CyberStar® Ira Serkes of Berkeley, CA asked the following question on private CyberStar® Google Group: "You or someone you know dominates a real estate neighborhood or community. How did you/they do it?"
"We had lots of great replies from our members. I'll share this one from CyberStar® Dave Robison ("Utah Dave") of Robison & Company Real Estate, Salt Lake City, UT. Dave is a unique talent who approaches his business like a busines. Take the time to examine his Web site with its unique features here.
Here is Dave's reply to Ira's post:
"We dominate a neighborhood called Daybreak here. How did we do it?
We got involved in the community by volunteering there. We donated time, my moving trucks and money to the community.
We sent post cards to the community monthly for the first couple of years.
We have a presence in all community newsletters.
We created a Web site specifically for homes for sale in the community.
Lived there! (Yes, we know a ton of people from living there.)
We focus on Neighborhood Tours. An awesome tool, it is our version of open houses that creates excitement and shows we dominate the neighborhood.
Of course we don't get everything in there, but people believe we dominate the market there because they always see us. Although we dominate it, we don't act like we do. We have a sense of gratitude, and we try to work well with everybody else. We don't go in for bragging about our being the best agent there. No bashing other REALTORS® in there. We are simply grateful, and we try to be kind and generous to all. One example: we take other agents on our Daybreak tours, take other agents clients and let them have prizes etc.). It's about creating goodwill."
Success in real estate isn't that difficult if you do what successful agents do. Dave is definitely successful, so I hope you'll follow his lead!
BTW: Dave wrote on the business advantage he gets from the "Crystal Ball" feature of his site....you'll see it on his home page...in my eBook, "Digital Essentials for Today's Agent." It's one of 228 great tips from my CyberStars® on using today's technology the right way. You can see more about the book here.
It's a great day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
As you know if you have followed my posts, I really promote agents using a Virtual Assistant...both in the classes I teach, on my blog and here on Active Rain.
I have just completed an eBook, "Digital Essentials for Today's Agent." 228 tips on using technology from 128 from my CyberStars(r). One of the sections, of course, is on the need for and effective use of a VA.
I would like you Active Rain VA's to be my "Connectors," influential folks who can get the word out on the eBook so that it gets into more agents' hands and helps their business.
To that end, I am happy to offer you a discount off of the $29.95 eBook price.
Just send me an email to my direct email address, afh1@ix.netcom.com with a link to your site. I'll get back to you with the discount amount and the code to use in order to get it.
Again, I applaud what you do. Together, we can increase our impact on professionalism and production in the real estate industry.
It's a great day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
While on my balcony overlooking Lake Anne the other day, I saw a buzzard lazily floating. It was covering a lot of territory as it surveyed the scene below.
As with all such birds, it floated in lazy circles and only occasionally flapped its wings. It was a perfect example of maximum results with minimum effort, as the buzzard covered a wide expanse of lake and shore using air currents rather than its own energy.
I like that system: maximum results with minimum effort.
Real estate should be like that, I think...and thanks to today's technology, it can be.
Basing your business on a good real estate database with its automatic followup systems, continuing through automatic prospecting systems such as Real Pro Systems or Gooder's Rainmaker E-Central through online contract-to-closing systems, the tools are there that let you "float" as you cover the basics of real estate.
Maybe it's time for you to "float" a bit more, use less effort while covering even more ground? If you do, you'll find more time for "life." Think about it.
It's a beautiful day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a beautiful day wherever you are, too!
(Reprinted from Allen's blog for agents, CyberStar(R) R.E. Tips & Techniques)
At the moment, I have 2,086 items in my inbox! This is crazy, absurd and unproductive to say the least.
Email is a tool, just like a hammer. It is a tool to use when needed. It is designed to get more done in less time and to help me be more productive. 2,086 items in my inbox is pretty good evidence, however, that I am not using this tool very well at all. The backlog of items creates a swamp of "maybe to-dos" and items to check that cut down on my productivity as soon as I turn on my email each morning or check it during the day.
As usual, I received an answer to my problem from one my CyberStars®, top agents who use technology as the backbone of their businesses. We have a Weekly Topic on our private list serve, and this week's topic as "Getting Organized." CyberStar® Brad Korn of Blue Spring, MO (http://www.bradkorn.com) submitted a great tip, and his post gives me hope there is a solution to my problem. He picked up the idea from the book, "Getting Things Done," by David Allen, and I'll pass along part of what he shared.
"There is an incredible method for processing all that email that piles up, but before you do that get your email box to zero! That's right: zero! Go through each email and ask yourself: can I take care of this in 2 minutes or less? If so, take care of it and delete it. Everything else should get filed into a folder other than your inbox. If you create an @ sign in front of the folder your folders will go to the top (as they do in Outlook) so that you can easily view them without scrolling down through all the folders. Use labels that allow you to segment different tasks: @actions, @errands, @projects, @waiting for, @phone, @home, @office, etc. File accordingly by dragging the email into the appropriate folder.
"There are some folders you will check every day, and you get to do the things you feel like doing. If you have been on the phone with a nasty client and don't want to talk to anyone the rest of the day, avoid your @phone folder. Do something in your @computer folder instead. You get the idea and, believe me, it helps!"
Taking action, I began this as my first task this morning.....it works! I feel better already without as much clutter, and I love the idea of being able to go to just the right folder for just the right task. Thanks, Brad!
Hope you don't have 2,086 emails in your Inbox. If so, however, try Brad's tip and let me know how it works!
It's a beautiful day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
(For more tips on using technology to build your business, pleased check out my new eBook, "Digital Essentials for Today's Agent," here!
Just posted an article to my blog: "Social Media, The Burglar & The Real Estate Agent." Hope you'll check it out....included some good information on building your business. Find it at here.
Also hope you'll subscribe...it's free, and I try to give you continuous tips from my CyberStars(r) and other sources to help you make more money, save more money and save more time!
It's a great day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
Ever wonder what technology is worth investing in and which is not? We know we need to use today's technology to meet the needs of today's consumer, but there is so much out there, only so much money to spend, and we want to make good decisions. We need technology that works for us, that makes us money, saves us money and saves us time.
Here are a couple of things I have learned over the years that should help you make the right tech purchase decisions:
Rarely, if ever, buy a product pushed by the sponsor of a seminar, especially at a free seminar. There a lot of Web site providers out there, for example, and many are pushed by speakers working not on their own but for a site provider company sponsoring the seminar. Too many of these sites, most actually, will not make the agent any money. There are only a few template sites out there that are worth investing in. We often fall victim to the impulse buy at such seminars, winding up with an inferior product.
See what an agent who uses technology in building a successful business gets...and then get it. I rely on my CyberStars® for advice when I need to buy/use a technology tool. They are good businessmen and businesswomen, they network with other successful agents, and the rarely make mistakes when it comes to a buying decision. I ask them, and then I follow their advice.
Here, for example, is a list of what CyberStar® Mike Parker of HUFF Realty, Florence, KY (Northern Kentucky) uses. You can see Mike's Real Pro Systems Web site here.
Dell Latitude notebook computer with an "air card" for wireless connectivity
Fujitsu ScanSnap S510
Blackberry Curve & iPhone smart phones
Respond real estate database
Pat Zaby's Marketing Library
Digital camera
Flip Video HD digital video camera
ISSUU online presentations
Real Pro Systems Gold Website
AnnounceMyMove viral marketing
Social media (in order of importance)
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
Plaxo
And here is the technology used by CyberStar® Jane Wolf of Legacy Real Estate, Midland/Odessa, TX. You can see Jane's custom Web site by Sizzling Studioshere.
Fujitsu ScanSnap
Palm OS Treo 700
PdaNet wireless modem for smart phone
Toshiba Satellite Tablet Computer
Personal Web site from Sizzling Studios
IDX link on Web site
Market Snapshot from Top Producer
Blog
Adobe Acrobat Professional
Visualtour.com virtual tours
Postcards from Color For Real Estate
Both Mike and Jane contributed their lists for my new eBook, "Digital Essentials for Today's Agent," and I thank them. Their lists just might serve as a starting point for building your tech arsenal and avoiding mistakes!
It's a beautiful day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a beautiful day wherever you are, too!
Skip ‘em. Unless you want to join the top 4% of the wage earners in real estate, that is. Unless you want to be part of a group that averages $106,500 closed gross commission per year as opposed to the non CRS designee average income of only $38,500 according to NAR statistics.
Skip ‘em. After all, you know for sure that the public doesn't care about designations, right?. You've heard that before, and you believe it. Never mind that the goal of the courses and designation is improving you and your business so that you can reach more of today's consumers and do more business.
Skip ‘em. After all, you have better things to do with your time than to sit in a 2-day CRS core course and spend all that money to do so, right? You have a business to run. You can't waste time taking the best in-depth course taught by the best real estate instructors in the real estate industry, right?
Skip ‘em. After all, you're doing fine, aren't you? Even though you're doing it all yourself, working too hard for the money you make, losing too many prospects and listings (read "money") and too often ignoring what is truly important in life (family, friends, personal growth) because you're working too much. Here's a secret: the CRS core courses are designed to prevent all of that! More income + more time = a better life!
Skip ‘em. After all, you probably don't need to know:
How to design a business plan that insures your business grows (CRS 200)
The latest techniques and strategies used by top agents to get more listings in less time (CRS 201)
How top agents sell more buyers in less time and don't waste time in their cars showing so many houses to "buyers" who aren't buyers (CRS 202)
How to build your personal wealth (CRS 204)
Financing and tax strategies (CRS 205)
What really works when it comes to Web sites, social networking, digital imaging, automatic followup systems, how VA's can double your income and more (CRS 206)
How to generate more referrals...and not just from a "geographic farm" but from all over the US and the world (CRS 210)
Before I make my pitch, a disclaimer: I have the CRS designation, and I am a Senior Instructor for the CRS 206 technology course and proud to be one of the 19 best real estate instructors the real estate industry has to offer. That said, here's my pitch: if you are serious about building a profitable real estate business, you would be foolish not to take the 2 day CRS core courses and not to apply for your CRS designation when eligible.
As for my course, the CRS 206 Technology Course? Here are only some of the "best ideas" as reported by some of the students in my last two CRS 206 courses in Waltham, MA, and Bryan, TX. Take a moment....look through all 35 of them. If you utilize all 35 of these ideas in your business, maybe you don't need the course after all.
A workable, profitable Web strategy
Reworking my Web site to provide complete consumer information
Different Web site types and providers, pro and con
The value & uses of stealth sites
Spending one hour a day on my technology....it works!
How & why to add video to my site
How easy it is to use the Flip Video Digital camera and upload to YouTube...simple!
Snagit for screen capturing, annotating and emailing to prospects inside the email message
Marketing uses for Microsoft Publisher....love kid business cards!
Have purchased 5 new (good) domain names & have hired a VA!
Picasa for photo editing and "sexy" shows
Information on Virtual Assistants...not only how to but the specific recommendations
I am contacting a VA to design my web site and implement a drip followup campaign with all my prospects.
Sven Andersen's discussion of his use of the virtual assistants
Specific resources successful agents use in their day to day business and some of the first hand sharing of this information in class.
Just start small and do a couple of things to change and move your business forward.
I learned that you don't have to do it all yourself and if you try to, you probably won't be as successful as you really can be!
Using the mail merge function in Top Producer more effectively
Eliminating unnecessary expenses (I've saved $140 p/mo so far!)
Using technology to save time so that I can spend more time with my family
Purchased a new Smart Phone
Uses for Bluetooth and wireless router at home
The need to get my CRS designation
Using Google Groups for agent networking and working with my clients...and it's free!
Using Google Earth to market my clients
Marketing with AtomSmasher signs and billboards
Loaning out the "pre-loaded" GPS to buying clients
Photo editing: using canvas paper to produce an "oil painting" of listing prospect's home
Three top automatic lead management systems and what they can do for me
Advantages of using a real estate specific database instead of Outlook
Using free eBooks from Issuu for my CMA's and listing presentations....cool eBook format, and easy!
Microsoft Publisher for my presentations and TinyURL.com
Using the right domain name...I've already purchased 5 based on my area
Creating a network of other top agents using technology
The variety of multimedia presentations that can help my business w/both buyers and sellers
On the other hand, maybe you doneed to take the CRS 206 and the other CRS core courses. Think about it....they will change your life!
It's a great day here on the lake in Reston....hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
Check out Allen's latest eBook, "Digital Essentials for Today's Agents," at http,://CyberStarTips.com
You are planning to get to your child's soccer tournament, concert or play this weekend, right? Or to that exercise class you know you should take? Or to that long overdue date with your spouse or partner that will keep the relationship fresh? Or just get off by yourself for a massage or a serene walk in the woods?
No? Ah....I know why: you are "too busy" selling real estate. YAnd I know that you will get to those things "sometime."
You are not alone, you know. So many agents put off the really important things because they are "too busy."
And I know the causes, too. You can't get to that soccer tournament Saturday because you have to do everything, even the "small stuff," yourself. You have bought into that old axiom, "Nobody can do it like I can!" You don't realize that clients are more interested in finding the right home than they are in you. That ol' ego gets in the way, doesn't it?
And you fear losing a transaction, right, maybe the one that will come from that out-of-area "buyer" you're showing houses to this Saturday, even though you really don't know if they are ready, willing and able to buy that day? That's ok you, though: one of the other parents will take your daughter to the soccer tournament. You'll hear about it when you get home Saturday night.
Finally, I know that you just do not have the time or inclination to investigate, learn and use a couple of technology tools that can help you get more done and make more money while working one or two fewer days a week.
Yes, I've heard all the "reasons" for ignoring the important things in life before, and I have seen how it winds up. It's not pretty. You've seen how it winds up, too, right?
Well, if you take a look at yourself and find that you want to do some of the important things, there is hope. There is no Magic Wand, however. You will have to change. You will need to change old patterns and habits. If you decide to change, you will grow, but be warned: change is hard, and it is usually painful. But it is necessary and rewarding. But you knew that, right?
If you want to change so that you can get to that soccer match or out on that date or to that walk by the lake, here are three things I would suggest you do:
Farm out all the small stuff!
Let go of the ego for just a minute and listen to me: a competent VA (Virtual Assistant) can do roughly 80% of the tasks you now do....from her home in Texas or Florida. Oh, I know: "A VA costs money...I can't afford it!" Really? I believe that you cannot afford to hire one if you take an honest look at the ROI (Return On Investment) involved.
Suppose you pay a VA at $50 an hour for four hours a week of her time. That's about $200 a week or $800 a month. During those 16 hours each month, she does things such as:
Enter your listings into MLS
Post your listings to your Web site and update some of your site content
Do almost all of your client followup
Handle your email and forward the 10-20% that she can't answer or do to you
Manage your real estate database's automatic followup plans. You remember that real estate database, Top Producer or Respond, the one you've given up on because you don't have the time to figure out how to use it? She already uses it with 5 other REALTOR® clients, so it's a slam dunk for her to run yours.
Suppose, just suppose, that you get just one more transaction per month because your time is freed up to meet people and talk with them about real estate and your services. Using a sample co-op calculation on a moderately priced home, and figuring that you're on a 50/50 split with your broker, you would earn an additional $3,750 each month.....or an additional $45,000 a year.
Let's see: you spent approximately $10,000 that year for a VA and earned $45,000 more. Looks like you are not spending money, you are making money! That ain't too shabby for just letting go of the "No one can do it like I can" idea. Matter of fact, my two VA's and my site/blog designer can do their "stuff" even better than I can when it comes to the tasks I give them to do!
Use a Portable GPS With Those Buyers This Saturday!
Nicole Hearne of Ashford Square Realty, College Station, TX, invested two days of her life and $300+ dollars to attend the CRS 206 course I taught this week, while other agents in her area did not. I guess they were "too busy." At any rate, here is what Nicole said about only one idea she got from this intense course:
"The idea of loaning my Garmin GPS to buyers and having it loaded with all the property addresses I want them to see was fantastic! I will lend mine to a client this Saturday morning, and on Saturday evening we will meet to plot our Sunday viewing ones they really are interested in. Now I can enjoy watching my daughter at her softball tournament on Saturday while they drive around! Thanks again, Allen! It was my privilege to be in your class, and I know that so many other agents have really missed out on an awesome opportunity!"
Nicole realizes that her clients are just fine with the idea of seeing houses without her as part of a narrowing down process, that it's not "all about her." After all, they buy the area first, the neighborhood second and a home third, and many buyers prefer to narrow their search without an agent along!
Again, some numbers. Suppose that Nicole has twelve properties she wants them to see. They drive around and look at all twelve. They narrow the "possibles" to four, which Nicole will show them Sunday. Suppose we (conservatively) figure it takes her 45 minutes per home when she shows it. Instead of showing them twelve homes, she shows them four. Saving eight showings at forty five minutes per showing saves her six hours of her precious time....long enough for Day #1 of the soccer tournament, even if her daughter's team wins the first morning game and plays a second! Not a bad investment in technology, huh?
Schedule Your Day Off!
Dawn Thomas, one of my CyberStars®, does. She attended the CRS 206 course I taught in Waltham, MA, last week. Dawn is with Intero Real Estate Services in Los Altos, CA. Whoa: she's in California and attended a course in Massachusetts? Yup. Her mother lives in the Boston area, so Dawn has membership in the local board there and combines business with pleasure by taking classes in the area...and cultivating referrals from local agents. Smart a fox, she is!
Most of my CyberStars® very successful agents, schedule their time first. Dawn, for example, does not work Fridays, and she lets clients know this during the initial client interview. I have found that anyone doing this does not miss much business, if any. It is a rare, rare occurrence when a true buyer or seller will not fit into your schedule....just like they do with their doctor or accountant!
These are just three tips that will help you "get a life": use a VA, use today's technology and schedule yourself first.
I look forward to receiving your comments on this, pro or con. If this post made you reflect on your Business vs. Career balance, I'm glad.
Oh...I hope you will take a look at my new eBook, "Essential Technology for Today's Agent." It can help you make money, save money...and save time so that you can get to those soccer games. You can see it here.
It's a beautiful day here on the lake in Reston...I hope it's a beautiful day wherever you are, too!
I just taught two back-to-back CRS 206 technology courses, one in Waltham, MA, one in Bryan, TX. Attendees were the usual mix of ages, experience and success levels. During the two days, we covered literally hundreds of ideas, tips and techniques on how to use today's technology to build a successful business. Modules included Web marketing, blogging and pod casting, automatic followup systems, contact management techniques, social networking, digital and video marketing techniques and strategies, email marketing, print and multimedia marketing, tech tools that work (and those that don't!) and much, much more.
At the end of the course, I present "The Equation": K - A = I, meaning that Knowledge without Action is Inertia. In other words, unless you take action on what you've learned in any course, you are no different than you were before attending the course.
As an example of The Equation in action, consider two car companies: Mercedes vs. Oldsmobile. Years ago, both faced declining market share because their target market had changed. Mercedes marketed basically the same body style for years. Oldsmobile had changed little over those years, as well. Meanwhile, their target market changed.
Mercedes realized that they were losing market share in the luxury car market to BMW, Japanese luxury cars and other competitors. They realized, too, that their customer base had changed. Realizing this, Mercedes bit the bullet. They abandoned the familiar, stodgy body style and invested enormous amounts of time and money retooling. They restructured their management team, their marketing strategy and their primary focus. The results are obvious when you see the new, sexy models they have produced and at the fact that their market share has rebounded nicely.
This happened because they took action on what they knew.
What about Oldsmobile? They tried to reposition their failing brand with some minor tweaking and a slogan (a "Magic Wand," if you will) aimed at the new consumer: "This Is Not Your Father's Oldsmobile." The final production day for Oldsmobile was April 29, 2004.
In other words, Oldsmobile, too, knew that their customer base had changed but did little about it. Their customers had aged. Oldsmobile ratained a smaller and smaller percentage of the car buying market, yet they made no significant changes. They did not take effective action on what they knew. They did not invest the time, money and hard work necessary to get where they wanted to be. They attempted to capture a new, younger market relying on a slogan.
Both Mercedes and Oldsmobile recognized a threat to their business. Both attempted to correct the problem, but with different approaches. Mercedes took the hard road, spending money and time analyzing and fixing the problem. Oldsmobile tried little more than p.r. Mercedes is doing well; Oldsmobile is no more.
There are several lessons in the Mercedes/Oldsmobile saga that apply to real estate agents:
You first need to recognize the problem. NAR statistics show that 87% of today's consumers go to the Web first to find an agent to sell their home or to sell them a home. Agents who do not have a strong Web presence have a big problem. Simply put, they are pretty much missing out on 87% of the available market.
You need to take the right kind of action to solve the problem. An agent without a strong Web presence needs to develop a specific strategy to build his or her Web presence. This includes building a deep, consumer-oriented Web site, creating and contributing regularly to a blog and developing a concrete social networking strategy. He or she must budget the necessary time and money to realize the strategy, create a timeline for implementation and create some kind of accountability system.
There is no Magic Wand! Agents who commit to attending CRS 2-day core courses realize that success takes work. They commit time and money to attend the courses with the best material and instructors real estate has to offer. They are not looking for a Magic Wand but rather for the knowledge needed to build a solid foundation for their business. On the other hand, agents who, for example, flock to various social networking courses before establishing a solid business and Web presence are looking for a Magic Wand. Social networking, when part of an overall business plan, succeeds; social networking without having first mastered today's business skills, using today's marketing tools and establishing a successful Web site and effective (automatic) followup systems, fails.
We as real estate agents face the same problem that Mercedes and Oldsmobile faced: our market has shifted radically. Today's consumer demands a new kind of "car." Agents who meet the needs of this new, Internet-based consumer succeed. Their success starts with Knowledge, proceeds to Action and results in Success.
Attending solid, demanding educational offerings that focus on building your business and skills, courses that show you how to use the tools that today's consumer demands are the cornerstone of this success strategy. Once you attend such a course, act on what you learn....you'll be glad you did when your career provides you with a good life!
It's a great day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are, too!
Just wanted my friends to know that my eBook, Volume I in my CyberStar(r) Success Series is now available online. Thanks to the 128 CyberStars(r) who contributed to this volume, "Digital Essentials for Today's Agent" and to all of you who have been asking about it.
The CyberStars(r) contributed 228 specific tips, techniques and strategies covering all areas of using technology in your business to make money, save money and save time. No "techie talk," just solid information that I'm sure will help you, whether you are a technology newbie or an experienced tech user.
You can see the table of contents, 23 Top Tips from the book and some testimonials when you visit the site: CyberStarTips.com.
You can own the eBook (immediately available when you order....with active links), the hard copy book and/or a 3 CD set of in-depth audio interviews with 12 CyberStar(r) book contributors conducted by Michael Krisa, "That Interview Guy."
Let me know what you think of "Digital Essentials for Today's Agent" after you read it.....
It's a beautiful day here on the lake in Reston...hope it's a beautiful day wherever you are, too!
Tips, Techniques and networking ideas from one of real estate's premier technology/marketing trainers and speakers. Allen learns from the CyberStars(r) (www.CyberStars.net) and shares his knowledge with you.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
At the moment, I have 2,086 items in my inbox! This is crazy, absurd and unproductive to say the least.
Here, for example, is a list of what CyberStar® Mike Parker of HUFF Realty, Florence, KY (Northern Kentucky) uses. You can see Mike's 
And here is the technology used by CyberStar® Jane Wolf of Legacy Real Estate, Midland/Odessa, TX. You can see Jane's custom Web site by 
;)
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