Posts Tagged ‘differentiate’
How to Empathize Your Way to Profits
Sunday, May 29th, 2011
You’ve probably heard the expression “Before you judge another man walk a mile in their moccasins.” Here’s another one for you: “Wear the skin of your prospects before you market to them.” Here’s how that last expression can make you a lot of money.
One of biggest mistakes that sales associates make when contemplating a marketing plan is failing to see things from the perspective of their intended target market. We are so used to being in “sales mode” that it can be very difficult to “wear the skin” of our prospects.
“Wearing their skin” simply means strongly imagining how they feel, what they fear and what excites them within the context of the real estate process. The more strongly you imagine actually “being them”, the more powerfully you able to tap into their emotional triggers, which is the very essence of what effective marketing is all about.
Another way to think of this process is “empathy with an agenda.” Yes, you need to deeply understand what powerfully motivates your target market. However it’s just as important that there is a purpose for all this. And that purpose is to have members of your target market choose you over any of your competitors.
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.
~ Jack Handy
This is often a difficult and delicate balance to maintain. Salespeople tend to skip over the empathy part and go right for the close in their marketing efforts. And newbie marketers tend to focus on creating empathy and often forget the call to action. It takes both to market successfully.
Learning to feel and experience life through another person’s eyes is not just a prerequisite to marketing successfully. It also happens to be a great way to go through life in the community of others.
When Ugly Wins
Sunday, May 22nd, 2011
It’s a pretty safe bet, that when you first thought about having your website built, deliberately making it “ugly” was probably the furthest thing from your mind. Yet the very first thing that top producer Mark Seiden said to me when he joined my most recent ULTRA eTEAM was: “I want to have the ugliest real estate website in the industry!” Well, he achieved his goal and here’s why he’s going to make tons more money than most of those with so-called “beautiful” real estate websites…
SellingMyHomeSucks.com is unlike any real estate website you’ve ever laid eyes on before and it took nearly 6 months of planning to make it that ugly. Also, you’ll find no IDX, no property search, no tips for buyers or sellers and it contains not one word about local neighborhoods yet I will stake my reputation on this becoming one of the most profitable websites in the real estate sales industry. And that’s even after my wife took one look at it and declared it “tacky”!
So what’s happened here? Has the market change so much that we suddenly find ourselves in a “bizarro world” where ugly is good and beautiful is bad? Well, not really. If you substitute the word “distinctive” for ugly you get at the heart of what Mark was really trying to accomplish. You see, he understood immediately that the key to success online was standing out and being as different as possible from any of your competitors.
And after about six months a rigorous planning on what would appeal to his target market of sellers who have listings that expired, he empowered “distinction” with effectiveness. What makes SellingMyHomeSucks.com so powerful is that it is designed for one thing and one thing only: to have any and all sellers who experienced the failure of not selling want to immediately contact him to take over the marketing of their home. If you put yourself in the position of the expired seller and feel their frustration, anger and confusion then look at SellingMyHomeSucks.com with those eyes, you’ll get the point.
SellingMyHomeSucks.com was “soft launched” (i.e. mostly completed but with a few minor refinements still yet to be done) on May 17, 2011. Mark sent the link to his site to a few of his friends, one of whom forwarded to a friend of theirs who was going to expire in about three days. That person immediately contacted Mark for a listing appointment. Not a bad early indicator.
The take away here is don’t assume anything when it comes to building a website. If there are any fundamentals they are: a) make sure your website speaks to the needs, wants, fears and desires of your intended target market, and b) make it stand out as much is possible from the rest of the competition.
Effective marketing is not about being beautiful. It’s about being seen, standing out and compelling your intended target market to want to do business with you. From this perspective, ugly certainly can be quite beautiful.
Your Most Powerful Gift of All…
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
You’ve heard the expression “Great salespeople are made not born.” Well, sorry to burst your bubble but that expression and others like it exists for the benefit of those of us who were not so innately gifted at time of birth. As a speaker and coach I can assure you I’ve met my share of born salespeople. However, I’ve also met people not so gifted, yet somehow did a better job selling than many of their more endowed counterparts.
We all come into this world with certain gifts and capabilities, but these are just potentials until we put them to use. And, as human beings we have the ability to take the necessary actions to fine tune, hone and enhance these God-given abilities. My dad had an expression that I’ll never forget: “Turn your weaknesses into strengths.”—which says a lot about our ability to make good use of and improve what we were given.
Just about any kind of skill can be taught. If the student is determined enough, they can turn mediocre innate abilities into profound capabilities. In all my years of being a coach of top performers and an entrepreneur who depends on others getting things done, it has become abundantly clear to me that what can’t be taught is attitude. The fire in the belly needs to be stoked from the inside. Otherwise it just stays a flickering flame waiting for someone to turn it on, not realizing only its owner can do that…
Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go so much further than people with vastly superior talent.
~ Sophia Loren
There a lot of geniuses in this world “pushing brooms” who wasted their potential either through laziness or simple lack of drive. Given the choice, I’ll take someone with a roaring fire in their belly and lesser talents than someone who is immensely gifted but with little or no drive.
There’s nothing we can do to influence which gifts we receive at time of birth. However, the one gift we all received is the ability to choose how we use and improve other capabilities. free will is the one gift we’ve all received in equal amounts. And it’s the one gift that gives us the ability to influence all our other gifts —which makes it the most powerful gift of all.
Why Square Pegs Should Avoid Round Holes (no matter how much you get paid)
Sunday, May 8th, 2011
Imagine how flattering it would be if the owners of the largest real estate firm in the region personally took time to recruit you into their company. And the reason they tried to woo you is that you happen to be the top agent in the entire county. This actually happened with one of my coaching students and here’s why I think it is anything but a match made in heaven.
This particular company happens to be the classic large, successful firm that has done a good job of attracting a lot of bodies into their culture. They are not particularly known for encouraging or even allowing their agents to think outside the box. As what happens with so many large firms, they have created a culture that both insulates and “guides” their agents into their way of being successful.
My coaching student however, is about as edgy and out-of-the-box as you’re ever going to find. Now I’m pretty sure that the reason they want him as part of their company is for the bragging rights of having the top agent in the county who “saw the light” and came over to their firm. This is a classic loss leader many firms employ to attract more recruits into their company (i.e. genuine success attracts wannabe success).
Even if they promised him the moon (which they probably did) at some point I can see the clash happening. You see, this particular person is quite fond of using very unconventional and unorthodox means of standing out from the crowd. I can almost see the beads of sweat forming on the foreheads of these owners as they showcase their “prize” agent while his approach to business is anything but towing the company line.
There is no doubt that this top producer will be wildly successful whether he stays where he is or moves to this large, traditional firm. But if he does make the move I hope he has an ironclad written contract. One that specifically allows him to keep doing business the way he has been and giving him total freedom to innovate. On the other hand, I also believe that this real estate firm is making a very shortsighted mistake. As with many large firms, they are not interested in “edgy” or individual agent innovation. Not that this is necessarily wrong, it just appears to be a poor match of cultures.
If you’ve read this far, then chances are very good you understand the value of specialization and standing out from the crowd. Just make sure that the corporate culture you find yourself in does as well. It is clearly much more profitable and fulfilling to work within an environment that supports your unique style of doing business rather than constantly fighting it.
How To Create A Facebook Welcome Page That Will Explode Your Fan Base!
Monday, April 25th, 2011
If you want to dramatically boost your Facebook page membership, you have to give your visitors a compelling reason to become a fan. And at the same time once they are a fan, you don’t want to bore them by “reselling” reasons for being a fan over and over again. Here’s how you easily achieve both objectives…
NOTE: you can attend my upcoming April 26, 2011 Live Group Coaching webinar that is dedicated to the topic of creating killer Facebook Welcome Tabs. There is no cost for attending, just CLICK HERE to register.)
Facebook Opens Up
Just recently Facebook announced that it is now allowing any kind of Web content within any of your Facebook page tabs. This means anything that could be put in an HTML webpage including Flash, JavaScript, Web apps, etc. can now be part of your Facebook page content. This opens up whole new worlds of possibilities in terms of creating value for your Facebook fans. This also means that you now have the ability to create a “Welcome Tab” that can knock the socks off of visitors who are non-fans in such a way that they can’t resist clicking the “Like” button.
To see an example of a dynamic Welcome Tab in action just CLICK HERE to go to the Online Dominance Facebook page. If you are already a fan, you’ll simply land on the Wall. And if you click the Welcome Tab you’ll see different content than non-fans. If you’re a non-fan and go to the Online Dominance Facebook page, you are automatically taken to the Welcome Tab that has very powerful and compelling multimedia content designed to visitors to click the Like button.
Not as Easy as 123 — Until Now…
Unfortunately, Facebook makes this process anything but easy. In addition to some required coding, you would also have to have the webpage that you use for the Welcome Tab content to be put through a secure server. Otherwise, anytime someone views your Welcome Tab after logging into Facebook using the secure method, they will see an error screen.
Fortunately, there is now a service that handles all of these issues for you so that literally within 60 seconds you can have your custom Facebook Welcome Tab. You can view a live demonstration showing how easy it is to create a custom, compelling Welcome Tab for your Facebook page during my free April 26, 2011 Live Group Coaching webinar. This session will also include “Best Practices” of Welcome Tab creation (to help maximize fan conversion). Actual examples of how other real estate professionals have used these methods to create their own custom Facebook welcome tab will be shown as well. Just CLICK HERE to register for this free webinar.
A Facebook business page is useless without lots of highly targeted fans. This new capability is one of the best methods I’ve seen yet for turning visitors into raving fans.
How Others Can Help You Grow
Sunday, April 24th, 2011
How willing are you to have your work efforts evaluated for the express purpose of getting better at what you do? How you answer that question will ultimately determine just how good you get at your profession.
Asking for one’s peers to evaluate and provide feedback can be most certainly a frightening experience. One is flooded with a whole range of emotions including “What if I’m not good enough?”, “What if I don’t measure up to the rest of the group doing the evaluating?”, and so on. Unfortunately, those feelings can get in the way of valuable feedback that can have a powerfully positive impact on improving one’s skills.
I recently attended a meeting with a group of young professionals who ostensibly were there for the purpose of getting better at software user interface design (I know it’s a geeky thing, but it was something I was interested in). During the meeting we spent most of the time discussing what some attendees had learned in various conferences on the subject. While that was all well and good, when I suggested that some future meetings might be used for the purpose of evaluating and improving upon actual ideas that some of the members were working on, almost in unison they shuddered and essentially said “no way!”…
The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.
~Peter Drucker
I was genuinely taken aback by how vociferous and unified their response was. Then it occurred to me that most of these young folks worked in the corporate world. They had people above and below them to whom neither of which they wanted to appear “weak” by risking having their own work evaluated by a group of peers. Once again I was reminded why I would never last more than 2 nanoseconds in a typical corporate environment.
This whole experience renewed my appreciation for the true professionals within the real estate sales industry. These folks are constantly asking others to evaluate their work in an effort to become ever better at what they do. It is this quality that helps separate their success from all the other wannabes within the business. It is this kind of attitude and behavior exhibited by these top producers that represents one of the most fulfilling experiences when I have the privilege of coaching them.
Living and working in life fully is not about protecting one’s turf or ego. Triumph is a process of taking many steps, some of which we stumble upon along the way. And the real pros know that when they do stumble asking for help and feedback is not a sign of weakness, it’s a way of getting better.
How to Develop Your Online Kaizen
Monday, April 4th, 2011
If you had a choice between instant results and “slow and steady” implementation, which would you choose? Okay, now which one is reality? Well for most people it’s neither, but for the really smart ones it’s the latter.
Last night I had a chat with one of my all-time favorite students, Doug Newby. The purpose of the call was to get his permission to include his Website’s monthly unique visitor count for a Realtor Magazine article I’m writing (over 25,000/mo. in case you were wondering).
Our conversation quickly evolved into reminiscing about how we first got together. He was in the audience of a presentation I did on behalf of the Dallas Association of Realtors, way back in the 1990′s. After the session he came up to me and tried to hire me as a consultant (at several hundred dollars per hour) which I politely turned down.
Not one to be frustrated in his attempt to move his online business forward, Doug attended one of my first 3-Day Advanced Workshops in the early 2000′s. Even though he had made some changes to his Website (based upon my first presentation) it had a long ways to go. He volunteered to be on the “Hot Seat” in front of the entire workshop audience –which was a gutsy thing to do. There wasn’t much left of his Website by the time I was through with it, other than the possibilities of something much greater. Instead of feeling dejected, Doug literally glowed with the excitement of what could be. In fact he won a medal from my staff and me at the end of the 3 days for being the one attendee with the greatest possibilities of improvement.
The following year he attended yet another 3-Day Workshop (still in the early 2000′s) and proudly announced that his online business had shot up 300% from the previous year. He has continued to make small, incremental improvements over the years to his Website. And then in July 2009 he took the leap of creating his ModernHomes Facebook page. Though he was very uncertain about this whole “social media thing” he trudged onward with the advice of Brad Carroll and myself. In just over 18 months his fan base for this page went from zero to over 300,000. And as a result of his slow and steady approach to implementing other proven online principles, his Website now enjoys over 25,000 unique visitors a month and has higher Google rankings than even 500 agent firms in the Dallas area.
Oh, there is one thing I almost forgot to mention. Doug will be the first person to admit that he is anything but a techy. He can send and receive email and use a Web browser without getting lost, but that’s about it.
We live in an “instant” world. Instant news, instant pain relief, instant weight loss, instant wealth. There is no pill to take or silver bullet to purchase that will cause your business to flourish immediately.
Doug Newby, with his contagious enthusiasm, sense of wonder and commitment to consistent incremental improvements is a perfect example of what really does work. His Kaizen approach to business is an inspiration that we all could look up to and learn from.
Making Movies In 2004 (future redux)
Saturday, April 2nd, 2011
With all the focus on online movies lately, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that my very first movie was made in 2004. After watching this you may think that today’s crop of online promotional movies have come a long way, or perhaps they have a long way to go.
Let’s Get Right to the Good Stuff
This video was originally shot in a full 720 x 480 resolution for the purpose of promoting a 3-day advanced workshop (it was played to a Las Vegas conference audience in my absence). However, it was so long ago (49 in Internet years) that the only thing I had left was this little 320 x 240 example –so bear that in mind…
Now before you start giving me the two-thumbs down remember this was not only my first promotional video, it was the first time I was in front of a video camera for business purposes. Without a doubt, way too much gesticulation going on (I was very excited :0). In case you are wondering how all this video magic was pulled off, here are the details.
Hardware and Staging:
- Canon XL2 Semi-pro Camcorder
- High-quality wireless lav mic
- Laptop #1 – used to record the video scenes direct from camera to disk
- Laptop #2 – used to run the teleprompter software
- Vacant neighbor’s home – turned their living room into a green screen sound stage using high-intensity construction lighting
- Yards and yards of green fabric – used for the back drop and floor (actually ironed that sucker myself –much easier ways to pull this off now using green paper)
Software:
- ScriptQ – to turn one of my laptops into a sometimes balky teleprompter
- Adobe Premier Pro – for video editing (learned quite a bit about this during this whole process)
- Adobe OnLocation – used to set the camera up and record takes directly to computer
- Serious Magic ULTRA – this was the software that made it possible for me to create all those virtual scenes and fly-throughs. Unfortunately Adobe bought this company up and stopped supporting this marvelous software (I still have a working copy)
Wetware:
- Yours truly – I learned a lot about speaking in front of a video camera, trying to act like I was having a conversation with the viewer while not showing I was reading every word from a teleprompter.
- My son Max – who ran the camera at the tender age of 12 wishing he were doing anything but helping dad with this dumb project.
Preparation:
- Storyboard – each scene, including both direction and dialog was written a head of time. This was actually the first crucial step without which would have resulted in a totally failed project. To this day every video I shoot is story boarded first.
- Makeup – plenty of it
This project took a solid 80 hours of work from start (concept) to finish (final editing and burning the DVD). I did it because it was a huge project from which I could learn immensely. And yes, there were more than a few moments of wondering what I got myself into, hoping what was bit off could be chewed.
Learning by doing is the way that works best for me. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to pull something like that off. However, my future projects will most likely be quite a bit more, well… tame.
The take away for you on this is that there is much more that can be done with video than you can imagine –especially when shooting in front of a green screen (or blue screen, which is how many if not most Hollywood films are at least partially shot these days.)
As I develop additional unique ways to tell your story via video, I’ll look forward to sharing them with you.
How to Make a Smoothee Movie
Thursday, March 31st, 2011
With increasingly better cam phones and Flip-like video cameras it is easy to take crystal clear high definition videos anywhere, anytime. What’s not easy however is using these same devices to take videos that don’t give viewers headaches due to all the jerky movements. Until now anyway.
The super compact size that makes these cameras so popular, means it is pretty much impossible to shoot a smooth video by just holding them steady. While you could always put them on a tripod, that precludes the really interesting panning and walk-through shots. Now thanks to a company called Tiffen you can say goodbye to the jitters. Their new Smoothee accessory for iPhone, iPod, Flip HD, etc. camcorders is essentially a balanced steadycam (like the ones used in Hollywood, only smaller, lighter and much, much less expensive).
The way a steadcam platform works is that it allows you to mount your camera to freely moving gimbal that keeps its position due to a counterbalance. Once you mount your small camera on the device, you hold it like a pistol and walk around, up and down stairs, around objects, through rooms, etc. all while the Smoothee eliminates the jitters. The video below demonstrates just how smooth your videos can be.
Inexpensive is a relative term, however. At about $200 it’s dirt cheap from a professional videographer’s perspective but it is about the same price as a top of the line Flip HD. Here’s the thing. The videos you create (or have created for you) like it or not, reflect your professionalism (or lack of it). Since most of your competitors are way too parsimonious to consider using this kind of video enhancement tool, imagine how yours will stand out from the crowd (especially during a listing presentation). And let’s face it, it’s just plain cool walking around like your are a mini James Cameron :0)
This is one of these very cool tools that I would not want to be without if I were shooting my own listing and neighborhood videos. You decide if turning viewers “ugh!”s into “ahhhh!”s is worth the money.
NOTE: Mr. Internet®, RUSSER Communications, its staff and officers receive no compensation whatsoever from any third party vendors (unless he/they are directly involved with the creation and/or improvement of a vendor service or product), and make no recommendations as to the suitability of the products or services mentioned in this article. Always thoroughly investigate any product or service before trying or purchasing.
How to Sculpt Your Business Masterpiece
Sunday, February 27th, 2011
Michelangelo was asked how he could possibly create something as beautiful as the statue of David from a block of marble. His reply was as telling as the result of his work (paraphrasing): “I don’t sculpt, I simply release the art from its stone prison.” This is telling, because most businesses also start out as just a lump of potential.
You start by having a clear vision of what you want your business to look like. Every aspect including what you do during the day, who you work with and for, what you focus most of your time on and how all the other detail work gets accomplished. Imagine what would happen to that block of marble if old Mic didn’t have a clear vision of the final piece. He’d soon end up with a pile of useless chipped marble.
Armed with a crystal clear vision of what you want your business to look like, it’s time to start “releasing” its potential. You don’t start by indiscriminately hacking away with the chisel, otherwise you will end up destroying the very thing you are trying to create. Creating a viable business, just like creating a work of art, is a labor of love. It takes time, patience and a keen eye for what works and what doesn’t. Take small steps and stand back from time to time to make sure you are going in the right direction…
In the studio, I don’t do a lot of work that requires repetitive activity. I spend a lot of time looking and thinking and then try to find the most efficient way to get what I want, whether it’s making a drawing or a sculpture, or casting plaster or whatever.
Bruce Nauman
It really boils down to what you want from your business and what you are willing to give in time, effort, money, etc. to get it. True masterpieces are never created overnight. It takes the undying love of its creator to give it life and allow it to achieve its full potential. Anything less and you end up with a cheap knockoff that has very little intrinsic value.
