficult if you don’t know what you’re looking for, so consider using some of these techniques:

• Track the number of inquiries or leads your business receives via phone, drop in or web visits.  You’ll need to start by establishing a baseline for each inquiry stream before your campaign starts so that you’ll know whether or not your campaign is actually drawing in more leads.
• Ask your prospects how they heard about the real estate services you offer.  Know that many people may not remember exactly where they heard about your business, unless it was the result of research such a through the Yellow Pages.  This is good, because it means that your PR campaign is working!  PR is supposed to have a “ripple effect” so that one person who sees a story tells another,  adding to the pool of people who are informed about your business through the PR, plus adding the weight of personal sanction to the referral.
• Create a campaign-specific offer through your web site with a unique URL, such as a coupon or special program that is only mentioned in your PR.  By isolating an offer this way, you can see how effective your pitch was by counting exactly how many people respond to your offer (of course, that’s assuming the offer is enticing enough to draw interest).
• Compare historic sales patterns for each year by month to see when or if your business has seasonal sales cycles. Keep in mind that it is always easier to boost a high cycle season’s sales because there are often external factors that drive customers. For example, as a REALTOR® if you work in a ski resort area, perhaps you’ve noticed a jump in sales during the holidays. That time of year (and right before) would be the perfect time to add PR to your marketing mix so that when potential clients are ready to purchase, your Resort Expertise has top-of-mind awareness.

While your story in the newspaper or on TV may motivate someone to get off the couch and take action, an actual buying decision may be based on price, location or convenience.  That’s why developing clear goals and measurement metrics for your PR campaign are so important, so that you can get the maximum return on a minimum investment.

Carpe diem,

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We just did a composite of our Mastery Coaching clients through our proprietary business analysis tool which we do annually to track our client’s business (and our success or failure as coaches).  We found that the average client that had a “prospecting focus” (they spend 10 hours a week or more actively prospecting) closed an average of 16 transactions with an average volume of $7.8 million.  Their average GCI (gross commission income) was $180k.  Not bad given the market conditions the last 12 months.

Things got interesting when we looked at the next group that had a “marketing focus” (they actively market to a geo farm or target demographic or group 2-3 times a month). They averaged 22 transactions, $13.2 million in volume and $292k in GCI.

Then the most astonishing results.   Those that had a “SOI focus” (working a SOI is considered their dominate activity). They averaged 65 transactions, $19 million in volume and made $453,295 in GCI. 

All three groups worked 46 weeks a year.  All three groups spent roughly the same amount to market or promote themselves.  All three were a cross section of the US, various brands and companies, and marketplaces.  The only difference as a group was what they focused on.

What makes one agent make $180k vs. $450k?  Why did one group out-perform the others if they all did similar things? 

It’s boiled down to their focus.  What they focused on allowed them to develop into their magnificent obsession.  While the first group got really good at scripts dialogs and overcoming objections, the second group developed great ads and mailers that made the phone ring, the SOI group became obsessed with being thoughtful and providing delightful surprises to their people.  

They constantly looked for ways to go above and beyond.  When others send Christmas cards to their data base they send birthday cards – to their SOI’s children.  They learned to care about the things their clients care about.  They pamper, care for and make their clients feel like they are the most important people on the planet.  One stand-out invited his “Top 15″ on a trip to Tuscany for 10 days to ride Vespas.  Total cost $50k.  Total reward – unfathomable. These clients had already referred 5+ closed transactions each.  It’s fair to say that he’ll get at least 5 more (5 x average price of 2.5 million x his average commission x 15 people = $1.875 million in commissions). 

This group considers their primary job to spoil their sphere.  They sell houses.  They are good at it.  They understand people are more important than transactions or houses and that lesson has paid them very, very well.

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