Do you have “hot” marketing? Well, if you have too many customers and too much money, the answer is YES! If you could use more of both it is time to warming up that marketing. This week, just spend one hour focused on figuring out what is important to your customer and defining specifically what they want to hear or see.
Once you have that figured out, make it juicy! How can you make your message sizzle so they just have to work with you?
The number one question that I always get from all of my clients, whether they are Certified Home Stagers, Home Stagers in Training, Real Estate Agents or Investors, Small Business Owners, Speakers, Entrepreneurs…you name it, this is their question: How do I market my business?
Many have some idea how to market their business, but they don’t know how to effectively market, in order to get the results they desire, which is the key. Usually, they delegate their marketing to an advertising channel such as the yellow pages, some random online marketing or a flyer or two that has been passed out at a meeting in the hopes that everyone that takes one will call you back…keep hoping!
I love the coffee cup as an “extra hot” marketing tool. Not only is the Bakery advertising with each cup of coffee, but they are in turn selling advertising to other clients on the mug. Super Smart! And of course the mug makes sense to their customer since they serve all sorts of coffee drinks at the Bakery.
Could they have done better with an extraordinary offer and a guarantee? Of course! The problem was lack of space, so they worked with what they had.
The real question though, is what does it take to make your marketing “hot?”
1) It must speak to your customer- Just like the coffee speaks to the customers buying a croissant, yours must do the same. Ask yourself who your customer is and what appeals directly to them. Is it a real estate agent, an investor, a home seller…who is your customer and what speaks to them? Then, make sure your message sizzles!
2) Scare them or speak to their greed- Yes, that is the truth. The best way to capture your customer’s attention is by scaring the pants off of them or appealing to the sense of greed. So, if you are marketing your Home Staging Services, then you would send them a message like; “Are you ready to sit on that listing for another 6 months?” Or, “Would you like to make an extra $5,000 this month?”
3) Make in Incredible Offer- You can do this in a variety of ways. It can be accomplished with a 100% money back guarantee, the offer of a FREE flatscreen TV, 50% off, Buy One Get One Free, or even through a great prize that your customer wins by participating in your contest. The idea is to give them something so juicy that they feel compelled to give you a shot.
4) Market Consistently- One of the most attractive things to potential clients is that they see your marketing consistently. Now they know you are not a “fly by night” home stager, running your business as a hobby instead of as a real company, and that you are smart enough to know how to market. That in and of itself is often appealing enough to some future clients.
5) Surprise them with your Marketing- The coffee cup was a surprise, so it was fun. When we stage homes and hide a pocket of emotion in the drawer and the buyer opens the drawer, that is fun (and it is house marketing). Having a message like “The 25 Reasons a Rubber Duck Can Sell Your Home” is a fun surprise because they don’t expect it. If you really want to have “hot” marketing, surprise them with the unexpected.
I think the last thing I would say about marketing is to simply look and see what your competition is doing and do the opposite. They are the ones inclined to post an ad and then not get any calls so they quickly determine the ad does not work. Hmmm, maybe they did not place an ad in a location that their customers see, or the ad just was not compelling.
The best example I can give for this is when I started my own Home Staging company, I looked around at all the other Home Stagers out there talking about making houses pretty and it dawned on me that their marketing was all about them instead of the results they could achieve for their potential clients. That is when I came out with our tag line of “Anybody can make your house pretty, we make it SELL.” Obviously, that did the trick.
So, let’s get you a great list of customers beating down your door so you can show them how extraordinary you really are, while introducing them to your “hot” marketing.
In order to accomplish this, one of the best things you can do is to start to attract more and more clients and customers. Get my Complimentary Plan on “How to Attract a Million Customers in the next 90 Days” and follow me in real time as I do the same! It is my gift to you! www.TheBornLeader.com/BusinessPlan A million new customers…now that sounds good!
Giving Back: As I step further and further into a Leadership role, with APSD, The Born Leader, Phoebee Fleabee and LuvMyStripes.com and as an international Business and Leadership Coach and Mentor, I have realized the importance of giving back.
True leaders, Born Leaders, give back without expectation of receipt. So, it has become my goal to do the same.
Don’t you think Phoebee Fleabee is cute? This is a children’s book I have written and I am giving her away at no charge to everyone that is looking for a good book to enjoy with their child. You can get her story as my gift at www.LuvMyStripes.com Oh, and please, pass her to everyone you know!
By giving her away to over a Million People, I am satisfying my need to give, as well as the burning desire within me to spread the word about my wonderful book. It is interesting what happens when you give…you receive abundantly!
Be a Leader every day and look for ways that you can give back. Sometimes, it might mean calling someone to say hello, picking up a piece of discarded trash in a park and throwing it away, or throwing in an extra tip or two at no additional charge. Whatever it is for you, practice being a leader every day, by giving back.
To Your Greatest Joy and Success,
Karen Schaefer
Founder, APSD The Association of Property Scene Designers www.APSDmembers.com www.LuvMyStripes.com
As I mentioned above, Jim Rhon, the amazing motivational speaker has been quoted as saying “Poor people have Big TV’s, Rich people have big libraries.” Four years ago I gave away my own TV and have never had another one. I know as a former actor this surprises many of you. It is not that I don’t love acting or movies or anything of the sort, but I just could no longer look myself in the eye, wanting to achieve greatness and knowing that I was wasting such a great amount of time.
I remember sitting in front of the TV for 6-8 hours a day, many times just watching mind numbing programs until the wee hours of the morning. Then of course, I could not get a good night’s sleep and so I started to sleep later and achieve less by the day. I must have had a “prime time” Angel that woke me up one day and told me to cancel my Dish, load up my TV and drive it down to Good Will because that is exactly what I did. That Angel knew that I had greatness in me, but that I needed to take action in order to achieve it. That day, I took action to remove my giant time waster, and at the same time I opened up a course on Time Management for the Renegade Entrepreneur. I have never looked back.
Now I think about what I have achieved in the past 4 years and I realize that I have created 4 successful businesses, built and sold a business, published 2 children’s book and am about to launch a huge program to Real Estate Agents all over the US and Canada.
Today, my library is BIG. And, I read, re-read and use everything in my library. I am currently on my 3rd read of a recent mindset book. Other systems have dog eared pages, notes attached to the end of chapters and dates in my planner on when I need to reference others. I decided that I wanted to be one of the “Rich People” and that I was willing and able to do what it took to get there.
It has taken a great deal of work. My systems are in place and today I am far more abundant and prosperous than 4 years ago. The best part is that I also realize I am 3 feet from gold. That I have finally crossed over and began to do things my way, the way I envision them…and this is good…very, very good!
So what does it take to get there?
1) Give away anything that distracts you and keeps you from achieving your goal. Do you want to run the best Home Staging Business in your market? Are you ready to get your APSD Home Staging Training and book a job each week? Do you know How To Become a Home Stager or do you want to learn that in the next 30 days? If any of these sound like what you are looking for, the decide right now what distracts you so you can get rid of it in order to fill your library with everything that is going to make you the Ultimate Home Stager.
2) Once you have removed the distractions, set up your systems. When will you work, when will you market and when will you learn? By defining specific times for each, they will all get accomplished. I normally set aside an hour each morning that I read to learn every single morning. And yes, I get up earlier to make sure that I can accomplish this. Then, I balance out my schedule to do “money tasks” first which is normally marketing and then I take care of other business. Now, I am learning, earning and doing. Great system!
3) Next, fill your library each time you are ready to learn something new. By removing your distractions, you will now have more time to learn. One thing I would encourage you to do is to really think about whether or not you are going to use the information before you purchase it. Will you read it, and if so, when? When will you apply its lessons? Are you caught up in the moment or have you done your research and you know this is right for you? I am a BIG fan of continuing education and believe that you should always invest in yourself. But, you also need to make sure the content is right for you and that you will use it.
4) Enjoy the good life! The job of the entrepreneur is to learn, build the system and then delegate. When you follow the above 3 steps you will soon find yourself with more work than you can handle. So, naturally you will want to begin to delegate some things so you can move on to the next level. When you get to this point, find a great assistant and empower them. You may also decide to add another Home Stager to your team. The possibilities are endless when you decide to eliminate your distractions and build that Home Staging Library (hopefully with APSD Marketing, Education and Home Staging Certification Systems!J).
In order to accomplish this, one of the best things you can do is to start to attract more and more clients and customers. The best way to do this is to get my Complimentary Plan on “How to Attract a Million Customers in the next 90 Days” and follow me in real time as I do the same! It is my gift to you! www.TheBornLeader.com/BusinessPlan Imagine having a million new Home Staging clients! Ohhhh La La!
Giving Back:
As I step further and further into a Leadership role, with APSD, The Born Leader, Phoebee Fleabee and LuvMyStripes.com and as an international Business and Leadership Coach and Mentor, I have realized the importance of giving back.
True leaders, Born Leaders, give back without expectation of receipt. So, it has become my goal to do the same.
Don’t you think Phoebee Fleabee is cute? This is a children’s book I have written and I am giving her away at no charge to everyone that is looking for a good book to enjoy with their child. You can get her story as my gift at www.LuvMyStripes.com Oh, and please, pass her to everyone you know!
By giving her away to over a Million People, I am satisfying my need to give, as well as the burning desire within me to spread the word about my wonderful book. It is interesting what happens when you give…you receive abundantly!
Be a Leader every day and look for ways that you can give back. Sometimes, it might mean calling someone to say hello, picking up a piece of discarded trash in a park and throwing it away, or throwing in an extra tip or two at no additional charge. Whatever it is for you, practice being a leader every day, by giving back.
Watch for “The APSD members ” FREE publication to come to you each and every week, filled with Home Staging Business Strategies, Marketing for Small Businesses and Compelling Mindset Strategies designed to set you apart from all the others and to help you to literally step into your Home Staging greatness!
APSD, The Leader in Home Staging Training, Marketing and Business Developement
Your APSD Weekly Mission:
Are you ready? You are going to have to be tough for this one. Decide on one thing that you know is wasting your time and get rid of it. Be bold, be strong and give it away, donate it or toss it in the trash. It might be your TV, trashy novels, or cell phone (I said you were going to have to be strong!). Whatever it is, just decide that from now on, you will have a BIG library. Then, purchase one new Home Staging Learning tool. Just one, and you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg. Just choose one that will move you forward this month. I would recommend this week’s product listed above, The Home Stager Pro kit. It is such a simply yet compelling system that no Home Stager Library should be without it.
I want you to practice giving a talk or presentation, telling your audience you will have an incredible offer in the end, and then seeding with hints of the great opportunity yet to come. Make sure you do this talk in front of a friend, spouse or even your dog so you get some practice time in.
Now you have to go out and deliver it. Where can you offer your talk right now? Is there a realtor’s office just waiting for your presentation? What about a local school or church you could help with their marketing? Is there a Chamber of Commerce or Kiwanis’s Club near you that might be looking for a distinguished speaker?
There is no better time than now to begin to make more money in whatever you do by speaking. Get out there and talk!
Most of you know that I run a specialized speaking company called “ES5000.com” It is unique in that I teach you how to speak live, on the phone, or in front of a video camera using an electronic hidden devise that is literally feeding you your lines so you don’t have to remember a thing! It is brilliant and I love it because it removes the fear 100% no matter where you are speaking!
Whether you are a Real Estate Agent, Business Coach, Home Stager, Small Business Owner, or other type of Entrepreneur, your single greatest attribute is to speak- one on one, to a small group or the nation.
Remember the pied piper? As he led the rats out of the village, he was “Speaking” to them. It was in fact a bit of an odd language if you will, but the truth is that he became a leader to the rats, but more importantly (thankfully), to the people of his village. He convinced them that he could lead the rats away from the village and then he also wooed the rats—ah rhetoric!
What you have to understand about speaking is that no matter your topic or your intention, you are selling.
You can be selling in a variety of ways:
1) Selling product, services or coaching
2) Selling and idea or concept
3) Selling for a cause
But no matter what, you are always selling yourself which is why you should get comfortable with the idea of speaking to sell.
In this day of tough competition, tele-conferences, online videos and abundant opportunity, those that can speak successfully, no matter your occupation, will thrive.
For today, let’s talk about speaking to sell in the literal term. In other words, you have a product or service that you want to leave with everyone in the room or on the call.
1) You must make sure that your message matches your market and that they have a desire for your product. This seems simplistic but there have been a million great ideas that have been presented to either the wrong crowd or a disinterested one.
2) Once you have defined your audience and their desire for your product or service, make sure they have the money to spend and that they want to spend it. There are many more “bankable” groups than others and if your intention is to be a serious selling speaker then I would highly suggest you seek out the ‘spending’ crowd.
3) When you begin your talk, whether it is live or on a call, you need to let your audience know your topic, what they are going to learn from you, that you have very little time and you will give them an opportunity in the end to experience/buy/learn more. This is contrary to popular belief where we have been conditioned not to let the cat out of the bag until the last minute, thus amazing our audience with our wit and a remarkable element of surprise.
Just like fashion changes, so do people and the way they like to be treated. Gone are the days of offering very little content and then expecting everyone to jump up and down and spend thousands of dollars.
Now when you speak, you tell them up front they will have an opportunity to buy in the end. It is called ‘transparency in marketing’ and it is what today’s audience wants.
4) Once you have told your audience they will have an opportunity in the end, then it is your job to ‘seed’ that opportunity throughout the presentation. All you have to do is each time you refer to a topic or strategy you can’t complete you can say something like “and for those of you really ready to kick start your Home Staging Business” you will get the entire Digi-Stage System at Stager Pro. You can also refer to others in the audience that has worked with you which is a very effective ‘seeding’ process.
5) Finally, as the end approaches, it is now your job to share with the audience your great opportunity. Tell them its coming. You can even ask them permission if that works well for you. Either way, don’t feel as though you have to sell. They know you are there to make money, just tell them about your irresistible offer.
6) Next, give them in incentive to buy on the spot. If you decided to promote a Full Service Coaching package which normally sells for $1500, you might have it on special for $1200. They can get the special for a full week. But, if they buy that same night, it is $1000. Give them a strong incentive to say “yes” right on the spot and you will increase your sales by thousands of dollars.
In the future I will discuss the various forms of selling from the stage, but for now, it is your job to attract as many customers as possible in order to build a buyers list.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to get my Complimentary Plan on “How to Attract a Million Customers in the next 90 Days” and follow me in real time as I do the same! It is my gift to you! www.TheBornLeader.com/BusinessPlan
Giving Back:
My Children’s Book Give-Away to the world has launched! Don’t you think Phoebee Fleabee is cute? You can get her story as my gift at www.LuvMyStripes.com right now!!! Oh, and please, pass her to everyone you know!
By giving her away to over a Million People, I am satisfying my need to give, as well as the burning desire within me to spread the word about my wonderful book. It is interesting what happens when you give…you receive abundantly!
Be an extraordinary person every day and look for ways that you can give back. Sometimes, it might mean calling someone to say hello, picking up a piece of discarded trash in a park and throwing it away, or hosting “poker night.” Whatever it is for you, practice being extraordinary every day, by giving back.
Watch for “The Born Leader” FREE publication to come to you each and every week, filled with Business Strategies, Marketing for Small Businesses and Compelling Mindset Strategies designed to set you apart from all the others and to literally step into your greatness!
Become a Born Leader…when you are ready to change the world!
Founder, APSD; The Association of Property Scene Designers for Home Staging Professionals
Your Home Stager Weekly Mission:
I want you to practice giving a talk or presentation, telling your audience you will have an incredible offer in the end, and then seeding with hints of the great opportunity yet to come. Make sure you do this talk in front of a friend, spouse or even your dog so you get some practice time in.
Now you have to go out and deliver it. Where can you offer your talk right now? Is there a realtor’s office just waiting for your presentation? What about a local school or church you could help with their marketing? Is there a Chamber of Commerce or Kiwanis’s Club near you that might be looking for a distinguished speaker?
There is no better time than now to begin to make more money in whatever you do by speaking. Get out there and talk!
I want you to focus on 3 new things you can do this week to increase your current level of customer service within your business. It might be things that are performed by your assistant or team, but always remember to lead by example.
What 3 things can you implement today to tell your customers they are extraordinary? Here is the challenge; make them evergreen, so you will always have great customer service in your business, today and tomorrow.
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Your Mission, should you choose to accept it…: How are your missions coming? Do you know that if you decide to move your business forward everyday and take one small action, that in one year, you will have taken 365 actions toward the growth of your business? Powerful right? That is why I give you […]
As I step further and further into a Leadership role, with APSD, The Born Leader, Phoebee Fleabee and LuvMyStripes.com and as an international Business and Leadership Coach and Mentor, I have realized the importance of giving back.
