The Best Databases - 11/29/07 10:51 AM
I tell agents all the time:  a good database is the #1 tool you need to improve your business.  The organizational and e-marketing functions of databases are absolutely invaluable!  That said, I've gotten a lot of questions about different products available to realtors, and consequently have done research on several of the top-rated databases.  Below are my two favorite based on the functions I think are the most important for your business.  In my opinion, although XSellerate is better than most, I've been using TopProducer for a while now and it is clearly the front runner.www.topproducer.comApproximate Cost:  $34.95/mobasic contact data entry.......................................................................................YESadvanced contact … (5 comments)

Creative Marketing Anyone? - 11/29/07 09:02 AM
I'm a huge advocate of databases and what they can do for your E-Marketing campaigns.  I do quite a bit of E-Marketing for myself and my Next Level clients, and I have a library of marketing pieces that I've acquired both through my own ideas, and ideas I borrowed from other great agents.  A few of these marketing pieces are as follows:
E-Flyers (to promote listings)E-Newsletters E-Invites (for open houses, etc.)E-Surveys However, I'm always on the lookout for new ideas, and what better way to share marketing strategies than through a blog?  If you have any new and innovative E-Marketing ideas, I'd love to hear them!
What's your most … (9 comments)

Double Your Budget, or Just Double Your Marketing? - 11/29/07 07:29 AM
I was clicking around activerain this morning, and came across a blog advising agents to double their marketing budgets in this soft market we are experiencing.  The idea, of course, being that you need to increase your marketing efforts in order to increase lead generation, so that you can keep your head above water in a down market.
Now, I'm all for the idea of doubling your marketing.  I think it's obvious that the more marketing you do, the better chance you will have of being successful even when others are struggling.  If you can afford to double your marketing budget, more … (3 comments)

E-Marketing? What? Help! - 11/28/07 03:41 PM

E-Marketing is any kind of advertising you send out using the computer.
People are using their computers for everything these days.  Who hasn't heard the term "google it"?  Computer use ranges from individual people keeping in touch with friends and family by email to big-name corporations using the internet for large-market advertising.
E-Marketing is popping up everywhere, and you have to keep up!
The great thing about E-Marketing is it works for every agent at every level in their careers.
If you have a small budget:
You can stop worrying about affording the printing and mailing costs associated with traditional marketing.Besides the nominal monthly or yearly … (0 comments)

Who Has the Time to Market? You Do! - 11/28/07 03:10 PM
 
Let's face it, our schedules are already jam-packed between prospecting for clients, appointments, showings, family obligations, running to the bank and grocery store, and who knows what else!  Who really has the time to figure out which piece of marketing you're supposed to be sending to which contacts on a daily basis... let alone customize different marketing materials for different types of clients, make sure that all of these clients are getting marketing hits on a regular basis, and then make sure that this marketing runs consistently over a period of weeks and months?
Who has the time?  YOU DO!
Clearly identify your … (3 comments)

Databases vs. Spreadsheets - 11/28/07 12:55 PM

A lot of Realtors ask me why they should get a real-estate specific database system (like TopProducer) when they could just use a spreadsheet system (like Excel) or a contact management system (like Outlook).  It's true, all of these systems can be used to organize your clients and contacts.  Many can also be used to organize your appointments and to-do lists.  But there are a few key differences, and if you do your research I think you'll find that a database system blows spreadsheets out of the water!
A database will:
Organize your contacts, daily schedules, and to-do listsOrganize the traditional marketing plan you already have in placeSend … (0 comments)

"I was going to get a database, but..." (part 4) - 11/28/07 12:18 PM

"I was going to get a database, but I like my paper system.  It works fine, so why switch?"
If you are an extremely organized person, your paper system (i.e. address book, dayplanner, appointment book, etc.) probably does work fine... but it still pales in comparison to what you could be doing with an electronic database.  On the other hand, if you are not an organized person, then your paper system doesn't "work fine"... it just works a little bit better than not having any system at all.
The organizational aspects of a database are important.  Agents in chaos need it, and already-organized … (1 comments)

"I was going to get a database, but..." (part 3) - 11/28/07 12:00 PM
 "I was going to get a database, but I don't have enough clients or enough business to justify one."
The point of a database, beyond it's organizational purposes, is to help you build your business!  With a database you can hit more clients (or prospective clients), more often, with more consistency, and for less money, than you can without one.  This will increase your business.  So, if you don't have a lot of business now, that's even more of a reason to get a database up and running!!!
… (0 comments)

"I was going to get a database, but..." (part 2) - 11/28/07 10:44 AM

"I was going to get a database, but I'm too busy to set-up or learn how to use one."
You can avoid the frustrating and lengthy trial-and-error process by having someone who knows what they're doing sit down with you and teach you how to use your database, and how to leverage it's functions.  Granted, you would still be putting in time to learn database management and get your systems in place, but the hours you save in the long run with an automated system will be well worth it.
You have to make the time now to save the time later!!!!
… (1 comments)

"I was going to get a database, but..." (part 1) - 11/28/07 09:48 AM
 
"I was going to get a database, but I'm not good with computers."
So you think that you can't use a computer well enough to use a database.  I have two questions for you:
1)  Do you search the MLS using the computer?
2.  Do you communicate with clients and co-workers via email?
Yes and yes?  Then you at least know the basics of using a computer.  Using a database is no more difficult than accessing properties on the MLS and emailing them to your clients.  Different maybe, but not harder. 
What I think a lot of people mean when they say "it's too hard", is … (1 comments)

Top 4 Reasons Why Realtors Don't Have Databases - 11/28/07 09:17 AM
"I WAS THINKING ABOUT GETTING A DATABASE, BUT..."
1.  "...I'm not good with computers."
2.  "...I'm too busy to set-up or learn how to use a database."
3.  "...I like my paper system, it works fine so why switch?"
4.  "...I don't have enough clients or business to justify a database."
Do any of these answers sound like you?  I hear these things all the time when I talk to other agents about how important it is for them to have a database.  There is a solution to each and every one of these problems.... stay tuned!
… (6 comments)

Top 3 Reasons You Need a Database - 11/27/07 10:17 AM

1.  You need a database so you can stop digging through your purse or briefcase and mumbling,"I know it's in here somewhere!"
A database will keep your clients' and contacts' information (as well as your schedules and to-do lists) organized in one system that you can access anywhere you can get to the internet.  It is virtually impossible for a database to become disorganized, and you can NEVER lose the information you enter!
2.  You need a database so that your cousin living in a grad-school apartment and your hot, high-end buyer don't end up with the same generic marketing materials.
The marketing materials you send … (2 comments)

 

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