The Meat of Marketing with a Smoking CMO

It was my pleasure to interview my good friend, Robert Greenberg this week on the Business and BBQ podcast. As always, Robert delivers on some real time practical advice for business owner and entrepreneurs. It all begins with marketing, and there is no one I respect more in that field than Robert.

Our guest on this episode of the Business and BBQ Podcast is Robert Greenberg, CMO of Patch of Land, a crowdfunded real estate investment mortgage lending organization. Robert has spent more than 30 years in the marketing industry and he and Tim worked together at B2R several years ago. Robert’s marketing philosophy regarding lead generation, lead conversion, and client fulfillment is top notch, and if you listen to what he says, you will come away from this podcast with business-altering information.

Early in his career, Robert worked on marketing for Harrah’s casinos, and he learned and applied some timeless lead generation strategies through database marketing. After determining the target market, the key is to get as many of those people as possible into your database and track their behavior patterns as they interact with you. This data can be used to follow up or call people to action based on their typical behaviors. Next, you should think about what your target customers have in common and consider each step of the customer journey, from initial contact to follow up after the service.

Tim gives an example of a company cold calling him to see if he needed any Bobcat work done. They found him by Googling “real estate investors”, and then consistently followed up and checked in with him throughout the process to make sure he was satisfied. Tim typically would have given them a review on Google or Facebook, but the company didn’t have an online presence. Instead, he posted a video on his own Facebook page of their work and posted their phone number as his recommendation.

When it comes to prospecting, you must understand the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the customer. Take a step back and adopt their mindset to recognize what they really need in this moment. Even if they do not buy anything from you, if you have created value that the customer needed, you have fulfilled the purpose of client relations. This is where knowing your KPIs (key performance indicators) is so important – you know that in order to close 5 deals, you need to talk to 50 people, which means you need to make 100 calls. Working backwards often takes out a lot of the guess work and helps you focus on productivity.

Finally, Robert outlines his 4 things to do this week to get more leads:

1. Answer your phone and be accessible
2. Keep track of leads and follow up with them through a CRM or Excel document
3. Use your leads data to start doing email marketing through Mailchimp

Also, try to build a webpage with a contact form and work on your SEO (search engine optimization).

Work within your budget and be resourceful as you first get started. Just start somewhere and be consistent. Provide your customers with a unique perspective that brings them value.

Connect with Robert:

https://patchofland.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robtgreenberg

Links:

Audible trial promotional link: https://www.audibletrial.com/th

HubSpot promotional link: https://www.hubspot.com/th 

“The E Myth” by Michael Gerber: https://amzn.to/2H0VC0z

https://www.linkedin.com/in/herriage

With business questions: ask@timherriage.com

With BBQ questions: bbq@timherriage.com