by Brian Brady
Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL
“He’s Catholic but he’s awfully nice” was a comment you might have heard, in the 50’s. Now, I picked Catholicism but I could have picked Judaism, Evangelical Christianity, Islam… whatever. I’m using this as an example of how high the passions run when talk about a belief system. People are awfully defensive of their “mind-turf” and can be inflexible when it comes to considering a different school of thought.
Consider the RE.net. Do you like oranges or tomatoes? Did you cheer for Brady or Luther? Push versus pull? Will you call a lead a “lead”? It’s all seems stoopid yet it is ALL extremely important. Marketing is the new religion and sometimes our discussions escalate to the level of jihad.
…and that’s really okay. We’ll all get through it. Jew or Christian, push or pull, we’ll all achieve nirvana if we open our ears and listen…and be bold enough to act upon what we learn from each other.
I am a Real Estate Radio USA junkie. The Barrys are natural interviewers with just the right blend of doubt and enthusiasm. They are snaring some tremendous guests. Today, they interviewed Craig Proctor.
The Cliff Notes of what Craig Proctor said were:
1- Marketing trumps prospecting. AMEN
2- Marketing should be automated. Done properly, marketing automation allows us to spend 70% of our time doing our job rather than chasing business- AMEN
3- Direct response advertising trumps image advertising. AMEN, Brother.
4- Blogging is good to the extent that it produces leads and not to the extent that it (and I quote) “entertains or educates”. OUCH! Kinda stings, doesn’t it?
5- Marketing should produce so many leads that you should be able to pick and choose your clients. In fact, the most important thing in your real estate or mortgage brokerage practice IS lead generation. (We’ve heard that before). That is not to say that you should spend all your time on it but you must be OBSESSED with lead generation so that you CAN do your job effectively.
If you’re a member of the cult, it kind of sounds like one of the revival meetings, doesn’t it? That’s because Craig is one of his faithful followers, like I am.
Alas, not everyone thinks like me. One of Craig’s competitors incited a riot with this criticism. 195 comments, over seven months, before they closed down the comment thread to the chagrin of the faithful. If marketing ain’t religion to us real estate folk, I don’t know what is.
Please don’t mistake my commentary for blasphemy. The point I’m trying to make is that we subscribe to certain marketing philosophies like we would faith formation. Marketing is the life-blood of our practices so it is only natural we’d be passionate about the systems we use, the strategies we develop, and the tactics we deploy. Nobody wants to be the emperor with no clothes so we all vehemently defend the systems we use.
BloodhoundBlog is the church of real estate marketing (at least we’re trying to get to such a holy state). It’s a unitarian church, though, with divergent ideas. Greg Swann scoffs at the Chokepoint Charlies and Brian Brady worships at the altar of Keller & Jenks. Jeff Brown will beg you to evangelize while Sean Purcell encourages a more holistic approach to connect with more people. It’s the Pontiff in the Synangogue at BloodhoundBlog.
The participatory internet has created an ideas explosion not seen since the days of the industrial revolution. Zillow created a revolutionary marketplace but the believers still look in the newspaper to get their mortgage. The enlightened call out the unwashed while the Luddites want the enlightened ones to show them the money. All of this is happening while the devil creates chaos.
We’re obsessed with this stuff. We’re zealots. Marketing is religion, at least in our little world. The big world is changing dramatically with every rotation of the earth but the more things change, the more they stay the same. We’re all different in our practice but in the end we’re all trying to find that state of grace;
kismet with the consumer.
My ears are wide open. Grab a pew and pass the plate.
Jeff Brown says:
Mark me down as Pastor of The Church of Results. Amen Brother Brady.
May 13, 2008 — 11:45 pm
Laurie Manny says:
Amen!
May 14, 2008 — 2:03 am
Mike Farmer says:
I think of marketing in a different way. I am not a follower of any particular marketing system in a religious way – I’m open to new ideas that work, critical of what I think doesn’t work, and ready to change on a dime.
One of the problems, though, is any marketing system can become a religion, and while religion is built on faith, marketing should be built on what Jeff says – results — marketing can be analyzed through rational methods — faith is a different matter.
Also, Craig’s admonition to blog for leads and not entertainment and education doesn’t sting, simply because I disagree with him with no particular emotional reaction. That’s his belief and that’s fine —
I agree him with as far as a business blog goes. However, like has been discussed, blogging for entertainment and education on an industry blog (or blog with broader intentions) is a personal choice and really falls outside the realm of anyone’s concern except the individual choosing to blog.
Also, you can entertain and educate as a primary purpose and still get leads as a by-product, so they aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.
It’s impossible for me to apply the tenets of faith to rational business choices.
May 14, 2008 — 3:04 am
Rebecca Levinson says:
I find I do get emotional about marketing, but it is more the lack of, than the employment of a certain system that drives me crazy. Well, that and the employment of a system that has never proven to be successful, but keeps on being worked and worshipped.
May 14, 2008 — 6:21 am
louis@homegain.com says:
Brian
I think there is a bit too much hyperbole in the new marketing.
When we say things like “Zillow’s Revolutionary New Market Place” to describe the banal act of capturing leads and selling ads I think we’ve gone beyond religion in into cultosphere.
As Jeff says its about results- not hype.
And I am with Mike if your marketing doesn’t lead to profit but merely creates a stir, it shouldn’t be “praised”
May 14, 2008 — 7:35 am
Barry Cunningham says:
Hey Brian,
Keep listening and we’re going to keep brining it! As I said yesterday, this is our new focus and I have always believed that “Marketing is a religion”. If you’re in business..(I mean that is why we’re here..right?) you need to be very adept at marketing. IMO
“I’m open to new ideas that work”
Proctor does 500 deals per year. It works. End of story. Next time someone disagrees, look in the mirror and ask..how many sides do I do per year?
Our office sits directly above a ReMax office with over 300 agents. Not one I have spoken to has ever spoken to or even tried to speak to one of the highest producing agents in the world.
When you are the Proctors and Shaw’s of the world you should be and have earned EF Hutton status. Why is it so many just don’t listen.
In any event we’ll have Craig back on in a bit and he’s going to talk more about his marketing.
Thanks for listening and please continue to do so! It’s greatly appreciated.
May 14, 2008 — 7:37 am
Brian Brady says:
“Thanks for listening and please continue to do so! It’s greatly appreciated.”
So is your work, Barry.
May 14, 2008 — 7:57 am
Sean Purcell says:
Brian,
Brilliant post. And it only took me two hours to get through it! Lots of links and everyone of them made me better.
The great thing about marketing and prospecting is that there is no one way to do it. Like religion, there are many versions and we must all find what works for us. As you have said before, what is important is knowing what business we are in: the lead generation business.
Thanks for a great read.
May 14, 2008 — 8:47 am
Mike Farmer says:
I didn’t mean to come across as disagreeing with the article, or Craig Proctor’s general message — what i was clumsily trying to say is that some religious-type beliefs are blinding.
I have a religious-type belief in my principles that I’m passionate about and that is what I got from this.
The first year I got my broker’s license I was a managing broker for a owner who religiously followed Craig Proctor’s marketing plan — I was even sent to Phoenix for training. He has some good things going as far as marketing goes, but most of all he’s a master at marketing Craig Proctor — for that I tipped my hat.
May 14, 2008 — 5:57 pm