InFocus

My emails aren’t performing (or being read at all)!!!!

Eric — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:24:37 +0000

I’m just going to say it….most targeted email marketing campaigns are not done well. Low conversion rates, spam/blackist issues, unsubscribes….always happening. A big part of email marketing, and digital marketing in general, is creating relationships – your friends always want to read your emails….assuming we aren’t spamming them with messages too! So lets keep it simple and act as if we are informing a friend about a topic they are interested in. That’s an easy approach that ive found most people “get”.

First, and lets get this out of the way, sending messages as attachments is BAD for relationships. Our friends don’t like it and there is a good chance they wont get it at all. Plus its not trackable and email hosts dont like it.

Now, about creating those GOOD relationships:

1. I find my friends get a lot of email and therefore have short attention spans. Assuming that allows us to create a trust that the message we send is going to be simple and worth the read. Make sure you are focused on one message/offer.

2. Friends like us to get to the point. So to make sure I’m not playing games with my friends i make it very clear what i am asking them for. Make sure the call to action is clear – CONTACT US! or FREEBIE HERE! or WHATEVER…just tell them what you want them to do, it works.

3. I’ve just established a trusting relationship, but my friends dont always respond because they are busy. We know they read my message though. NURTURE your email campaign! Follow up on offers reminding them how great an opportunity it is….but don’t forget the same principles apply. We dont want to send a brand new offer just after we sent the first offer. Its too much to take in, our friends will tune us out or they will just wait, why act now when the next offer is right around the corner.

Lastly, we may have a lot of friends on our list, but everyone is different. Let’s work on making sure we are getting the right message to the right person. Segmentation, and true database marketing, is very underutilized and may be the most powerful tool you have in your arsenal….and we all have it (especially Focus-3 clients!!!). I look forward to talking more about that next time!

What’s more important? Sales Process or Sales Goals?

Kristy — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:49:01 +0000

I was thinking about how I communicate to members on my team here at F3. We tend to be very goal driven, whether thats product development or sales enablement. But end of day the times we are most successful is when we are process oriented. It keeps us out of the spin cycle that causes us to beat a dead horse or to drop good ideas. It always helps us to reach our goals faster and more efficiently. In fact, I started thinking about this more when I realized how that applies to everything we do.

For example, grocery shopping – if I go to the store with just my goal in mind, to feed my family, I tend to overspend and miss necessaries. When I follow my process – which looks something like 1. Evaluate the fridge 2. Clip Coupons 3. Consider this weeks Diet of choice 4. Make List - I tend to spend much less and end up with much more.

Just like that silly example, the same can be said for sales process. A solid sales process will lead to an effective and efficient sales cycle. Now more than ever we need to think about our sales funnel and how we can nurture all the opportunities without taking away attention from the hottest of leads. Process oriented sales drives the market forward for sales sake. It builds real relationships with our leads which is more critical then ever.

Think about your sales process. Are you focused on process to meet goals?

Creating Successful Relationships with Email Marketing

Eric — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:23:01 +0000

Email marketing is great. It’s cheap, easy and provides a way to stay in front of your prospects without being disruptive. The fact is these are the exact reasons many email marketing “campaigns” fail to create successful relationships. Isn’t that exactly what we want, long term, fulfilling relationships with our audience that keep us top of mind and create sales? OF COURSE IT IS!! Qualifying and nurturing leads requires us to think about the type of relationship we want.

If we are looking to create that beautiful marriage (the sale!) then lets focus on three simple strategic building blocks that nurture the relationship.

1. A Simple, Easy Message Strategy – Successful relationships are based on finding common goals and not straying from those goals. Lets find our successful messages and nurture them with our prospects. They know what we want from them and we show them we are consistent in knowing what they want from us.

2. One Clear Action - Successful relationships are void of games, so lets keep our prospects from guessing what we are asking of them. Give them one action and they will respond how we want them to without any confusion.

3. Be Timely and Consistent – No one wants an out of date message especially when they least expect it. Let’s make sure our relationship is built on solid ground by providing consistent information based on our messaging strategy and lets do it on schedule so our prospects do not feel overwhelmed.

What are you doing to create successful relationships with your database?

Next up we will take a deeper dive into a specific email and talk more tactical!

What makes a great salesperson?

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:35:44 +0000

Hi everyone. This is Kim Hunter writing. Kristy has a few things on her plate these days so I’ve decided to step in and get the Focus3 blog going.

Last week, I spoke with Will Sears and Jonathan Lieman at Echota in Boone, NC. I was intrigued by Echota’s 2009 sales – 48 closes in the past 12 months – and wanted to learn more about how they did it.

So I called Will and Jonathan to talk about Echota’s sales success in the hopes of also capturing a testimonial about Focus3’s positive impact over the three years it has been in use there. This recent conversation left me pondering the characteristics of a great salesperson. Operative word being GREAT – not just good.

I’m curious – have you ever noticed that the best, long-term successful salespeople are genuinely nice? That they relate well to others and quickly put people at ease. I’ve known a few good ones who managed to get by on their looks and fast-talking, but truly great salespeople rely on other attributes.

One thing I’ve learned is that you have to understand your customer before offering a solution. And how can you really understand what your customer wants – who they are, their goals, desires, needs – without listening. Really listening. And how can one listen while doing all that fast-talking?

Have you noticed that great salespeople are humble, too? Usually unassuming and with quiet confidence, the brightest and best don’t need a cheerleading squad. Their validation comes from helping customers.

This is what I saw in Jonathan at Echota. Polite, considerate, helpful and definitely humble. Oh – and very successful at his job. Jonathan is Echota’s top-performing agent, but he wasn’t the one to tell me so. He also hesitated when I asked about specific performance, because he didn’t want be viewed as boastful. Jonathan didn’t throw a bunch of glitzy jargon my way. He told it straight, “Focus3 helps me maintain integrity. It ensures I follow through on promises made to customers and prospects. Professionalism can be an issue in our industry and I need to call (people) when I said I would.”

Jonathan went on to describe how Focus3 alerts Echota to leads that are still viable but haven’t been contacted recently; ensuring things don’t slip through the cracks. He said, “Focus3 is easy to use and helps us do our job without getting in our way. Management gets the information they need. Focus3 gives us a level of sophistication we didn’t previously have.”

I think what hit home for me after talking with Jonathan and others at Echota is that software doesn’t make a team successful. Top-notch salespeople invest in themselves, continuously learning and initiating self-improvement. Sure, a great team uses software to improve business – but Focus3 didn’t make Echota successful. Focus3 was brought in because they had big goals, a growing team and needed a system that offered continuity in customer communication: maintaining their high standard of professionalism while increasing sales activity and operating lean.

Is Focus3 the flashiest system in existence? Nope. And I don’t think flash is necessary. What is? A high-performing team, a robust yet simple system, and of course, a great product. All of which are evident at Echota.

On that note, let me know how you made your 2009 great, or have geared up for 2010. I’d love to hear from you.

Kim

Focus3 partners with iContact

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:18:13 +0000

Focus3 partners with iContact to deliver comprehensive lead nurturing programs that help clients re-Focus and connect with prospective buyers in your database.

Get ready for next season’s campaigns and real estate shows with an informed database of prospects.

START TODAY!

888-736-2873

Gear up for results you can use today.

Re-qualify and Re-Focus your database and sales team

Send email campaigns that get results

Measure your success!

Newsletters, announcements, surveys, etc…

Know what’s working

Focus3 with iContact delivers an unrivaled toolkit to reconnect and re-qualify your existing prospect database. See the results for yourself!

“Focus3′s database email marketing services has generated call-in responses, tours and sales from prospects that were previously marked as dead or inactive. Now is the time to wake up our database and re-connect with prospects. Focus3 does that, with precision, efficiency and results! A great value added tool for the sales process.” – Marc Wilson, Principal, The Settings Development Company

“Your partnership with iContact delivers! We booked 5 solid appointments last week during our call night. 3 of those came from inactive leads that received the email. With the iContact blast we can quickly assess the interest level on what we’re sending out – especially the leads that had been inactive .. a great tool for the sales team to use when their calls are caught up. By having the Focus 3/iContact results we can now focus on calling the interested leads rather than just randomly calling. Thanks for all your help, we really enjoy this program!” – Michael Kalb, Director of Sales, The Settings

“I was very impressed with the reporting. It was fast and easy to read. It looks as though I will have one sale generated from our last blast. My folks from Alpharetta, Ga., are going to contract next week. Just one makes it certainly worthwhile, and I’m working on more.” – Greg Smith, Creative Communities

2009: New Year – New Opportunities

Kristy — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:03:49 +0000

It’s time to review what’s working and start implementing your plans. Everyone approaches this differently – all that matters is that the path you choose works for you. I’ve been digging through some of my notes and had a one I would like to share with you.

Jim Ellis has a friend/business associate, John Spence, who is an executive trainer, consultant, speaker – and he writes a blog on Achieving Business Excellence. His November post: Some Ideas on Creativity and Failure struck a chord with me. While this is not specific to the real estate business, it applies to anyone’s business plan. All the critical elements are there – fear of failure, recognizing opportunity, repeating opportunity, know your data . . . take a look and remember to subscribe. Good stuff.

Final thoughts…
Here’s a checklist I run down periodically. . . . Good accurate data is what gives us the knowledge to produce better results. Let us know if you need assistance with any of these.

Do you know …

Your current Buyer / target buyer profile?

How many leads are truly active and viable (complete data)?

- if they’re “done” mark them and move on.

What media is producing sales – and at what cost?

Have you set your teams 2009 individual goals in MyFocus?

Review ALL your active templates, letters, messages, signatures – watch for dated info.

Update your qualifier questions.

Refresh your signature for your email messages (make sure all the links are correct).

Action Cycle / Step review (frequency and type of contacts).

Postal Codes – Effective this past November the post office requires quarterly NCOA updates to qualify for database mailing postal discounts.

Developer Market Trend Reporting Now Available

Kristy — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:24:18 +0000

By now most of you have been contacted (or will when you get back in the office this week!) regarding our new market data reporting service.

Focus3 is compiling and reporting to program participants pertinent market data based on traffic, geography, product sales and prospect surveys. Any Focus3 subscriber may participate, at no cost. Reporting is aggregate, anonymous, confidential – and only shared with program participants. Please simply contact us with your authorization.

Program participant, Marc Wilson, EVP The Settings Development Company said, “I believe in the Biblical principle that says the more you help and share the more you will get back”.

Thanks, Marc – that’s exactly how we feel too.

Outlook Integration

Kristy — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:42:21 +0000

On December 9th we completed our most recent product update which included –

– Outlook Integration. Details at http://www.focus-3.com/infocus/?p=50. Make sure your team has signed up for installation (support@focus-3.com)
Multiple email and phone fields
Other 2008 feature highlights included:

– Expanded contact import functionality (review/update duplicates). This feature not only provides greater flexibility for list management, but provides our new users’ access to import their existing leads (no conversion cost).

– Ticketed 24/7 help desk system with knowledgebase (support@focus-3.com). Not only does this provide greater coverage for our subscribers, this system gives users the ability to view their ticket and provide additional input while following resolution.

– Improved email flexibility for database email broadcasts.

– HTML email spell-check.

– Expanded user defined export features

– Group and contact update / scheduling.

As always, we value and need your input – please let us know what you would like to see for 2009. Logon and comment at www.focus-3.com/infocus.

Help with Upcoming Events

Kristy — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:30:22 +0000

Many of you will be attending offsite events (Real Estate Shows). If you need help pulling a targeted list or scheduling calls/email/mail to promote pre- or post-show let us know. We’re here to help you get the most out of your system.

Printing Holiday Envelopes — without the stress. By Chrissy Summers

Kristy — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:03:55 +0000

It’s that time of year again and you need to send out your Holiday cards. For those of you who may be having trouble we thought we’d try to help. You have the cards but you need to print your labels or envelopes. We can provide you with both a #10 envelope and 5160 label template ready for you to load if you don’t have one yet.

Follow the instructions below and you can have your cards in the mail in no time!

Create a Correspondence titled Holiday Cards:
• Go to “Admin Tab”
• Select “Correspondence/Emails” under “Manage Marketing Attributes”
• Click “Add Correspondence Letters/Emails”

o Type ~ Correspondence
o Name ~ Holiday Cards
o Active ~ Yes
o Merge Type ~ Standard

• “Save”

Under Message Body
• Click “Add Merge Documents”
• Click “Browse” find the envelope or label you would like to load (make sure you’ve saved a copy
of the attached items)

o For Envelopes
 Document Type ~ Letter/Envelope
o For Labels
 Document Type ~ Labels

• “Upload”
• “Save”

From this point all you need to do is create your Contact Group (using Segmentation) to include who you would like to receive the Card. For this example we’ll send to all Owners.
• Go to “Admin Tab”
• Select “Segmentation” under “Contact Tools”
• Change drop down to “Create New Query”
• Under Define Query

o 1st Drop Down ~ Relationship
o 2nd Drop Down ~ Equal to
o 3rd Drop Down ~ Owner

• Click “Add”
• In the “Query Name” Text Box, name the query (ex. Holiday Cards)
• “SAVE”

You will then want to Create a Contact Group for this Query:
• Select the Query you just created from the Select Query drop down box
• From the “Append Contacts to Group” drop down choose “Add New Group”
• In the “New Group Name” Text Box name the group (ex. Holiday Cards)

You have now created a Contact Group so you can go to the Action Scheduler and Schedule the cards to be printed.
• Go to “Admin Tab”
• Select “Action Scheduler” under “Contact Tools”
• Click “Schedule New Action”

o Action Type ~ Correspondence
o Correspondence ~ Holiday Cards
o Schedule Date ~(Today’s Date)
o Occurs ~ Defaults to “Once Only”
o Contact Group ~ (ex. Holiday Cards)

• “Schedule Action”

You have now scheduled the Cards and they will populate in Fulfillment for you to print.

Happy Holidays!

Chrissy