By far the best thing that I did for my business in 2011 was to sign up for and implement what I learned from the IMSD (Internet Marketing Specialist Designation Course)  I have been a technology trainer in real estate for the past 15 years.  Last year when I met Ben Kinney I decided it would be better for me to endorse his program than to try come up with training material on own because these guys have it mastered!

IMSD developed this training for real estate professionals who see the immense potential in online marketing but can't seem to get it working in their own business.

Here are three reasons why so many people are joining IMSD:

• 1)  The teaching is practical. It simply tells you, "How do you win business using Social media, blogging, Craigslist, SEO, etc."
• 2)  You actually implement each strategy that you learn instead of just taking notes and thinking you will do it "someday".
• 3) It works! Do what these guys recommend and you'll see your business grow.

Honestly, I facilitated this course in my office with about 20 agents and they all agreed that the Internet Marketing Specialist Designation Course was a great use of their time and money well spent.  All of the agents that follow through with the course and implemented what they learned increased their business.  There was not an agent in the room that could say they didn't get at least one closing as a result of what they implements from the IMSD.

One of the things I like best about the IMSD is that they are always trying to keep it fresh and up to date unlike many of the designation courses that are offered through NAR and other organizations.  They often have guest speaker and trainers who excel in a certain area to offer additional advise.  In the spirit of keeping it fresh... they are starting a whole new updated series on January 6th.  Check it out and see what you think.  There is a 30 day money back guarantee.  Although I am posting this as part of a contest for the day (to win the new iPad3).  I think this is the BEST course out there and that is why I volunteered my time to facilitate it in my office!

The second best thing I did in 2011 to help my business was attend Inman Connect  and Agent Reboot in NYC and can't wait to head back there next week.  Who is joining me?  I know that Ben Kinney and Chad Hyams will be there... Will you be?

 

This is an exciting opportunity for home buyers. With all the bank owned, REO, Short Sale and New Construction homes on the market in the Raleigh and Wake County area, HUD wanted to come up with ways to get their HUD owned homes off the market and back into the hands of owner-occupant buyers. So HUD put together a program to help do this.

Buyers who qualify for FHA financing can benefit from a down payment of ONLY $100 to purchase a HUD-owned home instead of the normally larger down payment required from most conventional financing in the market today. The buyer must be an owner-occupant, utilizing financing insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Standard FHA underwriting guidelines apply and the sale must be for the full amount of the current list price.

ONLY $100 DOWN AND I CAN INCLUDE MONEY NEEDED FOR REPAIRS IN MY MORTGAGE!!!

HUD’s $100 down payment incentive program can also be applied to an FHA 203k loan, which can be used to fund repairs and renovations on the home. The FHA 203k program allows buyers to finance both the mortgage and additional money for repair or renovations with a single government-insured loan. This is one of the most exciting features of the new incentive program and should drive a lot of exposure to FHA’s 203k offering.

THEY ARE GIVING 3% TOWARDS YOUR CLOSING COSTS!!!

In addition to $100 down instead of FHA’s typical 3.5 percent down payment, HUD says it will also cover up to 3 percent of the closing costs in most cases.

With all of these incentives and historically low interest rates NOW is an incredible time to buy.  Contact Wake Home Team TODAY for more information on purchasing a HUD owned home, a foreclosure home or any home on the market at 919-322-9253 or view homes online at www.TriangleHouseSearch.com

Sign up today for our updated list of foreclosure properties, video streaming a photos of previewed properties. With over 15 years experience helping real estate investors in the Triangle area meet their goals of flipping, purchasing rehabs, builder models and long term rentals we have seen tons of houses and can help you find just the right home for you. Click here or on the photo below to sign up today!

I have just finished up with the IMSD and LOVED it!  I liked it so much I signed up to help them promote it and have a personal discount code for all my friends and sphere.  So, if you are considering signing up be sure to use the coupon code HIT to get a $200 discount.  

I recently upgraded my Animoto account and so far impressed with the longer videos.  

Check out this newly renovated and updated ranch home with a 1 car garage made with the upgrade.  What are you currently using to creat video from still photos?  Are you creating videos?

 

                                                                       

I have been using Craigslist to market my business for the past 4 years and have had wonderful results.  I was lucky enough to get to share a little about that this morning with my friend Jonathan Rivera of The Official Real Estate Referral Group.  Check out what we had to say by listening in on the radio show above.  If there are kids in the room or your boss may be listening in I'd wait to listen.  You will laugh and hear a few colored words along the way...

 

 

Do you have a Craigslist success story you can share? How about questions you would like answered in a follow up Webinar? Leave a comment and lets share.

Want to receive Twitter and Social Media tips on your Facebook wall?  Then do me a favor and head on over to Facebook and join our Facebook fan page for Real Estate Professionals using Twitter and well as my Sheri Moritz Sales and Marketing Trainer Facebook fan page. 

                                                                       

To get your regular Boot Camp updates just hit the subscribe button!

                              -VS-                                                 

 

Hey y'all!  I am working on a follow up post comparing the benefits of Active Rain and Wordpress for a class I am going to be teaching to members of our local REALTOR association.  I'd love some help from actual members of this community and to have real life examples and opinions from members.  

Please share with me some of your favorits things about Active Rain.  Are you a member for the ability to post, the networking, the training, the people you have become friends with?

Do you have an outside or members only blog and why?  Were you a member of Active Rain when all members could post to the public?  Has the change affected your involvement on the site?

Is there something you would have done differently with your blog if you could start over?  Would you have jumped in and went with an outside blog?  Would you have started on Wordpress and changed your focus within Active Rain to be geared more toward networking with agents?

Is Active Rain the only blog that you have what do you think and the advantages and disadvantages to having an outside blog hosted through Active Rain?

Thanks in advance for taking time to share.  I'd like to be able to paint the most accurate picture of the community as possible to the agents I will be speaking with about this community.  Now go get some points by commenting...

 

                                                                       

That's right, I said it!  As a matter of fact I've been saying it for at least 15 years (mostly to myself).  I remember a conversation I had with a fellow agent years ago where he asked; "Why do you help everyone and tell them how to do what you are doing?"  Without even thinking about it or realizing how true it would hold up to be I shrugged my shoulders and said "Because most people are never going to do it and those that DO make the effort deserve the help"

While driving to RainCamp Charlotte a few months ago I was listening to Joyce Meyer and she said that "many of us miss our destiny because we are unfocused and unorganized."  She referred to one of my favorite verses Ecclesiastes  5:7 which says "A dream comes to pass with much business & painful effort."  I think we can all agree regardless of our religious beliefs this is a true statement.

Throughout the past 19 years I've had the pleasure of attending many real estate training events and conferences such as NAR annual and mid-year conventions, Real Estate Bar Camps, Inman Connect, Real Estate Tech South, Agent Reboot, GRI, CRS, EPro & ABR course training and so many more.  At these events and for weeks after you always hear the same thing... "Now, I need to actually implement what I learned."  Many of us take the time and money to learn all that we can but that is not enough.  We need to sit down and take the time to implement these essential tools into our business or bust out the checkbook and pay for some of them we can' create on our own.

Many of the agents I have met or spoken with recently have starting a Wordpress.org blog at the top of your list.  Many of them want to give this a shot on their own and see if they can set it up themselves.  I teach a full day workshop where we walk through all the steps together.  Since most of you can't make it to one of those and are eager to get started here is a checklist I provide to getting started prior to my Boot Camp 4 Social Media all day workshop.  This checklist will help you chose where to purchase a domain name, find a host, pick a theme and more.

To all of us returning from NAR mid year, a recent RainCamp, REBarcamp, Agent Reboot and/or learned something in a recent webinar, blog or class...  Keep in mind that "Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man that he didn't already have." In other words; you already have everything that you need to succeed.  You just have to make the effort to unlock it, embrace the tools today, make your business yours, commit to implementing what you learn and most of all Make It Happen!

If you have something new thing you've learned recently that you implemented or plan to implement into your business please leave a comment below and share.  If you have a group that would be interested in hosting a Boot Camp 4 Social Media just click on the Contact Me button on the right and lets make that happen!

 Are you having a hard time relating to the home  buyer and seller of today?  You know, the ones that  have grown up with technology at their fingertips  who search for homes on their smartphone or iPad?  Are you trying to figure out how to implement  technology  into your real estate business to better  serve this consumer?  Have you been looking for a  way to get tons of  information jam packed into a  technology filled day for real estate professionals?  Then let’s plan a date…

 

 Register on my site for a FREE pass by sharing your greatest tech challenge.