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Sometimes
I go pretty far a field with my
marketing comparisons but this one seems to work so I’ll pass it
along in hopes that it will increase the value you get from your
marketing and advertising.
DIFFERENT
TEAMS FOR DIFFERENT GOALS
This analogy
involves comparing your
overall marketing approach to a horse driven carriage.
Think of the carriage as holding all your plans and goals
for your business and think of the horse or the team of horses as
the marketing strategies you hope will get you where you want to
go. A simple
marketing plan might look like an old-fashioned carriage pulled by
a single horse. You might think of a more complex marketing plan
with more than one goal more like the Budweiser Wagon pulled by a
team of Clydesdales or like the Pony Express wagon with its team
of horses.
YOUR
WEB HOLDS IT ALL TOGETHER
Where does your Website come in?
You know I’m going to talk about Web Design and the
Internet and I’m not going to disappoint. Think of your Website as the yoke that holds all your horses
together so that they all pull together.
You know your carriage would not get very far if every
horse decided to go in a different direction.
YOU ARE ALWAYS IN CONTROL
Where do you fit it? Well you are the driver.
You hold the reins. You
are the one with the goals who wants to get from point A to point
B. Point A is your
current level of business and Point B is where you would really
like to be. You are
the one who holds the reins that are linked to the yoke that
controls the horses. OK?
Now that the image is clear, let’s see how this relates
to your actual marketing.
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Knowing
What's in Your Carriage |
Remember,
the carriage or wagon represents
all your goals. Maybe
you handle 20 or 30 transactions a year now but would like
to increase that number to 40 transactions a year.
You can load up your carriage with more than one goal
if you like. Maybe you do not want to increase your transactions but you
want to “Sell Higher.”
If you Sell Higher it means that you want to
specialize in more expensive properties. There is no law
against having the goal to increase your transactions and
the goal to sell higher.
The number of goals and the types of goals you put in
your carriage is totally up to you.
The big risk is not setting any goals at all because
when goals are not set, progress begins to stagnate.
FREE
CUSTOM WEB PLAN
You may have noticed
that I offer to help
agents and brokers develop goals for growth by offering a
Free Custom Web Plan.
Since a Website is like the yoke that ties the
horses, the carriage and you all together, it is a most
vital part of your overall strategy for growth these days.
Pulling Websites off the shelf, such as template
Websites, simply does not give you the guidance, direction
or strength you need to meet your goals.
If you would like to get started with a Free Custom
Web Plan, visit http://sellrealestate.net/FreeWebPlan.asp..
Answer the questions about your marketing goals and
methods and I’ll schedule a time to meet with you on the
phone for a strategic planning session that is guaranteed to
help you get where you want to go.
THE
HORSES’ ROLE
Now each one of the horses
that pulls your
carriage represents a strategy for meeting one or more of
your goals. Let’s
say that one of your goals is to Sell Higher and you want to
attract sellers and buyers who deal in high-end properties.
One of your horses, then, might be a direct mail
outreach that targets just the people you want to attract.
With a different goal, a different or additional
horse would be needed.
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The
Driver Controls the Show
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Now, in my extended analogy
the Website is
the yoke that holds the horses together so they all pull in
the same direction. Remember
that you are the driver so you hold the reins.
But in real life, what does it mean that the Website
is the yoke?
THE
ESSENCE OF CONTROL
The essence that holds all your marketing
together
so that everything that you do is stringently
designed to take you one or two steps down the path to
success is really a firm, well planned and perfectly
understood marketing plan.
Large companies have professionally developed plans
and staffs in place to make sure that all marketing and
advertising stays on track.
Even with all these advantages, large companies often
fail to keep on the right marketing track and it is even
harder for an individual agent or a small company to keep
that marketing plan in mind at all times UNLESS the
Website is set up as the control.
That is why I say that the Website is the yoke that
holds your goals and your marketing and advertising all
together. Without
that yoke, marketing can and often does miss the point.
DO
YOU NEED A WONDER-WEB?
If you have a Website
that is properly
planned and designed by a marketing expert, all other
marketing and advertising you do will have to pass the Web
Test. In other words, if what you are contemplating doing
does not drive prospects to your Website for some compelling
reason or offer, it is probably not going to be effective.
An example of an ineffective strategy for a real
estate agent might be sending out recipe cards or sports
schedules UNLESS there is also a compelling reason to
visit your Website included in your mail out.
And, that’s possible.
Maybe you are sponsoring a recipe contest or you are
going to give away two tickets to a big game and you want
people to sign up on your Website.
But, does this mean you need a Wonder Web?
No, but you do need a Website that is planned and
designed for a specific purpose and that is why you need a
Custom Website. Call
me toll free at 888-814-5347 and we’ll plan a way for
you to meet your goals.
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