Establish your credibility instantly.

Have you ever met a new prospect who asked you “how are the market?” How do you answer? Great!! I am having the best year ever? What do you say?

When you answer this way, you don’t gain credibility. You don’t sound very believable. You sound weak.

Here is a way to gain credibility in about 40 words or less. Memorize 5 facts about your market place.

During a recent class, I demonstrated this point by making up (completely) five facts about the local market place. The audience was wowed that in the short time I had been there I knew and had committed to memory data about their local market.

I hadn’t memorized anything. I made up all the data. I gained credibility instantly, even though the data was a complete fabrication.

Clients using this method report that people’s demeanor is shifted in the correct direction. You become an expert. And you do it quickly.

Your MLS should have a statistics function that will allow you to quickly gather facts that you can use. Give yourself a reminder on your calendar for every Monday morning before your prospecting time to get the data, record it on a 3x5 card and carry with you. Always.

Want to know what are some of the possibilities are for data to commit to memory, write a comment at the bottom of this posting and I will tell you.

To your continued success.

Reg Gupton

Know what to say when you meet with a prospect.

I have learned recently that most personal service sales people don’t know what to say when they meet a prospect whether socially or at a networking event.

We have worked recently on a system to use when speaking with new people. I will discuss one of the attributes of the system here and others in future postings.

The first element of the system I want to discuss is the F.O.R.D. concept. Some of us, that would be me, have little difficulty talking with others. My problem is that I tend to talk too much. If you know me you know that is true.

FORD is a system for asking questions of a person that you just met. It stands for Family, Occupation, Recreation, Dreams. All you need is a couple of questions in each category to engage another person in a conversation for a very long time. You should commit these questions to memory and practice them in a safe setting. Practice makes permanent, not perfect.

Another tip I use in conversation follows: When someone uses an adjective or adverb in a sentence (these are modifiers) ask (politely) what they mean. For example when someone says that they want to purchase soon. You might ask, “what does soon mean to you”? Or when someone says “I want a large yard” You might ask, “what is a large yard to you.”?

In a class recently, I asked a number of Realtors from the western slope of Colorado, what was large parcel to them. The parcels ranged from 1 acre to 640 acres. For me, a large yard means anything that I can not cut with a weed eater, (on the short cord).

What are the conversation openers or extenders do you use? Let me know.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Do you know where your next transaction is coming from?

A Realtor friend routinely/systematically sends emails to his prospect/client list periodically. He searches his local MLS for opportunities, writes up a summary of the value he sees and sends it out.

He recently searched the MLS for bank-owned/foreclosed properties, finding about a dozen. That e mail generated a few people who might be interested. No sales, yet.

Upon receiving his email, I replied asking how the leads that he rec’d from this system were doing. Here is his reply:

Up to 3 sales loosely tied to my monitoring of this market. Two contracts that didn’t close (1^st ½ of 1031 exchange fell thru out of state). Three offers that didn’t result in contracts.

Up to a dozen prospects walking around the pool, sizing it up from different angles, trying to decide if they want to jump in.

I replied that he should embrace this philosophy. SW, SW, SW, N. He did not know that this meant. Do you?

“Nope,” was his answer. So here it is. Some will, Some won’t, So what, NEXT. The emotional power is in the word NEXT. This means that you believe/know that there will be a next transaction. Do you know where

Most folks that are in the personal services sales business do not know that there will ever be a next. They have no proven lead generation system whether marketing nor prospecting. Watch for a future posting on marketing vs. prospecting.

Do you have a lead generation system?? What is it? Let me know. I will write it up.

Do you know that there is a transaction coming to you? How do you know that?

Tell us how you know.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

How to design a profitable direct marketing strategy

An important element of most profitable marketing systems can be direct mail. In many businesses, it has the highest return on investment (ROI) of all the marketing dollars spent. If you have repeat purchases, direct mail is a powerful way to reach existing (and new) customers

1. Select a narrow target audience.

Hopefully your electronic database is segmented so that you can send a card to just a part of the entire list.

I receive cards (and more expensive direct mail pieces) that make absolutely no sense to or for me. The other day I received a very expensive four color, glossy 11X17 piece for spreaders and sprayers. I live in a condo and would not ever need a product like this. No lawn to take care of.

No wonder the rate of return on cold, one time direct mail is low and dropping. Target, target and target again.

2. Decide the frequency of your campaign

Be aware that research tells us that we need to send about 12-18 messages to a specific target audience before they even notice you. Make sure that you can keep up the campaign without any sales for months and months. Remember, send to the same target audience. Don't skip around.

Results that you receive in the first few months are low hanging fruit. Almost any contact with these individuals would have generated a sale. The real power comes after many, many contacts. The momentum builds and builds over time.

3. Select your offer

Your offer should be targeted to your audience and no one else. You can however, achieve top of mind awareness (TOMA) with cards. When your product or service comes to mind, you are the first or second person they think of. That is a great spot to be in.

4. Select a card vendor.

I have been totally satisfied with the prices and services of Expresscopy.com. As have a large number of my coaching and consulting clients.

Visit them at www.expresscopy.com/partner/reg_gupton. Learn what they do. Can you imagine about $40.00 per 100 cards, printed, addressed, postage and mailing? You will be pleased, especially if you can export your address file. Most software programs make that very, very easy these days.

5. Learn what your competition is doing with direct mail

Find out what your competition is doing with direct mail. Nothing I bet. Visit their web site or store and sign up for their newsletter, or catalog. Understanding the offers of the competition will put you at a distinct advantage.

6. Make it abundantly clear how you want people to respond.

Call, e-mail, fax or bring the card by your place of business to redeem, order the free report. Don't make it confusing.

If your target audience is spread about the country, make sure that you have a toll free number and e mail. Your response rate will increase dramatically. These days they are surprisingly inexpensive.

7. Decide how you will measure success

What are you after? Sales, entry in a drawing, or order a catalog? Just make sure that you and the recipient are clear on what is expected and you measure the responses you receive.

8. Don't quit

One of the actions that I see most often with direct mail is quitting after one or two mail pieces. Realize that embarking on a new direct mail marketing campaign is extremely painful in the beginning. This is true especially if you have not done this kind of marketing before. Plan your campaign. Plan for a year in advance. Get the schedule on your calendar. And follow it.

9. Realize that you only have a few seconds with the mind of the reader

Your offer or request should be plainly visible and clear to the reader. It is important to understand that you only have 4-8 seconds with their brain. They will decide if what you have to say is what they want to hear. Today. Next month your offer might be in alignment with their need. It was not last month and it is now.

10. Test you offer on a small segment of your list.

If your list is large, test the offer on a part of it. If the ROI is not what you need, re-think your plan, graphic, and offer. You should see sales (if that is your goal) that makes direct mail a profit center for you. Don't lose money on your direct mail marketing.

Reg Gupton

Reg Gupton's Top 10 Database buying tips to make the job easier

What follows is a Top 10 list of issues to consider when buying database software.

1. Ask friends what they use and how they use the database software that they use.

Surely one of your friends uses relational databases. They will be able to tell you what works and what does not with the package that they use.

2. Do your own due diligence on the features that you need.

After receiving suggestions on several packages from your friends, get on the web; use Google to search for the software

3. Purchase a Relational Database.

A Relational Database simply put is a lot of data like name, address, city, state, zip, phone number, e mail addresses etc that is searchable in too many different ways to list here. The power comes in allowing you to find any single record (read person) or group of records (group of persons) quickly and communicate with them in numerous ways. For example you can search for past customers that live in Colorado Springs. This search might be helpful if you are going to be in the city and wish to visit your existing customers.

4. Hire a coach/consultant/trainer to teach you how to most effectively use the software you acquire.

Your time is too valuable to noodle around in a database program trying to figure out how to perform the basic tasks that you wish to accomplish. An hour or two of a skilled consultant for the software will save you tons of time and get you productive in hours not days.

5. Make sure that the program will allow you to setup and implement marketing campaigns to both individuals and groups.

Some programs will allow you to send communications (e-mails, postcards, and letters) to individuals but you need to send each one individually. The better programs allow you to send all the necessary letters (for example) with a single mouse click (or two).

The program that I use sorts through all the letter and/or emails that are to be sent off into the future and lets you know how many are scheduled to go out today.

This should be done in the main program without add-ons or additional pieces of software.

6. Think about the expenditure as an investment and not a cost.

Investing in database software and building the list of names is truly like buying a printer or other piece of software or a high-speed connection to the Internet.

You will be able to conduct business in ways you never imagined prior to owning and building your personal database.

7. Assure that you can send emails directly from the database software that you acquire.

Some database packages force you to use intermediary steps or use the e-mail client that came with the software. Many are not supported nor are they in the mainstream.

8. Make sure that the software will allow you to mail-merge a group of people receiving different letters or e-mails.

Mail merge allows the software to look up the name, address, etc and the letter or e-mail put the two together and send them. Other pieces of software force you to do this manually. Not a good use of your time.

9. Realize that in the beginning there is a huge investment of time entering the data from your paper system.

Be aware that it could take you only 60-120 seconds to enter each person's contact information. And also be aware that you will only have to do this one time. Ever. Then you can use your personalized database as a Rolodex, phone list, birthday card reminder system and to carry out marketing campaigns just to mention a few uses. Once the contact information is entered, it is there forever.

10. Realize that once the database is built, its effective use will feed you and your business forever.

After you enter all the people that you know in the world, you can begin to make them well crafted offers for your goods and services.

No more hand writing (unless you chose), no more looking through stacks of business cards for a number to call.

All you have to do is enter the name and up pops their contact information to use in a money producing way.

Reg Gupton's Top 10 list of database mistakes

You don't need to. I have made them all and can help you learn from my mistakes and massively explode your business in a very short time if you are willing to get out of judgement and into curiosity.

1. Believing that your most profitable source of new customers is from print media ads.

2. Believing that your marketing energy and money should be spent predominately trying to attract new customers.

3. Believing that marketing to your existing customers is expensive, time consuming and not very profitable.

4. Not capturing the names, addresses and email addresses of your existing customers.

5. Not offering your existing customers incentives to stay with you.

6. Buying software that requires a Ph.D. in computer science to operate.

7. Buying software that will not allow you to create and run marketing campaigns easily and automatically.

8. Buying software that will not allow you to send e mails directly from inside the program.

9. Not investing in training or coaching on the use of the software that you buy.

10. Believing that contacting your prospects and past buyers 2-3 times per year is enough.

Reg Gupton

Reg Gupton's Top 10 Database Marketing Tips

Your wealth and success is in your database. Don't have one?? Stop back often to learn about this most powerful of all marketing strategies.

1. Start small.

Don't wait until you have your database completely assembled. It will never be totally finished. You will be constantly adding, deleting and changing information in it. You will get measurable benefit by starting now.

2. Build your list every chance you get.

Whenever you get the name (and contact information) of someone that you can do business with or more importantly, who can send you business, put them in your database. You can never have too many names.

3. Send messages (letters, cards, e-mails, and/or catalogs) until they ask you to stop.

Remember you are sending information of value to your list. The operative concept is "of value" The value can be notices of new products or services, birthday cards, special pricing.

4. Mix message content.

Send special offers, community service announcements, holiday greetings, and other items of value to them.

5. Send a minimum of 12 times per year (24 or more is better)
.

We each get thousands of solicited and unsolicited marketing messages every day. You need to cut thru the clutter to be noticed. You will be bored by the process of sending them before they even see your messages. Don't give up. Keep touching your client/customer base.

6. Mix the media.

Send messages delivered thru different channels. As mentioned above, send letter cards, emails, and/or catalogs. Keep changing the method of contact until you discover what works the best and provides the greatest return on your investment.

7. Buy a relational database and take classes to learn how to use it.

It is critical that your software will allow you to do marketing campaigns to a specific part or combination of parts of your database. This means that you can attach a plan made up of the items mentioned above to an individual or group of individuals easily. Most software will not allow you to do this.

8. Focus on your existing and past customers.

It is much, much more expensive (as much as 5 times more) to do business with new prospects than with current customers (who know, like, and trust you). Go here first.

It amazes me that professional service providers (that would be most of us) forget or are fearful about working with those that know, love and trust us. Why is that??

9. Make an appointment with yourself for a minimum of 1 hour per week to work on your database marketing program.

Better yet, one hour per day. It is too easy to get caught up in the crush of your day-to-day activities and forget this critical program. Set an inviolate appointment on your calendar to work moving your database marketing program ahead. Don't allow anyone to get in that time block. No one!!

10. Talk with your friends (or others) who are experts at database marketing.

Remember that you are an expert at what you do. It is unlikely that you are an expert at database marketing too. Find an adviser or consultant with years of experience is this rapidly evolving field. I can think of someone (that would be me).

Reg Gupton

Realtors - Don't wake up in the middle of the night. Ever again

A Realtor client commented during a recent coaching session that she was waking up in the middle of the night wondering if she had completed a task or several tasks. She was losing sleep.

She recently sent me the following message: After our session, I set up a closing action plan in Top Producer based on several that I had rec'd and what was already in TP.

What a huge relief to to go to my computer every morning, check off the calls and to-dos and KNOW that I'm not dropping the ball on any of my responsibilities. Now I have stopped trying to carry reminders around on notepads, in different files and more problematic in my head.

No matter what business you are in, creating automated follow-up and reminder systems will help you help others and allow you to get a good night's sleep.

All my best

Reg Gupton

Easy content for your 8 x 8

Several days ago a client began designing their 8 x 8 program which is used to enhance top of mind awareness as described in the posting on November 2, 2006.

We discussed the possibility of using EPA brochures on radon, lead based paint, mold and indoor air quality, all topics that the average home owner or renter would be interested in learning about.

The client indicated that she had visited the epa site which is epa.gov and was unable to find the brochures that we discussed.

This evening I was playing around on the web. I visited the epa site and easily found what was required.

The link to the radon brochure is located at http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/pyfcamerabw.pdf

Check it out. You will find brochures that will establish you as an expert in the real estate business. You can purchase them, download PDF files to be printed located or links that you can use if you wish.

Persistence is a key with this strategy and with the epa site.

All my best

Reg Gupton

Half price may still be too much!!

During a recent conversation with a client, she mentioned that she had been approached by the sales person for the local real estate magazine. She was told that if she signed up today, she could get a full page for 1/2 price.

She wanted to know if I thought she should do this. We had just finished working on her Source of Business statistics (do you know where your transactions come from?) She knew where her business came from. None if it came from print media advertising. And she did some.

Should she do this advertising? What is your opinion?

She decided to focus on the activities that had produced results for her in the past. And invest her money is an activity that would be more likely to produce income.

Do you know your source of Business data? Send an email to me or comment below and I will send you a form that you can use collect this very critical data.

All my best

Reg Gupton

Take charge anyone?

During a conversation the other day in the office, a real estate agent stopped me in the hall almost in tears. "What's the matter", I said.

She said that the business was driving her crazy with the long hours, the evening phone calls, not to mention her family duties. She was constantly being barraged with interruptions and crises.

I wondered where is it written that you give up control of your life when you receive your real estate license or enter any other personal services business? The more control you take of your life/business the better for all concerned, including your clients. Personal and business boundaries are important and often overlooked in the scramble to be all things to all people.

I suggested that she try these simple steps: The next time business cards are printed leave off the home and cell numbers. When these numbers are included, the expectation is set that you can be called 24/7.

Is this really necessary or good? I think not. The last time I checked, most of you are not practicing emergency room medicine. My experience of over 28 years without a real job tells me that there is (almost) nothing that can not wait. And anyway, if you had a client in the car or across your desk, you certainly would not be rude enough to answer your cell phone, would you?

Treat this like a real job. By that I mean have regular hours like on your last real job. Have a firm start time and a firm stop time. Exhibit some discipline with your career. If you are not quite feeling perfect, don't take the day off unless you could do this on a real job. The last time I had a job, I showed up, period. You would too.

Take our your calendar and block out time for you and your family. Schedule time for exercise, study, meditation/prayer and your family. Put these items in ink. Don't change them.

Work on these new habits for a month to see if you can make the changes indicated.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Get more from your coaching

You are paying for coaching. That's a good thing.

And you are not getting as much from it as you thought you would. How about this! Money going out and not as much benefit as you thought.

One of my clients, on a coaching call some time back, said he wanted to talk about our coaching relationship. I asked what specifically he wanted to talk about. He said that he had noticed that he did what he would normally do for 26 days (between our every 4-week call). Then for two days (near our call) he worked like crazy to get what he had agreed to completed.

That was not working. We brainstormed solutions to his problem. He picked speaking every week for 1/2 hour instead of our normal 1 hour session once per month.

This strategy went on for several months. Then on a call, he said he wanted to talk about our coaching relationship (again). We brainstormed again. This time the solution picked was to speak every two weeks for an hour.

More time passes. We speak again about our relationship.

We are back to 1/2 hour every week. On a recent non-coaching call, he said that this was working much, much, better than all the other choices that we have had.

So if you have a coach (and everyone should) and it is not working, you might discuss with your coach changing the periodicity or frequency. You might find it worthwhile.

I hope it works as well for you as my client.

Reg Gupton

Work only on Mondays

Getting more in less time

How would you like to have more free time for family and friends and possibly increase your income? Most of us would give a resounding YES!!

Play along with me. Take the most amount of money you have made in your personal services sales career (or your income goal for the next 12 months) and write it down.

Now multiply that large number (I hope) by .8 (that is 80%). Now write that number down.

Here is the question. How would you like to earn that reduced amount if you could do it working only on Mondays? Most of the time when I have done this exercise with clients and in classes, every single person has indicated that they would certainly take less money if they can only work one day a week.

You can achieve this if you understand in your gut the 80/20 rule or the rule of disproportionate consequences. The trouble with most of the sales people I work with have no idea where there business really comes from.

More on the 80/20 rule later.

If you like what you read, pass on the link www.regs-successtips.blogspot.com to your friends and colleagues.

Reg Gupton

Are you looking for something to read on these longer evenings?

As you may know, I am a pretty voracious reader. I normally read 50-70 books per year. About a 1/3 are non-fiction and the other 2/3 are novels.

Sometime back I decided to write a few book reviews and then publish them on my web site. The link to the site containing the book reviews follows: http://growthseminars.com/booklist.html

You will notice that a few of the book reviews are by others. Care to write a book review of a favorite business/personal growth/self-help book? Please do and I will publish it on my site.

You can then tell your friends that you are published.

Thanks for reading and for passing the link to this blog on to your friends and associates.

Reg Gupton

An imaginative way of thinking about moving your career forward.

The other day, while listening to an audio CD in my car, I heard an idea that made me pull over and make a note. Upon using this new (to me) idea with clients many of them have experienced breakthroughs on how to think about or frame their businesses.

The idea is embodied in three simple words. Mastery, documentation, delegation.

Mastery: You must master each element/process/task in your business. You must become comfortable with the task, totally and completely. You must know all of the ways that the task can be done, all of the different points that a prospect might make and what you will say. Get the idea?

When discussing this, I have often said that you must master the task in a Zen Buddhist way. You must immerse yourself in it fully.

Documentation: After you have mastered the element/process/task, write down how you do it, what you say, the tools and computer programs you use. Write down the steps. There is no need to write down every single detail. Touch the major steps and key points. That should be sufficient.

Delegation: As you decide that you no long wish to perform this work, find the best person on your staff or on an out-source basis, train them to do it. One more thing off your plate, leaving room for you to move on to the next level or have more personal free time for family, friends and passions.

You may decide that you wish to keep a task because it is fun. Then keep it. You may want to get rid of the task later. Now you can easily.

Reg Gupton

A powerful, proven marketing technique

Almost 20 years ago, I attended a training program titled Ninja Selling. It was written and taught by Larry Kendall, president of the Group Inc. in Fort Collins CO. It is a hugely successful real estate company.

At that seminar I learned about a powerful technique for achieving top of mind awareness.

When consumers begin planning a major purchase, when would you guess they finally sign on the dotted line?

Here's the numbers according to Chilton research:

• 15% - Bought within the first three months.
• 24% - Bought within four to six months.
• 34% - Bought within seven to twelve months.
• 27% - Bought more than twelve months later.

Could this be one of the reasons things don't always work out when you expect? You make offers of service and they take a long, long time to decide.

'Top of mind' awareness is owning the space that your product or service occupies between your prospects ears. That way, when they're ready to buy they think of you first. When they think of the product or service you offer they think of you.

If you are not in first or second position in the list your prospects carry around, you are background noise and do not exist.

So how to achieve top of mind awareness you might ask?

Larry Kendall (mentioned above) taught us the 8 X 8 concept. Simply put you touch a prospect with educational/value-added material 8 times in 8 weeks.

This concept is heavily promoted by Keller William Realty and also in the book, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent: It's Not About the Money...It's About Being the Best You Can Be!by Gary Keller.


Working with dozens of coaching clients I have developed a proven process for creating an 8 X 8 program in about 10 minutes.

If you are interested, please contact me for a free session where we will create one for you and your business.

Reg Gupton

If you are finding this information useful, pass along the link to your friends and associates.

A less expensive PDF file creator

While reading a back (May, 2006) issue of Inc. magazine I stumbled across a way cheaper way to create PDF files from your documents of any kind. It is called Nitro PDF.

I have been using the trial version for the last several days to see how I like it. It works just fine. One of the major features that I especially like is the ability to take a PDF file that you receive and convert it back to a MS Word document. I just did this yesterday as a test. The output looks fantastic.

You can obtain the trial version at http://www.nitropdf.com/. The free version is available to use for 30 days. The retail price is $99.00 (about 1/3 of the Adobe Acrobat entry level product). If you buy on line you save 10%. Your price would be $89.10.

I plan to purchase a copy before the 30 day trial is up.

All my best

Reg Gupton