"How to Give Everything You Say Power, Impact, and... Believability!"
What I’m about to discuss with you seems so obvious, so logical, and so down right common sense… yet so few use it’s incredible power.
It has the power to give your marketing message instant impact, complete credibility, and explosive profitability! What is it that unleashes this incredible potential that so few use?
Well, first let's talk a little bit about marketing in general. As a marketer you have to realize and constantly be aware that prospects are skeptical and cynical about everything anymore. They’re constantly asking four questions: So what? Who cares? Why should I believe you? And… What’s in it for me?
The biggest problem we face as marketers is all four of these questions are asked subconsciously in the first 2-3 seconds that a prospect sees your ad, flier, or direct mail piece.
So how do you overcome this lightening-like, super-cynical instant judgment? First, when you’re putting together your marketing think about your prospect and ask the questions yourself… So what? Who cares? Why should I believe you? And… What’s in it for me?
When you write your slogan, "Service with a smile" or "Top Producer" or "Super Dooper Agent Club" or whatever… ask these questions. Think about it from your prospect’s perspective. If you do, it will force you to shape your message to appeal to THEM… not some ego satisfying, trite, worn out phrase that means almost nothing.
It’s unbelievable to me how many agents pound their chest and spout purely self-serving, ego satisfying garbage that means almost nothing to prospects.
To create and construct powerful, super-effective, highly-profitable marketing you’ve got to get outside yourself and look at life through your prospect’s eyes. Communicate a message that conveys empathy, understanding, and gives THEM real meaningful benefits!
This is really important! Your message has to hit your prospects' hot buttons and appeal to their desires… not yours! Again… they’re asking those four questions constantly!
So how do you overcome their natural built-in cynicism? When you tell a prospect that your service is superior… why should they actually believe you? If you make the statement or even attempt to imply something… again… why should they believe you?
Well, here’s the answer! Because of the "proof" you’re going to supply them. Whenever you make a statement or assert something you absolutely have to PROVE IT!
How?
By filling up page after page after page of real live customer ***TESTIMONIALS***. Testimonials are the greatest, most under-utilized marketing asset in existence! If you don’t have a file filled with testimonial letters from past clients and you’ve been in this business for more than six months… it’s absolutely shameful!
Testimonials have the power to unlock the floodgates of possibility within your business. Virtually every communication you have with a prospect should be littered with testimonials.
Why are testimonials so important and effective?
Because what others say about you means a hundred times as much as what you say about yourself! When a past client says "Mary sold my house in 17 days for the full asking price and the entire process was so easy with her helping us every step of the way!" doesn’t that have real meaning and impact? It means a hundred times more than you saying "Service with a smile"… eeww… aahh… PLEASE?!
Do you see my point? Testimonials kick the tar out of anything you could possibly say about yourself!
I hope you see the benefit and understand the need to have tons and tons of testimonials to insert everywhere in your marketing.
Now, let’s talk about how to get testimonials… and lots of them!
Where’s the logical, easiest, most obvious place to start? Yep! Past clients. You need to put together a letter to send out to all your past clients with the pure intention of generating testimonials for your marketing.
Click here for a fabulous letter that will fill your file with testimonials.
Now take that letter, put it in a 6x9 envelope along with a piece of nice stationary, a return envelope already stamped and addressed, with a pen that has your name imprinted on it with your phone number (yeah, I think they’re a little cheesy but it works in this scenario) and mail the package first class to all your past clients.
Yes, it costs a little more to do it this way, but I’ll tell you what… it works!
Within a week or so you’ll start getting letters, and voicemails with messages you’ll be able to use throughout your marketing! These letters and messages will add impact, power, and most important… believability to everything you say. And once you’ve got 15-20 good testimonials you’ve got all you’ll ever need!
Another great thing about having your clients leave voicemail testimonials is we can e-mail you the Wave files for your web site. You could put a picture of your client (or their house) on your site with a button that says "Click Here to find out what John Doe has to say about my commitment to serving you at the highest level" and have five or six of these on a page that’s linked to every other page on your site.
Put a link on every page that points prospects "To hear what others have to say about how I have served them and how I will serve you… click here!" It’s powerful powerful stuff!
This is the kind of thing that can take your site, your sales letters, your postcards, and anything else you’re doing and turn it into an absolute gold mine of response! Without this kind of compelling "proof" that you are all you say you are, your marketing will at best be average or slightly above.
Is average what you want? NO! If you’re like I am you want to get every last ounce of production out of every dime you spend on marketing… testimonials will help you do that! So let’s get to it! Go after testimonial letters and voicemails and build a huge file! I guarantee you it will be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in income to you… if you follow through and do this one simple little thing!
Remember, what others say about your service means a hundred times more than anything you can say about yourself!
I hope these thoughts stimulate your thinking and help you realize the power of testimonials in your marketing. If you would like to get more information about some of the amazing marketing strategies our agents are using to explode their real estate profits CLICK HERE or feel free to explore our site in any way you like.
And as always I remain respectfully and appreciatively yours for a more profitable real estate business!
Warmest regards,
Gary Elwood
Proquest Technologies, Inc.
1-800-959-3959
