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Yikes! My Marketing isn’t Working!

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By Sharon Vornholt

My marketing isn’t working is a statement that I hear just about every week. When I start to ask people about their branding, I always get the same surprised look. Then that person usually says something like, “I’ll worry about branding when my marketing is on track”.

I have to tell you, that’s not how it works.  Branding and marketing go hand in hand, and you need to be working on both things simultaneously. Think of it this way:

Marketing is how you get leads.  Branding is what makes them choose YOU.

Really think about that for a minute.  You’ve just dropped a chunk of cash sending out direct mail campaigns that are pretty much getting you zero results.  One of the main reasons for that is most likely because you have completely neglected to build a brand. There are also a couple of other reasons what we will go over in a minute.

Taking Stock

When your marketing isn’t working, the first step is to take stock of everything you are doing. What are all of your marketing activities?  List them all out.

  • They might include:
  • Direct mail
  • Bandit signs
  • Networking
  • Websites (you must have a website)
  • Craig’s list, Zillow etc.
  • Calling expired listing
  • Or anyone of a dozen other strategies

Then, ask yourself these 3 questions.

  1. Am I marketing consistently?
  2. Am I targeting the right group of people?
  3. What is it I should be doing that I’m not doing? (You know what that is.) No judgement here, but you do have to own where you are to get where you want to go.

Once you have listed out all your marketing activities, be honest and list the exact frequency of those marketing activities. List everything you are doing whether it is daily, weekly, monthly or some other frequency.

If you have big gaps in your frequency, I can almost promise you that’s one of the problems. Marketing cannot be a hit or miss thing. Consistency is one of the keys to generating a steady stream of leads.

The Next Piece of the Puzzle: Building Your Brand

So what exactly is branding?

There’s no doubt that the physical components of a brand are important. Those are things like logos, brand colors and other things that make up the “look” of your brand.  But that’s not what branding really is.

Branding is the way people feel about you. Another way to say it is, “It’s what people say about you when you leave the room”.  That my friend is why you need to build a brand, and you need to be the one in charge of doing that.

If you don’t consciously build your brand and the way you want to be perceived to your potential clients, one of two things will happen: 

  1. Someone else will do it for you. Many times this happens by folks saying negative things about you. They will be in charge of what they want other people to think about you. The way you combat this is by building your own online reputation.
  2. Or you will simply be invisible in your niche which is the kiss of death.

What Has Changed?

For those of us that were around before the internet (I know, it’s hard to believe we grew up without it), only the big companies like Coca Cola had to worry a lot about branding.  The local heating and air-conditioning company could run a few local ads, give great customer service and stay in business.

That’s not true anymore.  When your marketing isn’t working, your failure to build a strong brand is almost always part of the problem.

Whether or not you intend to have a global brand, because of the internet you can be found by everyone. It’s no longer optional to build a brand for your business.  In most cases, you will be the brand in our business.

Remember, that all your marketing has to touch people in some way that makes them take action. Whether that is to call you, to fill out a form on your website or take some other action, once they have found you, what exactly is it that they will find?

You need to ask yourself these questions:

  • What makes you special?
  • How have you branded yourself so that you are memorable?
  • What makes people think you are the authority in your field?
  • The big questions is why should they choose YOU? What makes you different than your competitors?

You must be able to answer these questions before you can really build a brand that stands out from all the rest. Remember that marketing is how you get leads, and your branding is why they choose YOU.

Where Does Branding Count?

Everywhere!

It counts everywhere people have contact with you whether that’s on your website, social media, on your marketing pieces or even in the way present yourself when you’re networking. Your goal should be to build a consistent presence both online and offline.

Here’s a little exercise for you.  Google yourself and see what comes up. Having nothing come up can be as bad as having something negative come up.

How Do You Build a Rock Solid Brand?

You can do that many ways. However one of the best ways is through content marketing. and I’m going to talk about that in my next article.  I want you to be clear on one thing; you don’t have to write a single article to create great content. There are other ways to create content and that’s what I will go over next time.

I also have a free “Brand Assessment Guide” that you can get over on my blog.  So be sure to stop by the Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog and get your free copy. It’s a great way to see where you are now, and what steps you can take to create a brand that leaves your competition in the dust.

Author:  Sharon Vornholt

Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog

Why You Need to Create a Customer Plan for Your REI Business

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By Sharon Vornholt

Today I want to talk about why you need to create a customer plan for your real estate investing business (in addition to a marketing plan) and exactly what a customer plan is. This is a new concept for real estate investors, but it’s something savvy businesses have been doing for a while.

What’s the Difference Between a Marketing Plan and a Customer Plan?

Simply put, a marketing plan is used to get leads. It’s used to attract motivated sellers.

Your customer plan details your process or what you do to keep those leads. The goal should be to have a repeatable process for nurturing the people that come into your business as leads.

Let’s Look At Your Marketing Plan

One of the first things you probably learned when you started your investing business was that your #1 job is marketing. You won’t be in business very long if you don’t have a steady stream of leads coming in the door. There are a lot of things you can put off but marketing isn’t one of them.

In order to effectively market your real estate business so that you always have leads, you must have a marketing plan.

Once you have implemented your marketing plan, it’s time to move on to your customer plan.

Exactly What Is a Customer Plan and Why Do You Need One?

A customer plan is a document that you create for your specific business. The customer plan for a real estate business would look much different than one a doctor created for their medical practice.

If you look at most businesses, they spend a lot of time writing business plans and marketing plans that attract customers. However, almost no one has a plan for keeping those customers (AKA motivated sellers) once you have gotten them to call you. Real estate is no different from any other business; it’s all about the customer. In our business they just happen to be folks that want or need to sell a property.

Your customer plan should be a detailed document that outlines everything needed to create a remarkable customer experience. This is the time for innovation; the time to think outside the box. If you really want to be the standout company in your marketplace, you need to find a way to reinvent the way you do business and deliver that exceptional customer experience.

Once you have created your customer plan, it also serves as a roadmap for making your company the absolute best company in your market.

Companies that got it Right

When you talk about companies that disrupted their markets, the first two companies that immediately come to mind are Uber and Airbnb. These companies “reimagined” the taxi business and the hotel business.

Uber changed the model of taxi business forever. People everywhere like riding in a regular automobile much more than a stinky taxi. Airbnb is another company that completely changed the customer experience. They reinvented the way customers choose accommodations when they travel. They are definitely giving hotels a run for their money.

What about cameras and voice recorders? Smart phones have pretty much replaced the need for both of these devices. They forever changed the way we take pictures on the go.

When I think back to the company that changed the way real estate commissions were traditionally paid, RE/MAX was responsible for that major change. Agents no longer had to share their commissions with the broker/office. If you are a RE/MAX agent, you pay a fee for everything; office space, copies etc. but you don’t share your commission. They reimagined the way Realtors get paid.

So the next question is …. how can you create a customer experience that is so different than what people are used to that you become “the one” they all want to work with?

It All Starts with the Customer

The first step is to know your potential customers. Don’t worry about your competition; worry about your customers. Once you know who your ideal customer is, then it’s time to create the best customer experience possible. Focus on creating the experience and the rest will take care of itself.

Of course ultimately this is about getting the deal. But more than that, it’s about creating raving fans that result in referrals, testimonials and repeat business.

Nurturing Your Leads

It’s easier (and cheaper) to nurture a lead than get another one. That’s a fact. Now don’t mistake this for trying to make a deal work that really isn’t a deal. That’s not what I’m talking about. This is about creating an experience for the seller at every touch point that is remarkable.

Anatomy of the Average Real Estate Deal

This is a very basic overview of the way a real estate deal goes from start to finish.

  1. You spend a lot of time and money generating leads
  2. Your marketing results in the seller contacting you about the property
  3. At some point you will have a phone conversation with the seller
  4. The next step is to look at the property if the initial screening call went well
  5. You inspect the property and decide whether or not to make an offer on the property
  6. After negotiations that offer is accepted or rejected
  7. If the offer is accepted you will proceed to the closing/settlement (and get a testimonial)

If you look at the process it’s all pretty mundane. Ask yourself this; looking at these steps, is there anything there that would create a remarkable customer experience? I don’t think so.

So let me ask you this:

  • If nothing were off limits, what could you do?
  • What would you change?
  • Is there a way to “reinvent” the way this process evolves?
  • Where can you innovate?

Let’s Do a Little Brainstorming Here

Let’s start with #1 which is lead generation and look at how you might reinvent the direct mail process.

If everyone is sending the same direct mail pieces; letters and postcards, what can you do differently? How about sending out a newsletter with helpful homeowner tips as your first mail piece? Instead of starting with a letter or postcard that says “I want to buy your house”, you begin your relationship with “Hi I’m Sharon, and I have some helpful tips for you today”. The point is to make a different first impression than everyone else.

Think of it this way; send the sellers something they will enjoy reading and in the process they will be introduced to you as a person rather than a business that wants something from them (their house). By doing this, over time you become the trusted resource in your market. At the bottom of your newsletter let them know that you buy houses and share your contact information.

Taking this thought one step further, why not replace one letter or postcard every quarter with something that would be useful to the sellers like a quarterly newsletter or market update? Information to create these information pieces is readily available on the internet, so it’s really pretty easy.

Doesn’t that make a whole different impression than a “we buy houses” letter or a postcard that’s all about you and your company? You bet it does.

Final Tips

I would like to challenge you to look at each one of those steps in the average real estate deal and think of a way you can “reimagine” the way you do business. Find ways that you can be remarkable in this crowded marketplace of real estate investing.

 

Sharon Vornholt

Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog

Why Hiring a Coach Can Help You Build a Rock Solid Brand Fast

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By Sharon Vornholt

Does this sound like you?

You’re always looking for something or someone to help you get over the next hurdle; to help you get to the next level. You know you need a coach, but you might be confused about choosing the right coach for you and how they can actually help you grow your business. You’re wondering if you will you be wasting your hard earned money.

Or maybe you are heading off in a new direction in your business, and you’re not sure how to put all the pieces together when it comes to branding and marketing. You know there is someone out there that can help you streamline the whole process.

If this sounds like you, I can tell you that you are not alone.

Each and every one of us wants to be better at what we do. We are all searching for the next thing we need to do or learn to grow our business. It has been my experience that choosing the right coach to help us master that next “thing” is almost always a game changer for us both personally and professionally.

I can tell you this for sure: you will almost always make more money faster when you hire a coach that can shave years off your learning curve.

Why is that?

The reason is, when we have the right coach to help us take those next steps, suddenly everything becomes easier. The path automatically becomes clearer. The obstacles begin to disappear. And during that process, we generally take a big leap forward in growing our business.

It seems to happen almost magically. That’s because choosing the right coach really can shave years off your learning curve.

What Is the Biggest Thing Holding Most Entrepreneurs Back?

The lack of a rock solid brand, and this is one area where a coach can really help you. Most people either have a weak brand, or they have no brand. What this means is that in most cases you are simply invisible. Who wants to be invisible?

If you look around your field or industry, you probably know someone that is great at what they do, but they are the best kept secret in their industry. No one knows about them.

Or, maybe this sounds like you:

You’ve built a business, and it might even be a great business. However the problem is that people don’t know about it. They don’t know that you are the expert in your field, and that my friend is poor branding.

Let’s Talk about your Brand

People think of colors and logos when they think about branding, and those are the visual components of your brand. What your brand really is though is how people feel about you. It’s also what they say about you when you leave the room. Yikes! What do you suppose they say? Chances are they say “Ben is a nice guy” or “Katie is a great gal”.

But let me ask you this; is this all you want people to say about you? What about your expertise? Where does that shine through? If you haven’t consciously built your brand, it’s probably non-existent. No brand = no shine.

You Need to Change the Conversation

What they should be saying is “Ben is the go to person in ___ (you fill in your field). If you want someone to do that for you, Ben is the expert. He is the person to call.

Or… “Katie is the most knowledgeable real estate person I know. No matter what your needs are, she can make it happen. There is really nothing she doesn’t know about real estate”.

That is what would happen if you had a brand built around your expertise. You have a wide circle of brand awareness and recognition.

Make no mistake about it; building a rock solid brand that shows the world who you are, what you stand for and exactly how you can help your ideal client shows up directly in your checking account.

It’s money in the bank.

Your brand and how it shows up to the world is much more of a determining factor in how much money you make than your actual skills and expertise. Now I want you to think about that for a minute.

I’m not suggesting that you don’t need to good at what you do, because you do. I am merely telling you that in your ideal customer’s mind, it’s all about perception. How you are perceived in the market place directly impacts how much money you make.

Marrying Marketing and Branding – Dollars in Your Bank Account

When you are able to successfully marry your marketing and your branding that’s where the real magic happens.

Remember that marketing is what you do to get leads in the door, and branding is what makes you stand out from the pack so that your ideal client chooses you (rather than your competition). When your marketing is on track and you’ve build a rock solid brand, you will be the obvious choice.