Dialogues for Results

SEIZE YOUR SLICE OF THE PIE

PART I Self Marketing For On Site Agents

The market is what the market is. Today, it is about maintaining or growing your market share. It is one day at a time, one sale at a time. You cannot control the size of the pie, but you can control the size of your slice.

Every dollar must be accounted for today, and every strategy must be carefully crafted. Dead on aim is required. Among the targets are improved sales process and sales team morale, model merchandising, franchise management, product development, marketing and more...The focus here in Part I is marketing; not on corporate marketing, which historically accounts for 75% of the traffic, but on the field level, sales self marketing.

In the heydays of the past, when demand often exceeded supply, 75% of the potential traffic was more than enough for all of us to be wildly successful. There weren't enough hours in the day to manage the buyers we did have, and to deliver homes. It's a different story now, isn't it? Salespeople who are not engaged in strategic self marketing today are losing 25% of their potential net sales. Each salesperson must have a three pronged self marketing plan for: (1) lead generation (2) lead follow up, and (3) buyer retention. The keys to the plan's success are that it be in writing, executed consistently, and monitored for results.

Profile your buyers and untapped potential buyers; identify where they are are, and how to reach them. Conduct focus groups with current owners, and brainstorm with peers and managers. There are at least ten targets for lead generation, and a myriad of media you can employ. Determine your message and call to action, and fire away! For lead follow up, take it up a notch. Don't wait a day or two to call or send a letter. Call and email them later the same day to thank them for visiting, and engage them further. If salespeople are executing an effective sales process, follow up will be a lot easier. More customers will purchase on the first visit, and if not, the foundations will be properly in place for effective follow up. Buyer retention, the third piece of the 3 pronged plan, is critical today. No one needs practice selling and reselling the same home or home site over and over again. You can have a lot of fun with this, throwing parties, creating newsletters, posting photos...

Invest the time and effort up front to create a self marketing plan that can be executed consistently and frequently. And don't give up! Your persistence will result in your seizing the slice of the pie you desire!

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