When someone wants to refer you…What will they say about you?
Not in general…the exact words?
We’ve been conditioned to think that content has one path…
* We create content
* Audience consumes content
* People in the audience buy
But that ignores the network effects. The massive potential of word-of-mouth.
Especially because word-of-mouth can be engineered.
Sean Carpenter figured that out a long time ago. Which has served him well as he’s built a wildly successful career in speaking, training and a variety of leadership roles.
Sidenote - Sean is speaking at the BEATS Conference (where I’m attending, April 19-22nd). The event puts educators and trainers together with association staff and event organizers. If you’re looking for more speaking opportunities, I can’t imagine a better event to attend.
Sean is known for his mantra, Build Relationships, Solve Problems & Have Fun.
And he doubles down, intentionally raising his game in each area, giving agents and event organizers ‘something to talk about.’ So let’s dive into…
Sean Carpenter’s Blueprint to Engineering Word-of-Mouth
* Create Content to Get OTHERS to Tell Your Story For You
“If you have a good story to tell and other people tell it for you, you don’t have to spend your time, effort, money, telling your story. You can take care of the people who tell your story for you and get them to tell it more.” - Sean Carpenter
Sean puts this action in several ways. Weekly blog posts (1350+), actively looking for ways to create more memorable content, and customizing classes and live talks regularly to solve evolving problems.
“Some of the best advice I got early in my career was …for every class, you need two titles.”
Here are a couple examples:
* Prospect and Network Daily to Build Relationships
“I work my CRM every day…I have a whole section there for speaker clients. And then just literally looking at it from top to bottom and then flipping it upside down and saying, ‘This is the person I’ve talked to the longest ago. Last time.. was an email. So maybe I want to hand out a note, or call them, or drop into their social…hitting them through different channels.”
* Create Experiences Worth Talking About
“A client of mine in Northwest Arkansas…said, ‘We want you to come back.’ And I said, ‘I’d love to do it…IF you give me two conditions. One, I want to do it in a unique environment. And two… let me do a class I’ve never done before.’ And we did it at the county quail barn….amazing location. I wore camouflage when I spoke.“
Sean built a new class that tied in with a hit Luke Bryan song, showing agents how outdoor activities tied into their real estate careers.
* Be Easy to Work With
“Being easy to work with is a big piece of why people would hire you. Are you going to respond to their messages? Are you going to get the stuff they need on time? Outlines, videos to their audience. Are you going to show up early?”
* Develop the Skill of ‘Accordion-ing’ Presentations
Sean knows exactly how to cut presentations down if the prior speaker ran long, or expand his presentations to fill time when needed.
Being easy to work with is part of Sean’s story, and techniques like this help him deliver on that story. Not just by being nice or timely, but by being prepared enough to bail the event organizer out of a jam.
Steal This:
Craft the words you want people to use to refer you…in advance.
When you can get your ‘story’ down to 1-2 sentences…a story that’s clear and compelling to the right people…here’s what happens…
* People have an easy, memorable way to talk about you…so referrals come easier
* Current and past clients get positive feedback when they talk about you…so they feel great about their decision to work with you
* Word-of-mouth spreads in unpredictable ways…so opportunities come to you ‘out of the blue’
Then you can take a powerful step…
The key to engineering word of mouth….
Design everything in the business to deliver on that story.
Want to go deeper? Click on the audio file for the full chat, or search Real Estate Thought Leaders on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Or Hit Reply and tell me what you’re seeing…Who else is doing a great job creating word-of-mouth?
Quick Links & Resources
Carp’s Corner - Sean’s primary website and home of his Carp’ Corner blog
Sean’s About page - More background on Sean and ways to connect
Massive thanks to Sean for making time on his (very) busy schedule! The conversation was a blast, which should be no surprise to anyone who knows him. Keep Sean in mind as a guest for shows, podcasts, YouTube channels, and of course, speaking opportunities. He really does deliver on his story!
-Matt
Agency Founder & Author of MicroFamous
PS I designed every aspect of my agency to deliver a certain impression on clients. So we get referrals like this…
“Matt and his team made me MICROFAMOUS in my niche! And they make the process so easy, I basically just show up on video and talk!”
If that experience catches your attention, check out our…
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