Anne Marie Malfi - Virtually Marketing & Assisting You

Remembering 9-11 at the Garden of Reflection in Bucks County PA - A Beautiful Memorial

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 11:07:50 -0400

As soon as anyone says 9-11 you automatically hear someone recount where they were and what they felt when they heard and watched the devastating news about the attacks in New York, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania.

I live in Yardley (Lower Makefield), Bucks County PA in which 18 people who worked in the World Trade Center lost their lives.

The Garden of Reflection (just 1.5 miles from my home) is the official Pennsylvania Memorial to the Victims of Sepetember 11, 2011 terrorist attacks created to remember and honor loved ones and all 2,973 killed with a walking journey that symbolizes “After Darkness…Light.”

It truly is a place of beauty and hope that people throughout Bucks County and those visiting our area love to come and pay tribute to all those who lost their lives and simply remember not just on the anniversary of September 11th but often. Drive by any day of the week and you will find people sitting, walking and remembering.

One section of the memorial has all 2,973 names of those that died and another area of the garden is dedicated to the 18 Bucks County residents who lost their lives.

Just some of the names of victims etched into glass.

Here’s the video courtesy of Action News 6 capturing last night’s events. My neighbor, who lost her husband describes her feelings 10 years later.

I invite you to take a virtual tour of the garden and see some of the pictures I took last night at the Candlelight Vigil in which Bucks County residents held lighted candles, said prayers, honored victims and families and simply remembered.

Steel Fragments from the World Trade Center

2,973 hearts surrounded the entire entrance and all around the memorial

Photos Capturing the Candlelight Vigil

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and their families. We will always remember…and never forget.

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If it's not evident to you by now, consumers are very knowledgeable and computer savvy and are using the Internet to not only search for homes but for real estate agents and real estate professionals who they feel are like minded and can lead them to the results they are looking for.

As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Are you INVITING customers in or TURNING them away?

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:01:25 -0400

Take a look at this photo. Notice anything?

The motto of this business is "Its all about the bread"

Yet the message on the window says "Sorry out of bread"

Hmmm…Just a fluke for that particular day? Actually no. I see this sign up often and think to myself:

Poor planning on their part (someone is not very good with ordering the necessary product to deliver to consumers)
Consumers are left with a poor image of this business
Consumers going elsewhere to another establishment that can deliver (I bet the other businesses in this shopping center love it!)

This business is looking at Loss of: Revenue, Reputation and Consumer Confidence – key ingredients for a business to exist and grow.

I honestly have a hard time wrapping my head around why a business would allow this to happen once never mind a lot. This is especially mind boggling to me at a time when businesses are struggling to survive in this economy and great service is paramount.

Think about your business. Things happen that are out of your control even when we have a plan in place – deals fall apart, clients change their minds, situations change, and so on…Our ability to handle those challenges and be a solution oriented business is part of the overall experience and service we offer our clients, isn’t it?

I think there are a few things this business could be doing to ensure they are meeting their customers needs:

Plan Ahead – look at demand of your product and adjust the bread/product order. If necessary work with another vendor if their schedule doesn’t work for your business.

Have a Plan & A Backup Plan - If something happens where you run out of product – have solutions and resources to tap into.

If necessary and after all avenues have been explored you might just have to:

Adjust your motto so it more accurately reflects what you truly have to offer and you can continue operating your business vs. shutting the doors and giving consumers a bad taste in their mouth about you and your business.

Think of your website, your blog, profiles and social media sites as your storefront.

Are you offering services that you can actually deliver on? Are you able to meet the consumer’s needs in a way that creates confidence in you and your services?

Will you have people talking about your business in a way that helps you grow your business? (referrals and testimonials)

will someone be posting a blog or leaving a comment somewhere on the internet about how you can’t deliver what you promise?

Put messages and content out there that truly reflects you, your company, your services and ones that you can be proud of!

Ask yourself – Am I inviting consumers in or turning them away?

What are your thoughts about portraying the right image for your business?

(Note: This blog post is not intended to pick on or make fun of a particular business but as an illustration (to learn from) on how to portray the right image for your business.)

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

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One Simple Task to Getting a High Grade from Clients - What's Your Grade?

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:05:35 -0400

Remember when you were in school and you received extra credit for showing your work?

Same holds true for business. Almost every day I receive an email from a client in which their client is requesting something or checking on why they’re listing appears in a particular neighborhood when they’re right on the border, and so on.

The point I’m trying to make – they’re checking on all that you promised in that listing appointment.

So, instead of getting those emails or forgetting what marketing has been done for your listings, be ahead of the inquiries and do the one simple task to get you a high grade from your client: share your efforts with them.

Here are some of the things to remember to share and send to your clients (ideally before they ask):

Just Listed Cards – make sure one goes to their address
Open House Materials – whether it's a book all about the home, Open House Flyers and promotion of the Open House, Brokers Open, etc.
Advertising – if you’re still advertising in newspapers and real estate magazines – scan and pdf the ad and send or use the cool advertising tool I recently mentioned
Marketing Reports – this is essential in my eyes to be accountable for all the things you promised the client initially. This should have all the sites you are currently marketing their listing (hyperlinked) with an explanation of the site and it’s capabilities/reach for their listing. This should be updated monthly with new sites, links to blog posts and any new resources you have added to your marketing toolkit. If you don't have the ability to make these updates on a monthly basis, at the very least provide a 1 pager of all the sites you have their listing (hyperlinked) and update if you add any new marketing tools/sites.
Emailflyers – Often we send them to the agents in our area hoping they will have qualified buyers but sellers like them too – copy or pdf the flyer and send.
Showing reports - feedback is important especially if a price change talk needs to happen based on feedback. Sharing this means they're not as surprised when you approach the topic.
Social Media Sites – Facebook and Twitter – this can serve 2 purposes: clients are seeing your mentions of their listings whether it’s a blog link, postlets, realbird, trulia or zillow, etc. You can also share a link to the listings and add the @customername so that it also feeds to their facebook profile. Now you’re advertising on 2 pages and the client again sees you’re working for them to market their home.

Do you have any other places you would mention/copy your client to show them your work?

When it comes down to all the marketing activities you’re doing for your listings the sellers want 1 important thing: Qualified Buyers.

It’s your job to make sure you’re doing all you can to provide those opportunities for their listing. Look again at your presentation and marketing plan – has everything been done? Anything missing? Have you started working with a new marketing tool? Is there more you can be doing?

Even in today’s tough market, by showing sellers your work you’re at least assuring them that you’re a person of your word and someone that deserves their trust and their business. Don’t leave them wondering did I hire the right person? If they see your work, they will at least know you were the right person for the job even if the outcome is not exactly what they hoped for.

How do you involve your clients in the marketing process?

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Are you able to remember and keep track of everything? The 1 “Must have” Tool that Can Do it All!

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:15:40 -0400

Don’t we all love finding that magical tool – you know the one tool that makes all the difference to your organization and staying on track? The tool that makes everything work. I almost love this tool as much as I love the Magic Eraser!

If you’re like me, you’re

reading a lot all over the internet

you’re keeping track of projects and “to do” items

organizing thoughts and ideas for future blogs

or just investigating tools and resources to tap into now and in the future

How do you keep track of everything for that rainy Saturday that you designate to tackle some of the projects and tasks you need to get accomplished? Printing articles, searching through your bookmarks, looking through a notebook can be a very tedious task not to mention not a very effective use of your time.

If you’re anything like Suzanne McLaughlin who recently posted a blog about her next big project of clearing out her bookmarks and what she’ll be tackling next – I thought it was a good idea to share my favorite tool that I know will help Suzanne and all of my AR friends.

I have found that Evernote is a tool that can help you do all that and more.

I’ve been using this tool for awhile now and it seems like almost weekly I’m finding a new use for it, so I thought I’d share some of the great uses with a specific highlight on how it can benefit you in the “work” aspect of your life.

Some Key Highlights of the Tool:

One Account – Connect from Anywhere - another computer (Windows &; Mac) or mobile device (iphone, ipod touch, ipad, android, blackberry, palm, and more)

Desktop – download the desktop version – has some great features that are not necessarily available via mobile devices. (anything you do in Evernote does synch up so that if you need to access via your mobile while on the go – it’s in there!)

WebClipper – while you’re scouring the web – save the page to your Evernote and be sure to categorize it and tag so that when you search for the topic it comes up. This could be a cool new tool you found that you need to read more about before you start using it or maybe a new site that you still need to determine if it will fit into your business plan – it’s endless really.

Connect &; Share – Connect your Evernote with social media sites (FB, Twitter, Google) and email. Start sharing a note or notebook with your connections.

Free & Paid Account Options – The free account is what I have been using so far and it’s working out great. For only $5/mo or $45/yr for a premium account, if you need more functionality and space – this is so affordable. Check out the details/comparisons for free vs. premimum

What can you organize in Evernote?

Ideas (marketing, newsletter topics)
Notes (from a seminar or webinar you attended, conversation you had with a client)
Business and Marketing Plans
Photos (organize blog photos, or take a photo with your mobile device and send it to Evernote – it’s there when you need it)
Blogs (Organize blog topics/ideas, gather up research on a particular topic)
Tools (ever come across a tool whether on the web, a social media site or blog and think – I need to know more before I decide if that will work for me – now you can save the page to Evernote as a “marketing tool” topic and come back and research it more.
Research
SEO Tips
Scan Business Cards to keep them organized in 1 file
Keep track of expenses or receipts

There are tons more but I think I captured the major ones as it applies to “work” life. There is really no end to the usefulness and ease of this tool. One of my particularly favorite things to do is create “to do” lists. You can easily create them (with check boxes) and categorize them by client, day, week, month or task type. No matter what you name your list you will easily be able to use the search feature in Evernote to find the task/list.

Gather your thoughts, ideas, things you need to remember whether for work or fun and free up the time you would spend trying to organize these items or searching for them when you need them.

I’ve only provided you with a brief highlight of functions and uses for business. Just imagine having all the other aspects of your life organized in this handy tool that you can access at any time from anywhere.

More things to capture:

Shopping Lists
Gift Giving Ideas
Recipes
Trip Planning
Talk about Work/Life Balance!
Do you see this as a tool you would incorporate into your life?
Capture inspirational quotes (don’t we all share them on social sites?)
Searching for a Job – keep track of where you sent resumes
Organize deals and offers – promo codes, etc that you come across on twitter, facebook, in magazines, when you’re out and about.

All I know is that after just using this tool for a short time I’ve said:

Goodbye: HELLO:

What’s your opinion of this tool? Is this a “must have” tool for you and something you would incorporate into your arsenal of tools to keep your work/personal life in order?

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

A Tool to Share Your Message and Extend Your Reach - The Possibilities are Endless!

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 07:43:57 -0400

Hi, it’s me again…I know I’ve regrettably been missing from this great network and if you like I can provide a list of my clients that you can talk to! Truthfully I've been busier than I ever imagined I could be (a great problem to have!) and so grateful for all the opportunities since so much of my business success has come from the Reach of Activerain. (Take note: blogging on AR works!) All kidding aside, I wanted to bring your attention to a new tool I’ve been using that has so many great uses and it’s easy to use.

Allow me to share some of the cool things that can be done with this online tool GoGoPin:

Create countless ads for printing or web posting (here’s a sample page I did for real estate or you can view below)
- Note: With the Basic (free account) Ads stay active for 3 days unless you decide to upgrade for $8/mo then it will remain active for 30 days. The basic account seems ideal for Open Houses or advertising upcoming events that you post a day or two before the event.

So easy to use just drag and drop.
Upload images from your computer, Flickr, or Picasa.
Save as HTML, PNG, and PDF (great to embed into your blog)

Here’s a sample of how it looks in your blog

Note: when you create your ad and get ready to save it, you can add a link to your ad - ideally this would be your website to drive traffic to a particular lisiting or area. Where I said "Your Logo Here" you can have a picture of the property and add "click here for more details and photos" which is a call to action to get more information on the listing or you can simply add the link to the ad and the entire page becomes a clickable link to your website, et.

Post to Craigslist, eBay, Twitter, and Facebook (extending your reach)
After your ad has been created you are ready to export and here's the screen that comes up to give you publishing options:

From your online ad via Go you can also Share it with countless social networks (341+) (I love this feature)

Get a dedicated landing page for each of your ads.
Use QR Codes to make your ad mobile-friendly (especially helpful for the ads you print.)

I see these ads being a way to bring true focus to your business. Just think you can have ads and dedicated pages for:

New Construction
Luxury Homes
Developments, Areas or Neighborhoods
Price Points
Rentals
Open Houses
Need I go on?

You can also use GoGoPin to create your very own facebook page.

Facebook Business Page Options include:

Pictures & Text
Video & Slideshows
Gallery
Audio
Maps
Social Plugins
Property Showcase

I know for a fact that clients are checking on their agents to ensure they are marketing their listings as promised. This is just another way to show them your efforts and it certainly could be appealing to your prospects looking for an agent who employs creative and innovative marketing strategies.

I challenge you today to approach your marketing efforts with creativity. Find new ways to either create or spice up your marketing efforts that leave your prospects and clients with a very satisfied feeling and the feeling of wanting more not to mention the great benefits of extending your reach both online and offline.

Is this a tool that you would find useful in your business?

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Are you an "ACE" when it comes to giving great customer service?

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:39:42 -0500

Unlike our computer keyboards there are no shortcuts to great customer service. Here's a recent experience I had that I hope will remind us all that customer loyalty is all about earning trust and building relationships that will go beyond just one transaction.

As many of my family and friends know, I recently purchased a snow blower to help me endure the tough weather we were experiencing in Bucks County, PA. Not only would it help me to move the snow more easily but it would help me reduce the amount of time spent away from conducting business and meeting my client's needs.

After speaking with an expert (my dad who lives in Boston and knows bad winters and enormous snow falls) I called and visited several local stores to inquire about their products asking them the capabilities and features of the machine as well as price and availability of what they had in stock to take with me that day.

Mind you, all the stores I called were large retail stores that you think would not only have an abundance of products but would offer you knowledgeable members of their team to discuss the products and the capabilities of each machine with the customers.

I did not find that - it was quite the opposite until...

I called and met with Doug Smith, the Manager of Smith's Ace Hardware of Newtown. He not only took the time to discuss the machines he had in stock, the features and price but when I came to the store several hours later he said "I spoke with you earlier, let me show me the machines I discussed with you."

He then proceeded to give me a demonstration of the equipment and ensure I would have the knowledge of how to use it and the accessories (gas, oil) to use the equipment. He and another staff member got it into my SUV and secured it (as it was rather large) into my vehicle to get it home.

The point I'm really trying to share it that - all the advertising, promises you make to consumers, and the name/brand recognition won't get you anywhere unless you have the great customer service to back it all up and you provide that service to each and every one of your customers.

This concept applies for all companies and individuals offering services to consumers and should be a part of every interaction you have with your prospects and clients. If clients don't see the value in the services you are providing they will move on to find someone that will provide them with what they need and are looking for. In a split second, you can change someone's impression of you, your company and your services - for the good or the bad.

What are the benefits of providing great customer service?

In one word - LOYALTY.

And the benefits of having loyal customers to your business is:

Word of mouth marketing
Repeat clients
Competitive Edge

Think about it, Ace Hardware now has me talking about them. I am a repeat client and they do have a competitive edge over other stores when it comes to where I will go to purchase products I need for my home.

My advice to you is simple:

Don't forget your customers after their transaction is done
Don't make promises in your listing presentations that you can't keep
Have regular and consistent contact with your prospects and clients

Thank you ACE Hardware of Newtown - you officially have a new loyal customer!

What kind of great personal experience are you offering your clients when they call or meet you?

Has any business recently "wowed" you with their service - share the love!

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Are you afraid of taking risks because of the risk of failure?

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 09:15:47 -0500

Are you afraid of taking risks because of the risk of failure?

Within all our business models, there’s a need to wear a sales hat. But what if you took off that "sales hat" and instead wore a "service provider hat"?

Stay with me on this. Almost every client and prospect you come into contact with has at some point been mislead, misinformed maybe even blatantly lied to. Maybe they heard idle promises and this left them with a feeling of mistrust of all “sales” people. I know I encountered this quite a bit when I sold temporary staffing services.

How did I become someone that my clients and prospects could trust? I stopped selling them to them and simply pointed out real ways I could help them. I uncovered the pains they were experiencing and helped them find solutions even if it meant that I did not get their business. I took the "risk" factor away for them and simply offered my knowledge and ideas without expected anything in return. Risky - you bet. Just think about the time spent without any guarantee of a possible sale. But in reality isn't that the chance we all take? We are never really guaranteed the sale or opportunity simple because a prospect agreed to meet with us.

So why on earth would I do all that? Because I become a valuable and trusted resource for them and almost every single client I did this with eventually became a client of mine and one of them was my largest and most profitable account I ever brought in.

The same applies in the real estate business. You’ve heard it from sellers who were promised the moon and the stars only to have their home not get one offer and they pull it off the market – maybe even try to sell it themselves as a FSBO. Perhaps you have a prospect you’re meeting with that comes across as very demanding – wanting soup to nuts because they were promised things and they were never delivered from a previous agent.

So how do you go about this?

First know what you’re capable of delivering – don’t make promises you can’t keep
Listen to what your prospect is saying (don't speak)
After they are done - offer a solution that addresses their biggest problem while at the same showcasing how you can be of the greatest benefit to them
Develop a customized plan - talking directly to a prospect about their individual nees - make it personal (for clients this will be more involved)
Monitor and share feedback with prospect/client regularly (check in with prospect to see how things are going - make a call, drop by - you may just have a new client ready to work with you.)
Think outside the box and do something different - each client is unique so make their solution unique.

The key is to find ways to make your clients and prospects feel safe – take away the risk and watch what happens. I look forward to hearing your results after you adopt this practice because I know it works – I did it.

How do you make your clients and prospects feel "safe" and have you ever had a prospect come back to you based on taking this kind of approach?

In the meantime, enjoy this quick video that I hope inspires you to take more risks and not accept failure as an option.

Coming up…Stay tuned for more on Giving Your Clients What They Want & Need: Extra Credit for Showing Your Work

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Is your work week missing this important day?

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:30:50 -0500

Have you ever said to yourself “I’ll do that when I have more money” or “when I have more time?” I think we’ve all been there – overwhelmed, wanting to do everything we can to grow our business and opportunities but finding roadblocks – lack of time, lack of resources and just plain uncertain of how to get started.

Instead of putting off those projects and tasks and talking yourself into the fact that you just can’t accomplish something challenge yourself to say I can do it, I want to do, I need to do it and I WILL do it. With the New Year underway perhaps you’ve already started on this great way of thinking - maybe it was starting your diet, training for a triathlon, donating your time to an important cause, doing something new for your business – the list could go on. That day for all of us is known as TODAY.

The definition of today is:

This day

Distinctive from yesterday or tomorrow

Present time

Today should be known as the day that you said you would do something and you actually did!

I come across countless prospects who tell me they want it all – the perfect website, marketing tools, great SEO, etc and they long for the day when they can barely handle all the client calls wanting them to list or stage their home. Problem is most of the prospects I’m talking to don’t have a clear vision of what they want and despite my efforts to help them come up with a working plan that has stages of progress, (we all know Rome wasn’t built in a day) they give up and feel defeated before they even began. They allow that doubt, that I can’t do it right now attitude to creep in and take over.

Instead of focusing on having every new tool known to mankind, every resource and gadget – research a handful and figure out what will help YOU be successful. Set yourself up for success by taking those handful of tools and resources (your website, blog, social media site, resource, online tool) and give them your full attention. Become savvy in how they work best for you – become your own expert in using these tools or find someone who can help you.

Here are a few resources I've compiled to get you started in the right direction:

By doing this you’ll gain real focus. You will find what's working/not working and you’ll be able to develop a realistic and attainable plan that you can actually measure the results. Keep this in mind; just because a tool is working for your friend in Texas, it does not mean it will work for you or your market, especially if you’re juggling 10 things at once and can barely focus on at least one of them for more than a few minutes a week. You see I’ve seen great success with clients who choose a handful of areas to focus on and becoming really great in those areas. The key is to develop your business in a way that makes sense and that you can sustain for the long term.

I’ll ask you this – do you want to be really great at a few things (and I mean REALLY great) or mediocre at many things?

I’m of the mindset that there’s no better time to start then right now. You don’t need tons of money and time. There are so many free tools out there that can do amazing things for your business if you work them the right way. There are resources out there – colleagues willing to share their knowledge on their blog, virtual assistants that you can hire to work certain aspects of your business, and countless sites that might just give you your next BIG idea.

Listen

Observe

And most importantly - Take Action

Not tomorrow, not next month, not when you have more time, not when you have more money, not when you think that prospect will give you a chance, not when you feel its safe and you won’t risk failing, not when you’re not so busy.

The day is here my friends and it’s called TODAY.

The day when you say you're going to do something and you do. Make any day YOUR today!

Feel free to share any new strategies and ways of thinking you’re working on to make this year one of your greatest years.

At the very least I hope this post has inspired you to take action and make 2011 one of your best years yet!

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Beware: Being on ActiveRain causes Growing Pains

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:25:40 -0400

Beware: Being on ActiveRain causes Growing Pains

This statement couldn't be more true!

Warning: If you're not prepared for a huge increase in connections, contacts, inquiries, business opportunities, friendships and more - then this is not the place for you.

If you're interested in writing about topics that will strike a cord with someone, if you speak from the heart and have knowledge about a particular subject matter and are interested in connecting with possible clients and colleagues to develop relationships that will not only benefit your business but you personally - then this IS the place for you.

This picture is a very accurate portrayal of what life has been like for me the past few months and believe me I'm not complaining. At a time when many people are losing their jobs and struggling, I find myself and my business at an amazing place.

I have never been one to brag and I'm not about to start now but I did feel it was important to share, based on first hand experience, with ActiveRain newcomers and those who are lurking around the network wondering if this is the network/community for them and if it really will benefit their business - it is, it does, it will!

I also felt that I owed the many great friends and blog subscribers that I have here on ActiveRain an apology for not being active with my commenting and blogging. While I have tried my best to stay in contact with many of you via social networking sites, there is simply no comparison or replacement for the interactions and connections that I have and can continue to make in this community. My first priority has been and will always be to my clients (I think everyone can understand/respect that commitment) and of course to my family as striking that balance with work/life is so important.

I have worked hard the last few months to get my business to where it needs to be in order to continue to grow and get back to something I love doing - writing, blogging, sharing and connecting with this great community. So while I can't say you'll see a blog from me every day I can promise that you will see me more on your blogs commenting and sharing and hopefully I will see you on mine if something I've shared strikes a cord with you. I look forward to reconnecting and connecting with many of the new members I have yet to meet.

Wow, it feels great to be back - I've missed this place. I'll let you in on a little secret...I was sorting through some things in my office and came across a handwritten note from a fellow ActiveRain member who had taken the time to reach out to me to thank me for comments left on her blog and how happy she was to know me and have a friend in Bucks County PA.

That's what I'm talking about - Connections - afterall my success and growth of my business is without a doubt due to ActiveRain. I can't think of any other place to spend my time when not working on client projects and spending time with my family, then with my ActiveRain family.

Have you found the right balance in all things needing your attention - your business, your family, your connections and friendships? Needing some inspiration? Visit Kate Elim's Post and Get Inspired - I did in more ways than one!

Feel free to share:

How ActiveRain or a special person or experience has inspired you and impacted your business.

Stay Tuned for an upcoming blog that will guarantee to make a mega splash.

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Real Estate is a "Contact" Sport...Do you have a Game Plan?

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:16:31 -0400

I think we can all agree that our clients all want to feel special, whether they are new or they have been working with us for months or even years. They will also continue to go to where they feel they are wanted and appreciated.

Think about it from your own personal experience. Would you continue to go to a restaurant or service provider that didn’t make you feel invited or special? If they didn’t recognize you or provide you with an exceptional customer service experience would you return, mention them to others or would you simply move on?

Have you ever given thought to whether "new" clients are more important than "existing" clients? I think they are both important and each of them needs to feel that way. Surely we all want to grow our businesses and working with new prospects is an essential part of growing our business but just as essential is in how we treat our “existing” clients.

It comes down to having a system in place to stay in contact with both existing and new clients to ensure everyone's needs are being met.

In a previous blog I wrote about how you can categorize your clients in your database to ensure you’re providing them with information that is relevant to them. Feel free to review that information and at the end I will give you a few simple ways to go about establishing ways to stay in touch with both new and existing clients.

Here are 3 Rules to follow to help you stay on the mind of your existing clients. (this will become important for your “new” prospects and clients as you start working with them and establish a good practice for staying in touch with them.)

Rule #1

Call Them. Yes, in this day of technology – emails, social networking and text messages – we often use our phone less to reach out to clients. It could be that we’re busy and multi tasking, possibly we’ve been out of touch with a former client and we’re afraid to pick up the phone and call them or we’re not sure what we should be calling them about. Whatever the reason, we need to let those existing clients know they are “still” important to us. Try it, you may be surprised to hear a happy tone in their voice that they’re hearing from you or what if they know someone that is possibly in the market to buy or sell a home?

Rule #2

Recognize them. There are numerous ways to go about this. A few off the top of my head – invite them to a client event, seminar you know they will find interesting, local events that you are blogging about, blog about their business, refer people you know to their business. The important thing to remember with this one is you have be listening to know your clients and prospects to know what’s important to them – what they are interested in otherwise you are sending them info they don’t have an interest in and that can be a turn off. You want to engage with them and be seen as a valuable resource.

Rule #3

Stay in Contact. This does not mean only when you have work with them, but especially when you don’t! No one likes to be forgotten. Send a personal note, forward an email that you know they will find helpful, follow Rule #1 – the point is just stay in contact.

So how do you go about staying in touch? While it may seem simple – it’s often the simple things that get overlooked.

Create a schedule of contact in your database or email – once a month (your newsletter – be sure to get their permission), once a quarter (an email, or a call.) Once you put a plan together you won’t have to think when did I last contact that client or you won’t let too much time pass without letting them know they’re important to you.

While it’s important to contact them, it’s also important to make a note about why you contacted them. Perhaps you sent them a note to remind them of an upcoming event or you forwarded an email and they loved receiving it. This way you will be able to note something that is important to THIS client. Don’t rely on your memory – jot a note in their file or your database.

Invite them to your social networking – invite them to participate and engage with you and your contacts – connections can be made and enhanced.

Invite them to your blog. Often they will discover you’re writing something of interest to them that you might not know is a “hot” button for them – it could initiate a call or email from this client and you’ve got contact. Especially do this if you’re going to blog about their business or a recent interaction you’ve had with them.

The possibilities are endless so feel free to share other ways you have for staying in touch with your clients?

My final point is this: Put a system in place, whatever works for you and your clients, to make this happen regularly and consistently.

Establishing a good system for contact with existing clients and prospects is a good practice to follow if you’re interested in growing your business. A trust already exists with your existing clients and that has the potential for growth of your business by way of referrals. If you establish this practice your new prospects and clients will also benefit because you will have an established method of contact from them beginning and won’t have to be focused on playing catch up with them to reestablish that trust.

Don’t let so much time pass that your clients and prospects feel forgotten and then ultimately YOU are the one that becomes forgotten.

What Rules do you follow when it comes to maintaining your “existing” client relationships vs. only being focused on the "new"? Are they different or the same?

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

A tool that will help you Stay Up to Date and Engage with Your Connections on Social Media Sites and Save Time!

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:56:25 -0400

You’ve heard the saying “Just give it to me in a nutshell.”

So many of us have a limited amount of time for working and knowing all that's going on with our associates, clients and friends. So here’s a way to catch up and find ways to engage with your connections on some of your favorite social media sites if you’re pressed for time or even if you’ve missed something that you would like to comment on.

It's Nutshell and It's easy to setup!

Simply visit this link, enter the email you want to receive your updates and a password.

Then you will connect your accounts:

Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin
MySpace

and then you can customize the things you want to receive updates on.

Here are some examples of how you can customize your Facebook updates. The sections page will allow you to select the items you want included in your email. Perhaps you want a quick snapshot of birthdays, your wall posts which includes comments left by your connections, etc.

You can also setup filters for your Facebook Updates. You can select how many pages (and in the pages section determine the pages you want updates for), status updates, news feeds, etc.

On Twitter you can customize the sections page to receive updates on your @replies, etc and you can also put in search terms say for your company or an organization you're following.

I think there are many possibilities for using a tool like Nutshell:

Monitoring all that's being said about your company, organization and you.
It's a great way to share information with your clients (maybe one of their listings you posted on your wall received some great comments that you can share) or perhaps a topic or blog you posted had some comments and you can share that snapshot with your newsletter subscribers.
Time saver - yes, social media is about engaging and I highly recommend being on these sites to do just that but when your schedule doesn't permit you to engage the way you normally would this is a great way to still feel connected and then go back and connect.

What I also like about this tool is that you can engage directly from the email you receive. Below is a snapshot of my email from this morning.

In this example (below), I could easily:

send Jay McGillicuddy a Birthday message right from my nutshell email

or I can respond to Clint Miller's status update about following up

Learn that Coach Katerina has an upcoming Expired Listing Bootcamp

or leave Bill Gassett a comment or "like" his update on "Should I move or improve my Massachusetts home?"

So there you have it, another tool that will keep you in the know, help you engage and stay engaged with your connections and save you time.

Feel free to share how are you staying on top of your work while still engaging with your connections.

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Ever think of showing up to your next client appointment in your birthday suit?

Thu, 27 May 2010 19:42:37 -0400

Ever think of showing up to your next client appointment in your birthday suit?

I don’t mean this literally, although it would make for some interesting reading. I’m talking about showing your clients and potential clients who you really are –human, vulnerable and worthy of their trust.

Sure it’s easier to be real, honest and vulnerable with people we really know and who we’ve built a trust with.

But how can we take on business so important to our clients (their home and money, etc.) if we aren’t human and real with them?

The key is to show them that you’re hardworking, capable, honest and will do your absolute best for them.

Yes, mistakes will occur – some small, some even big and out of your control – but being someone that will not only acknowledge them but correct them will speak volumes about who you are and the services you provide.

It’s when we are the “real us” (human, vulnerable, competent, and yes even capable of mistakes)that we build trust, customer loyalty and our business will just naturally grow.

I often think back to my experience of my first sales appointment with a client and all the the fears associated with it. I couldn’t get it out of my head:

Will the client like me?
Will they engage with me?
Will they see me as an expert and someone that can provide value to them?

Or will I simply hear crickets and have the experience leaving me with the feeling that I’m not capable and I can’t wait for this appointment to be over.

Perhaps you’ve been there too?

Being vulnerable in the business world is SCARY.

So lets look at some things that stand in our way and actions that can be taken to get us the results we need to be successful and easily grow our business.

We may/may not get hired by the client…so don’t just sell - give.

Share your expertise – tell them what you’ll do for them. Share your knowledge without the expectation that you’re going to get the business. Give advice even if it’s not the most popular answer but you know it’s the truth. Acknowledge and tackle the difficult and uncomfortable situations – don’t pretend they don’t exist.

In the end, whether you get the business or not, you will be seen as valuable and that will be remembered by the client. I’m sure many of you can relate to having a former prospect call on you months down the road or receiving referrals because of the impression you left on someone?

Putting our clients First…it’s about them, not us.

You’ve heard the saying, “there are no dumb questions.” Have the courage to ask without fear – you may just uncover something very important to your client that you might not otherwise have found out unless you asked. After asking the questions, be prepared to make recommendations. Go into your client interactions knowing not ALL your suggestions and recommendations will be seen by the client as good or something that they feel will work for them.

It comes down to putting the client and their needs first. They want this. They are hiring you to provide this along with your expertise. Sometimes it just takes time to circle back around and try something new (that goes for us as well as our clients) and if you’re showing them you’re willing to put their needs and interests first from the beginning they are more willing to trust you and your suggestions. They will feel this dedication.

Making mistakes and all that comes with it…it's ok to admit you have limitations.

This is not saying to a client“I’m not competent.” We all have areas of weakness but pretending we can do something and do it well when we can't makes us look – limited and weak. Focus on your strengths and bring someone in to assist you if you need to offer and provide a service that’s not your strength.

I have never met the perfect person or come across the perfect business. What I, and I believe most people are looking for from service providers is – honesty. Someone who will honestly lead and support their customers. Who will take responsibility and will work to meet their clients needs and expectations.

Final thought:

I believe when we all decided to be in our chosen fields of customer service – we made the decision to be honest and hardworking for our clients. Being vulnerable in all areas of our work can create some long lasting advantages:

Trust
Recommendations
Long Term Clients
Reputation
Growth
and so much more!

So with all that said, put on your birthday suit and really show your clients you are ready to work for them!

What is the purpose of your business?

How have you shown the real you to your clients and what were the results?

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Connecting to your local community gives you something very important...visibility...visibility...visibility

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:19:03 -0400

Connecting to your local community gives you something very important...visibility.

As a business owner you know the importance of keeping your prospective customers and clients informed about your organization's activities easily and consistently.

I love looking at community calendars especially on a weekend that we don't have any plans (rare but it does happen) as well as subscribing to many rss feeds for local community pages so that I'm aware of all the local events going on in my area and I don't think I'm alone in this when I look at all the people commenting on many of the local event pages.

Trulia, Realbird, your blog, website and social networking sites - are all places you should be advertising your listings but also add to that your open houses and local community events.

But you might be missing out on reaching people from your local community that don't know you yet. (I know it sounds practically impossible with all the opportunities for reaching out to your communities, but why take the chance? Who knows you might just make a connection and gain a new customer!

Another great way in addition to the above to promote your:

local Open Houses
Seminars
and Local Events

is to become a regular on your local community websites and calendars:

Perhaps you have some local community pages that you use for linking purposes in your blogs - many of these sites have advertising and forum sections where you can advertise your next open house, seminar, and local event that you're hosting for free. (many also have feeds where you can submit your blog for even more local exposure)

The fact is, community websites and community calendars are becoming very popular.

So if you're active in your local community and looking for another way to get better visibility for your business and services, why not connect with the people who live, work, eat (you get the picture) in your community and let them know about the things you're doing and offering to their community.

Be the Local Realtor/Real Estate Resource!

If you've experienced more visibility by using this medium I would love to hear about your experience.

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

What does doing a good job and giving your best really mean anyways?

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:21:57 -0400

What does doing a good job and giving your best really mean anyways?

I think so many of us have learned from and been inspired by someone - whether a parent, colleague or mentor - "to always give our best."

Here's an example for you to understand where I'm going with this:

You have a builder laying the foundation for a home (maybe yours?) If it's not set the right way there will be problems. What if the foreman said to his worker don't worry about having it "just right" "no one will know" because he's more concerned with the schedule to just get it done.

Now what if the worker said "but I will know."

I think we'd all like to associate ourselves with the worker and this point illustrates that if you think it doesn't matter whether or not you give something your best or not - it does - and on so many levels especially if you pride yourself and your business on "giving your clients your best."

I'm certain you've heard the old saying "you never get a second chance to make a first impression." This statement is true and can be applied to so many areas of our lives.

In real estate doing your best can be the difference between being a client's real estate professional of choice and finding yourself with lots of referral business or being known and referred to as the real estate professional "not" to choose.

Giving your best comes down to meeting and exceeding the wants and needs of your clients and can be measured by the following:

They're happy with your services (you can see it and they share it with you)
They continue to rely on you for your expertise and services
They recommend you to others

So what can you do to ensure you're providing your best for all the clients you interact with? The following list are some suggestions for giving your best:

Be Prepared

Clients want this and expect this. Be on time. Have everything you need for your meeting/call. Know your stuff.

Be Confident

Believe in yourself and your abilities. If you don't believe what you're saying and sharing with your clients what makes you think they will?

Be Open

Give them 100% of your attention. Make eye contact. Nod your head. Ask for clarification. Don't have the attitude that something will not work - find the best way to make it work!

Be Positive

Avoid negative talk. Show enthusiasm. Have fun when you interact with your clients - who doesn't like being around someone that clearly loves what they do?

Be a Leader

Being an enthusiastic and positive leader - guiding your clients through the wealth of information that they may not fully understand - builds trust and confidence in you. Have a plan, a vision and clear direction for how you will get them results.

Be Serious

Clients want to know and feel you are committed to their goals

Be a Hard Worker - Give it Your Best

Clients are drawn to people who are willing to work hard. Define how you will work hard for your client. Demonstrate in action. Go the extra mile.

The fact is the real estate industry is extremely competitive with numerous real estate professionals competing for the same listings and opportunities. By following the above suggestions you can maximize your chances of not only getting the opportunity to work with a client but having them become a long term client and also one of your greatest sources of future business.

You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

What else would you add to this list of giving your best?

Feel free to share your experiences of giving your best to your clients.

If you still need that extra bit of motivation I have the perfect thing for you! I promise you that you will not only feel happy after watching this but it will leave you feeling motivated and inspired to Do and Give Your Best in Everything!

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Enhancing your image w/ one of your greatest sources & becoming their most valuable resource

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:13:17 -0500

With so many tools, websites and vehicles available to us to extend our reach and communicate with the general public, I think too often we forget about one of our most valuable resources - our past clients - when it comes to growing our business. They are one of our greatest resources for new business and in this post I would like to share some thoughts and ideas for enhancing your image and becoming one of their greatest and most valuable resources.

Does this scenario apply to you? You're at the closing table with your client, the keys are handed to them, maybe you have a phone call with them shortly afterwards, a few emails are sent to them or dare I say - you have no contact with them after than transaction?

Past clients loyalty can easily be broken unless you have a plan for maintaining these very important relationships.

I've seen it happen and have been employed by agents to assist them in reestablishing these relationships. It doesn't have to be this way - you can maintain your emotional connection with your previous clients and here are a few things to focus on to make that happen.

1. Database

Organize your clients in your database. Move them from "current client" status to "previous client"or to a group that makes sense. See this post in which I described how to organize your database and email campaigns so they make the most sense and keep you efficient with regular contact and with content that matters to them. If you have not been in regular contact (within the last 2 years) you may need to face letting them go, but please learn from this mistake and don't let it happen with any of your clients you are currently or will be working with going forward.

2. Your Personal Story

Twice a year send them a personal note - a story of what you're doing but don't make it all about real estate - you can certainly relate it to what you're doing but share a part of you - the same way you do in your blogs. You may be saying "why would my clients want to know what I'm doing?" Because you've just spent a lot of time with this client, handling a very personal and emotional transaction for them- that's why. Maybe you're known as a Realtor® who handle and specializes in a certain niche that you can relate to your personal life. The point of this letter is to create, maintain and further the personal and emotional connection that was started with this client he minute they decided to hire you.

3. Real Estate Letters/Newsletters/Emails

This is where you keep your clients informed about what is going on in real estate, your market (market updates, highlighting new businesses in your area), your business (classes you are taking, new team members, etc .) and providing helpful advice and information, for example, the Homebuyer Tax Credit.

4. Fun Contact

This is a great way to share your fun side with clients and shows them just how approachable you are and will encourage them to engage with you. Here's a fun site that gives you some "fun" holidays to celebrate and you can tie them into things you are doing in real estate. For example, February 8^th is Clean out your computer day, what a great way to remind your clients to back up their computers and remove any unwanted files, etc. If they're a fairly recent client you can even send them a disk or zip file with all of their real estate documents especially since tax season is coming up. Talk about being a valuable resource!

5. Your Brochure and Business Cards

Twice a year send them a reminder of your services. Ever hear the phrase - out of sight, out of mind? This is a great opportunity to let them know you're still active in real estate and to let them know how much you value their business and any referrals (you never know if putting this little reminder out there will bring you a new referral if you simply assume it won't work.) This along with all the items you are sending throughout the year is what builds and increases the likelihood that your sphere of influence will reach out to their sphere of Influence. Do you honestly think they will refer or mention you to anyone they come in contact with if you haven't been in "regular" contact with them?

6. Special Events/Community Involvement

Another great opportunity to not only share what you're involved in, but a great way to engage your clients. So many of you are involved in giving back to your community - perhaps a client would also love to be involved and you just sparked their interest. This not only gives you the opportunity to interact with them again on a personal level for a cause you both believe in but it helps promote your cause and that's something that everyone can benefit from.

The point is throughout this process, you have shown your clients you care to stay in touch with them and you did it in both a fun and informative way.

Important Reminder:

Be sure to review your all your contact content and make sure you have your blog, website and social networking sites not only mentioned but hyperlinked so it's easy to connect with you.

I hope this post helped you in the following ways:

Got you thinking about how important it is to stay in touch with your clients (both past and present)
Created an easy step by step plan for how to connect and stay in touch with clients
Reminded you to treat your sphere of influence as a valuable resource
Convinced you that you can be a valued and trusted resource for your clients

What things are you doing for your clients to consider YOU their most valuable resource?

Other helpful posts on the subject of connecting with clients:

Call to Action

Measuring your Marketing Plan

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

The Power of Active Rain – Connections are made every day!

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:08:09 -0500

Lisa Udy asked in her blog post entitled The Power of Active Rain Contest that we put together a blog post to share the benefits and the Power of Active Rain. It's funny because I didn't have to think long or hard on this oneat all and have been in the process of sharing this post with all of you to illustrate Lisa's point exactly and here's how I harness the Power of Active Rain.

Since joining Active Rain in August of 2008 my business has more than doubled and it has not only brought me new clients but friendships that go beyond what I could have ever imagined.

These friendships are not just casual friendships but people I can call on and depend on at any given time.

Whether I have a question about a tool that can be incorporated into my blog posts and I'm calling Brad Andersohn; or I am collaborating with Rebecca Levinson with either my new client or hers to establish best practices for marketing and social media; I'm talking and catching up on the phone with Jason Crouch, someone who since day 1 of joining Active Rain inspired me with his writing and since then has been a mentor to me in many ways by always encouraging me; or countless other examples of the great support you receive from members both online and offline.

I recently had two amazing experiences from my participation on Active Rain and these 2 experiences reinforced for me the Power of Active Rain:

Example 1 - Margaret Rome

Last Wednesday, I received a surprise call from our very own Margaret Rome. The reason she was calling was because she was made aware of my blog simply by a comment made from another Active Rain member that was indexed by Google. This blog post was from 2008 and she liked the post so much along with all the comments and interaction that came about from the post that she decided to call me directly to share how much she liked it.

I have three points to illustrate the Power of Active Rain and why I think being part of the Active Rain blogging community is important to your business and for those of you still on the fence about blogging here's what will happen to you:

The Power of Active Rain - Point 1

It will get you indexed by Google and the search engines and while you may not think that's a big deal - it is. (Afterall that's how Margaret found me.) Being indexed by Google and all the search engines allows consumers a better chance of finding you when they type in the key words that appear in your blog posts, website and any content you post on the internet and Active Rain. It will bring you subscribers and will help you engage with those interested in what you are writing and sharing about your experiences, real estate, and life.

The Power of Active Rain - Point 2

It will create a connection with your readers. Before Wednesday, I knew of Margaret Rome but I didn't know her. Just by her taking a few minutes out of her busy day to call me - a connection was started. We've heard each other's voices and shared our blogging experience and similar people we interact with - I am now connected to Margaret in a very personal way and that is because of my blog on Active Rain.

The Power of Active Rain - Point 3

It will bring you business. Since I started blogging on Active Rain my business has grown by leaps and bounds. Did it happen the first week I joined? No, but it did happen in a relatively short time due to my efforts in sharing my experiences and advice via my blog posts. I consider each and every one of my blog posts as my way of giving back to a community of members that gives to me every day - in sharing experiences, advice, and the education I receive from regularly interacting with members that speak and connect with me on things that are important and meaningful to me. That is where the true value and Power of Active Rain comes shining through!

To this point above, I will share my second example.

Example 2 - The Somers Team

After being on the network for just short of 1 year, I attended my first RebarCamp that was held in Philadelphia. There I was able to meet and interact with a few members that had been interacting and reading my blogs. In particular it gave me the opportunity to meet and connect with The Somers Team. After that event I received a call and together Stephanie and I figured out how I could support their marketing efforts in a way that would allow them to put even greater focus and attention on their clients and grow their business. Since August, we have partnered together to create even greater success for the Somers Team. But don't take my word for it - visit their blog and see how they are harnassing the Power of Active Rain for their business.

Now, for the most part I work virtually and I will never really meet my client's face to face, except maybe on Skype, however, I am fortunate enough to have the Somers Team located just 25 miles south of my home office. The Somers Team invited me to a local wine tasting and dinner last night in Lambertville NJ and it was so great seeing them again and furthering our connection.

Just having the opportunity to be around them I felt their energy and how they truly love what they do! Yes, Active Rain is what brought the Somers Team and I together. Not just because we were part of this network but because we chose to interact and engage on this network and when they met me - they knew me and I knew them. That is the Power of Active Rain. Active Rain builds connections.

If you are new to Active Rain or you have not yet joined, I invite implore you to explore other bloggers on this network and you too will discover similar Active Rain Blogging Success stories to mine. I am confident you will see great things happen in your business by joining and participating on the Active Rain network. So just like Lisa Udy is challenging the members here to share their story in an effort to convince people in small towns around the country and specifically "Grace Idaho Real Estate Agent" about the Power of Active Rain;

I am challenging you to do the following 3 things:

Use the search feature in Active Rain to explore for yourself some great topics (there's something here for everybody), bloggers, resources, and success stories.
Join the Active Rain community and grow your business in ways you never would have imagined. I have proof in my business and the connections I have made that Active Rain works! I invite you to call me or stop by my blog for some helpful marketing tips and leave a comment letting me know you're here - because everyone deserves a welcome and I want to know you're here.
Join, read, comment, connect and get comfortable - you will find your blogging voice and know we look forward to hearing it!

I think there are some amazingly talented real estate professionals, bloggers and educators on the Active Rain network and something tells me that 172,436 members as of this blog post (and still growing) can't be wrong! They are all harnassing the Power of Active Rain for their business and you can too!

In one of Brad Andersohn's recent blog posts he shared something I think is worth rementioning:

"YOU have the power and ability to lead, motivate, inspire, and help other people. YOU are making a difference in the world, in YOUR community, and in YOUR industry." "YOU are a Rainmaker!" Brad Andersohn

To sum it up - there is without a doubt Power in Active Rain!

Feel free to share in the comments below (along with submitting your own post to the Power of Active Rain blog post content) the positive experience you've had by being a member of the Active Rain community - whether a friendship, business, education, referrals, indexing, or simply the great feeling you experience by interacting with like minded professionals. I know my readers and subscribers will appreciate your thoughts and advice.

I also want to thank all those who stop by to interact on all my blog posts YOU are what keeps me here and coming back after my workload takes me away for periods of time. Thank you!

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Other helpful blog posts on the subject of The Power of Active Rain and making connections:

Advice for Consumers - Write with the consumer in mind.

Frequency is Key

The Helpers High

Marketing is a lot like exercising

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Measuring your marketing plan – What’s involved and What are your results? Knowing this will ensure you have a great 2010!

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:01:16 -0500

So many of us have Marketing Plans but are we effectively measuring the results and using that data to further grow our business and opportunities?

This picture illustrates what a solid marketing plan should involve:

Knowing which specific areas of your marketing strategies are working will without a doubt save you money and time as you will be spending your money and time on the areas that are working and more focused on providing to the customers that are connecting with you in those areas.

If you can't answer the following questions than you have no way of knowing what in your marketing plan is working/not working and you have some work to do to make 2010 a great year.

I invite you to ask yourself:

How did most of my clients find me last year?
Which of my websites or blogs did they visit/connect with me on?
Which of my social media sites did they connect with me on?
What tool (blog craigslist, trulia, zillow, etc) yielded the greatest connections for me?

Now two more important questions before we continue:

Can I and will I sustain those marketing efforts this year?
Is there anything I can change about my marketing strategies that didn't yield the greatest results?

Notice I didn't say "didn't work." All too often it could be a matter of not giving a particular marketing strategy enough time or the best attention/focus or direction. Give each of your marketing tasks some time before you completely abandon them. It could be a simple little change to an aspect of it that makes all the difference.

Another point I'd like to mention is that while I think it's important to know what your competitors and colleagues are offering and doing, I think it's also important to:

Feel good about what you are offering (and deliver on it!) Be creative and try some new things.
Listen to your current clients and prospects in your market.

My point is don't look for a quick fix or simply use someone else's idea because it's working in their market. Be focused on putting the time and effort into your plan and carrying it out to provide the results your clients want and need. In the end you will have far better results in something that you created and you believe in.

Now that you've determined the areas that are yielding the greatest results/connections, what needs changing and what needs to be dropped entirely, you can now measure your marketing efforts by gathering information that will keep you on the path towards growing your business and investing in the right areas to make this happen:

Ask the right questions

Track how prospects heard of you. (be sure to have all staff asking this very important question.) Simply asking a prospect of how they heard of you or found you is one of the easiest and most overlooked ways to track this data. Now for the really important part - document itin your CRM. This will become especially helpful if you use your database to send out newsletters and email campaigns that are targeted towards specific groups. See a previous post for more ideas on how to setup your database to provide targeted campaigns.

Don't just have a campaign - manage it!

With everything we are involved in throughout a day it's hard to keep track of all we're doing. Have a database that lists your campaigns along with a description. Track how many leads and sales came from those efforts. Here's an example of tracking you can use on advertising campaigns.

Measure the Metrics for your websites and blogs

How are your website/blog visitors finding your site? What pages brought them to you?
How much time are they spending on your site?
How many pages are they visiting per visit?
How many return visitors have you seen and what brought them there?

These three areas above are a great place to start when it comes to analyzing your marketing efforts and giving you areas to fine tune and focus your efforts.

Whatever tools you're using to gather data the point I'm making is MEASURE IT and USE IT to benefit what you will offer and how you will offer it to your clients.

I challenge you to:

Review your data and results from last year
Assess and Make Adjustments your marketing plan (esp if you simply took what you did last year without really analyzing it fully - aren't you doing some new things already that you weren't last year?)
Challenge yourself to be different
Deliver on your plan and promises by reviewing your plans and goals, measuring and changing as necessary.

What steps have you taken to measure your marketing plans effectiveness?

What are you doing differently in 2010 vs. what you did in 2009?

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Other Helpful blog posts on this topic:

Ensure your site comes up when customers search

Marketing is like exercising - tone and see results

Simple Marketing Strategies to Use Every Day

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

What does complaining get us? Isn’t it better to simply work harder and smarter?

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:02:54 -0500

Think about the energy it takes to fret, complain and worry about problems.

Have you ever encountered someone that complained about everything under the sun? Did you purposely seek them out to have another conversation or interaction with them? Probably not - you probably thought "what a downer" and "I hope I don't have to talk to them again."

I've often noticed that I'm drawn to people who don't complain but instead are proactive and look for ways to fix a problem or create a solution. I also think they are highly successful and productive because they are always looking for ways to create opportunity, success and growth.

Imagine taking that energy and applying it to solving problems and creating solutions and how it will affect the growth your business not to mention the great benefit of being a great person to be around.

"If you don't like something change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.

~ Maya Angelou

This quote provides great advice for how we should look at our business. When you think about it don't most of our customers (our employers) want to work with someone that looks for and creates solutions? Isn't that one of the reasons they seek us out online? Most are reading our blog posts and watching on social media networks(not to mention all the Google indexing that happens with every thing we put on the Internet) and determining is this person someone that will work for me, have my best interests at heart and will be someone I can work with? Do they have the right skills, knowledge and positive attitude that would be a reason for me to hire them?

Below are what I feel are 5 great attitudes to have that will take you far both personally and professionally:

Can vs. Can't

Having a "Can do" attitude vs. a "this will never work or it can't be done" attitude gives you a competitive advantage. Sure there may be setbacks and failures (opportunities to learn) along the way but the true success comes when we don't give up.

Work Smart but also Work Hard

I've often thought it's more important to work smarter not harder but I'd like to change that slightly. I say this because while I think it's important to work smarter I also think you can't discount the necessity to work hard - there are simply no shortcuts when it comes to success. It could mean doing something extra and pushing yourself to reach outside the norm and try something new. Think about it - everything you do has your reputation attached to it - isn't it worth the extra effort?

Have a an Attitude for Gratitude

Ever notice then when you're focused on something you're grateful for that your whole attitude is boosted, positive and you have an energy that others want to be around? The brain has the ability to think about one thing at a time and if we are more focused on the positive there is less room for the negative.

Catch others doing something right

I learned this lesson not only as a manager for a very large staff but as a mom - focus on what my employees and my child is doing right more than what they are doing wrong. Sharing praise and compliments with others will not only encourage them to find ways to be successful but will do wonders for your attitude as well.

Let Go and Focus on Success

Spend your time and energy focused on changing things that can be changed. Some things are simply beyond our control - accept it. Find time each day to focus on the great things you accomplished in your day - perhaps it was a conversation you had with someone, something new you tried that worked and gave you the results you were looking for or having an opportunity come your way that you didn't expect because of all your hard work. Taking time to reflect on your accomplishments will be the fuel to keep you motivated and you'll find yourself looking forward to tomorrow and the challenges that await you.

Sometimes we simply get in our own way and can get caught up in that trap of complaining and feeling badly about a situation, but complaining should not be part of your overall business and life strategy. All it does is drain us of our energy and will only stand in our way of being happy and in achieving our goals. Being a "fixer" vs. a "complainer" will give you an outlook that will enable you to be more productive, creative and effective for everyone that interacts with you.

The next time something happens that makes you feel you want to complain about it think to yourself:

What will I get from complaining?
Can I fix the problem?
Think about or seek out others to come up with some solutions (ActiveRain is FULL of real life examples of how to handle so many issues - read, seek and search - in addition to the help you may find, you may also discover another great resource and friend in the process.)
Get busy making changes and creating solutions that will work.

I think this quote sums up my attitude about complaining best:

"I had no shoes and complained, until I met a man who had no feet." Indian Proverb

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I always love to interact with my readers so feel free to share your thoughts on the questions below or bring up something not mentioned above that you feel is worth discussing.

Feel free to share how you handle complainers?

What things do you do to maintain a positive attitude to attract more people and opportunities to you?

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

The most important gift we can give to our family, clients and ourselves and you can’t buy it in a store…

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:55:42 -0500

If you've ever watched The Grinch you might remember the valuable lesson he learned in realizing that the most precious gift you can give doesn't come from a store:

He stood puzzling and puzzling. How could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. And he puzzled and puzzled then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas he thought doesn't come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.

Whatever holiday you celebrate, I believe we can all give those special people in our lives a very precious gift and we don't have to simply wait for a holiday to give it. As Ralph Waldo Emerson so nicely put it:

"The greatest gift is a portion of thyself."

Holiday blessings come in many forms - time spent with family and friends or simply the gift of time to someone that needs it. Allow me for a moment to share something personal - my present came early this year and it has to be by far the BEST Christmas gift I have ever received, better than that tea set or doll I asked Santa for as a child - my gift was more time with my dad.

Many of my friends here know that my dad has endured and survived major lung surgery and months of excruciating chemotherapy....proof it's hard to break a good Irishman. We finally got word that my dad is in remission and can simply enjoy just living life - no more doctor appointments or chemo for the next 4 months.

These past few months of going through my dad's cancer treatments and facing the fact that my time with him will be cut shorter than I want has taught me so many valuable lessons but the one that stands out the most to me is the value of TIME.

I have made it a priority to give the gift of time to those closest and important to me (from family to clients.) We are each given the gift of time every day - we all have 24 hours that is carved out for each of us to do with it what we choose. We can spend it wisely, invest it, enjoy it or we can do the complete opposite but regardless of our choices - time moves on.

Here are some various aspects of time that I feel will help you reflect on how you can find clarity for your life and even your business:

Valuable Time

This is the time we dedicate to things that are important - the everyday aspects of our lives - working to earn a living, time with our children and spouses, attending school, managing our finances and bills, and taking care of our health. All of these areas add value to our lives and provide fulfillment in various ways and it's up to us to find the right balance..

Glitches in Time

This is for those times that are out of our control - being stuck in traffic, a long line at the store, an unexpected phone call in the middle of a busy day, an unplanned errand or project that comes our way - recognizing and planning for some of these things to happen can help us ease the stress and just simply go with the flow. I have often found that it's a true test of my patience and there must be a lesson I am supposed to learn. Hey, it works for me!

Planning Time

This is the time we dedicate to carrying out our dreams, goals and plans we have for our lives and businesses. Write them down and go after them. Find ways and people to help you achieve these goals and feel the power of seeing what our minds have dreamed of come true!

Kick Back Time

Enjoying the company of family and friends, a special dinner, watching a TV show, reading a good book, cooking together, taking a walk, watching snow fall, taking a vacation - anything you really enjoy doing and wish you could do more of. We all work hard and sometimes setting aside this time is exactly what we need to reenergize and reflect on all that we have.

Step Away Time

Sometimes we simply need to close our laptops, not look at our phones and just be. Difficult - yes, necessary at points in time - Absolutely! Doing this from time to time will give us a renewed sense of purpose and energy that will help us tackle all the demanding areas of our lives.

Nighty Nighty Time

If you're like me - you're up early and you go nonstop until the late hours of the night. I'm trying to change that about me - realizing that my body and mind require a certain amount of hours of sleep - I owe it to myself and those in my life to be refreshed, alert and able to handle anything in my day, not to mention the health benefits gained from giving my body the rest it needs.

I hope after reading this post that you will find TIME and ways in your daily life to give those important to you, including yourself, the precious gift of time, especially this holiday season.

Perhaps you have been thinking about this as well or have made some changes to your life to enjoy and share the gift of time - would love you to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

And I will leave you with this final thought:

None of us know what the next moment will bring - treasure each moment you have.

Dedicated to my dad - my greatest teacher and source of inspiration.

Grinch Photo courtesy of clipart-for-free.blogspot.com

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Another simple way to show your expertise and extend your reach and it’s right here on ActiveRain – are you doing it?

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:56:33 -0500

I like simple and easy ways to connect with consumers and they're all around us from blogging to social networking sites.

If you go to any one of my blogs or sites you will notice a consistent message that I try remind you of:

"If it's not evident to you by now, consumers are very knowledgeable and computer savvy and are using the Internet to not only search for homes but for real estate agents and real estate professionals who they feel are like minded and can lead them to the results they are looking for."

That being said, I wanted to direct you to a golden nugget of opportunity right here on ActiveRain that will give you another way to connect with the consumer and show your expertise.

Who knows your next client could be found simply by answering their question.

A key component to getting more listings and clients is all about connecting. Connecting means reaching your audience in ways that make you unique and different and encourages people to want to work with you. The Q & A section of ActiveRain could be the way you find your next client...or blog topic for that matter - why not write about what people are wanting to know.

On the Home screen of Activerain you will find this area on the right side:

Click on Q & A and it will take you to this screen:

Select your State:

And you will see lots of questions from consumers that will allow you to share your expertise with them and make a connection.

I encourage you to look through the questions and get a feel for what consumers are wanting to know. Jump in and answer a questions- lots of ActiveRainers are already participating in this great forum.

In my blog post to consumers I shared that:

"Help, advice and knowledge are a simple click away for you - what are you waiting for?"

My question to real estate professionals today is "what are you waiting for?" Consumers are posting questions and some of them go unanswered. Why not use this easy and effective way of extending your reach to consumers that could possibly:

Have their question answered
Put your name in their mind when it comes to having a need met (who might they reach back out to with a question or need the next time they have one?)
Gain a new reader to your blog
A new client
Or just simply knowing that you helped someone

Additionally, I think the Search area as well as the Questions area on ActiveRain can be quite helpful when you are researching topics and have questionsthat perhaps someone here on ActiveRain has answered because of their experience and expertise. Margaret Woda made a great point in her blog when she mentioned ActiveRain being our very own Google Search. I couldn't agree more - there's a wealth of information here for all of us!

Would love to know if you currently participate in the Q& A area on ActiveRain and if it's put you in contact with a new prospect/client?

At the very least I hope this post encouraged you to find ways to make that connection and share your knowledge and expertise with consumers.

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

A tool to engage with your readers that will ensure you're meeting their needs...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:22:21 -0500

In a blog post that I did back October 2, 2008 I asked the question:

Think about the reasons you blog (what are yours?)

To build a trust between you and potential clients
To provide information and knowledge about your industry and area
To network with clients and real estate professionals

Producing quality content for your devoted readers and subscribers is providing an essential service that is one of the reasons you choose to blog. You're meeting their needs by discussing things that are important to them - things they want to know more about and hitting a cord that validates why they started reading and following your blog in the first place.

Perhaps you've had one of those days or weeks that you just weren't sure what you should blog about and share with your readers. In addition to helping cure your writer's block this tool can:

help you promote the fact that you blog
help you target specific areas and topics that your readers want to know more about.
Help you blog with a purpose ~ meeting your visitors needs

When I discovered the Skribit tool, I asked Brad Andersohnto help me investigate a bit further to figure out if it's something that could be used on an AR blog. Unfortunately due to the script code we can not use it in the conventional way but I did find a way that it can be implemented in your blog to promote interaction with your readers.

If you'll notice the sidebar of my blog, you will see this:

Note: You can also add it to your LINKS section on your sidebar.

Think of it as a Call to Action for your blog. Understand your readers and create that interaction with your readers - ENGAGE.

When you click on my sidebar it will take you to this screen:

What I also like about this tool is that you can get some great ideas for content whether someone is suggesting them via your blog by simply reviewing the Hot Suggested Topics further down on your dashboard. These topics are for anyone and all you do is claim the suggestion and blog. Talk about a great and easy cure for writer's block.

Chris Brogan wrote a great blog about how he generates great content for his blogs that is definitely worth reading. My point is that you have to ask yourself lots of questions and be clued into the questions all around you - whether they are presented to you in an email from a client, on a forum you participate on, on your blog or simply by reading other blogs.

Another great benefit of this tool is that it gives you the ability to link up as many relevant posts as you want and it's great for bloggers who are addressing similar topics in a series. In two words "Google Juice."

If you have other blog platforms that you use in addition to your AR Blog, feel free to discover how you can implement this tool within those blogs and either incorporate it the way I did here or utilize the widget if it allows script coding. Read more about Skribit here.

Remember when it comes to blogging keep these important things in mind:

Write with the reader in mind.
Are you providing advice that you yourself would take?
Tell a story, make people laugh, provide solutions to their problems
Share who you are - be honest, be yourself not who you think your reader wants you to be
Pictures help tell your story - pick good ones that help you express exactly what you mean and that will have your readers relating to the topic.

I look forward to your upcoming blog topics and engaging with you on topics that speak to me and allow you to share your expertise with me (and all of your readers.)

Whether you decide to use this specific tool or not, at the very least I hope this post was just a simple reminder of the importance of engaging your readers and fulfilling their needs.

So my question to you is quite simple:

Do you have a topic you would like to see discussed here? You know what to do...

Do you feel this is something that would help you engage more with your readers?

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

BLOG content IDEAS that will inspire you and your readers...

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:03:58 -0500

When I think of a BLOG I associate it with the word IDEA.

Information - your blog content, an online journal of information, content that fulfills your subsribers and potential client's needs.

Dedication - to blogging, your real estate business, to clients, and to your subscribers.

Evolution - Real Estate and blogging are constantly evolving.

Association - being on a network like AR we are able to connect and associate with link minded professionals as well as extend our reach with social media sites with people we may have never met otherwise.

Isn't it funny how we seem to just stumble upon some of our best blogging ideas when we least expect to and from where we least expect them to come. Perhaps you found yourself in the store and overhead a conversation, or ran into an old friend or saw something that just made you think - this would be a great blog! Time and time again great ideas come to us as little unexpected gifts and they are created into blogs simply because we are open to them.

Sometimes you mind find yourself sitting down to write a blog post and wondering what you should write. Creating new content can at times be a daunting task.

Tips to ignite your creative spark & create some great content for your readers:

Get moving - physical activity - walking, exercising, just moving around gets us thinking. Sometimes our subconscious is just blocked. Try it and see what it can do for you.

Input - read a book, watch a show or movie, have a conversation with a friend - before you know it you'll be back at your computer constructing that great blog.

Review your previous blogs - sometimes you will realize you can expand on a point made in a previous blog that becomes a blog all on its own. Maybe a comment was left by a reader that is a blog just waiting to be created. Maybe you've stumbled across some of the blogs you've subscribed to and an idea comes from reading that post - perhaps another point of view or again from the comments left on that blog.

Step away - sometimes sitting there in front of the screen hoping an idea will come to us will actually work the opposite way. Step away, change your environment and get some new perspective (if it's late - some sleep) - repeat the above tasks and be open to your surroundings - your visit to the store, a drive in the car and even a conversation with your kids may be what sparks those creative juices and gives you your next great idea.

Google Alerts - Set up alerts for key phrases dealing with topics you want to discuss in your blog - marketing, real estate, your community. See this post from Jeremy Blanton on how to setup this alert and the great benefits that can be yours.

RSS Reader - Organize your favorite bloggers, both in and out of real estate, for more inspiration. That inspiration can come from the bloggers content or even comments left by other bloggers and readers. Sometimes a simple word in the content will be your inspiration.

Tip Lists - "Way you can..." or "Secrets to..." Think like writers of a magazine who use these types of articles to create interest in their articles.

Social Media Sites - Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn - Watch the boards - see different topics that are being discussed, links shared, questions asked, and perhaps you'll come across a story or comment that you feel needs further discussion on your blog.

Services - What services do you offer and what's unique about how you provide those services. Real estate is different in each market and clients need different things - find a way to share what you can do in a less salesy but more informative way.

Answer a question - Answer questions that come from clients and colleagues.

In my next blog I will show you a great way to add a tool to your blog that will allow you to engage and interact with your readers to encourage questions and address them by answering them on your blog.

For now you can take questions given to you via email or various sites you belong to such as Trulia or Linked in, or in conversations you've had with clients and address them in your blog.

Comment on statistics - Maybe you've read an article that provided some statistics and here's your opportunity to address your thoughts, break it down into an easy to understand language that has meaning for consumers.

Reading a book? - why not do a review and share what you feel your readers can gain from reading this book.

Success Stories - We all have clients that we have worked with that had something great (or even not so great) happen - why not share their story. This kind of story can be a great example for providing advice on how to handle a similar situation for your colleagues and potential clients.

I hope this post has given you some IDEAS on how to use your blog, how you can get inspired and areas where you can focus your content to provide what your subscribers and potential clients need.

Where does your inspiration come from?

What were you doing when your last great blog idea came to you?

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Other posts on this topic for further reading/ideas:

Finding Blog Topics

Mistakes you might be making on your blog

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

You’re doing it wrong if you’re using the “Baby come back” method of marketing to your past clients…here’s a better way

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:26:13 -0500

I think by now we've all seen this commercial:

The Swiffer commercial has a "regular" mop asking, ok, begging and trying to "woo" the customer to come back to them with flowers and song dedications on the radio, now that they've switched over to using the new and improved Swiffer mop.

The woman's reaction - "too little, too late Mr. Mop." It doesn't matter what you did before, and what you'll do now to try to get me back - I'm convinced I no longer need you.

I think the commercial is brilliant for the message Swiffer is trying to communicate to it's consumers - sometimes another product provides so much more and cares about it's consumers that there's nothing you can do to change that and keep them.

Sometimes messages like this are a little too late and give us the message we're not important to these companies.

The "baby come back" method of marketing is not the kind of marketing we want to be focused on when it comes to our consumers, especially with all the ways we have to stay in touch with them - it should never get to this point!

To market to this very important group - your sphere of influence - you don't need to purchase any special tools - you possess them already, but you have to be willing to use them.

By using your blog, social media sites, the phone, email and any way you can find to make a connection with your clients, you are given numerous opportunities to provide exceptional customer service - value - and a need for your clients that will have them very much aware of how you continue to be a resource of value for them beyond their day at the settlement table.

Think about a company whose product you used to use regularly - what made you stop using it and back away from this company? Did the company stop providing any of the following?

Customer Service

Value

Keeping in Touch

Listening more than Speaking

There are so many easy ways to make a prospect and customer feel important and the investment of time that you put into it will be well worth the rewards you will receive - another opportunity to work with this person and an opportunity to work with their sphere of influence.

Some key ways to invest in your relationships with previous clients (will also work with new prospects - start off on the right foot):

Provide targeted information (whether in a phone call, report, newsletter, or email) - fulfill your client's needs - give them what they want and need.
Marketing Updates - provide information on your client's listing before they even have a chance to ask. Why leave them wondering or questioning what you're doing to get them to SOLD.
Send a link to a client when you post some new information to your website - why keep what you're doing a secret? Perhaps include it in your next newsletter. Mention a question that recently came from a client and address it in that newsletter (be sure they get a copy.)
Invite them to your blog - show them what you're involved in - direct them to the blog about their listing, send a link to the local business you just mentioned, promote your community - your next client could very well discover you and your services with their next Google search.
Engage on social networks - make your profile visible in the searches. Invite clients to your page and engage with them. Think about it - do you really want them to stop communicating with you after their transaction is completed?

This is a great way to keep the communications going and a wonderful opportunity to be exposed to their sphere of influence that could most likely see the link or comment you provided your client and perhaps a referral or new client is within arms reach?

Think about it - Why would we ever want to stop communicating with a previous client who we invested time with to get to know them, spent many hours with seeing homes or spending time showing their home and got them the results they were looking for - wouldn't we want them to feel good about our relationship so much so that they would want to mention our services to others? Does our commitment to them stop after we sign the papers at the table?

Ever notice the great feedback you get in touch with someone simply because you acknowledged them with a note or a call? When we commit to stay in touch we are not only building on that relationship but increasing the chances of having relationships with all the people that person knows.

As previously stated in one of my blog posts:

"Simply offering "good" or "average" services to your clients is not going to get you noticed or talked about. Being honest, sincere, genuine will speak volumes to your clients. Every time you interact with a client think to yourself is this the best I can give? Would I feel special if I were the client?"

Think of a cat and some of the traits they have. They are creatures of routine and if you change their setting and eating times it throws them off so much so that they turn away from you.

Can't the same be said with our clients? If we change our habits of staying in touch with them they'll undoubtedly get upset and turn away from us as well.

Taking care of our prospects and customers from the very beginning and throughout the relationship is hard work but so worth the effort of having to turn to marketing them to get them back which in all likelihood will not happen - once they're gone they're not coming back.

Don't become a dispensable service that can be easily discarded because there's no more use for it or value in it.

I hope this post inspired you to make the commitment to your clients:

To stay in touch well after the transaction is complete and,
Encouraged you to find ways that you can commit to regularly and that will work for your clients to keep that relationship alive.

Feel free to share ways you continue to engage with your clients (whether past or current)

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Some other blogs to help get you moving in the right direction of providing exceptional customers service and marketing expertise to your prospects and clients:

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

A nice addition to your website to encourage visits and revisits from prospects, past clients and search engines

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:55:45 -0500

Often times websites are created and change very little or only certain pages change. There are many reasons for this:

We build it and forgot about it
We are driving visitors/traffic to our other sites (blogs and social media sites - important, yes, but if you have a website you want to make sure it's receiving traffic and directing traffic bank and forth to all your sites)
We simply don't have the time to update our sites

So here's your opportunity to regularly change the content on your website to encourage visitors (prospects and past clients) to visit again and again and again - you get the point.

As I mentioned in the title of this blog - you also want search engines visiting and revisiting your website and they will do that when you add fresh content to your site.

This can be accomplished by adding a "What's New" page to your website. Here you are focused on updating and directing your visitors to important new content on your site and fulfilling their need for information.

The benefit of adding a "What's New" page is that you are primarily updating one area of your website and since you are adding links to the pages you want to direct them to - those pages are automatically updated and generating traffic. Search engines love new content and if you are using keywords and optimizing this page you will benefit from having a page that is seen as being regularly updated and has the content that consumers are seeking.

While I don't encourage adding everything from the list - pick some key areas and see how they work - analyze your website visitor statistics and see where they're going. Keep at it until you have the right content driving traffic - repeat traffic to your site. Ideally you will want this "What's New" Page to be easily accessible from your Home page - appearing on your navigation bar so that it's easily found. The key is not just mentioning what's new - take them there by including links to take them to those pages directly.

Here are some examples of things you might want to include in your "What's New" page of your website:

New, Featured Listings & Open Houses - whether it's a widget or a featured listing

MLS Search - why have them go elsewhere? - provide right there on your website.

Hot real estate tip or link (a good opportunity to share some link love with some of your local business owners)

Updates on Your Company

Awards
Community Involvement - show how you're involved in your community - link to a blog or social media site in which you've mentioned what you're doing. Show it on your calendar of events.
New Staff - link to a blog that you've written about this new staff member
New Testimonial - Link it to your testimonial page

New Video - what a great way to show your prospects and clients new listings. Most video tools have the ability to embed them into blogs and websites. (who knows - they may even forward to someone that might be interested.)

Links to news articles about the real estate industry and your market - whether from your blog or a pdf file that they can print directly from your site. Another way to show your expertise and the value of working with you.

Calendar of Events and Community Events - a great way to show things going on in your community is to have a calendar that has dates highlighted to encourage them to explore and have them coming back to your site for this information. Be sure to highlight what events you're involved in and take them to the blogs you've written about your community, events and new businesses you have highlighted.

Newsletter Sign up another way to stay in front of your prospects and clients and show the value of your expertise and of working with you.

Your blog - Either feed your blog directly into your site or at least mention some of the most recent blogs you've done that you feel would be of interest to your visitors. Encourage them to subscribe to your blog via the rss feed so that they are getting regular communication and content from you each time you update your blog or simply encourage them by providing relevant content.

A call to action asking them if they want to be notified when updates are made to your site - encouraging them to revisit your website when you add something new - a reminder if you will to visit again.

Social Media Engagement - Encourage them to interact with you on social media sites that you participate on. Engaging with them in this fun way is a great way to build on your relationship and show them what you're involved in - maybe they'll see something in your stream and it will encourage them to ask you a question. Often customers may be thinking of something and won't reach out to you but if you put it out there they just might.

Visitors (prospects, past clients and search engines) may come to your site once, but to keep them coming back you need to have fresh and relevant content. You need to provide solutions to their questions. You need to provide information that means something to them - that fulfills their needs (WIIFM.)

How does your website stack up? Are you seeing repeat visitors and are there key pages/content that drives traffic to your site? Do you have a page like this that generates traffice?

What other suggestions for content to a "What's New" page would you include that would not only provide great content for your website visitors but also generate more traffic for your website?

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected:

Using Your Blog to Enhance Relationships ~ How I do it...What I get from it...More importantly ~ What you can get from it...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:00:23 -0400

This post was inspired by Bob Stewarts Blog Challenge when he asked the question "How do you use your blog to enhance your existing relationships with clients and prospects?" I have four examples that I want to share that I hope will encourage others to be an active member of this community.

I have used my blog posts (and what I consider to be another version of my websites) to generate interest in my marketing and virtual assistant services as well as provide ideas on how my prospects, readers and clients can extend their reach and provide great customer service to their prospects and clients.

First Example

One way is when I posted a Marketing Report blog. This post generated a lot of interest and increased my readership both on ActiveRain and via the feeds to Twitter and Facebook. Not only did I encourage agents to create and use this tool to reach their sphere of influence but I had many contact me to create a template for them to use that would highlight how they market their listings.

Even yesterday, a new member of ActiveRain who has subscribed and reading my posts contacted me about this very post.

The response that my clients and readers have received has been overwhelmingly positive from their clients. When I create blog posts like this I try to put myself into the shoes of a consumer - I was one in the last few years when I was buying and selling a home - and I know what I wanted, needed and what was of interest to me. I like sharing that information with agents to help and remind them of putting themselves into the consumers shoes - seeing what's important to them and allowing them to build a solid relationship with that client.

Another post that generated a lot of interest was this one entitled "Customers are internet savvy and checking up on your promises are you delivering? in which I highlighted some areas that you may or may not be promising to your clients for their listings on where they will appear that yield great results due to the amazing exposure they receive.

I invited the agents to see how they're doing and if there were areas that their listings will benefit from having this added exposure and to be sure to share it with clients. Many found the post/checklist useful to measure their pre-listing presentations and to build their marketing plans for the upcoming year.

Receiving comments like this:

"Anne Marie- There is certainly a lot to do! And you are right, many clients are checking up online to make sure that their Realtor is doing what they said they were going to do! It is important not to overpromise and under deliver! The beauty about your list here is that this list can be reversed into a beautiful listing presentation in terms of what one WILL do. It is a lot of work to do all of those things which is another reason many agents need to consider hiring an expert that can help!!! : )" ~ Chris Somers

"Awesome post Ann Marie. If everyone followed your advice there would be a lot more top notch Realtors:)" ~ Bill Gassett

Second Example

Another great compliment you can receive is having your post reblogged and that honor has been given to me many times by so many members of ActiveRain. One that surprised and delighted me was this one. Wow, I think I was walking on the air the rest of that day!

Third Example

Another way that I have discovered that my blog are helpful and enhance my relationships is by providing blog posts that agents and brokers have told my they have printed to use in their business plans, training classes and as a simple reminder of what is important to keep focused on when it comes to marketing and staying in touch with their clients. Again, just this week I was contacted by an agent to offer training for their office staff.

Comments I've received on blog posts that members felt they could use in their own agent training classes and as a daily reminder for themselves have included:

"What a great post. Lots and lots of great ideas. I am going to share these with some of my agent friends. Thanks so much for sharing. You just might want to do some coaching in addition to your Virtual Assistant practice" ~ Karen Anne Stone

"Great post - each activity improves our skills and generates leads. I have shared it with the rest of the staff and it was favorably received." ~ Ryan Shaughnessy

And its comments like this - positive feedback - knowing I am making a difference to my colleagues and yes, many of them are my actual clients - so they can in turn make a difference to their clients - is what it's all about for me.

Fourth Example

The last way I use my blog posts is as a link in my responses back to inquiries about my services. Whenever someone inquires about my services I not only provide them with a phone call to discuss their needs but I highlight some of the services I provide that may benefit them by sending them an informational piece that lists those services along with the link to my AR blog. I want them to see firsthand the content I provide, the advice I preach, the tips I share and how the readers and subscribers to my blog respond to me. Often the comments left are testimonials to how my advice shared can be applied to their business and often they will return back to tell me about their success.

It is no secret that AR is a powerful tool and it certainly is the most powerful one I utilize to grow my business. It has provided me with clients, friendships and colleagues that refer business to me and that I can refer business to.

Every site I register on I find a way to either link or feed my AR blogs into it to not only promote my services but ActiveRain because I feel that if this network can bring me this kind of exposure and business there are others that can benefit from joining the network. It's a paying it forward mentality that I believe in and possess as I know all too well that many of us here do.

On August 23, 2008 I made the smartest decision for my business and so invite you today to discover the great success you can have by joining and being an "active" member of the Rain.

A special thank you to all the members here that interact with me, read my posts, contribute by commenting and add such value to my posts. You are one of the best parts of my day!

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As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Lets Connect and Stay Connected: