Tag: Kim Zelena

3 Objectives of Marketing

Visibility – Lead Generation – Client Base Development

In that order.

First rule of Marketing:  Be Visible! Which means to be seen . . . frequently.  In real estate we do that largely with signs: For Sale Signs (listings!), directional signs, open house signs, Blitz Signs, Car Wraps, Billboards, Bus Benches, office signage.  You are visible when you hear the magic words:  ‘I see your signs everywhere.’

However:  Visibility can be accomplished in other ways as well.  Richard Cricchio (whose office is on an ISLAND, which is a pertinent detail) has used a weekly radio show for the past 9 years to boost his visibility.  Maria Powell and Michelle Morgan have become active on local television to be more visible.  Kim Zelena and Kimber Regan have used community involvement and charity events to increase their visibility.  Julie Wright is deeply into her Chamber of Commerce.

Lead Generation is all about Targeting, which means honing in on the people most likely to need your services in the future.  Lead generation might take the form of direct mail or door hanger distribution.  It used to take the form of newspaper and homes magazine advertising (and still may in some cases).  Increasingly, lead generation is about maximizing your web presence . . . essentially being electronically VISIBLE and easily found online.

Many of our folks are generating leads by optimizing their Help-U-Sell websites.  Good News:  if you haven’t done that yet, call Tony – he’ll help you.  Others are pulling them in regularly via premiere agent programs at Zillow, Trulia  and Realtor.com.  Robin Rowland is using Facebook to create new business.  Maurine Grisso has 5 websites (and counting), each targeting a different segment of the market.

Client Base Development means we look backward as often as we look forward.  As we move contacts to contracts and closings, we move those clients back into our cache of fans.  We cultivate the relationship with regular meaningful contact.  We seek and get their help in further developing our business.  You are doing client base development right when you have former clients functioning as advocates in the field for your service.

Rather than single out anyone doing a good job of client base development I’d simply congratulate all Help-U-Sell brokers.  Truth is:  nobody is making it through the tough market of the past several years without the help of a strong client base.  No matter how many leads you are developing, the power of a personal referral will almost always be your best option for doing business.

2011 NAR Expo: Day 1

Good Morning!  The 2011 National Association of REALTORS Annual Convention and Expo kicked off yesterday afternoon and I am happy to report that the first day was a success for Help-U-Sell.  Our booth is HUGE and, thanks to Ron McCoy, very well located.  We have a big corner, just one set of exhibitors back from the main entrance, right next to the Wells Fargo booth (which always draws a big crowd with games and give-aways).

It was a success for several reasons:

  • First and foremost – the quantity and quality of people who stopped by to chat.  Really, we’ve done this show before and others, and this time people were bright, energized, and sincerely interested in who we are and what we’re doing.  It was a fairly constant stream of significant conversations.
  • We looked GOOOOOD!  Mary, Robbie, Kendra, Ron and I were joined in the booth by Dan Desmond, Kim Zelena, Leigh Ann Losh and Elias Klaeb, so we didn’t look lonely and forelorn! (nothing worse than a great big booth with one or two people in it).  Plus, Ron had gotten each of us a high quality white button down collar shirt with big embroidered logo over the pocket.  We looked sharp and cohesive.
  • A couple of former franchisees, people who dropped by the wayside in the turmoil of 2006, stopped by and were more than a little interested in . . . well, in doing what Help-U-Sell people who leave often do:  coming back.  One said something I’ve heard many times before: ‘The happiest days of my real estate career were the ones I spent as a Help-U-Sell Broker.’
  • We had conversations with people from Canada, the Philippines, and India (yes, India) about the possibility of our brand making it into their parts of the world.  That’s probably down the road a month or two (or ten), but it’s great to know there is interest and anticipation there.

We are building momentum to carry us into a growth phase.  Growing is not something we’ve put much energy into over the past few years.  Instead, our laser-focus has been on helping our people survive and thrive in the most difficult market any of us has ever seen.  So we’re starting from a full stop.  But the momentum is building.  Our Informational Webinars are pulling in a steady stream of interested attendees, our presence here and at the recent CAR Expo and upcoming Tripple-Play meeting are putting us on the mental map of REALTORS everywhere, and our full-page ad in the latest REALTOR Magazine is propelling us forward.  I expect 2012 to be a year a significant growth for Help-U-Sell.

We expect many more Help-U-Sell family members to be in attendance over the weekend, all wearing those cool white shirts and helping us spread the word about our excellent industry and consumer offerings.  If you are in Anaheim, please stop by and say ‘Hello.’

Kendra in the booth

 

Accessibility Toolbar