Build the Trust Before You Ask For the Business

Building trust really is the cornerstone of building awell is that it creates a familiarity - and people like to
business today.do business with people they "know," even if they
With marketing messages coming from everyonly know them through their letters.
direction, ads shouting wild promises that you knowSteps to Planning a Drip Marketing Campaign:
cannot be true, celebrities cheating on their wives,First decide which group of prospects will be your
bankers being caught in unsavory business deals, andfirst target audience. Define their problems - list them
politicians evading their taxes - or worse - most of usDecide what advice you can offer in response to
have a healthy dose of skepticism.each of those problems Create a call to action that
That makes it pretty tough for you to approach aincludes an offer of assistance for each problem Put
total stranger and convince them that you are THEyour list into a logical order Write a short letter
agent who can sell their home quickly and at aaddressing each problem - or each part of a problem
favorable price. It even makes it tough for you to- separately.
approach a buyer prospect and expect them toSet aside the better part of a day to write your
believe that you'll dedicate yourself to finding theirletters, so you can do them all at the same time. This
dream home at a price they can afford.assures continuity of thought and helps create a
Why should they listen to you?good flow from one letter to the next.
Because you're telling the truth, of course. But theyWhen you've finished writing...
don't know that yet.When you've finished writing your letters, set them
That's why drip marketing that offers advice andaside for a day or two. Then come back and edit
assistance is so powerful. When you offer help withthem before you put them to use. If you can enlist
no strings attached, you begin to take on the statussomeone else to read them, do it - and ask them to
of an advisor - someone people can trust becausebe on the lookout for typographical errors, mis-used
you aren't expecting anything in return.words, and any spots that don't flow well. It can be
Of course you're hoping for something in return -very difficult to catch your own errors, simply
their business. And you do gently ask for it in each ofbecause you know what it says.
your letters. But offering to do a free marketThen ask them to tell you what your letter said, in
analysis or to give a future buyer a special report onjust a few words. That will tell you if you've made
some facet of home buying creates a far differentyour meaning clear. Remember that when you're the
feeling than asking someone to sign a contract withone doing the writing, you know what you mean.
you.That makes it easy to leave out something
The second reason why drip marketing works soimportant.