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Do you know why your Facebook lead generation, your direct mail efforts and your email marketing are failing?

There is ONE reason and one reason only, and guess what? I am going to talk with you about that today, teach it to you, walk you through how to overcome that reason and what to do instead.

Today, I am going to talk to you about why, the one reason that your Facebook lead generation, your direct mail efforts and your email marketing are not working for you.

Okay, we are going to talk about the one reason that your lead generation, all your lead generation, your email marketing, your direct marketing, your Facebook, why you are struggling with it. Why it’s not working.

Here’s the deal- let me give you some examples, these are real people, I’m not going to say their names, I’m not going to say their genders, I’m not going to give you their information- these are real situations that have come to me and flat out said “this is not working.

I’ve poured two-thousand dollars into my Facebook lead generation and I tried it for a few months, and it’s not working.”

Or “I dumped five-hundred dollars into a direct-mail mailing, and I didn’t get any results.”

And “I put twelve-hundred dollars into a paid list, and I sent out an email, was told the list was going to work, did not get any results.”

And “I put up a booth at a home and garden event- I spent a hundred dollars on giveaway stuff and I even had a drawing and got no results.”

Have you ever done any of these things and just been like “what on earth??” Throw your hands up, get frustrated, comment below and let me know.

Have you ever been so frustrated, when you did direct mail, you did Facebook marketing, you did direct-mailing, you did booths at events and stuff, and they are not working?

Comment below, I want to make sure that what I’m talking about today and is something that you need help with. So let me know.

What do all of these things have in common? This is where every single one of these things have something in common- every single one of these lack an understanding of the psychology of people. Now, that sounds all scholastic and academic, and do I really need to get into this?

Let me explain more, okay? It’s when you are lacking the knowledge of who the target (your person) is, what their desires are and how they will take next action.

So let me explain this, it’s a little “heavy” I guess. Basically, all of these lack an actual strategy. Every single thing that you do, you will fail if you don’t first understand the underlying strategy.

It’s not really about lead generation, it is, but it’s also not all about it either. I mean, lead generation is your end result, right?

Bear with me as I talk about this- the thing is, the most important thing about this that you must understand, in anything that you do, is the consumer, is the prospects of the very next logical step, and it’s a micro-step.

Now this is not your next logical step for them- it’s their next logical step. And I’ve talked about this a little bit, but here’s an example. When you send an email to somebody, via email marketing, the very next microscopic step is to get them to open the email.

When you send an email, the goal, at least for most of us, is “I want to get an appointment!” But that’s not actually the next logical microscopic step, it’s not the next thing that you need to work on.

When you send an email, the very next thing you need to work on is getting them to open the email. You need to get them to open it. So it’s not about a conversation, it’s not about a phone call, it’s not about an appointment- that’s the end game- but you need to bring them on the journey to make that happen.

So after they have opened the email, the very next microscopic step you should take is to get them to read the email. And this means that what you say in the subject line better be delivered in the email itself.

You better be truthful, and honest and actually giving them what you promised in the subject line. Because if you are not, then they won’t open any more emails from you. And they will start reporting your emails as spam, etc.  

So you don’t want to disappoint them. In fact, you want to deliver more than they think they are getting. So focus on “wow-ing” them, I guess is the best way to say it.

This concept is exactly the same for your Facebook business page, your direct mail, of course your email, your open houses, the Home & Garden shows that you go to, everything, that is your focus.

You need to be thinking the next microscopic step- “how can I bring them through this journey?” You have to learn who your person is, what they want and what they need. You have to give them valuable reasons why they should trust you.

This should not be you telling them why they should trust you- you cannot tell people “trust me, I know what I’m talking about.” Oh boy, I wish I could! I’ll explain that a little more later today, I really wish I could, but you can’t tell them. You have to show them. And you have to show them over and over and over and over.  

There are five-billion other people, five-billion other noises out there and you have to be the one who is consistent, and the one that is giving and the one that is teaching, educating, inspiring, motivating. You have to be the one that makes them say “Oh, that’s who I want to go with” and “that’s who I want to see.”

Here’s the thing- our industry actually does all of us a disservice when we “focus on getting the appointment.”  When we’re focused on that, just that, we are in a rush to get there.

Let me give you an example. I was at a street fair this weekend, it’s a huge events, street fair, Art on the Green, it’s a huge event, I think we have fifty or sixty thousand people who come into the town itself for it, that’s not my estimate, that’s what I’ve heard from the “officials,” they come into our area just for this event.

So we are at this event, we are there, it’s morning and we are totally chilled. I am business turned-off, tasks turned-off and just enjoying myself. We walk past a booth that is for Anderson Windows. We are looking into, we are starting the looking process to replace our windows.

Now we know, based off the brands we had been looking at before, and because of where the windows are in the house and how many there are and the fact we need wood windows, we know for a fact that it’s going to be expensive.

So we are a couple of years out, so this is a similar situation to someone who is going to buy a house, we are a couple of years out, so go to this booth.

We have already started looking at this Anderson dealer because number one, we have been using Home Depot and we are trying to some more customized windows and we want someone to make the windows that are truly the right size, so we know what we are looking for, right?

So we walk past this booth, and I go “oh look, an Anderson Windows booth” and they had a little slip of paper where I could fill out my information to be contacted later on, so I think “okay, I’ll do that.” So I fill out my stuff.

The lady in the booth, well, she pissed us off. Like I just wanted to fill that out, and have them contact me at a later date because I wasn’t truly focused on that because I was on a “vacation day,” so to speak.

I was serious about buying windows, but not for another two years or so. But she was relentless, she kept saying “make an appointment now” and “let’s make an appointment now,” and finally I was like, “I’m not going to make an appointment right now. I’m not going to do anything this year, it doesn’t matter what kind of deal you give us. Have them call me after this event.”

And they had even said “make sure you give us your information, because we will contact you later.” So it’s a commission thing, but she was nasty, frustrating and nasty, because all she could think about was getting to the appointment, because that’s probably what she made money for.

That’s our assumption after we left, based on how high-stressed she was.

Instead of her going “okay, where are these consumers? How are they doing? What are they doing at the street fair?” If she could only get the leads during the street fair, there are ways to do that- “hey, can I get your number, I’ll text you later on so we can do something via text so that I’m not interrupting your time right now.”

That would have been the next logical step, because literally, that’s where everybody else is, relaxing. We are not interested in looking at our calendars and making appointments for next week. I had no interest in doing that.

And so, that’s what I really want to stress here, is that when we focus on getting the appointments, we are more likely to lose the appointment. When we realize “what is the next step? How can I make it easier for them, to get them to where I want them to be, right from where they are?”

That’s why people feel pressured, and run screaming away from realtors, because they know it’s not about them as a consumer, they know it’s about the commission that they bring.

So, they don’t want to give us information. Same with this Anderson Windows woman- all she wanted to do was make an appointment. I was like “Nooooo!” Every hint that we gave her, she wasn’t even really responding, she was doing this “script, script, script,” bit. I hate those, I hate those.

They make me go, I don’t actually do this, but I want to say “Look, shut up. This is what we are doing, if you want my business, contact me later after this.” I did not do that, but that’s how I feel.

That is how the consumer feels when you, as a realtor, are just railroading over them, and trying to get to the appointment. So you need to consider and see what the very next step is in their journey.

Where are they? What mood are they in? What event are they at, and what would they most likely be doing?

Home & Garden shows are very different then a general art fair where people are just chilling out, we are going to Art on the Green, which is all art stuff, we are just chilling. Very different.

So just be aware of that, know where they are and treat them as if you are not stressed to get the appointment.

There is a distinct difference between a hard sell, and a know-like-trust business relationship, you know, if she had gone “you know, today is a day of relaxing, I’ll just text you later today or tonight, and you can respond at your leisure and I’ll give you some appointment times.”

That would have been way better then her trying to push me into something.

But, here’s the thing, just between you and I, let me walk you through what I’m doing, right here and now. I’m going to lay it all out right now, exactly what I’m doing right now to develop relationships so that you know that I am the source of what you need, and that’s my goal.

I went live every weekday in August, and I am probably going to actually extend that because I am having so much fun.

Why?

Because there are three main reasons- the first one is for myself. I want to develop the habit and the self-discipline to challenge myself to commit to doing something, and to do it even when I don’t want to do it or even when I’d rather do something else.

Let’s be real- every single weekday at 10 am, it’s been gorgeous here! I want to go into the pool sometimes, ya know, I want to go out with my husband sometimes, there are some ideas to have this business so I can be flexible. There are just times when I just don’t want to do this right now.

So I wanted to do this for myself, to develop a habit of self-discipline and to challenge myself to move forward.

The second reason I wanted to do this is for you, to give insane value. I wanted to answer the hundreds of questions that I receive every single week, to give you a place where you know you will be given the truth.

Tell it like it is. Where you won’t feel sold to, where you know that the answer I give you is best for you and your business, and not me and my business.

I wanted to have these videos and these resources for that exact reason.

So number one was for me, number two was for you and number three, here’s the underlying thing, when I do it all, it’s for Leads and Leverage.

I want to reach more real estate agents. I want to expand the business, I want to create a whole lot of content that I can repurpose.

I can use these videos for other trainings, I can use them as launch points for deeper lessons inside of Leads and Leverage, I can use them as a way to reach you on something that you are struggling with, because not all of you are struggling with all the same questions that I get, you are all struggling with your own things.

By doing this, I am able to reach you, guide you and give to you. This is huge. So those are the three main reasons why I do this.

So if you notice, not a single reason I’m doing this is to push a sale on you. If I have something that could help you, duh, absolutely I’m going to share it!

My main focus is not about selling, my main focus is about reaching you, so that I can build know-like-trust relationships.

My end game, of course my end game is to expand the business, of course my end game is to get more of you inside of Leads and Leverage so that you can experience the amazing community we have in there. Of course, that’s my end game.

But if you are new to this right now, if this is the first time you have ever watched one of these videos, if that’s all I was doing, was pitching to you to get into Leads and Leverage, you would have been like “dude, back off.” And you wouldn’t watch any other videos.

So I am very, very focused on building relationships with you.

I have a very specific passion for real estate agents, because our industry sets us up for failure.

87% of real estate agents are out of the business within five years, and quite frankly, that’s horrific. That’s terrible.

I am so sick of seeing the supposed successful agents pushing “this one way and one way only” to become successful.

Heck, I have lead generated more transactions than 99% of those gurus and terrible agents could ever even imagine possible. Ever. We have had a huge business consistently over time, and I know the behind the scenes secrets, I know that people have been changing.

Here are the keys- back in the 80s and 90s, buyers and sellers essentially did whatever we told them to do without research, without objection, they just did it.

Why?

Because we knew them. Because we knew nearly 100% of our buyers and sellers- they were referred to us by friends or other agents, but it was very much relational back then. We already had a know-like-trust relationship, boom, there was not a lot of noise, so they trusted us.

Then, between 2000 and 2010, there was a small shift- people started using the internet to do “pre-searches,” that’s what I call them.

They started learning that they could do actual research. And yet, real estate agents didn’t hop on board.

Oh my gosh, they didn’t. WordPress came out in 2001, or 2002, something like that, I mean, hello, Youtube came out in 2004, Facebook in 2006, to the public- and yet, so many of you don’t have your own website.

Like, you seriously don’t. You have a broker site, or you are using some vendor site but you still don’t have your own website.

When we realized where this was going, real estate agents didn’t hop on board, but we did, which is why we scaled so fast, and stayed that way. But it was still, back then, all about “selling” on the first meeting.

In other words, we were trying to build know-like-trust relationships all in the first thirty-to-sixty seconds we talked to someone, saw someone, etc, whether on the phone or in person.

And this is why video did so well for us, because we started the relationship before we ever even met people. That’s what gave us a leg up. That was huge.

Then, come 2010 to present, there has been a massive shift. This is where the keys came about- the ability to understand the psychology of people, the microsteps, etc.

Where was that shift? Well, it was social media, but it’s also the noise. All of the noise. You have to be on social media, absolutely, if you want to have a successful business, you have to be on social media.

However, however, you do not need to have profiles on every stinking social media thing that comes out. If there is some weirdo thing that oh, will get you referrals, how many of those do you guys get? How many of you sign up for these things? Because they are “free” and you can, you know, you signed up for it. There are like five bajillion of them and they will do nothing for you.

So it’s not just social media. You have to be on one or two platforms, that is it. I don’t care. If you are not Linkedin person, don’t get on Linkedin. If you hate Twitter, get your butt off of Twitter. Don’t bother. Do not bother. Be where you are going to be.

For me, that is Facebook and Instagram. I use Pinterest, but I use Pinterest for personal. I use Facebook for personal and for business, and I use Instagram for mostly personal but a little bit of business thrown in, and then I use Pinterest for personal.

Yep, I have profiles on Twitter, and LinkedIn, and I don’t know how many other but I do not use them. They are not helping you, so stop trying to be in all places at once. You cannot do it, it’s not possible, because you need to dive deep, not wide.

So you need to be developing relationships and creating them, but you cannot do that when you have multiple platforms.

It’s not possible. If you keep doing what “seemingly” worked before, and I mean the whole expecting people to know-like-trust you, and still expect to get in front of someone and actually get their attention for thirty-to-sixty seconds and get them to be loyal to you, if you keep trying to do it that way, you are going to keep failing.

It doesn’t work that way anymore.

There are two things that have been tossed around in the real estate business for, I don’t know how long, for like fifteen years, maybe twenty years, ever since the internet came along, and people were able to get sold data in most areas or they were able to start getting information- the words “authenticity” and “transparency.”

But here’s the thing, it’s still the industry’s idea of “authenticity” and “transparency,” is the data.

That’s it. That’s what they think is being “authentic” and “transparent.”

Do you know that social media is about real “authenticity?” It’s about real “transparency?” It’s about “real?”

What does that mean?

I’ve said this before- it means that if it sucks to sell right now, and you would never even want anyone you know to sell right now, but you are out trying to get a listing and saying “oh yeah, how’s the market?

Well, it’s better than I deserve!” Or however the heck your answer is, or whatever the kind of intensive training answer is that you have learned- that’s not authentic.

When you can tell someone “you know, unless I had a job transfer, unless I had XYZ, or whatever it is, I wouldn’t be selling anything right now.”

Until you are ready to be actually real, and authentic and truly transparent, everybody is going to know. The consumer’s going to know- do you know why?

Because there is someone else out there being truly authentic and transparent. They are telling you what’s working and what’s not.

The fact that I’m telling you that most vendor stuff does not work and it just creates noise- I get it. I’m not selling those vendor things, so I don’t have a vested interest in that, however, those same vendors have contacted me “hey, you could make $100,00!

Just send all our information in your email list.” Yes, that happens every single week- I get contacts from vendors who want me to sell crap to you guys. Some of its good, but I’m not going to sell it to you.

Why?

Because that’s not what you need! You do not need more crap!

You need to understand what’s going on right now, through people and the industry, and outside of the industry, and how to get past all that sales crap to get into the hearts and minds of people so that they want to use your services.

You want people to know you, to like you and to trust you.

Social media is about real authenticity, about real transparency and it’s about being real. It’s about you, not a brand. It’s about you, not a company.

It’s about you, not a business. Which is why logos, and colors and all that crap- they are useless. They’re useless. They are pretty, they are fun but they are useless, because what people remember is how they feel after they’ve experienced you.

How do they feel? Do they feel oily and icky because you are telling them “yeah, right now’s a great time to be buying or selling in the market, the market’s going up, you will want to get in before it goes down.” That’s just an example.

Or, are they feeling like “Oh, what else does this person say? Should my desires to buy or sell go beyond what I think? Should I buy or sell, should I not?” It works, because you are telling them the truth of what’s going on.

So how do they feel? You must connect with your prospects, flat out, before they will ever connect with you.

And if you want them to stick, you have to be real, you have to be transparent and you have to be willing to tell it like it is. I’m sure you could do it in a much more gracious way than I have ever done- I’m more blunt than most people.

But you need to be clear, you need to let them know, and you need to make them not worry about the sale or the one you might lose. You cannot worry about that- you have to focus on giving value, because quite frankly, the more people you help, the bigger your business will be.

It’s really that simple. But you really have to help them, you have to really help them.

So when you do this, when you focus your business on this, you have a huge leg up when you connect with people before they use their services.

And you stay connected through value and serving. Why? Because no amount of “guru hard-sell” will ever celebrate a loyal follower from you.

When you have done something, given something that has changed their life, changed their knowledge, changed their experience and you keep doing that, they are loyal. They won’t change.

What you hold to be true over time, do you know how many businesses similar to mine, when I started Leads and Leverage in the fall of 2013, I was literally the only company that was doing this.

There was not a single company out there that was teaching you like this, video, etc, on how to use Facebook for your real estate business, period.

There was not.

There were companies out there trying to sell you content for your Facebook business page, or posts to go on your page, yep, and it was a once or twice a week thing, well, there were businesses like that, but there were none like what I am doing.

Then, over the years, many have popped up, there are some that have completely copied what I made and tried to sell it, they have popped up. But they are not there anymore-why?

Because they are not invested in you. They don’t care. They have something to sell, and they are focusing on the deals, not on the long game. They are not focusing on that long stretch.

So what are you going to do now? I want you to reverse all this- I’m sharing all my knowledge and insight with you, what are you doing to focus on the long game, for someone’s life choices, for when they are buying and selling houses?

What can you do, who can you be? Because let me just tell you, if you are focusing on the deal, that’s all you will get- just a couple of deals.

But if you focus on helping people in the long run, I know that we hear this all the time in real estate, “every seven years, they become a client and I’ve got this many” and you are thinking “geez, I don’t have seven years because I needed food yesterday.”

But if you don’t start thinking that way and going “okay, I realize that I’m not helping anybody right now and that I don’t have any leads in the pipeline right now,” but if you don’t start helping people right now, you will always be struggling and trying to get leads into the pipeline.

You have to think of the long game, you have to think of the relationships you are building, absolutely. I don’t care if you are task-driven, or people-driven, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, because the name of the game is relationships.

So if you are not focused on teaching people and helping people through their journey, you are going to fail.

Eighty-seven percent of real estate agents fail- there is a reason for that. It’s because what we are taught- sucks.

It doesn’t actually work. It doesn’t.

You see the big “gurus” up there who have only been in the business for five years, even some that have made it a couple of years but there are so many “40 under 40” who don’t even make it past their first five years, they are part of the 87% too.

There are very few agents who apart of the big “guru,” who ever make it past the five year mark, and many of them are struggling because they haven’t adapted their businesses to what’s going on now.

Their profit margins are getting smaller because they keep throwing their money at the same things they were doing before, because they have more money to do that but their profit margins are getting smaller.

You are going to see a lot of them starting to shut up, shutting down. You see all these people starting to struggle, as you see us move towards another.

Featured Download: The Facebook Page Setup Checklist – specifically for real estate agents – get your Facebook page setup to capture real estate leads.