A Guide to Strategic Marketing for Top Producers
Dear Customer: The right mindset, a doable action plan and a handy set of systems and tools make anything possible!

Shower the People...
Take a cue from the classic James Taylor song, and shower the people you love with love this month. Make it your mission to reach out and show appreciation to all of the important people in your life, from your family and friends to your loyal customers and career fans! Don't forget your co-workers and administrative staff; they often can make the difference between a good day and a
challenging one!

Bring on the Rain!
Ideas for making a difference in your career
By Julia Escobar, ProspectsPLUS! Director of Corporate Marketing
There is an old saying that timing has everything to do with the success of a rain dance. In other words, it is not luck or happenstance that creates the windfall; rather, it is the culmination of effective lead generation, consistent customer retention strategies and the
ability to close.

Spring is a time when many agents struggle to make their way in a changing market, feel a lull after a busy first quarter or even begin cultivating the seeds of burnout. Not you! Make your marketing rain this spring with quick focus, simple solutions and powerful energy boosters that will have you singing in the shower of success. Here
are some ideas to get you started:

1. Find your baseline. Each quarter brings a new opportunity to reestablish your revenue goal. Where are you in relation to where you want or need to be by year end? Ahead of the game? Wonderful! Build on that momentum as you take on the spring market. Not exactly where you should be? No problem! Redirect your energy, regain focus, and do some number crunching to find out exactly what your contact-to-contract ratio is so that you can get back on track. Sales is, always has been and always will be a numbers equation. How many contacts do you need to make today, tomorrow, this month to put yourself back in the game?

2. Customers are key. Jeffrey Fox's book How to Become a Rainmaker (see review) explains that the No. 1 success factor in any business is the ability to attract and keep customers. Outlining the importance of caring for your customers as the VIPs of your business by ensuring that the Golden Rule is your No. 1 rule is critical to building and maintaining a profitable foundation.

"Treat your customers as you wish to be treated" is an excellent starting point. Take a day to do some spring cleaning in your database. Cull the clients you no longer wish to work with, and add the new "friends" you have made in recent months. Most important, make this a time to really connect with your clients. Contact your top 30 personally. Send something to your entire sphere of influence and, if you haven't already, set up a system of monthly contact. Don't allow out of sight to become out of mind in the eyes of your customers.

3. Break out your inner social butterfly. There's no time like the present to spring into full-scale networking mode. This is a great time of year to fully leverage social and business gatherings to ramp up your sphere of influence. Get out there and meet people--lots of people--preferably with networks of their own to tap into. Pick up the phone and start filling your calendar with industry functions, community events, chamber of commerce meetings and gatherings of local international clubs such as Hispanic or Italian-American Associations.

What community groups can you align yourself with that might present an opportunity to network with movers and shakers who can help build your business? Get on board with local charity groups and events as a way to spread your wings and make a difference at the same time. Do NOT let the age-old "I'm too busy" excuse keep you cemented in mediocrity. Sales is--first and foremost--a people business. In order to grow your career, you need to grow your sphere. Get out there and meet people!

4. Differentiate yourself! Now more than ever, you need to set yourself apart from the pack. How can you express who you are and what you do in a way that captures your customers' hearts and loyalty? Staying in touch obviously takes spots one, two and three on the scale of importance. From there, you need to ignite your marketing with a memorable flavor or sense of who you are.

A customer recently began using our recipe cards on a small scale and quickly built that into her marketing image (see below). Now the "Recipe REALTOR®" gets regular calls from people who want to be included in her mailings.

Challenge yourself to step out of the norm and into the spotlight by finding new ways to strike a familiar chord with people in your community. Form alliances with local professionals such as attorneys and CPAs who have long lists of clients who might need your services. Consider learning more about our corporate marketing plan, which is a great way to become the "go-to" agent for local companies with 25 employees or more. You just might become the next best friend of your area's human resource leaders!

Visit www.prospectsplus.com to check out this month's ideas from our Master Marketing Schedule™ and order a free one for yourself, if you haven't already. Our creative thinking caps work overtime to help agents just like you!

5. Energize yourself and your career. Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth. Give yourself the gift of rejuvenation and better health by drinking more water and less coffee. Add at least 20 minutes of exercise to your daily to-do list. Walk, run or take a bike ride with your family, and ignite a passion to promote your physical and mental well-being. Don't let hectic schedules and chaotic calendars derail you. You deserve better. Exercise time is a great time to regroup, decompress and nurture the mental clarity and physical energy so vital to becoming a long-term top producer. With strength comes endurance. With clarity comes creativity. Step into a healthy routine, and you will find that you have so much more to offer this career. In short, you will be on the road to an extraordinary life!

Now is a great time to capture the spirit of spring and add new vitality to all you do. Look forward to each day for the opportunity that it
truly is.

Download our FREE BusinessBASE™ system at www.prospectsplus.com to learn more creative ways to boost production while saving time and money. While you're there, sign up for our FREE Master Marketing Schedule™.

We also invite you to schedule a Master Marketing Meeting™
for your office to discover the proven tools and techniques thousands of top performers already know. Call Julie today
at 1.800.287.5710 to find out more about this
results-producing workshop.

And the Winner Is... Deanna Zaganas,
Keller Williams American Premier Realty
"I bought ProspectsPLUS! two months after I got my real estate license. As a rookie, this software was so worth the money. I started using the newsletter to send to my sphere of influence. I got a few calls telling me how much they liked the recipes in my newsletter.

I decided to use the recipe postcards, laminating them and handing them out everywhere I go. Some businesses have asked me to leave a stack that they can put on their counters for customers to take.

When people started referring to me as the "Recipe REALTOR®," I decided to use that slogan to my advantage. Now when I advertise, I say: "Call your Recipe REALTOR®! She knows what is really cooking
in your neighborhood."

Deanna will receive 500 FREE postcards, including postage! You could be our next winner! Just e-mail us your testimonial today to be entered in our monthly drawing! Don't delay, act today!

Book Review
How to Become a Rainmaker
by Jeffery J. Fox
This book is an amazing quick read, filled with common sense that offers incredible insight into "rainmaking" in your business.

Take the book's lessons to heart as you discover how to "dollarize," master his "killer sales questions" and understand the philosophy that "a shot on goal is never a bad play!"

You will want to internalize much of the 165 pages and keep this gem in your library of great resources!

April Master Marketing Tips!
Renew your passion for making things happen this April with a host of wonderful reasons to touch base with the VIPs in your life!

April 8 - Easter
Send Easter wishes to your client base for this blessed spring holiday.

April 17 - Income Taxes Due
Throw an AFTER TAX DAY cocktail party for local CPAs, and you might just discover how a little networking can really "add up!"

April 22 - Earth Day
Celebrate Earth this month, and mark the annual event with a beautiful Earth Day postcard.

April 25 - Administrative Professionals Day
Choose 20 local businesses that you would like to add to your sphere, and drop by with a card, coffee gift certificate, muffins or some special treat to wish the administrative assistants a wonderful day. These important people are usually gatekeepers for the business owners, so don't hesitate to make friends! Start with the person who answers the phone at YOUR office!

For a complete list of this month's calendared events,
View the April Snapshot

Do You Have Your Copy Yet?
Supplies of our 2007-2008 Master Marketing Schedule™ are going fast! This FREE 24-month calendar is an invaluable guide to keeping
your marketing fresh, innovative and timely. Request yours today!

Do you have at least 10 agents and 30 minutes to spare at your next sales meeting?
Call us to schedule a FREE Master Marketing Meeting™! This fast-paced presentation provides agents with data mining strategies, corporate marketing ideas, objection handling techniques, FSBO tools and more. In just 30 short minutes, your agents will discover easy-to-implement tools and techniques designed to quickly boost their productivity - and their sales!

Call Julie Escobar at 800.287.5710 or visit www.prospectsplus.com and click on Master Marketing Meeting™ to schedule your FREE Master Marketing Meeting™ today!
Find out more...

ProspectsPLUS! Support Center
How can we help you? In an effort to constantly bring the very best marketing tools and solutions to our customers, we want to hear from you! E-mail Julie at julie.escobar@prospectsplus.com with your ideas for new campaigns for today's agents!

Need technical assistance? We can be reached at 800.287.5710
Mon.-Fri. 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. EST.

If you have
any technical or implementation questions, we'd be glad to help.

Just give us
a call at
800.287.5710.

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