Literally, as I was checking my atlanticbeachnc Twitter account not long ago, I tripped over a posting by Michael Sharpe of East Carolina Technologies who was sitting with Jason Yeomans across town at Coastal Home Gallery. 

Jason actually owns Windows and More in Morehead City, but he and Brian of Audio Interiors partnered early in 2009 to build out the most amazing home environment showcase that eastern NC has ever seen.

Anyway, back to the story:  I tweeted to Michael in response to his post.  Michael, who was working on some web site issues for Jason, was teaching Jason how to use Twitter.  Within minutes, Michael and I set up a live meeting to take place the following week at Coastal Home Gallery.

Oh wow!  That's all I could say when I entered the building.  This is not like anything I had ever seen -- beautifully designed, built, and decorated rooms and vignettes pulled you throughout, drawing you into each space and inviting you to sit and enjoy.  You really need to sit, too, because you'll find yourself noticing details like the sea turtle inlay in the kitchen tile and the rear projected television screen in the mirror in a kitchen setting.  You'll want to plop yourself down in the home theatre room to watch a little tv on the massive screen -- it will be on, so go right on in.  But, pay special attention to the ceiling -- it's a starry night.  And, just outside the cinema (complete with theatre lights above the door and lit movie posters down the wall) you'll notice a courtyard with a lovely stone waterfountain. No detail left unattended.  It's just unreal that this whole space was put together in about two months.

Well, I have to tell you that my favorite room at Coastal Home is decorated in mocha shades and linen whites with a huge flat screen above a two-way fireplace.  Curves above the french doors and high ceiling with extra large molding above just finished it off perfectly.  And, let's not forget the enormo alligator palm frond that hangs like a trophy above the doorway - what a conversation piece.  It's not cutesy beachy--more tropical without the jungle, and yet totally comfortable.

After touring the gallery and wishing I could move in, I spoke with Jason for a while about his vision and how this whole project managed to get pulled together.  Coastal Home Gallery actually includes about a dozen tenants - some are located inhouse w/ office space above the gallery and warehouse out back.  Some simply have display space to showcase a bathroom or closet area. 

I get from Jason that the concept for this space involves the team approach to conducting business -- group marketing, sharing of referrals, and helpful interaction wrapped around the creation of a totally unique and mind-blowing experience for the customer. 

So impressed was I that I could think of no better environment to share with my friends on my birthday, so I invited some gal pals over for a bite of lunch and to check out the "digs."  I look for excuses to meet folks there, and even hold client meetings in the showroom.  I mean, what better surrounding than to sit smack in the middle of the most beautiful indoor space that Carteret County has to offer.  This should be a destination - it's that good.  If you'd like to be one of my excuses, e-me - no kidding - mary@marykurek.com 

These tips come from a free tips booklet called 20 Ideal Networking Tips for Business Success, and is available from my site - includes reprint and rebrand rights.  At the end of this blog posting, I'll give you the link for the full download.

1.   Change how you think about your network

Train yourself to think of your network as a personal staff to help you meet your goals.  Instead of a database of alphabetically recorded names, your network is your human resources directory; each person filling a specific role based on how you utilize their particular qualities.  You will access your "staff" regularly-for solving problems, brainstorming new marketing ideas, or when you need a connection to a major prospect.  Your requests will be "keyword rich" for clarity, but expressed in a warm and personal manner.  Your sincere offer to return the favor will result in quicker and easier success for you and your "staff" -- that is now your ideal network.

2.  Identify your ideal client type

If you'd be happy to have just anyone as a client or customer, you should know that "anyone" is most likely who will show up, and they may not be ideal for you.  Get clear on the type of client you want so you can open the door to attracting them.  Jot down a list of qualities that are important to you in a client or customer.  Think of specifics, like the age range, sex, occupation, hobbies, geographic origin, and personality of ideal clients.  Now, you can market directly to them, get into their environment, and naturally attract them at functions.  You are creating a new standard for yourself, so develop a "not interested" policy for those clients/customers you attract that you know are less than ideal for you. Success is always more likely when you know what it is (or who it is) that you want.
 
3.  Create a publicity vehicle

Whenever you have even the smallest publicity vehicle, there will be people clamoring for your attention.  You can host a local television show, record audio interviews to post on your web site, or write a newsletter that features others.  If the vehicle you create is designed to focus on your ideal client type, you will attract them.  When you spotlight them, encourage them to use that publicity on their own web site or in other marketing.  That visibility will bounce back to you.  Call on people from your network who have media contacts, are skilled in writing, have audio or video capability, or already have a publicity vehicle themselves that you could model.
Here's your link to 20 Ideal Networking Tips: 

http://www.marykurek.com/tipsbookletform.php. 

Happy Ideal Networking.

Hey gang:  Just posted a new article on ideamarketers about how to use "full-monty" or multi-feature web sites to grab more online visibility quickly.  The beginning of that article is below.  Click the link to follow to the full article.  Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of spring.  Happy Ideal Networking.  Mary

When a coastal NC Realtor® decided to boost her Internet presence in order to expand her ability to draw buyers interested in waterfront properties, she started with two key steps that added immediate visibility...the first was to build profiles on free multi-feature web sites or "full monty sites."  The second step was to place well-constructed articles on free content sites around the Internet to drive traffic to her own site.  These steps resulted in a gain of more than fifty additional links coming into her web site plus three additional links to her when you "Googled" her business name.  Linda, the Realtor®, now gets extra search engine results when prospects search for waterfront properties in her area and, in one case, she shows up as the only Realtor® on the first scroll of results in a search for retiree-related information about waterfront properties. 

http://www.ideamarketers.com/?Creating_Online_Visibility_That_Rocks&articleid=530352&from=PROFILE

Since I create and manage visibility for clients (businesses and individuals), I can tell you that the best marketing tool you can ever have is an updated resume.  I've had many clients who have had to frustrate through reinventing history details, like employment dates and unique contributions to companies they had worked for.  It's time consuming and a tremendous pain in the neck -- especially, if you find yourself applying for employment or creating a contract with government entities that need everything from your first dog's name to reasons why you didn't work for a year or two.

Keeping an updated resume is especially useful now, when so many independent sales types are having to find a second job or new short term or long term career.  I've had some of those clients, as well.

Even if you are a business owner who isn't suffering from economic conditions, having an updated resume can reveal some good information that you can use in client proposals, marketing documents, grant or loan documents, business proposals, and so on.  You never know when the information could be useful, so in light of that, I've created a new page on my site called Resume Help.  The page includes some free links and downloads such as resume template with instructions and samples, video tips, and job hunting resources, as well as an Ideal Job Hunters Package for sale that includes my book '' Who's Hiding in Your Address Book? that contains over 100 marketing and networking tips and resources.

You can visit the link here:  http://www.marykurek.com/resumehowtoguide.html

And, I'm including a link also to my CareerFix video blog where you'll find an intro to this resource as well as some other useful advice.  http://www.marykurek.com/careerfixblog2.html

Was speaking to a Women's Real Estate Organization recently where I told the story of the agent who approached me at a networking event, poked his card out at me, and asked me if I knew anyone who wanted to buy a house.  It was so rude and so wrong, that I used it as a springboard to explain how hard selling is perceived by a potentially excellent referral source.  

But let's get beyond the desperate agent's wrong stuff and talk about what he should have done right.

He should have:

a)  Gotten to know me a little better.   A referral (especially one with such a big pricetag) is a gift.  I don't give a gift that big without feeling some kind of connection with someone. 

b)  Let me know something more about himself than his occupation.  Who is he really and what makes him interesting (if he is at all).

c) Waited to ask for a referral.  By shooting the request right away, he proved that his only interest in ne is what I could do for him.

d)  Should have looked for the gap --where he could help me first.  By finding out what's going on with me where he might help, he makes a "deposit" in the bank, so to speak.  That gap could be helping with a job lead, an introduction, a piece of useful information about an event, hobby club, etc.

e)  Followed up.  Should have e-mailed me a few days later with a "nice to have met you" or "let's do coffee sometime -- I'd like to hear more about what you do."  Would have gotten my attention.

And, here's the biggie!  He should know who his ideal client type is and be able to articulate that when the time comes.  Rare is the occasion that we run across someone who "wants or needs to buy a house."  But, I would likely know people who would qualify as his ideal client type.  For instance, if he were interested in young, active families who are neighborhood types with two ore more kids advancing into middle school over the next couple of years, then I might be able to help.  It's all about relationship building in advance of need. 

So, get out there and find the gap....and please don't make this guy's mistake.  I gave out 3 referrals to agents that week.  He lost me by simply showing lack of care.

You know, I work with independent sales types a lot of in my business, and I've become re-introduced to what I consider is a first class service for anyone who is either starting a business (real estate qualifies) or is trying to expand their business.  In our community of Morehead City, NC, the Carteret Community College Small Business Center is such a resource.  With real estate competition beng what it is these days, you need every edge you can get, and this edge offers a lot of free services, like counseling and classes.  This same service is pretty much duplicated nationwide at community colleges, so don't fret, if you aren't in Morehead.

I'm a former Chamber of Commerce Exec., and I've known about the Small Business Center for some time, but I think we have a tendancy to figure they are really just for entrepreneurs.  But, actually, I know some business owners who have been at if for years to take advantage of the Center's offerings from time to time.  So, if you are thinking you'd like a confidential ear to hear your latest challenge and help you figure out a solution, you might check in with the Center where you are and give it a try.  I'm posting their link below.

http://www.carteret.cc.nc.us/education/cce_smallbusinesscenter.htm

I was talking last week with a couple of fellow speakers/trainers, and had an anvil drop.  I always say that when God needs to get a message to me, he needs to drop an anvil because I can be dense sometimes.  Well, the anvil was an Internet resource shared with me twice in one week.  So, I thought I'd pass it along to you in case you'd like to try it out. 

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm all about the "biz of viz."  Generating opps for publicity where you get a chance to share your expertise is great and www.helpareporter.com is where you can do just that...for free. 

P.R. guru, Peter Shankman started this resource for reporters who were in need of success stories, examples, or "experts" to quote on a variety of topics.  The way it works is simple.  Sign up your name and e-mail address on the site.  You'll get about 3 e-mails a day with reporter queries -- writers of high traffic blogs, industry magazines, major daily papers and magazines, commercial web sites, and the like indicate what kind of person they're needing to complete their story.  Read the rules first so you know how to respond to increase your chances of getting your comments picked up - and to help maintain the integrity. 

This is the kind of opp some people pay for -- and it certainly couldn't hurt anyone's business to be quoted in a national publication.   If you have expertise to share and have an interest in getting visible with that expertise - this a good resource for you.

I'm currently sitting in a meeting with two collaborators on a special real estate training project.  We've titled our presentation:  The Client Project:  How to find them - sell them - keep them.  We're playing with some ideas on getting a mortgage company to "host" our presentation -- starting in the eastern NC area.  While each one of us has skills and substantial expertise in the marketing arena -- and what we generally do with training isn't your usual stuff -- we were wanting to know what a real estate professional would be looking for to help them survive today's market. We know that question may be relative to where you are -- but I'd appreciate some feedback.  What do you need or need to know?  What skill do you need or resources would interest you?  Thanks so much in advance. 

This post is for all of you out there who are into direct sales of some sort.  Recently, the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce in Morehead City, NC began their first official "Ideal Network Club."  This is the unique networking club that I introduce in my book (Who's Hiding in Your Address Book).  The Club is based on workshops designed as action-oriented and results-producing sessions.  Content is provided by me and correlates to content from the book. 

Perfect for independent and small business types, the Club is also intended as an income producer exclusively for Chambers of Commerce.  Okay - the hype aside (well almost) - this first club is going fabulous - packed house - Chamber has already clearned about $1500 and stands to double or even triple that if they decide to do another this year.  Members are being "blown out of their boxes" and some were seeing bennies from the get-go.  Okay - now the hype is over.

What I wanted to get to is the meat of the first session that this Club dealt with - called "The Ideal E-mail Campaign."  Basically, this is what I refer to as a mini e-mail campaign in the book and designed to help a person get quick and targeted results with anything they need help on.  Most sales types are in need of customers/clients these days - so that was the goal for most of these members.  Because I was on the original mailing list from the Chamber to keep me informed about the Club's happenings, I got copied on several e-mails that went flying about when the members started putting into practice what they learned about doing their own "Ideal E-mail Campaign." 

First of all - wow!  Loved seeing the effort.  Some of what I didn't love:  they had a difficult time getting past the traditional marketing mindset.  They blanket e-mailed members of the Club or of their network.  Some of them didn't get the basic point of writing a perfect e-mail, which has to do with getting really clear about what/who you want before you ask - and that's not as easy as you'd think.  When you sell homes, you may be thinking "I want referrals to people who want to buy or sell a home."  How simple is that - right?  Wrong.  I may not know of someone who is thinking about buying or selling a home?  But, if you tell me you want to meet couples from the Raleigh, NC area who vacation in our area every year and are coming up on retirement, I might be able to come up with a name or two - or at least direct you to someone else who might know. 

But, I have to say, these members, no matter how confusing their beginning with their "Ideal E-mail Campaign," they were getting results - and some pretty amazing ones at that.  With some adjustments to the programming content, the next Club will be getting even better results. 

If you'd like to get some free pointers on how do your own ideal e-mail campaign, visit my Squidoo Lens with the same title as this blog.  Here's the link:  http://www.squidoo.com/howtoaskforhelp  

I don't know about where you are, but where I am, many agents are wearing more than one "work hat."  A fellow author calls it "slash" syndrome or something like that.  Indeed, I am, myself, in that category. Part networking and marketing coach/author/speaker/and information marketer.  This holiday season, I've noticed more than one agent out there tending to the other side of their slash.  I know three agents who are doing direct sales with skin care lines, one selling jewelry, lots into Team National, two into some form of advertising sales, and one who tends bar at a favorite pub.  Since our waterfront community has suffered a bit with the market, I can well understand why a good many agents have made a decision to find a sideline.  In fact, the woman who is tending bar now will tell you she makes more money doing that than she did as an agent, so I'd say she is a bartender/agent instead of the other way around.  But, she also says it is a great way to meet and network with people.  Who else are you going to talk to when you are at a bar with no one you know?  She's got a genuine, outgoing personality and everyone seems to like her.  She's been around as an agent for a while and is fairly well-known.  Could be this gal is onto something.  My guess is that during this season (of heavy socializing), she'll pick up more leads and make more friends (and tips) than another agent who might send out a few hundred post cards.  There is something odd about bartender loyalty.  I've seen bar clients offer to take their favorite bartender on cruises, offer them their summer home in the islands for a vacation, bring extravagant gifts from their travels, give them their cars to drive when needed, hook them up with attorneys, and even get so attached that they propose marriage.  I'm sure there is a flip side there somewhere, but how bad could this be if you know what you are doing?  Could it possibly translate into increased real estate business?  Point is, if you've thought about adding a slash/something to your agent title, think about how the other side of that slash could actually improve your ability to network, gain leads, and generate success for your real estate business... and, how it might positively impact other areas of your life.  Any investment of your time and effort should reap a certain amount of reward.  Happy Holidays -- and I'll have a nog please...with rum.