CK,

I am not a realtor, but like Kirk I am a little familiar with Seth Godin's marketing ideas. I particularly like his online lens concept at Squidoo.com. If you have never made yourself an online lens to showcase your business in terms of an educational tool for the real estate industry, I highly recommend it. A Squidoo lens is both free and easy to create.

In addition to being a Seth Godin fan, I am also a fan of Ernesto Sirolli and his model for economic development - commonly referred to as "enterprise facilitation." According to the institute that bears his name, the best way to structure economic development is to locate and give guidance to passionate people. It does not start from the top down - that is to say government programs designed to better a community over a period of years. Instead, it starts from the ground up with the individual who wants to build a business and is passionate about it. As a realtor, you fall into that category by default.

One thing Sirolli recommends for every small business entreprenuer is outsourcing. You only have so many hours in a day. You cannot travel in different directions at the same time. Therefore, outsource both your marketing and your financial management to those who have the expertise you need. Focus your energies on meeting the needs of your customers. Afterall, your primary business is the selling of real estate. It's not marketing or financial management.

If you cannot afford to outsource your marketing needs on a full-time basis, even finding someone to work part-time or simply conduct a one-time campaign could work wonders for your business. Whatever you do, don't fall into the trap of playing "the numbers game." It's very easy to buy into the lie that you simply have to continue to "put your message out there...over and over again...to get noticed." More often than not, that is a waste of money - be it the newspaper, radio or TV. Why? Because no one is made to care that you are in the newspaper, on radio or TV.

So, how do you make people care that you happen to be a local realtor? Why should people pay attention to you when there are a sea of realtors out there from which to choose? How do you make what you do stand out? Answer: you put together a marketing campaign and execute that campaign to a targeted "niche" market. Don't try to "Wow!" a large audience. Remember, the best way to eat an elephant is one small bite at a time. Go after small "niche" markets. Ironically, going after small niche groups is the quickest way to develop a large audience. Why? Because those folks tend to be more willing to help you spread your business message. Indeed, the power of the personal referral is your best marketing tool. The more adept you become at using it, the more benefit you will receive. Growing an audience that feels compelled to "spread your business message" - even if they cannot personally become your clients - is worthwhile . The process is called "power networking." Every small business should use it to expand their customer or client base.

If you would like to learn more about power networking, simply send me a private message.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM
Power Networking
http://www.squidoo.com/CDMM

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 (new win)