smc salescamp spring 2010 handout

8/9/2019 SMC SalesCamp Spring 2010 Handout

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dennisoneil.com

410.343.9090

2009-2010 Dennis ONeil

Describe the walk to the coffee shop Photograph the employees Talk about the best specials and when they open Describe the local grocery Detail your favorite things about the grocery - its

produce, a special brand of ice cream, etc. Other local markets? Seafood, bakery, etc. Check-in & leave tips using Foursquare Use a Flip Video camera to film local restaurants Interview local business owners Write reviews of your favorite places to eat and drink Visit the local hot spots for nightlife Walk to the harbor and describe the trip

Visit and photograph the local festivals Video the street performers

Attend the local sporting events and tweet about them

Effective Communication on the Social WebSMC SalesCamp - 3/9/2010

Sharing Examples

What about the lifestyle here appeals to our prospective buyer?


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dennisoneil.com

410.343.9090

dennisoneil.com

410.343.9090


Google Alerts: Daily emails covering anunlimited number of search phrases

Trackur.com: Daily emails covering one phrase.Additional phrases with paid membership.

TweetBeep.com: Emails alerts for Twitter.comcontent. Up to 10 phrases free. Additionalavailable with paid subscription.

NutshellMail.com: Digest of your social circle

activity. Listening limited to your connections.

Effective Communication on the Social WebSMC SalesCamp - 3/9/2010

Listening Tools

Passive Listening:

TweetDeck.com: Free installed software for yourdesktop. Also available for iPhone.

TweetGrid: Up to 9 active Twitter search phraseson screen. Accessed through browser.

Monitter.com: Up to 3 active Twitter search

phrases on screen. Accessed through browser.

Active Listening in Twitter:


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410.343.9090


News:1. Tax credit news article2. Local real estate values article3. News of a local restaurant opening4. News article about mortgage rates5. News article about kitchen design trends6. Share an article on the tax benefits of home ownership7. Share an article about a nearby vacation destination8. Share an article on green building9. Share an article on energy efficiency10. Share details of the local Home & Garden show

Information:11. Link to the town/city entry in Wikipedia12. Link to local public transportation map13. Share a link to a Google map referencing localpoints of interest

Local Interest:14. Share a link to information about the local schoolfundraiser15. Report on the local high school football game16. Share photos of a local fair17. Link to school performance report

18. Link to news article featuring a local school studentor athlete19. Share news about a traffic detour

Help your prospects/owners:20. Share when you see a local help wanted sign21. Share a link to a local storage space rental place22. Link to local coffee house coupon23. Share a link to a business owned by a communityresident24. Direct people to a contingent buyers current houselisting to help it sell

25. Remind your followers when its time to plant bulbs26. Remind your followers about little league sign-updeadlines27. Share tips to help contingent buyers/prospects selltheir current home

Fun:28. Share a photo of the trees as the leaves changecolors29. Share photos of the best snow sledding hill in thecommunity30. Share a photo of a sunset in the community31. Share photos from a community cookout32. Tweet about the neighborhood kids lemonade stand33. Tweet about the local babysitting/pet-sitting service34. Tweet about your residents car for sale35. Invite followers to a community cookout

Community News:36. Share a photo of the new community entrancemonument37. Share a photo of the freshly planted flowers in thecommon area38. Share photos of the new community center underconstruction39. Announce that the community pool has opened40. Announce HOA Meeting

Gratitude:

41. Congratulate new home buyers42. Congratulate new home owners (Tag them in thetweet if theyre Twitter users)43. Thank a local Realtor for visiting a community (Tagthem in the Tweet if theyre Twitter users)

Promotion:44. A new community grand opening45. A new model grand opening46. A new floor plan being offered47. A new option incentive48. A new lot release

49. A new interest rate special50. A special price on an inventory home

Tweet This. 99 Ways for aHome Builder to use Twitter.

50 Things to Tweet


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dennisoneil.com

410.343.9090


Listen for names:1. Listen for your company/brand2. Listen for your community names3. Listen for your salespeoples names4. Listen for your competitors names5. Listen for your competitors community names6. Listen for people talking to your competitors

Listen for home buying conversations:7. Listen for people tweeting your city and new home8. Listen for people tweeting your city and move9. Listen for people tweeting your city and Realtor

10. Listen for people tweeting your city and foreclosure

Listen to public opinion:11. Listen for peoples opinions on the economy12. Listen for peoples opinions of the real estate market13. Listen for peoples opinions on mortgage rates

Listen to Realtor conversation:14. Listen to local Realtor conversation about the market15. Listen for Realtor mentions of new homes16. Listen for Realtor conversation about your brand17. Listen for Realtor conversation about your

competitors18. Listen to Realtor-to-consumer conversations

Listen for news:19. Listen for mortgage news20. Listen for financial news21. Listen to local politicians22. Listen to local economists23. Listen to your local Chamber of Commerce24. Listen to news from local newspapers25. Listen to news from local real estate bloggers26. Listen to Wall Street conversation about your brand

Listen to other industry sources of advice:27. Listen to conference news

(International Builder Show, PCBC, etc)28. Listen to industry new sources

(@builderonline, @bigbuilder)29. Listen to industry associations

(@homebuildrs, @nsmcnahb)30. Listen to industry sales trainers (My List of Trainers,http://twitter.com/dennisoneil/newhomesalestraining)31. Listen to industry technology consultants

(*cough* @dennisoneil *cough*)32. Listen to green building news (@ecohomemagazine)

33. Listen to real estate brands (@trulia, @zillow)

Local Interest:34. Listen to a local charity

Listen to consumer conversations about designtrends:35. Search for whirpool tub36. Search for granite kitchen countertop37. Search for Trex deck38. Search for kitchen remodel39. Search for sustainable & home

Listen for opinions about the city/town of aprospective community:40. Search for conversation about area businesses41. Search for conversation about area traffic42. Search for conversation about area schools43. Search for conversation about area recreation

Use Twitter to ask for feedback:44. Ask Twitter for feedback on your new floorplan45. Ask Twitter whats important in a new home46. Ask Twitter what would be a meaningful incentive

47. Ask Twitter what community amenities are important48. Ask Twitter for feedback on a new website design49. Ask local Realtors for their opinion on a newcommunity location

Tweet This. 99 Ways for aHome Builder to use Twitter.

49 Things to Listen for on Twitter


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LOCATION.

LOCATION.foursquare.How the Game will JoltMobile Real Estate Marketinginto Prime-time.

dennisoneil.com

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The mobile web offers some of real estates most exciting opportunities in thenext 5-10 years.

Some of the ideas Im about to share are certainly not the show me somecase studies type, but most great opportunities are best identified early,no? And as is the case with all impactful technologies, those companies thatidentify and take advantage of that potential sooner than their competitors,have an advantage. They gain critical trial-and-error wisdom that will taketheir competitors years to learn.

If youre interested in more background on mobile marketing for homebuilders, my posts from September and November of 2008 are a goodprimer. Id like to hash out what I see as the next step (not that, as anindustry, weve taken the first one yet.)

What were just beginning to see is the power of the Internet, combined withlocation specific relevance, combined with mobility, combined with personalrecommendations. Yes, all of this has taken off with a game by the name ofFoursquare.

For those of you not familiar with Foursquare, I encourage you to check outtheir website and even sign-up to play I was excited when the game wasfinally made available in my hometown of Baltimore.

The short explanation Foursquare is a game where users who register (forfree) use their mobile phones to check-in at any location/business to whichthey travel gas station, coffee shop, deli, school, etc. Players are rewardedfor check-ins based on volume, frequency, and consistency. After regular

check-ins at a particular location, a user may be awarded the status ofMayor. For

LOCATION.LOCATION.foursquare.

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example, a Foursquare player may carry the title of Mayor of Starbucks East & Main or Mayor of BP Gasoline Downtown. Players are alsoconnected to their friends, getting to see where their friends have traveled,

and even receive notes and recommendations left by their friends.

Why should any business care about Foursquare?First, Foursquare is building a very reliable local directory. Im sure more thana handful of people have been frustrated with local businessdirectories online. Foursquare is using its players to build an accuratedatabase of local business and is using the GPS data from their phones tohelp.

Second, Foursquare players are early adopters, meaning they tend to be

early users of new technology, and have a lot to do with a productsevolution into the mainstream. This also means that they have a highlikelihood to be influencers within their socialcircle; i.e. other people go to them for advice.

Third, Businesses can identify loyal customers.Most businesses would like to think they knowall their regulars, but for many, its not realistic.Businesses can identify those regular patronsand reward them. Many businesses in popularFoursquare cities, like New York, already offer

discounts and specials to whomever has beencrowned Mayor of their establishment Clickhere for a sample. What better way to rewardcustomer loyalty, and encourage others to visitmore?

Fourth, Research. Where do people go afterthey leave your business? What competitors aregrowing/shrinking their popularity? What else do people do around or nearyour business?

And if those arent good enough


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It seamlessly integrates with Twitter and Facebook making it easy for peopleto tell all their friends where they are, too.

Two great places to learn more about how businesses are usingfoursqaure:

foursquare.com Great samples, and the company has made acommitment to provide data to businesses in the future Like web analyticsfor real life Truly, this could develop into the online-to-offline trafficconnection weve been wishing for since the dawn of the Internet.Robert Scoble In a recent blog post he shared quite a few examples of howbusinesses are using Foursquare. Its more tech and less business, but a great

read.

So what does all of this mean for home buildersand real estate?Lets look at the key features of the game/service: Weve given consumers a fun tool that encourages them to log the places

theyve visited. Weve got a tool that employs geo-location to suggest new places

to its users. Weve got a tool that encourages its users to leave tips (aka reviews at

times) for their friends.

Below are just a handful of ideas:

1. A Parade of Homes where users would check-in at each model usingFoursquare. Reward participants for checking in at all the models on thetour, and encourage them to leave tips for future visitors. A little whileago I projected that within 18 months, somebody will do this. Id love tosee it happen sooner.

2. What about organizing a Realtor tour? Encourage agents to visit yourmodels on a tour, or simply encourage them to check-in at your modelsmore often (with clients preferably).

3. Reward your regulars. Identify the agents who visit more than one of yourcommunities.

4. Partner with a local business and offering their check-ins some type of

bonus to stop over for a model tour.

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410.343.9090




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But wait theres moreFoursquare recently announced it released an API(Application Programming Interface) a way for other

companies to build on top of its service. This means that almost any companywho can think of a creative or useful way to use Foursquares service, can nowintegrate the data into another system. When announcing the release of itsAPI, Foursquare shared that an integration is already under way with the Layarbrowser for Android powered mobile phones and iPhones. Not familiar withhow cool Layar is? You can see an example video here. Mashable.com alsohas a nice write up on why this API is big news.

Waste of time?Foursquare has been called a waste of time by some. Howmany remember when the Internet was called a waste of time? Istill hear that from some people today.

Some of the thoughts I shared above use Foursqaure as thebasis for the idea, but it may not actually be Foursquare that iseventually used to accomplish them. Like many tech startups,they can be bought in an instant, or theirtechnology duplicated by someone with a better twist. With the release of itsAPI, Foursquare has empowered a new world of possibilities. The eventualtool the home builder and real estate world embraces may not even look likeFoursquare.

Who knows, maybe therell be a white label Foursquare solution available toHome Builders Associations, Property Management Companies, and MultipleListing Services?

Most of this is a bit far out (not the concept, but the timeline). I dont expect tosee something like this for a while (maybe 3-6 months in an urban market),but I see amazing possibilities here.

What model home couldnt use more traffic? What model home doesnt wantmore visits from influencers in the community? What home builder isnt tryingto attract and identify active Realtors?


dennisoneil.com

410.343.9090


smc salescamp spring 2010 handout

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