For new agents or seasoned agents who are just finding their way to the internet world, we need to STOP here and realize that some of the things you might be hearing are completely FALSE!  If your wanting to take your business to the next level and utilize the internet, you might as well do it right from the beginning.

Earlier today I was speaking with a very nice lady who found me via Active Rain. Hmmm, an internet contact....See how this works?  She was sharing with me that she had been out of the industry for a number of years and was amazed about all the different ways there are to build her business.  Below are a few of her concerns and how I responded.

Question:   There are so many people, how am I going to compete?

Answer:       How can you compete if your NOT utilizing the internet?  Of course there are thousands, even hundreds of thousands of  real estate agents out there, but very few are ever found.  Getting your name out there is essential and most people have no idea how to do it properly.  We can teach you all about SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  People think that is hard, and it isn't.  It just takes a little bit of time and research.  Everything comes with a learning curve, and you just need to learn to market yourself correctly.

You need to have a website.  You need to be blogging.  You need to be constantly networking, and more!

I am not going to overwhelm you with everything that you need to do online as far as marketing goes. We will tackle that one step at a time, but you need to be prepared to put some time and sweat into getting yourself set up properly.  Once you do this, you can hire someone to take care of a lot of your repetitious tasks.  However, I really believe it is in your best interested to know how to do every part of your marketing yourself.

Question:  Do you really get quality leads online?  I have heard most of them are not that good.

Answer:  That depends on who you ask.  For those that are serious about their business and stay on top of their leads, they are as good as any leads you might get elsewhere.  Most agents will not work an internet lead long enough to find out if they are good or not.  Yes, you do get some that wont even give you the right information.  You will also get some that might not be ready to do business right then, but then your building a pipeline of prospects.  Those are your future and you need to keep in contact with them and build a relationship that will bring them back to you when the time is right.  The real fact is that the only time you really know if it was a good lead or not is when you leave a closing with a check in your hand. At that point, you can consider it to be a good lead.

Question:  Do you build your business online?

Answer: A LOT of my business comes from online, however I do not rely solely on the internet.  I am very big into getting out into the community and working within my markets.  When your promoting yourself within your community, your also promoting your online presence.  It all works hand in hand.  You will have clients that don't have internet access that need you in person.  You will have clients that want everything via internet, you must be flexible in what you offer.  If your limiting yourself to marketing your business one way or the other, your limiting your success.

Comment:  I am really nervous about starting over and the expense of getting going.

Response:  Sara (not her real name),  it does not have to cost a lot to market your business.  Yes, there are some things that will cost you $200 to $300 to set up, but your return on that money will be HUGE if marketed properly.  We will show you ways to become your local expert with little to no investment.  People are out spending big bucks on things that you can really accomplish for a fraction of what they are paying.  You just have to be smart about what your doing.  Should you decide to work with us, we are big believer in low cost marketing. Your not in the business to go broke before your first sale.

Over the next several months, we will breaking a lot of marketing down into simple terms and explanations.  There is a real misconception to the cost of effectively marketing your business.  You dont have to spend a fortune to be impressive.  Once it was suggested to me that I pay $300 for 100 flyers to market a home.  Personally, I was dying laughing inside.  I did list that house and I sold that house with personally made flyers that the client loved. I think my total investment was $20!  This business is high maintenance in a lot of ways, but it doesn't have to drain your pockets!

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