ProspectsPLUS! Blog

Best Secret for Getting Your Listings Sold in Today's Market...

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:17:57 -0600

This month I asked a few of our Facebook Friends to weigh in on their best advice for getting listings sold in today's market. Here are a few of their wise words:

Gord Gerrie: My best advice to real estate professionals would be that they need to review each and every one of their listings from the perspective of the buyer, understand what the buyer will like and what they won't. Then discuss their findings with the seller and urge the seller to take whatever corrective action is necessary. Could it be the price? Could it be the terms? Does the joint just not show well? Has the seller put restrictions on you such as it can only be shown between 6:00 P.M and 8:00 P.M. on every other day of the week? Ask: what would a 10% price reduction do to get the house sold? What is the seller's motivation? Always remember this; a property well listed is half sold!

Antony Francis: Press the flesh, the more people you associate with and socialize with the greater chance someone you know will need you, or refer you to a friend. This includes in-person at professional organizations like tip groups and country clubs, as well as virtual groups like Linked-in, Facebook and other social media.

Aeriol Nicols: Spread the word on your listing through twitter, facebook, you tube videos, your blog. Send a mailing to your past clients about the listings and call them asking who they might know that may be interested in the listing. This can also lead to referrals or another listing.

Dale Coffman: Hang in there! More millionaires are made coming out of a recession then in any good market. It takes longer to get behind then to get ahead. Remember the basics. Remember to listen. The device on your desk also makes calls out. Always remain positive. It's contagious! Hang around with people that inspire you and get away from those that drag you down! Get advanced education on Short Sales like CDPE or NARs program. Knowledge is power!!

Judie Williams Crawford: To me it's not a secret. Do your homework and know everything about your market area. Price the property correctly and honestly. Tell the truth to your sellers why you want to list at the range you know it will sell. BUT make sure you back it up with facts and your knowledge through the many years of experience you have. Learn to say "No Thank You" if your sellers won't take your professional advice. Must have a "Win-Win or No Deal" mindset.

Ellen L. Coffman" Keep the listing fresh and don't let in linger and get shop worn. Discuss with the seller the "plan of action" and reduce the price regularly to get it sold. With that said, it's not all about price; it's about making it show better than any other listings.

Ken Soileau: Price it Right!

Mark Re: Price it with NO cushion and even a tad under and it will sell. Any kind of cushion and it will sit there.

Cathy Shepherd: If you list it right the buyers will come.

Thanks everyone for best advice! Now - what's YOUR best secret for listing success? Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prospectsplus and give us YOUR answer or tell us here! Wishing you an abundant new year!

Death of a Real Estate Career - Part II

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:13:20 -0500

Six More Silent Killers of Sales Success...

By Julie Escobar

It's that time of year again, when the Halloween spirit comes creeping in and my inspiration chimes a darker than normal toll. In part one of this series, we explored six of the traits and choices that stop sales success cold. Twelve months later, there is certainly no shortage of sinister changes and challenges still spooking sales professionals and cutting short their careers.

Fear not, my friends. Career death is not a certain fate. Beware these six silent killers to ward off the tricks and temptations that have cut others to the quick:

1. Poisoning your plan: You've probably heard it before, "Begin with the end in mind." So many of us get caught up in the day to day business of putting out fires, chasing new business and filling out forms that we fail to stick to a plan or worse, never have a plan to begin with. Business planning can be tedious, overwhelming and for some, down right boring. It is, however, a necessary evil, so don't wait for January 1^st to roll around to get started. In the fourth quarter of the year, what you do now truly does set the stage for the year to come. Check out companies like www.createaplan.com or www.isucceed.com or even a nod to my ex, at www.edescobar.com for strong, viable, effective real estate business planning. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose - so stop poisoning and start planning!

2. Sickly skill building: There was a time in our industry where business was so good that many agents found themselves in slacker mode when it comes to building the necessary skills for career longevity. We live in the perfect world for personal and professional growth. The internet allows us to learn 24/7, with a wide spectrum of talented coaches, leaders, speakers and trainers to share skill building around the clock. What skills are a MUST HAVE in today's market?

Price Negotiation
Prospecting
Relationship Building
Technology tools
Social Media Networking
Niche Marketing
Objection Handling
Creative Thinking
Optimism

Now you may think the last two don't belong there - but I can assure you that in this market, or any market, the ability to think quickly on your feet, find creative solutions to uncommon problems and find the optimism and self-motivation you need to continue to grow and build your business are definitely skills worth fine-tuning!

3. Negating niche marketing: While it's a great theory that we should be able to be all things to all people, it's a practice and a goal that could, well, kill your ability to create any traction, not to mention the burn-out you'll inevitably feel. Finding your niche is not only a good business practice, it's just good common sense. Effectively building a niche that resonates with you allows you to build momentum faster, spend less, and have a lot more fun along they way. Pick your passion. Who do YOU want to work with? Teachers, first time home buyers, doctors, lawyers, military personnel, chefs, business owners, horse ranchers, dog lovers, boaters, golfers, Harley riders, skiers - the list is endless. You are only limited by your imagination. Pick one, and call me. We'll work out a marketing strategy to fit your new niche!

4. Trapped in the over-promising, under-delivering cyclone: This is a big one. Ever know an agent who lets their mouth over-ride their ability to deliver? Unfortunately, there may be one or two out there like that. Ours is a society of pay-for-performance, high-expectation, low-tolerance for anything less than what's expected consumers. I'm reminded of a statement Floyd Wickman often makes, "Always do what you say you're going to do. You don't have to do more, but NEVER do less." If you can't do something in a specific time frame, say so. Your honesty will take you much further than the lack of credibility you'll earn by not keeping true to your word.

5. Caught in social media web: I'll be one of the first people to say it's time to stop thinking social media is a passing fad and prompt you to dive in to the huge online knowledge base that can teach you how to tweet, find friends and get linked! Social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIN are incredible tools to help you build that niche, expand your sphere and bring the world a little closer to you every day. You can touch many people at once; share your perspectives and network far faster and easier than we ever dreamed possible. I will caution you though - do not get too caught up in the web. I can't tell you the countless sales professionals I've met who never learned to put boundaries on their time and social networking, like anything, can be a time stealer if you're not using it properly. There is still no substitute for real, live, face-to-face or at least phone-to-phone contact with your clients and genuine prospecting time blocks. So if you're spending all your time tweeting about the weather or playing Mafia Wars and Farmville (you know who you are) - then start today to block out your power hour of prospecting, reaching out to your customer base and leave the playtime for your personal time.

6. Drowning in negativity: Our world is full of challenges, without question and it's easy to find ourselves sometimes over our heads and feel like we're drowning in the negative pull that can permeate an office or even a society. Grab yourself a life-preserver in the form of a coach or a mentor. They have the ability to help you focus on what's possible, forge ahead towards your goals and seek out the opportunities where you once saw obstacles. Turn again to the World Wide Web or buy a ticket for the next empowerment workshop in your area. Listen to the wise words of Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Les Brown or pick your favorite motivational speaker. Re-read Think and Grow Rich, or The Greatest Salesman in the World and start and finish your day with powerful affirmations that will frame your life and your career with those messages that can fuel your spirit and ignite your imagination. When it comes right down to it...anything really is possible.

Well, my friends, I hope you've found more treats than tricks in today's article! If there's anything that I can ever do for you to help keep any of the career-killing monsters at bay, give me a call or shoot me an email! Now, pass me the M&Ms and let's get back to work!

Click Here to Read Death of a Real Estate Career - Part I Now!

To download a FREE copy of our time-tested system for staying in touch with the VIPs in your customer base, visit www.prospectsplus.com, and click on BusinessBASE^TM in the Resource section. While you're there, be sure to check out our many webinars-on-demand for insightful tools and techniques for building your business in any market. Need me? Call 1.866.405-3641 or email julie.escobar@prospectsplus.com!

FREE Webinar! SOI S.O.S.: How to Build a Sustainable Book of Business

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:35:45 -0500

We Invite You to Attend Our FREE Webinar! SOI S.O.S.: How to Build a Sustainable Book of Business

November 10, 2009, 12:30pm - 1:30pm Eastern

With Julie Escobar & Ramona Williams

You'll learn how to:

Create consistent systems for success
Ensure you're capturing the 60-70% of business that SHOULD come from your Sphere
Deploy cost-effective, highest return, relevant marketing solutions
Calculate the lifetime value of your customers
Create a powerful referral network
Plan for your future
and so much more...

Need help? Call Julie at 1.866.405.3641 or email us at pmc@prospectsplus.com!

An Interview with Industry Icon Danielle Kennedy...

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:21:25 -0500

Life Balance, Action Plans and To-Do Lists for Today's Realtors

By Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing, ProspectsPLUS!

Way back in the day, when I started my journey into real estate, there was a speaking sensation sweeping North America with a passion, purpose and a can-do message of perseverance. That sensation was Danielle Kennedy and from everything I've seen, she hasn't slowed down one bit. Hot off the release of her new book WorkingMoms.calm, I caught up with this real estate super hero to learn a little about what she had to share about creating life balance, tackling action plans and what the right to-do list can do for you! So, hold on to your hats, and join me for a little Kennedy magic!

Q: Hey Danielle, great to talk to you again, it's been a long time! When I first heard you speak, you were a single mom making big waves in this business while juggling the pressures of family vs. career. Tell us your thoughts on creating a good life balance.

A: I believe life balance is about perspective. You have to always remind yourself of the big picture. What may seem like a catastrophe right now, in the greater scheme of things is usually pretty minor. Losing a buyer or a low appraisal may seem big at the moment but compared to what? Losing your health, your ability to be active and alive, or the loss of a loved one? Those are big. Keep things in perspective. Having lived on this planet for awhile certainly helps as well. You soon learn: "This too shall pass." That is a good mantra for a bad day, upsetting news or what seemingly appears to be a temporary setback.

Q: Words to live by! I remember reading and re-reading Og Mandino's book, The Greatest Salesman in the World, and repeating that scroll a time or two in my life as well! Tell me, what would you say to agents grappling with making a living in this business in today's economy?

A: Well, I joined the real estate industry in a tough market, which was truly a blessing in disguise. I learned quickly that there was no free lunch. You HAD to get out of the office and prospect. I am a believer in the niche marketing. In my newest edition of How To List and Sell Real Estate, I lay out a viable action plan.

I recommend you work eight niches and additional ones that may appear during certain market conditions-such as working with lenders on REO properties and short sales. And I believe you should work those niches EVERYDAY. No matter how slow or busy the market is. I give that same advice to new and experienced agents. When we look at those who've left the industry through this market, I think many probably never learned the discipline of niche marketing. They might have gotten in during easier markets and EXPECTED business to fall in their laps. You have to self-generate business in real estate. Not easy to begin with but once you begin and it starts to take hold, it's amazing how you can flourish.

Q: Great advice, Danielle. You and I share the same passion for niche marketing. Explore that a little more for our readers, please!

A: As I said, I believe in working eight niches:

Past customers
Open houses
FSBOs and expireds
Social networking
Local business network
Past life acquaintances
Introductions
Farming

I just listed them in order of payback. For example if you are coming out of a slump or want to take your business to the next level, you need to devote 3-4 hours per day on niches 1-4: past customers, open houses, FSBOs and social networking. Your return on those niches happens faster than the bottom four, but don't neglect the bottom four! Once you have generated more business in your pipeline from the top four, start on those. You'll find there's a big difference between action and activity. ACTION leads to transactions for example: business development, prospecting. ACTIVITIES leads to time wasted, for example: gossiping, long lunches, obsessively checking emails etc.

Q: True enough! I'm a big to-do list person, and I know you are too. Tell us why you think that's important and what agents today should have on THEIR to-do lists to thrive in this business.

A: Oh, I love To-Do lists. I usually put the things I hate the most on top so I can get those tough jobs over with early in the day. Your BlackBerry, iPhone or any PDA is great for staying on top of your day as well. I always mix personal and professional on the list, because family and personal time is as big of a priority as business. If you promised a child you would be at a soccer game that is as important as a listing appointment. Believe me, if you honor personal commitments the way you honor business commitments, you are going to be one happy grandma or grandpa one day because your kids will make you a priority into their adulthood.

Q: Spoken like a happy grandma! Let's pretend I'm a new agent seeking a mentor, what's some of the first advice you'd give me?

A: If I were mentoring you, I'd say the most important thing for you to do is to develop the everyday habit of new business development. Never be satisfied with the status quo, each day stretch to a new area you've never done before. Start building your brand through niche marketing; there is so much business in places we don't even know exist because we limit our thinking.

I'd say get unstuck. You see a lot of agents who are stuck in the office, stuck with a guru, stuck on Facebook, or in a defeated mindset. So, get unstuck. I'd also tell you to never ever give up. One thing that helps that process is consistency. Don't focus on outcomes. I believe in goals but believe they should be a private thing. While telling everyone a goal of a new Cadillac might motivate some people, it can also sometimes limit your thinking and your success. When agents focus on their own agenda, the public can often sense that and feel as if they are in it for themselves. Real estate truly is a service industry and providing that service is a day-to-day process that requires disciplined behavior. Live in the moment.

When people have perspective, and when they are doing something they love with life balance, they don't burn out because their life is about more than just one thing. Diversity is what keeps burn out at bay. Extend that to your whole life and create diversity in business/personal/family time. Date nights, face time with your kids, treating yourself to an afternoon off, and really focus on those things without interruption, life never gets boring. Remember this, one of the greatest gifts of being a hard worker is to really be able to fashion a wonderful personal life. It's the vehicle or ticket to creating a life that you imagined. It is also a way to contribute your talents to the parts of society that need you that you wouldn't be able to do if prosperity wasn't in
your corner.

Q: I agree whole-heartedly! Danielle, you and I have talked a great deal too about the power of consistency - of not just showing up once, but time and time again. Tell our readers your thoughts.

A: I believe you should contact your past customers at least once a month in some way. Send out an email, postcards, knock on the door, notes, letters, all of it. And work your way through the alphabet at least every three months. Don't worry about checking in, you're not bugging them. Send them a picture of you winning an award, with a note telling them how much you appreciate that they are a part of what you do and that they're wonderful. Put a system in place to contact them consistently. Plant those seeds for referrals. After all, as Woody Allen says, "80% of success is showing up!"

Farm every week, work FSBOs every day and Expireds every week. My new book is filled with scripts, dialogues and strategies for success.

Q: I know, I'm excited for you! Your 30th Anniversary Edition of How to List and Sell Real Estate is coming out in March 2010. Congratulations! Give us a sneak peek of what they'll learn.

A: Well sure! I'd love to! Some of the new chapters cover:

How to talk to a buyer when there's a turn around market
How to work a nickel in a challenging market
How to deal with the affluent
The art of social networking
The new rules for fall-out avoidance
Hot websites and many ways to maximize your brand on the internet
And BUILDING STRONGER CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS WITH
ACTING TECHNIQUES

Q: Sounds amazing, Danielle! Thank you so much for your time. You're still an extraordinary force in this industry and an inspiration especially to we single working moms!

A: Thanks, Julie. I appreciate the opportunity!

Want to learn more from our friend Danielle Kennedy? You can reach her office toll free at 800-848-8070 or visit her site at www.daniellekennedy.com. Ready to kick your niche marketing into high gear? Visit www.prospectsplus.com today or bookmark our blog at blog.prospectsplus.com to discover a wide spectrum of real estate marketing tools and techniques. Call me if you need me at 866.405.3641!

Free Webinar: Recruiting Rescue with Floyd Wickman & Julie Escobar

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:26:53 -0500

Tap into some of the best tools in the business for growing your team of agents.

Join us October 6, 2009,12:30-1:30 Eastern!

You'll discover:

Inexpensive social media advertising for effective recruiting and company branding
FREE new licensee lists in select states
Best practices for creating your recruiting "hit list"
Hands-free, set-and-forget, fits-any-budget system for direct response recruiting and lead incubation
Creating the BUZZ in your market area - how to best leverage your recruiting efforts for quick results
Floyd Wickman shares his powerful dialogues and techniques to close more recruiting leads, choose the right agents and build an award winning office

Click here to register: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/609859947

See you there!

Everyone's a Winner in the ProspectsPLUS! Back to School Challenge!

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:44:53 -0500

Knowledge is power in today's world. We're inviting all of our customers and friends to join us in a virtual think tank this month to share the best practices and strategies you know for thriving in a changing market!

So come on! Leave a comment here to share your best THREE success tips for growing your business, maintaining balance in your life, taking care of your customers, saving more, working smarter rather than harder - you tell us - what lessons could we all learn?

The best part? EVERYONE'S a WINNER! Share your thoughts and we'll email you a priority code for 20 FREE Postcards from ProspectsPLUS.com! We'll print, address, UV coat and mail them first class on your behalf! We'll even provide the mailing list if you like!

We'll share everyone's "back to school" secrets!

We'll then choose the best TEACHER post on September 30th to win a FREE ProspectsPLUS! Personal Real Estate Marketing Software package - a $624 value or for our broker and manager friends - a FREE copy of RecruitingPLUS! Real Estate Recruiting Software - a $1424 value!

Need more information? Contact Julie today at 866.405.3641 or email me - pmc@prospectsplus.com!

Click here to post! Prospectsplus! Challenge!

ProspectsPLUS! Affiliate Program

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:26:42 -0500

Earn Thousands of Dollars Every Month by becoming a ProspectsPLUS.com Affiliate!

How? Simply place one of our Affiliate Banners on your site, and start earning a 5% recurring commission from all orders placed by any customer who clicks through! Your cost is ZERO, and your potential - limitless. Once a customer has clicked through from your referral banner and registered for a ProspectsPLUS.com account, you'll start receiving commissions.

Our one-stop-shop for data, design, content and delivery and interactive postcard gallery gives them reason to return again and again, and gives you the potential for not only NOW income, but future earnings as well.

How do you get started? Simply view the Affiliate Agreement, complete the online registration, and select the appropriate size banner for your site. Next, we'll provide all the necessary HTML web coding your Webmaster will need to place your valuable Affiliate link on your agent-facing website.

Your password-protected ProspectsPLUS.com Affiliate Dashboard allows you to track web hits, customer orders, and most importantly - MONTHLY COMMISSIONS! This online gallery not only displays an agent's company-branded postcards, it allows agents to select from hundreds of design options as well as complete postcard campaigns with powerful pay-as-they-go convenience.

Zero Cost - Limitless Opportunity.

Ready to learn more? Visit http://www.prospectsplus.com/affiliates/

Or call us today at 1.866.405.3641. We're happy to walk you through the process!

Did You Get Yours? Free Report: The Four Questions You Should Ask EVERY Buyer!

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:02:13 -0500

Download your copy today by visiting: www.prospectsplus.com!

Sign up for your free account, then check your "Resource" tab for this valuable report, free on-demand training and more!

While you're on our site, we invite you to kick your marketing into high gear with ease with our convenient, cost-effective and powerful, set-it-and-forget-it system for postcard campaigns!

This tool will help you:

Separate the lookers from the buyers
Help you save time and energy
Quickly assess a buyer's motivation early

You'll find this and more valuable FREE REPORTS in the Resource section of our website! Signing up costs you nothing, but the resources you can tap can be just the tools you need to succeed in today's market!

SPECIAL OFFER: Fire up your postcard marketing this month and save! Enter PRIORITY CODE: AUGUST before AUGUST 31st and take 15% off your order! Don't forget to download your new FREE REPORT: Four Questions You Should Ask Every Buyer in the Resources section of your ProspectsPLUS.com web account!

An Hour a Day Keeps the Customers Coming Your Way!

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:08:28 -0500

By Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing, ProspectsPLUS!

Much like the proverbial apple that keeps the doctor away, committing at least an hour a day to your professional well being is the right prescription for the salesperson savvy enough to take a pro-active, preventative and inspired approach to growing their business.

What difference can an hour make? It can mean all the difference in the world when it comes to repeatable, sustainable success in this business. This business, like most sales industries is above all else, a people business, which means if you want to STAY in business, you've got to make staying top of mind with your customer base a priority. Did you know that National Association of REALTORS® statistics still show that more than 80% of consumers who list their homes don't list with the person they bought it from? Why? They didn't stay in touch. They failed to stay connected with their book of business. Now consider the national statistics that tell us that the average consumer moves every seven years, and buys a property worth at least 25% more than their current home - that puts an estimated career value of a client well over $110,000. With that kind of perspective in mind, an hour a day doesn't seem like too much to ask does it?

What hour? Real estate expert and coach Bernice Ross shared, "Just about every top producer that I know starts their prospecting first thing in the day. They know that of the activities that are closest to the income line for them - prospecting is right there in the top three. Getting those things done first allows them to continually grow and stay connected to their book of business. Secondly, it really gives those agents a sense of control, power and self accomplishment - and isn't that the BEST way to start a day?"

Speaker and coach Darryl Davis, who labels this important time for his students as "going to the prospecting gym," thinks that timing often varies depending on the agent's niche. "When I was focused on FSBOs and Expireds for example, I found the best times for me to prospect were Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays after homeowners felt the disappointment of not selling over the weekend. That's when they need answers the most."

Many agents choose to stagger their prospecting time and map out their week in advance, selecting 8:00-9:00am three days a week, and evening hours from 6:00-7:00pm two to three days per week. Jason Edwards, speaker and trainer for the Floyd Wickman Program shared that this is an important practice and good habit they teach students right from the beginning. "We call it a Smart Week, and it's a five-step process of calendaring their week in advance, and includes making that all important appointment with themselves to power through their prospecting. It's a way of getting them to commit to that time and view it much in the same way they commit to a closing or listing appointment."

Sherry Chris, CEO for Better Homes and Gardens adds that in her experience, top producers generally still can be found sticking close to that old rule of thumb investing about 80% of their time getting face-to-face, on the phone or online sharing with both past and potential clients. "Things have certainly changed in our industry and prospecting has truly taken on a new pace with the advances of social media. It's definitely developed into a more ‘give before you get' mode of contact. Whereas our old methods of prospecting meant picking up the phone and offering a service, now we can feed valuable information, fun facts as well as personally connect with our clients." Sherry, for example, spends roughly 60% of her time building the Better Homes and Gardens brand and shares some valuable tips when it comes to building 'social capital.' "To be truly effective you have to successfully balance business information with personal touches, photographs, upcoming events, career milestones, etc. If the only thing you have on your Facebook or MySpace is your listings, you're missing the boat. Let's not forget too, that as valuable as social media is in today's prospecting world, there is still no substitute for getting face-to-face or on the phone with your clients."

How do you stick to it? While not always easy, it is important to find the motivation to continuously invest the time in building and maintaining your business. I'll take you back to Darryl's "prospecting gym" idea, in that daily doses both ensures that you're building business "muscle" but it also has another side benefit - it gets easier. "Agents will tell you that the first couple of calls, if you've missed day or two, are the hardest," shared Daryl. " The more you stick to it, the easier it is because repetition takes away the fear of getting on the phone. It also helps to have an integrity partner. That is someone willing to commit the time with you. As entrepreneurs, it's easy to put off prospecting if there's no one to answer to. If you know that someone else is counting on you however, it's a little harder to hit the snooze button."

Having an effective system certainly helps as well. For busy agents, it's no longer a 'should do' but a ‘must do' if you expect to keep up. What's interesting is to note how these systems still run the gamut from complex contact management systems to good old fashioned 1-31 files. Bernice Ross shared a story of one agent who is among the top in the business who makes it his goal to talk to fifty clients a day. "Sometimes he talks to 5-10, leaves messages for a few more and uses social media options such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to send out links or messages to 25 or more additional clients. The point is that every day he's making that commitment to sustain contact with his clients. When you consider the average person now knows at least six REALTORS®, you can be sure that the one they'll do business with is the one they've heard from the most."

Do you HAVE to get involved in social media? Well, you certainly don't HAVE to do anything you don't want to, but in terms of keeping pace with today's consumers, it's a step in the right direction. Reggie Nicolay, Director of Social Media for Cyberhomes.com wisely points out, "It's interesting to note that Facebook was originally designed to be an online address book, which perpetually updates itself so it's always evolving as opposed to an offline solution such as Outlook which is always out of date. It's also a tremendous resource for changing the face of how you prospect. Where in the past, building rapport may have been difficult or cumbersome and time consuming, social media allows me to market on a more one-to-one level with my target audience. Clive Thompson said it well when he called it an ‘ambient awareness' that occurs. You're offering bite-size pieces of information and solutions with your customers and getting to know them better through these social networks. It's kind of like making deposits and withdrawals from a social ‘account' if you will. You get to know your customers better and they get to know you better, and in doing so, you build that trust that's necessary to grow your business."

Sherry Chris added, "Technology has really allowed us to become more specialized in that it makes it easier for agents to identify their niche and build a network around it in a far faster, and easier way than ever before. That's great news for all agents, but especially for those just coming into the business." In talking with agents every day, I couldn't agree with her more. With time, energy and marketing dollars all in short supply these days, it just makes sense to pick a niche you're passionate about, find those groups both in your community and in all of these online communities and build your business that way. It's less time, less money and a whole lot more fun!

"If you're looking to engage with Gen X and Gen Y consumers, social media is by far the way to go," shared Mrs. Ross. "It's important to communicate with people in the manner and method that's most comfortable for them. Social networking is also a great way to get outside the box a little. I'll give you an example. I had an agent tell me that she met a new doctor in her community who was obviously just getting started and looking to spread the word. What did she do? She went over and interviewed him then wrote about him in her blog. Soon after, she heard from the doctor who was happily getting referrals from her article, and he was happily referring customers to her as well. That's a classic case of ‘giving to get,' of helping first and reaping the rewards for a long time to come."

What I loved about speaking with all of these talented experts is that while all brought wonderful new ideas and insight to the table, is that they all did seem to find common ground on three major points:

You've got to be willing, in today's market, to make a friend first and a sale later. Take the ‘get by giving' approach to your business.
Whether it's one hour a day, ten hours a week or 80% of your time, make and KEEP your prospecting appointments with yourself. Put them right up there with a payday in terms of importance - because they are!
There's still no substitute for personal contact. Getting on the phone, meeting face to face and getting to know your customers will ALWAYS be tops on the ‘to-do' list.

I hope you've picked up few lessons along the way. Our customers need us now more than ever, and it's up to you to let them know that you are there for them, with answers, with integrity and with resources they can trust. It's incredible to me to hear story after story of agents who are literally having their best year ever despite tough economic times and sometimes shaky markets. Why? They know that it's a people first business and they do just that - put people first.

Thank you to all the extraordinary people who lent me their voices for this article. Sherry Chris, Bernice Ross, Darryl Davis, Reggie Nicolay and Jason Edwards. I challenge you to find them on Facebook and make them your friends! You'll find all have incredible ideas to share, stories to tell and certainly set an example of what to do right in today's marketing arena! Thanks all!

While you're there, look for me and our ProspectsPLUS! page as well. We?re happy to consistently provide the best resources in the business for our real estate and entrepreneurial friends! Visit our interactive and ever-evolving website www.prospectsplus.com for many business-building solutions and powerful prospecting tools. Call me today at 1.800.287.5710 if you have questions or need assistance! Making it easier for you to succeed is what we do best!

SPECIAL OFFER: Make prospecting simple, fun and cost effective with ProspectsPLUS! Personal Marketing Software! For less than the average price of designing ONE personal brochure, you can have 600+ marketing materials and lead generation systems at your fingertips!

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enter PRIORITY CODE: PMC09 when you get to the checkout
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What does YOUR Best Buyer Look Like?

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:53:36 -0500

If you're thinking college kids and single moms - you might be on to something! Minnesota Realtor Jesse Godzala was recently featured in a Realtor.com Economist Perspective sharing his insight on the "faces" of the perfect home buying candidates that are keeping him busy
every day!

"Here in St. Cloud, and I venture to guess plenty of other real estate markets across North America we have a large student population coming in surrounding the area colleges. What's exciting to see is how savvy many of these kids and their parents are about taking advantage of the current market conditions to purchase homes at lower-than-normal prices, take advantage of the tax credit and find themselves with an investment they can count on at a fairly young age! It takes a little more work - you've got to educate them about every little aspect, especially if you are dealing with foreclosure properties or short sales. It's worth it though - take good care of these young investors now and you'll have clients for life! They are also a GREAT referral source! Another great customer base - and literally 75% of my customers - are single mothers. They're great to work with. In my opinion, they know what they want, know what they can afford and not afford, have their budget mapped out and their eye on the properties they want. They've done their homework and they just need a professional to guide them safely through the process."

Thanks Jesse for your insight! Need some tips for tapping into these two markets? We've got them! Almost every university or college has a school newspaper, blog and press group. Contact the editors who are usually very eager to have relevant content to share with their audience and they are also typically in desperate need for advertisers. For a little money, and a little of your time spent delivering timely content - you could be the go-to agent for a campus full of progressive thinking college kids - not to mention their parents, professors and extended families starting this month! Now THAT'S what we call a back to school bonus!

Single moms are another way to extend a helping hand and build a strong business foundation. Start advertising home buying workshops and How-To Buy for Less seminars in your area. Local campuses and libraries are a great place to hold them. Become the resource they need and you'll have new customers lining up to listen and send referrals your way! Try it!

Watch Our Handy Tutorials:
How to use the Tax Credit Series to find First Time Home
Buying Candidates!

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How to Get More Listings, More Listings Sold and Brand Yourself in Your Market for Less!

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:13:05 -0500

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ProspectsPLUS.com Helps Agents Get Buyers OFF the Fence

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:27:30 -0500

Real Estate Professionals across North America are finally starting to see an upturn in their markets. However, enticing today's buyers and sellers to ACT NOW is no small task. Marketing leader ProspectsPLUS.com recently launched a new "Fence Sitter" series of postcards to help agents get consumers off the fence and into a new home!

This simple web-to-print platform allows agents gives agents the ease and time efficiency to order just one postcard - or schedule an entire campaign of postcards to be mailed over the course of several weeks or months. With the convenience of the pay-as-you-go system, easy list management options, and prices as low as .43₵ per card, these full-color, full-bleed postcards are printed, addressed, finished and mailed first class within 48 hours, make consistently reaching their customer base fast, efficient and affordable!

Agents who need a targeted, geographic list for their mailings will find that option available on the company's interactive website. With just a few quick clicks of the mouse and a few moments of time, agents can customize a specialized mailing list with the variables and demographics that best work for them! "Our customers have been eager for a series that addresses the mindset of those consumers still unsure about the market and whether or not to wait. These new postcards answer those questions." says Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing for ProspectsPLUS!

"Our Fence Sitter postcards are just another way we stay forward of our goal for ProspectsPLUS! which is to offer innovative solutions each month to help agents stay in touch with their sphere of influence and geographic farm areas," continued Escobar. "This is a powerful time in the real estate business. One that finds agents either thinking outside the box and taking action each day, or falling further into ‘wait- and-see mode. What's interesting to note is that the agents we meet that are rising to meet the market, effectively staying in touch with their book of business and reaching out to consumers in their market areas are having the best years of their careers. That really is a testament to savvy agents taking charge of ‘their economy' rather than waiting for a change in ‘the' economy."

As a bonus, agents can enter the Priority Code: AUGUST at checkout to receive a 15% discount! Find the new Fence Sitter Series of seven buyer postcards and seven seller postcards today by visiting www.prospectsplus.com. Simply click on Postcards in the navigation bar to view the Postcard Gallery. In the Quick Find Guide agents can find these two campaigns as well as postcard options such as Tax Credit, Inspiration, Recipes, Holiday Series, Animal Series and even Recruiting postcards for the brokers in the crowd. The site also boasts a wide spectrum of FREE resources that can help agents effectively brand themselves and build their book of business in today's market such as Free Consumer Reports, Webinars-on-Demand, the BusinessBASE^TM system and more.

Need help growing your book of business? Call Julie Escobar at 866.405.3641 to schedule a FREE Webinar for your office which will walk you and your fellow associates through how to determine how many prospects you need in your SOI, how to measure your return on investment, how to effectively stay in touch and more.

Need more marketing ideas? Sign up for our FREE Monthly Master Marketing Newsletter^TM. This timely tool will deliver fresh ideas, innovative tools and smart solutions to your "in-box" each and every month! Visit www.prospectsplus.com today and click on Master Marketing Newsletter^TM.

Ready to AUTOMATE Your Marketing -- AND Save Time & Money? Check This Out!

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:21:42 -0500

Master Marketing Tips for July

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:47:38 -0500

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Show your team spirit and SCORE BIG with the customers in YOUR market this month with our ALL NEW FOOTBALL SEASON 2009 Postcards!

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Brokers and Managers
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Call Julie today at 1.866.405.3641 and set up a FREE Webinar for your management team to explore the possibilities and the success stories!

Feature Property Cards
Feature YOUR Property This Month with beautifully designed, fully finished, full color postcards! Choose from a wide spectrum of designs and themes and get your new listing NOTICED!

Back to School
It's ALMOST That Time! Make the grade at the end of this month and send this friendly Back to School postcard to the VIPs in your sphere or farm!

Recipe Card Series
Cook Up Some Business With Recipe Cards! This Bruschetta recipe is a summertime table staple! Did you know that recipe cards are a great way to make your marketing dollars have staying power? When your customers find a new favorite-they're sure to remember you each time they make it for their family! Choose from dozens of mouth-watering recipes today!

Thanks for your business!
Order any postcard campaign today and receive 15% off your order! Simply use
PRIORITY CODE: JULY
before July 30, 2009 and SAVE!

I Don't Have a Neighborhood Specialist!

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:53:55 -0500

What the Homeowners in Your Farm Area Could be Saying...

By Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing, ProspectsPLUS!

Ask around. What are people saying in YOUR neighborhood farm area? Chances are, if you're not staying in touch this month, this season - or even this year, what they won't be saying is that you're the agent to call for all their real estate needs! How can you turn that around and start making the right impression and earning the business of your farm area? Let's take a look at what three top agents are consistently doing "right" to successfully brand themselves as the "Neighborhood Specialist" in
their market areas.

In this article we catch up with veteran real estate professionals, Denise Buscemi, Antony Francis and Karen Marshall to learn some of their best practices (and throw in a few of our own) for becoming and staying the top "Neighborhood Specialist" in your market area.

What's interesting to note is that our guests have a combined total of 55 years in the industry between them, so it's safe to say they've probably walked in your shoes before, regardless of how long you've been in the business. They're also some of the first to encourage agents of every business tenure to "keep learning, keep marketing and stay focused."

Size of sphere or farm: How big of a farm or neighborhood should you market? Denise Buscemi, through most of her career kept tabs on a farm of about 5000, but has since pared that down to 2500 which includes her sphere of influence since taking over as managing broker for her Century 21 Sterling office in Port Jefferson Station, New York. She had this to share, "Most of my time is spent recruiting, training and managing now, but I still feel that it's important to maintain and take care of my client base. I usually recommend new agents start building their farm area to about 250, and experienced, full-time agents should consider working towards maintaining a farm of
at least 1,000."

Tony Francis with Charles Rutenberg Realty, got his start back in 1990 and took a detour into the speaking industry from 1996-2003, speaking for the Floyd Wickman organization and Realtor.com. He's since found himself back to his real estate roots in the great state of Florida and has branded himself as the turn-to agent for the Trinity area. "My main focus is the Foxwood area of about 900 homes. It's part of Trinity which encompasses more than 10,000 homes. I always advise agents to find a core group to focus on, and expand from there where it makes geographic, demographic, and of course, economic sense for them to do so. That way, you can really create a presence in an area, with your signs, brochure boxes and advertising without trying to take that ‘shotgun' approach to your marketing."

Karen Marshall of Keller Williams in Pittsburgh and her team successfully navigate a database of more than 10,000, and uses a system of referral name recognition to effectively communicate with 500-1,000 regularly. In fact, contrary to the woes cried by agents across the nation, Karen has not seen a drop in production and she and her team are celebrating "a fabulous first half of the year." What's her secret to success? "Never stop marketing!"

Keep in mind you don't have to start with a 500, 1,000, 2,000 or more - you just have to start! After all, as in wise words of Zig Ziglar, "If we don't start, it's
certain we can't arrive!"

How to find the right neighborhood or farm area: If you're new, pick an area that REALLY interests you, dig in and learn about the community, the people, the surrounding businesses and the culture. Then make it your own and then start expanding. If you've been in the business for a while now and have NOT yet begun to build and maintain a working database/customer base - let today be the day you start. Too many in our industry leave with nothing to show for it - don't let that be you!

Mrs. Buscemi recommends that agents target a town or part of a town they want to establish themselves in. "You have to be passionate about it. In order to really be successful, you have to really have a connection and a commitment to that community. I ask my agents to designate 75% of their efforts to the top 10% of that market share, and then blanket the rest for the lower tiered homes. Once you've established yourself in that top 10%, then everyone knows your name."

It's no surprise that Tony and Karen both echoed similar sentiments. As with any effective branding effort, becoming the neighborhood specialist means you have to jump in with both feet and commit to being the resource for those consumers who make up your target market. Not just to gain their business, but because you believe you are the best person for the job and able to provide a level of service like no other. "You have to be genuine," said Mr. Francis. "If you're not authentic in your purpose, it shows and especially in today's market, people don't want, nor do they have to work with people who are less than the real deal."

Little things mean a lot - and add up to big business: I am always thrilled to see agents putting best practices into play, showing true tenacity and taking a walk on the creative side! When it comes to building trust, increasing your image, and really getting to know the community members in your farm, little things really do mean a lot. "In addition to our monthly mailings," shared Denise, "we also get the kids and actually ‘walk the farm' about four times a year with a gift, a giveaway or some small token and a chance to meet and talk to people one-on-one. We tape flyers to mailboxes, put flags in the yard for holidays such as Flag Day or Independence Day, and in the summer I like to use the Neighborhood Update flyer from my ProspectsPLUS! software and tape it to those neon colored plastic sand shovels I can get from the novelty store with a note saying, ‘here's the scoop from your 110% Realtor!' That ALWAYS gets calls! Some agents use seed packets in the spring for their farms, or trick or treat bags at Halloween. Whatever you do, it's important to just get out there, have fun, be creative and meet the people!"

Tony Francis takes that to heart as well. "I look at starting a new farm much like you would if you were opening up a restaurant or a new store. Your job the first few years is to really get noticed and make a name for yourself. It's then when you have to use bigger ads, contact the homeowners more, and be very visible. For example, I put ads in the Homes magazines, featured the properties on Realtor.com, and put ads and information in the community newsletters as well as my monthly mailings to the homeowners. I make sure the magnets are always on the car, and people see me and my brand every day as I'm out and about! I also believe you really have to GET INVOLVED. It goes back to that genuineness. Get involved in the kid's schools, become a business partner. That's good for them and for you. Every year I do the Spring Fling or the Fall Festival or the Winter Carnival - whatever event needs sponsoring. It's great exposure, and an opportunity to open lines of communication with people. Holding buyer's and seller's workshops is another great way to offer valuable information to your farm area and get tremendous results in return. We used to hold them every two weeks and we'd have around 30 people at each event. We'd convert about 30% of those. Another good idea is to work with those people other agents are unwilling or unable to work with. How many agents do you know that DON'T follow up on open house leads? Offer them $100 for every lead that turns into something. It's a great way to build your business, and make sure that the customer is getting the service they want and deserve!" Tony took it a step further as well. He jumped in and organized the Trinity Business Association for those people who live and work in his farm area. He's created the neighborhood groups on Facebook and has seen his "friendships" really grow as he helps everyone stay better connected
in his community!

Consider helping out at block parties, community block parties, firework celebrations and more. Send out newsletters that offer ideas and solutions people can use as well as present yourself as the expert they can turn to with current, relevant and timely information each and every month.

Best advice for agents? "Make a plan and commit to the plan," said Denise. "Then invest a little money in smart tools that help you get where you need to go. It's really amazing how much you can lose when you STOP doing all these things. I used to maintain 25% of that market area using this program, and I stopped doing all these important things for a while when I took over management. It's funny, getting back to it now I've just picked up ten new listings in the last couple weeks because of it. So, just do it!" Karen shared that sentiment, "Stop talking about what you need to do and just do it! There's enough business out there for everyone! Invest in yourself and your business. This makes it simple, easy to do and really, you can't afford NOT to!" Tony added, "Just get involved. Become a member of the association, join the PTA, get out in the neighborhoods, talk to people and start building those relationships. They really will follow you throughout your career!"

Please join me in giving a big THANK YOU to our guest specialists this month, Denise Buscemi in Port Jefferson Station, NY, Antony Francis in Palm Harbor/Tampa, Florida, and Karen Marshall in the Pittsburgh area! If you've got a referral in any of those areas that need EXTRA special attention, these three are the agents to call!

Now get out there and start branding yourself as the turn-to agent in your neighborhood of choice so that next time someone is asked, "Who's your neighborhood specialist?" They'll know EXACTLY who to name!

Need more help building your business or making a name for yourself in your niche of choice? Visit www.prospectsplus.com today and tap into a wide spectrum of solutions, resources and training that can help you thrive in today's market. If you wish to learn more about the ProspectsPLUS! Personal Agent Marketing System and what makes it the tool of choice for agents like our guests today, call Julie at 1.866.405.3641 or email her your questions!

Special note: For all our ProspectsPLUS! customers, check out the new Neighborhood Update postcards and flyers in this month's update! For our NEIGHBOURS to the North - we've added the "U" just for you on the Canadian Version of these pieces! You may also want to check out the newly designed monthly newsletter: Community News! It's a great way to stay in touch, give something of value and brand yourself as the
agent to call!

SPECIAL OFFER: Make branding yourself as the Neighborhood Specialist point and click easy with ProspectsPLUS! Personal Marketing Software! For less than the average price of designing ONE personal brochure, you can have 600+ marketing materials and lead generation systems at your fingertips!

Get your copy of ProspectsPLUS! Personal Marketing Software now for JUST $295! Click www.prospectsplus.com to order now and enter PRIORITY CODE: PMC09 when you get to the checkout
to save more than $300 today! Questions? Call us at 1.866.405.3641!

ProspectsPLUS.com Helps Agents Score Touchdown With Football Series

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:21:40 -0500

BRADENTON, FL: ProspectsPLUS.com kicks off pre-season with a new series of football postcards to help REALTORS® get into the marketing game by mailing team schedules to the legions of fans nationwide gearing up to answer the call, "Are you ready for some football?"

This simple web-to-print platform allows agents to choose their team, upload their list and within just minutes place their order. This year's postcards are ready to score big for agents, and now with the ability to send just one postcard or to an entire database and with prices as low as .45₵ per card, these full-color cards are printed, addressed, finished and mailed first class within 48 hours, to make staying ‘top-of-mind' all season simple, fast and cost effective!

Agents who need a targeted, geographic list for their mailings will find that option available as well on the company's new interactive site. With just a few quick clicks of the mouse and a few moments of time, agents can customize a specialized mailing list with the variables and demographics that best work for them! "With football season fast approaching, we wanted to be sure our clients had the opportunity to be first in the door for their prospects with this seasonal favorite." says Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing for the group.

"Our football postcards are just another way we stay forward of our goal for ProspectsPLUS! which is to offer innovative solutions each month to help agents stay in touch with their sphere of influence and geographic farm areas," continued Escobar. "This is a challenging market for many agents, one that finds people leaving the business, shutting down or drastically cutting back on their marketing and promotion. Savvy agents look to our postcard campaigns to help them maintain their top producer status by providing the tools they need to consistently stay in touch with their client base, while effectively capturing the market share abandoned by former or inactive associates."

Agents can access the football series today by visiting www.prospectsplus.com/football. For the non-sports fans in the crowd, www.prospectsplus.com offers a wide variety of postcard options such as Tax Credit, Inspiration, Recipes, Holiday Series, Animal Series and even Recruiting postcards for the brokers in the crowd. ProspectsPLUS! is even offering a special promotion for the month of July! Order ANY postcard series before July 31st using the Priority Code JULY and receive 15% Off!

The site also boasts a wide spectrum of FREE resources that can help agents effectively brand themselves and build their book of business in today's market such as Free Consumer Reports, Webinars-on-Demand, the BusinessBASE^TM system and more.

Want to learn exactly how monthly marketing to your sphere-of-influence can mean more than $100,000 to you per client over the course of your career? Call Julie Escobar at 866.405.3641 to schedule a workshop or webinar for your office which will walk you and your fellow associates through how to determine how many prospects you need in your SOI, how to effectively stay in touch and more.

Need more marketing ideas? Sign up for our FREE Monthly Master Marketing Newsletter^TM. This timely tool will deliver fresh ideas, innovative tools and smart solutions to your "in-box" each and every month! Visit www.prospectsplus.com today and click on Master Marketing Newsletter^TM.

Specializing in the “Silver Tsunami” — Why Thousands of Agents are Making Seniors Their Niche of Choice

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:00:12 -0500

By Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing, ProspectsPLUS!

The American Geriatric Society calls it the "Silver Tsunami." It's the wave of citizens living into their eighth and ninth decade with few signs of slowing down. Today, real estate professionals in record numbers are calling it their specialty. This month we'll unlock the reasons why and how choosing to work with today's over-50 crowd could be just the niche market you've been looking for!

It's estimated that there are more than 78 million seniors across North America, so certainly choosing this niche is a great way to tap into the market's supply and demand. It really goes much further than that for most agents though. For many who choose to become specialists in the senior market it is much more about building valuable long term, incredible relationships with a generation of people who both need us to teach them in terms of what they need to know to protect their interests and also who have so much to teach us in return.

"It really is a niche where you become passionate and protective of your clients. There's a lot more emotion and personal interaction than there is with other market segments," said Debbie Rodgers, real estate coach and SRES instructor. "My kids and I would laugh at times when I took on a new senior client. I would call them my ‘five-pounders' because ultimately, that's how much weight I would gain with each one after meeting with them every week for cookies and coffee." Debbie chose this niche back in the 90s when the market was actually very similar to what we are seeing today. As a single mom with two young children she very much wanted to stay in real estate and work during the day while her children were in school. She's teaching agents all about how back then, and today, seniors are a great target market for doing just that and developing a powerful referral network who, when you do your best for them, are loyal in return.

More than 16,000 REALTORS® have earned the Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES) designation from the National Association of REALTORS® and cooperating Canadian Association of Realtors®. They offer a powerful course designed to educate agents on everything from understanding and working with seniors, to government laws, programs and special services available to them. The course also teaches the subtle nuances and empathy needed to work best with this generation and their extended families as well. You are made critically aware of how to best protect their rights, preserve their trust and truly become an advocate they need. To learn more about earning this special designation visit them online at www.seniorsrealestate.com.

Like many agents getting their start in this business, Debbie began by working with first time home buyers. Unafraid of standing in front of a crowd, she enjoyed the opportunity (and the time management) of hosting first time home buying workshops. "It's a great way to get your message to 15-20 people at a time, as opposed to going door-to-door or calling people individually," shared Ms. Rodgers. As she expanded her business to work with seniors she leveraged that talent and time to host workshops specifically targeted towards the needs of seniors. In fact, she became so passionate about senior advocacy, she actually ran for City Council and served from 1996-2000, and ensuring all the while that her area implemented senior benefits in their communities.

Don't miss that valuable lesson. Becoming part of something bigger, getting active in their communities and sharing what they knew with as many people as they could were all foundation builders for the best of the best. They are:

Being passionate about what they do and who they work with
Being an advocate
Consistently, and without fail, staying in touch with their book of business
Being in tune with market trends
Willing to share information when and where people need it

Take these traits to heart and start putting them into practice today! If this is the niche for you, get passionate about working with seniors! There is so much to learn from them, and you'll find so many of them vibrant, strong and eager to share. While it may take a little extra time to earn their trust, once you do, you'll be rewarded with a lifetime of referrals. From their children, grandchildren, friends and extended networks, consider one "Silver Client" is truly worth their weight in gold in far more ways than just income. "My clients really built my business for me," shared Debbie. "Their biggest compliment they would give was when they'd call to ask me to please do for their friend what I was able to do for them."

Become their advocate! There are a lot of less than reputable people in this world ready to prey on the ill-informed and less-advantaged. Help consumers stand up! Champion their cause. Talk to many experienced top agents and they'll tell you that providing the best service for their client base really is their driving force. They understand, better than most, that if your focus is on the money, the dollars are often few and far between. Focus on the people and you'll always have more than you need.

Stay in touch! Not just when working with seniors, but in terms of your entire customer base. When I think of how many agents have left this business in the past few years with not much to show for it, it really is disheartening. By building and maintaining a real "book of business," and reaching out to clients month after month in little ways and big ways over the years, you'll end up with a salable client base that any number of brokers, team leaders and top agents would gladly pay top dollar for. If you're looking for a simple, free tool to help you do just that, download our BusinessBASE^TM today!

Know your stuff! Believe it or not, this niche is actually less likely in many ways to be affected by some of our world changes. They are much more likely to buy and sell for personal reasons such as the need to downsize, upsize, live closer to family or sell to move into an assisted living facility. So dig in! Gather all the tools, information and resources you can muster to share with these fine people. Both Debbie and I recommend hosting Senior Workshops at your local libraries. They are inexpensive if they cost you anything at all, almost all are handicap-accessible and it is the perfect setting for a learning experience!

So, if you're ready to take on the "tsunami" and own the senior market in your area, then I truly hope you picked up a tip or tool to help you in your journey. It's a wonderful niche for agents who are passionate about people, love to learn new things, and are willing to commit to maintaining long-term customer relationships. I love watching the amazing results that agents achieve when they really develop a market segment that means a lot to them both personally and professionally. It's a wonderful way to really make work seem a whole lot less like work and establish relationships and friendships that can and will last a lifetime.

Need to find a list of seniors in your market? We've got you covered! Visit www.prospectsplus.com/data today and click on the red "Search Prospect Data" button. In the "Build List" section, you can pull a list as a radial search (surrounding a specific street address) by choosing "Residential Radial" and entering the address, or search by city, state or zip by choosing "Residential Neighborhood." Next, you can select "Resident's Age" from the criteria search and put in the age range you are looking for (55-75 for example). Click on "Count Records," then adjust your search by how many records you wish to obtain!

Special note: For all our ProspectsPLUS! customers who've joined the ranks of Senior Real Estate Specialists and have been asking me for more senior-specific marketing materials, look to this month's SupportPLUS! update for four new pieces with more to come in the next few months. I'd love to hear your input or suggestions for future pieces so call or email me today!

My sincerest thanks to Debbie Rodgers from www.coachingtoexcellence.com for her contribution to our article and valuable insights! If you would like to learn more about the courses she offers, visit her online today!

To learn about more ways to capture this or other markets, call me directly at 1.866.405.3641 or simply email me at julie.escobar@prospectsplus.com. If you'd like to download a free copy of our BusinessBASE^TM, tap into the many additional resources our ProspectsPLUS! team has assembled, or sign up for our free e-newsletter, visit us at www.prospectsplus.com! We're always here to help!

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Niche Marketing and the Law of Attraction

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:49:52 -0500

Exploring the Connection: One-on-One with Matthew Ferry

By Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing, ProspectsPLUS!

It seems people all over the world are trying to unlock the secrets to a better life, better career, and more happiness. What do the really successful people have that others don't? Why do they seem to effortlessly "attract" all that they need and want? Why do they rise to the top and stay there, and more importantly, how can the rest of us capture that same lightning in a bottle and use it to propel our own lives and careers? To gain a little insight on the topic, I sat down with mindset expert and talented speaker Matthew Ferry. Below is an excerpt from that interview:

Julie Escobar: Hi Matthew, thanks for taking the time to be a part of this! I knew that when it came to exploring the connection between finding the right niche -- that magic that comes from doing what you love and working with people you like -- and what we know and don't know about the law of attraction, you were just the guy to turn to for "enlightenment!"

Matthew Ferry: Thanks Julie! I think there most definitely is a connection. While niche marketing and the Law of Attraction are distinctly different - they are related.

First, I don't think the law of attraction is the kind of thing you should focus on. That would be a little like studying gravity when learning to hang glide-right? While gravity plays a part, it's certainly not the big picture! Let's look at the bigger picture of how top producers in this business actually tap into that powerful combination of "laws" that I refer to as the "Laws of Momentum."

The Law of Attraction: In its most simple format, the law of attraction boils down to "like attracts like," or in other words, "what you put into the world the most will come back to you." That said, to get the most from this law, you really need to begin by truly knowing what you want. Fall in love with the idea of what you want, be thrilled by it and develop a deep connection to that future.

I'll give you an example. I have a client who did 1,996 transactions in a single year with just two assistants. How? He immersed himself in his passion. Deeply tied to his immigrant roots he began working with lower Hispanic communities and those people who couldn't afford to buy a home on their own. He knew he wanted to help the people in these communities experience the American dream of homeownership. His affinity for them and passion to help allowed him to make the right connections and unlock the possibilities to make home buying possible. It grew to a point where he literally was taking seven listings a day! With the combination of knowing what he wanted, feeling deeply rooted to that cause, and possessing the willingness to do for others, he created that kind of momentum.

Julie Escobar: What a great example, Matthew. You're absolutely right to say that it starts with really knowing what you want. I've seen so many agents and salespeople in all industries who try too hard to be "all things to all people," and all they have to show for it at the end of the day, or the end of their careers, are a lot of man hours, frustration and limited success. Life's too short to dislike what you do or who you work with! How much smarter and more effective it is to work with a group of people who share your interests, your passions and your vision. It sure makes work less like work, and goes a very long way towards building and maintaining long term relationships.

Matthew Ferry: Absolutely, but the law of attraction doesn't work alone! Next, let's consider: The Law of Reciprocity: This law follows the "golden rule." In other words, whatever you do will be returned back to you. So if you help other people be successful, you'll be successful. If you show kindness, you'll receive kindness. If you champion the cause of another, they will, in turn, champion the cause for you.

This law is amplified when you are grateful, thankful, appreciative, and service-oriented. Take a look at the people who are succeeding rapidly - those salespeople who make seven, ten and twelve million. Note that they have advocates, supporters, believers and followers. It's not by accident; it is because they, too, are advocates, supporters, believers and followers. They are champions for their customers and work selflessly for them. The success they appreciate in return is simply a "bonus."

Julie Escobar: That reminds me of Zig Ziglar's quote, "You'll get everything in life that you want if you help enough other people get what they want." They are certainly words to live - and work by. What's next?

Matthew Ferry: The last law most people are already familiar with, which is The Law of Averages: It states the more you put in, the more you get out. It's really that simple.

All in all, it really does boil down to: success comes to people who are absolutely clear about what they want and really love it. They have a great affinity for their niche and a desire to serve and this ignites the law of attraction in their favor and takes away any resistance to success.

Next, using the law of reciprocity they focus on what they want, but more importantly, they focus on helping everyone else get it. Without an agenda, they selflessly want more for the people they work with. They are advocates and supporters, and in return, they find that others become advocates and supporters for them.

And lastly, they work hard. They are excited about working with as many people as they can because they are having so much fun. The more fun they have, the more time and energy they put in and the more people they work with, so the law of averages is hard at work for them as well!

Julie Escobar: Thanks Matthew! I know our readers will appreciate all of your wonderful insight and information. You always have so much positive to share and I invite everyone to bookmark Matthew's site to stay connected! Download free audio training from Matthew online at www.matthewferry.com.

I would also like to invite all of our readers to join us online at www.prospectsplus.com. There you can sign up for a free web account and tap into the many powerful marketing resources available to you for building your niche, managing your sphere of influence and growing your business! If you would like to learn more contact me at 1.866.405.3641 or email me at Julie.Escobar@prospectsplus.com.

What Every New Agent Needs to Know…Part II

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:56:57 -0500

Five Top Industry Experts Share How to Adopt the Mindset of a Winner

By Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing, ProspectsPLUS!

Hats off to the new agents! You bring to our industry fresh faces, new enthusiasm, and "ready-to-make-things-happen" attitudes, and for that, you are appreciated! Floyd Wickman once said with the right tools, training and focus - ANYONE can make it in this business. In that spirit, I asked five top industry experts to help us explore what new agents need to do to adopt the right mindset or "focus" for success. Our esteemed guests are: Real Estate Speaker, Coach and Author, Bernice Ross; President of Frogpond.com, Susie Hale; Speaker, Coach and Author, Darryl Davis; Speaker, Trends Expert and Author, Stefan Swanepoel, and Author, Coach and Speaker, Matt Ferry. Let's get started!

Q: What do new agents need to do to create and keep the right mindset for success?

A: Bernice Ross: Mentally, I would tell new agents to ignore all the experienced people who tell you how bad it is. Surround yourself with those people who are doing great things. There are so many good online resources you can tap into such as www.inman.com or www.realtytimes.com. Bookmark these power sites, track what's going on in this industry and keep learning.

I also believe that if you help enough people with what they need or want, they'll help you back. Dive into conversations and find out what's important to the customers who make up your book of business. Find out what they need and how you can help them, then keep helping them as you build that customer base to more than 200 people. That's a great foundation for success. I often share Michael Russer's great advice and that is to make "irresistible offers." For example, offer your customers the "how-to" information they need to lower their taxes at tax time and the forms and CMA they need to complete the job! Make yourself an invaluable resource to them and they'll refer you again and again.

A: Susie Hale: I guess my best advice to new agents would be to not be afraid to try new things. Think of it a little like cutting your hair. It will always grow back! So, experiment a little! Try new marketing ideas on for size, but just one at a time! That way, if you stumble on something that doesn't work, you simply try something else. Next, of course, I encourage agents to embrace technology and social networking in such a way that you never lose your personal connectivity with your customers. Most importantly, I would say define who you are and what you like to do. Really take a look at what it is that is unique and special about you. Are you a tennis player, music-lover, horse-enthusiast, theater-buff, or boater? Whatever your passion, find the groups of people that are associated with it and make that niche your own. Share common interests, engage in sincere, relevant, interesting conversations and consistently stay in touch to create long-term trust. That trust eliminates all the question marks for clients and opens the door for you to develop a mutual respect which equals clients for life and a referral system you can count on throughout your career.

A: Darryl Davis: I believe that you should look at your life and measure it in terms of different levels. I think most people - most agents - just focus on goals. How much money they want to make, for example, how many listings they want, etc. I challenge them to look beyond that at what they want their "next level" to be. In other words, ask yourself if you had a magic wand, where would you like your career and your life to take you? After all, when you're ninety, it won't matter much how many listings you had - but what will matter is if you were on the playing field in life.

Instead, commit to the next level, to getting everything you wanted from your life. Then find the things or reasons that source that commitment for you. For some it's family, wealth or retirement and for others charity, community, or faith. Those sources will give you the energy and enthusiasm to keep going no matter what. I'll give you a good example. I recently ran in a marathon. What gave me the strength to get past the feeling of wanting to quit? By the way, sore muscles had nothing to do with being in a marathon. It had everything to do with raising money for children's leukemia research. I was committed to helping save kids' lives and it's that kind of "source" that can help you get past those times when you want to say, "I can't," or "I don't want to." Keep your eyes on the next level and go for it.

A: Stefan Swanepoel: My advice would be to remain positive. Know that our industry has been through tough times before. In fact, every decade we can point to 30-50% drops in certain markets. We're at that same level as the mid 1990s, yet consider that according to the National Association of REALTORS®, we'll still see 4-5 Million re-sales this year. That doesn't even count new home construction! So, what that means to you is that there are going to be 9-10 million transaction opportunities for agents to earn commissions. So, who's going to earn them? You could certainly be one of them - if you position yourself properly and stay positive!

A: Matt Ferry: I have to say that one of the greatest challenges new agents have is what I call the "drunk monkey," or their mind. Our minds are designed to keep us alive. It steers clear of the obstacles, fear factors and "danger zones." So, if a new agent just listens to his or her mind, it would clearly conflict with the whole concept of real estate! Their mind would equate their new career as "new" which, to it, means "unknown" which equals "scary." So, I tell agents they need to retrain their brains!

First, skip the news. It's often not accurate or truthful and absolutely can side-swipe you in terms of your optimism. Remember sensationalism is what sells - and it's also hooks the mind. Our minds are already bombarded with fear messages and watching the news is basically a way of asking your brain, "What, are you not scared enough? Take this!" Your mind adopts the potential threats and shuts down.

Next, I teach agents to play the "contribution game," which means rather than being totally focused on making sales, instead focus on making a difference for everyone, everywhere, all the time. Why? You'll find that when you are focused on that service, on giving, soon you'll develop valuable reciprocal relationships and that will equal sales, and a long term referral base.

Lastly, I recommend you use what I call the 10/10 visualization. That is make a list of ten things that you currently love about your life and ten top goals and dreams. Before you go to sleep each night, review both lists, close your eyes and visualize each. This is a great way to counteract the "scary" stuff our minds connect with each day with those things that are already good and helps give us the boost needed to succeed.

And now, for my two cents: I've always been a big fan of keeping things in perspective and very often, that's where I start when giving advice to new agents. If you miss something, make a mistake, or are unsure, it's all right. The great thing about this life is you get a clean slate every day to try again. Do your best, with integrity and choose reliable sources for guidance. Talk to your broker if you have a question, and keep the big picture in mind. Next, find out what's most important to you, where your interests lie and how you can start working with people who have those same interests until you make that niche your own. It makes that "breaking the ice" portion of relationship building so much smoother. Why? It's genuine, not forced and it allows you to speak with passion and confidence to like-minded people.

Next, put systems in place that help automate the process of getting your name out and marketing your business. This eases the number of things on your "mental checklist" each day and frees you up to feed your mind with all the great information, tools, techniques and resources that are available to you. Then, connect with people who could, should and can be in your sphere of influence! After all, when it all is said and done, this is a people business. Consider the powerful words of Zig Ziglar, "You'll get everything in life that you want if you help enough other people get what they want." Now, there's perspective!

A huge thank you to our panelists for their advice and expertise! As new agents, arm yourself every day, every week with fundamental knowledge, powerful inspiration and results-producing skills and techniques. I invite you to bookmark the sites of our guest experts to continuously learn from them. They are extraordinary resources for agents new and experienced! Here's how to get in touch:

Bernice Ross: www.realestatecoach.com
Susie Hale: www.frogpond.com
Darryl Davis: www.darryldavis.com
Stefan Swanepoel: www.retrends.com
Matthew Ferry: www.matthewferry.com

If you missed Part I of this article series, please visit blog.prospectsplus.com to learn what every new agent needs to know in terms of strategies, systems, tools and techniques! If you're looking for new ways to grow your business and put some of those valuable systems in place that we talked about, visit www.prospectsplus.com and sign up for a free web account which will unlock a treasure chest of timely resources for you! Need help navigating the waters of being a new agent or advice on what solutions top agents use to keep their career on track? Call me directly at 1.866.405.3641. Until then, I wish you every success!

What Every New Agent Needs to Know...Part I

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:58:49 -0500

Industry Experts Share "Must Haves" for New Agent Success

By Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing, ProspectsPLUS!

Despite media hype regarding the current state of our housing market, new waves of agents are joining the ranks of Realtors® eager to make their own mark in this business each month. Though certainly faced with a few more challenges than they might have had years ago - new agents today are also blessed with considerably more opportunities and resources than have ever been available in the past. This month, I asked some of today's top names in real estate if they would help me explore the answers to three basic questions:

1. What does every new agent need to know?
2. What "must-have" items do agents need in their "tool chest" to survive?
3. What do they need to do to create and keep the right mindset for success?

Joining me to share their valuable insight and perspectives are industry leaders Real Estate Speaker, Coach and Author, Bernice Ross; President of Frogpond.com, Susie Hale; Speaker, Coach and Author, Darryl Davis; and Speaker, Trends Expert and Author, Stefan Swanepoel. In this article, we'll focus on the first two questions, what agents need to know and what vital tools they should have. Look for our follow up article on developing the right mindset in which power speaker Matthew Ferry also weighs in! Now, let's get started!

Q: What does every new agent REALLY need to know?

A: Bernice Ross: First, I would recommend that agents make sure they know all the legalities required by their board or MLS. After that, they can really focus on the one thing that will take them throughout their career - KNOWING their market.

Start to train yourself to really know your inventory inside and out. Make yourself an expert at your own market area, inventory, communities and price points. For example, don't just look at a flyer or the MLS listing to get the price of a house. Walk inside home after home, and see if you can start to predict what the price is or should be. Drive different routes to work each day, look for the new FSBOs and Expireds that pop up. Study your market until you know it in your sleep.

I also always teach agents to make the shift from telling and describing what you do to asking questions. Dive into conversations with your customers to unlock what is most important to them. It is the key to more effectively communicating. I believe it's more important than ever to build your business starting with who you know and expanding from there. I recommend a great book, The Go Giver, by Bob Burg. It teaches valuable lessons regarding the power of giving and really connecting.

A: Susie Hale: First of all, I'd want them to know that they have options and resources that are available to them such as mentors, managers and people to help them. I always encourage agents, especially new agents, to really reach out beyond themselves and ask questions to build their skills and knowledge base.

I'm also a big advocate for social networking. This trend can be something that allows you to truly grow your relationships in a unique, dynamic and faster way. Ultimately, marketing is creating a conversation, and by utilizing social media, you really do eliminate the gatekeepers, drive traffic to your website faster, and meet your customers who are alert, inquisitive and prepared to learn. So, jump in and get involved!

A: Darryl Davis: Good question! I'd say that agents need to know the number one thing they have going for them is enthusiasm. As a new agent, you come from space where anything is possible. I challenge you to keep that enthusiasm and commit to this question, "How am I going to play this game called real estate?" If you can stay in that state of inquiry and keep discovering-it will fuel the hunger for knowledge and source the enthusiasm you need to really thrive out there.

A: Stefan Swanepoel: New agents need to know that there are a ton of opportunities to position yourself to be a great agent. There is so much changing about our industry because of social media, e-marketing, consolidation, and globalization that ours is an industry in transition. Stay ahead of that curve by constantly learning and finding your niche in all of it. I recommend you bookmark www.retrends.com for a constant stream of information regarding all the trends that affect real estate professionals today.

Q: What "must have" items do agents need in their "tool chest" to survive?

A: Bernice Ross: There are some tremendous resources out there for agents today. For example, www.Point2Agent.com is a great service that provides powerful websites for associates, and most importantly, syndicates them to more than 40 different web portals such as Trulia, Zillow, Yahoo, Facebook, Google and more with just a push of a button. In this instance, distribution trumps destination. Since consumers are going to all of these sites, you can just post your listing once and Point2Agent does the work of spreading the word! It also has a built in tracking tool which is a necessary component for getting new listings and price reductions.

I also recommend agents get engaged in social media such LinkedIn and Facebook and choose a URL for your business that says what you do, who you are, and where you are. So many agents just use their name, but that doesn't tell the consumer what you do! Also, consider adding video features to your site for a search engine boost. There is a free service, www.tubemogul.com, which provides a single entry point for deploying uploads to the top video sharing sites, and powerful analytics to track who's viewing them! These are just two items to try. As a coach, I am always on the watch for the tools and technology that will help my clients be more successful and productive. I invite everyone to stop by my site regularly at www.realestatecoach.com. I'm always posting new articles and links that can help you grow your business.

A: Susie Hale: Well, obviously, my advice to agents is to get connected in the world of social media. Dive into the conversation that is out there and make your name known. Your "social intelligence" should include a website, e-zine and social networks. Make them definitive parts of your marketing plan. Why?

 They are relationship builders
 They remove the "gatekeepers" in your business
 They achieve branding goals faster and communicate your company culture
 They propel lead generation and keep your current customers up to date
 They position you as an expert and allow you to beat your competition

Use connecting systems to allow you to easily send information throughout multiple social channels such as www.hellotxt.com which does the work of updating all your social networks at once. If you want to continue to learn more about social networking and tap into what the experts are saying across the globe, I invite you to visit us at www.frogpond.com. We house information and articles from some of the best minds in the business and you're free to browse and learn at any time!

A: Darryl Davis: Well, as you know, I can be a little different! When you ask me about "tools" - rather than a "thing" or gadget, my first reaction is to say, more than those, agents need listing and selling techniques as their "must have" tools.

For example, I teach my students to work with FSBOs and Expireds. To me, Expireds right now are even better than FSBOs, in that any time a homeowner comes back on the market with a new agent, they know, even more than the FSBO, that "Elvis has left the building," as it were. They know that they have to price it right and be committed to selling. My students and I have an expression that we use with homeowners, "You can't be committed to price and committed to moving. So, are you committed to moving?" It's a dialogue that works - try it!

I will also remind agents that the old adage that "any listing is better than no listing" is not true. Walk away from overpriced listings. They not only make you look bad, they are adding to the overall problem we have in this nation. Consider this - if every agent took just ONE overpriced listing off the market - that would mean a million homes taken out of the inventory glut.

I'll add one more technique for aggressively pricing your listings. I'll illustrate it this way. I used to be a soccer coach, and there was one technique that helped our team stay undefeated. Sometimes in soccer you'll see a "beehive effect," which is when players swarm to the ball. I taught my kids to think ahead. They learned that wherever the opponent was with the ball, not to chase him. Instead, they were to figure out where the player was going next and meet him there. It's the same with pricing listings in today's market. Try this dialogue: "Mr. and Mrs. Seller, if the market is going down in price, we can't price it at what the market IS; we have to price it at where the market is GOING to get it sold."

A: Stefan Swanepoel: The first tool I would say an agent needs is a plan. If you don't have a road map, you really have no way to reach your destination. I recommend a website www.createaplan.com. It is the only company that I know of that is CRS approved for their business planning products for agents. It will help you get on track and stay there. Another great thing to consider is hiring a coach. While it may be too much money for some, the right coach is usually worth the investment. If not a coach, consider a mentor. Ask someone you look up to, such as a broker or a successful colleague that is willing to let you shadow them. You may also consider www.isucceed.com. This is a great mentoring service for a low as $1 per day! Agents from all brands and all areas are represented and there's a wonderful audio file library to pull from.

I would also steer agents towards focusing on the right designation for them. Find what you're passionate about and start learning the skill set you need to become an "expert" in that field. There are more than 70 designations out there, visit www.redesignation.com as a great resource. There you'll find information to become specialists for Buyers, Seniors, Short Sales, Eco-friendly, and more.

And now, here's my two cents: As someone who has been around this industry for more than 20 years, I echo so much of what our panel has said. When I speak to new agents, I too tell them to do EVERYTHING they can to maintain that "can-do" spirit and "anything's possible" attitude that comes with being new. It is the edge you need to keep sharp as you build your business.

I will also tell you that there is never going to be a better time to set up the systems you need for long term success. Over the course of the last year, when times were tough in our business, I saw so many agents leave the industry after many, many years with nothing much to show for it. Why? They didn't treat their real estate career as a business. They didn't keep track of the most valuable assets they had as a salesperson: their customers. Let me recommend our free BusinessBASE^TM system from ProspectsPLUS! Simply powerful and powerfully simple, it will help you build that salable book of business that one day, many years from now, when you're ready to leave, you can sell to a broker, a team or top agent for top dollar. Visit our website, www.prospectsplus.com and look for it in the "resource" section. Once you get rolling in this business, it's hard to go back and "get organized." Do it right from the beginning. If you need help, call me. I'm happy to steer you in the right direction!

A huge thank you to our panelists for their advice and expertise! As new agents, you need to ALWAYS be learning, gathering, fine-tuning and growing. Look to these experts for valuable information! Bookmark their sites and call for more help. They are incredible resources for agents new and experienced! Here's how to get in touch:

Bernice Ross: www.realestatecoach.com; Susie Hale: www.frogpond.com;
Darryl Davis: www.darryldavis.com; Stefan Swanepoel: www.retrends.com

Remember to look for our follow up article regarding adopting the right MINDSET for success as a new agent. Bookmark our blog at blog.prospectsplus.com for more! Of course, you can find me at www.prospectsplus.com. Sign up for my free newsletter and a free web account that will give you access to many terrific resources for growing and building your business! I can be reached directly at 1.866.405.3641. Wishing you every success!

Grow Your Business...One Lead at a Time

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Fri, 01 May 2009 06:47:57 -0500

Lead Incubation Strategies for Today's Real Estate Professionals

By Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing, ProspectsPLUS!
However you get your leads, whether by referral, website, blog or pay-per-lead services, unless you USE them, you tend to lose them. Our market is the perfect storm for lead loss. Why? Simple -- with reduced patience and the insistence of a higher level of service, consumers are no longer willing to accept "good" or "good enough." So, let's take a look at some ways you can turn "good" to "excellent" in the year ahead.

1. Understanding lead incubation. It starts with a desire to consistently stay in contact with a lead, whether self-generated or purchased until it results in a transaction. Sound easy? It's not; it takes a carefully crafted system, creative marketing and a lot of patience. Consider an internet lead first. It may have potential, but more often than not, it's not an instantly "done deal." Some are just curious about their market. Others are simply seeing what they might sell their home for today. Still others may not be ready to transact for years. However, by connecting with these possible buyers and sellers month after month you incubate or "warm the lead" until that consumer feels comfortable enough to reach out for your answers and trust you enough to do business with them.

2. Match your message to your market. Stop talking to consumers as if they are all the same. Sellers want to know what it means to their financial bottom line if they sold their house, what the process is, how long it would take, and the big question for many--what will you do differently than everyone else? Buyers want to know how to get the most house for their money, what their financial options are, and where they can get their down payment.

3. If you tell them, they will come. Imagine if you take the time every month to stay in touch with your prospects with relevant information. If you were that lead, how would that make you feel? How many of your competitors are staying in touch? Not many, I venture to say. Salespeople are historically poor at this necessary component which is probably why the top producers are such a small percentile. Change your thought process (and your presentation) to be not just a real estate expert but a marketing expert as well. It's a mindset that will serve you well. Capture the series of messages you want to convey each month or tap into a ready made system such as our postcard campaigns, a drip email system or a combination of both to ensure that the process is consistent and efficient. While taking that step may seem daunting to you now, what it will mean to your bottom line and your career longevity are enormous.

4. Patience is a virtue (and also profitable.) As I said, most lead incubation strategies are not overnight successes. That's why they're leads and not customers! Put in the time, make the effort and stick with it! The rewards are great, and with a terrific system, the work is little. Make it part of your overall marketing plan. Use it to show sellers how actively you will work to find the right buyer for their home. Use it with buyers to let them know how vigorously you are searching for the right home for them. Use it, to keep your pipeline consistently full as you "turn up the heat" on your "warm" incubated leads as you continue to add new "cold" leads to your powerful system.

Hopefully you picked up a few ideas or at least a better understanding of what lead incubation has to offer. It keeps your pipeline fresh while you stay focused on prospecting, presentation and closing! Good luck to you and please, contact me should you have any questions on this or additional products and services. We're passionate about your success.

Need some help finding a system to help you incubate your leads with the right message for the right people at the right time? Contact me today at 866.405.3641. From niche market campaign automation and personal consulting to learning more about the ProspectsPLUS! system that helps agents across dramatically increase their production - decrease their stress level and ensure they are ALWAYS on track - call us. We can help!

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Making a Name For Yourself-Part III

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:42:41 -0500

Smart Agent Branding Strategies from Some of Today's Top Agents

By Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing, ProspectsPLUS!

You may recall, in last month's article we started to dive into some of the unique ways top agents "Make a Name for Themselves." We shared the story of Short Sale Specialist Bob Daniel and his powerful approach to building and owning that niche in his market area. Before that, we learned from one of real estate's Top 50 REALTORS® on the Rise in 2008, Kathy Casarin, who shared her terrific strategies for marketing to FSBOs and Expireds. If you missed the February or March editions of our newsletter you can read them in the Newsletter section of the Resources area on our site, www.prospectsplus.com. Enjoy!

This month, we'll tap into the winning strategies taught by Karin Hill, an innovative and delightful Vice President and manager for Watson Realty. She's energetic, insightful and completely passionate about niche marketing. Not just ANY niche marketing - let's just call it ‘Niche - with a twist." While Karin appreciates the finer points of marketing to your farm area, FSBOs or First-time buyers, she is much more interested in empowering her agents to follow their hearts (and their careers) to find those markets that speak most to them.

"My specialty is the motorcycle community. I have a Harley Fatboy®, and like most bike community members, I am passionate about charity work. I've found that motorcycles are not just a great source of transportation - they open up a tremendous community of people and a powerful business network. You'll find riders in all shapes and sizes. Doctors and lawyers to everyday workers round out this unique market and have the ability to give your business real traction. I sponsor events, go to the rallies, put out flyers, link through all their sites to my sites and even have a Harley shirt with my web address on the back! There is literally a biker event every day of the week somewhere if you look - and I've looked!"

How important is it that agents choose a niche today? "I believe it's more critical than it's ever been. It allows you to set yourself apart from the rest. I also believe that if you choose a niche that you truly enjoy such as golf, fishing, or motorcycles - or something that speaks to your core interests such as our military, police or firemen, then it takes a lot of the "work" out of work. People want to do business with someone with whom they have a common interest. Having that common cause helps you create instant rapport."

Example: "We have an agent who is devoted to the American Sign Language community. Just recently, we helped her get a video phone. Now more than 80% of her business comes from this powerful niche. She works within the deaf community, schools, conferences and forums and sets herself apart with the unique ability to speak to her customers via video phone. It's wonderful!

Whatever you do, I encourage you to think "outside the box." It may help to talk it over with a manager or a mentor and really define who you are and what you enjoy. As agents, we know that if we don't enjoy it, it won't get done. By developing a niche market that runs in tandem with your core interests, it's less like work and more about building relationships with like-minded people. Then the business just comes to you. For example, I do a lot of charity work locally and at least once every six weeks, I help to sponsor events. We put the agents' pictures and contact information on all the flyers, they help distribute them, and without costing the agents a lot of money, they are actively networking in our community and gaining business ground, all while doing something worthwhile. So you may want to consider that. We've held events for the ASPCA, Second Harvest Food Bank, Muscular Dystrophy, collecting blankets and food for the shelters now that it's cold, and we're currently organizing a blood drive. As I said, the return is tremendous both in terms of business, and in helping your community.

Find new niche markets. "I would have to say be a marketing professional and not just a REALTOR®. Be a 'specialist' not just an agent. Develop a system to really master your market of choice, stay in touch with your book of business and feed that sphere by continually networking in your niche. Consider getting a designation that is significant to your community and near to your heart. Consider some of the green designations, or working with seniors, a specific disability group, or military professionals. Whatever you do, dive in. Find out what you believe in, what you're passionate about, then go find the events, meeting groups, and the whole network of people that represent that interest really get to know them. You'll build your sphere and have fun all at the same time!"

Many thanks to all three of our special guests in this series. It's been wonderful to learn from all their terrific ideas and career experience. I think we can definitely see a common theme amongst all three top producers that systems, smart tools and consistency are vital components of success. We learned, too, that taking the time to truly become GREAT at one niche before trying to be all things to all people is definitely the best course of action! I love the energy each of these talented people brings to their career, their clients and each day. You can sense the passion that they have for what they do, and I invite you to do the same in your career. Ignite your own passion by finding a niche that works for you, having fun along the way and experience, just as Kathy, Bob and Karin do, the joy and benefits of truly building these long term relationships.

Need some help finding and growing YOUR niche market? Contact me today at 866.405.3641. From niche market campaign automation and personal consulting to learning more about the ProspectsPLUS! system that helps keep Kathy on track, Bob has in his library of tools or the automated Just Listed/Just Sold postcard system that brings new business to Watson Realty agents every day, we have what you need to succeed. Call us. We can help.

Thanks for joining us each month and we'll see you in May!

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ProspectsPLUS! Launches Agent Branding System™ for FSBOs and Expireds

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:08:43 -0500

Committed to helping agents streamline the way they compete in today's tough market, industry leader ProspectsPLUS! recently teamed with real estate powerhouse Landvoice to launch its all new 3-7-27 Agent Branding System for FSBOs or Expireds.

"It's definitely the next evolution of real estate marketing," shared company President Jim Morton. "We've taken the benefits and ease of our automated MLSmailings.com product and added best direct mail practices which allow us to effectively automate the process of helping our customers become a brand name for area FSBOs or Expireds."

Offering geographic exclusivity, the new branding system integrates with Landvoice, a nationwide data aggregator, that specializes in FSBOs and Expireds. They identify every new FSBO or Expired available in an agent's market area, scrub them against the Do Not Call Registry, tax records, agent-owner information and more to deliver back to the agent the most complete prospecting records possible. ProspectsPLUS! then automatically launches a series of either three, seven or twenty-seven professionally-designed, high-impact, direct response marketing postcards. The system is based on the Law of Prospecting which states that it takes at least three "touches" for a prospect to recognize a name, seven to put the name with occupation and twenty-seven to achieve brand awareness. "Once an agent has locked his or her area and branding level, their campaign can't be sent by another agent. It's that simple," added Mr. Morton. "Each campaign is designed to make the phone ring with powerful direct response questions and free information incentives as well as the agent's name, photo and contact information prominently displayed. We'll even deliver to the agents all the collateral materials they need as well as some suggested scripting for follow up phone calls."

Agents have their choice of branding levels:

ð Silver - 3 Mailings, 1 every 4 days ($3 standard postcards, $4.80 jumbo postcards, plus the cost of a Landvoice subscription)

ð Gold - 7 Mailings, 1 every 3 days ($7 standard postcards, $11.20 jumbo postcards plus the cost of a Landvoice subscription)

ð Platinum - 27 Mailings, 1 every 2 days ($27 standard postcards, $43.20 jumbo postcards plus the cost of a Landvoice subscription)

For a free demonstration of this powerful, new, AUTOMATED system, call the Personal Marketing Team at ProspectsPLUS! at 1.866.405.3648, or email them directly at

PMC@ProspectsPlus.com. You may also visit www.prospectsplus.com/fsbo or www.prospectsplus.com/expired
.

Recruiting Network Conference "Rocks the Recovery"

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:14:33 -0500

Industry icon Carol Johnson hosts the annual Recruiting Network Conference April 22-24, 2009 in Scottsdale, Arizona with eight power-house keynote speakers, industry renowned "think tank" brainstorming sessions, and the opportunity to connect with a veritable who's who in real estate recruiting.

Held again at the magnificent FireSky Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, spa amenities provide a tremendous backdrop and bonus for today's top professionals as they focus on hot topics such as:

Facing Fears
Handling Change
Lead Generation
Inventory Control
How to Stage a Comeback
How to Build a Winning Organization
Attraction and Retention
Master the Market of the Moment
Merger and Acquisition Strategies
Leveraging Interactive Recruiting Tools
How to Implement Time Management Strategies
Career Counseling as a Recruiting Service
Effective Recruiting Technologies on Web 2.0
Latest Internet Trends for Building a Workforce
Multiply Your Effectiveness and Magnify Your Influence
Build a Strong Recruiting Foundation for Today and Tomorrow

Keynote speakers at the conference include: Rich Cosner, President of Prudential California Realty; Dave Jenks, Keller Williams & Co-Author of SHIFT; Tom Kunz, President of Century 21 Real Estate; Charlotte Landram, Consultant, Speaker and Author of High Impact Systems; Kathy Ollerton, Director of Training, Prudential CA, NV, TX Realty; Brent Rasmussen, President, CareerBuilders.com; Mark Re, Vice President & General Manager, RealtyUSA; Barb Schwartz, President, StagedHomes.com.

Joining the keynotes for this event are these esteemed panelists: David Boatner, President, CEO, Connect Realty; Don Dahlberg, Broker/Owner, RE/MAX Premier; Wendy Forsythe, VP of Broker Services & Product Development, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate; Adam Lerman, National Director of Recruiting, Century 21 Real Estate; Bob MacCulloch, President, Golden Crest Realty Consulting; Jan Mansfield, Century 21 Country North; Brad Pearson, VP of Sales, Prudential California Realty; Yvonne Ratigan, Director of Broker Services, Royal LePage Canada; Terry Reynar, Associate Broker, Trainer & Manager, Royal LePage Foothills; Saul Serna, President & CEO, Business For Life; Tyrone Whitby, Short Sales Consultant, Long and Foster Real Estate.

Best known for its in-depth networking and the wide-open ability to share information, ideas and innovative approaches, this annual event is the best of its kind when it comes to reaching across company lines and geographic territories. "It's the one conference that I attend just because I want to be there!" shared Jan Mansfield, President of Century 21 Country North. Brenda Waters of Metro Brokers GMAC added, "This conference is ‘top-notch!' I was humbled by the quality of the attendees." "You couldn't be in better hands when it comes to building your organization than you are with Carol Johnson," shared Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing for ProspectsPLUS!

To learn more about this annual event or The Recruiting Network, visit www.recruitingpipeline.com or call today at 847-524-8487.

Making a Name for Yourself - Part II

Julie Escobar (ProspectsPLUS!) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:24:57 -0500

Smart Agent Branding Strategies for Today's Top Agents

By Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing, ProspectsPLUS!

You may recall, in last month's article we started to dive into some of the unique ways top agents "Make a Name for Themselves." We shared the story of Kathy Casarin, one of real estate's Top 50 Realtors on the Rise in 2008, who shared terrific strategies for marketing to FSBOs and Expireds. If you missed the February edition of our newsletter you can read Kathy's solutions in the Newsletter section of the Resources area on our site, www.prospectsplus.com. Enjoy!

This month, we'll explore the top strategies used by Short Sale Specialist Bob Daniel. Truly one of the founding fathers in short sale systems, Bob Daniel has personally participated in more than 500 short sales and conducts vital workshops on the topic across the United States. Bob's system is also, in large part, the foundation for Floyd Wickman's Short Sales Survival Kit.

Why Short Sales? "About seven years ago, a bank representative called me regarding two listings that I had for a client to let me know that my client owed more on the properties than they were currently worth and they would entertain any offer for the property that I received. It was a real eye-opener, and I've always believed that if you see a great opportunity, it's only smart to take advantage of it. That's when I started immediately working with investors and building a system to replicate and refine the short sale process. Done correctly, so that it's a win for the lender, the customer and the agent, becoming a short sale specialist is a great way to make a living, especially in today's market."

What does Bob do differently to ensure he's always a "brand name" in the short sale market? "I believe in the necessity to find a niche that works for you and become the absolute best you can be at it. I compare it to my wrestling days as a kid. Our coach always taught us that if you had a move that would dominate every time, you practiced it and practiced it until you knew (as did your competition) that executing that move would give you the winning edge. That creates the confidence to create more wins. It's the same in niche marketing. You create your own ability to be unstoppable, which means it doesn't matter what the market does, or what your competition does -- with the right system, commitment and constant fine-tuning, you really can become stronger than the market - and ensure that your business truly becomes market-proof.'"

What does Bob recommend you do to make a name for yourself? "First of all, I believe you have to be more consistent and more knowledgeable than anyone else and you have to have the ability to keep learning.

Secondly, you HAVE to have a system. It simplifies your life and keeps you on track. We took everything we did wrong in the early days and learned from them, and put the RIGHT way to do them back into the system. As a short sale specialist, you become keenly aware of the necessity to track EVERYTHING. You have to have the ability to trace every conversation, every transaction and every communication with all parties in order to truly have the leverage to continue to work with the same lenders and investors again and again. It boggles my mind how many agents resist putting a system in place. They continue to try to reinvent the wheel, and really, all that ever accomplishes is a lot of frustration, lost leads, mistakes and missed opportunities."

Be in the relationship business from the buyers and sellers, to the investors and lenders and everyone in between. "I can always go back to the assistant that maybe another agent ignored who has the ability to move my cases to the front of the line, which means we close faster and I get paid quicker! Why? Because I stay in touch. I can continually count on my customer base for a constant stream of referrals. Why?

Again, I stay in touch. In fact, I have one customer who is a bus driver for our metro system. Many other agents may not have considered him a good resource, but I can tell you, this friendly driver gives my name and contact information out to buyers and sellers all over the city on a regular basis! Why? Because I treat him well, stay in touch with him month after month and in doing so, he knows he's important to me. This is a relationship business, and if you don't maintain those relationships, trust me, there goes the business."

Tools and training: "I have to say that I learned so much from Floyd Wickman and much of the system we have in place comes from what he taught me. Listings are the name of the game, and they always will be.

If you truly want to make a name for yourself and build your business, there's no better way than to go get listings. I started with Expireds, and I made it a point to get good at them, really good, before I tried my hand at something else. You can always add to what you're doing once you've perfected the niche and put a system in place. Remember, without a system, you can't achieve volume, can't maintain those relationships and certainly can't leverage your competitive edge. We work Monday through Friday and no weekends, and yet, we still accomplish more than our competitors. Top your system off with a Blackberry or PDA that keeps you tapped in, strong social networking skills and definitive time management and you'll be more than ready to make your mark!"

Thanks Bob! Your insight is truly appreciated! Want to learn more about Bob? Visit www.bdaniel.onehomefinder.com.

Next month we'll talk to the last of our panelists, Karin Hill, an innovative and resourceful Vice President and manager for Watson Realty, who is passionate about helping her agents discover and own those unique niche markets that truly speak to them. Stay tuned! Read our April article to discover what she does to "Make a Name for Herself!"

SPECIAL OFFER: To learn more about the ProspectsPLUS! system that can help you "Make a Name for Yourself Too," click www.prospectsplus.com and enter PRIORITY CODE: PMC09 when you get to checkout at to save more than $300 on this powerful system.

Need some help finding and growing YOUR niche market? Contact me today at 866.405.3641. From niche market campaign automation and personal consulting to learning more about the ProspectsPLUS! system that helps keep Kathy on track, Bob has in his library of tools or the automated Just Listed/Just Sold postcard system that brings new business to Watson agents every day, we have what you need to succeed. Call us. We can help.