I just received, via email, the September newsletter from Custom House Publishers. It had the large post-it you see below. Clicking it took me to the Quicktime video you will see. I could not over-recommend watching it and paying close attention. For some years I have considered Gary Keller to be the most knowledgeable person on the planet when it comes to the subject of correct and useful information regarding agent success. There is nothing he says here that is not valid and useful. I personally have five Custom House papers (mailing about 45,000 papers a month) but that isn’t why I am passing this along.
Once all of my mentoring videos and audio pod casts are cataloged and made available on a single page, I would hope this link occupies a prominent position on that page.
Enjoy.
Boston Real Estate says:
Gary made some great points, really hitting home the key messages that he talked about in his millionaire real estate book. It’s easy to blow off the “systemization” of lead generation that he speaks about – his thoughts around consistency being of critical importance was great.
September 6, 2007 — 6:12 am
Jeff Brown says:
You mean discipline is a required trait in our business? 🙂
September 6, 2007 — 10:49 am
Scott Cowan says:
Russell,
Thanks for sharing this with all of us!
September 6, 2007 — 11:22 am
randal rust says:
I work with one of the larger realtors in Columbus, OH, and we are in the process of relaunching their website, which will include many new lead-generation features.
While I do agree that lead generation (and setting the budget) are paramount, the idea that direct mail is a key to success is a little misleading.
You have to realize, the first generation of people who grew up with the internet as a part of their daily lives are starting to buy homes. They operate differently than you and I, in that they use the internet for everything.
September 6, 2007 — 1:34 pm
Jeff Brown says:
Randal – With all due respect – are you getting the results Gary’s guys are getting?
September 6, 2007 — 2:03 pm
randal rust says:
nope. and my realtor is a kw realtor. they don’t do the dm like gary suggests though.
my point isn’t that dm won’t work — it’s that it very likely won’t continue to produce those kinds of results as this new generation looks to buy homes.
September 6, 2007 — 2:17 pm
Jeff Brown says:
Thanks Randal – Do you see the potential for creating an effective synergy between the two approaches?
September 6, 2007 — 2:23 pm
randal rust says:
yes, i do. and here is why. traditional marketing splits market segments by age group (and other demographic data). as the web becomes even more prominent, the market split is between two groups: those of us who grew up with the internet and those of us who did not.
i am 35, and use the web every day. but i don’t surf much, despite the fact that what i do on a daily basis is build websites. i visit a few sites for information and that’s it. i’m still used to sitting down and reading the newspaper or a magazine.
but my brother is 25. he uses the web for everything. if you can’t provide information/services from your website, you lose marketing to his generation. those are his words, not mine.
so there is a market that direct mail will still work with, and there is a market that it will not work with. if you want to be doing business (any business) over the next decade, you have to adapt to the web-savvy crowd.
one way to have a synergy between the two is to send a direct mail piece with a URL to a landing page, not the home page.
September 6, 2007 — 2:35 pm
Russell Shaw says:
Watch the video again. Notice how it says, “market to sellers. ALL marketing of an agent is to a SELLER. Buyers buy homes. It is sellers who buy image.
Highly successful agents market to SELLERS. The internet is a great way to market to buyers. Direct mail to an AREA is to sellers.
September 6, 2007 — 3:46 pm
Jeff Brown says:
Russell – That’s all I’ve ever mailed to – sellers. I don’t even try to imagine how to mail for buyers.
September 6, 2007 — 4:41 pm
randal rust says:
i don’t think i’ve clearly articulated my meaning.
all i’m saying is that while direct marketing may work now, it won’t be as effective in the future, due to changes in the habits of the buyer/seller.
but, i’ve been wrong before. back in college i told a friend of mine that the whole ‘internet thing’ would never last because it was too slow:)
September 6, 2007 — 5:20 pm
randal rust says:
and, i might add, i’m really glad i came across this site. my client tends to be very old school in their thinking. i think that i can glean a lot of knowledge from what is being said here. not only for their benefit, but for my own.
September 6, 2007 — 5:22 pm
Greg Swann says:
> and, i might add, i’m really glad i came across this site.
Good on ya!
Feel free to show off when you’re ready. We love to look at new stuff.
September 6, 2007 — 5:31 pm
derherold says:
“…ALL marketing of an agent is to a SELLER. Buyers buy homes. It is sellers who buy image. …”
Y E S !!
September 7, 2007 — 4:44 pm
Brian Brady says:
I was intrigued with the database management portion of his discussion.
I think the “promotional mix” that works in the future will need to encompass a mix of media:
1- the e-mails get deleted- 5 seconds of exposure
2- links to blog give you a chance- another 5 seconds
3- postcards get trashed- 15-30 seconds of exposure
The key is in the repetition. We’re battling for brain cells. Each deleted e-mail, lost click, and trashed postcard gains us 3-4 more brain cells. The goal: our name flashes in their head when they’re ready to act.
September 8, 2007 — 11:17 pm
Wayne Long says:
I am a big fan of the Millionaire Real Estate book and all the products they have. All that said, as I watched the video I had some questions.
The book was written now several years ago based on people who became successful prior to the book being published.
My question is: Has the paradigm shifted? If we are interviewing agents 5 or 10 years from now who are mega successful agents – will they say that SOI and direct mail is how I got here or will they say a great website and blogging is how I got here?
There are obviously certain principles that never change and great service, systems, leverage, and lead generation will always be the way to success.
The question is: Has the most effective way to generate leads changed?
December 4, 2007 — 5:36 am