TRULY UNDERSTANDING YOUR CUSTOMER

UNDERSTANDING what your customer expects from you as a service provider has become multi-faceted. It's not just enough to know the demographic profile of your customer. Providing good customer service and giving your customers what they expect means understanding every aspect of their lifestyle, especially when marketing to different age consumers. It will become more and more important to know what kind of music they listen to, and where they purchase clothing and auxiliary items, business software and various lifestyle factors. Additional information needed will be sports followed, children and what their children like to do, and so many more.
It is becoming more important to align yourself with third party companies that can help you gather and analyze this critical information regarding your customers in their work life, home life and lifestyle. Social media has become a useful tool also in discovering more information about customers and even providing ways to keep existing customers as loyal repeat customers.

Arnie Goldberg agoldberg@loyaltybuilder.com 317-489-5337

LEADERSHIP - FIVE GUIDELINES

Leadership is not just your actions, but must include the ability to encourage and inspire others
Leadership is about trust, which is the glue that cements the followers and moves the organization forward
Leadership helps bring out the best in others including the sharing of the best within each other
Leadership is a process of teamwork, focus, commitment and execution
Leadership includes two-way communication and emphasis on solutions not complaints

The Future of Bricks & Mortar for Brokers

Agents over the past few years have moved into home offices. Today's technology provides all an agent needs to work from a home office. Is this the model of the future?

Many agents have seen reduced production. Why?
Not enough discipline - easily distracted
Lack of motivation
No consistency

A dynamic office atmosphere keeps agents working their deals, and getting more closings

Have you noticed top producers continue to operate out of an office... because they are more productive...

This is not to say home offices are not valuable and convenient... and to many they help save drive time and help many be more productive

For many, they can get lots of productivity at early and late hours also

So what do you think the future of bricks and mortar will be? Will a real estate office only need conference rooms and a bull pen?

HOW DO YOU STACK UP IN CREATING LOYAL CUSTOMERS?

Too many realtors take their existing customers for granted. Think of the automobile industry that did the very same thing. They were so bold at one time they said, “Americans will not buy Japanese automobiles.” Another example of the “fickleness” of customers is the remote control. Did you know that 72% of all households have a remote control and they zap the remote control every four minutes, and men zap much more. Thus, companies trying to create customer loyalty with television ads, and are having greater difficulty reaching the consumer. It is critical for realtors to concentrate on what is New. What I mean by that is what is old is not of much concern anymore to the public. We walk up to someone and say, “What is new?” Thus, the successful realtor has new information, new trends, new newsworthy information, new-new-new stuff for their customers. The old boring newsletters, and refrigerator magnets are not new. What is new is a valuable coupon at Macy’s or Nordstrom, for the women, or three golf balls for the man. What is new is a $10 coupon for the whole family at a restaurant. What is new is sending a copy of a current newspaper article that is timely and of keen interest to your customers. Building loyalty is an ongoing process that involves creativity and much thought, but also requires up-to-date data base information, because clients change over time. Growth with more children, maturity, career changes, and neighborhood changes around them, cause customers to have different attitudes and different viewpoints. Great realtors put systems in place to help them keep up with those changes to be more relevant in their customer’s lives. Loyal customers lead to greater profits. Written by Arnie Goldberg, VP Business Development Loyalty Builder, LLC --- Faculty University of Phoenix, Faculty Oakland City University, Faculty Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.....Author of a new Customer Loyalty book “Give Your Dog A Treat” www.giveyourdogatreat.com - agoldberg@loyaltybuilder.com

The guardian at the gateway to your mind

Posting from Lew Smallwood's blog:
There is a guardian standing guard at the gateway to your mind? It’s called your reticular activating system or RAS, which is the scientific term for a network of nerve pathways situated at the base of your brain that connects the spinal cord, cerebellum, and cerebrum, and acts as a filter for all the sensory input your brain draws from your external world. Reticular, from the Latin word for ‘little net’ simply means a netlike structure. Everything you see, hear, touch, taste, or smell passes through this fine network, which then relays the signal to the appropriate part of your brain for processing.
You can think of this system as something like Google. When you type a word or search string into Google, it scours the internet for everything it can find that relates to that specific phrase, retrieves it and presents it to you, and it does this in a matter of seconds. Your reticular formation does much the same thing but does its work in thousandths of a second.
The inherent danger for us whenever a failure or disappointment occurs in life is that we can identify with it too closely, and therefore mistake the failure for ourselves. That can lead to adopting a mindset of ‘I failed therefore I am a failure’ and that dominant thought attracts further failure images and messages.
It is better to forget the failure and focus on future success. That mindset will attract positive images and messages. Never label lack of success as failure, simply learn from it and be grateful for the lesson the set back provides, and keep you RAS set for success.
Just change what you think about, change your dominant thoughts. Because in life you eventually attract what you think about most of the time.

GREATEST RISK TODAY - LOSS OF EXISTING CUSTOMERS

We are finding the greatest risk in today’s business is the loss of existing customers. And we all have known the best opportunity for growing sales is through your existing customers... would you agree?

You must know who are your core customers and find out which satisfied customers can become loyal customers. There is a big difference between satisfied and loyal.

Nothing beats meeting a loyal customer for breakfast, lunch or a cup of coffee. Second is picking up the phone and talking for a few minutes with your grade A customers. Third and just as important is a consistent way to create value added benefits and consulting services for customers to differentiate you from those trying to erode your customer base.

But first you must know your customers well enough to know which are "core loyal customers" and which could be "cultivated" to become core loyal customers. How do you accomplish that? "DEEPER" KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS BEYOND THE "OUTER SHELL"

Your customers do not always want to hear about real estate! In fact most of the time you they do not have any interest in real estate. You must trigger their work-life interests, home-life interests and lifestyle interests.

There are companies that offer services and or programs to help you accomplish just that. Seek them out and find companies that specialize in customer relationships.


Arnie Goldberg, co-founder and Vice President with Loyalty Builder,LLC. Arnie says, "Loyalty Builder is a relationship management and marketing firm that I believe is dramatically different from the standard industry focused firm. We are driven to generate relationships to grow your real estate business."

REALTOR CUSTOMER BASE MARKETING

Realtor Customer Base Marketing
Important information
A National Association of Realtors Technology Survey in 2007 found that REFERRALS, REPEAT BUSINESS and INTERNET were the main sources of leads.
And I have found in realtor surveys that the majority of realtors are still spending more of their marketing budget on soliciting new clients than on their customer base. Why?
The traditional brokerage office is still hiring as many agents as possible, hoping for as many sales as possible, and using old techniques like open houses, floor duty, and email. I include email because email is now a marketing tool that is loosing it’s value.
New technology and a new approach
The advent of the social media boom, the massive availability of information on the Internet, the younger generation of multi-tasking and fast paced living have dictated a major shift in the way realtors approach their business.
The information below reviews the need to consider a shift from traditional marketing budgets to a new approach. The low cost of advertising and publicity and information gathering allows realtors to allocate more to customer base marketing than prospect marketing.

Marketing Costs Per Closing
Assumptions:
• The realtor tracks their commissions (If they don’t I bet the IRS does)
• The realtor tracks marketing costs
• The realtor tracks revenue from repeat and referral business closings (Although many do not, we suggest they begin immediately as it takes more and more knowledge of their business to survive and/or grow today’s climate.)
Realtor tracked - customer value
• Original commission earned on purchase of a home $ 3,200
• Referral to a neighbor for a listing which sold $ 3,800
• Listing customer’s home/repurchase of a new home $ 8,200
• Referral to a home builder (2 sales in 2 years) $ 5,500
• Listing of older parents moving to assisted living $ 3,100
• Introduction to HR person where customer works
(value undetermined as of yet)
Total $ 23,800

Economics

Closings per year (assuming) 30
Commissions $90,000
Total Marketing Costs $6,000
% of Referrals 70% or $63,000
Marketing cost on Customer Base 30% = $ 1800.00 (typical)
Marketing on Prospecting 70% $ 4,200.00

Marketing Costs New Prospect Closings $4,200.00 or $466.66 per closing
Marketing Costs Referral or Repeat Business Closings $1,800.00 or $85.72 per closing


Re-alignment of marketing dollars

If your referral and repeat business is 70% of your income, why spend only 30% of your total marketing investment on your customer base.
We strongly suggest you reverse the marketing investment and allocate 70% of total budget dollars toward your customer base.

Customer Service Retention Trends in Social Media

By Arnie Goldberg

Faculty, John Sperling School of Business, University of Phoenix Website Article

Keeping a client year after year requires attaining customer loyalty which involves fitting together several pieces of a relationship puzzle. There is a science to understanding client loyalty. This includes recognizing the value of loyal clients, and creating and maintaining those loyal clients.

Research surveys have held the position that customers who were satisfied were more likely to remain loyal to a company (Klein & Einstein, 2003). When organizations delivered a customer experience that met their needs, customers returned to that organization more frequently than to its competition. However, current thought reveals only the top echelon of satisfied customers remained loyal to an organization.

I have found while teaching a course on customer retention, the best starting point is to have the students answer a few questions. This process helps a person realize the many factors that affect customer loyalty, and how these factors play on purchase decisions in his or her life. The survey thought process also shows how we are all different and have different motivations, which is important in developing customer loyalty strategies and programs.

Introducing Social Media

Today, there is a swing back to gaining knowledge of the customer and his or her behavior patterns as a key element in designing loyalty marketing plans and strategies. With the viral expansion of social media, and the younger consumer demographic’s use of social media as a daily communication tool, this phenomenon becomes an opportunity for businesses to maintain contact and provide current information to existing customers.

Traditional means of advertising and flows of providing information to existing customers are losing their effectiveness. Advertisers are not seeing positive results from newspapers and print media and have reduced expenditures in those media outlets. Social media provides free platforms and the advent of “permission-based” communication, with a huge word-of-mouth, viral scope.

People are now in a hurry—not only the younger generation but their parents too. The fastest growing segment of social media platforms is said to be those from ages 40 to 55 (Corbett, 2009). They read news on the Internet in brief “tidbits” of information, and they are multi-tasking with several software applications open at the same time. Often they are switching in the middle of a news article when a message arrives and often they never return to the article.

While surveying several social media users, I found they build trust within their social media friends and rely heavily on these friends for purchasing information and company reputation. Positive flows of purchase satisfaction can provide a major component of customer loyalty programs by company marketing departments.

Three Factors that Influence Customer Loyalty

1. Customer satisfaction–involves prior expectations of quality and customer service, and the comparison of those expectations to actual performance received.
2. Perceived alternatives–have to do with the difficulty and/or the cost of moving to a new vendor or service provider.
3. Business relationship–relates to how strong the business relationship is perceived.

Trends in the growth of social media are providing platforms to aid in all three of these customer loyalty influences. Businesses must begin and continue to use this important avenue of communication to increase customer service retention.

References

Corbett, P. 2009. 2009 Facebook Demographics and Stistics Report. Retrieved May 13, 2009 from Istrategylabs.com

Klein, M. & Einstein, R., 2003. The Myth of Customer Satisfaction. Retrieved May 13, 2009 from Strategy + Business; Booz & Company.

Ideas Essential For Future Offerings

If you do not predict the future, your sales and your whole business in today’s fast paced business atmosphere can decrease in a hurry.

Today, a young person with an idea, can start a business for very little money, create a credible website, position the business idea correctly on the internet, get traction on Google and other search engines and the result could be:

Your sales all of sudden belong to that young person operating out of his home office!

Constant “research and development” becomes a necessary part of any business planning.

Any website must always be a work in progress

New ideas and new concepts have to be considered

Prime Example: Social Media as a Business Tool, as a Marketing Tool

Arnie Goldberg, VP Business Development, Loyalty Builder, LLC. agoldberg@loyaltybuilder.com

PEOPLE BUY FROM PEOPLE

People must feel comfortable to purchase anything. And the key word is "CREDIBILITY." There are three types of credibility:

1. YOU

(believe it or not first impressions count) How are you dressed, do you wreak with confidence so it is evident, do you smile

2. Your Company

(always have two or three statements that just roll off your tongue) Example-"The real estate industry has changed so much since our company was established in 1992" or "My staff is dedicated to servicing clients before the sale, during the sale, and after the sale."

3. Your Product or Service

My goal is to create not just clients, but life long friends, and referrals account for a major part of my success

More Biz in a Tough Market: The One Question More Realtors Need to Ask

by Brian Hilliard (direct quotes from Brian)

"Of all the people you've talked to this week, how many have you made feel like they should give you their business? In other words, a lot of times we can be so busy talking about what we've done, and are going to do for people, that we lose track of first creating an environment where this prospect (or Referral Partner) actually wants to work with us, or pass referrals in our direction. And when you think about it, that makes sense."

"There are plenty of choices out there for people looking to buy a home. And if we accept the fact that you're not the only Agent this person is talking to, then getting her to feel like she wants to work with you is absolutely crucial to closing the sale.

I'm talking about things like:

* Does she feel comfortable with your expertise in the area?

* Is she confident that you'll do what you said you do?

* Does she feel "listened to", even though she might be asking "stupid" questions?

* How confident is she that you'll take care of her even after the sale?

All of this comes together to create a general "feel," or "vibe" someone has about working with you. And the more positive you can make that initial feeling, the more likely you are to close the deal.

So what can you do to generate the right "feel"? Well, you'll first want to make sure that you always "Do What You Said You Would Do." That means sending out an email, returning phone calls in a timely fashion and showing up to meetings on time. A lot of times we can be so busy doing so many other things, that some of the "little stuff" can fall through the cracks."

Business Sitting At Your Doorstep

It is time to remind everyone once again.... When was the last time you picked up a phone and called your top five clients? your top ten clients? ... More business is sitting at your doorstep through your existing clients than spending lots of time and funds to find new clients.

I like the following from Betty Kincaid's Blog:

The recession has set the housecats free. It’s time to let your dormant instincts kick in. Like the alley cat, it’s time to work to fill your belly – in your case, by ensuring a steady stream of clients.

Where do you get those customers?

Order them by phone.

Call everyone you’ve done business with in the last 5 years to update their contact information, ask for the order & find out how you can help them succeed in 2009.

Start right now. Contact everyone in your database within 6 weeks. As you make the calls, the energy in your office will rise. The phone will begin to ring and orders will start to flow. You’re going to get busy, but don’t stop making your calls. Once you get to the end, start again.

Improving Your Quality of Life

Often one of the reasons people don't take the time to improve their quality of life, is that they think things will somehow just get better. They live their life in hope that their job or business will somehow improve. They hope that some lucky combination of circumstances will come about and as a result, they will finally be recognised and rewarded. Unfortunately this isn't how life works. How life works is; for things to get better, we must first get better. For things to improve, we must first improve. If we want to become more successful and happier in life, we must adopt a more effective approach.

The starting point of all change is in the mind, or more precisely, in how we think! Am I saying all we must do is improve the quality of our thoughts and we will improve the quality of our life? Yes! In fact, everything pivots around this fundamental truth. Success comes from results. Results come from actions. Actions come from thoughts. So, when we think more effectively, we take better actions, and produce better results. As you are the one who is responsible for your thoughts, you must decide how successful your life will be. It is always your responsibility, because only you have control of your mind.

Beliefs are magical things, they are at first thoughts and yet they are more than thoughts. Our beliefs comprise; how we come to know and understand things, give meaning to things, and create energy, emotions, and actions. Meaning doesn't exist out there in the world. Meaning exists only within the mind as we connect and link ideas with experiences. At birth, we have no beliefs. They develop as our perceptions, understandings and learning's grow and become a form of focused awareness. Beliefs develop over time from our experiences. We construct them via the ideas, thoughts, feelings, and meanings that we develop about various concepts. Beliefs are very powerful, helping us to have a sense of certainty and direction in an unpredictable world.

So if we wish to get better we must start by developing better beliefs. And you can chose to change any one you want to by first identifying a limiting belief, and then creating a new counter-belief that better supports you. Then become willing to let go of the old belief, and adopt the new. Simply accept any resistance, and then repeat the process until you can state the new belief congruently. Manifesting your dreams and desires into reality does not depend on your education, your ethnicity, your cultural heritage, or your current environment. It is solely the result of how you think and what you believe. One of the most important beliefs we can adopt is that in order to succeed and be happy we should be constantly improving the quality of our lives, by constantly growing and expanding our thinking.

Lew Smallwood

Julie Escobar - Her Experience Provides Benefits

Julie Escobar is Director of Corporate and Convention Marketing for ProspectsPLUS! Julie has more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience in the real estate industry. In her current position, she provides fresh ideas, products and tools for the training team and valued clients of Bradenton, FL-based ProspectsPLUS!

Get more of her tips, tools and strategies each month in the free Master Marketing Newsletter^TM from Prospects PLUS! Visit www.ProspectsPlus.com, call Julie at 1.800.287.5710, or e-mail her at julie.escobar@prospectsplus.com

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090910_backschool.htm

Build Buyer Interest, Generate Leads With Videos on YouTube

by Paul Montelongo

Social media marketing has become, quite frankly, an essential way to do business and one of the premier sites the home building industry should use is YouTube.

We in the industry work with prospective buyers who are savvier than ever — due in large part to the information they glean from the Internet.

However, no matter how savvy the buyer, they still seek the most fundamental of all sales concepts — they want to trust the salesperson and company they are working with. After they have gathered all their information, they want to be validated. They want to work with real people with real insights.

This is where a vehicle like YouTube can be your most influential tool.

Videos bridge static information and the visual. They give your prospective buyers a view into your product and your personality. In addition, they function as a lead generator as well as a lead qualifier.

YouTube Is Simple to Use

With YouTube, you can shoot a short video and upload it to the site within minutes. YouTube then provides you a link that you can copy and paste into an e-mail to your prospects, or post on your Web site, blog or other social sites you may have, such as Facebook or Twitter.

All you need is a video camera and an idea.

YouTube technology is easy to use. But in case you’re a technophobe, don’t worry. Someone in your office, or just about any high school student, will be able to upload a video for you.

What you will probably find more challenging will be creating and developing the ideas for videos that will distinguish you and elevate you above your competition.

The following are a few tips on what to do when making your video — and what to avoid doing.

Video Do’s

• Brevity Is King. Make your point and show your product quickly.
• Authenticity Rules. Be personable. Smile and remember to be friendly. Think trust and remember, you are showcasing how easy it is for people to get along with you in a sales environment.
• Frequency. Post videos and update your footage regularly.
• Be Original and Spontaneous. Carry your video camera with you at all times and be ready to record anything that is remotely interesting or informative in your line of work.
• Brief Customer Testimonials Are Very Powerful. Anyone can write a testimonial, but with a video testimonial, the viewer can look into the eyes of your customers and gauge their sincerity.
• Archive Them in One Location. Create your own YouTube TV station. It’s free, simple, quick to do and can be customized with your corporate colors and logo.

What to Avoid

• Bad Lighting, Bad Sound, Too Much Background Noise. You don’t need to be Steven Spielberg to produce a decent video, but use some common sense when it comes to the quality of your videos.
• Disrespecting the Copyright Laws. If you wish to use music, photos, literature and other videos, conduct a brief Google search to see if you are infringing on any intellectual territories. There are plenty of royalty-free pictures and music available for your videos.
• Distasteful, Off-Color, Unruly, Offensive or Objectionable Material. Can you be edgy and interesting? Absolutely. How is objectionable defined?
• Not Integrating Your YouTube Videos With All of Your Other Internet Marketing Strategies. YouTube videos should be a component of a well-thought out marketing plan. In the housing industry videos should be a component of your overall marketing landscape.
• Copycat, Copycat. It’s okay to take an idea and expand it to make it your own. Be as original as you possibly can and avoid copying the video ideas of a competitor or colleague.
• No Contact Information. Every video you produce and post should include your contact information. A simple e-mail or Web site address is sufficient. As with other marketing, your goal is to have prospective customers contact you for more information. Help them out.
• Not Combing Your Hair. Think about the impression you wish to make and dress accordingly. If you want to project a highly professional image, wear business clothes and film the video in your office with you behind a big walnut desk. Or, because you’re selling a lakefront community, casual attire is more appropriate as you film your video on an outside patio overlooking the lake (possibly with a mojito cocktail on the table).
• Keeping Your Videos a Secret. If you are going to make an effort to shoot video footage, by all means let the world know it’s out there.

There are other video storage sites available, such as Viddler.com and Flickr.com, that you can use as well. Each has its own special features, but YouTube is by far the most widely used and is universally recognized.

Keep in mind that, as with most other forms of marketing, video marketing is a work-in-progress. The more you work with it, the more it will work for you.

Paul Montelongo, CSP, CGR, is a nationally recognized speaker, author, syndicated columnist, entrepreneurial consultant and an international authority on sales motivation. He works with businesses and organizations around the country to build team responsibility and personal morale. Visitwww.youtube.com/plmontelongo for video evidence and his blog at www.paulmontelongo.com/housingblog for social media marketing proof.

The Enemies of Learning and Change

A young man approached Socrates the great philosopher and sage and pleaded that he accept him as a student. Socrates responded by asking the young man to walk with him along the bank of a river and then beckoned him to enter the water with him. Suddenly Socrates grasped the young man and forced his head under water. He struggled frantically to free himself but Socrates held him tightly and kept him submerged. Finally, the young man became exhausted so Socrates released him and then asked: When you thought you were drowning what one thing did you want most of all? Still gasping he exclaimed: I wanted air! Socrates smiled and said: When you want knowledge as much as you wanted air, then you will get it!

The lesson for us is that to learn and change we must be committed. How we approach learning inevitably shapes what we understand to be possible in dealing with the difficulties that confront us in life. Being a committed learner is central to developing what the Dalai Lama calls a flexible or pliant mode of thinking. How each of us operates as a learner inevitably shapes what we see to be possible when dealing with difficulties that may confront us.

One way to discern how we approach learning is to consider any unintentional blockages we may have. These enemies of learning often occur as our silent statements and judgements. They may include an inability to acknowledge our ignorance or admit that someone else may know. Or we may be unwilling to allow others the permission, or authority to teach us. Sometimes it is self-doubt about our ability to learn and change, or perhaps being trapped in a mood of anxiety, or of resignation, or of resentment. Knowing and acknowledging our enemies of learning is the first step in moving beyond them.

Another key step is to identify and develop our allies of learning. These include humility, which enables us to acknowledge our ignorance and to grant ourselves permission to learn from another. Courage, so we allow ourselves to be open to new, and sometimes difficult areas of learning or to different methods of learning. Also, developing a constructive frame of mind along with a way of being that incorporates curiosity, wonder, humour, lightness and playfulness. These attributes and a determination to persist with learning will serve us well.

Throughout time people have always had to adapt to changing circumstances. However, what we are faced with currently is not just change, but change at warp speed. We are now living with change that is unprecedented in both speed and frequency. If change is about learning, then faster and more frequent change is going to require faster and more frequent learning. If this is the case, then the question is: How? We may be able to learn new skills and strategies, but how long before these become obsolete and then what do we do?

It is imperative to move to another level of learning, deep or experiential learning, or what Peter Senge calls, second order learning. Why is it that we often find ourselves stuck when dealing with difficult circumstances and issues we can’t resolve? Why do the same issues continue to limit our effectiveness in our professional and personal lives? Typically, we might respond by saying: Because we don’t know how to deal with them. In other words we have not been successful in changing our behaviour so that we can get more satisfactory outcomes. Engaging in critical thinking and reflecting on why it is so will cause us to deepen our learning. I invite you to explore and identify any enemies and allies of learning you may have.

Examine your thinking and identify three enemies of learning that are evident and that you wish to release. Ask yourself: do I confuse knowing with having an opinion? Do I confuse knowing with thinking I’m right? Do I regard knowing as having information?

Then identify three allies of learning that you wish to reinforce and that will significantly impact your ability to learn and succeed in life. Ask yourself: Is my way of being such that I am open to learning? How can I be more open to learn from other people and events? Finally ask every day; what else is possible?

as posted by Lew Smallwood on his blog today...

DEFINITION - CUSTOMER LOYALTY

Loyalty Marketing is the management process of identifying "best customers" and utilizing customer data and insight to create, retain and grow profitable relationships. Best customers are those who are the most commercially valuable - they bring the most profit. Also important are those whose characteristics suggetst that they have the potential to become categorized as best customers.

The REASONS CUSTOMERS LEAVE

67% Little or no customer contact

15% Service disssatisfaction

9% Competition

4% Move or Die

The U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs says that for every consumer who complains, there are 26 more that remain silent...

Ninety-one per cent of unhappy customers will never purchase again

Wronged customers will normally tell 8 to 10 people, and now so many more with the internet

Customer Retention - Customer Loyalty

All REALTORS strive to find new ways for keeping their customers, and developing clients to the point where they are loyal. Satisfied customers are often not really loyal customers. Loyal customers are repeat customers and/or provide referral business. "Correctly mining your customer database, providing meaningful and value added "Treats" along the way is a sure way of creating and maintaining a successful business"

When asked, REALTORS often relate they spend 70% of their markting budgets on finding new customers and 30% on their existing customers. Yet, the successful realtors also say they get 70% or more of their business from existing customers. I contend that targeted marketing to your existing customers (in the form of consistent touches of added value) leads to creating new prospects through your existing customers. Following up on those leads over time will produce new customers with a much greater return on your marketing budget and efforts.

In What Shape Is Your Customer Data Base

Without accurate and current data, you might as well not have a data base!

What is your system for collecting data and how accurate is it?
Knowledge is King and in many cases customer retention is a direct correlation between the accuracy and timeliness of your data!
Do you have a system of communication with your existing customers?
If not you better create one in-house or go outside to contract with someone who does have tools to stay in contact with customers.

CRYSTAL BALL – NO! PREDICT THE FUTURE – NO!

If you do not predict the future, your sales and your whole business in today’s fast paced business atmosphere can decrease in a hurry.

Today, a young person with an idea, can start a business for very little money, create a credible website, position the business idea correctly on the internet, get traction on Google and other search engines and the result could be:

Your sales all of sudden belong to that young person operating out of his home office!

Constant “research and development” becomes a necessary part of any business planning. Any website must always be a work in progress. New ideas and new concepts have to be considered.

Technology–Information Technology–People Skills

ARTICLE WRITTEN IN 2003

Recently in an article called “The Technology of Personal Service,” Stephen Baird started with the following statement. “The impact of technology on the practice of real estate brokerage is undeniable, and it is changing our business in profound ways.” He added, “what we as real estate professionals need to understand is that our business is not about information, but rather about service.” “Today, effective use of available technology can certainly get the consumer quite literally to the door, but it still takes human interaction to get them across the threshold and into the home.”

Often times the buyer shows up really well informed from the Internet, with a few choices to see, after researching the neighborhood, the schools etc. The Internet was your personal assistant. Now the real test becomes your people skills, and treatment of your new prospect.

For years real estate agents have attempted to communicate with clients and potential clients in a timely manner. That is why most had several phone numbers on their business cards, and carried all types of “accessories" to be found, such as, cellular phones and various types of pagers. However, most forgot one primary thing. One of the most critical problems the public has had with REALTORSâ is finding them, actually connecting with them on the first call, and feeling they are accessible. REALTORSâ realize the importance of being accessible, and have in the past listed numerous phone numbers on their cards, because they do want to be found. The challenge for clients and potential clients has been the frustration of calling one number after another and leaving messages, not really knowing which number to call first. In fact, industry statistics found that it took at least three attempts before finding a REALTORâ. This was born out many times when the REALTORâ would find the same message on voice mail at the office, voice mail at the end of their cellular phone, and sometimes the same message on their home voice mail. Today they get the same message on email and various voice mails.

That is why most REALTORSâ have used several phone numbers on their business cards, and carried all types of “accessories" to be found, such as, cellular phones and various types of pagers. However, most forgot one primary thing. The public gets frustrated making several calls to find the REALTORâ.

New technology has helped the information and education side of the business. Now there is new technology to provide REALTORSâ a solution to the availability problem for callers. ONE NUMBER “follow me” service is now provided on a low-cost basis and is a great solution to the communication problem. The combining of voice mail, fax documents and email with Unified Communications, and the “follow me” service enables REALTORSâ to publish one number on their business card, which is a “virtual office.” “Follow me” service with one number can find you simultaneously at your cellular phone and your home office, and you can prioritize your calls to take control of your communications. This enables you to take the important calls and send others to voice mail for later follow up. REALTORSâ can now avoid missing or playing telephone tag with the important or critical callers. In fact, they are able to take more than one call at a time by putting the first caller on hold, after hearing who is on the line for the second call.

The Internet and information age has arrived, and now the communication side of the business has the technology to enhance your people skills.

Technology-Communications from article written by: Arnie Goldberg 2003

Latest Trends in the Real Estate Industry 2001

ARTICLE I WROTE IN 2001

More and more broker/owners are considering the huge costs of “bricks and mortar.” Providing office space, desks, phone systems, and phone lines for agents who average only 9 hours per week in their office is a major expense. Broker/owners are looking for alternatives. Most successful agents have home offices with all the needed capabilities and access via computer to the multiple listing service and to the world. Pressures continue to reduce commissions, which are squeezing the revenue side of the business, and one way to offset this squeeze is to reduce operation costs.

With the incredible speed of technology changes, increased dependence upon data sources both to the consumer and real estate agents, and more consumers gathering data before contacting the agent, a new threat has arrived in the industry.

Agents are now experiencing the challenge of bringing the personal touch back to the fore. One of the most critical problems the public has had with agents is finding them – actually connecting with them on the first call and feeling they are accessible. Agents realize the importance of being accessible and have, in the past, listed numerous phone numbers on their cards because they want to be found. The challenge for clients and potential clients has been the frustration of calling one number after another and leaving messages, not really knowing which number to call first. In fact, industry statistics found that it took at least three attempts before finding an agent. This was borne out many times when the agent would find the same message on voice mail at the office, voice mail on their cellular phone, and even on their home business line voicemail. Today they get the same message on email and various voice mails.

Several real estate offices are now turning to new communication technologies which create an efficient way for agents to prioritize their calls and take only the important calls, without being interrupted with calls that can be handled at more convenient times. Callers benefit from the service also. For example, combining the new One Number technology with “follow-me” capabilities, allows clients and potential clients to call only one number. From the agent’s side, he or she can connect with callers when they choose, no matter where they are, or send the caller to voice mail or transfer a caller to an assistant or another telephone. To assist the agent in making the right choice on how to handle a call, the agent hears the caller’s name announced before connecting the call. Additionally, the One Number technology combines live connected calls, voice mail messages, fax documents and email in one convenient email account. The agent can then access voice mail messages, fax documents and email at convenient times.

This combining of communications also gives agents the ability to save all communications with a client or potential client (email, fax documents, and voice mail messages) to a disk and place it in the customer file. Broker/owners and managers are excited about this, because it is very helpful should there be any liabilities in future legal situations.

The cost of a One Number-type virtual office repays itself in increased efficiency, time savings, and the ability to connect live with those callers important to your business. It also overcomes the frustrations callers face when looking up and dialing several phone numbers to attempt locating the agent.

The use of One Number “follow-me” services reduces the need for expensive telephone equipment additions, and extends the life of existing telephone equipment in offices.

Latest Trends in the Real Estate Industry from article written by: Arnie Goldberg

Quantity versus Quality

How many times have you been told “it’s a numbers game,” and we then strive to touch as many people as we possible with our message. These “numbers” can be people we know within our sphere of influence or complete strangers, as we strive for “volume” databases.

Is that all bad? Not really depending upon the cost and time spent developing that “volume” database. Let’s face it, leads often flow from that huge database and some even get converted into revenue and profits.

But there is a difference between your message reaching thousands and creating true relationships. How many sales a year do you need to survive, to reach a realistic profit goal, and/or to reach a spectacular revenue/profit goal? If you need 15 sales for survival, or fifty sales for your spectacular goal, in either case you really only need a few handfuls of clients.

Besides the mega database, I suggest you concentrate on building two new relationships a week and within a year you have 100 solid relationships plus the people they know with whom they network. Now we have to determine the keys to developing those two relationships per week.

A local networking organization that is very successful, touts that you have lunch with two people every week in an attempt to get to know them better, beyond the external “hi, how are you doing.” Learning about their business life, their family life, likes and dislikes, hobbies help establish a true relationship. The most important fact I suggest you learn is what makes a good customer for them, therefore what is a good lead for their business. Nothing begins to better create a business relationship than providing a couple good leads for them. The sincere attitude of helping them create business is like gold in today’s fast-paced non-caring business world.

Another way to create a solid business relationship is to provide experiences that have created successful results for business people you know. This becomes "helpful hints" for business people and is well appreciated.

Arnie Goldberg

Latest Book

http://giveyourdogatreat.webs.com/

ag@loyaltybuilder.com

BUILDING A TEAM

What is the key to building a successful team?

ATTRACT... look for people that have experience and capabilities different than you

EXPANSION... find people that challenge your thinking, that a willing to provide their opinion

STRATEGIC...team members do not have to be employees, they can be strategic alliances with outsiders

ALLOW TIMETABLE... building a team may take some time to develop and create a comfortable atmosphere

PARTICIPATION... teamwork is key to the operation of a group and open communication must be encouraged... all participants will be more productive if they feel a part of the team

SUPPORT... building mutual trust will be the result of giving your team members all the support they need

LEADERSHIP... leading a small team is no different than leading a huge corporation... vision and good communication are the two key traits of a successful leader

Remember the key is to recruit, develop and gain from other's experience, insight and strengths.

Arnie Goldberg EVP Loyalty Builder LLC ag@loyaltybuilder.com (317)569-0422