Our Real Estate Advertising Ideas Video Training Series, is designed to help Realtor’s succeed. However, the concepts explored will work for any small business with a specific geographic territory. In the Real Estate industry, territories are called farm areas, however if you have a pizza shop or a lawn service route the ideas and strategies discussed in the Real Estate Advertising Video Series will apply to your business as well.

In Video No. 2 of our series we cover two things your advertising must accomplish. The video is only about 2.5 minutes long, so why not watch it now. As always we welcome your comments and suggestions.

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This video training series: Real Estate Advertising Ideas, can benefit new and experienced Realtors.

Realtors often ask us what works best for a Postcard Mailing or Door Hanger Distribution. How many to mail or distribute,  how often and what should the message be?

We have created this Video Training Series: Real Estate Advertising Ideas to answer the questions most frequently asked by Realtors. We will be releasing one each week beginning April 15, 2013.

Here is video number 1 of 4: THE BEST MARKETING STRATEGY.  Please feel free to contact us with questions, comments or suggestions.

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A Real Estate Farm Area is a neighborhood, or in some cases several neighborhoods where a Realtor seeks to establish himself as the number one choice for Real Estate services. The best way to do that is to send a postcard mailing or conduct a door hanger distribution every month. Frequency is the key to success. For the same budget, it is far better to reach 1000 prospects 5 times than 5000 prospects once. Real Estate Postcard Mailings Can Generate New Listings.

The strategy of working a Farm Area is nothing new. Every agent starting out in the business usually starts with a basic Farm Area assigned by his or her broker.  Every new agent is bound to make a few sales from friends or family. Then a few more sales from referrals. Then he’ll try to market around the last house he sold. This may or may not yield some results. Many of these sales may wind up outside his or her farm area. Before you know it, his marketing strategy becomes pretty fragmented.

Hit or miss marketing is not the way to increase sales and reduce stress. There are no silver bullets. Get back to the basics, work a specific farm area. Close every deal you can, but don’t lose sight of your primary territory.

The last few years have been brutal for the Real Estate Market. Honestly, the thought of a monthly advertising campaign in this market may seem a too optimistic or even scary to some agents.  It’s difficult to spend advertising dollars when the results may be unpredictable. However, to be successful with any advertising, you need to be consistent. To be consistent, you are going to need a budget, even if it is a modest one. If your budget is limited, then adjust the size of your Farm Area to accommodate it.  Make sure whatever you decide to spend is realistic and comfortable for your situation. The important thing is to stick with it.

Once the decision has been made to work a farm area, the next most popular question asked is “how many new listings do you think I’ll get if I mail “X” number of postcards?  Here is my answer: “maybe none at first”. The look of disappointment and shock is usually the same. Why would you advertise knowing you might not get any results they wonder?

The truth is you can’t control when someone decides they are going to sell their house. However, you may be able to control whether or not they think of you when they make that decision. You can do that by creating a “Top of Mind Awareness” of you and your services, by sending a mailing or distributing door hangers once a month. So, even if you do not get any new listings, there are positive results. Homeowners in the neighborhood will begin to recognize you and your name.

With Real Estate Marketing, slow and steady wins the race. Momentum will build over time and the more successful you become, the more you can expand your farm area.

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Sales and Marketing are terms that are often used in place of one another. They are two very different and vital ingredients to growing a business. So let’s start with some definitions.

“MARKETING” is what you do to create an opportunity for a sale. This would include product development and pricing, advertising campaigns, image, etc.

“SALES” is converting an opportunity (or a lead) into a deal or closed sale.

Each is very important and dependent upon the other. What good is a lead if you don’t make the sale? What good is having a great sales team if you don’t have any leads? You need both; effective marketing and sales.

As a small business owner or manager you most likely assume both roles: Marketing Manger and Sales Manger. Of the two, we have found that sales is often the forgotten “step child”. Most small business owners realize they need to market their business.  They do so by advertising and they use a variety of media (direct mail, newspapers, door hangers) to generate leads. The problem is, they don’t spend enough time thinking about converting the leads that are generated, in other words selling.

Selling is a skill like any other. Contrary to popular belief, it is not about trying to manipulate someone to buy something. It is about identifying needs and then offering the best solution.

We have produced a sales training video to further discuss sales and marketing. It’s only about 1.5 minutes long, so why not watch it now?

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As a small business owner or manager, the better your selling skills, the more successful your organization will be.  Here is our latest sales training video. It’s only about 3 minutes long, so why not watch it now?

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Sharpening your selling skills is certain to help grow your business, that’s why we have produced a series of training videos: “SALES TRAINING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES”. Our latest installment deals with developing a strong “I B S” - Initial Benefit Statement. An I B S lets your prospect know what product or service you are offering and how it will benefit him. Watch this video to learn more.

Here is the video transcript:

HARRY:  Hi, Sam. Why so glum?

SAM:  Harry, I haven’t sold a vacuum in over three weeks. I think I’ve lost my touch.

HARRY:  Don’t worry, Sam. Every salesperson falls into a slump from time to time. You just have to get back to basics.

SAM:  The basics?

HARRY:  Right. Tell me how you begin your sales presentation.

SAM:  OK, well I know our vacuum is more expensive than the competition. So I start off by saying, Madam, this week our company is offering a $50 discount on our vacuum and three easy payments with no interest.

HARRY:  I think I may see your problem.

SAM:  Really? Tell me, please.

HARRY:  You’ve got to begin your sales presentation with an IBS. Do you remember what that is?

SAM:  Hmm, IBS? Well I know what “BS”  is. Does it mean exaggerating what the product can do?

HARRY:  Absolutely not. IBS is short for Initial Benefits Statement. In other words, what is the primary benefit the product offers to the customer?

SAM:  I’ve got that covered. It’s savings,remember? I’m offering a $50 discount, plus no interest financing.Who could resist that?

HARRY:  Evidently everyone you’ve talked to for the past three weeks. Savings isa benefit, but if you haven’tconvinced the prospect to buy, then it doesn’t matter how much savings you’re offering.

SAM:  So what’s your IBS?

HARRY:  Here’s how I begin. Madam, our powerful, lightweight vacuum will cut your cleaning time in half. It has a hypoallergenic filter that will make your home healthier, and there are no messy bags to empty and replace. Can I give you a demonstration?

SAM:  Wow, that’s pretty powerful. You didn’t even mention price or discounts.

HARRY:  I save the discount offer for my closing, if I need it.

SAM:  Thanks, Harry. I can’t wait to get back out there and use my new IBS.

HARRY:  Remember to keep the IBS short,about 15 seconds is ideal. Andkeep refining your IBS with each presentation. The better it is, the more you’re going to sell. Good luck, Sam.

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How do you picture salespeople?  Watch this brief video and perhaps you’ll have a different outlook about selling and salespeople.

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If you are a small business owner or manager, I’ll bet you often play the roll of salesperson. The better your selling skills the more successful your business will be. Here is the latest in our series of sales training videos. It describes how to identify and handle different personality types. It’s about 3 minutes long. After you watch it, pass it along to the rest of your team and then see what type personality they think they are.

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If you own or manage a small business, chances are, in order to succeed, you’ve got to be a good salesman. To be a good salesman you have to be able to deal with objections from potential customers. One of the hardest objections to handle is PRICE. This video will give you a few pointers that should improve your skills. It’s about 2 minutes long – so why not what it now?

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I recently came across this article and video by Carmine Gallo (written for Forbes) describing how to use a “Message Map” to get your point across in 15 seconds.

Here it is:

The Article is Posted Below The Video:

How to Pitch Anything in 15 Seconds

If you can’t tell me what you do in 15 seconds, I’m not buying, I’m not investing, and I’m not interested.

Few technologies are as complicated to explain as 4G LTE. Last year I worked with a group of leaders for the division of a global, publicly traded company who were responsible for pitching the technology to potential customers. Since the group was struggling to explain the technology simply, I introduced them to a tool that I’ve used very successfully with other brands—a message map.

The leaders in this particular division were responsible for pitching the technology to public safety agencies. Their audience knew a lot about police work, but had little knowledge about wireless broadband. Imagine if the head of a public service agency heard something like this: 4G LTE is a standard for the wireless communication of high-speed data based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the capacity and speed of new modulation techniques. Not one person would have acted on the pitch because they wouldn’t be able to understand a word of it!

Instead we created a pitch that started with this sentence: 4G is a mobile broadband technology that will change the way your department communicates, collaborates, and operates. The audience got it in one sentence. The message was so simple and effective, the company landed several multi-million dollar accounts after their first meetings and they credited the message map for helping them pitch the idea in a simple, yet compelling way. The message map gave everyone (sales, marketing, executive leadership) a roadmap for the customer conversation. “Without a doubt it improved the confidence of our sales and marketing teams to articulate our value, our mission, and why our product would make a difference,” one leader told me.

Build a message map in 3-steps. A message map is the visual display of your idea on one page. It is a powerful and tool that should be a part of your communication arsenal. Building a message map can help you pitch anything (a product, service, company, or idea) in as little as 15 seconds. Here is the three-step process to using a message map to build a winning pitch. For this exercise you will need a notepad, word document, PowerPoint slide, or whiteboard.

Step One.
Create a Twitter-friendly headline.
The headline is the one single overarching message that you want your customers to know about the product. Ask yourself, “What is the single most important thing I want my listener to know about my [product, service, brand, idea].” Draw a circle at the top of the message and insert the headline. Make sure your headline fits in a Twitter post – no more than 140 characters. If you cannot explain your product or idea in 140 characters or less, go back to the drawing board.

Step Two.
Support the headline with three key benefits. As I discussed in a previous article, the human mind can only process about three pieces of information in short-term memory. Specifically outline the three or, at most, four benefits of your product. Draw three arrows from the headline to each of the key supporting messages.

Step Three.
Reinforce the three benefits with stories, statistics, and examples. Add bullet points to each of the three supporting messages. You don’t have to write out the entire story. Instead write a few words that will prompt you to deliver the story. Remember, the entire message map must fit on one page.

You can create a message map for any product or a brand. Lets use the example of soap. If you can sell soap, you can pitch anything. Lush is a global chain of stores that sells soaps and cosmetics. It has about 100 locations around the world. They literally stock hundreds of items. Although the brand takes the unusual step of sending new products to each of its employees, it wouldn’t be feasible, nor necessary, to create a message map about each product.

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