Economy got your business down? The glass is half full. For every downturn, there's an upside. In an age when many brokers' businesses have been commoditized, those who seize the opportunity to use social media meaningfully will win. The current broker sales funnel is leaking from ages of traditional advertising and marketing that left out preference and loyalty. Today, those brokers who are savvy enough to use social communications to exit the downturn stand to come out on top, sales funnel intact. This presentation was originally delivered by Ben Grossman at the Club Liberty luncheon at R2L at Two Liberty on June 9, 2010.

1. BROKER BUSINESS BUILDING ON A BUDGET

2. BEN GROSSMAN
interactive strategist
602 741 0314
@bengrossman
www.ben-grossman.com
www.slideshare.net/bengrossman
bgrossman@oxfordcommunications.com
www.oxfordcommunications.com

3. :-(

4. d o
t to
ha
?
w

5. !
FIND THE

6. BACK TO THE
BASICS
OF BUILDING BUSINESS.

7. EYEBALLS
TRADITIONAL SALES
FUNNEL

8. EYEBALLS
AWARENESS
TRADITIONAL SALES
FUNNEL

9. EYEBALLS
AWARENESS
TRADITIONAL SALES CONSIDERATION
FUNNEL

10. EYEBALLS
AWARENESS
TRADITIONAL SALES CONSIDERATION
FUNNEL
PREFERENCE

11. EYEBALLS
AWARENESS
TRADITIONAL SALES CONSIDERATION
FUNNEL
PREFERENCE
PURCHASE

12. EYEBALLS
AWARENESS
TRADITIONAL SALES CONSIDERATION
FUNNEL
PREFERENCE
PURCHASE
LOYALTY

13. EYEBALLS
AWARENESS
TRADITIONAL SALES CONSIDERATION
FUNNEL
PREFERENCE
PURCHASE
LOYALTY
EVANGELISTS

14. EYEBALLS
AWARENESS
TRADITIONAL SALES CONSIDERATION
THINKING
PREFERENCE
PURCHASE
LOYALTY
EVANGELISTS

15. TRADITIONAL SALES
THINKING
WHOMEVER PUTS THE MOST
IN GETS THE MOST OUT.

16. PRESENT-DAY SALES
THINKING
THAT’S WRONG.

17. PRESENT-DAY SALES
THINKING
THAT’S WRONG.
WHY?

18. PRESENT-DAY SALES
THINKING
THAT’S WRONG.
WHY?
1) Leaky Sales Funnel
2) Decreased Funnel Input
3) Consumers Have Changed

19. EYEBALLS
1LEAKY
SALES FUNNEL
AWARENESS
CONSIDERATION
PREFERENCE
PURCHASE
LOYALTY
EVANGELISTS

20. 1LEAKY
SALES FUNNEL There are two leaks in the broker
sales funnel:

21. 1LEAKY
SALES FUNNEL There are two leaks in the broker
sales funnel:
1. PREFERENCE
• The gross majority of brokers suffer from
a commoditized image.
• Consumers are more empowered than
ever: just providing information and
resources is no longer enough.

22. 1LEAKY
SALES FUNNEL There are two leaks in the broker
sales funnel:
1. PREFERENCE
• The gross majority of brokers suffer from
a commoditized image.
• Consumers are more empowered than
ever: just providing information and
resources is no longer enough.
2. LOYALTY
• Traditional loyalty initiatives are
increasingly seen as inauthentic and
annoying.
• Move from passive loyalty to active
loyalty (e.g. loyalty with a purpose).

23. EYEBALLS TRADITIONAL
ADVERTISING
2INPUT
DECREASED $$$$
AWARENESS
CONSIDERATION
PREFERENCE
PURCHASE
LOYALTY
EVANGELISTS

24. 2INPUT
DECREASED
Advertising spends have declined
during the downturn:
2007: -00.3%
2008: -04.1%
2009: -12.3%
TNS Media Intelligence/Kantar Media

25. 2INPUT
DECREASED
Advertising spends have declined
during the downturn:
2007: -00.3%
2008: -04.1%
2009: -12.3%
As we come out of the downturn,
brokers must make the most of
what is in the funnel.
TNS Media Intelligence/Kantar Media

26. 3CHANGED
CONSUMERS HAVE
PRE-MEDIA AGE: church, state, monarchy

27. 3CHANGED
CONSUMERS HAVE
MASS MEDIA AGE: institutions dictate
PRE-MEDIA AGE

28. 3CHANGED
CONSUMERS HAVE
SOCIAL MEDIA AGE:
what do friends think?
MASS MEDIA AGE
PRE-MEDIA AGE

29. 3CHANGED
CONSUMERS HAVE
INDEPENDENCE:
I’ll think about it.
SOCIAL MEDIA AGE
MASS MEDIA AGE
PRE-MEDIA AGE

30. 3CHANGED
CONSUMERS HAVE
Traditional advertising can only
take brokers part way through the
sales funnel. It’s great at
bolstering AWARENESS and
CONSIDERATION.
INDEPENDENCE

31. 3CHANGED
CONSUMERS HAVE
Traditional advertising can only
take brokers part way through the
sales funnel. It’s great at
bolstering AWARENESS and
CONSIDERATION.
INDEPENDENCE But, it takes highly trusted forms
of advertising to create
PREFERENCE and LOYALTY.
So, what do consumers trust?

32. 3CHANGED
CONSUMERS HAVE
recommendations from people known
consumer opinions posted online
brand websites
editorial content
brand sponsorships
tv
newspaper
magazines
billboards / outdoor advertising
radio
emails signed up for
ads before movies
search engine results ads
online video ads
online banner ads
text ads on mobile phones
0% 22.5% 45% 67.5% 90%
Nielsen 2009

33. PRESENT-DAY SALES
THINKING
1LEAKY SALES FUNNEL
2INPUT
DECREASED
3CHANGED
CONSUMERS HAVE

34. ...
SO
HERE’S
THE

35. The con uence of these
three facts has created an
opportunity for you to win.

36. o w
, h
ut
b
?

37. THROW THE
BASICS
OUT THE WINDOW.

38. EMBRACE THE
NEW
(AND POTENTIALLY
MORE COMPLEX)

39. ?
r ef er m e
op le to p
easy for pe withou
t
unnaevle I made it
TheptFon: H u
rs,
stomfeor me?
Fix erce i my past fcunnel
1. P talk toey fill my
can Ithat th y!
y: Howm, so me dia bung?
Loyaolt ing the i
a big l advertis line?
o ona
ann y ! e resourcheosuttotrdaditi f influence on
Funtnhealve th nnel wit sphere o
The don’ my fu media
?
l
2. Fil Ugh. Ido I fill nd my real-life nting with new
How n I expa me
ca ut experi
How kin g abo
e thin
uld I
b
umers
Sh o g Cons
hangmnan?i end m
e?
race lCe a hu
Emb I act ik gelists
to reco
mm
re ofte
n?
3. Do for m y ev
an
en d me
mo
ei t easy or ecomm
Do I mak ang elists t
t m y ev
p r om p
Can I

40. Perception: Have I made it easy for people to prefer me?
Determine your strengths.
Create a key differentiator.
Execute on unique selling point.
Repeat.

41. Loyalty: How can I talk to my past customers, without
annoying them, so that they fill my funnel for me?
Social media is a great way to
passively stay top-of-mind with your
clients and add value to their lives.
• Share short-form content via tumblr.com,
posterous.com, or Twitter.com
• Start blogging with your key differentiator at the
center of the subject matter via Blogger or
Wordpress
• Maintain active, personal presences on popular
social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn

42. ?
r ef er m e
op le to p
easy for pe withou
t
unnaevle I made it
TheptFon: H u
rs,
stomfeor me?
Fix erce i my past fcunnel
1. P talk toey fill my
can Ithat th y!
y: Howm, so me dia bung?
Loyaolt ing the i
a big l advertis line?
o ona
ann y ! e resourcheosuttotrdaditi f influence on
Funtnhealve th nnel wit sphere o
The don’ my fu media
?
l
2. Fil Ugh. Ido I fill nd my real-life nting with new
How n I expa me
ca ut experi
How kin g abo
e thin
uld I
b
umers
Sh o g Cons
hangmnan?i end m
e?
race lCe a hu
Emb I act ik gelists
to reco
mm
re ofte
n?
3. Do for m y ev
an
en d me
mo
ei t easy or ecomm
Do I mak ang elists t
t m y ev
p r om p
Can I

43. Ugh. I don’t have the resources to do a big media buy!
How do I fill my funnel without traditional advertising?
EYEBALLS
Fill your funnel in new
places by relying loyalists
and evangelists. AWARENESS
REFERRALS
CONSIDERATION
PREFERENCE
REPEAT
PURCHASE
LOYALTY
EVANGELISTS

44. How can I expand my real-life sphere of influence online?
Become a thought leader and create
social ideas that are worth passing
along and show off your expertise.

45. Should I be thinking about experimenting with new media?
De nitely! Some starting points:
• Think about ways to enhance traditional
listings with video taken on a Flip Camera
• Consider giving live video tours using Qik
on a smart phone
• Check-in at your listed properties on
Foursquare and include the RSS feed on
your website

46. ?
r ef er m e
op le to p
easy for pe withou
t
unnaevle I made it
TheptFon: H u
rs,
stomfeor me?
Fix erce i my past fcunnel
1. P talk toey fill my
can Ithat th y!
y: Howm, so me dia bung?
Loyaolt ing the i
a big l advertis line?
o ona
ann y ! e resourcheosuttotrdaditi f influence on
Funtnhealve th nnel wit sphere o
The don’ my fu media
?
l
2. Fil Ugh. Ido I fill nd my real-life nting with new
How n I expa me
ca ut experi
How kin g abo
e thin
uld I
b
umers
Sh o g Cons
hangmnan?i end m
e?
race lCe a hu
Emb I act ik gelists
to reco
mm
re ofte
n?
3. Do for m y ev
an
en d me
mo
ei t easy or ecomm
Do I mak ang elists t
t m y ev
p r om p
Can I

47. Do I act like a human?
People like doing business with
people they can relate to.
• Use social media to give yourself a
‘human’ quality that direct mail and e-
blasts cannot.
• Feature both your personal and
professional interests on your pro les.

48. Do I make it easy for my evangelists to recommend me?
There’s a difference between
passive loyalists and evangelists.
• Passive loyalists are a dying breed, as
consumers are presented with
unprecedented access to a eld of
options that is growing exponentially.
• Evangelists are the result of effective
development of preference and loyalty in
such a way that a client believes there is
no substitute for a broker.
• Consider whether you have made it easy
for these evangelists to recommend you
and your services by clearly articulating
what you do and your differentiator.

49. Can I prompt my evangelists to recommend me more often?
Yes!
• Create social events and meet-ups for your clients to bring their friends to.
• Stay in passive contact with your clients via social media.
• Leverage social ideas and all media your produce by making it share-able and
embed-able.
• The most important cornerstone to any effort within online channels is a strong
website. Make sure yours represents you well and allows your clients to feel
comfortable recommending you to their friends.

50. ?
r ef er m e
op le to p
easy for pe withou
t
unnaevle I made it
TheptFon: H u
rs,
stomfeor me?
Fix erce i my past fcunnel
1. P talk toey fill my
can Ithat th y!
y: Howm, so me dia bung?
Loyaolt ing the i
a big l advertis line?
o ona
ann y ! e resourcheosuttotrdaditi f influence on
Funtnhealve th nnel wit sphere o
The don’ my fu media
?
l
2. Fil Ugh. Ido I fill nd my real-life nting with new
How n I expa me
ca ut experi
How kin g abo
e thin
uld I
b
umers
Sh o g Cons
hangmnan?i end m
e?
race lCe a hu
Emb I act ik gelists
to reco
mm
re ofte
n?
3. Do for m y ev
an
en d me
mo
ei t easy or ecomm
Do I mak ang elists t
t m y ev
p r om p
Can I

51. So, before you
get down about
where we’ve been...
:-(

52. ...just think about
what we’ve talked
about today...

53. ...and remember it’s okay if you
didn’t get to write it all down:
www.slideshare.net/bengrossman

54. BROKER BUSINESS BUILDING ON A BUDGET

55. QUESTIONS?
BEN GROSSMAN
interactive strategist
602 741 0314
@bengrossman
www.ben-grossman.com
www.slideshare.net/bengrossman
bgrossman@oxfordcommunications.com
www.oxfordcommunications.com

56. BROKER BUSINESS BUILDING ON A BUDGET