Communications

"The two words information' and communication' are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through."

Sydney J. Harris

The goal of all your communications is to start, build and maintain relationships that are strong enough to do repeated business and get referrals.

It's helpful to realize that the business of starting, building and maintaining relationships is very similar to courting. In courting it's almost never productive to start with, "Hi! Will you marry me?" Instead the process follows this natural progression:

Initial meeting
A mutual search for commonality
Agreements to spend more time together (i.e. coffee, lunch, dinner, shared activities, etc.)
Deeper searches for commonality
Making and keeping mutual commitments
Growing credibility, confidence and trust

After enough of that relationship building process has transpired, "Will you marry me?" becomes a much easier question to ask and answer.
As much as we might want the business relationship process to be different, it's really not. We still have to have:

Initial meetings
Searches for commonality
Agreements to spend greater amounts of time together, doing deeper searches for commonality
Making and keeping mutual commitments
Growing enough credibility, confidence and trust to do business

All of your communications should be designed to facilitate the natural relationship building process. They should flow smoothly and seamlessly from initial attraction (i.e. your lead generation offers), through your initial calls and emails, then through your presentations. All along the way all of your communications should be helping you build ever increasing amounts of credibility, confidence and trust.

What you say, where you say it, how you say it, and when you say it all need to be taken into account when you create your marketing communications.

These are the seven pieces within the Communications section of the Model.

1. Web Sites

The Web is a communications content library. Anything you can see on a computer can be organized and hosted on the Web. Once on the Web people can be led to it through search engines, or via links in email and other Web pages.

Never before have agents and brokers been able to make so much high quality marketing communications, available to so many people, at such low cost. You truly are in the Golden Age of Real Estate Marketing.

Elite Boutique Brokers need to move beyond the cookie cutter template sites that so many others have into revealing more of their unique personalities, knowledge and ability.

2. Blogging

One of the very best ways to build a library of unique content that shows who you are, what you know, and how you help.

Your posts can become a key element in your ongoing automated marketing campaigns.

3. Email

Whether custom messages, boilerplate, or mass distributions; email is fast, easy and almost free no matter how many messages you send

A robust email library for both marketing and administrative uses is a must for Elite Boutique Brokers.

4. Direct Mail

Sometimes the only way to reach people, especially initially, is through physical direct mail. Elite Boutique Brokers will still use direct mail to help build their relationship marketing databases.

5. Social Networking

Whether it's in person at clubs, associations, Chambers and other membership organizations; or online through LinkedIn, FaceBook or Twitter; social networking is an important part of the Elite Boutique Broker's marketing mix.

6. Advertising

While traditional newspaper listing advertising is in decline, there will still be opportunities to get targeted visibility for your offers in a wide variety of publications. When combined with Web pages, online forms and email; advertising will help generate productive relationships.

7. Presentations

Presentations are vitally important because they can help you communicate a great deal of complex information quickly and simply. Strong presentations can be a tremendous aid in building the levels of credibility, confidence and trust you need to do business.

Presentations published to the Web make it easy for you to give them anytime from any place; for one person or even hundreds at a time.

"Communication works for those who work at it."

John Powell

Once you have your content created you'll need systems in place systems to automate marketing campaign scheduling and distribution; as well as a host of other things.