M. Nack’s Blog

I had a conversation with my new teleseminar partners last night. We have been working really hard on a series of trainings on internet marketing and we’re really excited by the positive feedback we’re receiving. For an aging boomer such as myself to learn internet marketing strateiges - well, if I can do it…

Here’s the thing: no one adopts new strategies if the old ones are working. A quote from Abe Lincoln seems particularly pertinent to our current environment. (What a great nickname: “Honest Abe” - especially coming from Illinois - home of impeached governors.) He, of course, was talking about the Civil War and preserving the Union. Thank goodness Honest Abe realized he had to use a new strategy! 

    ”The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.”

That’s the position I find myself in: the lead generating strategies of the real estate boom are inadequate to the stormy present. I have been working REALLY hard for 2 years to generate the income I need to sustain myself. I’ve never been a stranger to hard work. But I would work and work and work and not generate adequate results. I finally came to the realization that I had hit a brick wall. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. If you’re in a hole, digging harder and faster will only get you in deeper.

Yes: doing calls, notes, pop-bys is a terrific way to connect with past clients. And it’s a spectacular way to incubate a lead (seems we get them 12-24 months out these days). And it’s not that our past clients don’t want to help. It’s just that they aren’t talking to anyone who is in a position to make a real estate decision. It was easy getting referrals when EVERYONE wanted to buy real estate - and as a consequence everyone wanted to sell. But the story is quite different these days.

Delving into these internet marketing strategies, I am beginning to realize that there IS an easier way!! It doesn’t have to be SO hard!! The way we did business in the “roaring 90’s” is inadequate for the stormy present. Just as “cold calling” was an awesome strategy for the 50’s and 60’s, “call, notes and pop-bys” was an amazing strategy for the 90’s. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, find out what we’re doing on www.NewMarketLeaders.com. Come on in, the water is just fine!

“All Things With Exuberance!”
mary!

On the eve of this historic inaugaration, on this Martin Luther King Day, it is impossible not to get caught up in contemplating the overwhelming odds we have overcome to get to where we are.

Consider what Obama and his campaign have done - something I haven’t witnessed since JFK came to office in 1961 - nearly 50 years ago! I was but a child - not old enough to comprehend the excitement of that inaugaration. I only reflected what my elders radiated. What Obama has done is rekindle a feeling that died on November 22, 1963. He has re-engaged the American people - the average man on the street - the ”Joe the Plumber” and the Mike the Machinist” - in their government. 

This disengagement of the American people began with that murder of  ”Camelot”. Then it was Vietnam, The Civil Rights Movement, The Democratic National Convention of 1968 in Chicago, LBJ not seeking re-election, pulling out of Vietnam like a whimpering dog and the tide of despair that Nixon rode in on. Whatever hopes we ”little people” may have had were dashed in those excrutiating Watergate hearings. Bill Clinton teased as the next JFK - but it all deteriorated into “policy wonks”, and, finally, Monica Lewinski - the bilous by-product of  The Great War - not WWI, but The War of Partisan Politics.

I take great exception to something Tom Brokaw said on “Meet The Press” yesterday - that the Boomers had their chance to shape history during the administrations of Clinton and George W. That for all our storm and thunder, what have we accomplished? And now the torch is passed to the next generation. But wait one minute, Tom! Even though Barack looks a boyish 37,  he is actually 47. He was born in 1961 - which makes him a Boomer! Granted, it’s the tail end of the Boomers - but our 3rd and last hurrah.

And anyway, who ever really thought of George W. as a Boomer? He always seemed like a throw-back. Which is exactly why the Conservative Right love him.

The “We Are One” concert that kicked off the Inaugural festivities yesterday was terrific. Generational disputes notwithstanding, it was delightful to have Pete Seeger - nearly 90 years young - lead us in the classic “This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land” written by a fellow that Pete actually shook hands with - Woody Guthrie. What a fantastic way to bring home the point: “E Pluribus Unum” - from many, one!

“All Things With Exuberance!”

mary!

On our teleseminar call last week, I shared a couple of paragraphs from an article by Peter Wallsten of The Washington Bureau that appeared in The Chicago Tribune on Weds, Jan 14, 2009. The article said:

    ”The organization, known internally as ‘Barack Obama 2.0′ is being designed to sustain a grass-roots network of millions that was mobilized last year to elect Obama and is now widely considered the country’s most potent political machine.

    ”Strategists for both parties say the scope of this permanent campaign structure is unprecedented for a sitting president. People familiar with the plan say Obama’s team would use the network in part to pressure lawmakers - particularly wavering members of the new president’s own party - to help him pass legislation on the economy, health care and energy.

    ”The plan could cause tensions with members of Congress, who are unlikely to welcome the idea of Obama’s political network targeting them from within their own districts…

    ”Strategists in both parties said the ideas being discussed would create a weapon for policy battles far more powerful than the speeches, news conferences and donor-targeted techniques used by past presidents.

    ”No one’s ever had these kind of resources,’ said political strategist Ed Rollins, who led political operations under President Ronald Reagan. ‘This would be the greatest political organization ever put together.’…”

I share this article with you because it demonstrates the incredible effectiveness of what the Obama campaign has done using very accessible AND AFFORDABLE Internet marketing strategies!

And what we’re teaching you are the very systems that the Obama campaign used so that you can win your election with YOUR database - “Marketing 2.0″

To hear a *FREE* recording of the call -or to register for our NEXT *FREE* call - where we will cover “Must Have Social Media Tools” - on Jan 22nd, go to: www.NewMarketLeaders.com

“All Things With Exuberance!
mary!

Whether or not you are an Obama supporter, his campaign proved one thing - his campaign’s marketing strategies worked like magic!

Obama literally came from “nowhere” to become Leader of the Free World.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been working really hard the past 12-18 months - and making less. I’m all about using whatever will work. Aren’t you?

Einstein said, ”The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”

In these challenging times, “business as usual” just doesn’t cut it.  It’s going to take a different way - a NEW way - of thinking about things. Obama’s campaign has shown us a different way - clearly a way that works!

Obama had to tackle 2 major issues: 
    1) He was a relative newcomer to the political scene without a large support base to draw upon. 
    2) With limited financial resources, he needed to overcome the the Clinton “money machine”.

“Business As Usual” wasn’t going to cut it for the Obama campaign. He was forced to devise a NEW strategy to win his election. He followed 4 steps:

I. He Created A “Bottom’s Up” Unique Selling Proposition [USP] - “Change We Can Believe In”
Most candidates (and business people and sales people), sit in a room “thinking up stuff” that they think might appeal to the public. One good friend who is also a REALTOR used a tag line on all of her marketing, “We Do Our Home Work.” Catchy. Clever. But how effective is it in getting me to choose her as my REALTOR?

What Obama did was a classic marketing strategy: he held “focus groups” in the form of “town meetings”. He ASKED people what they wanted in a candidate. He listened first and THEN came up with a USP based on what he was told. People wanted change. Ergo the USP “Change We Can Believe In”.

II. He Built An On-Line Community  
Now the campaign has its USP, it was time to take it to the “market”. What was so unique about what the Obama campaign did was to make extensive use of internet social media strategies - FaceBook, a blog, a website, YouTube videos. It probably started out due to lack of funding. However, the campaign utilized these tools so brilliantly that they ended up literally circumventing traditional media (newspapers, TV) to talk directly to their public. When a negative story would break on the news, the on-line community not only knew about it but had already heard Obama’s side of the story!

III. He Lowered The Barrier to “Buy In”
Instead of looking for huge donors to fund the campaign, the campaign asked for $5 donations! $5!! It was a complete game-changer. I remember thinking, “Heck, I don’t know if I want to vote for the guy - but I’ll give him $5 to give him a chance at being on the ballot.” But once I made the $5 ”commitment” - now I’m no longer standing on the outside looking in. Now I’m engaged! Now I’m watching the campaign with interest! And once I’m on the “inside” - they not only asked for my vote, they asked me to help get the vote out!

IV. Post Election Follow-Up
Even though the election is past, I am still being solicited for input. Obama is brilliantly allowing the community to shape policy. He’s converting ”Insiders” into Advocates! There was just an article in the Chicago Tribune on Weds, Jan 14th about “the country’s most potent politcial machine” and how Obama is using it to force his agenda on Congress. Do you let your advocates inform YOUR agenda?

During the Great Depression, huge fortunes were made by many. The Kennedy, Rothschild and Rockefeller families all dramatically increased their fortunes throughout the Depression. But it wasn’t just the rich who got richer - many ordinary citizens found a way to not only survive but thrive during a poor economy.

To learn more about the marketing genius of the Obama campaign and how to apply it to your business, go here: www.NewMarketLeaders.com

“All Things With Exuberance!
mary!