John Palumbo with The Sterling Group
Q. What are the latest trends in generating traffic?
A. While everyone is looking for new ways to generate more traffic, I have discovered that the seasoned professionals understand what is being termed “the new normal”. The real secret is not getting additional traffic, but doing better with the traffic that we currently have. The new normal means that we have to stop wishing for the markets of yesterday to return and realize that today’s consumers have the money to buy, they are just being very cautious about where they will park it. While everybody is trying to get a better grade in social studies and the art of perfecting social media, the pros are working the referral market and networking deep within organizations and then following up on those leads one-by-one using a combination of high-tech and high-touch, such as email, postcards, search engine optimization (SEO), and face-to-face visits. These strategies will sound very boring and ineffective to agents that seek the easy path of trying to make Facebook and Twitter become their sole mean of new-age traffic generation.
Q. What is the best way to get the attention of the Realtors?
A. I recently saw the side of a police car that had these initials: C.P.R., which stood for Courtesy, Professionalism, and Respect. The answer to getting Realtors’ attention is about as simple as that. Realtors should be treated no different than a really good prospect. They need to be educated on how you do business and how working with you can save them time and make them money. Many builders and agents believe that they need to have hundreds of Realtors coming through their property. In reality, if you will find five to seven good Realtors in your marketplace who fall in love with you, the way you do business, and your product, they will be responsible for more traffic and business to you than you could ever imagine. These types of relationships take time, education, and a lot of C.P.R.
Q. With challenging budgets, what are some low cost, high value ideas to generate traffic?
A. I suppose the easiest answer would be social media. In reality, this should only play a very small role in a successful formula. Getting referrals and working them properly is an art; it is not just asking a customer to give you a name. I would suggest that you read (or re-read) How to Sell Anything to Anybody by Joe Girard. Joe shares some great ideas on how he generated enough traffic to earn the title of “World’s Greatest Salesman” by The Guinness Book Of World Records. Pay close attention to how Joe built his selling empire through networking and adapt some of his simple strategies.
Q. What is the best way to increase referrals coming to the models?
A. Referrals are an outcome of trust that has been earned, developed, and maintained in your relationships with customers, colleagues, friends, and even acquaintances. A great way to increase referrals is to earn confidence from existing customers in your product. Confidence eventually leads its way to trust-when existing buyers are confident with what they have purchased, they feel trust in the people they are doing business with. Since today’s consumers are nervous about where to put their money, an endorsement from a friend or co-worker about your product holds more value today than it did in the go-go markets of a few years ago. The buyers are still out there, and they want to purchase-they’re just going to be far more cautious than they ever have been in the past. Nurture your existing customers like your livelihood depends on it because, in reality, it does.
Q. Any additional tips to increasing traffic?
A. That’s a great question, and I am going to give you a silver bullet that is a sure-bet. I am a firm believer that the focus should not be on generating more traffic, but on utilizing your best selling skills on the traffic that already exists. Don’t get caught up in the belief that people just aren’t buying. Agents that have become more assertive (notice I did not say “aggressive”) with their customers are out-performing those that are afraid of being “pushy”. Today’s power-players realize that it is up to them to generate more of their own traffic than ever before, so they are passing out more business cards, attending more social functions, and ... here comes the real secret ... their following up with those potential suspects, prospects, and leads. Even in this fast-paced society, there are no short cuts that will substitute for good, old-fashioned, hard work when it comes to generating traffic and selling your product.