Database management is about how to keep you on the phone, but people want to use it to keep themselves off the phone-Bill Hillestad

When I worked for LoanToolbox, Bill Hillestad was one of my favorite contributors. He was always full of ideas and always got straight to the point. Yesterday, I attended a live interview on TBWS featuring Bill. I’ll admit, I had considered just skipping it because I thought, ‘What could Bill possibly have to say that he hasn’t already shared a thousand times before about marketing and database management?’ And then, ironically, half-way through the interview, Bill confessed himself, to being “sick and tired” of saying the same things over and over again. However, by this point, I was hooked and had written down several new gems, that I personally had NOT heard before…

Mindset, not tools and gimmicks

Based on the type of questions that came through the TBWS chat room during Bill’s interview, it was obvious that most of the attendees expected to hear about which database system was the best to use or whose marketing postcards and newsletters were the “hottest” right now or what types of tools should be employed to stay in front of our databases and increase our chances of repeat business and referrals. Instead, Bill focused on concepts such as, “behavior,” “friendship,” and “empathy.”

Behavior is what matters, not tools

You can have all the latest marketing materials, gadgets and a dozen fields in your database tracking specifics about your customers, BUT these things won’t increase your probability of making the sale or capturing the repeat business and referrals as much as your behaviors will.

Bill’s example:

You should be spending 50% of your time on the phone and in person with your clients and referral business partners. This behavior will create a habit of cultivating the relationship, strengthening the bond and building a database of friends, rather than customers. The fact is friends will ALWAYS be more loyal than customers.

The better the friendship, the higher the probability of getting their future business

Do the folks in your database know you, like you, or love you? It’s your job to determine who is most likely to do business with you in the future and then allocate the appropriate amount of time, energy and money into those varying relationships. The better the relationship, the more direct and personal the contact points should be. Bill’s tip: DON’T sell to friends and DON’T send newsletters to them, either! And, if you want to move certain relationships from “know you” to “like you” or from “like you” to “love you” then think about what moves YOU in relationships. Is it a postcard? Heck NO!

The secret to marketing is empathy

Empathy in sales and marketing is not a new concept. However, I believe, it’s the most important character trait to tap into and evolve for any sales person. If you are not regularly putting yourself into someone else’s shoes then the power of your scripts, your sales presentations, your marketing, as well as your income, is likely going to suffer.

Start looking at what you have in your marketing arsenal and ask yourself the following questions:

• Would I enjoy getting this?
• Would I read this?
• Would this be something that I would expect to receive from a friend?
• Will this create a positive expectation for future interactions?

The purpose for having a database was never to complicate your life or to spur you to spend a bunch of money, nor was it ever meant to become a wall between you and your customers. Bill made a GREAT point when he said that your database is there to show you who you should be calling and what you’re going to talk about next! If you have fields for contact information, the ability to group or categorize folks and a notes section, then Bill says, “That’s all you need!” I wholeheartedly agree.