One of my clients is a land developer in an executive lake
front community. The homes are $750,000 ' $1.5 Million
dollar custom built beauties.
We were brought in to "be" their marketing department. To
most outsiders, our firm looks like we are actually
employees.
The reason we were brought in was their past marketing
manager.
She got fired.
For a VERY good reason.
This was a person who acted as if the company was her own,
and as if she was not accountable at all for marketing
funds.
When I first started digging around, it was very evident
that this person loved to spend the companies' money '
without any thought to results.
Ads being run in newspapers and magazines that DEFINITELY
did not target the right demographics.
Radio spots being run on stations that 18 year old
skateboarders listen to (how many of them do you think will
buy a million dollar home?)
A website that looks pretty but is seriously lacking good
quality content. The one VERY good thing they have on the
site is a form to fill out for more information...but this
is part of the big problem.
People were filling this form out ' and NEVER hearing back
from anyone.
I tried to find all their databases.
"Data what?"
No one had a clue on where the databases were or even what
they were.
After a month I managed to compile a list of ~ 2,000
interested prospects that had either been to the website
and filled out the form attended an event phoned in or
visited the information centre or had expressed some form
of interest at one point.
Remember ' these are people who have not heard a word back
from the developer ' some of them filled the form out a
year or more ago!
First thing I did was send an apology letter to everyone on
the database. Imagine the shock the staff had when I told
them we have to apologize for being so tardy (and downright
dumb) about lack of follow up.
Then I invited them all to 2 parties coming up.
Then I sent an email as well ' giving more information and
reasons to attend.
The first was a VIP party held on Wed night. It turned out
fabulous! We had 80-100 people show up and were very happy
to hear from us and see all the progress being made. We
served them top quality wine, cheeses, and bread. We gave
them leather bound information packages with a ton of
content and information inside. We gave out prizes. We had
a Harley on display alongside a 1967 Mustang.
We treated them special.
And they ate it up.
The problem though is the responses I got back from the
email list.
People replied back saying they waited and waited ' but
never heard back and ended up buying elsewhere. At least
10 of those responses (let's see now ' 10 people x
$1,000,000 homes = $10,000,000 down the drain!).
People called me names ' some nasty.
Overall, people were very thankful.
Which leads me to the whole point of this article...
You MUST collect leads from interested party but even more
important is you MUST follow up with them. If people
express their interest ' the job is at least 50% done.
Then it is in effective follow up to close the deal.
This company neglected this database ' and even worse,
neglected these peoples trust.
It will be interesting to see what we can do with some
effective follow up.
From what I have seen so far ' simple letters and emails
will help sell million dollar home sales. Of course it
will take more than just that ' but most people were very
happy to get emails and print letters from us.
I will keep you updated on the progress of this project '
it is a fun one.
Remember, keep a database ' and follow up with them! Invite
them to special events. Give them gifts. Treat them like
gold. And follow up with them again, and again, and again.
You are criminally neglecting these people if you take
their names and do nothing with them.
The sad part?
This client is much like 95% of the companies out there in
existence today.
Which is why it doesn't take much to stand out from the
crowd as people are sadly quite used to this kind of
neglect?
Be the one that does pay attention.
And be the one who shows them that you DO care about their
business.
PS ' If you are looking for investment properties or are
looking for one of the best communities to live in ' let me
know! In the first 24 months, the lots in this community
have gone up 250% in value.
The one person who lives there now has tripled his money in
less than 2 years! Calgary (where I live) is a SCREAMING
hot real estate market right now ' average home prices are
going up at 10% a month right now. And this is the ONLY
natural lake front community being built ' or even
available right now. Let me know if you want more
information.
----------------------------------------------------
Troy White, The Marketing Results Mentor and Expert
Copywriter helps clients achieve HUGE growth surges in
their business in very short periods of time. If you're an
entrepreneur in need of quick cash flow surges ' here is
the quick-hit solution to put money in your bank.... The
Wild West Wealth Summit! Make sure you visit
http://www.WildWestWealth.com or sign up for the Free Cash
Flow Surge Newsletter at http://www.CashFlowSurges.com
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