Today I’m going to follow-up on my article just a few days ago about how agents are making BIG, CONSISTENT, and LASTING commissions, year-after-year, using “relationship marketing.”
This article will deal with 5 MORE ways to use relationship-marketing in your business (if you’d like to see the first 5 ways, click here).
These could apply to any relationship marketing tool you use, but for simplicity sake, I’ll use our Service For Life!® System as an example.
So let’s get going…
Contact Tool Use #6: Use Service For Life!® As A “Secret Weapon” When Manual Prospecting
I never thought the day would come that I’d say this…but…
I have a number of agents who LOVE to walk neighborhoods and introduce themselves to people. I don’t recommend manual prospecting because it entails too much time, but it seems to work for them.
They just love to walk around and meet folks.
Well, about 2 years ago they started handing out issues of Service For Life!® to the people they meet – and their business just exploded!
They told me that they’re now household names in the area because people know them and love to read their newsletter. They pretty-much own the area.
But they also discovered an unexpected benefit…
They now ALSO mail Service For Life!® each month…and because people now know who they are…their readership and RESPONSE rates are HUGE.
I also have agents who use it as a mailer each month…then when they walk around neighborhoods, people automatically know them. The agents tell me their results have multiplied by this simple little strategy of…
Combining Personal Contact with
Regular Mail Contact
Again, I never expected this, but it’s all true. You can see some of their ideas and comments right here by clicking on the links in the upper left of the page.
Contact Tool Use #7: Use with your ing Presentations and Buyer Packages to Demonstrate Your Commitment, Follow-Up and Professionalism to Your Clients AND…Give Back-Issues of Service For Life!® to New Prospects and Clients as a Welcome Gift
Here’s a marketing tool no other agents are using – and it works.
When you insert your newsletter into your pre-ing and buyer packages, you’re demonstrating you’re a true professional and invested in bringing value to your clients.
Nothing differentiates you better than Service For Life!®.
And…when you give back issues as a welcome gift to new clients, there’s some pretty smart psychology going on here.
By giving a prospect or client a GIFT at the beginning of the relationship, you’re causing the subtle dynamic of “obligation” on their part.
And we all know that people who feel obligated from receiving a gift are culturally bound to reciprocate the gesture.
I know it sounds a little sneaky…and I want you to be honest and authentic with your client intentions…but giving back-issues of Service For Life!® to new prospects and clients (as a welcome gift) will help BOND them to you and create a dynamic of reciprocation on your behalf.
And reading Service For Life!® will automatically position you as a stand-out professional and subtly program your prospects as to WHY they should work with you and refer your services to friends and family.
I’m going to talk a little more about “obligation and reciprocation” in an upcoming article. But I’m serious…you need to try this….because it really, really works.
Contact Tool Use #8: Use Service For Life!® As An INSERT Into Local Publications.
True story: About 4 years ago one of our subscribing agents called me in a panic.
Recently divorced, she moved from Alaska down to a small town in Colorado…and was scared to death about starting all over in real estate.
I managed to convince her that…whether you’re a new agent, grizzled veteran or even relocating your practice…you still need to build Personal Market Share™ from day ONE if you want to survive.
So she took my advice and started using our Ultimate Real Estate Success Secret™ strategy and Service For Life!® in her new town.
But because she was new to her area, she didn’t have a very large “House ” to work…so she did something incredibly innovative…
She contacted a local “bedroom” newspaper that reached the targeted areas she prospected, and placed Service For Life!® as a stand-alone INSERT into the paper.
And she used our “24-Hour Free Home Information” insert highlighting some attractive ings in the area and other offers we give you in the insert.
The result? (I kid you not!)…in 18 months, she was managing an average of 36 listings at any one time, became the TOP AGENT in the area, and (here’s the amazing part) drove 2 competing real estate offices right out of business!
I now have dozens of agent who do the very same thing in their local areas with great results. But there’s something else they do as well…
They also place our “Get a Free Subscription Delivered to Your Home” cards with their inserts, so they automatically build their subscriber s as a result.
See what they’re doing? They’ve created their own “House Building System” in the process.
Now THAT’S some slick marketing, don’t you think?
Contact Tool Use #9: Use Service For Life!® As An “Open House Prospecting Tool.”
I hate open houses. Why?
Because they can be a colossal waste of time…that is…unless you know how to prospect for new clients using them.
The next time you run an open house (or have an agent run one for you), place a stack of Service For Life!® current issues by your sign-in sheets.
Or put them in your Home Information packets…
Or hand them out to every person who arrives…
And here’s a little-known secret: Place them in areas visitors will see them and take one when no one is watching (like bathrooms, bedrooms…even the laundry room of your ing).
Visitors are more likely to take a gift when they’re not being “public” about it – and that’s a great opportunity for you.
Why do this? Because the issues will engage your readers…demonstrate your professionalism…and give them multiple reasons to CALL YOU.
It’s a ready-made prospecting tool working to leverage your ability to attract more business. It’s that simple.
Contact Tool Use #10: Use Service For Life!® as the Most Effective VIRAL Marketing Tool on Earth.
Here’s a system that works automatically – you do NOTHING!
Almost daily agents call or email telling me how their Service For Life!® got shared with other people – automatically.
This is called, “VIRAL Marketing.” In a future article I’m going to talk a little more about how viral marketing can help your business.
But for now you should know how this tool is shared…
Agents report they take it to work with them…to share the jokes, trivia and interesting, helpful articles.
Other agents tell me they send it off to other family members and share it with neighbors and friends.
And a few agents told me some of their House members are teachers who take it into their classrooms to share interesting content with their students.
How does all this occur?
We specifically designed Service For Life!® to get shared. We engineered the articles specifically for high readership using (what we call) “hard content.”
Hard content is specific “how-to” ideas and information that people can really use – so they naturally share it with others.
Then, we placed helpful involvement devices such as word games and interesting trivia. And we put a healthy dose of humor in each issue…because people love a good laugh.
The end results is (among other things) you have a great “viral marketing” tool for your business. Best of all…it happens without you even thinking about it.
Want More Uses For Your Contact Marketing?
OK. Enhance Your Web Sites’ Value by Hosting Service For Life!® on it Each Month.
It’s easy and fast to do – just convert your issue to a .pdf (I’ll show you how when you subscribe) and place a simple link on your site. Your clients will love each issue, and it’ll motivate them to return to your site again and again.
Place issues of Service For Life!® in public places: doctors and dental offices, retail stores, banks and other places where potential clients can learn about you.
Use it as a credibility-builder: take it with you on your ing presentations and show clients how you market.
Use it as a strategic alliance vehicle with other businesses who could promote your services to their clients (and vice versa).
Use it as a stay-in-contact tool with hot leads, keeping you not just top of mind…but top of consciousness.
There are literally dozens of ways agents are using their Service For Life!® prospecting and referral newsletter to bring them more clients, more referrals, and more word of mouth and repeat business.
Think about all the ways YOU will use Service For Life!® in your business?
Today’s Action Plan:
Again, the smartest agents (and businesspeople) I know have one trait in common: They constantly look for ways to “leverage” the return for every dollar and minute they invest into their businesses.
That’s an important lesson…and it’s also the reason why I created this article – so you too can think of ways to leverage your production.
Whether you’re using a recipe card, market update, Service For Life!® or some other contact tool…take 10 minutes to light-up your mind with the many ways you can be getting more production out of your tool.
How many ways will you use your Service For Life!® or any other relationship-marketing strategy in your business?