BiggerPockets

Confessions of a Bad Marketer

Friday, May 29

Today I have a confession to make. I am about to tell you a sad story, that could have been avoided.

Everyone successful in business knows that marketing is the key to success. I preach this daily. You must let people know about your service or widget if you want them to buy from you. Your marketing doesn't always have to be slick or clever, but it does need to be constant. In falling economies, many businesses reduce their marketing budgets and efforts. This is counter-intuitive. When times are tough, you need to promote your business more, not less. Even with a shoestring budget, there are ways to increase the promotion of your business. The most powerful form of marketing is always free: Word of Mouth.

Word of mouth advertising has taken on many new forms, thanks to the internet. It has allowed many real estate investors, agents, and entrepreneurs to prosper when they started with absolutely nothing. Viral marketing is the new buzz. You must make talk of your business contagious. Everyone should know what you do. Everyone should be shamelessly asked to refer more business to you...every time you contact them. With the proliferation of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, blogs, emails, newsletters, texting, and websites, there are innumerable FREE sources of marketing and opportunities for referrals.

The question is: are you asking The Question? Are you asking for the business? Are you asking for the referrals? Are you asking people to tell more people about your business?

I thought I was doing pretty well on this front. I now Twitter (http://twitter.com/koniscavella). I have pages on Facebook, Active Rain, and Real Estate Investor. I have other websites about investing in real estate, short sales, and homes for sale. I have a website devoted just to bring in referrals which I happily pay for (http://HomeFetchers.com). I even market my services via flyers, signs, brochures, networking groups, and online classifieds such as Craigslist, and directories like Google. I thought I was doing it all...telling the world how I can help them, but I missed my own back yard.

You see, every Friday at the courthouse, foreclosed homes are auctioned off at the courthouse steps. Today was no exception...and a rare, beautiful 80 degree day to stand in the sun and find bargains and network. I often skip the cold, rainy days, but today something was calling me to attend in person. Hundreds of homes are auctioned off. Only a handful of bids are made by the last brave investors left in the market. It is often the same, yet dwindling crowd, week after week.

But this week there was a new face, standing in the shadows. Like most of us, she came with one particular property on her mind. Yet she didn't have the hopeful look of an investor. She was sad, distraught, and ashamed. She was the homeowner. She lost her home due to illness and the decimation of the real estate market. She was...she was...my relative!!! A close relative of mine was losing her home to the bank...and there was nothing to stop it now.

How did this happen? Didn't she know I do short sales? Didn't she know I do loan modifications? Didn't she know I buy homes? Didn't she know I have a buyers list? Didn't she know I could have helped her?? Didn't I market myself well enough to help her? I wonder...who else did I miss? Who else did we all miss? How many people are falling through the cracks not knowing all the opportunities available to them?

It's time to stop the madness. It's time to spread the word, one person at a time. I am starting with you! Who do you know that I can help in any way? Home buyers, home sellers, Realtors, loan officers, investors, private lenders tired of watching your cash reserves dwindle...CALL ME: 877-610-1717.

"Help me help you!"

Comments

1. 

   Bryan Hancock Reply
   almost 2 years ago

   Wow...crazy story about seeing your extended family member at the auction. No matter how well you think your marketing is pulling you are always humbled to learn that some people that should know don't know anything about your business!

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