Transcript:

Beatty:                 This is the Get Sellers Calling You marketing podcast for real estate agents, and I’m Beatty Carmichael. For simple to do, proven marketing strategies focused exclusively on finding sellers and getting more listings, visit our website at GetSellersCallingYou.com.

                                And now, let’s begin our next session of Get Sellers Calling You.

Caroline:              Welcome everybody to our podcast. It’s called Get Sellers Calling You. We are going to be continuing on with how to double sales and referrals from your personal contacts this year. We started last week with part one. We started to get into it, we were getting into some really great content. So, we decided to extend it into part two this week.

                                So, welcome Beatty. I’m excited to continue our conversation.

Beatty:                 I am, too. I thought we had some great discussion last, and kind of went over time. So, as you mentioned, what better way to do it than just to continue on for this week.

Caroline:              Yes. And just to remind everybody, too, about who Beatty is. He’s the founder and CEO of Master Grabber. And Master Grabber’s a boutique marketing firm and it focuses on helping professional sales agents. Most of you all are real estate agents, but his marketing firm helps professional sales agents better engage consumer prospects to generate more sales.

                                And again, the topic of today’s call is how to double sales and referrals from your personal contacts this year. So I thought it could be good to go over just a little bit of what we talked about last week, just a quick little review of some of the points. I know we were starting to get into some great content. If you’d like to maybe give us a quick little review of maybe just some bullets of what we walked through to kind of get us started for this week, if that’s okay with you, Beatty.

Beatty:                 Yeah, I’d love to. And just out of curiosity, do you hear the birds or the rapids in the background with me.

Caroline:              I do hear the rapids.

Beatty:                 You might not.

Caroline:              I haven’t heard any birds.

Beatty:                 Okay. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t too loud for you guys. So last week we were talking, the whole topic of how do you double sales and referrals from your personal list. And there’s a number of things that kind of go into making it all happen. It’s not an event, it’s a process. And what that means is, you can’t just do one thing and all of a sudden you double it. It’s a number of things that you do consistently. And it starts with kind of an understanding.

                                And I think last week we kind of talked more about just really kind of getting a real clear understanding on a few key things. And I think if I could lift out then I could put them into three things, the most important to understand if you’re going to start working with your personal list.

                                And that is, number one, that that personal list, whether you call it, a lot of people call your past clients and sphere of influence. We actually expand it out, because it’s really the people that you’ve met. The people that you’ve met who know you. They could be a past client. They could be what you call a sphere of influence, those people that in the past have given you referrals. But it could be, also, a lot of other people who know you and kind of like you and sort of trust you, they just don’t think about you in terms of real estate. And you can get a lot of sales and referrals from them if you simply stay in front of them.

                                That list, that personal list, believe it or not, is 8 to 10 times more responsive than almost any other list that’s out there. In other words, if you’re going to reach out and touch, and let’s just use post cards for example, because it’s a real easy thing to kind of grasp. If you’re to mail post cards to a neighborhood, to 100 people, and you’re going to mail post cards to a list of people that know you already, 100 people, you’ll end up getting 8 to 10 times more transactions from that personal list than from that farm, from that neighborhood. Simply because they already know you.

                                The hardest part in getting transactions is getting them to trust you. And once they’ve met you and they know who you are, you break through that. So, it’s a huge step up in terms of getting results.

                                The second thing we talked about last week, Caroline, if my memory serves me right, is what’s possible. I remember, this is going to date me, but there is a guy names Les … oh gosh, Les something … I just totally missed it. He’s kind of like the African-American Zig Ziglar. And his whole focus is, it’s possible. And here’s what’s possible. As long as you know it’s possible, you can do it.

                                So a study was done years back, not too many years back, wanted to find out how many sales should you be getting, if possible, from your personal list. Surveyed thousands of people, thousands of agents, got the results back, tabulated down. Once you cross the threshold in terms of how consistently you touch your list, the average person on that list was generating 17 sales a year for every 100 people that they met, from their personal list. 17 sales per 100. Those are about half of them direct, half of them are referred. It’s a mix for a seller and buyer. But it was an average of 17.

                                So the question is, how many people do you know and how many people are you getting. I’ll talk to agents and they say, “Well, I’m doing pretty good.” I say, What do you mean? “Well, 90% of my business comes from referrals.” Hey, I’m thrilled for that. So, how many sales do you do. “I do 20 sales a year, and 90%, 18 of them, come from my personal list.” That’s perfect. That’s great. And then I say, well how many people do you know? “I know 500 people.”

                                So here’s the impact. That person may be getting 90% referrals, but they’re losing … what’s the quick math, Caroline? Five times 17. Can you do that real quick? That’s 50, 71, 85. Is it 85?

Caroline:              Yes, 85.

Beatty:                 So 85, okay? So that person is thinking they’re doing great because they’re getting 90% of their business is referrals, but statistically speaking, they could be getting 85 sales, not 18. This is why it’s so easy to double or triple the sales and referrals from your personal list because most agents aren’t doing it well. So that’s the possibility of what’s out there.

                                The last thing we talked about is, how consumers choose an agent. And there’s basically two things. One is top of mind, and the other is trust. Most people understand top of mind, you’re always there. But always there or being always there with something that they want to see you about are two different things. That’s kind of what we discussed a little bit on last week’s call.

                                And then the other thing is what’s called trust. Trust is, do the really trust that you can get them the most money. Let me ask you a question, Caroline, on trust. So you trust me, and you trust your husband, correct?

Caroline:              Yes, I do. I hope so.

Beatty:                 Okay, I hope so, too. So let’s assume that I’m an active real estate agent, I’m making great sales, and I’m driving the top value for all of my clients when I sell their home. And let’s assume for a moment that your husband just got his real estate license and he’s never done a single transaction. If you wanted to sell your home, and forget the relationship aspect, who would you trust the most to be able to get you the most money?

Caroline:              So, take out the relationship aspect of the trust I’ve earned with my husband?

Beatty:                 That’s correct.

Caroline:              Oh gosh.

Beatty:                 In other words, do you trust his ability as a real estate agent more than my ability as a real estate agent. That’s the question.

Caroline:              Okay, okay. Yes, well then of course, yours. I mean, just because it’s proven. If we’re taking out the relationship-

Beatty:                 There you go.

Caroline:              You have the proven trust that I can put my trust in.

Beatty:                 That’s right. That’s the trust. It’s not just that I trust the person, because you trust Wes much more than you trust me on any matter other than that area which I’m an expert and he’s not. So, the other way that the consumer chooses an agent is this element called trust. Trust in your expertise in the work that you do. And if you can stay top of mind and develop trust, then you will double and triple and maybe even quadruple the sales and referrals you get from your list because now we’re getting traction.

                                I think that’s kind of where we left off. Does that ring a bell? Is that where we left off in your mind?

Caroline:              Yes it does. I think that’s a really great example, too, just of what you just shared. Even for myself, that was a little surprising, just to think of not choosing my husband. But that trust and it’s sphere is different than what we typically, what term the word trust to mean in our personal lives, you know, when you’re choosing a real estate agent. And these are proven things that you’ve seen through marketing tests. So I think that was, in itself, another good take-away.

                                Even just hearing kind of picking up from where we left off last week and going through that review, I’d love for us to start off with the ‘how’ to stay on top of mind. I know we talked about what you just reviewed about the top of mind and trust, and that’s why consumers choose an agent. But how? Are there practical ways or any tips or tricks or things that you can share of just the ‘how.’

Beatty:                 Sure.

Caroline:              How to stay top of mind with your sphere of influence and past clients, too.

Beatty:                 Okay. Well, let’s talk about what most agents do. And most agents realize they got to stay top of mind. In agent terminology, they call it branding. It’s not really branding, it’s just kind of staying there. So most agents stay top of mind or attempt to by doing two things. They put someone on an email campaign and they send them post cards or holiday cards and things like that on a period basis. Would you agree that’s typically how most people do it?

Caroline:              That’s been my experience of what I’ve seen and what I’ve even received in the mail. So yes.

Beatty:                 Okay. So let’s talk about the impact of those touches for staying top of mind. Because what’s missing is what type of impact are you actually creating. So here’s an example. If I sent you an email, and I put you on an email campaign, and that email campaign said, “Hey, one of the best ways to have a happy life is to go meet your neighbors and have a fun happy neighborhood. Here’s some tips on how to meet your neighbors.” And then another email comes out and says, “Here’s how to clean your pillows.” And another email tip comes out and says, “Hey, it’s spring time, don’t forget to start planting those pretty flowers for your yard.” Then another email comes out that says, “You know it’s starting to get fall time, make sure you start raking the leaves.”

                                Do those touches do anything for you?

Caroline:              Probably not. I mean, personally I know I would probably, especially the clean your pillow thing, I would just move right along and delete. Unless it was something that I felt like a personal need to know, I get so many emails, and so there has to be something that I definitely connect to and know. Like, “Oh, I need to take time to read this.” Because I don’t have time to read through all of them.

Beatty:                 Got you. So let me ask you another question. Those emails that you’re not going to read, are they a value or are they a nuisance?

Caroline:              They definitely feel more like a nuisance.

Beatty:                 Okay, glad you’re honest.

Caroline:              Yeah.

Beatty:                 So now, here’s what’s going on. I put you on an email campaign because it’s easy. I don’t realize I’m becoming a nuisance to you, because it’s information you could care less about. So, let’s change that process. One of our clients sends out emails … Now you probably don’t know the name, do you know the name Paul Harvey? You’re kind of young, I think, Caroline. Have you ever heard of a guy named Paul Harvey?

Caroline:              I have not, no.

Beatty:                 I didn’t think so. All right, so for all you agents listening that are realizing who Paul Harvey is, we have just broken through the age barrier of understanding the difference between me and Caroline. But Paul Harvey was a wonderful radio announcer and he had a series called The Rest of the Story. And The Rest of the Story was always some sort of an uplifting human interest story. You and I would see it on the news today as maybe they show a clip of some like an 11 year old who goes out and raises money throughout the neighborhood to put flowers on the graves over at the graveyard that no one ever tends. Something that’s just kind of a feel good story.

                                So imagine now that I’ve put you on an email campaign and every email that goes out is one of “The Rest of the Story” type of messages. It’s an inspiring, it’s an uplifting, it’s an encouraging message, it’s a message of someone who against all odds overcame challenges and became victorious or a superstar or helped other people. And you just read them and you just feel good all about yourself. You got the picture or the type of message I’m talking about?

Caroline:              Yes, that sounds great.

Beatty:                 Okay. Now if I were to put an email campaign that sent those type of messages out to you, would you read those emails?

Caroline:              I would. I actually just recently subscribed to a similar like good news kind of email like that, just because you can’t get enough of good news in the world we live in today.

Beatty:                 That’s right. And so then, when those emails come up, are they a value or a nuisance?

Caroline:              Definitely a value, because I want and need to hear that.

Beatty:                 Okay. So now, here’s what just happened, Caroline. We’ve just established that not all touches are the same. Some touches can produce a negative response. Just the opposite of what you think it will produce, because you’re not giving your prospect anything of value. But if you think about what they want and give it to them, then your touches are welcome. And when your touches are welcome, you start to stay top of mind more consistently, because they appreciate it, they’re looking forward to it. And now, when they open it, they get more value from you. Does that make sense? Are you seeing the connections there?

Caroline:              Absolutely. I think that would be a great idea. Even just the positive association between receiving something heart-warming or something positive and something they want to hear, with an agent’s name. I just think even psychologically that association would be a good thing for your brand. That would probably be an even stronger branding point than confidently just being in front of their face. The quality versus quantity.

Beatty:                 That’s right. And so, with those type of emails, you know one of our clients, he touches his list … get this, every single week. 52 times a year with those emails, and he never wears his list out. I’ve got a loan officer that’s sending me those other emails, that I talked to you about. He sends them every three or four weeks. I know it’s an automated thing and I hate them. Sure, it kind of keeps his name in front of me, but I get no value and I get ticked off every time I get it because it’s a nuisance.

                                Now if you were an agent, which of those groups would you rather be in? You want to be the one that can touch them 52 times a year and they want more. And it all has to do with what type of content. So that’s one way to stay top of mind, is you’ve got to make sure that the content you’re delivering is something they want.

                                Here’s another way. A lot of agents do this, but you’d be surprised how many agents do not. It’s a simple calendar to stick on your refrigerator. Have you ever received like a football schedule calendar from a real estate agent that’s got a magnetic back so you stick it on your refrigerator?

Caroline:              I have actually. Just recently we did receive one of those.

Beatty:                 Yeah, okay. And where is it right now? Is it on your refrigerator or in the trash? Be honest.

Caroline:              Well, it is in the trash. Not because [crosstalk 00:18:11], but it wasn’t our team.

Beatty:                 Okay, I got you. If it was your team, would it be on the refrigerator?

Caroline:              Yes, it would. Definitely. We just aren’t the norm in Alabama.

Beatty:                 Okay, cool. So this is an easy way to stay top of mind that most agents miss. You know why they miss it? “Well, that’s expensive. It’ll cost me $1.50 to get that into, or $2.00, to mail it out to everyone.” But that’s $2.00, they stick it on their refrigerator and they see you 365 days a year. That’s a great way to stay top of mind. Wouldn’t you agree?

Caroline:              Absolutely. That’s in their home, they’re not ever going to walk away from that refrigerator. They’re going to see you all the time.

Beatty:                 Yeah. So do these things, okay. Here’s another great way to stay top of mind and get more referrals. It’s called a certificate. So the idea is you mail your list and say, “Hey, I …” So my letter to you would be a personal letter. “Caroline, I appreciate our relationship. And as you know, I’m a real estate agent and I make money helping people get the most money for their homes, and buy their new home with the greatest amount of negotiated discounted price. I save them money on their new home and I get the most money for their existing home.

                                And a lot of times my friends and acquaintances know of other people who are thinking about selling some time throughout the year, and I wanted to give you this certificate. Either for you and Wes, or for a friend of yours, but it’s a certificate for $500 discounted off of my commissions if you use this certificate when you hire me. If you would put this on your refrigerator or on your bulletin board and just hold onto it, and if and when you have a friend who’s thinking about buying or selling a home, if you could give them the certificate it will save them money. And I’ll buy a dinner for two for the two of you and send you out to Romano’s or any other place that you would like to go. And, obviously, if you choose to buy or sell and redeem the certificate, I’ll give you the same discount.”

                                Now if I sent you that certificate and asked you to hold onto it, are you going to hold onto it? What do you think?

Caroline:              Absolutely. That’s definitely something different, that even with just like out of the box, just because it’s a different type of offer than I would normally see or receive in the mail. So, absolutely.

Beatty:                 Sure, yeah. So now what I want to do, on that certificate I’m going to custom print it on my computer. It’s going to have my name and photo and contact information. And I’m asking you to stick it either on your, and I’ll probably send a little magnet along with it so you can attach it to your refrigerator or you can pin it to your bulletin board. And now, by asking you to do that, guess what? It’s always in front of you. Not only is it in front of you, but it’s in front of you with value. Value that you appreciate. Because either you’re going to save $500 or you’re going to help a friend save $500 and you’re going to get a romantic dinner out for the two of you. You can’t lose on that, can you?

Caroline:              Right. You really can’t. I feel like these are such great examples of just how to, if you will, like deposit a little bit into that personal piggy bank, in just the relational piggy bank with your clients or with your sphere of influence, instead of … it’s something that’s going to make an agent stand out versus just kind of blending in with all the noise. Because we just live in such a consumer driven society where people are always trying to badger you with ads and things like this. So adding that personal touch, I think, is definitely a great, great point of how to stick out and how to remain top of mind. I love all these examples.

Beatty:                 It’s even biblical. Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given to you. Good measure, press down, shaking together, overflowing. They will pour into your lap, for by your standard of measure will be measured to you in return.” Do you remember that passage?

Caroline:              Yes, I do. That’s a big one.

Beatty:                 Yeah, so this is the law, and generally it’s called the law of reciprocity. Give something of value to someone else. So if I want to give you value with uplifting, encouraging stories, you’re going to think more favorably of me. If I want to give you value by giving a certificate that will save you money or one of your friends, then you’re going to give me value back in return.

                                So when we’re talking about top of mind, don’t think in terms of what’s the cheapest thing you can do that simply gets your name out there. Because getting your name out there is not always positive. Think in terms of what can I give my homeowner of value that doesn’t cost me much, but gives them something of great value, great perceived value, so they appreciate me.

                                And by the way, that certificate, people will say, “Well, that certificate cost me 500 bucks.” No, it didn’t. It made you money, because you only redeem it when you close the sale. And I’d ask, how many people out there would pay $500 to get a new listing? To get a new listing that closes, because that’s only paid at closing.

                                So it’s like, as a friend of mine says, it’s like getting the sleeves out of your vest. It doesn’t cost you anything. So let’s see, top of mind. Same top of mind, there’s some other things that we can probably do. I see my clock right now and we’re not going to … We’re going to carry this into a part three, if you’re okay.

Caroline:              Yeah.

Beatty:                 On talking about the other aspect of trust. But let’s stay on the topic a little bit on top of mind. So we talked about the emails. We talked about a little bit like the certificate. Another thing that you can do, let me ask you a question. So what we’re talking about is impact, top of mind impact. What’s going to have the most impact to you.

                                So let’s say you get a pre-printed card that says, “Merry Christmas from Beatty Carmichael.” Assume it’s Christmas holidays. And it’s all pre-printed. Or you get a nice Christmas card and it’s a hand-written note. “Dear Caroline, I was thinking about you and just wanted to wish you a wonderful Christmas this holiday season. Your friendship and the friendship of you and Wes have meant so much to me. And I just want you to know I thank the Lord all the time because of our relationship.”

                                Which of those two touches will impact you the most?

Caroline:              Definitely the second. That would really stick out to me and that would go up, I have … we hang all of our Christmas cards every year. And the only ones that ever get hung are the ones that mean something to us. So like photos of friends and family. And we of course, do get Christmas cards from people that we’ve done business with, and there were a few this year that like there was one, our dog trainer sent us a little gift and a personalized note. And that one did get hung up. So there’s proof to your example that yes, it did, it meant something more. And I still remember it.

Beatty:                 Wonderful. So now extrapolate that out throughout the year. How many times does a typical agent touch their friends, family and relationships? Their personal list? You know what my experience is? Zero. Can you imagine the impact of just hand-writing a note and sharing your thoughts and your appreciation. And not just doing it at Christmas time, but a couple times a year.

                                What that does is that’s an extra touch that builds relationship. And when you have relationship with a touch, you get so much more than if it’s just a touch that says, “Here’s how to clean your pillows,” or “Hey, it’s spring time, don’t forget to plant pretty flowers.” So think about what you’re doing in your touches, and make sure that you’re adding value. The more value you add, the more impact a touch will generate back to you. You do that, you’re going to right off the bat, if that’s all you did.

                                Now we’re going to talk about next time on other stuff, but if that’s all you did? Man, you’ll get more referrals than you ever imagined you could get for so little effort.

Caroline:              Wow. Well, I completely agree. I’ve really enjoyed hearing this and continuing on our conversation. I love even hearing, too, just it sounds kind of like adding that relational perspective and relational aspect to it will just generate monumental response. So it’s really great continuing the conversation with you, Beatty.

                                I’m excited to continue in part three next week. I wasn’t expecting us to continue, but there’s so much good continue to [inaudible 00:27:46]. So I’m excited. So yes, next week, if you guys want to tune in, we’re going to continue on with how to double sales and referrals from your personal contacts with Beatty Carmichael.

                                I’m Caroline Springer. Keep that marked on your calendar, it’s Monday at 12 noon Central Time. Thanks everyone for joining us. We are going to unmute the lines in just a minute, and Beatty is going to open himself up for some questions and answers if you guys have anything written down that you’d like to ask him.

                                Thanks so much, Beatty, for your time.

Beatty:                 Hey, thank you. And yeah, this kind of surprised me too. I was expecting this to be a one call, it’s turning into three.

Caroline:              That’s not a bad thing.

Beatty:                 It’s great content.

Caroline:              That’s a good indicator.

Beatty:                 And I hope you keep dragging this out. I’ll just have to say, I love this stuff. I get excited about it, and obviously you can tell I’m passionate with it, and there’s so much opportunity if people would just stop and think and say, “What am I doing?” And just actually go do it right. The same amount of effort, three or four times the amount of results.

                                Hey, real quickly, let me share. Can I put a plug in real quick before we close out the call?

Caroline:              Yes, of course.

Beatty:                 Okay. So some of you guys out there may know what we do and some of you may not. But, this is what we do. We help agents double and triple your sales and referrals. If you want help, if you want to see what we do, we actually guarantee our results or we give your money back. You can go to our website at agentdominator.net. Agentdominator.net.

                                And that shows a service that we do working with your personal list. And we apply everything that we’re teaching here and a lot more. So check us out. Caroline, thanks again for the call. And I guess we’ll open up now for questions if there are any questions out there, is that correct?

Caroline:              Yeah, that’s sounds great.

Beatty:                 If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, please tell others about it. Also, be sure to get our step by step training on how to double sales and referrals from past clients and sphere of influence. It’s absolutely the easiest way to grow your business fast and is completely free.

                                You’ll find it on our website at GetSellersCallingYou.com

                                Thanks for listening.

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