The Prescott Group

How can I get more Referral Business?

Chris — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:02:40 +0000

“STOP Begging for Referrals and START Generating a Constant Stream of New Customers using a Proven Referral System that You Can Put on AUTOPILOT”

Here’s the situation:

Most business owners and sales professionals, just like yourself, know that you will absolutely lose business if you are not in contact with your customers on a regular basis.

It’s a documented fact.

The average organization loses 15 – 35% of its customers each year, primarily due to not being attentive. Just ask yourself, “Do most of my efforts go into trying to get new customers – while my existing customers drift off to the competition?”

We all have good intentions for personal communication with our clients and customers, but we’re busy! We just can’t seem to find the time.

What’s the cost?

It costs you unnecessary effort to gain new customers just to replace the ones who are leaving you at an alarming rate. It costs you time and money on new campaigns to draw in new customers over and over again. It not only costs you a lost stream of profits coming in from otherwise long-term loyal clients, but it also costs you personally in not having the joy and satisfaction of knowing that you have developed a faithful following who are enthusiastically sending you Referrals on a regular basis.

And, it can cost you the absolute pain of struggling with cold-calling or using expensive traditional marketing strategies, all the while knowing that your business would grow so much faster through Referrals.

What’s the solution?

One important key to receiving lots of business Referrals is to have a ‘keep-in-touch system’ that will turn your existing customers and associates into “Raving Fans.”

Lots of businesses are currently retaining customers only because the customer’s expectations are so low, and quite frankly, because no one else is doing any better. But just having satisfied customers isn’t good enough anymore.

Today, if you really want to create a booming business, you must create “Raving Fans.” Turning a customer into a “Raving Fan” means that they feel valued and appreciated. Not only do they love doing business with you – they also go out of their way to send you their friends and associates as Referrals.

What if you had a system that would help you turn prospects into customers, and have your current clients referring people to you?

What if it built your relationships and touched their hearts in a way no other system could?

What if it guaranteed you would ‘Stand Out from the Crowd’ in the most positive way?

What if it actually turned your Customers into referral Evangelists?

CLICK HERE TO CREATE YOUR NEXT RAVING FAN!

We would be happy to meet with you for a FREE, no obligation, marketing consultation!

The Prescott Group “We Make You Look Good!”
Tricia Allenson 952-212-7598 Tricia@PrescottGroup.us
Chris Prescott 612-998-5674 Chris@PrescottGroup.us

Visit us Online: http://PrescottGroup.us

Like us on Facebook: http://Facebook.com/PrescottGroup
Follow us on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/PrescottGroup

Start your Appreciation Marketing Program: http://SendOutCards.com/PrescottGroup
Start you FREE 60 day Constant Contact Trial: http://tinyurl.com/ConstantContactPromo

Did you flush???????

Chris — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:26:09 +0000

Check out this graph of Edmonton water consumption during the 2010 Gold Medal Olympic Hockey game!

Then check out the new names and graphics for the great stats provided by 10K Research

Be sure to use this information on your Facebook Business Page, In your emails and enewsletters, blogs and on your websites!

Not sure where to start? We can help!

Have you scheduled an A-R-E-I-O?

Chris — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:09:41 +0000

Scheduling and A-R-E-I-O means setting up an Annual Real Estate Investment Overview with your past clients. It’s a great opportunity to listen to your clients joys and concerns and make a plan for future changes to their real estate portfolio.

You don’t want to run into your client in the supermarket and then have them ask you “Why haven’t you called???”

You should start by picking your top 48 clients and schedule one A-R-E-I-O every week!

Drop and Give Me 20

Chris — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:37:44 +0000

“So, how do I know who are my top 20%?”

Ask two questions:

1. “Who are my most profitable clients according to my financial sheets?”

Measure each customer’s ROI by the profits they’ve generated for you this week/month/quarter/lifetime.

2. “Who are my profitably-hidden clients?”

Don’t confine yourself strictly to financial docs. Several members of your actual top 20% won’t be so profitable on your financial docs; however, they bring with them lucrative associations that make you more profitable. For instance, those associations can include key people connections, a juicy source of referrals, priceless feedback/tips/advice on your business, industry expertise, etc.

Why Catering to Everybody Sucks

What is your booty essentially doing when you’re catering to everybody? You’re working ridiculously harder to generate a much smaller pot of Benjamins. That is, you’re expending more time, resources, headaches to serve a group of customers that give you minimal results — relative to your super-extraordinary customers.

Consider Cheap-Ass Chappy.

You’re providing marketing services to his “super-awesome” business.
Chappy needs five of your company’s top “personal” marketing consultants because he thinks his business is “The Bomb!”
Really, Chappy’s business is a pathetic piece of scam trash that barely generates any profit to feed his self-absorbed narcissistic personality. So, he rarely pays on time — if ever.
He needs you to hand-hold him all-day, everyday — wasting your (1) resources, and (2) precious time.
He needs you to explain things to him five times because he “forgot.”
He tries to squeeze out every frickin’ penny from you — so that takes him even longer to pay you.
Profits you generate: $2,000

Now, Consider Kick-Ass Client Tomas.

You’re providing marketing services to Tomas’s company.
Tomas runs a $10 million financial service company filled with super-happy clients. They love his service.
Tomas doesn’t micro-manage you. He lets you do what you do best, and gives awesome input.
He pays you on time, orders more services from you, provides you with fresh leads, and even gives you financial advice.
Profits you generate: $8,000

Relative to Cheap-Ass Chappy, Tomas took less of your time, caused you less headaches, kept your morale super-upbeat, conserved your people resources, and drove you to kick major booty everyday. Most importantly, Tomas gave you a much bigger bang for your resources. What’s the key for your badass, then? (1) Drive away customers like Chappy (more on this later), and (2) start finding more customers like Tomas.

Click here for the full article: http://www.trizle.com/tips/443-why-most-of-your-customers-suck

Got Fans?

Chris — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 03:38:24 +0000

A recent study revealed that Coca-Cola Corporation was the brand with the largest presence on Facebook in August 2011. With over 34 million fans, Coke continues to grow its fan base at nearly 3% monthly. Yes, Coke is one of the largest international brands, but there are lessons to be learned from this soft drink giant that can be replicated by any marketer.

Below are 4 way to maximize your company’s Facebook presence like the pros.

1. Increase Your Reach
The reach of your Facebook page includes the number of fans and growth of your followers. A quick and easy starting point to grow your fan base is to leverage your existing customers!

Consider adding a page on your website that highlights your presence in social media as well as adding social media follow buttons to various web pages so site visitors can easily find and ‘like’ you on Facebook. Also, remember to add social media sharing buttons, such as “Share on Facebook” or the Facebook ‘Like’ button to all of your online content such as blog articles, your email signature and of course your eNewsletter! This will help you capture both your existing fans and customers as well as expand your reach to their networks.

Research shows that 58% of Facebook users expect exclusive content from business pages they ‘like’ on Facebook … so leverage it! Facebook allows you to create custom landing pages on your business page, so try creating a custom page that positions you as a resource and allows fans to utilize your tools and search capabilities.

2. Engage Your Followers
Engagement can be measured by the number of times you post content to Facebook and the number of response comments and ‘likes’ you receive from your fans. For Coca-Cola, its average Facebook post generates 236 comments and 1,749 ‘likes.’ In order to increase engagement, it’s important to regularly create and share interesting content on Facebook. The goal of your posts should be to inform and spark a conversation with and amongst your fans. Try posting content that incorporates different topics, writing styles, tones, and formats to see which type of content generates the most reactions from your audience. Then use the information you gather from Facebook Insights (Facebook’s built-in analytics tool) to replicate success in the future.

3. Optimize the Technical Structure of Your Page
This is critical – and also an opportunity to stand out and create a page atmosphere different from all the others. There are a few tips and tricks to make sure you’ve structured your page properly for Facebook’s search function. Make sure your brand is prominently displayed in a Facebook graphic! Also that your brand’s name is located in the vanity URL, page title, and body copy of your Facebook page. Again, it is also a good idea to structure your page with tools on a custom landing page that positions you as a resource, providing compelling content and information to your fans.

4. Monitor and Manage Your Reputation
Monitoring your Facebook page regularly can be just as critical as creating and contributing to it. It’s important to be aware of and active in any discussions taking place on your page. Your Facebook page is a way to connect and interact with your fans, and you need to uphold your end of the deal. In addition, remember to take time to track your fan growth, page views, and comments via Facebook Insights. Do not ingnore or miss oportunities to engage or respond to your fans. This simple tip can improve your online reputation dramatically and shows that you are authentic and appreciative of your fan base!

Free Facebook Report:
http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-ebook/how-to-use-facebook-to-grow-your-business

We would be happy to meet with you for a FREE, no obligation, marketing consultation!
The Prescott Group “We Make You Look Good!”
Tricia Allenson 952-212-7598 Tricia@PrescottGroup.us
Chris Prescott 612-998-5674 Chris@PrescottGroup.us
Visit us Online: http://PrescottGroup.us
Like us on Facebook: http://Facebook.com/PrescottGroup
Follow us on Twitter: http://Facebook.com/PrescottGroup
Start your Appreciation Marketing Program: http://SendOutCards.com/PrescottGroup
Start you FREE 60 day Constant Contact Trial: http://tinyurl.com/ConstantContactPromo

Testimonial Tips

Chris — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:54:16 +0000

The following is a list of guidelines and rules that can be used to help entrepreneurs collect, develop and use customer testimonials in their small business marketing. It’s important to use testimonials the right way because it’s definitely frowned upon to use a testimonial in a misleading way.

Source: http://www.understandingmarketing.com/2010/03/25/new-rules-of-testimonials-in-small-business-marketing/

Ask for testimonials: Don’t be shy about asking for a good testimonial to be used in your small business marketing. You never know unlessyou ask and if you’ve done your job as a company, odds are you know what the answer will be before you even ask.

Make sure the testimonials are real: There’s nothing worse than getting called out for having a fake testimonial either on your Web site, blog, printed marketing materials or online marketing information. This is a quick way to drop your credibility in the eyes of your customers.

Like-minded audience: People want to hear good things from other people they can relate to. If your target audience is of a certain demographic, make sure your testimonials are from people in the same demographic.

Constructive criticism: Understand the difference between constructive criticism and negative feedback. Constructive criticism, when done the right way, can rally people around your company and make you look real.

Get a photo: When possible have photos next to the people giving the testimonial.

Offer your own testimonial to a complimentary company: Sometimes the best way to receive is to give. Ask other complimentary small business owners if they’ll swap testimonials with you.

Have sales staff encourage testimonials for small business marketing: Your sales staff most likely has developed a close relationship with your customers. Teach them how to ask for a good testimonial and make sure they do it on a regular basis.

Have testimonials on lots of different pages: If you’re going to place testimonials on a Web site or blog (and we advise you do this), try to spread out testimonials on multiple pages so that the good vibes can be reinforced wherever visitors click.

Focus on success stories: Encourage your customers to use their testimonials as a way to showcase how your product, service, employees or cause helped make their life easier.

Be careful with competitors: This is one area you want to walk a fine line because it can easily backfire on you. Avoid saying bad things about your competitor in your marketing, but if a customer is going to call attention to a positive difference between the two companies you may benefit from it.

Strike when the customer is happiest: This one goes without saying. Don’t ask a customer for a glowing testimonial if you’ve just bungled their order.

Create a process for collecting testimonials: Employees work more efficiently when they work within a system of procedures. If others are in charge of collecting testimonials work out a system with them so that it’s automatically collected upon working with every happy customer.

Get information on the person leaving testimonial: Try to collect information like name, phone, address and email address from everyone offering a nice testimonial. You never know when you’ll want to reach out to them in the future either for a public relations story or email marketing initiative.

Use testimonials as a sales tool: Especially when you’re selling to a specific customer set, merchandise specific testimonials for other prospects that fall into the same category.

Use specific testimonials that speak to certain customers: For example, if someone wrote a nice testimonial about your windows, don’t use them to sell a customer looking for new plumbing.

Use video testimonials where possible in small business marketing: We now live in a YouTube age. Use those Flip cameras to easily record nice video testimonials of your customers saying nice things. You can then upload the testimonials to a YouTube page, or your Web site and blog.

Offer constructive ideas on a good testimonial: Some people want to leave a nice testimonial but they just don’t know what to say. This is your chance to help them by making some suggestions of a good testimonial. Some tips include having the customer talk about the quality service they received; how easy it was to work with the company; getting product on time and how it saved them money in the long run. No doubt they’d love to work with you again in the future.

Create a testimonials page on your Web site or blog: It’s nice to have testimonials on many pages, but you also want to have one place where you can direct people when you really want them to see the power of great testimonials about your company.

If possible, consider SEO in your testimonials: What keywords do you use to promote your company in search engine rankings? If possible, encourage your customers to use those phrases in their testimonials.

Ask if your testimonials will also speak to the media on your behalf: A great way to achieve good small business public relations is to offer up some happy customers whenever you’re working with a reporter on a story. Keep a list of happy customers willing to speak with the media and always have it ready when reporters come calling. Your ability to respond in a timely manner may land you another story in the near future.

Use social media as a way to get testimonials and create interaction: Spread your testimonials around on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Get written permission to use testimonials: Especially for video, always try to get written permission from the customer if you’re planning on using the testimonials in other marketing literature.

Offer up rewards or freebies on glowing testimonials: Customers give you testimonials because you did a good job taking care of them. Reward them and take care of them even more so that they rave about you. It’s not about buying them off, it’s about creating a relationship based on value.

What other tips or rules would you add to this list of testimonials for small business marketing? Please leave a comment here.

Fly like an Eagle

admin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:10:47 +0000

Fall is the time when eaglets learn to fly!

In order for an eaglet to learn how to fly, the mother eagle simply tosses the little eaglet out of the nest. Because they are scared, they jump back into the nest again.

Next, she tosses them out and removes the soft layers of the nest exposing sticks and thorns. When the scared eaglets jump back into the nest, they are pricked by the thorns causing them to jump out again on their own.

Next, mother eagle tosses them out of the nest and into the air. As they shriek in fear, the mother eagle flies out and catches them before they fall and brings them back to the nest. This goes on for sometime until they start flapping their wings.

Here is how you fly…

Connect with people who support you and stay away from those who don’t! Eagles fly alone at high altitude and not with sparrows, vultures or other small birds. Eagles fly with Eagles.
Focus on your goals – follow a business and marketing plan and establish consistent systems that help you focus. Eagles have strong vision. They have the ability to focus on something up to five kilometers away. When an eagle sites his prey, he narrows his focus on it and set out to get it. Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacle and you will succeed.
Stay Current – you need to know trends and stay ahead of your market. Technology is alive and well – it’s time to embrace it and put it to work for you. Eagles do not eat dead things – they only eat fresh prey. Don’t waste your time on marketing efforts that aren’t fresh and good for your business!
Fly Above the Storm – use challenges to lift you up above the clouds. Now is the time to be pro-active and step up your marking with effective lead generating systems. The eagle is the only bird that does NOT seek shelter during a rainstorm – instead it flies above the clouds to avoid the rain.
Trust but verify. The eagle tests before it trusts. When a female meets a male and they want to mate, she flies down to earth with the male pursuing her and she picks a twig. She flies back into the air with the male pursuing her. Once she has reached a height high enough for her, she lets the twig fall to the ground and watches it as it falls. The male chases after the twig. The faster it falls, the faster he chases it. He has to catch it before it falls to the ground. He then brings it back to the female eagle. The female eagle grabs the twig and flies to a higher altitude and then drops the twig for the male to chase. This goes on for hours, with the height increasing until the female is assured that the male eagle has mastered the art of catching the twig which shows commitment. Then and only then, will she allow him to mate with her. Whether in private life or in business, one should test commitment of people intended for partnership or business dealings – this is just good sound advice!
Prepare for Change. Sometimes changes and updates are necessary to get the desired outcome. Identify the changes and then prepare to make them. The eagle prepares for changes. When ready to lay eggs, the female and male eagle identify a place very high on a cliff where no predators can reach. They then place thorns on the outside of the nest protect it from possible intruders.
Shedd your old habits – old habits, like feathers, need to be removed so new ones can grow. An eagle knows when to retire: When an eagle grows old, his feathers become weak. When he feels weak, he retires to a place far away in the rocks. While there, he plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare (kinda like Chris on a Sunday morning). He stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, then he can come out. Everyday is a new day! If your old habits are preventing your from flying like an eagle call then Tricia or Chris to help you fly today!

Need help learning to fly?
We would be happy to meet with you for a FREE, no obligation, marketing consultation!

The Prescott Group “We Make You Look Good!”
Tricia Allenson 952-212-7598 Tricia@PrescottGroup.us
Chris Prescott 612-998-5674 Chris@PrescottGroup.us

Visit us Online: http://PrescottGroup.us

Like us on Facebook: http://Facebook.com/PrescottGroup
Follow us on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/PrescottGroup

Start your Appreciation Marketing Program: http://SendOutCards.com/PrescottGroup
Start you FREE 60 day Constant Contact Trial: http://tinyurl.com/ConstantContactPromo

12 Lead Generation Tips

admin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 03:16:51 +0000

Create an Action Plan that works for you!

Begin by trying these 12 Lead Generation Tips:

Make _________ contacts daily
Send _________ personal notes weekly
Add __________ people to your database weekly or monthly
Contact __________ FSBOs weekly
Contact __________ Expireds weekly
Hold _____________ effective open houses weekly/ monthly
Mail or email to your SOI/Past clients valuable market information monthly
Mail or email to your designated farm of ___________ properties monthly
Door knock/ door drop _______________ houses monthly
Take ___________ past client to lunch monthly
Network with ________ business to business referrals monthly
Hand out 5-10 business cards, 5 days/week. That’s 25-50/Week!
Actively ask people how you can help them and add them to your database.

Learn more at http://www.janobrien.com/2010/10/real-estate-agent-business-plan.html

For more information about The Prescott Group and how We Make You Look Good – please give us a call!
We would be happy to find a time to meet with you for a FREE, no obligation, marketing consultation!

The Prescott Group “We Make You Look Good!”
Tricia Allenson 952-212-7598 Tricia@PrescottGroup.us
Chris Prescott 612-998-5674 Chris@PrescottGroup.us

Visit us Online: http://PrescottGroup.us

Like us on Facebook: http://Facebook.com/PrescottGroup
Follow us on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/PrescottGroup

Start your Appreciation Marketing Program: http://SendOutCards.com/PrescottGroup
Start you FREE 60 day Constant Contact Trial: http://tinyurl.com/ConstantContactPromo

Are you a Secret Agent?

admin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 03:12:06 +0000

Are you a Secret Agent?

Take our short quiz to find out if you qualify…

1) I’m never around people long enough, I only have short rendevouz with them, then hopefully I might never see them again…

2) Yes, I am a very notorious agent, people are worried about me and always ask if I’m still in the business…

3) No one knows except for the people at my agency, the other agents I’ve encountered, and two close friends…

4)I was erased from society a LONG time ago, I only exist now as a name and an NRDS number…

5) Everyone I am normally in contact with knows, and when I am away I avoid contact for fear of being found out…

6) No one has any idea, I’m just another face in the crowd, little do they know that I still sell houses…

For more information please give us a call!

We would be happy to find a time to meet with you for a FREE, no obligation, marketing consultation!

The Prescott Group “We Make You Look Good!”

Tricia Allenson 952-212-7598 Tricia@PrescottGroup.us

Chris Prescott 612-998-5674 Chris@PrescottGroup.us

Visit us Online: http://PrescottGroup.us

Like us on Facebook: http://Facebook.com/PrescottGroup

Follow us on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/PrescottGroup

Start your Appreciation Marketing Program: http://SendOutCards.com/PrescottGroup

Start you FREE 60 day Constant Contact Trial: http://tinyurl.com/ConstantContactPromo

Ten Keys to Your Email Marketing Success!

admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:07:07 +0000

Email marketing is a cost effective way to build relationships and create business success. While cost is important, it is not the main advantage of email marketing. Email is a great information distribution medium for facts, reports, stats, and news. Email is simply the most effective way to stay on track, in front of, and in touch with your clients.

Ten Keys to Your Email Marketing Success!

1 ) Don’t treat email addresses like email addresses, treat them like relationships. An email address is a personal invitation to send your messages to a place where he or she sends and receives personal and business communication.

2 ) Remember the 3 P’s.
- Proposition. What value do customers/subscribers get from your e-mail?
- Positioning. How does your offer differ from the competitors?
- Personality. What tone and image do your e-mails convey?

3 ) Be Authentic and Relate to your Audience. You have something valuable to offer your audience, show them that you can relate to them by understanding their prospective. Empathy + Personality = Great Email!

4 ) Engage your audience in the content you write. This requires attention-grabbing subject lines, clear headlines, and thoughtful content.

5 ) Look professional whenever you communicate. Make sure your emails are easy to read, consistent, inviting and professional.

6 ) Drive your audience to your website. Using links to your website will help drive traffic toward conversion.

7 ) Include multiple Calls to Action (this will increase the number of click-throughs!)
- Provide links that download a document, audio file or video.
- Provide links that point to additional information
- Ask your audience to like your Facebook page or forward to a friend

8 ) Review your results! Regularly review your results and make adjustments based on your data. Use email tracking reports to help you improve, progress and grow. Strive to increase your open rate and click-through rate.

9 ) Be Ready to respond. After you have review your results you can take action. Are there people to follow-up with? Sort through your bounced emails and call those that you can to update your database.

10 ) Use Constant Contact! It is affordable, effective and easy to use!