ways to improve your business: Caruso's Social Media Refresher Course! - 04/14/12 03:17 PM
As you know social media has taken over. I know I have done posts in the past about incorporating social media into your business, but everyday it’s changing and updating so I thought I would do a little refresher course. After researching though the internet & going over past social media post, here are 30 ways your business should leverage Social Media.
1. Look for Potential Board Members on LinkedIn. This year, go out of the norm by heading to professional social networking site LinkedIn and look around for potential board members. It is always difficult to … (2 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Everything Buyers with Caruso! - 03/28/12 03:22 PM
Buying a home can be stressful. As a real estate agent, you get to see home buyers at their best — that is, the joy they feel when they step into their new home. But you first usually have to see them at their worst — the stress and tension they may feel in trying to find that perfect house. That puts you in role as adviser, friend, and counselor.
As a salesperson, you might be wondering what your customers really think about the home-buying process, and what, exactly, they expect from you beyond helping them find that … (0 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Tweeting with Caruso! - 02/18/12 11:37 AM
Tweet Tweet. Twitter. What is it & how can it help me? A lot of people are still confused on how you can use Twitter to improve your business. Twitter marketing can be an effective and inexpensive social media solution for your real estate business. With only 140 characters required, Twitter offers a short and sweet way to get your message out.Twitter can also be an incredible addition to your current marketing campaign and a truly remarkable marketing tool within your business. Used strategically, Twitter can be a fun way to raise awareness about your personal brand and other social networks.
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's Tips for New Agents! - 02/15/12 07:07 PM
If you’re a new agent just getting started in the Real Estate industry here are the top elements that are not only crucial to you but crucial to your business. It is very important to make sure before you start anything to have all of these fundamentals done.
-Secure your own domain name
-Make sure you have a standalone website that can easily grow with you
-Have your own IDX (MLS search tool)
-Put together a letter that you can send to your sphere of influence
-Get to know Craigslist
-Become a … (1 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's 5 Most Effective Social Media Tactics! - 02/07/12 04:44 PM
After reading from socialmediatoday.com here are the 5 most effective Social Media tactics that have given the best results for our clients in the real estate industry.
1. Property Search tool with a Facebook PageThis technique works great for Realtors. It allows your FB page visitors to search your available properties right from the Facebook page. Now that Facebook uses Iframes for all its pages it is easier to add more web functionality to a Facebook page. One of the most fundamental aspects of a Realtor's website is the property search tool so it makes sense to allow customers to use this … (2 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's Tips for a Better Listing Presentation! - 02/02/12 03:24 PM
1. Start with a guesstimate. Before your listing presentation, have a price range in mind. A quick chat or two with your colleagues and your own understanding of the neighborhood can help you come up with an informed guesstimate.
2. Firm up with comps. A search through recent comps as you work up your competitive market analysis will help firm up the price range.
3. Look for price trends. Bring to your presentation a summary of price trends in the neighborhood. Be prepared to share it - even leave it - with the sellers. … (0 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's Economic Update! - 02/01/12 03:42 PM
The first set of earnings released in January focused upon the financial sector. In all, the reports by larger national and regional banks were disappointing and showed that we are not out of the woods with regard to the legacy of bad loans piled up on the asset sheets of banks during the recession. While the economy recovers, debt loads of banks and nations will prove to be a drag on growth. This is why analysts are looking at the good economic releases we have experienced in the past few months and are still remaining cautious. For the consumer, this … (1 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's Techniques to Build Inventory! - 01/27/12 07:19 PM
1. Advertise a Free Phone Appraisal:
There are potential sellers in you market that are curious about how much their home is worth, but they won’t call an agent because they fear the hard sell. With the free phone appraisal approach, you create an ad encouraging homeowners to call for a market analysis over the phone. The ad says there’s no obligation and, in fact, there isn’t. During the phone call, you could get a general property description and offer a wide range of possible selling prices, depending upon certain factors. Of course, if the seller would like … (3 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's Tips for Inexperienced Negotiators.... - 01/17/12 04:12 PM
Mistake Number 1:
Wanting Something Too Much - If you give the impression that your life depends on getting that job, or car, or house, or business deal, you are in trouble. Once your counterpart gets a hint of your desperation, you’re dead. Remember, the person who cares least about the outcome always gets the best deal.
Mistake Number 2:
Believing Your Counterpart Has All The Power - This is rarely, if ever, true. Remember, all parties want something, or they wouldn’t be at the bargaining table. Ask yourself, “Why are they negotiating with me?’
Mistake … (0 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's First Impression - 01/11/12 03:56 PM
First impressions. Unfortunately they mean A LOT. From that first handshake and introduction, you’re forming an opinion of that person and they’re forming an opinion about you too. Everything from spoken words to posture and facial expressions contribute to that first impression. We are judgmental people. Our instinct is to make decisions and assumptions about other people in a minute-and-a-half or so of meeting them, maybe before you shake hands or even say ‘hello,’ It’s hard not to make a first impression. For real estate professionals, making a good first impression isn’t important just for building customer relationships but … (1 comments)
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ways to improve your business: What Would You Rather Have? - 01/10/12 03:04 PM
Sellers offering incentives to buyers has become somewhat common nowadays due to the economy, but does it really work? And if so, which idea works the best? Right now buyers are looking for an absolute steal or they are looking for a fairly priced home that has all of the nice finishing touches.
The most common incentive is to offer to pay closing costs. Other popular incentives are things like paint, carpet, landscaping or appliance allowances.
However, do incentives that are unique grab a buyer's attention and make them want to find out more? For example, … (0 comments)
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ways to improve your business: What a Turn Off... - 01/04/12 05:26 PM
A savvy seller wants to know what turns buyers off, so they can get their homes sold as quickly as possible, for as much as possible. But buyers take note–there is minefields of seller turn-offs you can trigger that hold the potential to keep you from getting the home you want at the best price and terms, or to unnecessarily complicate dealings with your home’s seller.
If you think all of today’s sellers are under the gun and will just put up with whatever behavior buyers dish out, be aware that there are still many multiple offer situations in … (2 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's Do's & Don'ts of Emailing - 01/03/12 03:01 PM
Do you remember when it was called Electronic Mail & very few used it? Well Email has become an essential part of your life & an essential part of your real estate practice and can be a great tool if managed well. These guidelines can help you communicate more effectively with clients and other contacts in your daily life.
1. Organize and Prioritize. Create prioritized folders with a labeling system that makes sense to you. Customize folders for "Reply ASAP," “To Do,” "Friends," etc. Searching for buried email is a time waster, so shift messages to their respective folders … (2 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's 12 Days of Christmas ~ Day 12 - 12/29/11 03:25 PM
On the 12th day of Christmas, Caruso sent to me – 12 of the best Real Estate Social Media sites available!
1. Facebook: One of the fastest social networking sites. Facebook is one of the easiest ways of finding prospective customers within any given area. Using Facebook, we can target very specific groups according to our business needs; such a high level of targeting is not a possibility with other social networking sites or community sites. We can find our customers based on specific set of criteria including place, age etc.
2. Localism: This is a very niche based community … (2 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's 12 Days of Christmas ~ Day 11 - 12/28/11 07:25 PM
On the 11th Day of Christmas Caruso Gave to Me, 11 Tips for Making Good Real Estate Videos
These tips are not necessarily meant for home tours, but rather for sharing content on a website, blog, Facebook or Twitter. A good video can help build trust and convey professionalism for your brand, while a bad video can accomplish the opposite.
1. Keep the camera steady. If it looks like there is an earthquake, you need to find someone else to hold the camera (or invest in a tripod).
2. You don’t need to buy a professional camera. You can use a basic handheld … (1 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's 12 Days of Christmas ~ Day 10 - 12/27/11 03:17 PM
Due to the Christmas Holiday we were not able to finish off Caruso's 12 Days of Christmas! We left off on day 9 - so to contiune the fun.....
On the 10th Day of Christmas, Caruso Sent to me – 10 Elements of a successful real estate business plan! A full business plan allows you (an individual or business) to detail a strategic operating plan, define and execute your value to customers and others in the market, and develop a robust financial model that details what you need to accomplish in order to meet your projections. This … (0 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's 12 Days of Christmas ~ Day 4 - 12/17/11 02:35 PM
On the 4th Day of Christmas Caruso Gave To Me – A 4 Step Real Estate Marketing Plan to Develop Effective Landing Pages.
Making effective landing pages for your real estate marketing efforts does not have to be a complicated procedure.
Although this technique is made up of two chief areas (driving traffic and also conversions), I am specifically going to focus on the latter part now. Therefore, let’s start to look at the four key steps you need to take to build a successful squeeze page.
1. First, your landing page ought to have … (0 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso's Challenge! - 11/29/11 04:26 PM
The end of 2011 is near. Are you ready for next year? What you have done recently to improve your business for the upcoming year?
I sometimes wonder what people who read various blog posts, do with the information. What do you do with it? Is there one piece of great information you’ve come across lately that you’ve acted on?
My guess is your answer would be no, and why not? Based on discussions I have with real estate professionals in the past, it seems that most good ideas are too much trouble. I am so use to hearing; “Sure, … (4 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Just Text Me... - 10/13/11 05:08 PM
"Just Text Me", used a lot with the Y Generation. Everything is Internet/Virtual based for this Generation.
Generation Y, who are in their late teens and early 20s now and are the largest generation since the Baby Boomers. These buyers want lots of “handholding” are tech savvy and know what they want before they even contact you. Here are some tips I have come across for working with Gen Y buyers:
It’s all about your website. You must have an accessible website that allows prospective buyers to search by lifestyle, neighborhood, school district and more. In addition, if you can … (3 comments)
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ways to improve your business: Caruso Killed It! - 10/08/11 04:49 PM
So I didn't really "kill" anything. But, Real Estate deals get killed all the time, and buyers can't relax until they have keys actually in hand. Here are three of the most common real estate deal-killers that I have come across, and some steps buyers can take to deactivate them.Appraisal too low. Some buyers incorrectly believe that the best thing that could happen to them is for the property to appraise below the agreed-upon purchase price, expecting that a low appraisal forces the seller to bring the price down. In fact, so many of today’s sellers are barely breaking even, … (6 comments)
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