Vyral Marketing Client Message

RE: How to Work the Right People in Your Database

Clients,

Vyral CEO
Frank Klesitz

Every two weeks or so I interview a client on how they are getting results from their database.

I call these “Database Marketing Hangouts.” We talk about how to build a database, nurture it, and then proactively work it for business.

You can watch replays of all the events here.

Most interviews have been with top producing real estate agents - many selling over 100 homes a year - with a combination of internet lead generation, farming, outbound prospecting, open houses, and more to bring people into their database.

Their database is really a loose “email list” of thousands of people. They are using Vyral Marketing, not only to increase referral and repeat business from their past clients and sphere, but also to stay in touch with a massive number of leads and homeowners.

While there’s nothing wrong with this - in fact it’s highly recommended - these interviews do distract from the core of building a real database of people who will actually refer you.

The whole point of Vyral Marketing is to stay in touch with people you know to boost referrals and repeat business. You then complement this foundation by staying in touch with strangers, like internet leads.

I recently did a Google Hangout this week with Vyral Client Brian Lessinger about building and working a database of real relationships for referrals.

You can watch the replay here (my apologies for the “buzzing” sound in the video – I fixed the problem for next time).

He works a tight database of 450 families he built over 15 years of selling real estate in the Reno, NV area.

His database is tightly organized by each person’s likeliness to refer (A, B, and C contacts). He also has their contact information fully updated with detailed personal notes to reference on phone calls.

Ready for this? He sold 120 homes last year from his database of only 450 families!

How in the world did he do that?

He simply has a real relationship with each person on his list so they refer him and hire him again.

He stays in touch with print mailers, educational web videos, and phone calls by inviting each family to regular appreciation events throughout the year.

Brian is the perfect example why you don’t need a large database to get results. You want a database of real relationships. This relationship is what’s missing most of the time when you’re not seeing results from your database marketing plan.

Not to worry – there’s no need to delete all the strangers in your email list. Rather, I recommend you identify the most important people in your database so you can deepen the relationship with your “450 families.”

Here’s what I suggest you do:

1. Run a list of everyone you’ve done business with in the past few years (past clients)
2. Pull up all the people you’re friends with on LinkedIn and Facebook (sphere)
3. Write down the names of everyone you would call to invite to an appreciation event or just ask for a referral.
4. Mark those people as MOST IMPORTANT.

I’m sure you can come up with a list of a few hundred people. Facebook, LinkedIn, your past customer list, and even the people in your mobile phone make a great memory jogger.

I made a training video a few years back on how to segment your database. Watch it here.

When you make time to call your database to drum up business, start with your A-list people first. Then, work your way to the people who watch your videos.

Invite the best people in your database to an event, ask if they have any questions you can answer, or - if you’re in real estate - ask for their mortgage rate and put them in touch with your lender to save them money on a possible refinance.

The first place to start to improve your database marketing results is to identify the most important people in it so you can strengthen the relationship.

These are the people who will watch your videos and refer you. The best business comes from people you know, not from the people you don’t know.

If you know you need to identify the most important people in your database, let me know and I’ll make sure your Client Manager holds you accountable to do it.

The time you spend segmenting your database (however painful it is) is one of the best long-term investments you can make in your business.

With that, I hope you enjoyed your client message this week and have a wonderful weekend!

Thank you for being a Vyral Marketing client!

Frank Klesitz, CEO
Vyral Marketing