Agentjason 2.0

How to get more online referrals

I looked back and so far this year I'm averaging 5 referral requests per month.  By referral request I mean one of my graduates or industry contacts asking me "Who do you know in (fill in the city) that is a Wickman grad I can trust to send a referral to?"  When I was an active Realtor, I'd ask that question all the time but in the last five years the way I'd find that person has changed dramatically.

Go back five years and ask me for a referral to an agent in Las Vegas and I'd most likely connect you with a Realtor named Debbie.  I met her once at a convention and every month since that I'd received her monthly newsletter which was basically just a local market update.  She occupied that spot in my mind, the spot of "agent in Vegas" and so she got the referrals.  I'm sure each month she sent out thousands of those newsletters in her local market and probably up to a thousand across the country to other Realtors.  And when I say every month, I mean every month - without exception.  Getting her newsletter so consistently basically forced me to get my own referral marketing out the door with matching regularity.  

If you've been doing something like this, keep it up for sure.  But if you can't afford to start a large mailing campaign right now, don't sweat it.  I don't think you really have too these days to get the same result.  Ask me now for an agent referral and I'm first going to try to find my own graduate and if I don't have any, I'll see if others in my company do.  But what if you were to ask me for a referral to an agent in Texas or Oklahoma?  That's no small request given the hundreds upon hundreds of Realtors I've personally trained just in those two states.  In fact, even if I've done just one class in a city, that's still a lot of great people from which to choose.  How in the world can I pick when I so deeply care about every single one of those grads?!  A couple of weeks ago the "how" became very clear to me because I actually did have to pick someone.

Think you are good at selling? Take the pencil test.

Floyd taught me a great way to detect if someone is really a salesperson or just someone who thinks he is.  All you have to do is listen to their conversation with a prospect and see if they are asking questions.  Many of my students enter the Floyd Wickman Program thinking they are skilled salespeople.  But when we get to sessions 2 and especially 3 where we talk about how to ask and use questions, a bright light is shone on the truth - the truth that they really aren't.  

Watching a student take the path of gaining awareness of what they need to learn and then trying it out in the field is one of the most gratifying things I get to do professionally.  It always comes across in the listing presentation when the student first learns that instead of selling, they've been talking at the seller the whole time (we're #1, we have a company magazine, we have an 800 number for your sign, we're great, now let me give you a CMA, please sign?)  Haha!  

My students look at that vital event called the listing presentation in a whole new way by graduation and for sure many go on to be great at using questions and figuring out what problems they are there to solve for the seller.  But before today I'd never heard of the pencil test.  Mike Brooks writes about it and makes the point very clearly in his blog post.  Read it here ------>  Broker/Agent Social Network.

The king is gone but we still have the queen

Just a little bit of fun for a Thursday afternoon and a break from real estate thoughts.  Madonna is about to unleash a new song on us to promote her last greatest hits record she owes Warner Bros. before making a full switch to the new label.  As any true fan would, I found a high quality clip of it and as expected it's freakin' hot!  Enjoy!

HQ MP3:

Download Madonna - Celebrate(20 Second leak)

Which social media should you use?

When you're a tech lover, every day there's something new to discover on the web.  For me that usually means keeping close watch on my computer time.  If I'm not careful, discovery of a new website or informative blog can easily suck up a couple of hours, so I've learned to bookmark quickly and then turn away.  Interestingly when I go back to those bookmarks, I've lost interest in many.  

This week I'll be thinking a lot about my own web/social media strategy and that of the Floyd Wickman Team and here's the first thing that crossed my mind today.  The president uses 4 main things:  Facebook, Twitter, video and blogs.  If you go back to the days of the campaign when Barack and Hillary were fighting it out, they both had super talented teams that battled it out on the web, each forcing the other to raise their game.  Combined they had access to more money and talent than you and I will ever have and still, only 4 things remain in use.  

So if you're thinking about your own web strategy, maybe worry less about all the different things you could do and see if you can find more complete ways to use the big four.

And the winner is...

GREG VAROZZA

K e l l e r  W i l l i a m s  R e a l t y

S a c r a m e n t o ,  C A

Greg was chosen by Floyd and the panel of judges as the winner of our first ever Summer Social Media Contest.  As the winner, Greg receives full registration to the summer Forum in Detroit complete with airfare and hotel and a VIP cruise on Floyd Wickman's private boat the day before the Forum begins.  

Congrats to Greg and thank you to everyone who played along.  We really had a ton of fun with this as a company and for the rest of the Top 10, you won't walk away empty handed.  Be on the lookout for a surprise package from us - the contents of which aren't to shabby!  See, I told you it would pay to be in the Top 10.

Also to follow will be my analysis of this whole contest event including what we learned and how you can implement something similar for your own book of business if you choose.  Have a happy 4th of July weekend everyone!

Luv,

J

The Finals: Summer Social Media Contest

Has it been six weeks already?  It seems like just yesterday we started the social media contest, but six weeks is how long a program runs and that always flies by too, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Here my friends is the long awaited final Top 10 list.  You'll notice, there was no change from week 5 although everyone in the Top 10 kicked their online activity up this week.

1. Brett Boone - Oklahoma City, OK
2. Barry Miller - Fort Myers, FL 
3. Greg Varozza - Sacramento, CA  
4. Robin Palma - Oklahoma City, OK
5. Deborah Spencer - Oklahoma City, OK
6. Christina Happ Stoneman - Cedar Rapids, IA
7. Jared Lippelgoos - Portland, OR
   
8. Deborah Sills - Oklahoma City, OK
   
9. Forth Hoyt - Sacramento, CA
10. James Judd - Oklahoma City, OK 

Congratulations to everyone who made the list.  We're working on selecting the winner now so stay tuned - results will be posted right here (and of course linked throughout the internets!) 

Week 5 Update: Summer Social Media Contest

You guys are awesome!  The creativity of your posts on the internets makes me laugh daily and I sure hope you're having fun too!  There continues to be a little churn on the Top 10 list this week with a re-entry at #10 and a flip flop in the middle.  Here are a few things I'd like you to think about as we head into the last 7 days of the contest:

• The winner will come from the Top 10 and only 1 entry separates #10 from #11.
• It would still be VERY easy to get yourself into the Top 10 this week and qualify. 
• All of my graduates receive my blog updates in a monthly "newsletter email" which goes out overnight tonight.  So if they've not been paying attention, but catch on this week, we could see new competition in the Top 10. 
• This week, focus your efforts on quality vs. quantity (especially if your #7 or above - hint hint).  Once the Top 10 list is set, it's quality of entries that will get you farther. 

Okay, if this is the first you're reading of "the contest", just click the logo above and you'll be able to view a PDF flyer with the details and of course I always have to point out the rules.   So here you go - the latest qualifiers are:

1. Brett Boone - Oklahoma City, OK
2. Barry Miller - Fort Myers, FL 
3. Greg Varozza - Sacramento, CA  
4. Robin Palma - Oklahoma City, OK
5. Deborah Spencer - Oklahoma City, OK
6. Christina Happ Stoneman - Cedar Rapids, IA
7. Jared Lippelgoos - Portland, OR
   
8. Deborah Sills - Oklahoma City, OK
   
9. Forth Hoyt - Sacramento, CA
10. James Judd - Oklahoma City, OK

June Trainer Meeting In Pictures

All of my students know I fly off to meet with Floyd and the other trainers once a quarter.  Here's a little story I built with the iPhone app Whrrl to give you a small window into the meeting weekend.  Enjoy!

How to lose followers on Twitter

Several weeks ago someone followed me on Twitter. He is from Chicago and I have no idea who he is or how he found me. No matter, he must have liked something I wrote, and in his own online presence he professed to be a social media maven so I followed back. As time passed and his updates appeared in my Twitter stream I noticed that his comments were often identical to a few very popular tech authorities. WTH? I checked his individual stream just to be sure and although there was some original stuff I saw a habbit of re-tweeting. It's not that I think anything is wrong with re-tweeting someone else's thought (especially if it's insightful) but the balance was way off in this case. The result? I got annoyed because I already follow those folks he was re-tweeting and got tired of reading things twice - now I've stopped following him. 

I'm pretty sure this guy doesn't really care if I follow him or not but there is a lesson here. Twitter updates (and Facebook status for that matter) should be a balanced mix of personal and professional, especially for Realtors. Most people would welcome a business related message as long as they feel they've made a connection with you. How do you make a connection? The same way you do in person; over time, let the other person get to know the whole you. Think about your repeat clients. Isn't working with them very pleasant and comfortable? It's the relationship stuff that causes that to happen. So what's the balance? Well, I'm not sure there are any definite rules but I do know this: Twitter and Facebook are NOT simply new places to promote your listing inventory. In fact just because you can do that doesn't mean you should. But tweeting about a special feature of a property with a link to your listing would be okay. Next you might want to talk about something going on in the industry at large, then tweet about your kid who just won the soccer tournament or the movie you saw and loved. Then back to biz and go back and forth like that. Balance. 

Especially from my grads, here's what I don't want: I don't want to log into Twitter and see 5 tweets in a row with links to your new listings. If I can tell you just logged in to advertise to me, I'm tuning out fast and here's the scary part; so will your other followers from your book of business!

Week 4 Update: Summer Social Media Contest

Four weeks down, two to go and there are more change in the top 10 list for our contest.  Barry from Florida is turning up the heat and Gunna from CT enters the list for the first time.   After number ten, there are 8 of you who are neck and neck and could break into the top ten at any moment so be creative, keep mentioning Floyd and read below the list for my thoughts on strategy and tips on how to be a contender for the grand prize!

1. Brett Boone - Oklahoma City, OK
2. Barry Miller - Fort Myers, FL 
3. Greg Varozza - Sacramento, CA  
4. Robin Palma - Oklahoma City, OK
5. Deborah Spencer - Oklahoma City, OK
6. Jared Lippelgoos - Portland, OR
7. Christina Happ Stoneman - Cedar Rapids, IA
8. Deborah Sills - Oklahoma City, OK
9. Forth Hoyt - Sacramento, CA
10. Gunna Voight - New Haven, CT   

STRATEGY & TIPS

As I was counting up the entries I noticed quite a few people just typing in "Floyd Wickman" or our website URL on Twitter and Facebook.  While we're always appreciative of the love, one of the goals of the Summer Social Media Contest is to improve you skills using social media, so we want you to stretch beyond that.  Also, we don't want you losing followers and friends because you're annoying them about us.  We all have friends on Facebook and Twitter in the traditional sense of the word "friend" but most of us also have connections with folks who are in our "Book of Business".  When you are tweeting and leaving comments and updates on Facebook, think to yourself "Does this both, say something positive about about Floyd Wickman and reflect positively about my performance in the field.  When you apply what Floyd taught you, it's good for you and your clients so it shouldn't be that difficult to convey.

The reason I'm telling you this is that Floyd will ultimately select the winner from among the top 10 and he's more likely to chose someone who's been the most creative and descriptive overall as opposed to someone who just types in his name over and over.  I'm having so much fun running this contest and interacting with you all.  Just leave a comment if you have questions, otherwise keep up the great work and keep talking!  If the weather this weekend in Detroit was any indication, someone is in for a fantastic boat ride and weekend at the Forum!