Posted by David Bennett
Mon, 05 Jun 2006 17:07:00 GMT
Enhance your value proposition
1. Brainstorm with Your Colleagues
Review your marketing material and what you say to customers to try to get their attention. If you’re not talking about tangible results, keep asking each other, "So what?" So what if it’s an efficient system? So what if we have a lot of listings? So what if our service is high quality? By asking this question over and over again, you’ll get much closer to the real value you bring to customers.
2. Talk to Your Customers
Your existing customers are your best resource to find out what value you bring. Tell your customer you need help understanding the real value of your offering and you’d like a chance to learn their perspective. Most people are scared to ask their customers about this. If you are willing to try it, what you will learn can be a real eye-opener. What your customers have to say can not only change your value proposition, but it also can change your offerings and self-perception.
Don’t let another day go by with a weak value proposition. A strong one literally opens the doors for you, while a weak one keeps you on the outside.
Posted in Test Your Value Proposition, Continuous Feedback and Improvement
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Posted by David Bennett
Wed, 14 Jun 2006 17:21:00 GMT
Establish a regular feedback system.
If you have a website, set up a feedback form. If you have a paper or electronic newsletter, include a feedback opportunity. Include in your email signature a line that is linked to a feedback form. The goal is to have your contacts telling you how you’re doing.
Blogging is becoming the next big thing on the Internet. Explore the possibilities not only to share information but to gather information using this format.
Feedback, whether positive or negative is valuable to you, is a must. If you hone your listening skills, you can mine gold nuggets.
At the conclusion of every transaction, be sure to send a feedback form. Wait a month or so before you do it, so the halo effect is diminished. You need to know not just whether they were satisfied or not – you need to know what they valued the most from the services you provided. If you start to get a pattern of responses that indicate your detailed knowledge of the neighborhood and their property in particular was the most valuable thing to them, or perhaps it was your negotiating skills that saved a bad situation, you have learned some positive details you need to emphasize.
Allow anonymous feedback. You’ll close off a source of potentially helpful information otherwise.
If we don’t listen to our customers and prospects, if we don’t know what our customers want - how on earth do we know what to say to them? So be sure to encourage feedback from your customers - through every means possible.
Listen, listen and listen.
Posted in Establish a feedback system, Continuous Feedback and Improvement, Feedback System
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Posted by David Bennett
Sat, 17 Jun 2006 15:17:00 GMT
Evaluate Your Value Proposition
- Is your message simple, crystal clear and easy to understand? Do people get it right away?
- Do you get a "that’s for me" response when you use it?
- Can all your customers and business associates tell others what your message is?
- Is your marketing message on every single piece of marketing material you use, from your business card to your web site?
Posted in Continuous Feedback and Improvement, Evaluate your message
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Posted by David Bennett
Wed, 14 Jun 2006 17:07:00 GMT
Listen to what people say in every one-on-one situation.
Talk to your office staff and your personal assistants regularly. If they are on the front line, they may be hearing comments that will never be expressed to you.
When you are in social gatherings and in non-real estate situations (even in doctor’s offices waiting on your appointment) take advantage of the opportunity to strike up a conversation and find out about what people think about the real estate experience. In the guise of a friendly conversation, you can glean a lot of detail. The key is not to become defensive. Just ask and then listen.
Have a session in your office where you all share complaints – no matter how they come in: letters, email, in person. This may tend to give you a view of your customers when they are unhappy and dissatisfied. But you’re better off listening to them when they are complaining, than not listening at all.
Posted in Continuous Feedback and Improvement, Listen to what people say
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