Marketing to Your Sphere of Influence? Don't You dare!

Ever heard of Mike Ferry? I am at the productivity school this week and most are getting an appointment a day or more from calling their sphere.

Maybe it is all about being honest in the first place and putting the other persons interest in front of your own.

Jennifer,

Are you still doing your daily emails?  I'm not getting them anymore.

Thanks,

Bob Haywood

I despise being marketed to -- it puts me on the spot and makes me feel like avoiding that person in case they want to throw their business at me again.  Your style is my style, and with your help, I'm finally getting it together in an organized way.  Thanks, Jennifer!

Very nice post and I agree it is important to network with your soi

I always market to my Friends.  I sent out recipe post cards for a year, once a month, (I found a deal on them).  I warned many of my close friends that they were on the list, but I needed to know that they arrived.  It was a mixture of SOI and farm group.  I at least knew that the mail was being delivered.  Once in a while I would get off schedule and the phone would light up asking for the new card.  Some would be some SOI, some not. 

Then I would get calls from people requesting recipe cards.  A member of the SOI showed them and they loved the recipes and asked to be on the list.  This year its kind of expensive to do so but I have to continue.  People count on these cards, and the referral value is great. 

I belong to a VFW Club.  I have extra marketing material, recipe cards, baseball schedules, etc.  I take them down to the Club, set it out, its free, take it if you want.  I have no use for it, it is branded with my stuff though.  Its cool stuff though and free.  Its also very casual the way I present it.  The members do call me now for RE needs, they can use somebody else as well and still welcome to the freebies. 

Alot of agents get offended when a member of their SOI signs or uses another agent, they look at it as a betrayal and strike that person from their list, write off a freindship, and will never talk to that person again.  Then the friend calls wanting advice or support, and gets none?  A friends dad of mine used another Realtor to sell and purchase a property recently.  I know his Dad, we are friends, he is on my list, and the Dad felt bad about it.  He felt as though he had to justify to me as an agent, why he used another agent that has handled every RE need for 20 years for his family?  I simply told him you do have one hell of an agent, and I am not offended at all (nor was I).  The other agent served his customer well for many many years.  (The sell and resale would have netted me over 10K in 2 months, but not worth ruining a frienship over.  Would have been nice money but, I did not expect it, and the other agent earned it through years of service to his client). 

Sorry for the long post. I think it is important to Market to the SOI, it just has to be done in a different way, a non-selling way, with no strings attached.  The results will follow soon enough. 

 

Very well said Jennifer. Everyone likes to give business to people they know, trust and feel has their best interest at {heart}  I don't understand the whole sending out recipe cards with pre-printed mailing labels on them - no warm, fuzzy feelings there.

Good post.  I will subscribe.

I would have to say that a much more personal approach works best.  Calling my SOI weekly would definitely allienate them but I do bring it up casually.  As a new Agent I think its important to talk about it because they are important to me.  They all know that I am not a pest just working on building a business.  I've gotten positive feedback and and working on a few leads thta I have developed.  I wouldn't write it off. But I will be cautiious.

Great post as usual Jen.  Thanks for being there for us newbies. 

Jennifer - Okay, so I am getting in on this a little late, but better late than never.  Off to read more!

I think it is important that my friends and family and everyone that I come in contact with know what I do for a living. This doesn't mean that I am going to sell them everytime I see them. That would just be awkward and I'm sure that I wouldn't have very many friends after not to long.

I think a friendly reminder with no strings attached is very appropriate. One of the things that I do is recipe cards and I know that people love them. A lot of them keep them. It's a simple way to remind 300 people every month what I do for a living.