Join us for a Webinar on December 30 at 9am PST

Investors are out and buying all across the country. Tap the power of leverage by creating an effective marketing campaign geared specifically to this market resilient group. Investor clients often hold the keys to purchasing and selling multiple properties a year but marketing to investors is completely different that to the general public. Learn how to speak their language, meet their needs and set yourself apart as a true professional with a proven marketing system.

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The magazine, Fast Company, recently declared that Americans are becoming a nation of “free agents”. They described a generation of consultants and professionals, all selling their services for the length of a project or until a problem is solved. That brings tremendous freedom, and new responsibilities to run our careers as businesses! Unfortunately, many “free agents” have never run a profitable business. The following are my list of critical issues in creating a career/business that will remain profitable for years to come.

1. Customer Benefits. You and your customers must clearly understand the benefits that your services provide. What are the 5 benefits of working with you vs. anyone else in your market place? Can you communicate that clearly? Customers buy benefits.
2. Extra Value. Customers must receive more in value than you charge for your services. Most of us don’t want a “fair” exchange; we want a bargain, the sense that we got extra value for our money. Can you communicate the 5 extra your customers get from you?
3. Superb Service. This means attention to detail. Answering the phone on the first ring, providing an 800 number and 24-hour customer service numbers are examples. L.L. Bean has made a fortune with it’s “no questions” guarantee. Do you have a guarantee?
4. Know your Audience. Who are you 5 best customer types.
5. Location. In the old days, this meant the street address of your shop or store. Now it means getting your marketing messages into your customer’s hands when and where they are receptive. Be certain your website is located at the top of the search engines.
6. Convenience. Customers expect to shop at their convenience, to pay by credit card, to call an 800-number, and to have their questions answered correctly the first time. Make it easy to contact you!
7. Innovation. New is good, newer is better. Customers expect the benefits of the most modern technology. At a minimum, they expect the convenience of email, voice mail, and efax. If there is a faster, better, cheaper and more reliable way to do it, adopt cutting edge techniques before your competition does!
8. Reliability. Consumers assume they can rely on your services. If they are purchasing your time and expertise, they rely on your availability, your advice, your attention to detail, and your follow-through. Durability may be less important in a throwaway age, but consumers demand 100% reliability. Be there for them every single time!
9. Planning. Planning takes on strange twists when a computer chip “generation” lasts 6 months and a website may be “old” in 6 weeks. Planning is the ability to monitor, influence, and profit from change. Planning means having a mission statement and the flexibility to respond instantly when new information allows you to fulfill your mission more effectively. Planning means you control your destiny.
10. Communication. This means instant, 2-way communication between every level and every branch of an enterprise. It means communicating with your vendors and competitors, and working with your customers so they become your most important designers, researchers and customer service experts. It means an “open door” policy and flat organizational models. It means listening is more important than speaking. It means ideas rule the world.

Carpe diem,

If you’re a member of a networking organization, chances are that there is a wonderful opportunity for you to significantly raise your visibility in the group, and to become known, liked and trusted.

And chances are that you haven’t yet taken advantage of this opportunity.

That opportunity is the “Hi, My Name Is…” speech - the five or 10 minutes that each of us are granted upon enrollment in most organizations we join to address the group, introduce ourselves and explain our business in detail.

Although most groups offer these opportunities to their members, too many of us don’t take advantage of them, or if we do, we don’t always exploit the “Hi, My Name Is…” to its full potential, and that opportunity is wasted, for both us as speakers as well as our listening audience.

But it doesn’t have to be wasted time--as a matter of fact, a “Hi, My Name Is…” speech can be a terrific business builder for you if you play your cards right.

First, you need to understand that a “Hi, My Name Is…” speech is NOT a chance to tell your life story or even how you got into your business, however fascinating that may be.

Your time in the “Hi, My Name Is…” Moment is your best chance to explain how you help your clients, and to provide a demonstration of your expertise to your audience. It’s your chance to achieve (in under 10 minutes) what matters most in business: To become known, liked, and trusted (because we all know that people buy from people they know, like and trust).

But how can you do all that in 10 minutes or less? Here are two words to keep in mind regarding your “Hi, My Name Is…” speech: Value and preparation.

Value is the single most important aspect of your speech, and you can easily offer information of real value in just a few minutes. Share tips, advice, explain a procedure, anything! And don’t just TALK about your services and what you offer, SHOW your expertise. (You get bonus points for involving your audience!) 

Once you’ve established the value of the services you’re offering, preparation is key to a successful speech. Here are several things you can do to make the most of your time (before, during and after) in the “Hi, My Name Is…” while you have your audience’s undivided attention:

• Provide an interesting paragraph or two for the press release, newsletter, or other marketing that the organization does for the meeting.
• Bring your own introduction. If you have one prepared, you can be sure that it sets the right tone for your presentation, and it keeps your introducer from having to make something up about you at the last minute. A good introduction will help establish your credibility before you speak, and actually extend your time in front of the audience, since your introduction is all about YOU.
• Look the part. When I did my “Hi, My Name Is…” speech recently, I wanted to make a visual impact and say more about myself than my business suit alone could say, so I wore a big button that simply said “Attract More Clients! Ask Me How.”  (See how that “Sound Bite” keeps coming into the picture?)  Between the content I presented and my handy visual aids, my audience understood immediately what I am about, and what I have to offer.
• Take advantage of the speaker table or other special opportunities offered to “Hi, My Name Is…” speakers. If there’s room (and there usually is for “Hi, My Name Is…” speakers), arrange your table as you would for a trade show, decorating it with information of your real estate services, giveaways, your business cards, and so on.
• Have a sign-up sheet on your table. Remember that this “Hi, My Name Is…” speech is a prospecting activity, so give people a place to sign up for more resources or your newsletter. Here’s another tip: Add a “call me” section so that hot prospects can indicate their interest.
• Include a photo on your one-sheet. A one-sheet is a marketing page that tells who you are, lists a few credentials and/or your services, and quotes happy customers, and so on. But more than that, it is a relationship piece that helps your prospects get to know you. It doesn’t have to be fancy; you can print it out in color on a piece of letterhead, back it with cardboard, and set it up with a small tabletop easel for display.
• Save time in your speech for questions. Organize your speech to share information first, but remember to leave one or two minutes at the end for some quick questions from your audience.
• Invite your audience to sample your services, and/or visit your display table. After the questions, thank your audience, and then mention any special offers or incentives that you have for signing up on your mailing list or setting up a consultation.
• After your “Hi, My Name Is…” speech, you’ve still got work to do. You’ll need to follow up with the people who signed up on your list or requested consultations. Give them a call to set up meetings, and send them whatever materials you promised.
• Don’t forget to thank the person who introduced you, as well as the person who booked your speech.

Because the purpose of networking groups is to establish and develop business networks, one would think that “Hi, My Name Is…” speeches would be highly sought-after opportunities, but it has been my experience that people are often afraid to take center stage.

This fear must be caused by the fear of the “Hi, My Name Is…” itself; it can be intimidating to stand up in front of a group and talk about yourself. It may help reduce that fear to keep in mind that you’re not up there talking about yourself; you’re sharing information of interest and value with your peers.

So please, don’t let fear keep you from taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity to speak. Speaking is a great way to build your own confidence, as well as credibility in the eyes of others in your organization.

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,

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When people ask me what is the single most important thing they can do to market their businesses successfully, I have what looks like a very simple answer.  I tell them that all they really need to get started is a “Sound Bite”!  Sounds simple?  It is…and it isn’t!

What’s A “Sound Bite”?

A “Sound Bite” is really just a simple phrase (ideally seven to nine words) that distills the essence of your value to a particular customer base.  It is the answer to the question: “What do you do?”

In marketing, we say: “Sell the sizzle, not the steak” and what we mean by that is to sell benefits, not features.  The beauty of this concept is that once you’ve got it, you have probably defined your target market, as well as the features and benefits of your product or service, thus defining the value of what you offer to your customers, which is a huge stumbling block for so many small businesses.

What Makes a “Sound Bite”?

A great “Sound Bite”, self-introduction, or practice statement (whatever you call it) is appropriate, credible, intriguing, specific, and brief (under 3.5 seconds).

1. A great self-introduction establishes your credibility and professionalism, clarifies what you do, with whom you work with, and why those people benefit from working with you.  (Some of this can be implied.)
2. It gets the desired/best possible response to your “Sound Bite”: “Oh, really?  Tell me more.”
3. If “so what” or “and?” responses are implied (or received!), you need to refine your statement.

Need An Example?

We’ll use me as an example.  My “Sound Bite” is: “I help REALTORS® attract more clients.”  This simple seven-word statement tells people with whom I work, what I do, and what the benefit to my clients is.  Let me break it down:

WHAT I do= help…attract

WHOM I serve= REALTORS®

BENEFIT(s) my clients reap= more clients

As a Coach, the truth is that I help people to develop systems and tools for marketing themselves with integrity and ease.  But guess what?  PEOPLE DON’T CARE about the process or tools I offer, they care about the results of our work, which is why when people ask me what I do, I tell them “I help REALTORS® attract more clients.”

My clients “need” marketing because what they “want” are more clients.  That’s a very subtle distinction, yet it speaks perfectly to my target audience because it focuses on their results, rather than my process.

Creating your own “Sound Bite”

Boil it down to the essentials: WHAT you do, WHOM you serve, and the BENEFIT(S) your clients reap.  You’ll notice that I didn’t put “HOW to serve” in that formula.  That’s for a good reason.  Explaining “how” is about process (and you); your customers want to know one thing, and that is what’s in it for them. 

Carpe diem,

I was reading through some very old archived items on my hard drive searching for inspiration and came across this and it made me laugh (It’s been one of those mornings).  Hope you enjoy!

Useful Work Phrases

1. Thank you. We’re all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.

2. The fact that no one understands you doesn’t mean you’re an artist.

3. I don’t know what your problem is, but I’ll bet it’s hard to pronounce.

4. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.

5. I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don’t care.

6. I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.

7. What am I? Flypaper for freaks!?

8. I’m not being rude. You’re just insignificant.

9. I’m already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.

10. I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.

11. It’s a thankless job, but I’ve got a lot of Karma to burn off.

12. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.

13. No, my powers can only be used for good.

14. How about never? Is never good for you?

15. I’m really easy to get along with once you people learn to worship me.

16. You sound reasonable. Time to up my medication.

17. I’ll try being nicer if you’ll try being smarter.

18. I’m out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message.

19. I don’t work here. I’m a consultant.

20. Who me? I just wander from room to room.

21. My toys! My toys! I can’t do this job without my toys!

22. It might look like I’m doing nothing, but at the cellular level I’m really quite busy.

23. At least I have a positive attitude about my destructive habits.

24. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.

25. I see you’ve set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.

26. Someday, we’ll look back on this, laugh nervously, and change the subject.

Carpe diem,

I had two really good agents enter into an extended slump.  Not all that uncommon in this market.  After talking to them at some length I discovered they were spending way to much time in their cushy home offices.  So I took them away – not literally of course, but figuratively.  I told them that they had to close the door and they weren’t allowed in for 30 days.  Instead I asked them to go to Starbucks with their laptops and do their work from there. 

Within 2 weeks both of them were back on the side of positive momentum with fresh leads and activity from folks they had run into at Starbucks. 

Biggest thing when in a slump is to go to the people.  We tend to hide and bury ourselves with busywork to feel busy instead of focusing on productivity. 

Carpe diem,

Past experiences-what we did, didn’t do, should have done, did poorly or wrongly-are always with us in some way. We need to get clear of the anchor of the past, doing what we can and letting go of the rest. You are not your past, yet you may still be living as if you are.

When clearing unresolved matters with the past, a person will exhibit some of the following traits -

• They will feel free of what he or she has done, yet take full responsibility for it all.

• They can be with themselves, as they are today, with no compensating.
• They are able to set goals and reach them easily without any of the baggage that wants to burden them and drag them back into the past.

When one isn’t clear, you invariably see the following –

• They continue to repeat the past in some new way. Interestingly, they will get better at the cycle and they will start to repeat the pattern with increasing efficiency and in shorter time frames.

• They will react to life’s unresolved matters and constantly fall into a “victim” mindset.

I had an acquaintance that developed a very aggressive brain tumor and was dead 3 weeks from diagnosis.  Two days before he died I got to talk to him about life and how he felt about facing a terminal illness at 31 years old.  He said that he had made peace with it, no one was guaranteed a tomorrow and he had no regrets. He had made peace with his past and was living fully in the present and at that moment he was the most peaceful person I have ever had the privilege of knowing.

May your day be filled with “No Regrets”

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,

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In my experience there are way too many agents who treat the real estate business as a non-profit charity without the affiliated tax advantages.  Here are a few thoughts on profit, distilled and processed through from Peter Drucker in his classic book on management.

1. PROFIT is a result of the performance of the business in marketing, innovation and productivity. It is the test, the only effective test of performance.
2. PROFIT is the premium for the risk of uncertainty. Economic activity because it is an activity focuses on the future and the one thing that is certain about the future is that it is uncertain.
3. PROFIT alone supplies the capital for tomorrows jobs, both more and better jobs.
4. PROFIT is a definition of economic progress that an investment needed to contribute to the overall health of the economy.
5. PROFIT pays for the economic satisfaction of services of a society, from healthcare to defense, from education to opera. They all have to be paid out of the surplus of economic production, out of the difference between the value produced and its cost.
6. PROFIT is the first, but not only responsibility of a business. There are social responsibilities, but if there is no profit, even the social responsibilities will suffer.
7. PROFIT is required to cover its own future risks, to be able to stay in business and to maintain the wealth-producing capacity of its resources.
8. PROFIT is a requirement of a business rather than a goal. Without profit there is no business.
9. PROFIT is the result of doing things right rather than the purpose of the business.
10. PROFIT is what you have in surplus when business obligations, risks and survival are paid for.

Carpe diem,

I have that question up in my office where I see it every day.  I won’t go home until I can answer the question with a positive.  Some days it’s a big thing – some days it’s smaller.  But every day it’s something. 

I had a professor in college that would ask us every time he saw us in class or around campus this question and it stuck.  It forces me to live on purpose.  Every day has a reason to get up in the morning.  Every day holds excitement and promise.  Every day, I have a built in system to stave off burn-out and depression. 

I won’t say every day is rosy.  Nor do I live under the delusion that life is all happiness and bliss.  But every day has a reason, and at the end of each day I can sleep well knowing that I contributed to making the world a better place.

I wish nothing less for you – have a great day, because today matters more than you know.

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

I get to look at lots of marketing from real estate agents and companies.  It is astonishing how much of it lacks a direct purpose.  There are only two things that prospects are looking for from a real estate professional.  The first is competence – can you do the job?  The second is character – do you care and will client enjoy the experience?  Any other messages are confusing, diluting and unnecessary.

When you next pick up your marketing material, look at it and ask yourself – “What is the message?”  “What does this make me feel?” and finally “What should I do now?” 

Carpe diem,