Target Your Marketing & Watch Your Profits Grow!

Instead of just marketing to the masses, how about you take the time to fine tune both your database and your farm.

Database: Sort your database into A+'s (those who know a lot of people and are very likely to refer you), A's (would refer you if they knew someone who needed your service/product), B's (may remember to refer, may not), C's (not likely, but they know/have worked with you).

Now, spend most of your database marketing budget on the A+'s and A's. This is were most of your leads are going to come from anyway. My ideas, market to the A+'s and A's 1-2 times a month, B & C's maybe only once every 3 months. Also, spend a little more money to get the A+'s something unique at least once a year.

Farm: Instead of just picking a neighborhood or certain streets to market to, how about we do some research. Find out how often the turnover is in the area, and then only market to those who fall within those parameters. If houses tend to sell about every 7 years, market to those who have owned their home for 6+.

These are just a few easy ways to save yourself money and generate more results. Being sure to include a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and/or value added content also is an important factor that I will discuss in future posts.

Why NOT to work harder! Follow me...

Recently, a friend on Facebook posted about how the businesses that tried the hardest, gave 110%, were going to be the ones that succeeded.  And it got me thinking...Does that really sound right?  At face value, but something bugged me about it.  Maybe it was the fact that I never saw the "Work Hard = Profits" equation in my economics class, or maybe it was because I've been working hard for years and feel like my business isn't growing as fast as I would like.  Something's fishy...

So, I decided to commit myself, 110%, to doing what will truly grow my business.  I'm not going to be working harder, I'm going to be working smarter!

Hopefully you will follow me on this journey.  Subscribe to my blog and grow your business along with me.  I'm going to need you guys to hold me accountable and I am more than willing to do the same for you.

Once every two weeks I'm going to post about the work that I've done to seriously grow my business.  Take the tips and use them in your business.  This isn't hard.  It's about having a plan and sticking to it.

First Goal: Revamp current business rates and procedures. 

I've decided that I'm not working for free anymore.  I'm so busy everyday doing work that never pays.  Forget it!  I'm done with it.  I've got a family to feed and take care of just like everyone else. 

New contracts will be signed, rates set and procedures outlined so all parties know what to expect when they work with TC.

Lets get this journey started.  I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to start making some real profits, all while NOT working harder!

PS.  I've got two businesses I'm going to be working on.  My marketing business - TC Business Management, LLC www.TCMandD.com - and my online classified site - PA E Seller  PAESeller.com (which I've ignored since inception).  This plan will work for any business with just some minor tweaking.  B2B or B2C.

What's Wrong with my Postcards?

Have you sent a lot of postcards to your database or farm and not gotten any response? Well, there could be a couple reasons why. The number one rule to marketing is consistency. If you send postcards for 2 months then stop for 6 and send for another month and stop again, you're wasting your time. Some say something is better than nothing, but in the previous case, it's not. Don't waste your money.

Now, if you have the consistency, but no results than you're doing something wrong. Poor content, bad design, no call to action...People don't like what your sending them and it's not making them think of you as a Real Estate Expert that they would call.

Let's start with content. Send people information that they are going to be interested in and that will also make your look like a neighborhood expert. Market statistics, recent sales, neighborhood news, home maintenance tips, local vendors, real estate news, your real estate buying/selling statistics, etc., that is what people want from their realtor. Make yourself look like an expert. Don't send recipe cards - you're not a chef!

Bad design is another issue. Use a great headline and a lot of white space. You want this card to be easy to read and understand. Don't make it too boring though. A little bit of design sense is worth the modest cost. Just don't let an artist put their vision on your design. Try to work with someone who understands design AND marketing.

Always include a call to action. Make sure to ask for referrals or direct them to visit your website for more valuable information. If you don't ask them to do anything, they won't!

TC Business Management, LLC, www.TCMandD.com, is a firm specializing in marketing. Your time should be spent with clients, not designing and maintaining marketing systems. TC believes in result driven marketing. We want to grow your business as much as you do!

Cost Effective Listing Marketing That Works!

Having done a lot of different listing marketing combinations for a lot of different realtors, I've learned a think or two about what works. Here's what I would recommend...

1- BUYERS LOVE VIRTUAL TOURS! The clicks you will get via internet marketing b/c of these tours is something you will love to share with your sellers.

2- THE QUALITY & QUANTITY OF YOUR LISTING PHOTOS - This is huge! Make sure you have great pictures (staging the home comes into play here) and a lot of them. Buyers love to look at pictures. This is truely their first impression of the home.

3- FREE RECORDED INFO 800 #'S - Don't waste that listing! Buyers will call these numbers and become possible new clients. They are worth it.

4- 'SOFT SELL' ON NETWORKING SITES - I hate when realtors just post their new listings, price reductions, etc on facebook. Boring... A spin on this idea is to upload your listings great photos to your album and your sellers album (if they have one) and then comment back and forth. The exposure doubles and people are more interested with interior photos then exterior and what you have to say about them of course.

5- CRAIGSLIST & OTHER SITES - They work! I track the clicks and buyers are definitely using Craigslist to search for homes. Make sure you use an html version with a lot of great photos. OpenHouse.com is great for open houses too :)

6- INTRO LETTER OUTLINING MARKETING STRATEGY - Tell your sellers what they are going to receive. Don't let them tell you what works - you're the expert. Have it in writing before hand so they know what to expect.

7- SINGLE PROPERTY WEBSITE - I've mentioned this site before, EPropertySites.com. It's great. Tons of useful, lead generating tools with click reports to show that it's working! Only $10/listing too!

8- HEADLINE & DESCRIPTION - Very important! When I started in real estate I thought those 'picture painting' descriptions were pointless - I've learned. They really do work. Make the buyers WANT to live in the home and they just may buy it!

9- LOCAL REAL ESTATE BOOK - I don't write these completely off. Pick one and advertise consistently just to cover your bases. Not everyone is online :) I know offices that use to pay for every real estate magazine in the area all while getting little to no results. They switched to this plan and have been doing very well.
10- FLYER & BUSINESS CARDS - I've seen flyers that have paragraphs of information on them. Ugh. I just turn my head and don't even want to read them. Keep it short and make sure those great photos are on there. Create and print business card labels with your listings info on them, place them on the back of your business card and leave them along with your brochure at the property. Buyers will pick them up!

11- JUST LISTED POSTCARDS TO... - Don't just mail to the development! I know sellers like to see that, but a more important group to mail (or email) to is your database/sphere. They know you, like you and will tell someone they know about the listing (if you market to them consistently and correctly).

12- EMAIL TO AREA AGENTS - Some agents hate these emails, others read them every time. I do think they are useful. The more times your listing is out in front of an agent the more likely they are to remember it when a buyer asks for a home that fits your listings description.

Oh yeah...and a good listing price always helps! Sometimes that can be the hardest to get though...

Just some things I've picked up on...Not all inclusive, but a good start. Let me know if you guys have found any other items that work well.

I, Kim Bartells, am the owner of TC Business Management, LLC - a virtual assistant firm for realtors. If you're interested in highering a virtual assistant feel free to visit my site www.TCMandD.com