Take 5
Simple Activities That Lead to Sales Success
With Sean Carpenter
TRT: 3m 49s
Video Transcription

Sean Carpenter directly addresses camera:  Everyone talks about getting back to basics, but these basics were so effective, why do we stray from them in the first place? Hi, I'm Sean Carpenter, a RealtorŪ with Coldwell Banker and founder of Sean Speaks, based in Columbus, Ohio. Let's take five minutes to talk about some of the fundamental strategies that can significantly enhance your chances of sales success.

These strategies are simple yet powerful, rooted in the basics of building relationships and consistent communication. Why is it crucial to focus on the basics? Well, the reality is that the basics are simple and simplicity is what works. Building your business with these fundamental principles ensures you do the things proven to work. As the best baseball players still practice throwing and catching and hitting during spring training.

We too need to hone our basic skills consistently. One of the biggest mistakes in sales is thinking we need to get back to building relationships. We should have been fostering these connections all along. Real estate is property containing land and buildings, but the real estate business is really about the people, not just the properties. Every real estate transaction on the residential side results from a life event, whether it's a joyful one like a marriage or a new baby, or a challenging one like a divorce. Our goal is to be the first name people think of when they need help with these transitions.

To do that, you must build trust. Trust is built through the three C's competence, confidence and consistency. This means showing up in person, making phone calls, sending texts, emails, direct mail, and engaging on social media. It's about being everywhere your buyers and sellers are and making sure your interactions are meaningful and memorable. To ensure you are consistently reaching out to your clients.

Use the following six channels of communication.  The first is in-person events, attend community functions, host open houses and participate in local gatherings. Be active and engaged at your gym, your country club or children's school events.

Use people's names as much as possible to make conversations personal. Number two is voice to voice contact. Make regular phone calls to say hello, offer help or congratulations, or simply ask about their family and what's going on in their lives to show you care. Remember, it's not about real estate. It's about relationships.

Third, we have screen to screen reach outs. These are text messages for quick personal touches. Anytime you can earn that coveted top of the screen real estate on someone's phone, you have a chance to be top of mind. Next is email. Email newsletters with market updates and helpful tips can be a powerful way to show up on someone's radar.

Fifth, we have the mailbox. This means sending handwritten notes, postcards, brochures to the post office. With all the junk mail we receive these days, finding something personalized in the mailbox can really make someone's day.

Finally there's social media. Stay engaged with prospective customers by commenting on their posts, sharing useful content, and staying active on various platforms.

Using these channels, all of them consistently ensures that your presence is felt across different mediums, creating the impression that you're everywhere.

How frequently should you do these activities? A good target is 16 touches per year for each person. And this can be broken down into 12 automatic touches, such as monthly newsletters or four intentional touches like birthdays, anniversaries or congratulatory notes. Additionally, aim to comment on social media every few weeks and add in a marketing touch to stay top of mind. Personal touches like handwritten notes and pop by gifts will make a significant impact.

These gestures show clients that you genuinely care about them beyond the transaction. For example, after the March Madness tournament selections were announced. I reached out to people to congratulate people I know whose teams made it.

This small act of remembering their interests can go a long way in earning opportunities to help them, or someone they might know in the future. In the end, the key to sales success lies in building genuine relationships, maintaining consistent communication, and being trustworthy.

Remember, people want to do business with those they like and trust. So keep it simple. Stay consistent and always prioritize the people behind the transactions.