“How do I force people to do what I want; when I want them to do it?”
-Marketing
The above question is commonly asked by modern results-driven, data-oriented, ROI-monitoring marketers. Typically it’s stated in much more subtle terms to disguise its demanding nature. Here are a few examples specific to real estate…
- How do I prevent leads from giving me fake information?
- Should I even talk to a buyer who isn’t pre-qualified?
- Where can I find luxury listing leads who are looking to sell in the next 30 days?
Frankly I’ve always been confused as to why so many people get into the field of real estate seeking more (income, freedom, etc.) yet their approach to achieving success is to shoot for less. (less leads, less conversations, and less effort)
Managing smaller volumes of leads in theory sounds like a way to simplify, but the reality is that we might just be running a very inefficient model (more work) at a scale that ultimately yields us less of what we want. (growth)
Going back to an example readers of this blog know I’m fond of; If we think of our business as a simple funnel, then we’re constantly weeding through large volumes of leads in search of a relatively tiny number of true opportunities. This results in a large scale effort to constantly refill the funnel, and a tremendous amount of resources to convert.
Create Circles Not Triangles
If we think of our database as a circle with layers instead of a funnel then we free ourselves from having to reject leads from coming in. Lets build an example…
- Loyal customers who also actively refer new customers to me.
- Loyal Customers who like me, but don’t refer or talk about my business
- Active users in my database who have not become my customers
- In-Active users in my database
- People who have seen my ads, website, marketing, but have not become a part of my database
- Addressable Market
- and Beyond!
Brian Ostrowiak™ Ugly Graphic
Listing out the various potential layers of the circle you should quickly see, and recognize nearly every type of labeled user having a presence in your various marketing tactics. Now here’s an interesting question…
“Isn’t that circle graphic kind of like a funnel?”
Absolutely! It starts from a broad audience leading a path to a smaller group of loyal customers, and it appears that the goal is to bring someone from the outer ring towards the middle. However there are very key differences in the circular approach.
- Users are free to orbit within a layer. They are not forced to come to a point or exit.
- The circles are free to expand independently.
Now before you think all this talk of Orbiting means my brain has gone to outer space let’s quickly address each of these in more detail.
Users are free to orbit within a layer. They are not forced to come to a point or exit.
This is where we pick back up on that greedy mentality of wanting more by doing less. Our frustration with the need to crush ourselves with rigid follow up processes for every lead we interact with leaves us with the feeling that we want fewer leads to manage. (that’s stupid)
By creating layers based on user types (which could also be hot, cold, warm, A, B, C, etc.), and defining what marketing actions we’re willing to take for these users; we insulate ourselves from putting hot lead effort into cold leads we acquire.
Tom Ferry KILLS it at circular marketing! He’s brought me in as a subscriber, and continues to fill my inbox on a regular basis with high quality content. I’ll likely never be a client of his (I’m not an agent) but he’s visible in my mind, and when I need an example or tip like this very one I’m using; it’s right there for me to share with the world potentially bringing him more subscribers.
The Circles Are Free To Expand Independently
This one is fairly simple, but powerful. When operating on a funnel based model we fight a constant battle of balance.
“I’ve got too many agents and not enough leads!”
” Now I’ve got too many leads and not enough agents!”
“$%&#! Now I’ve got lots of agents, lots of leads, and nobody is following up and I’m going broke!”
When your tactics are tailored for the audience, and that audience is free to expand; things will not come crashing down. If your process is to give every lead 25 phone calls over a 3 month period a sudden boost in publicity from that kick ass facebook video you posted could easily overwhelm your team.
In the circular model I’m comfortable having as many loyal referring customers as I please because I’ve created a program designed to give them exclusive offers, information, etc. a sudden influx of new users will not cause me to stop doing this. One process does not fit all.
Tl;DR
- Don’t point yourself in the wrong direction with funnels
- Tailor your follow up for your audience
- Better to have users orbit then force them to exit when they’re not ready to go to the next step
- Create great content, offer valuable information, and you’ll keep growing
- One process does not fit all leads
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