Market your business with “Pop, Pop, Bang”
Thanks to COVID-19, I recently had some down time. I rented one of my favorite movies, Cinderella Man, starring Russell Crowe. It’s easily one of the best underdog stories of all time. I won’t tell you the ending, but there is one part in the middle of the movie that caught my attention.
Cinderella Man is a true story about James J. Braddock, a heavyweight fighter in the Roaring 20s who is kicked out by the boxing commission during the Depression for being too old. Braddock loses literally everything.
He’s begging for work on the docks.
His pockets are empty.
His kids are hungry.
They can’t afford the heat.
He’s forced to go on social assistance.
Until, one day, he gets another shot. By some miracle, another fighter has dropped out and the boxing commission is willing to give him one last fight that weekend. With no ability to train ahead of time, Braddock says, “a chance to say goodbye to the Gardens and $250? I’d fight your wife for $250.”
And he wins.
The boxing commission lets him back in to fight another fight.
Even though Jim has no business being in the ring anymore, somehow, he’s won the hearts of the crowds who are also down on their luck.
So here he is, in the middle of the match on his third fight back. He’s been hit a few hundred times, he’s bleeding and his ribs are likely cracked. The bell rings and goes to his corner.
“Don’t sit down,” his trainer says.
“You don’t need it.”
The trainer looks at him and says, “Jim, you gotta get him from the inside out. You gotta get in there and work it from the inside out. Double up that jab. Pop, pop, bang.”
The bell rings to start the next round.
“The inside out, Jim.
“From the inside out!”
“Pop, Pop, Bang,” can be heard from his corner.
Why on earth am I telling you about this bloody movie, right?
I want you to use the “pop, pop, bang” approach in your marketing. Here’s how.
From the beginning of my clumsy steps into real estate, there are two things I did right that I can track and attribute to my referral business success today.
Consistency in my tactics.
Messages that speak to the heart’s wants and needs.
Consistency: “Pop, Pop, Bang”
Every week I do the following:
Connect weekly with phone calls, note cards, happy hours, dinners, etc.
Every quarter I do the following:
I follow it up with a pop by gift or mail out that has value to my clients (NOT a promotion for me.)
I organize a reason to be together. Throw an event (virtual for now), or just have people doing things they love together. I’m big into Sunday dinner myself. When this is over, you can organize hikes, wine tastings, virtual book clubs, wine clubs, whiskey clubs, cards, etc.
Pop, Pop, Bang
Every single quarter for going on five years.
Pop – connect
Pop – give
Bang – invite
I have been pop, pop, banging consistently even throughout this pandemic and it shows in my results. You are in your own fight right now. What is your plan to get these kinds of results?
Messages to the heart – “From the inside-out”
Oh… and what about this “get em from the inside out” bit too right?
One of the biggest hurdles of your marketing is to cut through all the loud clutter of other Realtors and tell folks why you are their trusted guide and advisor.
How do you do that? “From the inside out.”
The truth is, most people don’t respond to any kind of advertising until they have reason to. The ol’ “what’s in it for me?” and “why you and not someone else?” are the steep walls that every single business needs to climb whether you’re selling lawn darts or real estate. Your messages, conversations, notes and gifts should all come from a place that answers those two questions. Where is your tribe at in their heads, in their lives, in their pains and in their pleasures right now? Directly speak to that with everything you say and do.
“Inside” = the heart. Speak to their heart in your marketing.
For example, recently I sent out that candle that said “home” on it with a note to my clients. It said:
When we are in the darkest of times
It’s often the smallest light
That guides us home.
I’m here if you need me.
I’m not asking for a thing, am I? I’m meeting them in the space I know they are feeling. Fear, anxiety, worry are all words I was hearing when I called them. So, my gift, spoke to hope and calm. I had a 50% response rate that led to more conversations. What was most important for me in that moment was to remind them: you have support. Sometimes, that’s all a person needs in a time like this.
Do that in your marketing, and your tribe will see you for who you are. All of this is in line with the overall sense I try to tell my tribe. “I’m here for you. I’m supportive. I’m your unshakeable guide. I will never do anything to jeopardize your trust. I’ll show up when it matters.”
I say it.
I mean it.
I do it.
Jimi Braddock gets back in the ring, and he puts the “pop, pop, bang” strategy to the test. He doubles up the jab. He consistently stays with the tactic set forward by his trainer and, in the end wins the fight by decision.
You need a plan.
Then you need to be consistent with it.
The results will come. It might be 12 rounds away, but they will come.
Come pandemic, come rain, come high water, if you commit to this strategy, you MUST execute every single quarter. You must mean what you tell folks. You must follow up! It is the key to building a referral business.
Let me know if you have questions about creating a consistent marketing strategy. Leave a comment below.
Until then, chin up, keep your feet moving … and burn the white flag.
sz
Copyright 2020 - Shelley Zavitz Realty