I have a cabin in the Black Hills and I drive by a little town called Wall, S.D. The main attraction is Wall Drug. It’s located near the Badlands, a virtual desert with very little rain and extreme temperatures.
Wall (population 766) is one of the most famous “little towns” in the world—yes the world.
So, what lessons can loan officers and real estate agents learn about how to become famous in your little corner of the world?
As the story goes, in 1931, Ted Hustead, a pharmacist, bought a drug store in the town of Wall. Remember, this was the Great Depression and the town was located in the “middle of nowhere.” Ted and his wife Dorothy decided that they would give it their all for five years—and after that, if things did not work out, they’d move on.
Fast-forward to 1936. Mount Rushmore was almost completed. The highway near the town had a steady stream of cars visiting the Black Hills. Surely business would pick up. But nobody was stopping by the town—or the drug store—and the Husteads were going broke.
They asked themselves—“what do travelers want most after driving across the hot prairie?”
So they put up signs that said “Free Ice Water”—and the tourists started to pour into drug store—not only for the free ice water, but to buy other things, too.
But, that’s just the first part of the story!
They became “world famous” with another killer tactic they incorporated when people stopped for the free drink.
When tourists stopped by for their free ice water, they were given a bumper sticker that said “Visit Wall Drug.” They were encouraged to take the bumper sticker with them and submit a picture of themselves (wherever they are in the world) holding the bumper sticker. If they sent the picture to Wall Drug it was posted on a bulletin board, and if the customer ever visited the store again, they would be entitled to a free hamburger.
You probably know what happened next. People were sending in pictures from Vietnam. From the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. From the middle of the ocean. From their back yard.
And, the tourists stopping for free ice water viewed the pictures, picked up a bumper sticker and sent in their own pictures. Hundreds of thousands of pictures later they are still doing it.
It’s called the “herd mentality,” which is a term that describes how
Here are three things you can do to create the herd mentality using “traditional strategies” incorporated into your mortgage business.
1. Housewarming Party—Offer to host a housewarming party for clients who have purchased a home. Co-host with the real estate agent who sold them the home. They invite (and you meet) all of their friends and relatives, and you provide the food.
2. Client Appreciation Movie Night—Rent a movie theatre and host a family movie night. Ask them to invite a friend or relative, and you give a small presentation before the movie begins.
3. Photographs—You could go two ways with this one.
a. Hire a professional photographer and invite both real estate agents and past clients to come into your office and have their photo taken.
b. Take photos at every one of your closings and create a “wall of past clients” in your lobby. If that is not feasible, create a coffee table scrapbook with pictures and names of your clients. Oh, and be sure to include the real estate agent in each picture.
Here’s the social media version of herd mentality:
1. Offer something free on Facebook, a white paper or free report—example: “How to Read Your Credit Report” white paper.
2. Testimonials—Video testimonials would be the best, but offer to give something free if your clients and real estate agents would post a testimonial about you on Facebook or your blog.
3. Blogs—Post your blog and send out an email with a link back to your blog asking people to comment. After you get a sufficient number of responses, post the link to the blog on your Facebook page and ask people to read what others are talking about.
While it all started with free ice water (and they are still supplying that today), it’s how they built upon that marketing tactic over the years that has propelled Wall Drug into global fame.
What can you do to become famous in your corner of the real estate world?
