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M a r k e t i n g  t i p
What lease brokers can learn about sales and marketing from the Presidential campaigns

The election earlier this week ended one of the most important campaign cycles of modern history. In the end, a candidate who was barely recognized on the national political scene two years ago earned the votes of tens of millions of Americans. Based on polls from the last few weeks of the campaigns it didn't seem to be the case, but it was an upset victory. How Barrack Obama campaigned - marketed himself - can teach every sales and marketing professional several important lessons.

Both candidates understood the market. Americans were demanding change and progress. Obama successfully built a brand around it. How he managed brand-Obama may have been the single biggest factor in the election. The Obama campaign decided early on that brand would be "change". Most importantly, they stuck to it and embodied it in everything they did. They did not vacillate from it.

Sales and marketing professionals are often tempted to stray from their brands. When in the moment, one may ditch the brand in an attempt to land a new vendor or close a sale. If your brand is to not compete on price but rather offer first-class service, you must avoid the temptation to make pricing concessions when trying to land a new vendor or client. If your brand is offering solutions to challenged credit customers, spending time and energy competing for strong-credit deals may undermine your efforts. What Obama knew is that he didn't need to win every vote, he needed enough to be successful. Trying to attract every vote would have unraveled his entire brand. Similarly, a lease broker who tries to attract every deal and every type of customer may end up worse off than if he or she focused on his or her strengths.

The Obama campaign embraced new methods of communication without abandoning those that were successful in the past. Many experts cheered his use of Internet communications and cited that he connected with certain demographics by interacting with them in their preferred format, the Web. But you still saw television ads, still saw yard signs, still heard him making speeches in front of huge crowds. Obama did not make a choice between new and traditional communication tactics, he embraced both them, because he recognized each is valuable.

Often at leasing conferences, one can hear brokers debating the value of certain marketing tactics. The discussion more often than not culminates in a definitive statement of "I do it" or "I don't do it". Over the last several years, the hottest topic has been Internet marketing: worth it or not worth it. Some brokers choose to implement zero Web marketing, whereas others focus all their efforts on it. Obama did not make an either-or choice, he embraced all tactics to the extent that they were productive.

The campaign strategy employed by the Obama campaign is somewhat less talked about because it is not entirely radical, but it quietly sealed the outcome of the election. He maintained his strengths and addressed his weaknesses. He placed his bets carefully. Everyone has heard the saying about how less expensive it is to keep a customer than to acquire a new one. But, if your goal is growing your business - like Obama's was growing the Democratic vote from four years ago - you do only what you need to do to keep what you already have and focus on what is within reach. Obama spent four times as much on ads in Virginia to win its 13 electoral college votes than he did to keep his hold on California's 55 electors. He maintained his strengths, and focused the majority of his efforts on seizing opportunities.

Lease brokers can quickly fill their days by servicing their existing accounts or managing the flow of leads they regularly generate. If your goal is to grow your business, it may be time to shake off the routine and spend more effort and resources on opportunities that aren't easy, but those that are within reach.

This year's election and the campaigns leading up to it gave us a front row seat on how to persuade a target audience, even when starting from behind. The significance of the election results have many meanings to many people, but don't overlook the opportunity to learn from one of the best marketers of our time.

S a m p l e  d e a l  o f  t h e  w e e k
Turn challenging deals into huge opportunities