Maverick and Company

Many of you may be landing here because you saw my recent post to one of the more interesting conversations in the world of real estate online.  (To read the entire conversation, visit http://www.webinknow.com/2008/10/top-10-ideas-fo.html )

You’ll find some additional information on CLIENT ENGLISH, and other ideas in past blogs here.  Let me just add a few things… For years we’ve all been focused on SALES (directly reaching out to clients) and MARKETING (sending out “stuff” so that clients will reach out to us.)  A lot of the old paradigms are based on persuasion and manipluation…MAKING people buy thru elaborate techniques and sophisticated methodologies.  I am more and more convinced that the death of this old model of generating business is fast approaching.

While SALES and MARKETING won’t ever go away, it is DEFINITELY time to make them the servants of a new philosophy. After working with several hundred individual business owners and service providers, I am convinced that the smartest among us have stumbled upon a new model that we should all be working hard to understand and take advantage of.  While the language I’m about to present isn’t perfect, essentially I think the next 100 years will be less about SALES and MARKETING and more about STRATEGY and MESSAGING.

The world we sell our services in is profoundly different than when the techniques of SALES and MARKETING were developed.  Our clients are more savvy.  They have an unprecedented level of access to information.  It’s time to adapt to the world we now live in–and doing so will require more than a facebook page and a blog.

STRATEGY is about intelligently and creatively selecting from the myriad of ways we COULD connect with new business and picking the smartest methods for US and our CLIENTS.  It’s about giving up techniques to persuade and manipulate and focusing on making it easier for clients to buy, accelerating the natural processes that occur before they hire us.

MESSAGING is about learning to speak the language of our clients:  CLIENT ENGLISH.  Learning to think as they do, to understand and articulate back their problems and our solution in the language THEY are familiar with.  Learning to send out signals that they understand and are LOOKING FOR to tell them who to buy from, work with, etc. Social Media these days is seen as a magic formula for EVERYONE to get new clients, which is massively stupid.  As a tool, inside the context of a STRATEGIC plan, and one that helps you deliver smart MESSAGES, social medial is BRILLIANT.  As a magic formula, it’s a waste of webpages.

Look for more posts with more details in coming days.  You’re also welcome to agree or fight with me.  It’ll be a combination of conversations and ideas that eventually produces the best strategies for us all.  (We’re in the process of updating the site so please forgive the parts that aren’t pretty.)  Cheers to David Scott (www.WebInkNow.com) for his initial writing, Matt Gentire (Director of PR and Brand Communications at Century 21 Real Estate LLC) for inquiring in the first place and of course, Matt Dollinger (www.TheYouFactor.com) for his original thoughts to me and for not being smarter than the army of people who think a twitter account and a youtube video are magic formulas for generating clients.  (While this may be true for some, it’s mostly an impossibility for most people.)

I met with a new client today and had a chance to pull out this oldie but goodie. It’s a magic phrase that makes talking about yourself easier and makes you easier to remember.

Reason #1: People’s brains are busy trying to remember and organize billions of bits of information. Giving them 3 things means they’ll at least have a fighting chance at remembering one or two of them.  Don’t try to tell them EVERYTHING about yourself.  Just give them 3 points that actually matter.

Reason #2:  Saying “I’m so great blah blah blah” is generally frowned upon in polite society.  Saying “This is what people seem to like/appreciate/love about me” is different.  It’s giving the person you’re talking to insight into the opinion and approval of others.  It’s still about you being awesome, but the delivery isn’t snooty (Snooty, oh yeah, it’s a word.)

Reason #3:  When done correctly, this phrase will seem like magic because it’s a STRATEGIC MESSAGE, designed to highlight qualities MOST DESIRED by the type of people MOST LIKELY TO BECOME YOUR CLIENTS. That means it’s not a general, vague bunch of crap designed to appeal to everyone.  It’s a specific, strategic combination of information highlighting stuff about you that YOUR ideal clients care about. 

REAL LIFE EXAMPLE:  The real estate agent I met with today wanted to make her listing presentation more effective.  Her new presentation includes the following (shortened for convenience.) “There are 3 basic reasons people love having me list their house. 1.  I’ve SOLD 100% of the homes I’ve listed since 2005.  I will get your home SOLD. 2.  I get it and I’m easy to work with.  Most of the people I’ve worked with in your neighborhood weren’t necessarily selling because they WANTED to.  A lot of them had a death, divorce or new marriage.  I return calls right away and generally just make it as easy as it can be.  I know you’ve got other stuff going on. 3.  I may seem pretty laid back, but I’m a very strong negotiator.  Nobody messes with my kids or my clients.  Period.” In each of the examples, she is SHOWING her potential clients an important piece of her brand.  She doesn’t TELL them she’s compassionate, she SHOWS it by talking about having more important things going on and using examples of people in unfortunate situations.  When she talks about being a negotiator, she needs to SHOW that she’s strong, let herself get AND LOOK a little fierce. If you’re in a sales conversation, talking about yourself can sometimes feel a bit awkward.  Use this method to make it more natural, more memorable and more effective.

Need some extra help getting more clients?  One of the things people LOVE ABOUT ME is the SCREAMIN’ DEAL I run each month.  This month (March 2009), you can get your FIRST HOUR for $50 (a $200 savings).  (We don’t call it the SCREAMIN’ DEAL for no reason.)  So if you need some help with your strategies, figuring out what to say to YOUR potential clients or where to find them, get in touch.  alecia@maverickandcompany.com (Supplies are limited and restrictions apply–mainly, we don’t work with people who suck.)

Click the green button above to find out what Will Smith and Unlikely Prom Queens and Strategy all have to do with one another.

When the economy gets tight (whether in your household or the world’s) people start getting nervous.  When they get nervous, they tend to rush the sales process. Remember, selling is a lot like baseball.  You can’t stand on home plate and score.  YOU HAVE TO RUN THE BASES.

Ever meet someone at a networking function who handed you their card and practically demanded not only your business but also your referrals?  They’re rushing it.  And you feel rushed. I know you feel pressure to make the sale, make money and make the mortgage payment.  But rushing it is a good way to loose it in sales.  Instead of trying to instantly convert people, focus on moving people around the bases (yes, it’s kind of like a pipeline but a more fun analogy.)

First base is meeting someone and recognizing a mutual interest in knowing more. FIRST BASE TIP:  Share stories when people ask what you do.  Tell them your title and then tell a quickie story about a great client you just helped.  This helps them understand what you do and puts a specific idea in their head about how you might be able to help without being pushy.

Second base is a specific conversation about needs and services. SECOND BASE TIP:  This doesn’t mean you’re actually talking about a sale.  It means you have some resources or knowledge they may find useful.  It could also mean they begin sharing a specific problem with you.  Details are swapped.  Again, DON’T RUSH IT.  Focus on moving to 3rd base.

Third base is a conversation about the possibility of doing business together. THIRD BASE TIP:  Not everyone who makes it to third will become a sale, NOR SHOULD THEY.  At third base, you’re thinking through the details and what it might look like to work together.  You’re talking about a real possibility.  Success at third base is about BOTH OF YOU doing the work to see if you’re a good professional fit.

HOME!!! is when the sale is made, but the “selling” work isn’t over. HOME BASE TIP:  Make sure your invoice process prepares your new client for how it will look to work with you.  Give them the guidelines for how to make the most of their investment.  This is the NATURAL selling process.  It’s what happens when it works.  it can happen very quickly but you can’t really score without running the bases.

NEED SOME HELP???  Remember, this month’s SCREAMIN’ DEAL is a $50 First Hour OR $90 for 90 ($90 for 90 minutes.)  If you’d like some coaching to get new clients, call or email me today alecia@maverickandcompany.com (offer expires April 1, 2009, restrictions apply)

You probably think you speak the same language as your clients.  You may have spent hundreds or thousands on pretty brochures or a snazzy website or on ads in the paper.  Yet you find yourself frustrated with lukewarm referrals and less than snazzy sales.  One possible culprit…YOU.

Don’t be too hard on yourself.  Many people make the mistake you may currently be making.  As we become experts in our profession, as we read more and learn more and study more, we become afflicted with THE CURSE OF KNOWLEDGE (muah ah ah ah.)

The Curse of Knowledge is explained brilliantly in the book “Made to Stick” by Chip & Dan Heath.  Essentially, it is the problem that occurs when you know a bit too much.  You view things with an expert’s eyes.  You’re able to see subtleties and distinctions that most people can’t.  You’re the interior designer who sees burnt ochre while the rest of us see a red wall.Worse, when you write emails, brochures and websites, when you talk at meetings, you probably make a second deadly mistake…you try to sound smart.  We all do it.  It’s the main reason I always try to get verbal testimonials that I can write out and send to clients for their approval.

Whenever people write things, whenever they speak in front of a group they want to impress, they tend to try to sound smart.  (This affliction is known as the Impulse to Impress.) Unfortunately, marketing is not about sounding smart.When you combine the Curse of Knowledge with the Impulse to Impress you get a particularly deadly combination.  You get blank looks and missed opportunities. You get good clients who walk away from the burnt ochre because they really just wanted a red wall.It can be very challenging to set aside the Curse of Knowledge and the Impulse to Impress but effective marketing requires it.  Think about your customers and the way they talk about their problems, your solution and you.  Then talk to them in the language they speak.  It’s not about dumbing down your message.  It’s about communicating effectively in the language THEY speak and understand best.  I call it Client English.  And providers who speak it are always more successful than people who sound smart but don’t really say anything.What’s your version of the “burnt ochre” mistake?  How can you translate your expertise into “red” for the people trying to hire you?