One of my favorite movies it the movie Miracle in which Kurt Russell is playing the coach of the Olympic Hockey team in 1980. In the movie it was his job to assemble a team that would be able to play against the Russians. The American association’s vision was to create a team that would not embarrass them as they felt that Russia would win. (Russia had won for the last 20 years straight).
Herb’s (the coach) vision was 3 core elements that would create a win:
- “We have to change the way we play the game.” The same strategy can not withstand the test of time. It must be free to move and evolve. We have to look at our competition differently and view our business differently too. In doing so, how has your target market changed? Is there different niches or opportunities that you should focus on this year? If so, make sure that your website has “calls to action” to engage the person and show that they can get information on those types of properties. Leverage your call to action messages on every marketing piece and that includes social media channels like Facebook, You Tube and more. Remember, people have changed in the way they get information.
- “I am not looking for the best players…I am looking for the right players.” This is the POWER in team synergy – the value of working in motion as a team. Business is more than just about you as an individual. It’s about the people you choose to work with everyday, the people you choose to attract into your business and into your life. Leverage the people on your team so they play to their strengths. Is someone on your team a natural connector and great negotiator? Perhaps they are perfect to handle the Short Sale client. Is another person the creative in lead generation strategy? Let them lead in a brainstorming session that allows this to blossom. Also remember that if you are the rainmaker that is the lead to generate the business, focus on those tasks that you know would be impossible to duplicate (like lead generation, listing presentations, etc). If you are one agent and running your business, surround yourself with like minded companies and people that can help you to reach your business goals and maximize what you do best.
- “We are a team of uncommon men. Because common men go nowhere”. Be willing to do what the competition is not willing to do. If it’s where you prospect every day for 2 hours a day, do it. If it’s walking your farm area and personally connecting with each homeowner, do it. If it’s personally following up with every lead first for 30 days (even though you have a buyer specialist) so that you have a vision of the market, do it! That is the uncommon element to success.
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I agree that tactics and strategy in business are ever changing. Especially doing any kind of marketing online, what works today, may not work tomorrow, and that’s part of the problem for business owners – a never ending learning curve, or having to pay for the expertise either by building your team, or outsourcing, to keep on top of this.
That said, a strong understanding of the fundamentals will keep you in good stead, as tactics themselves change. For example – visitor conversion tactics are a fundamental concept for doing any kind of marketing online, and I believe those tactics will change much slower than traffic generation, which is the really fast developing part of marketing online, and just as important as converting those visitors into leads or customers.