Ribeezie: Social Media Business Strategy for Real Estate & Small Business

How To Determine Prices

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur has easily become one of my every day MUST READ blogs. If you haven't read it, you should head on over and subscribe (trust me, it's good and Mike is damn funny). You can even follow him on Twitter. But anyway, now that we're done with intro's and me telling you all about Mike, here's some solid advice from him on: How to Determine Prices. 

(Great advice for anyone in a service-based industry.)

On A Roll - How To Determine Prices from Obsidian on Vimeo.

Less Broadcasting Please

I don't like to tell people "you're doing it wrong" because you know what, we all do it our own way. And that's ok. But there is one thing that has to be said because I see people new to social media do it all the time!

STOP BROADCASTING!

Blatant self-promotion and the hard sell really doesn't work around here. Do you know why? It's because people really only care about two things: 

1. Finding a solution to their problem(s).
2. Being entertained.

If you're not offering one or the other, you're not providing much value. Period.

Deliver Edutainment:

A friend of mine used to always say that you have to strive to deliver "Edutainment" (the art of educating and entertaining). Here's a few things to keep in mind:

• Give away your Top Shelf content for free (through your blog, ebook or newsletter)! If you're selling a coaching (knowledge-based) product then it's ok to hold back a little but still, deliver the goods through your blog for free.

• Have fun with it (it's ok to have a sense of humor). You're not writing a college paper or essay. It's ok to get casual and conversational in your writing. And if you through up a "Just for Fun Friday" post that makes me laugh, heck, that's ok too.

• Remember, relationship before the sale. You know the old mantra: People do business with people they like. Well it's true! You have to hang out where your customers are hanging out on-line (on social networks, blogs, forums, etc.) and engage with them first. Friend them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter and start a dialogue that allows you to get to know one another. Then and only then, are they happy to promote your product on your behalf for free (and often times without you even asking them.

What do you think? Do you think people broadcast a little too much online? How do you find a good balance between engaging for fun, and broadcasting to make a sale?

Make It Easy for People to Reach You

I read a recent post from Sarah Worsham and it was dead on in it's advice. The post was about contact forms on blogs/websites and how you go about letting prospective customers reach you. See, a lot of sites (too many in my opinion), hide their contact information in an effort to prevent spam and to keep away from solicitors. This is understandable, but at the same time, if you're making people put work in just to reach you, isn't that effectively just saying... 

 

I Get It. 

You're trying to prevent spam and stay away from tele-marketers so you slap a contact form up there and presto, problem solved. I know A LOT of real estate agents who do this on their blogs/websites. 

BUT, on the other hand...

I think that qualifying prospects is part of your job. This means dealing with and weeding through the spam and solicitations from tele-marketers. Making your contact information as visible as possible on your website and on every page so that when a prospect who's fumbling through your content suddenly has the urge to contact you, they know where to do so rather than having to put work in to find you. 

What do you think? Am I wrong here? 

Don't Be That Guy!

I've been attending a lot of events lately. I get telemarketing calls almost daily (not to mention those bad spam email pitches). You get those too don't you? 

Well, today I just wanted to drop by and say just one thing: 

Don't be that guy!

A point Chris Brogan puts so well in this video...

Decide Who Your Perfect Customer Is

What does your perfect customer look like? How old is he or she? What kind of car does he/she drive? Income bracket? Family man or bachelor? 

Here's the thing. Don't just imagine it. Write it down. Grab a pen and paper and start a list and build on it every now and again. 

Then...

Every time you write new content (whether it's an email newsletter or a blog post, etc.), write as if you're speaking directly with your perfect customer. If he's a conservative, well-spoken, reserved family man, be formal. If he's an outgoing bachelor who likes to keep things casual, then relax and just chum it up. 

Write as if you're getting together with a friend over a cup of coffee. If you're good at what you do and you have something people want, they won't mind getting together over coffee. 

The point in all of this?

Humanize your interactions. Don't just dish out sales copy with your content. Don't just dish out features. Talk to the people you know would make good customers. Get to know them. Let them get to know you and your business better. Make a connection and they'll have a compelling enough reason to buy. 

But this only works if you know who you're talking to.