Asking for Referrals the Right Way!

I just got an email from another agent here in town.  At the end of her signature, in quotation marks no less, it says Oh, by the way....  and asks her nearest and dearest to refer anyone who is thinking of buying or selling their home.  This made me cringe.
It wasn't the quotation marks.  It wasn't the folksy, off-hand style (Oh! By the way!  I just thought of something!!).  It wasn't the fact that everyone from her best friends to her clients, to her business partners will get this request.
It is all of those things together.
Amazingly, I got an Article by Dirk Zeller today about just this very thing.  It is about asking for referrals from people you know.
The whole article is worth reading, but one of the standout quotes was:

Don’t merely use a throw away line like “Oh, by the way” before you ask for the referral. This tactic cheapens the referral process rather than raising it to the high level of honor and respect it deserves.  The client can see right through this cheap technique.

Wow.  He read my mind!  In a nutshell, if you respect your business and your clients, take the time to do things right.  You are asking them to let you into their circle, and what's more, you are asking them to vouch for your professionalism and trustworthiness.  This is a 2 way street, so show them the consideration you are asking them to show you, and you will see your referral business boom.

How Many Followers Can One Person Handle?

It seems to be a hot topic in the past few days.  Is it good to have a lot of followers on Twitter, or just a few?
I was first intrigued by the video blog of Steve Witsen.  He likens having a great many followers to trying to make an announcement to everyone at a U2 concert.  You'd have a lot of people to tell your message to, but most of them wouldn't listen.  Nor would they care.
By having a couple hundred (or less!) dedicated followers who are truly interested in what you have to say,  you target your message to those for whom it is relevant.  Lightbulb moment!
Another worthy blog that shares this sentiment and expands on it is that of Aliza Sherman on WebWorkerDaily (10 Things to Avoid in Social Media).  #8 goes a little something like this:

"Avoid the numbers game. Sure you can use automated following tools and maybe get a slew of people following you back. But they’re not listening. They don’t care. I’ve always said that I’d rather have 100 friends, fans or followers who care than 1000 who ignore me.  Social media is not about the big numbers but what you do with the numbers you have — and what they do in return. Devoted actions of a few can have an exponential impact, far greater than inaction by many."

This game seems to change daily, so keeping up with it is at turns exhilarating and exhausting.  But somehow, the conventional rules of social interaction and traditional etiquette still hold. (Thankfully)  Building relationships and trust takes time and attention.  Or as we used to say "If you want a friend (follower, tweep, connection, link...) , be a friend."

Living Your Brand: Lessons Learned from Tiger Woods

Unless you've been living under the ocean for the last month, you no doubt have heard of the foibles and tribulations of Tiger Woods.  There are lessons to be learned from this frenzy of mass information.  We live in a world where no secret goes untold.  The more exposure one has in mainstream media, the harder they are destined to fall.
This is not some new phenomenon.  I remember being in 5th grade (well before Tiger was born- in fact probably even before his parents met) and writing an essay.  The assigned subject for the essay was to discuss whether it is right to look up to sports figures or actors as heroes.  It's been too long ago for me to recall who it was, but at that time some "hero" actor had been caught doing something.  All I can say for sure is that it wasn't a DUI, a drug arrest, a beating/stabbing/killing of a loved one or embezzling millions.  At the time, I argued that an actor's job is to perform, and it is the general public that holds him up as a hero when we do not know the real person behind the character. 
How times change.
Tiger was nearly everyone's hero.  The squeaky-clean wonder kid's videos from the age of 4 were plastered all over the airwaves as he came into his game.  The dedicated Dad-coach who taught him to love and excel at the game of golf was at his side to see him win time after time.  Remember the "I'm Tiger Woods" Nike campaign?  Children of every color learning golf, loving it, and there being no barriers for them because of this amazing golfer who broke through the barriers.  He won, he gave back, he spread the word about love and fellowship in golf, respect, honesty and perseverance.  He met a beautiful girl from Sweden who was working as a nanny and swept her off her feet, married her and had 2 beautiful babies.  And they all lived happily ever after.
Or not.
The problem comes in his branding.  We all bought into the ideal Tiger with the happily ever after because that is what his dad/coach/manager/PR agent sold us.  And he did a damn good job.
The problem with any brand is that you can't sell a bill of goods that isn't there.  Eventually, your consumers will turn your back on you if you cannot provide what you are selling.
Ask Tiger.  Since November 29, not one single endorsement ad of Tiger Woods' has been played on any network or cable channel.  Not one.  Gatorade pulled it's Tigerade line.  Tiger's popularity ranking among star athletes has dropped to 24th.  And the Congressional Medal of Honor he was to receive for excellence, integrity and dignity?  Nope.
At this point, no one wants to be Tiger Woods.