Let your real estate marketing message do what it's good at. Let it move the reader one step closer to a larger, more ultimate goal. That's what marketing messages have been doing effectively for decades, moving readers toward specific, achievable actions.

For instance, if your ultimate goal is to gain a new client, the goal of your messaging might be to initiate first contact (a phone call or email) from that prospective client. This would be an excellent messaging goal for two reasons:

• First, it's a goal your message can actually accomplish.


• Secondly, it's a goal that can support your overall goal of client acquisition. Here's wh
  Creating a Vision for Your Business
  Where is your business going? You must begin a business with the end in mind. In order to get from point A to point B, must know where both of those points are. If you don’t define the end goal, you have very little hope of ever getting there. Strategy is about planning and defining the straight line between those two points. Rather than taking the scenic route, a good strategy gets you from where you are to where you want to go in the most efficient way possible. You can’t draw that straight line if you haven’t figured out where and what point B is. I find a lot of entrepreneurs tr
  While working in the direct mail industry for a company whose clientele was 75% real estate, I witnessed the production and distribution of more than 70,000 real estate marketing pieces each week.

  A common but unfortunate trend I noticed was the overburdening of marketing messages. In other words, many of the marketers wanted their messages to do more than they were capable of doing.

  I'll elaborate. But first, a quick marketing primer:

  Creating an effective marketing message usually calls for a three-step approach. You must define your audience, your goal and, ultimately, your message — in that order.

  1. Define your audience
  Who are you marketing your services to? Who are you hoping to motivate and persuade? Sure, you want to reach homeowners or homebuyers — but get more specific than that.

  Go beyond the obvious. Take notes about each client you work with and then compile the notes. Review them prior to each marketing project you undertake.

  Create a mental picture of your typical prospects. Visualize them in your mind's eye. What do they look like? What do they want? What fears wake them in the night? What happiness do they seek?

  When you can answer all of these questions, you can move on to the next step, defining your goal.

  2. Define your goal
  Under this step you might add the sub-steps of clarifying and simplifying your goal. The clear part is obvious — a clearly defined goal is a goal more easily attained. By “simplify,” I don't mean making your goal trivial or unworthy of pursuit. I mean reducing the goal to its purest form.

  Strip away anything that's not critical to the precise objective you want your reader to take. If you have several goals for your marketing message to accomplish, you haven't simplified enough! Boil it down to one specific action (like the example that follows later).

  3. Define your message
  Based on your audience and your goal, what must your message do to bridge the gap? What should you say or write to get your audience to move toward the desired action?

  Process in Practice
  I've simplified the above process, but all the fundamentals are there. Now it's time to get specific. Let's look at how these real estate marketing factors might come together to drive an actual message geared toward an actual audience.

  Let's say you're primarily a buyer's agent, so your audience would obviously be people shopping for homes. You've done some research on homebuyer demographics in your area, you've got a good mental picture of your audience, and you've made a list of things that are important to them.

  Now it's time to define your goal.

  The Key to Goal Definition
  Don't confuse your ultimate goal with your messaging goal. In other words, don't define a messaging goal that your message can't deliver. Instead, go for the low-hanging fruit.

  Let your real estate marketing message do what it's good at. Let it move the reader one step closer to a larger, more ultimate goal. That's what marketing messages have been doing effectively for decades, moving readers toward specific, achievable actions.

  For instance, if your ultimate goal is to gain a new client, the goal of your messaging might be to initiate first contact (a phone call or email) from that prospective client. This would be an excellent messaging goal for two reasons:

  • First, it's a goal your message can actually accomplish.
  
  
  • Secondly, it's a goal that can support your overall goal of client acquisition. Here's why
    Adult ADD: Business Has to Include Trust
    Do you have delegation-itis? It is a control type of a fear that makes people with ADD think, How do I delegate something that I don't' know how to do? How do I tell somebody what I want when I don't get it?Okay. So let us ask you this: Do you know who Jack Welch is?Jack Welch was the president of GE for many, many years and years. He did a turnaround, he build that corporation globally, he's written several books on leadership and winning. Now he's the head honcho of his organization. Do you think that he knows how to get postage in the postage meter in the mailroom? P
    ng to motivate and persuade? Sure, you want to reach homeowners or homebuyers — but get more specific than that.

    Go beyond the obvious. Take notes about each client you work with and then compile the notes. Review them prior to each marketing project you undertake.

    Create a mental picture of your typical prospects. Visualize them in your mind's eye. What do they look like? What do they want? What fears wake them in the night? What happiness do they seek?

    When you can answer all of these questions, you can move on to the next step, defining your goal.

    2. Define your goal
    Under this step you might add the sub-steps of clarifying and simplifying your goal. The clear part is obvious — a clearly defined goal is a goal more easily attained. By “simplify,” I don't mean making your goal trivial or unworthy of pursuit. I mean reducing the goal to its purest form.

    Strip away anything that's not critical to the precise objective you want your reader to take. If you have several goals for your marketing message to accomplish, you haven't simplified enough! Boil it down to one specific action (like the example that follows later).

    3. Define your message
    Based on your audience and your goal, what must your message do to bridge the gap? What should you say or write to get your audience to move toward the desired action?

    Process in Practice
    I've simplified the above process, but all the fundamentals are there. Now it's time to get specific. Let's look at how these real estate marketing factors might come together to drive an actual message geared toward an actual audience.

    Let's say you're primarily a buyer's agent, so your audience would obviously be people shopping for homes. You've done some research on homebuyer demographics in your area, you've got a good mental picture of your audience, and you've made a list of things that are important to them.

    Now it's time to define your goal.

    The Key to Goal Definition
    Don't confuse your ultimate goal with your messaging goal. In other words, don't define a messaging goal that your message can't deliver. Instead, go for the low-hanging fruit.

    Let your real estate marketing message do what it's good at. Let it move the reader one step closer to a larger, more ultimate goal. That's what marketing messages have been doing effectively for decades, moving readers toward specific, achievable actions.

    For instance, if your ultimate goal is to gain a new client, the goal of your messaging might be to initiate first contact (a phone call or email) from that prospective client. This would be an excellent messaging goal for two reasons:

    • First, it's a goal your message can actually accomplish.
    
    
    • Secondly, it's a goal that can support your overall goal of client acquisition. Here's wh
      Opportunity Knocks
      Ever feel like you’re spinning your wheels when it comes to marketing your business? If you’re not getting the results you want with your current marketing efforts, it may be time to consider a new opportunity – a Promotion Opportunity!A promotion opportunity can be found by identifying ways of reaching your target audience, then looking for the right "opportunity" to reach them. To get started, you will want to think about what types of marketing activities are realistic for you. If you’re a small business, then chances are that you won’t be running a series of network television a
      a clearly defined goal is a goal more easily attained. By “simplify,” I don't mean making your goal trivial or unworthy of pursuit. I mean reducing the goal to its purest form.

      Strip away anything that's not critical to the precise objective you want your reader to take. If you have several goals for your marketing message to accomplish, you haven't simplified enough! Boil it down to one specific action (like the example that follows later).

      3. Define your message
      Based on your audience and your goal, what must your message do to bridge the gap? What should you say or write to get your audience to move toward the desired action?

      Process in Practice
      I've simplified the above process, but all the fundamentals are there. Now it's time to get specific. Let's look at how these real estate marketing factors might come together to drive an actual message geared toward an actual audience.

      Let's say you're primarily a buyer's agent, so your audience would obviously be people shopping for homes. You've done some research on homebuyer demographics in your area, you've got a good mental picture of your audience, and you've made a list of things that are important to them.

      Now it's time to define your goal.

      The Key to Goal Definition
      Don't confuse your ultimate goal with your messaging goal. In other words, don't define a messaging goal that your message can't deliver. Instead, go for the low-hanging fruit.

      Let your real estate marketing message do what it's good at. Let it move the reader one step closer to a larger, more ultimate goal. That's what marketing messages have been doing effectively for decades, moving readers toward specific, achievable actions.

      For instance, if your ultimate goal is to gain a new client, the goal of your messaging might be to initiate first contact (a phone call or email) from that prospective client. This would be an excellent messaging goal for two reasons:

      • First, it's a goal your message can actually accomplish.
      
      
      • Secondly, it's a goal that can support your overall goal of client acquisition. Here's wh
        Branding Blunder—Creative Technology's Mistakes
        Recently I was interviewed by Marketing Magazine, a local magazine in Singapore that keeps close tabs on the marketing strategies companies of all sizes use to reach out to their consumers. I thought that this is an excellent case study of how important positioning, branding and marketing are for your business.For their feature story on Branding, the magazine asked for my comments on Creative Technology’s (renowned for its sound card and MP3 players, and most recently for its legal tussle with Apple) branding efforts. While I’m a fan of Creative, I have to say that the
        process, but all the fundamentals are there. Now it's time to get specific. Let's look at how these real estate marketing factors might come together to drive an actual message geared toward an actual audience.

        Let's say you're primarily a buyer's agent, so your audience would obviously be people shopping for homes. You've done some research on homebuyer demographics in your area, you've got a good mental picture of your audience, and you've made a list of things that are important to them.

        Now it's time to define your goal.

        The Key to Goal Definition
        Don't confuse your ultimate goal with your messaging goal. In other words, don't define a messaging goal that your message can't deliver. Instead, go for the low-hanging fruit.

        Let your real estate marketing message do what it's good at. Let it move the reader one step closer to a larger, more ultimate goal. That's what marketing messages have been doing effectively for decades, moving readers toward specific, achievable actions.

        For instance, if your ultimate goal is to gain a new client, the goal of your messaging might be to initiate first contact (a phone call or email) from that prospective client. This would be an excellent messaging goal for two reasons:

        • First, it's a goal your message can actually accomplish.
        
        
        • Secondly, it's a goal that can support your overall goal of client acquisition. Here's wh
          Brighton: A Great Conference Venue
          Holding a conference can be a big event in any company’s agenda and a large part of that can be the decision on where to hold the conference. Many different cities all boast prestigious facilities, but each city has both problems and benefits that will be incurred through having the conference in that area. The greatest trick is to make use of a venue where the advantages are significantly greater than the disadvantages. The location of Brighton on the South Coast means that it is an easy journey from London. The location also means that beautiful sea views will greet any people arriving i
          Instead, go for the low-hanging fruit.

          Let your real estate marketing message do what it's good at. Let it move the reader one step closer to a larger, more ultimate goal. That's what marketing messages have been doing effectively for decades, moving readers toward specific, achievable actions.

          For instance, if your ultimate goal is to gain a new client, the goal of your messaging might be to initiate first contact (a phone call or email) from that prospective client. This would be an excellent messaging goal for two reasons:

          • First, it's a goal your message can actually accomplish.
          
          
          • Secondly, it's a goal that can support your overall goal of client acquisition. Here's why: An NAR survey sponsored by the Gooder Group found that 74% of people shopping for a real estate professional go with the first one they call. That means if you earn that first call from a prospect, you have a 74% chance of turning them into a client.

          Think of It This Way
          You're not selling a toaster. You're selling the real estate services you provide — services that have an impact on the finances and ultimate happiness (or unhappiness) of your clients. Those are weighty issues.

          Words on paper can sell a toaster. Words on paper cannot sell your prospects on your ability to deliver. Words can, however, sell your prospects on the next step they might take (in this case, calling or emailing you). After that first contact, there's plenty of time to show them your ability to deliver.

          Give your real estate marketing message a break from unreasonable expectations. Let it do what it's best at. Let it move the reader forward in your ultimate plan.

          * Copyright 2006, Brandon Cornett. You may republish this article if you keep the byline and author's note, and also leave the hyperlink intact.