A Reason for the Season? The 12 Touches of Christmas

This isn't about "five golden rings" or "seven swans a swimming."

Today, we're not talking about "lords a leapin'" or "maids a milking."

I want to talk about some realistic, doable reasons to contact your clients, customers or friends and family. This doesn't need to start on the 12th of December. Heck, it could start the 6 days before Christmas and then conclude the 6 days after Christmas. In fact, that might give it more legs...

Day 1 - Call to wish your contacts "Happy Holidays." - No designation or religious implication. Just a great phone call to let them know you were thinking about them heading into this festive season.

Day 2 - See Day 1, just add the next 10 people on your list. Same message, same emotion.

Day 3-6 - Admit it...if you just made this simple, yet easy, call (possible a 15 second message at most) to your last 50 clients or personal "bullseye" people in your database, you'd have more personal contact and valuable conversations in these six days leading up to one of our biggest holidays than at any other time of the year.

How long could 10 calls a day take you? Even if you still have shopping to complete, take your list of contacts with you. 2 calls between stores means you can "shop and service" at the same time.

Sample dialogue: "Greetings ________________, I was just out doing some last minute shopping and I was thinking about you today. I just wanted to call and say hello and wish you and the family "Happy Holidays." How's the new house? Is it all decorated for Christmas?  (or "Do you have your tree set up yet"...or "Does your new neighborhood do lots of decorations outside?")

Christmas Day - No prospecting allowed. Spend the day with family and friends and count your blessings. Turn off your "sales instincts" for this one day.

Day 7 - Touch base with some of your "sphere of influence" and invite them out for coffee, lunch, cocktails or an evening out. Any night between now and New Years. This is a typical "dead time" for many people so it just might be the ideal time to meet up for breakfast, lunch or a holiday beverage and talk about life, family and who knows?...Maybe people they know who might be looking to buy or sell in 2012. Maybe their own familial "life change" that could include a new house?

Day 8 - See who might be celebrating a birthday in late December or January.

What's that? You don't know who has a birthday in December or January? What a great reason to call then, no?

 "Hey Mr. ________, I am updating my database for 2012 and I'm trying to make a point of calling all of my friends because I want to have a reason to stay in touch in the new year. Can I get you and your family member's birthdays so I have a reason to keep in touch? Would it be okay if I stayed in touch with you in 2012?" (Let me know how many people tell you "No, we'd rather you drop off the face of the earth and forget about us)

(Trust me...if this is said with a mix of passion and genuine honesty, it will be a great call. - If you have to fake the honesty, please save you and the client the time and skip the call. The insincerity will show through your voice)

Day 9 - See who might be celebrating an anniversary in late December or January. What's that? You don't know who has an anniversary in December or January? What a great reason to call.

"Hey Mr. ________, I am updating my database for 2012 and I'm trying to make a point of calling all of my friends because I want to have a reason to stay in touch in the new year. Can I get you and your wife/husband's anniversary so I have a reason to keep in touch in the years to come?"

(Trust me - see Day 8)

Day 10 - "You know, over the holidays, I have run in to a lot of people who have asked me about the real estate market. So I've decided to put together a real estate newsletter/update/blog letting people know about what is happening in our city/community/neighborhood. Is that something that you would be interested in?

[yes]

"Great. What's the best email address to send this to? I'll make sure you get the newest one immediately.

"By the way, who do you think will be the next person to need real estate help in 2012?"

Day 11 - "Happy New Year to you (and your family)" - This is a perfect dialogue for those clients of yours that you just don't have that great relationship with but still would like to maintain contact with. There's a good chance that they won't want to have much dialogue with you either.

It's not that they don't like or respect you. It's just that they aren't very social people...and you are. So make the call, be polite and friendly, maximize the chances that they add your name and brand to the top of their mind...and move on to the next call.

Day 12 - "Happy New Year. I am just making some early calls today to wish you a safe celebration and to wish your ____________ (insert favorite college or pro football team, college basketball team or hockey team) good luck in their game this weekend.

"I am trying to grow my reach on social media in 2012. What is your Twitter handle? I'll make sure to follow you and will try to tweet you during the action this weekend."

Maybe you meet up to catch a bowl game, a playoff game or just to grab a few Christmas beers at the local pub to catch up. Whatever you do, it's gonna be better than sitting there and waiting for the phone to ring, right?

So what are you going to do? Will you actually put into action these ideas or will you just sit back and wait for 2012 to arrive?

Just like the gifts you'll be receiving in the next few weeks, some will "fit you" perfectly while others will not work so well. That's the same thing with business development ideas. Not all ideas are "one size fits all."

What ideas will you be using to build your business? Are there any other "reasons to call" your clients that I didn't mention? Drop them in the comments box below. Maybe we can all learn some new "hangover remedy" to start the New Year.

Until then, if you do nothing else over these next few "days of Christmas," find a way to build relationships, solve problems and have fun.

Those are the gifts that everyone will love and size, color or flavor doesn't matter.

You Don't Know Jack...But You Should

Everyone has some people in their lives that hold a special place. It could be a distant family member or an old college buddy. Perhaps it's a former co-worker or a it could be a neighbor.

The thing about all of these people is that when you get together with them, regardless of how much time has passed between visits, you can pick up right where you left off. You always seem to be enamored with their stories, you heed their advice and you feel comfortable seeking their counsel.

Jack Gordon is one of those people for me. Jack is the Landscape Architect for Glacier National Park in Northwest Montana and worked closely with my father during his visits and voluntary service in the park. Jack and my father combined efforts with one goal in mind - improve the visitor experience in Glacier National Park for all who pass through it's gates.

After my father passed away in 2000, Jack and his wife Tracey have remained very close with my mother. They help her out while she spends her summers here and their three children - Kirk, Ian and Elyse - have all helped my mom out with errands and babysitting when her grandchildren would visit. They sort of serve as mom's surrogate family out here and I think both parties benefit from the relationship.

I got to spend some time with Jack and Tracy last night over a wonderful birthday dinner for my mother at Caper's in Kalispell. (A special tip of the hat to owner's Vonnie and Doug Day for a wonderful meal and experience). We caught up on the family, the park and life in general. The Gordons are what you call "good people."

Do you have a Jack Gordon in your life? 

My guess is you do. As you read this blog post, did someone come to mind? When was the last time you saw that person? Was it yesterday? Last week? Or has it been a while?

Why don't you take the initiative and reach out to him or her and schedule a time to get together. If they aren't local, perhaps you could arrange a phone call or visit via Skype. You're not looking for business from these people but you never know...it might lead to a referral or something that improves your service moving forward.

It's funny how time seems to pass by so don't let an opportunity to get together with this person slide by. My friend and fellow real estate trainer Chris Leader from Leader's Edge Training always says, "People come into your lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime." I agree with Chris so you should figure out which one of those it might be for your "Jack Gordon" and get re-connected.

I'm glad my father had a chance to meet a guy like Jack Gordon all those years ago. I know my brothers and my mother are as well.

And you know what? I'm pretty sure my father is too.

Until next time, build relationships, solve problems and have fun.

Be Sharp - Think CARP

If you're like me, I know that you're amazed we're already almost 1/12th of the way through the new year. It won't be long before we're decking the halls and wondering what 2012 will bring us.

If you had great plans to keep in better touch with your sphere of influence, clients and potential new customers this year but have been spending the first 28 days of the year "getting ready to get ready," it's time to get into action. Here's a simple plan of attack for you to increase your "keep in touch" efforts for the rest of 2011.

Who? Anyone who you have "built a relationship" with in the past. Anyone who might have a "problem to be solved." Real estate or non real-estate, it doesn't matter. You are the kind of person who can help them find a solution. Anyone who you have "had fun" with in the past or hope to in the future.

What? Keep it simple - think of the acronym CARP. Your message should be...

• Consistent - Do you have or use a slogan? Mine was "Nobody Knows Homes Like a Carpenter" and people saw it on all of my printed materials and they hear it on my voice mails.


• Anticipated - Will people be expecting something from you like they expect to see Sports Illustrated in their mailbox each Thursday? Do you have a planned delivery schedule for your newsletters or post card campaigns? Will people get your market update at the beginning of each quarter or whenever you get around to it?


• Relevant - People today don't have time for nor appreciate getting "spam." Make sure your message provides them with some value.


• Personal - Is this something they can tell you took time to create yourself? Is the message to the "masses" or is it directed at them personally? You have a much better chance of them reading and acting on your message if it speaks to them directly.

When? On a regular basis. There are some built in dates like birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions but you should be touching base with these people at least 16 times a year (4 in person or "voice to voice" and 12 times via soft touch.)

Where? It doesn't matter the medium of communication with your followers - hand written notes, email messages, Facebook, Twitter or texts. Just start communicating. Now.

Why? That needs to be answered by you but my guess is you have a business plan for 2011 and beyond that involves helping more buyers and sellers make good decisions. One way you can be their "Realtor of choice" is to make sure they think of you when they need a Realtor.

What are you waiting for?

Start building relationships, solving problems and having fun today!

"Waiting for Godot" ~ The Real Estate Version

Back in high school, many of us had to study the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. For those who weren't lucky (?) enough to have been assigned to read this story/play, it's basically two characters - Vladimir and Estragon - waiting on a third person, the titular Godot, to show up.

That's it. That's the whole premise of the play.

Nope, nothing else. No murder mystery. No love story. No action packed fight sequence.

I hate to say it but, as I have been out in front of agents "in the field," I have been seeing a lot of people in the real estate industry just "waiting for Godot" lately.

Want to see if you're one of them? Ask yourself the following questions and be honest with your answers:

• When was the last time you spoke to your current Sellers voice to voice or face to face?
• How many times have you spoken voice to voice or face to face with any of your clients who have bought or sold a house with you in the last 12 months?
• What have you done for the people who have referred you leads in the last year?
• When was the last time you knocked on a For Sale By Owners door to offer assistance?
• Can you remember the last time you followed up with an expired Seller?
• Can you identify all the people who live on your immediate block...by name?
• What new organizations have you become a part of since this time last year?

Are you just sitting their "waiting for Godot"?

"Godot" might have visited you often back when the market was good but today is a new type of market and "Godot", like Elvis, has left the building.

It's time to take control of your business and quit waiting for it to come to you. Every day people will be deciding to sell their house and every day, people will be deciding to buy a house. Will they hear from you, either directly or via a personal referral?

Or will they end up using Vladimir or Estragon? They may not have a clue, but at least they are out there "on stage", in front of a live studio audience.

A "Note of Thanks" Affects the Writer and Reader

As many of you know, I am a huge proponent of personal notes. These can be thank you notes, birthday wishes, anniversary greetings or just because notes.

I was recently made aware of a really cool website from the folks at Xerox that allows visitors to send a free "greeting card" to a member of the United States militray currently serving somewhere in the world. It's called "Let's Say Thanks."

If you want to take a few minutes to feel really good about yourself and make someone else feel good too, visit this site and send a card of your own. Then send the link along to someone else so our men and women serving the country get a little piece of home for the holidays.