In the early days of the Republican race for the White House, typing JebBush.com into your browser sent you straight to DonaldTrump.com, so it was obvious that the gloves were off right from the start. Donald Trump was officially running for president.
In a field of 17 candidates, Trump was a clear standout. He wasn’t a state governor or a public official. He was a billionaire business person with a hit reality TV show on his resume. Could he seriously be a contender for the highest office on the planet?
Then he started making controversial announcements about building a wall along the Mexican border and allowing guns to be carried in schools.
The media were tripping over themselves to give him airtime. He played them beautifully and poured gas on the fire of every story before coming up with something fresh to gain even more publicity.
If the 16 other Republican presidential hopefuls had taken a moment to read Trump’s book “The Art Of The Deal” (Random House 1987), they would have found pages laden with obvious clues about what was about to unfold.
Take a look at this excerpt:
“One thing I’ve learned about the press is that they’re always hungry for a good story, and the more sensational the better. It’s in the nature of the job, and I understand that. The point is that if you are a little different, or a little outrageous, or if you do things that are bold or controversial, the press is going to write about you. I’ve always done things a little differently, I don’t mind controversy, and my deals tend to be somewhat ambitious.”
Regardless of where you stand politically, you have to admit, Trump knows how to sell a story and despite a conga-line of haters; his ability to attract followers and grab headlines is outstanding, to say the least.
At the time of writing this, Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican party candidate for the race to the White House to become the 45th President of the United States. At the time of writing, his likely opponent, Hillary Clinton, is still fighting off Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination and must be wondering what the heck she has to do to stem the tide of support that Trump is attracting.
So who will win?
Right how Hillary Clinton is out-polling Trump, but can she out-market him? With more than five months to go, my money is on the marketing genius of Trump and his team in a come-from-behind victory to celebrate this Christmas at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I think it’s his election to lose.
The rise of Trump, the impossible Presidential candidate, delivers a bunch of awesome marketing lessons for real estate agents. Here are my top five:
1. The continual promotion of a simple emotional message
“Make America great again” is a rallying call-to-action to anyone dissatisfied or disillusioned with the state of the U.S. today. Trump is really saying: “America is broken, but I can fix it.” He’s saying; “We once were great, and we can be great again.”
A simple yet powerful slogan that can be woven into your marketing is working for you all the time.
Here are a few other noteworthy slogans:
- Disneyland: “The happiest place on earth”
- M&Ms: “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands”
- Donate blood: “It’s in you to give”
These are all great positioning slogans.
2. The ability to build a dynamic team
Industry leaders are highly skilled at building a great team, and Trump is no exception. His media spokespeople carry his attitude and aggression and return to a single repeated term as often as they can.
Nobody can be great at everything, so building a team around you of people with skills you don’t possess can only boost your chances of success.
3. Knowledge of the market
Trump has intimate knowledge of the pain points that trouble Americans most. Minorities, when banded together, now make up a large proportion of the voting public. The former economic production powerhouse that fueled the economy before costs took everything off-shore is now empty and rusting.
The companies have gone or gone broke and have taken the jobs with them while the country wrestles with debt numbers that are too big to fathom.
This is a classic and proven marketing strategy and works almost anywhere. Identify the problem, stir it up, aggravate it, and then offer the solution.
4. The ability to garner attention
When it comes to making a controversial statement, Trump is in a class of his own. Making an outrageous claim or comment is the fastest and cheapest way to get a ton of media attention.
In June 2015 he famously said, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with them. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
For a few days, no other candidate could get a word in.
5. Recognition of how to leverage technology
In late 2012, people aged between 20 and 40, or millennials — as we know them, became the single biggest sector of the population. Trump’s numbers people told him this was a group to pursue, but his campaign faces two major issues:
- Can he get their support?
- Do they care enough to vote come November?
Trump’s tech team is his secret weapon. The tweets, posts and blogs have taken his Facebook followers to 7.5 million compared with Hillary’s 3.4 million.
Twitter followers are 8 million for Trump and 6 million for Clinton, so he looks to be winning the social media war for now.
Elevating technology as part of your marketing is not a choice; it’s a compulsory strategy.
Success will not be enjoyed without investment, but the potential spoils are enormous if you get it right. Take a page from Trump in your marketing efforts.
Ray Wood is the host and presenter at Top Agents Playbook. Follow him on Twitter.