How to Establish a Realtor Relationship
One of the my favorite cable television shows is House Hunters. It’s part of the HGTV (Home & Garden Television) lineup and features a person or family searching for a new home.
As a viewer, you get to tour the inside and outside of homes throughout the U.S., all from the comfort of your seat.
House Hunters International is also a favorite. It’s the same premise as the U.S. version, touring you through homes in Spain, Italy, France, the Caribbean, and other lands.
Some homes are breathtaking inside and out. Some are perched on a hill so that a full view of the landscape or ocean are positioned perfectly through a window or back porch.
The person or family searching for a home is guided by a real estate agent, and after looking at three homes, the realtor writes an offer for the chosen home. You then see the new home owner inside of their residence months after possession, happy as can be in the new surroundings.
At the conclusion of each segment, I want to see one of your gift baskets in the real estate agent’s hands, welcoming the owners to their new home. The potential to make this come true in your business exists.
Yesterday, I talked about how the media’s mission is to focus on the negative. This is also true about problems in the housing industry. But contrary to what the media says, realtors are still selling homes and earning commissions.
It’s your goal to network with them, develop relationships, and convince them to buy a quantity of gift baskets from you each month that coincides with the average number of homes they sell each month.
Developing a relationship entails:
Adding real estate agents to your client list is a goal you can achieve.
Someone is house hunting right now. What steps will you take to make sure that your gift basket welcomes them when the paperwork is signed?
Gift Basket Competition - Are You Ready?
Lots of people have been downsized from the corporate world, and those people are looking for ways to continue feeding their families while searching for new jobs.
Some of these individuals will find employment, and others will start a business.
What will you do if one or more people in your city begin selling gift baskets? Are you prepared for the competition?
One designer client I spoke with recently is facing this situation, and she’s nervous.
“This company put an advertisement in the paper’s business section. How can I make sure my clients don’t buy from her?”
My answer:
Building a relationship around gift baskets and within clients’ personal lives will increase loyalty, and the competition will not be able to scale and wall you build with those clients.
If competitors begin showing up in print and at events, how will you react?
Household Name Gets into Gift Baskets
Did you read in a press release yesterday that Martha Stewart just launched a gift basket line through 1-800-Flowers? I found the news here.
Well-known people can lend their name to practically anything, and because of that name recognition and distribution chain, the product will do well.
Just read the descriptions of some of the basket themes. Take this one for example.
“The French Country Gift Basket features traditional goodies from the countryside, with dry-sausage, fine cheeses, mustard, a selection of jams, and pleasantly tart cornichons.”
Your gift basket descriptions can read as deliciously as that, too, or perhaps your customers appreciate another type of description. Your sales tell what’s working and what’s not.
One challenge for you in 2009 is for your business to become a household name in your community. Every time someone thinks of giving a gift basket, it’s up to you to have your business name be synonymous with the product.
As you achieve this, no other well-known name will matter.
What do you think about the Martha Stewart gift basket line? Do you see it as a challenge to your business or a way to boost gift baskets’ recognition worldwide?
Six Ways to Capitalize on New Competition
Attention Niagara County, New York gift basket designers!
On November 10, a new competitor will open their doors with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Harrison Place in Lockport.
Read the story here, even if you’re not in that area, as the same type of story may appear in your local newspaper in the future.
It’s important to know all competitors, even if they’re not exactly similar to your firm.
For example, Costco and Sam’s Club sell gift baskets. Here’s an article about Costco and my take on their them being a competitor.
Your operation may not be as large, so in that case they’re considered an indirect seller.
If you’re homebased and learn that another local homebased business is in operation, they are considered a direct competitor, going after similar targets in the same manner you market.
If I were in the Lockport area, I’d:
These are a few of the proactive methods available to you when a competitor makes their grand opening public.
Isn’t this “can do” list better than burying your head in the sand, wishing that it was you who was hosting the event?
What was your plan the last time you learned about a competitor, and how did you carry it out?
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