WARNING: THIS POST COULD MAKE YOU THINK AND TAKE A BUNCH OF TIME TO WATCH!
I think Realtors sometimes get so used to listening to real estate experts that they forget to look outside the industry to people who have great ideas that don't necessarily focus on realtor marketing! Here are my top 4 people that I think you should listen to who are NOT focused on real estate marketing!
Gary Vaynerchuk
He is a GREAT motivator who is the bestselling author of Crush It - if you haven't bought his book yet make sure you do! Also, here is a keynote speech he gave that is SO worth a listen!!!! (Watch out he is a cusser - do not watch when little ears are around)
Seth Godin
I love this guy! He is all about thinking differently and challenging the "rules" of marketing. If you don't follow his blog, start. If you want to read a great book that will help you get through tough real estate times, check out The Dip - basically he says that if you are not 100% committed to getting through the long haul, quit now! His organic chemistry example is one of my favorite ways to think about how to succeed!
Malcolm Gladwell
Outliers is his semi-most recent book that talks about spending 10,000 hours doing something to master it. Most realtors I know have WAY more than 10,000 hours in...:) AND he talks about how timing makes a tremendous difference in your success. Have you thought about the fact that the market share you get now during these tough times will never go away!?!?!? Spend 2010 taking over your market!!!
Brian Tracy
Mr. Tracy is not actually a marketing guy - BUT his strategies about starting get me all fired up to quit procrastinating and start doing by using goals!
If you spend time listening to people like this rather than listening to people who say the real estate is terrible or that buyers are liars or that you are silly to stay in the business - IMAGINE what 2010 can be for - Happy New Year!!!
It is tough out there in the real estate market, no doubt. If you do not HAVE to sell your home right now and can't afford to possibly bring money to the table, don't list it! BUT if you are moving to a new area, want to move up to a nicer house in a great market, are having financial difficulties and need to consider a short sale or any other number of reasons to sell - who you hire to represent you matters!
Today's Realtor is required to wear many hats - marketer, sales person, negotiator, closer, contractor, and more! All of those things matter A LOT when you get under contract, but getting a contract depends entirely on someone finding your home and asking to see it. It is not sufficient anymore to put a sign in the yard and a listing on the MLS to get your home sold - it takes hard work and a system that is designed to get your house maximum exposure!
So what are the Top 10 Things that you should ask your real estate agent?
What systems do they have in place to get your home seen by potential buyers? Is it a priority to them to have your listing exposed to as many people as possible? Do they have a concrete plan for doing so and if so, what is it?
Do they have a blog? Most of today's Realtors have access to a company sponsored website that is "hooked" to some sort of IDX feed (the MLS). They put their name, email and phone number on there with kudos about what a great agent they are, and that's it! Now that might have been great for you as a seller but what did they do for a buyer? A website is static, sitting there waiting for people to find it. A blog is dynamic and sends out information to the search engines and people who have signed up to get it.
Do they send out their listings to a database? Do they have a database and if so how many people are in it? I know some agents that don't even have a little list of people they can contact, although they have been in business for years.
Do they use Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn to communicate with potential buyers and sellers? I know what you are thinking, this is just a fad and will pass! I know many people thought cell phones, websites, and the internet itself were fads that they did not have to master. Find out if they are using these tools to get your listing more exposure!
Where do they post your listing? Do they use postlets or Vflyer to make it internet ready? Are they on Active Rain, Point2Agent, Facebook, their blog, or their website? Does this kind of exposure sell every house? NO! But it will make a huge difference in your chances of someone finding you on the internet!
Do they network online? Do they have "friends" on Facebook, do they have a business page on Facebook, do they have followers on Twitter? They do not have to have a million, they can have 100 friends on Facebook and still have a great reach because they connect to the friends of those friends!
Do they network with their peers? Realtors still sell most of the houses in the United States and a lot of those transactions come from Realtors talking to Realtors. Find out if your Realtor attends masterminds or networking sessions to improve their skills and speak with other top agents in your area.
Do they know what is happening in the marketplace now? Real estate has had some massive changes over the last 5 years and it is vital that your Realtor know what is happening so they can guide and counsel you! See if they are education based so they know the latest information about getting your house to close.
What is their background? Do they know how to sell? I don't care if they have been an agent for 2 years or 2 decades if they have the ability to negotiate deals, market properties and manage clients I would talk to them!
Are they willing to try new things? Now don't get me wrong, your agent will not thank you for sending suggestions every day about what to do to market your home and many things that cost A LOT give you little return (like print advertising), but are they reading what the industry experts are saying to do? Are they implementing new things into their business or are they stuck in the old days?
WOW - that is a long list! Will your agent have everything on that list? Probably not and that is OK! As long as they have some of it, take a measure of the person and see if you think they are dedicated to getting your home sold!
So I talk to Realtors all the time about how to grow their business and the number one thing I can recommend is sending out a monthly or bi-monthly newsletter! Here are my Top 10 Email Newsletter List Building techniques!
NUMBER ONE AND MOST IMPORTANT - READ THIS IF YOU SKIP EVERYTHING ELSE! Make sure you are proud of what you send out to your list, every time. I have a newsletter that focuses on marketing for entrepreneurs and realtors. It takes me about 4 hours, 2 days per month to do my newsletter. I am ALWAYS proud of what I am sending and have very few people request to be removed from my list.
Having a list means needing a database. Your database can be an excel spreadsheet or you can use Top Producer or Wise Agent, either way you need to be able to contact those people on a regular basis. Include First Name, Last Name, Address 1, City, State, Zip, Email and Phone at a minimum.
When you are starting out, ADD EVERYONE! - I had a conversation with a client yesterday and he questioned the viability of adding someone you know that has no connection to your business. I have had the most referrals for my business from a friend who has never purchased from me. You never know who your friends and family know who might be a customer.
As for a business card from EVERYONE you meet. We often give our card to people and forget to ask for theirs. Add those people the day you get them and start them on an autoresponder series (see below) to keep yourself fresh in their mind
Autoresponders (or drip marketing) are series of messages that you send to people after putting them in your database. They give information about your business and can gently sell your product or service. Most database programs allow you to set up autoresponders, if you are using Outlook, make a task to send out messages for at least the next few weeks to your new person.
Places to get new list members #1 - I get LOTS of new list members by teaching! Offer a prize and collect business cards or send a sign-up sheet around to all the attendees. Make sure they know they will be added to your list!
Networking Groups - Go to meetup.com and search for local groups you can join. Talking directly with humans is a GREAT way to get people to add to your database!
Social Networking - Using Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter is a great way to build your list. DO NOT add everyone who “friends” you. From time to time put a link in that encourages them to sign up for your newsletter.
Your Sphere - I know, you have added EVERYONE from your sphere already but have you thought of your doctor, lawyer, accountant, church members, gym club friends, your spouse’s friends, your kid’s friends parents.
Last but not least - NEVER SPAM YOUR LIST! EVER! Recently I had someone belittle me because I wouldn’t take an “opportunity” to sell something to my list. Well…I didn’t believe in it, it didn’t match my list and I declined. I have NEVER regretted not sending something to my list and will never send anything I am not proud of!
A long list but SUPER easy to do and the results will be stupendous!!!
Hi all! I am getting ready to start an internet mastermind here in Westminster/Broomfield Colorado for small business owners and need a place to meet the second and fourth Tuesday's per month with a set aside meeting room from 6-9. Does anyone know a good restaurant that could accommodate 20-35 people? Thanks! Tara
PS - If you would like to be on the mailing list to find out the final meeting place and get an invite, comment and I will add you to the mailing list...:)
So I was writing a serious blog post over at thrivecontactsystem.com about List Building for Entrepreneurs and Realtors and I noticed that while it was good I couldn't really say some of the things that I was REALLY thinking. Since my friends here on Active Rain are a twisted bunch I figured you guys might like the real scoop without the serious tone!!!
10 Real World Tips For List Building
Make sure you send out good stuff - I can't tell you how many times I get a post from someone that you can tell just "phoned it in" to have something to send. Take a little time and make it worth your readers while!
Have a database - This one seems self explanatory BUT I know of one very successful agent who was using a word doc, shoe boxes and old files when she did her mailings. And it worked! The difference now is it takes her about a fourth of the time that it used to take. For heaven's sake, at the very least get everyone you know into a spreadsheet!!! Include First Name, Last Name, Address 1, City, State, Zip, Email and Phone. That way you can upload it to a real database when you get it!
Stop trying to decide who goes on "The List" like it is a red carpet opening - I have seen agents and mortgage guys agonize for HOURS over whether they really should add their hairdresser to the list and if it will be worthwhile. Quit thinking about it SO much, if you are sending out great stuff you can be sure no one that you know will be horrified that you send them an email or postcard!!
Stop handing out business cards - Hide them from yourself for a week and see if it makes you ASK other people for their card. Add those people to your database. Nuff said.
Stop Procrastinating! - If you are not a database programer and you are not sending out follow up emails because you don't know how, make a word doc with them in and send them manually. I guarantee, if you do that you will make enough money to hire a 12 year old who will set up your whole auto-responder system, categorize your database and finally fix your signature for the cost of a movie and popcorn. They know how this stuff works from the womb! PLEASE do not break any child labor laws and use the defense that "Tara said to do it!"
Speaking gets you people for your list - When you stand up in front of classes and are at least mildly interesting you can get their email address. Add those to your database. Invite them to other classes you teach and become even MORE of an authority! Offer a prize for their email - people are suckers for prizes!
Network for people to put in your database - Attend any free meetings you can find on Meetup.com. This has to be the easiest way ever to get new list members! Sit down next to someone, ask them to pass the peas and then say "Oh can I get your card"...:)
Online Social Networking - FINALLY I can justify spending tons of time dinking around on the internet. "Really Honey, I am not just surfing for new curtains, I am social networking!" All kidding aside, I see AMAZING amounts of leads everyday on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and they are all FREE!
Your Sphere - I know, you have added everyone already but have you thought of your husband's friends, your father's pinochle group, your kid's friend's parents? You need to jack up your family members for those names. I have closed two listing sides, two buyer sides and had multiple opportunities because I made my husband give me a list of his co-workers. Then I bribed them by sending little goodies by for each holiday. It works!
Don't EVER, NEVER, EVER listen to someone who tells you that you can make ONE MILLION DOLLARS by spamming your list with products that you don't believe in! I have people ask to me send out things to my list all the time - even when they are using marketing materials that bash the majority of my list members. List building is marathon not a sprint so take your time and don't believe it is a get rich quick opportunity!
So that is my story. Real life list building. I would like to thank all the little people who made this possible, Active Brad who said I had to have a picture , my husband who was mortified about taking in the goodies until he found out that it made him VERY popular with the ladies and to my family who is sick of trying to pry names and emails out of their friends and their friend's friends. I am telling you people, sometimes list building can be a dangerous game!
If you like this you will love my newsletter for realtors and mortgage pros! Sign up now, I mean it, if you don't I will hunt you down and talk about this until you do...:)
So I was writing a post over at Marketing Artfully about Social Networking, Blogging and Sanity (NOT mutually exclusive) and I thought I would pop over here to find out how you all use Active Rain in conjunction with your "real" blogs or websites!
Active Rain As Your Main Site
From my work with real estate professions, I tend to find that many of you use Active Rain as your primary website - not a bad thing as it does LOTS of heavy lifting to generate traffic, something which most agents, mortgage pros and title people don't have time to do! I have set a couple of my clients up on here and the comments and feedback that they get from the Active Rain community is really helpful when starting out (or even when you are seasoned and wondering "is anybody reading this stuff"...:) Using Postlets.com to post listings is super easy and who better to show off your listings to than other agents - the latest statistic I heard was that 88% of homebuyers used a Realtor!
I am RABID about this - I think that any agent or real estate professional who puts time into a traditional website is NUTS! The internet DOES NOT reward you for having a website in the same way that it loves blogs. Blogs contain software that pushes your content out to the internet and lets people find your information more easily. If you can't afford to get a "self-published" blog (a self-hosted wordpress blog costs about $500 + $75 a year for hosting) then use a free blog like www.wordpress.com. The great thing about having a separate blog from Active Rain is that you can "hook" them to each other (like I did at the start of this post!)
Now, don't get me wrong, a website is a great tool for showing client that you are stable, solid and secure. It is like an online brochure that sellers and buyers can visit to verify that you are a reputable business person. That having been said, once your website is set up it tends to stay just the same. No new content, no reason to come back...if you are going to have a website, make sure you have a plan on how to drive people to it through direct marketing, advertising or networking AND make sure to have links back to your Active Rain blog from it so that they can see you keep up with market trends and latest real estate info!!
Whenever I talk with Realtors they are always asking how to get more leads - well here is a little secret...:) Meet more people - put them in your database and then talk to the consistently! I have heard a shocking statistic that 94% of SATISFIED home buyer or sellers never hear from their realtor again after the deal closes. WOW that is SUCH a great opportunity for those of us who stay in touch.
Here is a great video from Dave Jenks on how to get more people into your database (it is a shorty so I was impressed with how many good ideas he had in that short a period of time!
Real estate agents MUST differentiate to survive! I have been encouraging agents to pick a niche for YEARS! Well the other day Seth Godin wrote an article about Where have all the agents gone? He likened real estate agents to travel agents and stock brokers. Instead of doom and gloom, he talked about the ones that are still standing. The ones that took a situation where their livelyhoods were at stake and made their businesses EVEN BETTER and who are still standing when everyone else failed!
I know some realtors who are managing to Thrive in this down market by specializing...
Clearwater Realtor Cyndee Haydon has carved out a niche serving the Clearwater area buyers GLORIOUSLY on the internet. My bud Deborah Ward, a short sale specialist, has set herself apart with Shamrocks and honesty (she is Irish). Lori Crawford is hyper-focused on Trinity Real Estate. I know lots of other great agents who have specialized in things like first time homebuyers, luxury homes or golf courses. They have utilized their mastery of a second language to service overseas clients. They have transformed a love for boating into a great waterfront career.
And then there are others who are afraid to go all in. They worry if they stand for one thing they will lose everything else.
It is like they are hoping that the world will stay the same and that doing what they have done for years will work now. Like there are no online tools available for free to search for homes. Like there is no housing crisis. Like the banking industry is glorious and loans grow on trees.
Well I have news for timid, and it is good! I have NEVER heard of an agent who specialized that lost business. They did not get calls from friends who said, "oh I didn't refer you to my friend because I know you only do waterfront." They did not have to discount their services (in fact I know many who charge a little more) because they are the expert. I KNOW I am willing to pay a little more for a surgeon than I would be willing to pay my internist to take out my appendix!!
Pick something today to stand for - start now and I guarantee that your life will be different in 6 months! If it is not I will refund your money in full...oh that's right, on Active Rain you get great marketing advice for free! The business models for EVERY market are different and EVERYONE who wants to win is doing things differently than they did ten or even five years ago!
So I was over at Facebook reading and found this new video by Dave Jenks. It really hits on some good point that realtors should be focusing on in today's market. Happy watching!
Filing my business taxes - PEOPLE March 15 is two days away - get them in NOW!
Paying the State of Florida for the right to have my PA
Sending in an affidavit so my husband can sign papers for me (we are closing on a house in 3 weeks!!!!!)
Sending in an affidavit for Adobe so I can upgrade
Depositing a check
AND...drumroll please...taking in my late library books (sigh - I hate when I am late with them - an automated man has been stalking me for two weeks telling me I have overdue books - hopefully he will GET OFF MY BACK now...hehehehe)
PS - I have to say that I have no idea what groups to post this to...I need the "go tara go" group to keep up my motivation to be an adult!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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