motivation: What Is Your Strongest Quality?
- 04/17/09 02:07 AM
I had a telephone interview earlier this week with a prospective client. One of the questions he asked me was this: "What do you consider your strongest quality?" That was easy. I consider my strength the fact that I feel my client's success is my success. I have to do my best for my clients because they depend on me. They need my help or else they wouldn't be interviewing me. My job is to help them. My strength lies in my desire to see my clients succeed. When their business grows, my business grows. Do you feel that way about your clients? In … (21 comments)
motivation: On That Whole "Friends With Benefits" Thing...
- 03/17/09 12:47 PM
It isn't always about business you know. I'm talking about social networking. We network socially these days to promote awareness of a brand, a service, a product. But we also engage in social networking because of the fringe benefits. How many people have you met here on the Active Rain message board who you are 98% sure you probably would never have met were it not for Active Rain? How many people have you run into on Facebook who you thought were lost to you forever but now you are back in close contact? How many people are stalking you, I … (14 comments)
motivation: I Dare You To Be In The Minority!
- 03/09/09 12:14 PM
Remember in school when we used to strive to be at the top of the class? Well, some of us did. Some of us just wanted to graduate and get it over with, right? Some of us wanted to be in the National Honor Society, the Top 1% of the class. Some of us wanted to be voted Most Likely to Succeed. Or maybe it was Prom Queen and King. Then came careers. Who here never had a thought to be "The first person to..." (you fill in the blank). I wanted to be a chemical researcher and win the Nobel … (16 comments)
motivation: Is Your Real Estate Career Like Being A Parent?
- 03/05/09 03:56 AM
On my recent blog post "I've Figured It Out: Real Estate Is Like Being Married," I received a comment from Sandy Aicher of Lake Norman Real Estate that prompted this new post. Sandy said: "I haven't thrown in the towel yet! Still trying to make it work. It's a harder and harder job with no love in return almost every day, but I'm committed!" Does this remind you of, well... YOU? My children have taught me quite a few things about life. I've been raising children since 1995 and one thing is for sure, the saying that you'll "wear your heart … (7 comments)
motivation: I've Figured It Out: Real Estate Is Like Being Married
- 02/19/09 10:20 AM
When I initially started working as a Virtual Assistant for the real estate industry, things were awesome! I had clients galore - so many that I could be extremely selective in who I chose to work with. Agents were coming from all over the world, wanting to partner with a VA. It was absolutely awesome, I tell ya! Of course, between 2001 and 2006, things were going very well for folks in real estate. Then, the market turned. Properties stopped selling as quickly, agents had to start doing a good deal of work to get listings, find buyers, and get their … (74 comments)
motivation: Why Are You Making Me Do This?
- 02/10/09 01:18 PM
As a parent, you've probably heard it a thousand times. Why are you making me not only go to school but get good grades?Why are you making me eat my vegetables?Why are you making me learn to cook?Why are you making me post to my blog?Why are you making me stay in touch with my leads? Why? Because it's good for you! Isn't that what we tell our children? It's good for you. Getting good grades helps you get into college and get a better job. (Ok, that one isn't exactly true.) Eating your vegetables makes you healthy. If you can … (11 comments)
motivation: What's Your Motivtion To Keep At It?
- 12/31/08 10:02 AM
As I've reflected today upon my business, the ups and downs that I've experienced and the coming year, I couldn't help but also think about my motivation to stick with it. You see, as a Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant, the market slowing up the way that it did not only affected real estate agents and mortgage brokers but also the Virtual Assistants who worked with them. On New Year's Eve, I always take some time to think about where I've been just as I use the previous few weeks to come up with my marketing plan to take me where … (7 comments)
motivation: Do You Need To Check Your Attitude At The Door?
- 12/29/08 11:57 AM
Doom and Gloom! Negativity and Naysayers! Do you fall into one of those categories? If so, then perhaps you need to check your attitude at the door before ushering in 2009! What do we know about the real estate market? There was a definite down-turn. Rates aren't that great. People aren't selling the way they have been in the past. People aren't buying the way they have been in the past. So what does this mean for your real estate business? Did you do any business this year? Were any of your marketing campaigns successful enough to result in calls or e-mails of inquiry? Then focus … (7 comments)
motivation: Clothing Optional!
- 07/09/08 02:21 AM
Ok, I saw a newscast last week about a development in Florida that is setting up a nude pool area in an effort to attract more buyers. Hmmm... I guess that pretty much covers it all, huh (no pun intended)? Talk about slick marketing moves! After doing some brief research, it seems that "clothing optional" developments are extremely popular. So, if you aren't skin-shy, you may want to target that market of buyer prospects to get in on the action. Shedding your inhibitions may just be the ticket! (Pun definitely intended!) I'd love to hear some of your more outlandish marketing … (17 comments)
motivation: The Hidden Thing About Blogging
- 05/07/08 04:23 AM
Let's face it...we all started blogging for business reasons. Maybe it was to build name recognition, to get the word out about our business, or to pick up new clients. And these are all perfectly good reasons to blog! In the last few months though, I've started noticing something else when reading other people's blogs as well as comments on my own blog posts. The blog posts are becoming subtly inspirational. The comments are becoming encouraging. Not intentionally, over-the-top, cram-it-down-your-throat inspirational. The funny thing about these posts is that most of the writers were not trying to be inspirational. It happened … (9 comments)
motivation: Making Top Producer Work For You - Part 3
- 05/01/08 07:25 AM
In this series, I've been talking about utilizing more of the features in Top Producer to make it work better for you. In the introduction to the series, I talked about the frustrations agents have using Top Producer in Making Top Producer Work For You. In part one of the series, I began talking about How to Use Top Producer for Lead Management, which discussed capturing lead information from your website and assigning multiple categories to your contacts. In part two of the series, I discussed a few more ways to use Top Producer to manage your leads. In this post, … (12 comments)
motivation: Unique Marketing Ideas - May
- 05/01/08 05:25 AM
Have you wanted to add a little spruce to your marketing diet? Well, here are a few ideas that I hope will get your noodle cooking in the right direction! If you'd like assistance in designing even more ideas or implementing any of these, just give me a holler! There aren't very many holidays in May that I thought would be a good tie-in for real estate so I've just settled on this one this month.
May 4 - Renewal Day - Renewal Day is a day of new beginnings. It is a day to go back to old decisions and resolutions … (9 comments)
motivation: The Best of Both Worlds
- 03/21/08 10:00 AM
Have you ever noticed just how convincing children can be? When they want something, they can convince a whole world of strangers that they deserve to have it. I know. I've got 4 children with twins on the way in about 1 week. The 3 oldest are really good at "pleeeeeeeeaaase." After 13 years at this though, I must say that I'm somewhat immune to that word for the most part - and the puppy dog eyes, tears, tantrums, and all the rest. However when it comes to clients, I find that I can be such a sucker. I don't say that in a bad way, especially since … (13 comments)
motivation: Using Top Producer for Lead Management Part 2
- 03/13/08 06:38 AM
In this series, I've been talking about utilizing Top Producer. In the first part of the series, I talked about the frustrations agents have using Top Producer in Making Top Producer Work For You. In part two of the series, I bean talking about How to Use Top Producer for Lead Management, which discussed capturing lead information from your website and assigning multiple categories to your contacts. In this post, I'll discuss a few more ways to use Top Producer to manage your leads. We'll focus on these two features: setting up drip e-mail campaigns and assign leads to those campaigns setting up drip e-mails to send automaticallyYou can set up e-mail campaigns … (8 comments)
motivation: Using Top Producer For Lead Management
- 03/04/08 02:07 AM
In a previous post, I talked about the frustrations many agents have with utilizing Top Producer. Well, this is the second in a series about Making Top Producer Work For You. In this post, we'll discuss ways to use Top Producer to manage your leads. We'll focus on these two features: capture lead information from your website and send it directly into your contact database assign multiple categories for each contact in your database Capture Lead Information From Your Website You can have information that leads input on your website put directly into your database in Top Producer in a few simple steps. In Top … (15 comments)
motivation: Setting an Example
- 03/03/08 09:19 AM
So many Virtual Assistants have joined our industry that it has literally exploded! This is a great thing for our industry! Not only are there tons of programs available to teach aspiring Virtual Assistants how to work with real estate professionals, but many of these classes can be taken online. This is making it even easier for VAs to get up-to-speed on working with REPs. Here's the problem... Too many VAs have joined the ranks that don't take this profession seriously. And, when I say "seriously," I mean that there are people who are running the gamut from someone with a computer and some … (9 comments)
motivation: Unique Marketing Ideas - April
- 03/03/08 06:19 AM
Have you wanted to add a little spruce to your marketing diet? Well, here are a few ideas that I hope will get your noodles cooking in the right direction! If you'd like to have assistance in designing even more ideas or implementing these, just give me a holler! Here are a few unique holidays that are coming up in April: April: 2 - International Children's Book Day - International Children's Book Day encourages reading, and promotes the love of books for children. 16 - Stress Awareness Day - This is your opportunity to recognize that there is plenty of stress in your life and an opportunity to learn, and to do something about. 23 - Take … (11 comments)
motivation: Making Top Producer Work For You
- 03/03/08 04:58 AM
I've read lots of blog posts about agents who are frustrated with Top Producer. I've heard: It's not user-friendlyIt's too difficult to navigateI don't know what it is capable ofIt's too hard to figure outIt takes too much time to learnWell, let me tell you that there are some really great features in Top Producer! Did you know that, with Top Producer, you can: capture lead information from your website and send it directly into your contact databaseassign multiple categories for each contact in your databaseset up drip e-mail campaigns and assign leads to those campaignsset up drip e-mails to send automaticallyset up … (22 comments)
motivation: Stay Calm...When What You Really Want To Do Is Scream!
- 02/29/08 11:10 AM
It happens to the best of us. You know - you get into a discussion with someone but you disagree with their points. You politely but firmly state your own views only to have the other person say something totally off the wall. This happens in blogging as well as in real life.
At that point, you really want to scream! The frustration has built up and you just can't hold it in any longer. Be honest - you've been there! We aren't all Saints!
So, instead of pulling all your hair out, what do you do? First of all, stay calm! That … (17 comments)
motivation: Are You a VA or Agent In Ohio?
- 02/25/08 03:39 AM
If so, we've got a new group for you! The group has been formed to promote VAs in Ohio as well as to share tips on technology and working efficiently and effectively for our clients. Agents in Ohio are more than welcome as this may be the venue for you to ask questions you've always wanted to ask a VA! So come on over too! I'm looking forward to this group growing and supporting one another! To join, visit here: http://activerain.com/groups/OhioVAs To your business success... ~Renae Bolton, PREVA - Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant Marketing 4 Realtors www.Marketing4Realtors.biz Phone: (216) 619-2663 Our interview in ePowerNews - http://www.epowernews.com/articles/art0510/04vap_0510.htm … (0 comments)
How about a little marketing to get your day off to the right start? As a Virtual Assistant, my goal is to help you achieve your goals. Want to grow your business? Come along for the ride as I provide practical tips and suggestions to help you do just that!
I had a telephone interview earlier this week with a prospective client. One of the questions he asked me was this:
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