Stop Following the Directions!!!

Even I sometimes I wish I was more like the Pilots referenced in Seth Godins blog today. According to Seth "Pilots have to get it right every time. They have to follow a myriad of procedures. They must be calm and focused and consistent, and yes, boring." Boring, but with less drama, less searching for documents that you KNOW are on your desk, less freaking out EVERY morning to find your nametag.

BUT when I do something that is different than the rest of the world I feel energized and hopeful. Thinking of a new way to do the same old thing can jump start your prospecting, marketing or even your entire business plan for next year.

An agent I was talking with yesterday said she wasn't great on the phone in the morning and she was hesitant to start an Expired campaign because she would be calling during dinner time. EVERYONE knows you have to call from 9-11. EVERYONE calls from 9-11. What if you called from 7am-9am? What if you called from 5:30pm-7:30pm? AND what if you just called whenever you had a second. Say you make 5 more calls a day than you were before - do you think you would get more business?

How about the fact that EVERYONE mails out on Thursday. I am sure that when homeowners get 3 marketing pieces at a time they are NOT doing a personal assessment to see which they like better. They are not comparing the relative merits of all three agents and making an informed decision. They are throwing them all out and grumbling about how much crap they get from realtors!!! Go nuts - mail out when you have time, mail out on Monday, mail out 3 times this month and see if you get more response because you have barraged them with info. Mail out anything - DO NOT wait for the perfect piece, spend a fortune and then save them for only your best clients.

Send out something today - I know it is Saturday during the Christmas season and you are busy. I know you are SUPPOSED to mail out on Thursday. I know you are waiting for the new year so that you can get the perfect piece together and then start a whole campaign.

Do me a favor -- stop following the directions and do something zany this week and then tell me about it!