Reg Gupton's op 10 reasons to stay in touch with past clients

I have noticed while coaching numerous real estate agents over the past decade that many do not stay in touch with their past clients after they get paid and the transaction closes. Here are 10 reasons why you should stay in touch.

Top 10 reasons to stay in touch with your past customers

1. You would like them to buy from you again.

2. You would like them to give you a testimonial.

3. You would like them to send you their friends as customers through referrals.

4. You would like them to be brutally frank and rate your customer service delivery system.

5. You would like them to honestly and candidly evaluate your product or service.

6. You would like to learn the many ways that your customers use your product or service.

7. You would like them to give you ideas on ways to improve your product or service

8. You would like them to talk to a prospective customer who has asked to talk with a current customer.

9. You would like to develop a friendly relationship with them so that they are comfortable discussing problems with you.

10. You would like them to buy more frequently from you.

Reg Gupton's Top 10 Database purchasing tips

Reg Gupton here. Here are the Top 10 mistakes I see when watching people purchase an electronic database.

Follow these simple steps and you will make a better decision when buying database software.

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

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, it's effective use will feed you, your family 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.

Top 10 reasons to use color postcards

Think about it: You spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a nice newspaper/magazine ad and not hear from a soul. Why is that? One reason could be (and likely is) that they were not in the market for your service when you made your offer. Just as likely, they did not read the page that contained your ad. Think about it, if I don't look at the page that contains your ad, you just flushed your money.

Print media salespeople will tell you that it pays to advertise - that you must spend money to make money. They offer you significant discounts. And you buy. Focusing on the discount(s), not on the results.

What they don't tell you is that advertising does not equal marketing. There are many other ways to market your service.

There are 4 ways to touch a targeted audience. And targeting is what you should do.

Here are the 4 way:

1. Face-to-face

2. Phone

3. Direct mail

4. E-mail.

I've found a way around this dilemma by using color postcards. They have been an essential part of my marketing toolkit for years

Experts say that if a marketing effort is to be successful, it must be repeated. You will get results from your targeted postcards if you repeatedly send to the same audience. Not spread them around.

Continue advertising in the paper, but only if it has worked for you in the past. Measure your responses. If you are not getting the sales/calls that you want, stop.

1. Even for the smallest of businesses can afford postcard mailing.

If you have as few as 50 customers/prospects in a database you can afford to send a targeted color postcard.

2. You can make a sneak attack.

Your competition will know if you're advertising in the newspapers/magazines! It will take them longer to find out with direct mail postcards.

3. It's easy to track your results.

Your card can tell recipients to call for a free (value added) report. Further you can direct them to use a special code when they place an order on your web site.

4. Postcards are versatile.

In a single mailing, you can seek business from prospective customers, and solicit repeat business from existing customers.

5. Postcards can establish and support your brand.

When you use a systematic, direct mail postcard program, you and your business will become familiar to your target audience.

6. No more wasted marketing campaign money.

Send your proposed/test card to a small sample of your database. Measure the response. If you are pleased with the response, mail to the rest of the target audience. If not, change one thing and test again.

7. Postcards are read quickly.

You have only 6-8 seconds with the reader of your mail. That is enough with a postcard.

8. Postcards don't take up a lot of space.

If appropriate, they can be easily carried around until the time to redeem them for your great offer.

9. Postcards are easy and inexpensive.

Visit http://bit.ly/simplesolutions I am a partner with this great company and make a few cents when you purchase. You will find powerful new tools that make sending color cards inexpensive. Your investment will be from $ .48 to $ .60 cents per card including postage, addressed, printed (in four color) and laminated. Then delivered to the post office.

10. Postcards are fast and simple.

You can create/use a template so that the majority of the card stays the same (for great branding) and just change your offer/message.


Add color postcards to your marketing mix in your Business Plan for next year and every year in the future. Your business will thank you.

Reg Gupton asks: are you making these database marketing mistakes

Make this list of mistakes at your peril. 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 be disciplined and learn from others.

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.

Print these ten tips, post them to your wall and read them daily. Don't engage in them. Ever.

Reg Gupton's Top 10 database marketing tips

Steal these database marketing tips

1. Start small.

Don't wait until you have your database has been 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, calendars and notepads) 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 24 times per year.

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 to 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 letters, cards, and emails. 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.

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

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 in this rapidly evolving field.

Implementing these tips will move your business forward with a high ROI and provide you with more free time once it is up and running.

Are you enjoying these top 10 lists? Share them with your friends, family, and associates.

Easily add this proven lead generation strategy to your Business Plan for 2011

This morning I rec'd an email from a coaching client asking me to review an message she was planning to send to some local business people telling them that she would like to add them to her referral network and recommend them to her list of about 700 Past Clients and Sphere of Influence folks.

We have talked numerous times about making the referral process reciprocal. She has agreed that would be a better idea. And then promptly forgot it this morning.

Why should agents always be referring folks to their list without securing referrals in return? Reciprocity is a great thing.

If you have a handful of local service people who have a list as described below you could easily increase business with qualified leads as little cost to you.

You should print this and make it happen before the end of the year.

My Ideal Cross-Marketing Affiliate is:

1) Must have an electronic database

i) At least as big as mine

ii) Preferably bigger

2) Must be someone reputable

3) Must be someone I’m pleased to endorse

4) Must be willing to endorse me

i) Periodically

ii) Invest money to do that

5) Must be someone I like

6) Must be a business I like

Add this leg to your lead generation plan. Increase your business easily in 2011 and beyond.

Remember: If I have to persuade them, I don’t want them!

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

The Mind Manual System: A Review

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