Brrrrrrrrrrrr! It was 43 degrees this morning with a high of 64 degrees today and we think that’s cold! Have you seen the weather back east? They would undoubtedly think this is paradise right now. How do you remind them that The Valley of the Sun is THE place to be? Well, if you are D. Patrick Lewis in our Scottsdale office, you do extensive electronic marketing featuring beautiful sunsets, sunny parks and people in shorts and sandals. His photography talent landed him a primo spot on The Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau website. He also uses Twitter, blogging, Flickr, Linkedin and Facebook. With that much electronic exposure I just had to know how it was working for him. “This is my 7th year in real estate and I’ve tried farming, calling, postcards, newsletters and this by far has a better return and it’s more fun”, said Patrick. Already three of his classmates found him on Facebook and have asked him to find them homes.
According to Patrick electronic marketing and social networking IS different, the anonymity and the fact that you are only a click away leads to more shoppers. So, he has developed scripts and questioning techniques that help him probe for motivation and get to the core of people’s requests and needs. Follow-up is just as important in electronic marketing and social networking as in other types of prospecting. Patrick tries to provide insightful information analysis, he says that shoppers come to him with incomplete and frequently irrelevant information. His ability to help them make sense of all those numbers is what makes him valuable to his clients.
Electronic marketing aside, it all comes down to people skills. “The higher the tech, the higher the touch needs to be”, Patrick remarked. You still need to let people know that you care about them and their goals. You need to create rapport along with all that market knowledge.
I think what Patrick said about electronic marketing and social networking is true of life in general and real estate sales in particular, “No matter what you do, do it passionately and consistently.”
December 24, 2008 at 8:05 am |
I totally agree with Patrick’s strategies be it electronic marketing or social networking, one needs to be completely in it whatever he/she takes, do it passionately and consistently as you say.
December 25, 2008 at 5:59 am |
Diane, Great write up on Patrick’s business development – his recent video that was featured on the convention bureau site is awesome. And his enthusiasm for developing his business online is contagious. Just follow him on Twitter, and see!