BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS IN A TOUGH ECONOMY

In 2007 I finally saw the bubble starting to burst, a bubble I had believed was going to pop for several years. I knew that things were going to get tough, really tough and that the home market was going to into an adjustment that could last many many years. I knew I wasn't prepared for this. My business was almost all referrals, I was fortunate to have developed relationships with many business managers, financial planners, lawyers, accountants and real estate agents and 95% of the business came through these relationships. I grew concerned and I thought I needed to become a marketer and learn how to bring business to me in troubled times.

I began a search, talking to the smartest business people I knew, reading a number of books, meeting some very smart Internet marketing people, some just plain smart and successful marketing people, I spoke to many successful real estate agents and brokers and over the next two years I gathered all kinds of information on how to reach out to get business.

I learned so much good information that I decided I should share it with many of the people who had shared it with me, especially the real estate agents who were now in 2009 suffering terribly with a very declining market. So together with one of the best marketing people I had met, we wrote a 55 page report: BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS IN A TOUGH ECONOMY. I knew that much of what we wrote was kind of "Basics", but we all sometimes get in a routine and begin to overlook so of the important basics, so we included them anyway. Well the reaction from those I sent it to was wonderful. They really enjoyed the reminders and they learned some new things too.

In gratitude, I want to share it will all real estate agents, so here is a link to download this 55 pages for free and with no obligations. I hope you find it of value to you.

"Building Your Business In A Tough Economy"  

THE LIFE CYCLE OF A CLIENT

I just read a statistic that if you stay with your client over their home buying lifetime, that between their purchases and referrals you will receive 7 transactions with that one client. I discovered, when I was rethinking my business in 2007 and 2008 that staying with a client, finding ways to communicate with them (Anniversary cards, kids Birthday cards, dropping them a Note just to say hi) would keep me in their mind and increase my probability of a referral or a call the next time they were thinking of buying a home or had a friend thinking of moving, more than 500%! The big message is that a client "maintained" is an on-going source of business a lot of business, theirs and people they know. The life cycle is good for years and years and years. You can even get the next generations business if you keep in touch with sincerity and consistency. INCREASING The Life Cycle of A Client is important to remember. It will build you a bigger and bigger business over time with very little effort.