The 4 Keys to Success
- Marketing, Planning, Prospecting, and
Implementation
By Rita Santamaria
Marketing, planning, prospecting, and
implementation are the four keys to success. The most important key of
all is implementation because the other three are useless without taking
action. It helps to have a checklist that contains both interactive and lead
generation activities.
- Marketing
It is
important to regularly showcase your company and also let your customers know
you are thinking about them. Having a client appreciation event at least
once per year is a great way to do that. You need to be “touching” them
as often as possible through weekly blogs, monthly newsletters, brochures,
emails, holiday cards, and anniversary and birthday cards. Social media
and e-blasts work when marketing to those you already know.
When you
personally go into your business farm area and attend functions where people
already know you (called centers of influence), this is an example of
marketing. Volunteering to help a group is another example of
marketing. If you do a good job, people will call you because they already
know you, trust you, and see you as the “go to” person in your industry.
In addition, they are more likely to refer others to you.
- Planning
Do you know
your geographic area? You must establish and work a geographic area so
you get to know the results or metrics of your success in that specific area.
What is your territory? How would you rank yourself on a scale of 1
– 5 with 5 being excellent?
There are
also demographic farm areas. These areas are identified by age,
activities, and community involvement. This is where understanding
generations and the difference in selling, advertising, and networking make a
huge difference in your success. The way one generation values your
expertise can be different from another generation. You need to know the
difference in techniques and stereotypical expectations based on generational
expectations.
- Prospecting
When you
personally work to expand your personal sphere of influence into a group of
people who do not know you, this is known as prospecting. Prospecting
involves calling on people and being prepared to hear why this customer will
not use you; rejection is a normal occurrence. They are going to tell you
why they use someone else. This is great information as it will help you
overcome objections from the next person while giving you valuable insight as
to what is important to this customer. The law of averages demonstrates
the more persons we call on either in person, on the phone, or with social
media, the greater the percentage increases for new business. Instead of
texting, personally call potential clients whom you’ve met but have not yet
established a business relationship. It is far more effective.
- Implementation
Your personal
advertising budget and the implementation of that budget may move your
direction to personal marketing and prospecting. This produces a higher
metric for success than impersonal or spending money. Contests and
giveaways where you have personally been visible are good examples and the
return on your investment will pay off in referrals. Even though many
companies and individuals are marketing through the development of a personal
monthly newsletter, it is an impersonal way to market. In addition,
direct mail pieces for a targeted market is still impersonal and perhaps not
worth the investment.
Always write
10 personal notes per week to people who know you. This is personal and
works well and the return on investment of stamps and time is impressive.
Volunteering for marketing and recruiting events is personal and a wonderful
return on your time with potential referrals. When you attend local and
national conventions, this only works for obtaining business if the educational
seminars you attended gave you good insight into better business performance.
Be sure to always prospect while you are attending these events as well as
attending sessions.
These tried and new initiatives will
help you achieve the success you desire; it is all about implementation.
Without implementation your success is limited to luck. Work your plan.
________________________________________________________________
Rita
Santamaria is the owner and CEO of Champions School of Real Estate which was
founded in 1983 and is a five time Pinnacle Award Winning School. The
Champions School of Professional Development was founded in 2012 and has grown
in a short time to be a leading development venue for individuals and
companies. For more information, visit their websites at www.ChampionsSchool.com
or www.TheChampionsProfessional.com
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