You won't find "talkability" in any dictionary. But it has
everything to do with your
personal marketing
program. This article explains what it is and how it can help
you grow your business.
Let's start with a definition:
Talkability (noun) - 1. The ease with which a product or
service can be talked about. 2. The likelihood that a product or
service will be talked about.
Ever experience a product or service so incredible, so above and
beyond the norm, that you couldn't wait to tell someone about
it? That's talkability. Talkability is more powerful than
"noteworthy" and more interesting than "interesting." It lives
in the "remarkable" neighborhood.
So what does it have to do with real estate? Well, if you
realize that most real estate business comes from referrals,
you'll begin to see the true power of talkability in helping you
grow your business.
Increasing Your Talkability Factor
To increase the talkability of your services, you must offer
something so unique it's virtually impossible for people to keep
to themselves, something they cannot resist talking about. A
first step is to ask yourself the question, "If I were my own
client, what would be remarkable to me?"
This is the fun part. It's called the "What if" game. First,
turn off your internal critic, that little nagging voice that
says things like "That's silly" or "That will never work." Next,
make a list of "What if" statements about your services:
What if I found a way to offer free interior design
consultations to buyers, redeemable for 30 days within move-in?
What if I offered "around the town" tours to relocation clients,
showing them local schools, shopping and recreation?
What if I offered sellers a free "Curb Appeal" consultation from
a local landscaper?
What if started a monthly home-buying seminar and promoted it on
the news?
What if I took a photography course and offered clients
professional home photos for their listing?
What if ... what if ... what if.
The point is to keep going until you exhaust your imagination.
If you produce nine ideas and keep only one, you haven't lost
anything. You've gained a great idea that will create
talkability.
When you're screening ideas and deciding which to keep and which
to cut, imagine somebody telling their friends about each item.
Does it seem like something they would want to share? Can you
imagine them saying, "Tom, you won't believe what my agent did
for me..."?
If so, you've achieved talkability.
Marketing Alone is Not Enough
A remarkable service with average marketing will outsell an
average service with great marketing. Remarkable products and
services have talkability, so even with average marketing their
messages will reach farther and wider than the average product
with great marketing.
Talkability Success Stories
If a product or service has extremely high talkability, it
hardly needs any marketing at all. Red Bull and Starbucks had
high talkability when they launched (still do).
As a result, they grew to epic proportions with virtually no
initial advertising. Red Bull only started advertising a couple
years ago, and Starbucks still does virtually no advertising.
Yet people couldn't resist talking about these products. These
products surfed on waves of talkability.
Those are products. Now let's look at a service with
talkability. Here in Austin, Texas, there's a barbershop called
Sexy Scissors. Their name says it all, and their motto drives it
home: "Hot stylists. Cold beer. Great haircuts." They have
sports on all the TVs and a beer keg built right into the
receptionist's desk!
See what I'm doing right now? I've succumbed to the talkability
of this service. As a result, I'm giving them free publicity.
Whether or not you agree with their "angle," you have to
acknowledge the talkability of it. Can you imagine the number of
men who've said, "Hey, Joe, have you heard about that place
called Sexy Scissors?"
Has it worked? Well, as of this writing, they're building a new
location in Houston and putting out the call for additional
franchisees. I predict their growth will continue for years to
come.
I'm not suggesting you start a sexy real estate service.
(Although, if you're in Los Angeles...) I'm suggesting you find
a way to put more talkability into your service. Think of it as
a way to recruit an army of marketers for your service. The
higher the talkability, the more people there are to spread your
message.
About the author:
Brandon Cornett has worked as a writer and advertising manager
within the direct mail industry. He now dedicates his time to
helping agents and brokers improve their personal marketing
programs. His free newsletter is available at:
http://www.ArmingYourFarm
ing.com.
