Hello and welcome to the Service Business Summer Series with Nia Pearson.
When it comes to marketing your business, there are numerous paths and tasks. What I have noticed over the years as a marketing consultant at Marketing 4 Real Results is that most small business owners, get easily overwhelmed by the many marketing options available in the marketplace and many decide to either do no marketing or very little.
“By simply being consistent you are able to establish trust with your target audience. Trust is critical for any path you decide to take to get qualified leads”.
Regardless of your niche, beating your competition, tracking your efforts and prioritizing your ideal target audiences is very important to grow your business.
My goal over the next several weeks is to share valuable marketing tips to help you elevate your business.
So, let’s jump right in!
This week’s focus is “CRM” which stands for Customer Relationship Management.
Realtors – Check out my CRM article published by the National Association Of Realtors.
On average, small businesses see a 17 % increase in lead conversion from actively using a CRM.
Notice that I said actively using CRM, so if you have a CRM but are not using it, now is your time to take action. CRM platforms are designed to improve business relationships, increase awareness, improves success rates, increase value and increase sales.
I have never met a small business owner that wasn’t interested in a 17 % increase in business. To put things in perspective 17 % of a 1-million-dollar home sale is $170,000. (Minus the tax bill, this is an increase to smile about).
What is CRM?
- CRM is a direct link to your sales funnel. Being comfortable using a CRM can push you a step further towards your revenue goals.
- CRM is a software used to manage all activity with a contact including email, text, phone calls and social media activity.
- CRM is the largest business software sold.
- The best CRM to consider is an internet-based system, with automation features that have the ability to deliver leads to sales teams, track sales activity and set appointments and task. (CRM software, to consider, Saleforce, Zoho or Hubspot).
Imagine a sunny day lounging on the sandy beach of Malibu with the gentle ocean waves at your feet. To make your beach experience even more enjoyable, you get a call from Karen Martin, a contact that you have been following up with over the past 16 months with emails, text and phone calls. During your last phone call with Karen, you remembered to tell her happy birthday because that information was in your CRM notes.
Karen appreciated your birthday wish so much that she decides to do business with you over your competition that had no clue it was her birthday. This is an example of how actively using your CRM to build better relationships can grow your business. Now you can continue to relax under the shade knowing that when you return to work you have new business to pursue.
What to do:
- Organize your way to success by tracking sales activity, recording appointments, schedule tasks, making notes and managing tasks.
- Create customized reports with specific criteria like industry, city, zip code, etc.
5 reasons to have an up-to-date and organized contact list:
- Be organized and stay in touch with all contacts and prospects.
- Connect a prospect based on their specific needs outlined in CRM notes.
- Create more meaningful relationships, by documenting life changing family events and life experiences.
- Ensure marketing information sent via postcards, email or social media are delivered to the correct person.
- Create personalized marketing campaigns.
Re-engage your contacts at any time with national industry related information.
It’s very important to know your contacts preferred communication method. You can get this information by asking them directly “what is your preferred communication channel” Most people will not have a problem with you asking this question. Besides if they are not open to answering simple questions, they are not likely to do business in the future with you, so you may be wasting your time keeping them in your database. Focus. Focus. Focus.
Keep in mind that your CRM’s sole purpose is to make your life easier. Consider your CRM database as your most valuable system. Practice using your database/CRM as an integral step to build repeat and referral business relationships with the quickest path to real estate transactions.
Block time to make consistent updates. Take time to understand your contact data and identify unique buying patterns.
Be sure to ask prospects/clients the right questions. Listen and pay attention to who engages and who does not. Use your CRM to facilitate calls, make notes, set appointments, assign task and follow-up call activity.
Once you’ve closed a deal or booked a face-to-face appointment you may think your job is done. Not at all. Keep in contact with everyone in your database on a regular basis to ensure that you are always top of mind to fill their real estate needs. Start with the people you know and continue to build your CRM over time. – Best of luck to you.
This exclusive Summer Series, is designed to enhance every aspect of your business in preparation for a big boom this Fall and beyond.
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