I'm a big fan of communicating with one's sphere of influence (SOI) via the written word - with the caveat that those written words are YOUR written words, not some words written by someone else who doesn't know you!
If your SOI "hears" from you on a reasonably regular basis - and again - that means they hear from YOU (not that mysterious someone else), they'll remember you, and even better, they'll remember you FONDLY. I've written about this concept once or twice or a dozen times - see the list below for related blogs.
Anyway, agents ask me all the time what they should write about that will inspire their SOI's to remember them FONDLY. Their new listing or recent sale? How low interest rates are and what a great time to buy it is? A reminder to winterize their sprinkler system or change smoke detector batteries?
YAWN. No, none of these.
There are a gazillion things you can write to your SOI about that won't come across as pitchy, pushy or just ho-hum. One of those things is the YAY-ME letter.
Huh? YAY-ME? Isn't that the epitome of pitchy, pushy or even ho-hum (after all - who cares about ME?)
Yep - if you do it wrong.
But if you do it right? It's a fabulous opportunity to very subtly remind your sphere that you're competent and confident AND give them a chance to congratulate you on whatever it is you're telling them about which can open up the door to conversations! And conversations with the people we know can lead to all sorts of wonderful things.
So, Jennifer, um... what's an example of doing it right?
Glad you asked ;-]
Here's a letter recently sent out by one of my faithful readers. She sent it individually to each of her 2010 clients, although I'm sure it could be tweaked to be sent to her entire SOI. My reader enjoyed a tremendous response to the letter, got a few (unsolicited) glowing testimonials to use in her marketing and may even have a few new clients to show for her efforts.
The subject line of the email was: "And the award goes to..."
(and here's the text of the message)...
...me!
This week I had the pleasure (and total surprise) of winning an award from RE/MAX for 2010! It is a beautiful cherry wood plaque that reads:
In Appreciation and Recognition
Of Your Outstanding Performance and Achievements In The RE/MAX® Organization.
You Are Truly "Above The Crowd!"®
Out of 30+ agents in my office, I was one of only 9 to receive this honor!
Why am I sharing this wonderful news with you? Because, without you putting your faith and trust in me last year...well, I wouldn't be writing this email at all!
So thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! : )
Jane"
Do you have something you could YAY-ME about to your sphere? I bet you do... want to share some ideas? Or ask for feedback??
RELATED BLOGS
Newsletters - Turning Cheese into SOUL (Part 1)
Newsletters - Turning Cheese into SOUL (Part 2)
Newsletters - the Difference Between "Meaningful" and "Interesting"
The fact that it is a "thank you" helps make this work... but it can also be taken as a brag... then again you can never please everyone!
I so agree that your "stuff" MUST sound like YOU! otherwise there is not much point.
I've done several YAY-ME's and they really do seem to be taken well. However, your audience needs to care about you first, so starting out an SOI communication campaign with one YAY-ME after another probably won't be effective. But if your crowd already likes you and you've provided value to THEM in your stuff, they'll be happy to BE happy for you.
Jennifer, I did that, too. I thanked all my clients last year, and included those from previous who helped to put me on the award chart. We just had our award banquet, this will remind me to get those cards send out again. I think clients or SOI like to hear good news from their agent and know how well they are doing (without bragging of course) ;)
Great stuff! We don't do this often enough but we have, on occasion, upon winning an award we mailed personalized thank you cards to our clients, thanking them for their business, support and friendship. We let them know that they are the ones that make this possible ... and it's true! G
Jennifer - Behind every award plaque there are many clients who deserve to be thanked with graciousness and humility.
I perceive this as part of the true "Nuts & Bolts" of Sell with Soul, done properly without pomp and circumstance. "Jane" gets it!
This is great and we must let our SOI know we appreciate them helping us. Thanks for the reminder.
YOUR awards done with taste I agree Jennifer and not BRAGGING about it and maybe even an informal sense do show you are a big winner.
That is a great idea. Generally, as long as it's done tastefully, people like to share in other's good news :)!
This is great information for SOI KIT options! Great job!
I think it's funny that in a business where we are incompetition with each other, we hesitate to use this very effective way of setting ourselves apart. Sometimes it's just not in our nature. We need to get over it! Competance is very important to clients! thanks for the post!
Good stuff, Jennifer. There is a fine line between flaunting and genuine and it looks like your E-mail was very genuine!
Thx for sharing. That's a wonderful example. We recently won a couple of awards and now looking at this, I see how I could have communicated better by thanking all of our customers. But, there is next time, so thank you so much.
Hi Jennifer, Interesting concept and comment thread. I'm so not into the self praise thing but see so many excellent examples of how to do it right. Yours was the best ! Well done !
I'm all for sending my SOI a heartfelt card but bragging on myself is not my cup of tea.(even though some agents love getting their francise awards) I like to write about what makes my clients happy.
Great post. I am the worst at self-promoting. It's good to hear how to get it done right.
That is a great example of a well written letter. It doesn't sound like bragging or full of youself, just honesty.
I like this example Jennifer. The art of the personal written word is dwindling. It is such a surprise when someone takes the time to send a note that is personal. Your way of handling the award was so tasteful. Thanks
Great way to phrase the letter - saying thanks to the client is always a must!
kp
That's a good letter! But I'm now very curious to know who this "mysterious other" is that you keep mentioning. :)
Great post !! saying thanks to those who have helped you attain success is a great way to foster more !!
I agree that everyone loves to work with a winner, and this letter goes one step beyond by thanking them for their part in your success. Thanks for shring this Yah-me.
Good iedea on using and award and sharing it with your soi. Congrats.
Great blog and example. I just can't do YAY ME! emails to my SOI.. just can't do it.
Jennifer - I really needed to read this!! I just received the Top Producer award for my Brokerage's midtown branch for 2010 production - it was a total surprise at our February awards banquet.
I've been trying to decide what to do with it - I thought of mailing the newspaper article out to my 2010 clients with a note thanking them for helping me achieve this goal. I think I would prefer that over an e-mail. Your thoughts?
WOW. For those of us who have a hard time tooting our own horn, this is a tough one.
But at the same time, thanking my clients for everything that THEY give to ME is easy for me.
I love your program, Jennifer. You have truly revolutionized my business....so here's another hurdle....thank you for the insight!
YOU ROCK!
Thanks for all the comments! I had no idea this got a Gold Star since I'm not getting notices of comments (ARGHGHG), so what a nice surprise.
By the way, this is not MY yay-me letter - it's from one of my readers; I'm just sharing it as a good example. But I've done my own Yay-ME's thruout the years - here are some examples of mine (and others I've helped create them):
1. Happy Anniversary to ME! (to "celebrate" a newer agent's reaching a milestone in their career in this tough market.
2. Didja' See Me on the News (or in the paper)? I've been featured from time to time on the local news or in the paper, so I always send out notices with links.
3. "It's an honor being nominated..." - last year when I was among Inman's 100 Most Influential
The tricks to good yay-me's are 1) your audience already cares about you because you don't yay-me all the time and 2) it's done without a hint of referral-begging and 3) your excitement over your achievement or award or whatever is 100% sincere.
But, as I always say - with ANY prospecting technique - if it doesn't feel right to you - DON'T do it!!!
Love it Jennifer. I stay in touch with my people, past present and to come, with a monthly newsletter and also with emails when I find something I know they'll enjoy receiving. I also have a feed on my site that gives them helpful real estate tips and tidbits that they can scroll through to their hearts content.
Congratulations, Lori! I think either way would be fine - whatever feels right to you. If you'll actually DO the personal postal mailing, that would be a good excuse for one, but if you keep putting it off, email might be better. The one significant advantage to email is that it's much easier for your audience to respond to you personally (they just have to hit REPLY!) which can start up a whole bunch of conversations... so... that's definitely something to consider...
Brenda - thank you so much! Your note/comment is definitely going in my "keeper" file!!
Wonderful idea Jennifer and a wonderful post, and some great comments! Featured at one of my favorite groups at AR...
LOVE AT ACTIVERAIN
Vegas Bob ;o)
PS - I can see why your post went gold!
A great idea, Jennifer.
short simple and to the point not to mention very different.