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Dear Friend,

Welcome to Marketing Monday!

Since this is the very first official Marketing Monday Newsletter and Podcast, I thought it would be a good idea to explain what Marketing Monday is all about.

In my last podcast I shared 10 killer Marketing Ideas for you real estate business, and the very first killer idea is to set aside at least part of one day each week to work ON your business instead of in it.

The first time I heard about the concept of working ON your business versus IN it, was in Michael Gerber’s book – The E-Myth.

The idea is that we get so caught up working in our business…doing all the things that keep us busy, and we just continue to do those things again and again, without getting any further ahead, or building any equity.

Cold prospecting is like that.

When you’re doing it…it’s like running on a hamster wheel. As long as you’re running, the hamster wheel keeps spinning, but as soon as you get off the wheel, it STOPS spinning, and you’re no further ahead.

Marketing Monday is about making a conscious decision to get OFF the hamster wheel for at least a few hours every week, and work ON your business. Thinking about it, and developing tools and systems that have LASTING value.

The difference is incredible. When you’re working on the kind of things we’ll be talking about at MarketingMonday.com – you’ll be building equity for your efforts, you’ll be making strategic decisions that will change everything about your business, and make your business easier, more fun…and MUCH more profitable.

So…being MARKETING Monday, we’re mostly going to talk about marketing. Specifically about Finding Buyers, Getting Listings and Converting leads.

When you think about it, those 3 things are the cornerstones of your business, and if you have a systematic way to Find buyers, get listings and convert leads, you have an unlimited opportunity in your business.

Now, I don’t know where you are in your business, you may be brand new, you may be a couple of years in the business…making it…but getting frustrated because it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier. You still have to do the same things you were doing your first year as a realtor. Cold calling, door knocking, open houses, floor time, farming, and not getting any further ahead.

You may be a successful realtor with a team of buyer agents and looking for leads to keep them all busy…without spending a fortune…and equipping them to convert more of the leads you DO give them to transactions.

No matter where you are in your business right now…Marketing Monday is going to be a time for you to really think about your business and intentionally CHOOSE where you want to go, and build a successful plan to get there.

Here’s what I’m going to help you with.

First, we’re going to get you off that cold prospecting hamster wheel, and focus on creating predictable, duplicatable systems to find buyer and get listings.

I’m going to help you stop wasting hundreds or thousands of dollars on marketing and advertising that doesn’t get results…and start spending money on advertising that MULTIPLIES that money instead of wasting it.

There’s no excuse to spend money on something that isn’t going to predictably give you at least a 5, 10 or 15 dollars back for every dollar you spend.

When you have a predictable system though…your own business is like having a license to print money.

Your real estate business is literally a gold mine…just waiting for you to mine it.

In order for this to work for you though, you’re going to have to do two things.

First, you’re going to have to be willing to set aside at least 2 or 3 hours a week to push the pause button on your life…step back and detach from your business to really take a look at where you’re headed, and start doing something a little different.

Second, you’ve got to be willing to check your ego at the door. Marketing Monday is not about personal promotion. In fact we’re going to get you to see the EXACT opposite is true. It’s about downplaying yourself in your marketing and focusing exclusively on your prospects.

They’ll be attracted to you like a magnet.

Our kind of advertising is going to focus on getting you RICH not FAMOUS.

It’s a lot less expensive to get rich..so we’ll focus on that first.

So, first things first, let’s get out your calendar and start by blocking off a couple or three hours NEXT Monday. I don’t expect you to start today. If Mondays are no good for you, pick a morning or afternoon any day of NEXT week.

If NEXT week is no good for you…go out 2 weeks, 3 weeks or however far you have to go to get a clearing in your calendar that you can steer around.

When you pick this time, choose it carefully. Consistency counts. I want you to pick a time that you can commit to week after week. A time you can build a new pattern around.

Just like your weekly office meeting or broker caravan. You probably never miss those, because you KNOW they’re scheduled. It’s just what you DO on Tuesday mornings or whenever it’s scheduled.

Consistently blocking off this time for yourself is going to be a turning point for you

A couple of years ago, I was thinking about how much I love to play golf, and how easy it is for me to play golf every day. I love it. I could play all the time. Then I started thinking about why it wasn’t as easy to do other things. Like writing newsletters, or free reports or other things, (even though I really like to do them once I get started) and I started thinking about what makes golf so easy to do, and I discovered some interesting things.

I think the reason it’s so easy to play golf is because there is an underlying structure to golf that can be transferred to other activities.

I started by thinking about the system of playing golf from beginning to end.

I start by deciding that I’m going to play golf.

• I get in my car and drive to the country club.
• I sign in and have my clubs brought out.
• I go to my locker, put on my shoes and go to the first tee.
• I hit my first shot, and I’m on my way.

Now I know that for the next 3 to 4 hours I am going to be on the golf course with no other interruptions or distractions, and when I get to the 18th hole, I’m done. I add up my score and see how I did.

I’ve discovered the things that make golf so easy can make everything else I want to do just as easy.  So I invented an acronym to help me.

G is for a Goal.

I start with a goal for what it is I want to do. I make a decision. Just like when I decide I’m going to go golfing, I know what I’m going to be doing for the next 4 hours, I’ve cut off all other options for that time.

I tried this with other things and started scheduling them in my calendar, so I knew what I was going to be doing, and cutting off all other options.
Tonight…my goal is to record this podcast, and get everything ready for the MarketingMonday premiere tomorrow.

O is for an Optimal Environment

Just like a golf course is set up specifically for playing golf, you need to be in an optimal environment for whatever you’re going to be doing.

If I’m outlining or planning a project or doing first drafts of something, I like to do them in a notebook and my favorite environment for that is a Starbucks or the Virgin Megastore café here in Orlando. If I’m writing on my laptop, I have a special chair in my office that I like to sit in with my laptop on my lap and my feet up. Same thing for conference calls.

My optimal environment is set up to support me in my 3 most valuable activities…reading, thinking and writing.

My office is set up with NO telephone, NO internet, NO TV…no distractions.
It’s going to be important for you to find a place you can disappear to work ON your business. I think you’ll find your office will be to distracting. You may want to try the library, or starbucks…or a conference room in your office.

Somewhere you can go to shut out the world for a few hours to focus.

L is for Limited Distractions

The beautiful thing about being on the golf course is that you are really away from it all. There are no phones to distract you. There is nobody dropping in to visit. No fires to put out. It’s a very controlled environment. The other thing is that it’s so easy to stay on track because there is a very systematic way you work through the golf course. You start on the first hole and progress through one hole at a time until you get to the 18th.
I started thinking about the ways I could limit the distractions I have while I’m working on a project. For me the biggest distraction is the telephone.

That’s where a good voice mail message comes in. Now, when I’m playing G.O.L.F. I leave a very detailed voice mail message that lets people who call know what I’m doing and when I’ll be returning calls. That way I can turn off the phones  (a trick I learned because I’m not very good at ignoring a ringing phone) and focus on what I’m doing as much as I do when I’m playing golf.

F is for a Fixed Time

When I go golfing, I know it’s going to take about four and a half hours from the time I leave my house to the time I get back, so there is some predictability that I can schedule around. I know when I’m going to be done and available to do something else.
I started scheduling fixed times for the things I want to get done, and it gives me a sense of calm about the things I’m doing. Time actually seems to slow down, and I’m getting a lot more done. For instance, I know that it takes 3 hours to write a newsletter like this from the time I sit down to think about and outline what I’m going to write, to the time it’s finished, proofread and e-mailed to the office. So I’ve started scheduling a fixed time in my schedule, usually one morning or evening, to do nothing but write my newsletter.

It’s great because now I don’t procrastinate about it, or carry it around in my head thinking about when I’m going to do it. I schedule it, and I do it.
Ok..well sometimes I procrastinate…but once I schedule it…it’s much easier to get it done.

So we’ve got a GOAL – we’re going to block off 2 – 3 hours to work ON your business.
Now, what is the Optimal Environment for you? Is it in your office with the door closed at your computer? Is it at Starbucks over a latte? Is it at your kitchen table early in the morning? Whatever the optimal environment for you would be is where you should plan to spend this working ON your business time.

Arrange things so that you have Limited Distractions by telling anyone you need to what you are doing, and not to disturb you. Put a message on your voice mail that says you’ll be returning calls in a couple of hours.

Finally, schedule a Fixed Time to do it. Mark it in your calendar and schedule around it so you’re sure to get it done.

So, on Marketing Monday, we’re going to be playing lots of G.O.L.F. and you’ll see if it helps you like it helps me!

Next, I want you to go and get yourself a notebook or journal and a binder to keep notes in…and label it Marketing Monday.

This is going to be Action Central for your NEW business model.

This is where we’re going to architect a Money Making Plan for your business.

That’s it for now…so schedule your time. Pick up a notebook…and for extra credit…go out and get yourself a copy of Michael Gerber’s book The E-Myth. I promise if you read that book, you’ll never look at your business the same way.

I’ll see you back here next week…for another episode of Marketing Monday.