The Power Of Positioning, Instant Credibility using Association

Part of the marketing message’s job is to establish your credibility in the mind of the prospect. There are many marketing techniques to do so, and we are going to look at the association technique.

With this technique, you promote yourself and establish credibility by associating yourself with someone your prospects trust. You see this everyday on the TV and in magazines. We associate known actor with good quality products, or trust worthy services. Marketing firms use this technique all the time.

Sometimes it is important for us to do the same, and I will show you one way of doing it without spending a dime on a known actor.

Establishing an affiliation with a known organization

One way to create credibility and trust, is to associate yourself with an organization people trust. For this technique, I am going to use a Church to show the its power. So lets start!

If you are a church goer or know of a good church in your area, schedule time to meet with the administration. During the meeting, explain to them that you would like to offer your services to the church members as a way of giving back to the community. Explain to them that you want to help their members sell their houses, find new housing, or even give them Real Estate advice. You would always be available for their members and this could be an extra added service provided by the church. You would like to also spread the word about this church through the letters you send out. In fact, you would be happy to include a small flyer from the church in every letter you send out for free.

For the church, they would gain an extra service to offer their members and more importantly, they are getting FREE marketing and getting the word out to more people. For you, you have established great credibility by associating yourself with the church as you will see in a minute.

You can market to everyone!

One of the great things about associating with a known organization is that just about everyone knows of them so they connect you with them. You can mail to the church members, to Expired Listings, FSBO, FRBO, and so on. The message will be a little different for each target prospects, but the impact is still the same.

When a prospect gets two letters in the mail from two different Real Estate Professionals, small things can impact their decision of who to call. If they have to choose between a regular agent, and one that works with the church, chances are they will pick you.

Here is how to use your association in your marketing

There are many ways to make this work. Here is something you could say in your letter, this is just an example of course:

"Hello John,

Please excuse my intrusion, but I have made a commitment to XYZ Church to help our fellow [city name or area of town] who sell their house and I wanted to extend my service to you.

[Content of your sales letter]

God Bless,
Your Name

P.S. If you are seriously thinking about selling or know of someone who is, call me right away. You don't have to sell now, but we can at least look at your options together.

P.P.S. Just a reminder, all my work is done in the name of the church, and all my services are free until the house is sold

P.P.P.S  I am working with XYZ Church, and we truly wish you the best. If you have time, do stop by!"
 

It is all very simple if you think about it…

Lets start from the beginning and analyze what just happened

1. I made it personal letter by my style of writing and apologizing for the intrusion. This does spark an interest and makes the prospect wants to read on.

2. I have associated myself with a church, that is instant credibility and provides an explanation of why I am sincere in wanting to help them

3. I am making an irresistible offer by reminding them that my services are free, and I only get paid if they sell

4. I used series of P.S. statements to emphasize and REPEAT my offer. Always use multiple P.S. in your letters.

 

Happy marketing!
 

 

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© 2008 Fadi Zeidan's Articles.