First! A couple of posts ago, I wrote about Ninja Selling and got a piece of the story wrong. I gave Zan Monroe credit for the program when the real truth is that The Group, INC Larry Kendall Created that program and Zan is one of their top trainers/speakers.
I think a LOT about things . . . mostly, I want to squeeze the best value out of every minute of every day. What this means to me is that I am always looking for a way to get MORE accomplished in LESS time by strategically doing one LESS thing every iteration . . . I’m on a personal mission to prove that less IS more.
The best time leveraging tool any person on the planet has is a database . . . regardless of that person’s occupation. If you’ve got a “Rolodex” be it on paper or digital, that’s the place you go when you need something . . . Who do I need to call for this?
Without a database, every time you need something (ANYTHING) you’ve gotta start from scratch – do some research – before you can make the right call to the right person. You’re always recreating your wheel.
Additionally, the database offers the ability to categorize your “peeps” such that you can communicate to GROUPS easily such that your Christmas cards go to the right people and your marketing can be targeted to the right people etc.
Stay with me . . . I’m working my way to the real point.
There’s a component of many “Sales Training Programs” that I believe is missing . . . The importance of leveraging networking potential though efficient use of a database . . . I believe that THIS leverage is actually as important as being CRITICAL for community economic recovery.
What we all need to be learning these days is how to connect with each other through a collage of periodic community gatherings. Each “Gathering” offering benefit for all participants in terms of having a real theme identifying a real issue or opportunity in the community and providing a safe space for the participants to have a say.
In my world, I and my firm Pareto Realty, Inc are offering weekly “Vendor Spotlight Lunch & Learn” events for professionals in the real estate community (REALTORS, Lenders, Title Companies, etc) . . . EVERYONE is invited regardless of community affiliation.
Another community we support is a smaller population – Broker/Owners for a monthly gathering to share ideas and discuss emergent issues in the market.
ALL of this benefits the larger community . . . our CLIENTS as we all become more knowledgeable and effective through our participation in the above-mentioned events. All boats rise with the tide.
None of this happens (efficiently) without good use of a database.
I like the Ninja selling program because it is not based on a HUGE volume of marketing . . . It is based on very targeted relationships and proper use of a well crafted database.
For those who might be struggling with knowing what a “Well crafted Database” looks like, I’ll close with a snapshot of mine.
I have 5 main categories within which there may be subcategories (examples In parentheses)
1. Inner Circle – 200-250 deep relationships for real estate sales – (Friends, Family, Clients – Active & Inactive)
2. Vendors – @ 200 for support/leverage (Lenders, Title Companies, Home Inspectors, Appraisers, etc)
3. Mega-Agents – 250+ (I have @ 500) Top REALTOR contacts in the local market – People to whom you might send personal listing announcements or invite to events (Sub-categorize by Firm Name)
4. Out of Area REALTORS – As many as possible around the country for in/out going referrals (Subcategorize by MSA served for easy reference)
5. Network group . . . Everyone else I’ve ever met (I have @500 here) . . . They stay in the database and get quarterly touches in hopes they will “Graduate” into one of the other categories.
Do all this “Ninja Style” and everyone (including the community) WINS
I’m just sayin’
Best,
b