Take It From “The Babe”

18 08 2010

by Rob Wicker

Grantland Rice was a famous sportswriter in the 1920s. He once interviewed the great Babe Ruth when Ruth was mired in a slump. 

Rice asked: Babe, what do you do when you get in a batting slump? 

Ruth answered: I just keep going up there and swinging at ‘em…I know the law of averages will hold for me the way it does for everybody else.

The Babe struck out more times than anybody in baseball history, but as you know he also held the home run record for decades. Babe Ruth epitomizes the power of persistence. He endured plenty of tough times, including a childhood spent in an orphanage, to become America’s greatest sports hero. 

When times are tough, “just keep swinging at ‘em.”


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They’ll Miss Seeing You

26 07 2010

by Rob Wicker

We recently posted a blog stating that real estate magazines are one of the best ways to keep yourself in front of both prospective buyers and past clients.

I had a conversation with Serena Ring, the Homes & Land Publisher in Winston Salem, NC. Serena told me about an advertiser’s experience that illustrates this point.

Victoria Frye, a veteran Realtor with 25 years of experience, had taken the inside back page of Homes & Land magazine for the last couple of years. Victoria decided to drop the ad because she was not sure if she were getting enough bang for her advertising buck. After only two issues of not being in Homes & Land magazine, people were already telling Victoria that they missed seeing her ad. This was an eye-opening experience for Victoria. She now believes that an integrated approach to marketing is a must for successful Realtors. Victoria is taking the inside back cover in the August issue of Homes & Land.

Out of sight, out of mind – print does matter.


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Concise and Very True

19 07 2010

by Rob Wicker

For a slogan to be effective, it must be concise and it must be true. One of my favorite slogans is heard frequently around Christmas and Valentines Day: Diamonds Are Forever. The reason this works for De Beers is that as much as anything, diamonds really are forever, and the implication is that whatever romance is being celebrated will last forever too. 

I recently received an email from EJ and Lenny Cason, the publishers of Homes & Land of Greater Austin (TX). At the bottom of the email was a slogan that, to my mind, is true and important: Out of Sight, Out of Mind…Print Does Matter.  For any company or individual with a goal of creating top of mind awareness among consumers, these nine words should be strongly considered.


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Ink And Paper Win

12 07 2010

by Rob Wicker

Many pundits and bloggers believe that the future of magazines belongs to e-readers like the Kindle, Nook and iPad. As football commentator Lee Corso likes to say, “Not so fast my friend.”

As reported by Deliver Magazine, the CMO Council released a study showing that consumers prefer print over e-readers, and the score isn’t even close. Ninety percent of consumers surveyed said that they will continue to read printed magazines even with the option of an e-reader or online edition. 

In addition, in its most recent issue Advertising Age reports that magazine advertising is up for the first seven months of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.  Admittedly, 2009 was a rough year, but the uptick means that ad agencies and marketing departments are nowhere near abandoning printed magazines.

Why should they? Magazines are portable, accessible, focused, engaging and fun to read; most importantly, magazine advertising delivers a strong return on investment.

Go to delivermagazine.com to read the full story.


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How Bad Is It?

15 06 2010

by Rob Wicker

Many markets are still devastated by the bursting of the real estate bubble—but not all of them. I spent last week in the medium-sized city of Greenville, SC, and I was struck by the diversity of perception. Some agents told me that “nothing is moving” while other agents were doing quite nicely. I spoke with one agent that generated 500 inquiries in May and a small developer that recently had five closings in a week.

Now is the time to make sure you know how the market really is doing. Get your hands on the best information you can. Your Board of Realtors should be providing an easy to understand market report. Analyze the data carefully. You may be surprised at what you find. Some price ranges may be moving, and that is where you should focus at least some of your marketing dollars.

In a down market it’s easy to fall into the “nothing is moving” syndrome and think that it’s okay to stop trying. That can be a fatal mistake for your business—especially when your competition knows better and is trying really hard.


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