Page 185 - Social Media Marketing

Blasting Out of Your Sales Slump 171

First, I decided I would need some help. Just answering the
phones and processing the paperwork for 300 transactions would
be a full-time job. I needed to hire assistants. I also realized that
I was wasting a lot of time driving one couple around at a time
looking at homes. If I could show the same home to two or three
couples at a time, I could double or triple my sales! First, I bought an
SUv. Later, I purchased a van. Soon after that, I had entire convoys
driving around town to look at homes.

The results surprised even me. You might think that I would have
to deal with a lot of conflicts, such as two couples deciding to buy
the same house. That never happened. Instead, what I found was
that when one couple showed interest in a home, the other couples
would sell it to them. They would go on about all the great features
in that home and how perfect it was for that couple.

As soon as a couple decided to make an offer on a particular
home, I would call back to the office, and my assistants would start
processing the paperwork. By the time we got back to the office, all
the couple had to do was sign on the dotted line.

What initially seemed like an unrealistic goal suddenly became a
reality. I was able to grow beyond the apparent upper limit of real
estate sales.

Ramp up Your Marketing Efforts

When sales drop, your first impulse might be to slash expenses:
Layoff your assistant, trim your marketing budget, and wait for
business to pick up. Your gut reaction, however, could be a mistake.
A sales slump should motivate you to ramp up your marketing
efforts and give your assistant even more to do. Use your free time
to make sure you're doing everything possible to market yourself
and your products:

• Freshen the content on your web site.
• Write fresh blog posts.
• Check in with your media contacts.