Selling Soulfully with Jennifer Allan

As it happens every year ‘round this time, New Year's resolutions are being made with a vengeance.

In our world of real estate sales, these resolutions tend to focus on revving up one's prospecting efforts in hopes of having a Great New Year. Promises to more fully commit to a cold-calling or door-knocking campaign, to more aggressively pursue expired listings and FSBO's, to formally choose a farm area or finally figure out what SEO really means.

All well and good. I wish you luck with that!

But in addition to all these Numbers Games, I submit the following plan for your consideration...

Rather than attempting to contact 100 people a day in hopes of catching the attention of a few, how about trying to impress just a few every day, in hopes of making a memorable impression on every single one? If you were to impress two people a day, at the end of a year, that's over 700 people on the planet who think you're really cool - instead simply sort of recognizing your name from your mass-marketing efforts.

Instead of pestering your sphere of influence once a quarter with requests for referrals (which I promise you are not welcomed with open arms), try reconnecting with the people you know as a friend or acquaintance first - a friend or acquaintance who happens to sell real estate.

Instead of focusing all your time, energy and budget on hunting down new prospects, spend at least half of that time being a kick-a$$ real estate agent for those clients who have already honored you with their business.

It is possible to run a perfectly respectable real estate business without doing ANY formal prospecting other than what I describe above. If the people in your world think you're a pretty darn cool person AND a terrific real estate agent, they'll take great care of you throughout your career.

No game-playing required.

Join us on January 16th for a FREEEEE Teleseminar on the
Dangers of Referral-Begging (and what to do instead).
Register HERE!

A long time ago (last week? The week before?), I promised to continue a little series I was running about Turning Cheese into Soul - that is - taking yesterday's tired old prospecting techniques and making them less, um, cheesy. Well, I got a little distracted, but it's been driving me NUTS to have the remainder of the series on my to-do list... so, I'm back.

Today's topic is about greeting cards. Specifically, a program called Send Out Cards.* If you aren't familiar with the product/program, it's a greeting card system where you choose a card from an online selection, customize it, and "sign" it... hit SEND and a real, live greeting card goes out in the mail with what appears to be your signature. You can even provide samples of your handwriting and the system will "handwrite" your personal note in the card so that appears to actually have been written by you. Pretty slick.

I've been rather critical of the program for awhile now. I did try it a few years ago, had a negative experience - my cards were sent out twice, thus destroying any notion the recipients might have had as to the authenticity of the cards. I've never used or recommended Send Out Cards again. Here's a blog I wrote on the topic, in fact: http://activerain.com/blogsview/430334/if-you-re-gonna-soi-don-t-over-systemitize-

However, I had a conversation a few weeks ago with my new friend John Lind who might have changed my mind. At least, sorta. Maybe I should say that he opened my eyes to a better way to use the product/program; one that is much more in line with my philosophies of how such things ought to be done.  

John uses his Send Out Cards membership in a decidedly non-dorky/non-cheesy manner. In fact, his use of the program falls right in line with what I teach about staying in touch with your Sphere of Influence. Instead of simply relying on the program to sign and mail a mildly clever, but run-of-the-mill greeting card, he takes the time to use the technology offered by the program to create a truly memorable card - one that will almost certainly make the recipient smile; maybe even LOL!

Here's an example of a card John sent me:

John generated this card after our discussion where I explained why I didn't like the idea of Send(ing) Out Cards. He "wrote" a very nice note on the inside of the card; one that was personal to me and our conversation. I am, in a word, impressed. And yes, I did LOL when I opened it. I even kept it!

Here's another card John did at Thanksgiving...

So, what's the punch line? While it's cheesy (IMO) to rely on technology to do your staying-in-touching FOR you, it's not at all cheesy to use technology to make your staying-in-touching memorable!

See the difference?

Let me know if you have any cool ideas I can steal admire.

* I have nothing to do with the Send Out Cards program - I don't sell it, promote it or distribute it, so the above is definitely not any sort of infomercial for the product. However, I'm sure John would be happy to brainstorm ways that you can make more of an impact with your staying-in-touching! Here's his email address. 

The live show is over - but here's a link to it. I had a great time; hope the audience did, too... there's some good stuff here if I do say so me-self. Thanks Jon!

Hey, if you have a minute (okay, an hour) in the middle of the day today (12:30 eastern), please consider tuning in for my interview on the Introvert Experience with Jon Hansen! He sent me an outline of the program last night and yipes! He has some good questions - ones I've never answered before... some I've never even thought much about.

I better do that - give them some thought, that is.

Below is the promo for the interview. If you want to join us, here's a link to connect: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jon-hansen/2009/12/16/the-sincere-introvert-sincerity-and-vulnerability-

The Sincere Introvert: Sincerity and Vulnerability in the Age of Personal Branding
As host of the PI Window on Business Show, I have had the opportunity to speak with The Twittering Granny, Canada's Trade Minister, Maine's gubernatorial candidate Matt Jacobson, bestselling authors too numerous to list and industry thought leaders.

Suffice to say each one provided invaluable knowledge, insight and great entertainment for all of us. However, and even with this great constellation of guests, in a world in which personal branding is the key element of building one's profile and establishing an enduring presence, Jennifer Allan caught my attention!

Perhaps it was the fact that she is an admitted introvert? Or maybe it was the simple yet powerful expression of her belief that "the secret of success for real estate agents (Jennifer is a former top producing real estate broker), and other entrepreneurs is not in aggressive marketing techniques or hard-core sales pitches, but rather in being competent in one's craft." A quiet competency if you will that establishes confidence in those with whom she seeks to connect and serve.

A published author, a speaker and a trainer, Jennifer has written five books about the business of selling real estate, including her flagship book: Sell with Soul: Creating an Extraordinary Career in Real Estate without Losing Your Friends, Your Principles or Your Self-Respect.

Jennifer also has a new book that is scheduled for release in early 2010 entitled "If You're Not Having Fun Selling Real Estate, You're Not Doing it Right!"

In the context of the old saying "I can't hear what you are saying because your actions are speaking too loud," I cannot help but think that this champion of the "quiet" brand is perhaps on to something in what is the fast-paced world of social media and social networking.

I am of course pleased to be joined by Jennifer Allan on today's show to talk about her version of building an effective personal brand.

After a week away (thank you Robin!), I'm back in the saddle, talking about turning Prospecting Cheese into Soul... Today's topic is the non-cheesy Open House.

First, allow me to pontificate for a moment that I believe the first priority of any open-house-giver is to attempt to sell that house. After all, someone owns that house and has hired you, or an associate of yours to care enough about his listing to try to sell it. And no matter what you tell a seller ahead of time, he really does expect the offers to start pouring in at 4:05. 

So, just remember that your primary obligation is to the seller, not yourself. Lecture over.

(For a discussion on whether or not to even hold open houses, click here for my series on the topic).

All that said, most of us do look at an open house as an opportunity to pick up buyers. Maybe even sellers. So, how can you do that without resorting to Old School Cheese? (That sound kinda gross, doesn't it?)

My best advice for figuring out what NOT to do is to spend a sunny Sunday visiting other agents' open houses. Egads, some of us are cheesy. Or, if not cheesy, just plain dumb, aka, unprepared. I visited an open house last winter and eavesdropped in as a visitor asked the agent how old the furnace was. The agent smiled brightly and said those magic words: "I don't know, but I'd be happy to find out for you!" This piqued my curiosity, so I actually went into the basement and, get this - LOOKED at the furnace. It was obviously brand new. I'd think that anyone who had ever seen a furnace could tell that. Of course, that would have meant that the agent would have had to have made that long journey down the stairs to see for herself - but clearly that was too much to ask.

I've also heard rumors of agents requiring ID before allowing visitors into the property. Okay, maybe in a multi-gazillion dollar home, but your run-of-the-mill listing? Puh-leeeeeaze.

Do I require sign-in? No, I don't. I just don't feel comfy doing it, but it's not something I advise against. When I hold an open house, I'm looking for quality over quantity. I'm hoping to connect with one or two visitors; someone I have a natural rapport with. When I find that rapport with a visitor, it's easy for me to draw them into a conversation about real estate and most of the time; they ask ME for my card. I like that. If I had people sign-in, I know I wouldn't follow-up unless I felt that rapport, so I just don't bother.

When you hold an open house, pretend that there's a hidden camera watching your every move (who knows?). Don't do anything the seller wouldn't approve of. Don't criticize the house (that guest you're talking to might know the seller and report back, or he might be a seller prospect himself and be less than impressed with your professionalism!), or aggressively direct visitors toward your fancy list of "other properties they might consider instead."  It's far less cheesy (and effective) to be able to simply discuss the market conversationally, rather than push a pre-prepared package on guests.

(If you're enrolled in the SWS Winter of Soul, we'll be doing a thorough discussion of Open House Strategies on January 23!)

Next up... non-cheesy greeting cards...

The other day I got a very timely question from my cyber-friend Ron, considering this week's Cheese-to-Soul series.

Ron asked if I knew of a source for good real estate-related newsletter content that would be "meaningful" to his Sphere of Influence (his "SOI"). He's frustrated by the material available for purchase, most of which simply feels canned. Moreover, he's uncomfortable using much of it because it relates to topics he's NOT an expert in, such as tax planning, home staging and credit reports.

I agree. As I may have mentioned a time or two, I refuse to use canned, boilerplate material. I think it's cheesy and dorky. (My definition of Dorky is any written, self-promotional communication that is dull, dry, boring or corporate. Most content-for-purchase pretty much qualifies. )

But let's go back to Ron's quest for real estate information that would be "meaningful" to his SOI.  Here was my response to him:

"Here's the thing - your SOI doesn't have a lot of interest in real estate on a day-to-day basis. Therefore, there's not much in OUR world that would be generally meaningful to people outside of our world, with a few exceptions that come up from time to time.

You want your newsletters to be interesting to your audience, more so than "meaningful." And you know what's interesting to your SOI? Stuff from YOU.  From YOU, their friend, Ron. Maybe an observation about the real estate market, if it's interesting, or to pass on a funny story from your career. Or maybe not related to real estate at all.

I write to my SOI every month in email form, not newsletter form. I want my SOI communications to clearly come from me, not some canned product I bought off a virtual shelf. If newsletters/emails are going to be part of my marketing plan, I'm going to put some effort into them in the hopes of inspiring my friends and acquaintances to think fondly of me, rather than to just simply remember that I sell real estate (and promptly forget)."

So, to pick up from yesterday's blog post on this very topic, remember that the primary goal of your "newsletter" is not to impress, educate or overtly prospect. It's simply to remind the people you know that you exist and that you're a pretty cool guy or gal.

What topics might do that? Well, kinda like blogging, the list is endless... and once you're in the habit, it gets easier and easier to come up with ideas. Here are a few of mine:

Didja' See Me on the News?

Denver Dwellers, what's YOUR special day?

And I thought I was so smart...

I recommend that you always have a notebook with you to scribble down ideas for SOI newsletters - and I think you'll be pleased how quickly your list will grow once you get in the habit.

This seems like a good opportunity for a little SWS plug - I just released my SWS Mega-Toolkit which includes a section of several dozen real-life SOI letters and emails that might give you some ideas for your own 2010 newsletters.

Okay, so that's three blogs on the Art of the Non-Cheesy Newsletter. I think I'll move on now... next up - Greeting Cards! Or... maybe listing presentations... or maybe... heck, I dunno. Just stay tuned!

In yesterday's installment of the Cheese to Soul series,  I commented that I might have half a dozen posts in me about how to create an effective newsletter. Fortunately, or unfortunately, that might actually be true. We'll see how far I get today.

Remember, the goal of a newsletter is to make the recipient of the newsletter smile and think of you fondly. Which is best accomplished not with gardening tips, Just Sold notices or descriptions of your listings, but rather with interesting content that reflects YOU - your voice, your personality. And the best way to do that is to write the content yourself.

Now, don't freak out on me. Writing interesting content YOURSELF is not all that hard, especially if you work under the principle that less is more. As in - don't feel your newsletter has to be formally formatted with a Volume Number, Table of Contents and a three-column layout. Nope. In fact, a simple email-style newsletter will work much better. If you're on my mailing list, you've seen my "newsletters" which are nothing more than me rambling about something, hopefully of interest, with my cute little signature logo at the bottom. No sidebars, very few graphics, and only the occasional sales-pitch (which I usually apologize for).

And, by the way, my newsletters are probably the most important (and effective) self-promotion I do.

Write your newsletters with the goal of inspiring your audience to respond. Responses are good. They open the door to ongoing conversations with your readers and you never know where they'll lead. You're much more likely to get meaningful responses to your newsletters if they're done in a casual format, rather than a formal newsletter format. Whenever I get a newsletter that appears to be professionally-designed, I might be impressed, but I'm not inspired to respond. And, frankly, I make the assumption that the newsletter is mostly boilerplate or sales-pitchy anyway, and not likely to be of interest to me. If I'm pressed for time, I hit DELETE. Which is most of the time.

Make sure your newsletter goes out from YOU - as in, from Your Name. Not from some professional-sounding company or even your fancy tagline. YOUR NAME. Period. I can't tell you how many newsletters I get from people I know, but I'd never know who they were from because the "From" field is a company I've never heard of.  

One last tip for today ... DON'T use a program to send out your emails that doesn't allow replies! I was recently added to an acquaintance's Avon drip campaign and right across the top of my daily marketing email (sigh) is the note:  "PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL. This email box is not equipped to handle correspondence." Sheesh.

So... what might you write about that would be "meaningful" to your audience and inspire them to respond?

You know the drill... stay tuned.

Next up on the list of ways to turn Prospecting Cheese into Soul... the ever-popular Newletter! If you've missed the first two installments, you can catch them here:

Turning Cheese into Soul 
FSBO's & Expireds 

I probably have enough opinions on the topic of Newsletters to fill up half a dozen blogs... and I may just do that. But we have to start somewhere, so let's start, um, here.

We real estate agents love our newsletters, don't we? I wonder how many companies out there are capitalizing on our affection for the newsletter? Encouraging us to "build relationships" via our newsletter... to stay in touch with our friends via our newsletters... to promote ourselves and our wonderfulness via our newsletter?

I'm on a lot of newsletter distribution lists from agents around the country. Some are... well, let's just say that some are better (less-cheesy) than others. Most are clearly purchased "as is" and distributed at the touch of a button (or click of a mouse). Some display a little bit of customization, such as a spot to write a "personal" note and feature a listing or two. A few appear to be 100% created from scratch.

What are the typical topics covered in a real estate agent's newsletter? Lessee... home improvement tips, gardening ideas, recipes, market stats, Just Listed and Just Sold announcements, mortgage news... sorry... but YAWWWWWWWN. Not only does every real estate newsletter seem to follow the same pattern, but half the time, the information is so boilerplate as to not even apply to the local market! Even the fully customized newsletters, while more relevant to the audience, still tend to look, sound and feel like templates.

So let's step back a bit.

What's the real purpose of your newsletter? Is it to...

• Educate your audience on the average Days on Market or Price per Square Foot in your area?
• Impress the reader by displaying your new listings or bragging about your recent closings?
• Ensure your friends know how important it is to winterize their sprinkler systems?
• Share your gardening expertise, even though the monthly "tip" is clearly from a different climate?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above, I'll encourage you to think about your answer.

Isn't the ultimate goal of a newsletter to make your audience like you? And remember you?

We can debate all day about what exactly "like" means, but in general, I believe the point of a newsletter is that the person who receives it thinks a little more highly of the person who sent it than they did before it was sent. Which naturally leads to them being just a little more likely to remember that person than they were the day before.

So, what, in a newsletter, might inspire that reaction? Or conversely, what might be the kiss of death?

More next time...

Here's the first installment in a series - Turning Cheese into Soul.

For the record, I have never seriously pursued Expireds or FSBO's myself; however, I have BEEN an expired listing and have appeared to be a FSBO, so I speak from the perspective of a consumer, not a real estate agent or trainer.

And I tell ya - the expired and FSBO campaigns I've personally been the recipient of are pretty darn cheesy. Obviously the agents are taking a shotgun approach to getting business from us poor saps who desperately need their "professional services." The good old Numbers Game - throw enough doo doo against the wall and eventually something will stick. And most of it is, indeed, doo doo.*

Here are some examples of the cheesy marketing I've gotten from agents who want my business...

• Daily postcards addressed to "Property Owner."
• Postcards with a hand-written "Call me! I Have a Buyer for Your Property!" (uh, the house was on the market for the last 9 months).
• Envelopes with my name misspelled (at least that's a step above "Property Owner")
• Letters with promised "enclosures" missing (e.g. "enclosed is a list of homes that have recently sold in your neighborhood!")
• A laughably cheesy series of letters with an insultingly condescending tone.

I've also been cold-called, of course, although not nearly as much as I expected. In almost all cases, the caller was obviously calling from a list and was not in the least bit prepared for a real live human bean to answer the phone. They were usually nervous, probably due to the fact that they were not at all prepared to intelligently discuss the specifics of my listing. I guess they were just shooting for the appointment, and didn't bother to "waste any time" in preparation.

Here's the thing.

The owner of an expired listing or a FSBO probably really WOULD like to hear from you... if you have something to offer aside from a cheesy canned marketing piece and a desperate desire to get a listing agreement signed. These people are not the enemy - they're, yes, real live human beings who have a need they'd love you to fill. But no mass-mailing or cold-calling campaign is going to convince anyone you're the right (wo)man for the job. 

What to do instead?

Quality over Quantity. Instead of simply shoveling out postcards, brochures and missing enclosures to as many targets as possible, take the time to personalize your approach to a few. Drive by the home. Take a close look at the expired MLS listing or the FSBO brochure. Note any marketing challenges you see and think about how you would address them. See if you can identify why the home hasn't sold - it may be price, but it very well may not be. Try to figure out if the property is a short sale; that will affect your approach. Ask yourself - "CAN I SELL THIS HOME?"

That's what your target audience wants to know. Can you sell their home?

If I had received just one personal letter (and I don't just mean a hand-written envelope) from an agent who had taken the time to actually LOOK at my situation and address it specifically, that agent would have had a great shot at my business. If one of the agents who called me actually knew where "Doe Run Estates" is located and why it's special (and challenging), I'd have been impressed. If any of them had indicated they had a clue why my property didn't sell, or even a sincere desire to find out, they might have caught my attention.

But, sigh, no. All attempts to entice me to take the next step were in vain. Hopefully they had more luck with their 99 other targets-du-jour...

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF TURNING CHEESE INTO SOUL...

*For the record, I like Borino's Expired Plus system. It's not cheesy and it's not simply a series of letters designed to beat down a homeowner's resistance. It's aggressive, but do-able for a soulful sort.