The article ends a 5-year study on the impacts of social media on business owner-consumer relationships.
The article, dated March 26, 2023, marks the new beginning of putting consumers first to meet their needs and building relationships with humble white-collar small business owners who treat consumers with respect.
First and foremost, 321 Biz Dev LLC is a business and we empathize with white-collar business owners who need and want more customers. We, at 321 Biz Dev LLC, totally understand how digital marketing companies suckered small business owners selling big ticket products and services into believing being "social" is the way to go for them to make more money. The moniker social media should be replaced with professional media.
Using social media for attorney legal services, CPA accounting services, dental services, plastic surgery treatments, general contracting, financial services and real estate transactions has very low value and extremely low returns on investment.
Last week, 321 Biz Dev experienced two extremes:
My CA client needed an estate planning service. I called three attorneys I connected with on social media months ago. No one called me back after 3 days. It was as if the attorneys did not want to accept a client from me. I wonder why? Was it because 321 Biz Dev has created relationships with business owners and consumers across the United States, Canada, India, Dubai and Spain? Thankfully, a real estate agent who also provides paralegal services helped my San Francisco agent for about 30% less than the standard attorney fee.
Next, a real estate broker colleague hired 321 Biz Dev to work on a project to help real estate agents across the country make more contacts by essentially limiting social media activities and buying real estate leads. The veteran broker has seen too many agents struggling because agents are not making enough contacts.
Generating contacts and prospects is what every big ticket transaction business owners need to master. Business activity reduces to a slow drip, if not completely stops, if there is no or not enough contacts and prospects.
In all honesty, white-collar small business owners are not 100% at fault for putting potential customers on the back burner...
BEFORE consumers are ready to purchase.
The phrase "before consumers are ready to purchase" is the issue. Adding new clients was never supposed to be a given...something to happen automatically without any effort.
White-collar small business owners should not want to start relationship building only when consumers are ready to write checks.
The economics of big ticket purchases works against white-collar small business owners. Meaning, the more money white-collar business can make attracts more white-collar small business owners to industries to become attorneys, CPAs, dentists, plastic surgeons, general contractors, financial professionals and real estate agents.
It's logical to conclude that 2,000 business owners in the same industry cannot all make money every month or every quarter if only 500 consumers need the big ticket product or service. More effort is required to become one of the white-collar small business owners to serve one of the 500 consumers.
In California, there are 217,000 real estate agents. But the average number of homes sold every month is probably 25,000 (was 35,000 before interest rate increases). Statistically, there is 1 real estate prospect for every 9 real estate agents. For agents mistakenly avoiding contacting and prospecting people in public, these agents may never close a transaction all year!
In February 2023, 321 Biz Dev LLC created Digital Networking Sessions, or DNS. DNS is the first digital networking platform for business owners and consumers to collaborate and establishment more meaningful relationships.
For example, personal injury attorneys need more consumers to know about their services. Personal injury attorneys cannot be on-scene every time terrible accidents happen. It makes dollars and sense for personal injury attorneys to be connected to consumers who know personal injury attorneys more intimately.
If a DNS metro area has 300 members and subscribers, and one of the 300 members know someone injured in a accident, the 300 members have access to a DNS personal injury attorney. The attorney is likely to get the referral from DNS members.
DNS is about active, frequent communication.
Now is not the time for business owners to sit idle waiting for prospects to call.
Thanks for reading this article and listening to the podcast episode.
Rick Nappier, CEO