Page 65 - Social Media Marketing

Stop Hunting, Start Farming 45

start on my personal marketing. I'll talk more about marketing in
other chapters, but basically my goal has always been to let every
person in my territory know my name, my face, and what I do.
What better way to get a jump on that than to sell where I grew up,
went to school, and had lots of friends and family?

Research Potential Farms

With so much at stake, you must choose your farm wisely. If possi-
ble, research several potential farms before you choose one. In my
case, I looked at how homes were selling in about five different
neighborhoods in my hometown. I thought that if one of these ar-
eas had only 4 or 5 sales per year and another neighborhood had
40 or 50 sales per year, then I wanted to work in the area of higher
turnover. The more sales, the more commissions I could make, and
the more customers would get to know me.

lt doesn't matter whether your product serves the high end or the
low end of the market. Your commission from selling one Mercedes
Benz may be just as great as from 10 Ford Fusions, but people buy
a lot more Fusions than Mercedes. Even today, I often sell homes
for what other agents in more expensive neighborhoods collect in
security deposits. I just sell a lot more of them.

Get to Know Your Farm

Farmers develop an intimate knowledge of their farms. They know
which plants are likely to grow well for them and which are not.
They know the growing season, average rain fall, common plant
diseases and pests they may have to deal with, and the nutrients in
their soiL As a salesperson, you should have an intimate knowledge
of your farm, as welL

When I was first starting out, I recorded all the details of my farm
in a three-ring binder. In it, I listed all the important institutions in
my marketplace: every church, every school, and every community
center. I wrote down everything I could about those institutions: the
names of the pastors or principals, the number of parishioners or