Beware The Marketing Plan

The subject of marketing plans came up this week, which is always an interesting topic.

Interesting because we all know that we need one, but when it comes down to it, rarely do I find an agent who is confident in their plan.

As a result, it’s easy to go with the shotgun, more is better approach. The more money I spend, and the more varied the things I do, the better off I’ll be.

After all, you need to show this to your broker so you want it to look impressive, like your committed to your business.

But more often than not, it ends up being a lot of money spent for little return.

So before you build a marketing plan that breaks your budget and sucks up all of your time, let’s look at what a successful, profitable marketing plan really looks like.

First, let’s define what a marketing plan is:

Marketing is any activity that consistently keeps you top of mind with potential buyers, sellers, and referral sources so that when they need to buy and sell real estate they contact you.

Note: There are 2 important things in that sentence. One is consistency. Marketing only works if it is consistent, and connects with the same person multiple times. Spending big bucks on a one off thing is not going to work. The second is so that they contact you. This is a contact sport, everything you do should be geared towards generating contact with others.

With that definition, there are many things that qualify as marketing. Let’s look at a list of what qualifies as marketing from least expensive to most expensive:

1. Phone calls
2. Open houses (this counts as marketing if you concentrate them in an area so that you are meeting buyers and sellers multiple times)
3. Facebook and social media, if you use it as a way to generate appointments
4. Volunteering or participating in a group that meets regularly to expand your circle
5. Note cards
6. Postcards
7. Coffee / Lunch
8. Facebook ads
9. Lead generators ie. Zillow, etc
10. Ads in your local magazines

Certainly there are many other things that can make their way into your marketing plan / budget. The reality, though, is that marketing doesn’t have to expensive.

What’s most important is that you see it through, and know that all of it takes time. Most agents stop whatever they are doing before it has a chance to really work. The shotgun effect of giving a little attention to everything is rarely successful.

Pick a few things and commit to them. It’s what you day in and day out that gets results.

To your success!
Nicole

PS: Are you joining us for the Master Your Frequency webinar next Thursday? I’ve got so many great things to share with all of you. Click here if you want to join the fun.