marketing (32)

Social Media Marketing: Friends With Benefits

Nowadays, social media marketing is very much akin to a friends with benefits type of situation.Always bear in mind when thinking about and planning social media marketing campaigns and strategy that you have to focus more on making friends than selling your products and promoting your business!Social media is just that, social. In order to utilize social media marketing effectively, it is important for you to understand and realize that fact.Be friendly. Be sociable. Be somebody that other people want to get to know better instead of only trying to be somebody people will buy things from.Actually, one of the basic tenets of salesmanship is that people will buy from those people they like. So, if you are likeable and friendly on social sites, you will certainly be much more likely to make sales to the friends and followers you acquire along the way!One word of caution: If you are not yet active in social media marketing but plan to be in the near future, you had better go ahead and reserve the user name you want to have on the social sites you plan to frequent.All of the major social media communities such as Facebook and Twitter are growing at astounding rates and adding new members daily.So, this might well be a situation of he who hesitates is lost, because if you wait long, someone else will probably grab the user name you want.When using SEO with social media, though, keep in mind that you are writing for real people, not a search engine. Remember that you are addressing friends, not Google.Make your Twitter tweets and Facebook Wall posts, etc. accordingly!If you go at social media marketing expecting to run it solely in a business-like way with lots of sales hype, you’ll be doomed before you even get started.Think of social media marketing more along the lines of friends with benefits that can help you grow your online business!
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Social bookmarking has become a powerful tool for many online business people, and you are losing a lot if you do not know how to use social bookmarking for your website's advantage. Take note that almost everybody has been using this traffic generating tool, so you have to make the most out of social bookmarking.Social bookmarking is one of the top techniques that you can use to promote your website and build more traffic. If you're not involved, it's time to get with the program!Social bookmarking started for me when I joined a few of the top social bookmarking sites. You may think this is all you need to do to get involved, but trust me – there is more to social bookmarking than simply joining the social bookmarking circles!The first thing to do is visit a few of the top social bookmarking sites: Digg, del.ici.ous, Furl, and Yahoo, just for example. You can do a Google search for these to find them if you've never been there before.Then, sign up for a free account with each of these. When signing up for an account, you will have the opportunity to select buttons that you can add to the end of each of your blog posts. This will allow readers of your blog to "Digg" your post over at the Digg social bookmarking site.When someone clicks on your Digg button, it will bring them to the Digg site, where they would login with their account username and password. The blog post or article would then appear as a URL, and the person who clicked "Digg" will have the opportunity to post a comment about your post.This can do nothing but good things for your website. If everyone gives your post a Digg, think of all the links in Digg you will have pointing back to your site. This will certainly increase your traffic when someone goes onto Digg looking for a post on a topic that interests them.This is where I initially went wrong in my social bookmarking efforts. You don't want to stop after just joining these social bookmarking sites and leaving a button on your blog posts for everyone else to find and click. You want to get actively involved in the social bookmarking process by becoming an active member of these sites.What I mean by being "active" is that you want to visit these sites, and find topics of interest to you, or topics that relate to your online business. Once you find other posts on your topic of interest, then you have the opportunity to bookmark, or "favorite" those posts, and add a comment.Doing this can really increase your traffic, as evidenced by my own increasing website stats just by doing this one thing alone. If you "favorite" other people's sites and they "favorite" your site and you each comment on other's posts, then you will soon have a network of links pointing back to your site.This important piece of the social bookmarking puzzle is something I didn't even realize myself until I got involved with my latest social bookmarking site called "Squidoo". Apparently, Google just loves Squidoo at the moment, so I jumped on the bandwagon along with others I know joining the site.The great thing about Squidoo and sites like MySpace is that you can create a "lens" which is just like a mini web page, or landing page that gives visitors to that lens a quick overview of what you have to offer. This will hopefully entice them to click your links and bring you more traffic.I've made darn sure this time that after creating my lens I did not just leave it at that. I have visited other lenses on my topic of interest, added those lenses to my "favorites" list, and sent comments to others in hopes that others will visit my links as well. So far, this has increased my traffic very quickly and I may even reach a personal goal thanks to this technique alone!Next, I am going to try creating more than one lens and link one to the other, which will hopefully entice visitors to read one of my lenses, and then click on to the other, increasing my traffic even more!The thing to watch out for when using social bookmarking sites is that you don't want to be a spammer who is out there just to get your links seen and clicked. As with anything in internet marketing, like forum posts, no one likes someone who is just there to advertise themselves. You want to offer valuable information, and make a valuable contribution by offering good advice, and great content.
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Be Seen in Social Media to Get Noticed

According to recent data collected by comScore, GroupM and M80, display ad exposure on social media networking sites lifts consumer response to your ads in paid search.Consumers are more likely to recognize and respond to your paid Google ad if they have also seen your display ads on a site such as Facebook or Linkedin. Research showed a 19 percentage point increase in searches on the study group brand among users who saw social media ads relevant to the brand. In other words---if someone sees your business in an ad on Facebook or another social media site…..and then sees you’re paid in a Google search…they are much more likely to recognize you.“Every day consumers express their intent via search. Now, we better understand how that intent is established via social media and the interplay between the channels,” says Chris Copeland, the CEO of GroupM Search—The Americas. Better yet, shoppers who have been exposed to influenced social media along with a paid search ad had a 50% higher click through rate!Now, that’s something to get excited about!“This finding provides strong evidence that investing in social media marketing can both increase initial brand consideration and drive higher conversion rates once the consumer has decided to purchase,” says Graham Mudd, the VP of comScore.If you are still dragging your heels and not utilizing the amazing opportunities for social media marketing---get with the program! You can build your business tremendously with social media marketing. It’s HOT and it’s getting hotter every day! Catch the wave and get in on the action! Facebook and Linkedin are great social media communities to join, but there are quite a few others. In fact, if you have a more specialized niche, it would be a good idea for you to do a Google search for online communities with users who have interests relevant to your products. For example, if you are selling auto accessories, join a social community of auto enthusiasts.The word is out about how being seen on social media sites can boost your click-throughs in paid search, so get busy making your business visible!
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Can You Track Success in Using Social Media?

Well....the plain, unvarnished truth is this: You can’t. Lots of very smart people on working on ways to track and measure social media marketing success, but to date there ain’t no such animal. All you can do if you’re going to be active in social media marketing, which you definitely should be, is to try and evaluate your goals in using social media and whether or not you are achieving those goals, or at least making progress.Here are some things to take into consideration when attempting to determine the success of your efforts in social media marketing and which approach you should take:• Remember what social media really is! It isn’t just about you trying to sell your stuff or promote your business. Social means just that---so socialize and don’t ram your products down the throats of all and sundry. Otherwise, your results will be much different than what you hoped for! It’s okay to promote your business some, naturally. But don’t overdo it and do make a point of giving other members something of value such as information or even entertainment. If you don’t think you can do this, then social media will not be successful for you.• Whatever you do in social media, try to assess a value. In other words, try to take stock of whether or not a particular tweet or comment produced the desired results for you. Obviously, you want keep doing the things that get the best results. If a certain photo or comment netted new followers or fans, then try to ascertain what it was about that particular thing that people liked, so that you can duplicate it.• Remember that having tons of followers or fans is not necessarily your ultimate goal in using social media marketing. In fact, quality is preferred over quantity. If you have 20,000 fans or followers and 75% of those people are spam accounts or auto followers, then what have you really got?In using social media marketing, since it’s basically impossible to track analytics of success, you should have a very clear goal for what you hope to accomplish by using this marketing technique. Then, simply do what needs to be done to try and achieve that goal!
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Social media marketing is hotter than a firecracker, and growing hotter every day as online entrepreneurs realize just how effective this particular marketing technique can be.If you aren’t using social media marketing---you should be.However, a word of caution: Use social media wisely or you can end up doing more harm to your business than good. There are certain, basic, unwritten rules of etiquette that apply to social media. Before diving into the deep end of the social media scene, familiarize yourself with these rules of etiquette so that you don’t jump in there and start putting your foot in it.There is a lot more to social media marketing than joining Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin and trying to get friends or followers. First of all, don’t rush in and start requesting friends like somebody that’s been stranded on a desert island alone for the past 10 years and is desperate now for companionship of any sort.Take your time. Go slowly. You’re impatient, that’s understandable. You have probably looked around and seen some of your competitors with 3000 friends and/or followers and you want to catch up. But, quality is actually much more important than quantity, anyway.Think of your social community friends sort of like traffic to your online store. You want traffic, of course. But you want the right kind of traffic, not just a torrent of visitors who are not ever going to become buyers. This applies to your social media friends, too. Be a bit selective about who your friends and followers are and aim for quality.A big No-No is to go through your online address book and send friend requests to everybody on it. You will not win friends this way. In fact, you will antagonize many of those people to the point where it will damage any existing relationship you have with them.The correct way to go about letting folks know you now have a page on Facebook or whatever is to announce it on your website, or in an email newsletter, or in your email signature. This way, your contacts who want to participate will, and the others who don’t want to---won’t. You don’t want them, anyway.Although you don’t want to bombard anyone you’ve ever emailed with friend requests, you do want to connect with net workers who approach you. If it seems like a real, live person and not a spammer, then friend them. Not to do so would be offensive and against the social media etiquette rules.Be professional at all times. Don’t tweet messages from Twitter that would offend some of your followers, for example. Remember that you never know who will read a message you post online or send out in a tweet!Don’t be too sales-y with your new friends, especially at first. People don’t like to feel used and it’s bad social manners to give someone the impression that you only want them as a friend to try and sell them something. You do want to build your business, naturally. But be tactful about it!Mind your manners in social media marketing and watch your business grow!
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I hear the debate all the time, and no I'm not talking about the Presidential debate - I'm referring to Twitter.Should we consider Twitter to be a marketing tool or is it just for people who have a lot of time on their hands and the need to jibber-jabber all day long?I will be honest, I was an early adopter of Twitter and then I walked away from it I couldn't see the value, recently my viewpoint has changed.Think of Twitter as a means to get instant public messages out to your audience, whether it is an audience of colleagues or potential customers.Twitter is becoming an increasingly important platform for online communication and, yes, conversation. TechCrunch reported that Twitter has more than 1 million users and approximately 3 million messages are posted daily.How can we use Twitter as a marketing tool?Good question. Let me see if I can help.Twitter As A Learning ToolAs I mentioned over 3 million messages are posted everyday. Are you mentioned in any of them? What about your company? This might be a good time to find out. Twitter provides a search engine that allows you plug-in company names, brand names, topics and even personal names. How is your buzz level? Are there any negative comments out there? If I were you I'd use the search engine to check in a regular basis.Today I found out that BMW made a customer unhappy and he Twittered about it. I learned that Weather Underground has some really cool iPhone application and that the chocolate cake at Macaroni Grill is deadly.All that was posted today! So, whether you are a Twitter or not someone may just be twitting about you.Use Twitter as a Media OutletYou can use Twitter to post news or updates about your company or products. However, please don't do this before you become familiar with the format and etiquette of Twitter. The best way to do this is to post a link to the full content of the news or update. Think of what's valuable to your consumers and let them here about it first on Twitter. You'll be amazed how your following will grow.A Promotional PalaceIt's not uncommon for companies to post promotions, sales, or specials on Twitter. An example would be Dell, they do it well. It's important to remember that Twitter is about conversation and breaking news, so be sure if you are posting promotional information that you make it conversational and personal. If I want an ad, I'll turn on TV.Create Character in Your BrandTwitter is a fantastic tool in giving your brand a voice and a personality. Being successful in Twittering you will have to put forth your personality and a unique style. That's what makes the difference and can increase your Twitter following and make it a successful marketing tool for you.Customer Service and Chit ChatAs you begin to use Twitter you will notice that it's all about conversation. It's about talking to your prospects and consumers; interacting with them. If you are not going to do this don't use Twitter as a marketing tool, it simply won't work. Make friends, be a friend and reply. Show your followers that you want to engage and be involved with them - this provides optimal customer service and that you are in fact personable.
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Social Media Marketing via Video

Social Media Marketing via Video When we talk about social media we immediately think of Facebook, Twitter and even Myspace, but often overlook the video option of YouTube.To help you understand the value of YouTube consider the following statistics:In March 2008 there were 78.3 million videos uploaded and growing at approximately 20 percent every month. In one day there is often more than 150,000 videos uploaded. In July of 2008 there were over 5 billion videos viewed on YouTube.Over 75% of the U.S. Internet audience views online videos. This accounts for 558 million hours of online video watching on a monthly basis. YouTube alone has over 258 million registered users, 50% of them visit weekly if not more.Are you seeing value yet? Of course you are. We all know that we must be innovative and creative with our marketing techniques and initiatives, so if we are not using YouTube, are we missing out? The short answer is yes.How can you use YouTube to market your products or services?YouTube has several categories that you can upload videos to. They include:• Autos and Vehicles• Comedy• Education• Entertainment• Film and Animation• Gaming• How-to and Style• Nonprofit and Activism• People and Blogs• Pets and Animals• Science and Technology• Sports• Travel and EventsYour next step is to make the determination of what category your products or services fit into. Keep in mind that when it comes to social media marketing it's not just about uploading a commercial for your product, but it's interacting with potential customers.What type of video could you post that consumers would find valuable and interactive?Could you put together a how-to video? What about an entertaining video showcasing your products? How about sharing a podcast that is entertaining and informative? Remember value and interaction are key when it comes to using social media to market effectively. There is a fine line, don't cross over it or you will do more harm than good and possibly detour potential customers rather than attract new customers.YouTube also introduced brand channels for companies to set up their own page that is branded by you and houses your videos. This is the YouTube concept of advertising and marketing, so while I would consider it more advertising than social media I do want you to be aware that it is an option. The problem with this option is YouTube is not very upfront about the cost, so you'll need to do some digging and make some phone calls to find out if this is a viable option for you.The fact is that YouTube is another effective way to utilize social media marketing and the cost are minimal if any at all. If you can create videos that share value and interaction with consumers you can post those videos to an audience of 78.3 million users. What you must remember is that your video will be one of 150,000 that are uploaded daily, so make it worth the time for users to view it. You also want to keep in mind that users 18 to 34 years of age frequently share videos with their family and friends, so there is a viral effect to be had here as well.As with any social media marketing strategies be creative, have fun but most of all do it - because your competitors probably are.
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To Blog Or Not To Blog That is The Question

Well, here I sit, trying to justify my time on the computer instead of reading more recruiting material for gaining new agents. Then it hit me, Jesse is absolutely correct! Blogging is going to be the best way for anyone to get their words of wisdom out into the clouds so they can filter down to the masses!Trying to think of things to blog about and I have decided that blogging is a great item to blog about! I will give you my rendition of what a good blog should be.1 - Timely in material matter2 - Grammar and spelling are important3 - It's ok to talk about things that you are good ata - BPO'sb - Networkingc - How to market hard to sell propertiesd - What to say (and more important) what Not to say to your asset managere - Education and designationsf - wow, this list can go on4 - Keep the blog short or at least somewhat informative to maintain your audiences level of interest instead of putting them to sleep.5 - It's ok to use humor in your blogging6 - It is ok to make mistakes7 - It is ok to accept and give CONSTRUCTIVE criticism8 - It is ok to agree to disagree - all of us are never going to see eye to eye and that is why this business is so wonderful9 - You don't have to spend the entire night blogging on one thing or even a bunch of things. It's ok to write, copy and paste into your other sites that you blog on.10 - During your open houses come up with good topics to write about and use your down time to come up with new ideas11 - Ask your colleagues, clients, and even your family what topics might interest them - you'd be surprised, but keep them clean please!!12 - Don't feel pressured to write a blog just to keep a blog on a page for the day, it's ok to take a day off!Well, this is my blog for the day and even if you got just one idea from it or used it as a tool of what NOT to blog about, that's ok too. Then I have been successful in my endeavors for the day.I hope you all have a Better Than Great Day!!
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After reading a message Regina posted about nfsti's training and education I quickly went to their website www.nfsti.com to check it out. I wondered how they were any different than the other companies and how they're website compared to others. I'd browsed through it when I noticed their instructors and coaches are actual AM's and people in the industry who are experienced and up to date on the times. I was impressed to see the amount of advise and resources they offer. It's nice to see they're not like a lot of these other companies that are obviously a get rich quick scheme. I became a member over a month ago and love it. They offer REO courses you really should check out.Last week there was a conference call talking about they're 3 different levels of marketing and how nfsti and REOMasters Network are teaming up to provide some positive and productive marketing resources, tools and support for both AM's and REO Agents (both seasoned and new). I heard Jesse ask some great questions about their marketing plan along with a bunch of other agents looking for advice on how to get in with AM's - the good and bad, which helped to answer alot of questions I've had as an agent breaking into the REO industry. Their marketing strategy makes sense for both sides of the industry, REO Agents as well as AM's which is awesome. My opinion - it encourages us all to work together more as a team instead of people maintaining the gimme gimme attitudes. I'm hoping to be able to sign up for the Executive level and go through the REO 2-day courses. It is costly for someone like me who is breaking into the REO's but it's definetly worth it and will pay off throughout my business. As soon as I can invest in it I will. I'm looking forward to working my business as it grows while teaming up with great companies like REOPRO, nfsti and REOMasters.Check it out and let me know what you all think!
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Are you a REO agent providing minimal information about each bank owned listing? The bank expects you to market each listing as much as possible so the best possible offer is received. You should never look at an REO property as a burden and/or think little effort is required. Remember, each successful sale contributes to the next listing you receive from the REO Company/Bank.Here are a few tips when listing the REO:• Take the time to take incredible picture of the property. If the property has been de-trashed after the listing, upload the new pictures to the MLS. Do not leave the garbage-ridden pictures on the MLS or your flyers.• Take the time to write about the property and its features. There is more to a property besides the standard, "Bank owned, sold as-is, great property." Write about the upgrades, good features, kitchen, amenities, etc. Give the property much needed attention.• Fill out the square footage and acres if your MLS does not import all of the information from the tax records.• Make sure your email address and fax is accurate.• Always list the docs required from the bank in the broker area regarding all offers.• Create a flyer and upload as an attachment in the MLS.• Upload the offer instructions and letter of intentions as attachments to the MLS.• List the property on various FREE websites. It is a good way to obtain buyers and investors for your database and sphere.• Keep copies (PDF) of all marketing efforts so the banks will know that you are giving your best.• Schedule showings and obtain feedbacks. You will need this information for the MMRs. If your area does not have a showing system, hire one or hire an assistant that can assist with your showings and feedback collection.• If you do not have your own website, consider getting a site through Point2 so you can display your REO listings or have a site created.• Create a network among local agents. Send updated listings to each on a weekly basis. Make sure you have permission. Even though marketing is an effort performed by all agents, I am still amazed at the number that balks when new listing emails are received.Some of these tips appear as common sense but it is not all common.Carolyn Dobbs, www.onlinerepa.com | www.reobookkeeper.com | www.point2close.com
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There are some that think “social media marketing” is just the latest buzz phrase in marketing, but the truth is it is a new venue that you can use to market and promote your products and services. Social media centers around interaction with colleagues, potential customers as well as current customers.I’ve found that when companies begin to dig into social media, they are not sure where to start. The information in this series will help you understand why social media marketing is important and how to begin to put it to work for you and your business.What the heck is social media and what role does it play in my marketing? This is probably a question I wouldn’t have received two years ago, but yet today it’s the most common question that enters my inbox.First off, let’s talk about what social media is. Social media represents low-cost tools that are used to combine technology and social interaction with the use of words. These tools are typically internet or mobile based. A few that you have probably heard of include Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.Social media gives marketers a voice and a way to communicate with peers, customers and potential consumers. It personalizes the “brand” and helps you to spread your message in a relaxed and conversational way.The downfall to social media, if you could call it that is that it must be a part of your everyday life in order to keep the momentum and attention you need for it to be successful.If you think that social media is only for the small business owners that are trying out an experiment, I have to correct you.Success stories are abundant when it comes using social media from headhunters that find job applicants to new businesses that want to introduce a new product as well as already established Fortune 500 companies that want to strengthen their brand. The role of social media in your marketing is to use it as a communication tool that makes you accessible to those interested in your product and makes you visible to those that don’t know your product. Use it as a tool that creates a personality behind your brand and creates relationships that you otherwise may never gain. This creates not only repeat-buyers, but customer loyalty. Fact is social media is so diversified that it can be used in whatever way best suits the interest and the needs of your business.
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MARCH MARKETING MADNESS - Investor Marketing Tips A-E

Starting March 1, investors can once again own and finance up to 10 individual properties and get Fannie Mae backed loans. The limit had been previously reduced to 4. This meant that an investor with 5 properties, great credit, and documented income could not finance an investment property without bringing in a partner or resorting to creative financing methods.

Undoubtedly, we will see increased activity from investors who had been halted by the limit.

In lieu of March Marketing Madness (a stimulus plan aimed at connecting agentswith these emerging investors), to help agents grow their business with realestate investors - every day I will post a new tip that can help you with yourinvestor clients and prospects.

Click here for tips A-Z


ADD VALUE to the service you provide.

To retain clients, gain referrals, and increase recurring business - you need to do something special to set yourself apart from your competition. There are many different ways to ADD VALUE to the service you provide for your clients, and providing resources is one of them.

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Owning rental property is tough, and real estate investors have a lot of pain points - like finding a handyman and other good resources. One easy way to ADD VALUE to your services is by helping solve these pain points. You can stand out from other real estate professionals by learning about your clients' wants, identifying their obstacles and pain points - and then pointing them in the direction of resources that can help. ADD VALUE to your services by educating yourself, becoming more knowledgeable for your clients, and by exhibiting a "how can I help" mentality that will keep clients coming back to you.


BE KNOWN in the areas you want to serve.

Make it your priority to BE KNOWN in your area - you won't get very far if no one knows about your business. Get to BE KNOWN amongst all the local business owners and group leaders. Contribute to local organizations and participate in venues where you can volunteer your services. The more people who know about you and the service you provide - and the better off you'll be.

Real estate investors know what they want and don't have trouble looking for it. Very often, they will rely on their network and referrals. When a client is looking for a service in your area, you want to be at the top of the list of known individuals who can provide it. Think of this as SEO (search engine optimization) - but in real life, not on Google. When an investor wants to purchase in your area, they will search through their network first, and use the recommendation that comes their way. You want to BE KNOWN within this network that they are using to search for results.


CREATE TAB to attract Investors

Many real estate agent sites are limited because of their "for buyers" and "for sellers" appearance. CREATE an INVESTOR TAB with resources that aren't focused on an immediate real estate transaction, it will help you connect with clients on a long term.

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On your "investor tab," you should provide resources that will help you connect with investor clients. Advertise services that investors might call you for. Even if you can't help with some of these services directly, you create an opportunity to connect with this client as you point them in the direction of the resource that they need.

DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS to last a lifetime.

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Your relationship with clients and prospects should go far beyond real estate. When you DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS with your clients to let them know they are more important to you than just a real estate transaction, the business opportunities will last a lifetime.

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On average, real estate investors purchase properties every 2.2 years, and 75% of their purchases are single family homes, condos and town homes. A real estate investor's concerns go far beyond the buying and selling process - and investors have a lot pain points surrounding owning and managing their real estate investments. An easy way to DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS with these clients is by providing them with good resources that can solve these pain points. Develop a long term relationship that benefits your clients, and you will secure substantial recurring business for years to come.

EDUCATE CLIENTS to make good decisions.

EDUCATE CLIENTS, so that they can make good, informed decisions. Turn yourself into an asset by providing valuable information that helps your clients make their decisions. This is a fundamental strategy you must use to keep them coming back to you.

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Clients need your help to make their decisions - they don't want you making decisions for them! A good decision is the result of having the right information and making the correct choice. Investors are long term repeat clients who know what they are looking for, and they need you to provide the right information so they can make the right choice. If you don't provide investors with information that can make them feel confident about the choices you have available, they don't have a reason to be confident in yourservices. So its important to EDUCATE CLIENTS, because providing them with good information lets them know that you are there to help them make the decisions that are right for them.


Click here for tips A-Z

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