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Cupcakes & Firestorms

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Melinda Flynn Real Estate DRE #01320480

First of all, I must extend my heartfelt sadness to those affected by the fires. On Sunday, October 21, my sister-in-law and her 2 children were evacuated from Escondido and went to stay with my mother and father-in-law in Valley Center. Yesterday, they were all evacuated from there, and have found a hotel about an hour away. They do not know at this point if either of their homes are still there. Let's pray this will be over soon, with as many homes as possible still standing.

On the business front, today I am making Halloween cupcakes for my database. Vanilla cupcakes, some with orange food coloring for extra fun! I am decorating the cupcakes with orange and chocolate frosting topped with Halloween trinkets, like spider rings, bats, ghosts, etc. I will add some orange and black sprinkles, too!

What the heck do cupcakes have to do with real estate? Nothing and EVERYTHING!

Anyone with a real estate license can sell you a house. I work hard to separate myself from the marketplace and to make people feel special. I don't take for granted that there are a million agents out there, and I highly value people who believe in my services and refer me business.

I am going to share with you how I've structured my business and how it works, based on the premise of Michael Gerber's E-Myth Revisited, and my ever-wonderful business coaching company www.BuffiniandCompany.com:

Since I rely on referrals from people I know to feed my real estate business, I work my Client Appreciation & Referrals Program, which is the main crux of my marketing. I have 100+ people in my database (also known as my "list of relationships") that I market to. It's not about quantity of people on my list, it's about the quality of people that I want to serve.

How do I "serve" my database? I send monthly Items of Value which are mailings on topics of interest, a monthly e-newsletter that relates to the mailing, personal notes, parties, lunches, etc. In an effort to see people face to face, I usually do something every few months to get out and visit with a "pop-by"...a small treat and personal visit to say hello. I want to make sure people know I am interested and available for any referrals of friends, family, co-workers, or neighbors they may know in need of real estate services.

Beyond the satisfaction I receive from helping referred clients sell and buy homes, I enjoy delivering fun things and visiting people. As a former middle school teacher, it is my way of being creative and thinking of new ways to make people smile. Little did I know as a teacher that the skills I used to engage my students would transfer into real estate marketing!

Out of 100 people, how do I select those 30 to 50 people who get special treatment? Similar to rewards and points programs the airlines use, I spend extra time and energy on those who have referred their friends or family to me (or those who would refer me if they had the opportunity). I track and monitor these people who trust in me...those who know my character and know that I will follow through with the smallest of details. My A People are on cupcake status. They have sent me referrals or repeat referrals in the past. I spend time thinking of ways to give back to them. I want to take good care of them and let them know I appreciate their confidence in my abilities as a real estate professional.

"You mean to tell me that you spend all of this time on thinking about people and making cupcakes?!"

You bet.

My business systems are set up to handle the details of my day-to-day operations so that the real estate details are taken care of. In addition to taking care of my current clients, my focus is always on generating new business and taking care of people who refer me business.

For now, I'm off to the kitchen to frost cupcakes. This afternoon and tomorrow I'll be out on my broom delivering some fun to some really great people, in addition to following up with current clients!

If you live in the LA/South Bay and would like to be added to my Client Appreciation & Referrals Program or to be upgraded to cupcake status, contact me for more details.

And by the way, I'm never too busy for any of your seller or buyer referrals!      

                                                Halloween Cupcakes

Comments (2)

Jennifer Bowman
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Beach Properties of Florida - Panama City, FL
Awsome idea! Thanks
Oct 24, 2007 05:03 AM
David Durham
Realty Austin - Round Rock, TX
Wow - great post - I have recently gone through my database to find my "cupcake" status people.  I actually just delivered bags of iris bulbs divided from my own yard, with instructions on planting to my A clients.  Cost me nothing but time, but I have gotten very favorable feedback!
Oct 24, 2007 05:12 AM