12410 Santa Monica Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90025 310.826.5663 - office 310.826.5677 - fax support@kossresource.com www.kossresource.com Growing Your CRE Business In the Digital Paradigm - 2015 Part 1 of 12 The Landscape Is Changing Embargo Date: January 15, 2015
2 Consider the Source Thank you very much for taking some time to read this paper. Growing Your CRE Business in the Digital Paradigm will present you with ideas about, and suggestions for the use of, digital/internet-related best practices, ideas, resources, tips, and tools which can positively impact the growth of your business. Most of the practices I will recommend in parts 1 through 6 of this series take very little time, are simple to master, and require little more than a commitment on your part to implement the steps and simple follow-through. Parts 7 through 12 will address more complex concepts. And as my business partner and mentor, Michael Koss, says: The most important discipline in the real estate business is discipline. So while I will take great pride in your finding this paper helpful to your CRE or related business, and I will greatly appreciate any feedback you care to share with me, I acknowledge that any success you do obtain will be more a result of your discipline than because you happened to read the words on these pages. Finally, please consider the following assumptions/ideas which influence this series: 1. Your ability to acquire and maintain customers is most valuable to your business. (If you can think of anything more valuable to your business please share your thoughts with me.) support@kossresource.com 2. Information usually has character. (The agenda of a person sharing information, impacts the information itself.) Consider the source. 3. My agenda is to get you to give Koss REsource a chance to help you grow your CRE business. (If you subscribe to #1 above, my agenda aligns with yours.) Either way, you may still find useful information in this series. 4. Helping you increases the likelihood that you will become or remain our customer. (I assume that you will want to do more business with those who contribute to your success.) We re willing to earn your business.
3 The CRE Business Development Landscape Is Changing In addition to discipline, personal relationships are one of the cornerstones of a successful commercial real estate business. The paradigm in which investors, brokers, lenders, and other CRE professionals once found and developed these relationships has shifted from being an almost completely offline process, to one that is very much digital and online. Most (if not all) of the people you would like to do business with in the coming year are online every day. And every day, no-matter what else they may be working on, or thinking about, they are also being reminded about, connecting, and reconnecting with people just like you. These are people that, like you, have access to people, capital, information, and other resources needed to get deals done. Sometimes these are people that they already have relationships with, sometimes the relationship begins online. the likelihood that prospects and existing clients will think of you first is becoming directly proportional to your digital visibility Whether it s a new prospect or an existing client, just like networking events, conferences, client meetings, and sales calls by phone or in person the internet is just one more way to get and keep you on their mind you can call it brand awareness, name reinforcement, but whatever labels you use, these are all ways of staying on the minds of your prospects and clients. Perhaps you ve heard the phrase There is no substitute for a face to face meeting. That s a great saying; it s greatly misleading. (Consider the source.) How many times have you substituted an email or a phone call for a face to face meeting today? Not to suggest that face to face meetings aren t important; they are in-fact one of the most important components in the customer acquisition and maintenance process. I m only offering a reminder that sending a letter, fax, phone call, email, or text message is often the way in which we get the face to face meeting in the first place. People who discount the digital of those approaches, whether because they happen to be newer, or because they don t know how to use them yet, or because they believe that they don t have value, have one thing in common. They are literally throwing-away valuable opportunities to others who are continually strengthening their relationships, and making new ones by leveraging the power of the Internet to increase their visibility to new prospects and to existing clients. Are you online? whether you ve been taking advantage of it or not, you can easily start using Social Media to improve your digital visibility 20 years ago the World Wide Web was considered a fad something that will pass. And over just the past few years, as people have increased their reliance on digital technologies like smart phones, tablets, and other online devices to connect and communicate, your digital visibility (your ability to be in front of them when they are online ) has grown profoundly important contributor to the likelihood that they may think of you. I propose that finally, like most other industries, in commercial real estate, the likelihood that prospects and existing clients will think of you first is becoming directly proportional to your digital visibility. One of the easiest ways to increase your digital visibility is with a set of FREE tools that are available to anyone who uses a computer or smart phone. And the best part is that the only skills needed to use the tools are the one s you ve already acquired in your business career. These tools are called Social Media. Yes, it s the same catchphrase you ve been hearing for years. For business people, the thought of Social Media may conjure images of kids texting each-other about whatever is interesting to kids these days. Platforms that may come to mind include Facebook, Google+, Koss REsource, LinkedIn, Twitter and others. You might think of apps or smartphones, or maybe the funny commercial about the grandmother posting pictures of her vacations on her living room wall. (Google it later.) Social Media may seem like something that isn t part of the CRE business at least not part of your CRE business. And it may be something that you have not yet leveraged in a way that meaningfully or even measurably impacts your business.
4 However, one of the great things about Social Media (more details about why Social Media is great for your CRE business in the next issue) is that whether you ve been taking advantage of it or not, you can easily start using Social Media to improve your digital visibility and make a positive impact on your CRE business right now. Rather than attempting to teach a bunch of Social Media strategies, in this first of a 12-part series, my goal is to provide you with a few actions that you can implement immediately, for zero dollars, and which you can accomplish in less time than it might take to get a cup of coffee in the morning. Understanding the Fundamentals The fundamentals of Social Media in business are not all that complicated. You may interact with clients to solicit new/repeat business, through personal interactions during the current business transaction and at supplemental meetings before and after, not-in-person correspondence like email fax and phone calls, and non-personal institutional advertising. In addition to providing an opportunity to ask for the business, these interactions also designed to strengthen your relationships so that when the time comes that the prospect (or your existing client) needs a service that you provide, that they will think of you first. Until Social Media, these were pretty much the only methods to stay on the minds of the people in your market. Social Media is a tool that fills the space between advertising and personal interaction in fact, Social Media is actually a little bit of both. And Social Media offers you opportunities to put yourself and your brand in front of the people in your target market with a frequency that was previously so cost-prohibitive as to be virtually impossible for all but the largest of brands. Why Do It? In 2015, virtually all of the largest brands in commercial real estate leverage social media on a daily basis. These brands are so well established that they could easily make a very strong case about why they don t need Social Media, but they have all come to the conclusion that they do. We ve surveyed hundreds of people from the top CRE companies, and while most of them incorporate some components of social media or digital advertising into their marketing efforts, we ve collected data from the respondents who are not yet leveraging Social Media or the Internet. Here are some of the most common explanations offered by companies who don t yet leverage Social Media: Everybody already knows us. Our business all comes from word of mouth referrals. We rely on our existing relationships. We already have too much business. or We wouldn t be able to take on any more business. We ve never gotten any business from the Internet. We need to do, but haven t gotten around to it yet. We don t advertise.
5 Many of the companies who argue strongly against leveraging Social Media do so while expending substantial resources on traditional forms of advertising. Perhaps companies who do not leverage social media today fail to do so because they somehow see Social Media as being not a part of advertising, marketing, or word of mouth referrals. (Using Social Media to gain word of mouth referrals will be discussed in a future issue.) You probably already have a gut feeling about how well you are leveraging Social Media. How do you feel about your answers to the following four questions? 1. Where 0 means not at-all visible and 10 means the most visible : How visible are you to current and potential clients online? 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (It s relatively simple to increase your visibility online.) 2. How often are you active on these platforms every month? (Every day?) (Start with one or two; and add one every few months.) 3. How often do you email clients and prospects? Email Is Critical! (It s free, instant, and easily repeatable.)
6 4. Are You Online (Every Day)? Do you invest a few minutes each morning to increase your online visibility? Network Action Time LinkedIn Update your profile / write a post 10 minutes Facebook Update your profile / write a post 7 minutes Twitter Compose a new Tweet 2 minutes Koss REsource Log in 17 seconds (These actions are free and will help you get more visibility online.) CRE Attitudes Are Changing We ve been asking active CRE professionals this question since 2011: What role does the Internet play in your CRE business? Actual answers from CRE conference attendees: Until the Next Issue (What role will the Internet play in your CRE business in 2015?) Thanks again for taking the time to read this issue. Take a moment really think about the amount of time you spend online every day. And whether or not it seems like a lot, you just read something that came from the Internet. And today, that s where most if not all of your existing and potential clients spend most of their business day. In the next issue I ll share several specific reminders including your new business cards didn t you know you had new ones? ;) and two ways you can get your clients to look at them and think of your more often.
7 If you d like more information about how a premium Koss REsource membership can improve your CRE business, email support@kossresource.com Samson Lov began his career in commercial real estate in 1994 working as a commercial mortgage broker for Koss Financial Corp. in Los Angeles, CA. In 2010, Samson Co-Founded Koss REsource with industry veteran, Michael Koss and with their awesome team they built Koss REsource to connect brokers, developers, investors, lenders, and mortgage bankers with each-other, financing, listings, and events. A passionate technologist focused on helping CRE people make and maintain relationships, Samson speaks regularly to companies and at real estate conferences about the positive impact of (and how to leverage) technology in the operation of real estate businesses, and has been featured in industry publications including National Mortgage Professional Magazine. Samson is active in the real estate and construction division of the Jewish Federation and serves on the board of Judaism by Choice in Los Angeles. He is an active supporting member of numerous commercial real estate associations including CMA (California Mortgage Association), CMBA (California Mortgage Bankers Association), ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers),MBa (Mortgage Bankers Association), NAIOP (Commercial Real Estate Development Association), and ULI (Urban Land Institute). Samson is also an avid cyclist, skier, and maker. Favorite Quote: As the cost of information approaches zero, the world tends to get better. Profile: www.kossresource.com/slov