{"id":417,"date":"2010-07-12T19:40:38","date_gmt":"2010-07-12T19:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=417"},"modified":"2010-07-12T19:40:38","modified_gmt":"2010-07-12T19:40:38","slug":"care-and-feeding-of-the-ten-making-sure-you-contact-the-really-important-people-in-your-practice-no-less-frequently-than-once-a-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=417","title":{"rendered":"Care and Feeding of the “Ten”—Making Sure You Contact the Really Important People in Your Practice No Less Frequently than Once a Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a way, I am torn. I have totally “bought in” to social media, and I do not miss a day when\u00a0I\u00a0do not\u00a0log in to Active Rain. I must admit that my ActiveRain experience would be truthfully designated as one for<\/strong> \u00a0“fun and profit”, <\/strong>\u00a0because I have only been on ActiveRain since last March, and I have developed a lot of friendships on the blogging site, quite unexpectedly,\u00a0 I might add. I tweet once in a while and sort of keep up on Facebook and Linked-In, but not as much as I probably should. As one person aptly put it at the recent New York Rain Camp, which I attended, “There are only a certain number of hours in the day when I am awake!!!!!”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having said all the above, I remain a traditional guy, with traditional values. My connections with the real estate industry in Massachusetts for the past forty years has taught me one thing. There are approximately TEN people in your professional life who make a difference to you, and you need to be in touch with them on a frequent basis, no less frequently than weekly, in my circumstances. <\/strong>These are the people who send you referrals; these are the people who are your “raving fans”. These are the people you cannot miss “connecting with” at least once a week.<\/p>\n

My procedure for the TEN<\/strong> is quite simple. Every Monday morning I write their names down on a sheet of yellow legal paper. I look at my Outlook schedule and put in a contact with each of the TEN<\/strong>some time that week. I usually vary the approach. Sometimes it is an email just saying “hi–anything doing?”. Other times it is a call to their cell phone. Once in a while it is a handwritten note. I try to throw in impromptu visits “because I happened to be in the neighborhood” which, at times, is a small exaggeration since my intention was to drive “to then neighborhood”.<\/p>\n

Anything to get into communication with these important people. Why, you ask? Because once the dialogue begins, good things almost always\u00a0start flowing from it. “Gee, do you do that work?” “Oh, you know this person.” “Can you introduce me to Susie Jones? I really have been dying to meet her”. All of these “openings” can lead to “closings” and closings is what makes my world go around.<\/p>\n

Like me, you will find that the membership in the TEN<\/strong>is a shifting constituency. People who used to be sources of ideas and business are no longer as enthusiastic. Domestic problems and health issues can\u00a0distract\u00a0people. They may be losing interest. You can stay their friend, but they gradually shift out of the TEN. Compiling the list, and then reshuffling it from time time time, is a worthwhile exercise. If you are a record keeper like me, you will be amazed at how view these people are the twenty percent of your client\u00a0who produce eighty per cent of your business. Treat them with the deference that such standing deserves.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a way, I am torn. I have totally “bought in” to social media, and I do not miss a day when\u00a0I\u00a0do not\u00a0log in to Active Rain. I must admit that my ActiveRain experience would be truthfully designated as one for \u00a0“fun and profit”, \u00a0because I have only been on ActiveRain since last March, and … Continue reading Care and Feeding of the “Ten”—Making Sure You Contact the Really Important People in Your Practice No Less Frequently than Once a Week<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[171,47],"tags":[97,281,282],"class_list":["post-417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-customer-service","category-marketing","tag-contacts-with-clients","tag-ten-who-rule-your-business","tag-the-2080-rule"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":268,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=268","url_meta":{"origin":417,"position":0},"title":"Twitter Power for Active Rain–I Tweeted the Whine and AR treated me fine","date":"July 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I do not know his name.\u00a0I always get people's names, and write them down, \u00a0when they call me. I have been practicing real estate law in Massachusetts\u00a0 for more than forty years. I know better. Suffice it to say, whomever he was, he was very helpful. He responded right after\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"activerain as responsive\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":298,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=298","url_meta":{"origin":417,"position":1},"title":"Active Rain Got Active–I have a Local Connection that Will Probably Work","date":"July 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I am not going to divulge the name of this person. It is important to me, but really is not germane to the point of this post. Suffice it to say that this person liked some of the material I have been writing and re-blooged it on her own blog.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing \/ Communication"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":238,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=238","url_meta":{"origin":417,"position":2},"title":"If Your Posts are not “Singing in the ActiveRain”, there is Only One Solution–Write Some more Posts","date":"June 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I have been writing posts for ActiveRain since February, 2009. I have had a few featured posts; I have had many more which did not evoke any reader interest. ironically, the posts I wrote which became \"featured\" were not what I considered my best, or even most original. Others, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing \/ Communication"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":245,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=245","url_meta":{"origin":417,"position":3},"title":"Shut Out by the Restrictive FNMA\/FNMLC Condo Financings Rules–Another Option you Can explore","date":"June 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In the course of representing a developer of a 6 Unit Condominium in Boston, I may have uncovered some information that can be helpful to the ActiveRain community. There\u00a0is a\u00a0lender out there who will make FNMA type loans (not portfolio) on projects which the lender, itself, certifies to its own\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Condominium"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":325,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=325","url_meta":{"origin":417,"position":4},"title":"Julie & Julia–An Excellent Film; An Excellent Example of the Power of Blogging","date":"July 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"It was a Sunday night. The football game was one-sided. My wife talked me in to renting the movie \"Julie & Julia\". This film turned out to be well worth the two hours I spent watching it, and a monument to the power of blogging on a consistent basis. For\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing \/ Communication"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":317,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=317","url_meta":{"origin":417,"position":5},"title":"Let the Camera be Your Friend–Use Your Digital Camera to Enhance Your Professional Image","date":"July 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"It has not always been this way. When I started practicing law in Massachusetts in 1968, single reflex cameras were heavy and required a host of accessories to insure proper lighting, focus and the like. The modern digital camera has none of this complexity, or bulk, and I have found\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "closing"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=417"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":850,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417\/revisions\/850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}