Marketing 101 Part 3 - Developing Fishing Skills

Having identified the types of Fishermen in the previous section, let’s now turn our attention to the actual practice of fishing and some of the skills that are needed. Those of you who have had some fishing experience will remember occasions where you have seen one angler taking fish while other anglers watch in awe and wonder what makes the difference.  It’s not usually just a single skill that contributes to success but rather a number of skills working together.  One weak link can render a chain useless, likewise one area of weakness in a selling or listing process can collapse the entire deal.

FISHING PRINCIPLES

1. You Must Go Down To the River to Fish

You go to the fish; the fish do not come to you.  Some people get a real estate license and then turn their license in once they find out how much prospecting is required in order to be successful.  Oh how nice it would be to sit in the office and rely on walk in traffic.  Some people actually sit around the office waiting for floor calls or walk-ins.  Good luck!  It is slim pickings.  You have to work to generate the traffic to develop a successful business.

2. Identify the Fish

Some fish are seasonal, some are nocturnal, some like deep still water and some like faster currents.  Once you know what fish you want to catch, you then must decide which place to fish and the best time for the fish to be present and available.

3. Select the Right Tackle

Different fish respond to different lures and different techniques, depending on the environment.  Salmon, for instance, can be taken in the ocean, the river or a lake and each location requires a different tackle and a different approach.  You need to know what should be in your tackle box before you get to the river. First time homebuyers, seasoned buyers, past clients, for-sale-by-owners, expired listings, you name it, all need different lures and different technique.  True professionals practice their skills and test their equipment before the contest.  Amateurs try to improve their skills during this contest and the results can be very costly.

4. It Is All In the Presentation

I have seen anglers cast their lure directly at the fish and stand wondering why the fish make a hasty retreat.  Experienced anglers employ a more sensitive approach.  They pass the lure above the current and let it drift over to the fish in order to attract attention.  The stealthy approach is asking questions and finding the needs before you offer your solution. A fish will most often strike when the lure is being retrieved rather than when it is being presented.  Likewise, when a presentation is made with a quiet confidence, in which the features and the unique benefits of your service have been carefully explained, it is often at the point of starting to pack up your briefcase that the commitment is voluntarily made!  It is all in the quality of your presentation.

5. A Hooked Fish Is Not a Caught Fish

The fish is only caught when it is in the boat or the net.  A listing is not a sold listing until completion.  A buyer is not a buyer sold until conditions are removed.  A lot of skill is required between hooking a fish and landing a fish.  A fish that slips the hook or breaks a line is always a disappointment.  However, it is a part of the fishing, or real estate game.  You should always learn from the experience and prevent it happening again.  You don’t stop fishing because the fish got away.  You make your judgment by the number of fish you have in the bag at the end of the day, month or year.

Keep Fishing and may your net always be full!  Next week, we will take a closer look at the Presentation.

Keep your lines in the water...

Coach

Marketing 101 Part 2 - Let's Go Fishing

I have done a fair amount of fishing in my life, in different locations, in different countries and for different types of fish. Over my career, as I developed knowledge in the practice of Real Estate, I became intrigued with the similarity that exists between Real Estate and Fishing.
                              
Let’s take a look at these similarities in a marketing context and see what we can land from the comparison.

Firstly, there are basically three types of fisherman, and perhaps you can recognize which one you are in your practice of Real Estate.

1)  THE COMMERCIAL FISHERMAN

This represents the person who is very committed to their career. They have a driving need to get up and go fishing every day no matter how adverse the weather or how badly they feel. They prepare their gear the night before and they are up early in order to beat their competition to the fishing grounds. Their driving force is survival and it is fuelled by need. They know that if they do not have these disciplines in place the payments on the boat will not be met, the crew will not be paid, their mortgage will be in jeopardy and there won’t be food on the table for the family. They know their trade and they constantly sharpen their skills so that they are never at a disadvantage.

2)  THE SPORTS FISHERMAN

Now these fishermen are interesting characters. You see, I was very definitely a commercial fisherman when I was plying my trade. Oh how I envied the sports fishermen!  They didn't really need to go fishing because they were fortunate enough to have a second or third source of income. They knew the mortgage (if they had one) would be paid and they would be provided for, even if they did not catch a fish. They went fishing because they enjoyed fishing. They simply loved the challenge, the freedom and above all, the thrill of the catch. They are always in pursuit of the “big one”, always have expensive and up-to-date tackle and never ever seem to be under pressure. What amazed me most was that they would sometimes be found fishing even before the commercial boats arrived!

3)  THE CASUAL FISHERMAN

This group represents fishermen that have no real motivation or purpose. They use old and beat up tackle and are fishing much the same way as they were 10 years ago. They have very little reward for the time they spend fishing. You will usually find them fishing at the end of the dock with a hand line, a bent pin and a few emaciated worms. They dangle the bait in the water hoping they will catch an occasional unsuspecting relative!
                              
Now, if you took the time to read the descriptions, you will have a suspicion which group you belong to. You will also suspect which group others you associate with belong to. If you belong to the third group, and I hope you don't, you represent a dying breed that will one day be extinct. At one time our industry was plagued with this type of indifferent agent. These days the fish are much smarter, more demanding and much more selective. There are also a lot more good fishermen competing for the same fish.
                              
If you represent the last group you will probably not be very interested in the marketing information that will follow and are probably looking for the "delete" button right now. However the first two groups will want to learn more since they are always trying to sharpen their skills.
                               
We will next discuss the principles of marketing as it relates to the practice of Real Estate. 

Stay tuned!

Coach

Agent or Marketeer?

Real Estate Marketing 101 - Agent or Marketeer?

You will often hear a real estate person referred to as a Salesperson. Many prefer to be called an Agent, and some elevate their job description to Consultant or some other term. It has often been said that, as an Agent. you don't sell a home, but rather a home sells itself after adequate exposure to the market. In reality, it is the owner who sells his home to a willing buyer! The only time we get to "sell" a home is when it's our own home!

So, if all of this is true, we should then ask ourselves what we are, really. I would suggest to you that we in the Real Estate profession could best describe ourselves as Marketing Professionals. You see, once you engage in a real estate career you, in fact, enter a career in marketing. There will be times when you will be marketing a property and there will be times when you are marketing your services. You will be marketing yourself 24 hours a day, every day for the rest of your career.

So, do you leave a positive impression or a negative impression? We have all been told that it takes 30 seconds to make an impression. If it’s a negative impression it can take a lifetime to erase that impression. An impression can be based on how we speak, how we appear, our attitudes and our responses – even our Internet presence makes an impression. Success will often depend on how we market ourselves on the first contact.

Let us now take a look at the marketing sequence that a Real Estate Agent will usually find themselves engaged in. These are…

a. Prospecting for opportunities to do business.
b. Meeting at an appointment.
c. Qualifying for wants, needs, motivation and timeframe.
d. Making a presentation of yourself, your company, and/or your services.
e. Asking for your clients’ commitment.

You will notice that the first 4 all involve marketing. The 5th will demonstrate the effectiveness of the first 4 activities. You will get either a "yes" or a "no". Good marketing earns you the right to ask for the clients’ commitment and being quietly confident that you will get that commitment. I never cease to be amazed how so many so called “salespeople” expect to get business with very little, if any, marketing. Even friends, relatives and acquaintances need to be convinced that you can do an adequate job for them.

THE VITAL STATISTICS

What are your vital statistics? And I don't mean height, age or waist!

Every professional sport has vital statistics to measure a player’s proficiency. Baseball has ERA’s and RBI's. Football has yards gained average and completed pass percentage. Golf has par for each hole played, and Hockey has its plus-minus rating for both offence and defense. Real Estate is no exception.

I have always encouraged Agents to be aware of their statistics which are vital levels of their performance, especially in these 4 areas:

a. How many contacts to get an appointment?
b. How many appointments to get to do a presentation?
c. How many presentations to get a listing?
d. How many listings to get a SOLD listing?

I have seen Agents who prospect constantly and could never be faulted for their energy but somehow fall short of getting an appointment opportunity. Some get to arrange an appointment but never do a presentation. Others do a presentation that is inadequate and do not get the listing. Then others get the listing but price it too high because of poor marketing skills and it does not sell. Now these people are working hard, but they don’t get rewarded for their work.

Imagine the effect it has on a career when you need 50 prospecting activities before you get an invitation. Then you have to do 3 visits to get a real presentation opportunity. Then add four presentations before you get a listing. And then, three listings to get a sold listing. If you fail in any of these steps you have to go back to the prospecting grind again and again. No wonder people with poor statistics in any of these areas have to leave the business. By comparison, the person who can improve in these areas will have more time to invest in higher earnings or a better lifestyle. It's no accident that the Agent with the good marketing skills is the one that can take exotic vacations and also find time for family and recreation. You'll find that these individuals have developed market stats that everyone else envies.

We will take a closer look at marketing through-out this series.

Stay tuned!

Coach