Don't Believe the Hype. Manipulation Is Missed Sales Opportunity In The Making
In every sales situation there are trigger points that once hit on they allow people to purchase goods and services. When I sold internet marketing products to real estate professionals I was trained to find and hone in on these trigger points.
In a different real estate market the skills taught to me were:
1. I Will Give It To You Today And Take It Away From You Tomorrow- You can have this product for this price today, but tomorrow it will be a different price.
2. Flattery Will Get You To Buy- I can see you hold such and such designation and you have been in the business for so many years, so certainly you will do well advertising on our website. Why wouldn't clients choose you over the other agents who are advertising?
3. All The Top Real Estate Agents Are Doing It- I have been speaking with Bobby Smith in your area and will be speaking with him again tomorrow. He is very interested in this product. Do you know Bobby Smith, the top producing agent in your area? Yes, well he was impressed with the quality of this product (Shouldn't YOU be?)
4. Exclusivity Is Key- There are only x number of real estate agents we can take in this area. Let me show you where you would appear, it is prime internet property and again, I only have x number of slots (dim lights, open red curtain, hit spotlight button NOW).
5. Your Membership is Paid. Can I Squeeze You for An Upgrade?- Dear valued member, I know your membership has been paid for the year, but don't you think you need this newfangled widget that will make you even more money by producing more leads for you. C'mon, you know you want it....will that be Visa, American Express, or Mastercard....oh wait, I think I have your old card on file.
Guess what? These five simple triggers sold the sale more times than not. Some salespeople were better than others at push marketing goods. Some of the sales talk could have played ball with the best playas out there. Some of the claims were so outlandish that I couldn't even believe the words could escape the mouths of the salespeople...I couldn't believe their mouths allowed them to utter the words.
But they did....and man did they cast and reel.
Can I claim that I did not use any of the five tactics taught to me? No dear readers, I cannot. What I can tell you is that despite the popular saying, sometimes people can change. What I can claim is that I changed my sales tune and though my numbers weren't as high when I did, I still fed my family.
It was like switching to chicken soup for the sales soul.
I learned something very simple. I had a pretty cut and dry product. There were some real estate agents who could benefit from my product. There were a number of real estate agents who didn't NEED my product.
There were other real estate agents who wouldn't take the time to use the tools and so my product would essentially be shelved next to the power point presentation software, sales books and cd's that were collecting dust in their offices.
I had to find my target market- The agents who would benefit from my product.
I had to present my product- The elevator pitch and it had to be quick.
I had to shut up and listen- This involved questions and answers. I had to ask the questions and let them answer. No interrupting, no puffery, no posturing. Just shut up and listen.
At the end of the day and possibly 100 calls dialed I would have many, many no's....a few maybes....and 1 or 2 yes's. BUT the yes's were solid. They could use my product, they would benefit from my product and yes they made the decision to buy my product.
These closed transactions were the sweetest high imaginable....they just felt good 'cause they were right on the money.
Today with my own business it is even sweeter. It's been a long time since I had to dial for dollars. Instead I turn to my blog and my networking efforts. How do I find my target market? I now write to them. To put it more accurately, I write transparently about myself and my marketing principles. I use keywords and I try to make each topic timely, sometimes timeless, but USEFUL.
I don't want professionals to be tethered to my concepts, but to develop the concepts to work for THEIR marketing needs. I don't suspect I will ever have many long term clients. Hopefully they will be able to fly free on their own.
That's my goal.
And when people do call me I go back to square one....albeit with a twist.
Prospects call me- They tell me how they found me and what they liked about what I had to say. They tell me what connected with them, why they resonated with my words, and what made them pick up the phone to call me.
Prospects ask me questions about my services- Do I do xyz? Should they start xyz? How would they do xyz? What do I charge for xyz?
Sometimes we close. Sometimes we wait. It depends on the situation. Sometimes, honestly, they don't really need me. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they have to back up a few steps and start with square one and I refer the business out in the right direction.
I owe my sweet sales to blogging. Blogging has given me the perfect medium to broadcast my value and I am truly grateful. Blogging gives life to my business and Google archives my messages so they are never thrown away like a scroll in the dead sea. Professionals type in words in Google search and come across my blog, my services, and get a window into me.
All Manipulation Free.
Don't Believe the Hype. Manipulation Is Missed Sales Opportunity In the Making.
Let's have some fun and break this open. Please share the most recent sales lines used on you...you know, the kind that some playas salspeople use.
Today I was reading a newsletter from Social Media Today that warned about the risks of overusing social media, with quite a brilliant comparison made to Michael Jackson...those who rise to the top must be careful that their transparency, position, and influence does not disengage them from their audience
And isolate them......
At least that is what I got out of the analogy.
The article was prompted by a post that Jason Baer wrote, "Let's Stop Swooning Over Social Media". I applaud this post for its spot on appraisal of what social media marketing has come to many and for its resounding message warning that we must not turn our backs on consumers who are still not engrossed in social media as much as marketers are.
Great timing for me, not only because I feel I have written about this a time or two, but also because for the past month I cannot tell you how many "consumers" ask me "What is Twitter?". They laugh and tease about it, guess at it,some vaguely have knowlege of it. So I spend time giving mini Twitter classes to consumers on the fly.
I don't mind and I know it's a smart place to be- early adoption is half the winner's race.
I digress....back to Jason Baer's post and Social Media Today's news article. When I read both today I thought they were spot on and I went back to re-reading the ClueTrain Manifesto and then in the middle....as often happens...I had to jump right up and open up my blog to write.
Because again what struck me about these posts was the emphasis on relationships....making and engaging in relationships and not disregarding those relationships that you can also find offline. Relationships come in many forms, many places, and not always the places we are swooning over.
Do you pride yourself on accomplishing everything on your own? Do you take pride in your independence and your ability to grow your business and "manage" on your own?
It's a funny thing. This independence creeps into the spirit of an entrepreneur like the ivy of a poison plant. Its vines weave themselves through the mind and body and once the onset of itchy bumps start to manifest the entrepreneur is itching and scratching and longing for the calamine.....
Why wait?
Why wait for relief when you can open your eyes, look around, and engage in a partnership, affiliation, a coach or consultant who can prevent this occurrence... this uncomfortable unease from happening? Do you know you are truly one person, running one business, trying to manage many things at the same time.
Multi-tasking can diffuse the effort of being effective. No one has the ability to step back from their business and look at it through a different view. No matter your age- 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, or 70's you have the same eyes. Your view will always be obscured ever so slightly by what is has been trained to see and by what you yourself cannot see.
Entrepreneurs do not have completely objectivityin their business. Nor do they have a road map they must adhere to- there is no boss telling them what they must do. Entrepreneurs take the wheel and steer through the course of marketing and selling among many conditions. Sometimes the course is rough and the road is unpaved. Sometimes the road is smooth and the tires glide upon the asphalt.
Sometimes the directions seem clear and then they are redirected by a neon sign that they must detour.....
And for many entrepreneurs this is the where the fall occurs. They do not call to ask directions from a trusted voice. They head toward the most convenient shop on the side of the road, they head toward the shop with the biggest sign, or they do not ask for help at all. They turn their vehicle around and meander this way and that, they may get lucky, they may find their way eventually....
Eventually costs time and money. Eventually loses opportunities. Eventually is not a solid plan for the future. Eventually is just now.
Is your independence coming before your business fall?
Rebecca Levinson is an independent real estate marketing consultant who helps real estate professionals see through the blind spots in their real estate marketing.
How do you take your blog and make it the focal point of your marketing efforts? A good marketing strategy will involve the integration of your online and offline marketing efforts.
In other words you need to take your social marketing efforts, email campaigns, local advertising and farming and setup calls to action that point towards one bulls eye....this is looking at your blogging efforts on a macro level and doesn't take into account a more defined marketing plan, say one for a home buyer seminar or a niche market. These are critical strategies as well and in a future post I will humbly attempt to diagram a sample niche marketing strategy, but first things first.....
View Through A Macro Lens: The Great Eight- A Sample Integrated Blog Marketing Strategy
1. Create A Blog
Think carefully about what platform you want to blog on and where you can gain the most exposure from your target market (where do they hang out?; Where's the Google Juice?). Do you have creative control and control of the content on your blog with the platform you will be using? Can you make changes to the design, layout, and structure of your blog on your own or will you need to hire or get approval from others to make those changes?
Think about your Usability-How comfortable are you with writing on the platform you have chosen?
2. Throw A Blog Release Party
Don't make your blog a dirty little secret. All creative efforts have a great launch- new music, a new book, a magazine, a new hotel....see where I might be going here? Your blog is a creative work even if the writing is real estate focused so shout it out.
Introduce your blog to your current sphere of influence and your farm area (we are talking offline push to online) by using more traditional methods of marketing- post cards, letters, local print advertising (if your local print venues- newspapers, magazines- have a viable readership in your area).
Give your readers a taste of what you can offer so give them tips in your online marketing on something newsworthy- say the $8000 tax credit, and then give them a call to action offer that pushes them to your blog.
Dig?
I am not done...remember that you want to be a soap box for a blog because your blog is where the inside out of your brand is....the meat and potatoes of who you are, what you know, and how you can help. Put your blog's URL(website address) on your email signature, your email newsletters.
Oh, and I know we are talking about Facebook Vanity Plates now, but I would like to see some cars pimped out with vanity stickers advertising YOUR BLOG and YOUR BRAND.
Now we are talking online push to one marketing hub, one bulls eye, your blog.
3. Appreciate and Syndicate
Appreciate all of the FREE advertising online that is available for your blog. One of the best is syndication. You can syndicate your blog by creating an RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feed and submitting your blog to online blog directories.
4. Network
Join social networking communities and participate like ActiveRain, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. These are social networks you should start with before engaging in others BECAUSE you will find users and participation to be high and you will find both real estate professionals and consumers.
Expand your social reach by reaching offline and inviting your prospects and past clients to join you in your social networks. Talk with them on these networks and participate and meet their friends, associates, and family.
Now point your social networks toward your blog by syndicating your blog posts on ALL of your social networks. Concentrate on working on strong headlines that will setup your arrow for a bulls eye.
5. Engage
Engage your local businesses in your blogging efforts. Investigate online and see what kind of presence your local business have online. Invite your local businesses to contribute to your blog. If the contribution is on a regular basis, ask for a cross promotion where your marketing materials would be available to their consumers in their physical storefronts.
Now we are talking offline push to online at a "hyper-local level".
Do yourself a favor and make this a priority. Do not dismiss the power of endorsement from local businesses.
6. Create Conversation
Ask questions of your readers on your posts by asking for their feedback or to share their experiences. Take your belly to belly social skills and move them into the blogosphere.
Once you have established credibility and a consistent dialog pick up the phone. Reach out and talk to your Internet prospects. Tell them you liked their last comment and ask them if they could elaborate. Let them know about an upcoming seminar you are holding on a post topic they may have commented on, say first time homeownership...in other words- contact, converse, connect...get closer to a close.
Of course, this is taking your online efforts offline.
7. Work the Power of Referrals
Don't forget the power of referrals. Put a refer a friend button on your offline collateral pointing toward your blog. Put one on your e-newsletters pointing toward your blog. How about your business cards?
It doesn't have to be an online or offline push- It is both.
Referrals work for business and they work for building your blog's presence+ readership+visibility= Business.
8. Be Consistent
Consistency is key and comes with practice. The more you blog, vlog (video blog), or create podcasts the better you become at writing good content that is consistent.
Good ideas can manifest anywhere so bring a recording device or a small notebook to jot them down. Schedule post series so that your readers can return on set days of the week for specific blog topics.
In other words become a reliable local real estate blogger so that everyone will know your blogging name.
If you create AND execute an integrated blog marketing strategy you will cultivate great leads: B2B leads, readership leads, neighborhood leads, out of town leads, and leads from referrals...sometimes you will even receive global leads/referrals from your multi-pronged efforts.
One hub= blog
Many portals= online AND offline advertising
Secret Sauce= Content and Consistency
And always promotion of YOUR NAME and YOUR BRAND.
Remember, you are not blogging to build a mystery. You are building a blog to create a tapestry of business for the present and the future.
View Through A Macro Lens: The Great Eight- A Sample Integrated Blog Marketing Strategy
As a former short sale seller reading the increasing articles on short sales and blog posts about the process I just have to scratch my head. The increase of "creative financing", the seemingly endless lines of credit available, and a little thing called human nature is now swirling into a little thing my grandparents would have called repercussion.
Some call short sale homeowners greedy and unrealistic. Maybe a little out of touch...but do you remember?
Do you remember the first thing you ever crushed on and lost? Maybe it was your first dog that because of age passed away or maybe it was your first love that started strong and fizzled out. To get this right, it has be something/someone that you didn't think you could get on without....then remember how you felt when it was gone....how it absolutely tugged on your heart and you couldn't fathom when that feeling would end. Now think about a short sale seller and
THE DREAM. The dream that is dying around a short sale seller. Usually there is so much more: a divorce, an illness, a death in the family, a job loss....so usually a short sale seller is going through more than one heartbreak at the same time- can you imagine that.
AND THEN. The short sale seller is expected to be impartial, patient, organized, realistic, accepting....really? REALLY? I don't know about you, but the last time I had a heartbreaking loss I can't recall any of those emotions surfacing and reigning supreme control.
SO....if you work with short sale sellers or are thinking about it....please heed my words. It will take not only YOUR expertise, YOUR guiding hand, but YOUR patience, YOUR organization, YOUR realism, and YOUR acceptance. YOU need to take control and remain the impartial party, don't count on your short sale seller to take on that role.
That doesn't make ANY sense 'cause while short sale sellers might seem out of touch, the numbers are rising and it IS an emotional process for them 'cause after all....
THEY are just Everyday people.
** And as I put up this video it strikes me as damn near amazing why it seems we have to keep backtracking to simple things, like a decent embrace and acceptance of our fellow neighbors in need, to move forward. Is this evolution at it's finest?**
***UPDATE- I just read Broker Bryant's post on his series of short sale webinars. BB turned around his business model to learn and accomodate short sale sellers and truly has his feet in the street. This webinar is definitely worth a look.***
Today I was putting together a new email marketing campaign and I realized that as I was putting together some very routine components that they might not be routine to others.
Reading coupon magazines,newspaper advertisements, and online marketing it drives me a bit bonkers how much work goes into an actual marketing push/pull campaign and how, because of the lack of a few important details, that work can just drizzle down the drain.
Here are ten ways to make sure your marketing analytics aren't half baked
Advertise a simple URL that is spelled correctly and works in your offline advertising venues (newspapers, magazines, real estate books, etc.). You may want to advertise separate landing pages for special ads.
Keep flyer boxes filled at properties or don't use them. Advertising a catchy, memorable web address on a sign rider is MUCH more effective.
Use a service like Bud URL to track links in your blog posts, links to your blog and website in your email signature, your newsletter copy, and all email marketing that contains inbound/outbound hyperlinks. Each unique link you create using this service allows you the ability to track specific campaigns.
Change your customized links in each marketing campaign you run so you know which campaigns have been the most effective for your business.
Create a handy document library for real estate checklists, archived newsletters, etc. that you can insert into the footers of your blog, your newsletters and email campaigns. Consumers can go to your website and after a simple registration download and track the activity.
Create microsites using a service like Blinkweb, Hubpages, or Weebly to market any specific programs or services you have for your real estate niches. Market those microsites in your blog posts and in your other market specific campaigns so you can track your results closely.
Start each marketing campaign with a cohesive strategy. If you are going to advertise in the paper, will there be a specific landing page on your website? Will there be a reason for consumers to register and give their contact information on that landing page? Can you provide a valuable offer to consumers as a way to keep in touch with them regularly by customized drip email? Will there be an opportunity in your marketing strategy for consumers to refer friends, family, associates to your information?
Think about what contact information you want to leave the audience you are facing. Do you want people from Twitter to visit your blog or your website? You may provide different contact information on different contact points (i.e. your blog, your website, your email campaigns, your newsletters, etc.) but rest assured they won't need 25 contact points/networks.
Before you begin a marketing campaign think about your target audience, where the campaign will appear, what hub the campaign will send prospects to, and what the potential is for follow-up. Then
Adding the right tracking techniques will then become second nature because your marketing campaign will have a purpose, an outline, a goal, and a follow-up plan of action.
It's like a great tasting confection. You will look forward to tasting the results because the baker followed a well crafted recipe.
You can hit it home consistently with social networking and blogging but in order to do this you gotta trackback to the beginning. Yup most bloggers need to square right up at home plate again look the pitcher dead in the eye, and suhhhhwing dead center to hit that ball over the fence.
Many bloggers and social networkers aim to run the bases, maybe getting a client here, a client there, connecting with a new associate for referrals and it all seems good. These folks are running with the wind of change and business is rolling.
But they can't win a series this way and they won't retire at the top of their game.
Why?
'Cause many are stealing bases and in the end this won't hit the business home, consistently, with social networking and blogging. The only way to be consistent is the age old rule of marketing, you gotta make a plan and put it into practice daily, weekly, monthly, yearly.
How do you know if you are stealing bases? Here's a few clues,
You blog about various topics sporadically; Real Estate is a second class topic on your blog.
You haven't defined a target market that you want to blog to except to say that you want to blog for "consumers" and "other agents".
Your localism posts consist of market reports and listings and lack any local happenings or news.
You look at new product rollouts on ActiveRain and often find you misunderstand their value.
You twitter but your unsure why you tweet. Often you find yourself trying to get the attention of "Real Estate Social Media Rockstars".
Your facebook account is filled with a bunch of associates from your office and you have become a fan of every competing office within a 50 mile radius of your market area.
You have decided that your LinkedIn Page is a good place to reinforce to other real estate professionals and social media marketers who know you that you are a REALTOR, to connect with fellow real estate agents in your office, and to join real estate groups for real estate professionals.
Your blog has more posts about social media tools and silly real estate agents that misuse social media marketing than posts about real estate.
None of your social networking efforts points to your internet storefront consistently.
You haven't blocked out any daily/weekly time to focus on social networking efforts.
You don't include your blog's URL in your email signature line.
Your blog's content isn't re-purposed into ebooks, newsletters, website visitor inquiry responses, newsletters to your farm, videos, or podcasts.
Your local Chamber of Commerce and other traditional networking venues don't know that you have a blog or network socially online.
Your current and past clients wouldn't know the URL of your blog EVEN if they were given multiple choices.
You are an early adapter of EVERY social network and tool but the traffic to your internet storefront and the amount of new offline connections you make do not increase.
If the above pertains to you no need to panic. Every marketing effort can be improved upon and every business needs to reassess their efforts and goals regularly....I believe frequently=quarterly.
Back up, take some time to find the right bat, just enough weight but light enough to hold tight with both hands, and BEFORE you swing again take a look at your business plan, your target market, your financial goals for the year, your business objectives and THEN.....
Step back from the plate, go sit down at the whiteboard, create a social media marketing strategy that integrates your blogging effforts BECAUSE...
Stealing bases won't hit it home with social networking and blogging. So make it right, get your plan tight and THEN....
Step back up to home plate and get ready to swing and hit the business home, consistently, with social networking and blogging.
I mean it...a prospect emails or calls you and is looking to do, say, a short sale. Now maybe you have shunned away from short sales in the past, but today, in reflection of your bills and lack of immediate future business in the pipeline you decide maybe you can just do a few short sales, just to tide you over.
AND in this scenario you would have absolutely NO experience in short sales, no knowlege whatsoever. Would you take the deal to pay your bills and learn how to do a short sale on the fly?
OR Scenario Two
An army family is relocating to your area for 1-2 years tops before moving again and are considering purchasing. Average dom on market in your area, currently, is 9 plus months, and there hasn't been any significant appreciation for over 1 1/2 years.
Will you weigh their options carefully or will you pass GO and start collecting houses of interest for them?
Why do I ask?
Often, frankly, I am disappointed in the very system with which we work to make life "meaningful" and better for consumers. Being truly independent and not tied like a ship with an anchor to any vessel for the first time in seventeen years of working to serve real estate industry professionals I am enjoying a lighter load.
I have said no at least 7 times that I can rememberoffhand to prospective customers since last November and I am wearing that "no" as a badge on my sometimes tattered suit of business. That "no" doesn't pay my bills, that "no" doesn't buy my kids Ambercrombie and Fitch, that "no" makes me far from wealthy or rich.
But if I can't do this MY way than I have to chose another highway.
See the thing is, just like the real estate industry, vendors, coaches, specialists, go through the same trials and tribulations as real estate professionals to some extent. Albeit we don't have a "code of ethics" set by a National Association that we have to subscribe to, I like to think that all salespeople have a code that they chose to wear or not and that code is integrity.
If you offer services you should be able to deliver.
If you extol expertise you should have it.
If your customer doesn't need what you offer don't sell it.
If your customer isn't ready for what you offer point your customer in the right direction.
If your customer needs a true expert to help them and you are not refer your customer to an expert.
But, human nature and ego being what it is, most people tend to sell the sale on a wing and prayer. "Buyer beware" is how that's justified. Paperwork- disclosures, agreements, contracts- all CYA.
Let's talk about integrity all day long with more "complex" issues, albeit important ones, like MLS data, copyright infringement, code of ethics.
As marketers, as sales people, as professionals- what about the more "simplistic" issue of helping buyer A get what they need/want...not what we need/want?
What about our own gut check code of ethics?
What if we could just say "No"?
When is the last time that you said no?
Too many times in the past I was looking for the "yes". Now it's pretty black and white for me. I don't need to read between any lines. It's either Yes or No.
When I began to blog I was very consistentin my pace and messaging and while I insist that a schedule of blogging 3-5 times per week is best for business and readership I have found my blog dragging.....
Today when I look at my blog I am grateful for each and every post that I create. I have been able to find the words to steady my craft and develop my skills by reading, practicing, and delivering...yet I was starting to feel more like Mr. McFeely. A speedy delivery, posting for the sake of posting, just isn't my style.
I want to stretch, lean, connect, redirect. I always want readers to come to my blog and walk away with a thought they can chew on, mull over, or put into immediate action. When I write I feel like I am talking. When I read I feel like I am being spoken to and I am intent on responding in kind. I enjoy the many conversations on my blog and am grateful for them.
Lately I have jumped off my blog to create and maintain some offline connections. Real belly to belly conversations with people from all different generations and professions. Depending on the relationship that is cultivated I might point them to my blog, or my Facebook page, or my LinkedIn or Twitter account.
I may, or they may- regardless of their age, may just feel more comfortable talking with me on the phone, meeting in person, or texting with me.
I preach about listening and now I am in full swing on the second cycle of my marketing strategy which is to listen to consumers. I am not a valid real estate marketing consultant unless I know what my clientele's target audience is talking about and what they are doing.
I can posture and post but that will put me out of touch.
Where do consumers hang? I have said this before and I will say it again..the internet is a tool. There are many conversations taking place offline in local communities, there are many questions about lifestyle and real estate happening daily, some of these exist online, but many exist offline. As marketers we live on the internet and tunnel vision is our worst enemy. Most consumers-20-30-40-50-60- do NOT live online.
As my youngest 22 year old brother said to me the other day about a family event he first heard about on Facebook and missed,
"Sorry, I didn't see it there first and am hearing about it now. Sorry I have a life"
The perfect plan exists in a melting pot where online and offline is blended in harmony. I am not hiding from blogging, I am cultivating my skills and I am mixing it up with real people. Sometimes it's over coffee or tea, a few beers, or some wine. Always in my back pocket I've got some business cards, 'cause you really never know-Carpe Diem.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
price today, but tomorrow it will be a different price.
Can I claim that I did not use any of the five tactics taught to me? No dear readers, I cannot. What I can tell you is that despite the popular saying, sometimes people can change. What I can claim is that I changed my sales tune and though my numbers weren't as high when I did, I still fed my family.
Instead I turn to my blog and my networking efforts. How do I find my target market? I now write to them. To put it more accurately, I write transparently about myself and my marketing principles. I use keywords and I try to make each topic timely, sometimes timeless, but USEFUL. 
coach or consultant who can prevent this occurrence... this uncomfortable unease from happening? Do you know you are truly one person, running one business, trying to manage many things at the same time. 
magazine, a new hotel....see where I might be going here? Your blog is a creative work even if the writing is real estate focused so shout it out. 
4. Network
blog. Put one on your e-newsletters pointing toward your blog. How about your business cards? 
If you create AND execute an integrated blog marketing strategy you will cultivate great leads: B2B leads, readership leads, neighborhood leads, out of town leads, and leads from referrals...sometimes you will even receive global leads/referrals from your multi-pronged efforts.
(newspapers, magazines, real estate books, etc.). You may want to advertise separate landing pages for special ads.
Before you begin a marketing campaign think about your target audience, where the campaign will appear, what hub the campaign will send prospects to, and what the potential is for follow-up. Then
Back up, take some time to find the right bat, just enough weight but light enough to hold tight with both hands, and BEFORE you swing again take a look at your business plan, your target market, your financial goals for the year, your business objectives and THEN.....
Posted by 
Where do consumers hang? I have said this before and I will say it again..the internet is a tool. There are many conversations taking place offline in local communities, there are many questions about lifestyle and real estate happening daily, some of these exist online, but many exist offline. As marketers we live on the internet and tunnel vision is our worst enemy. Most consumers-20-30-40-50-60- do NOT live online.
;)
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