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Henry Ford is famously quoted as saying, "Whether you think you can or think you can't - You're Right!" In the childhood rhyme, 'The Little Engine That Could', we seem to find agreement with this idea when the little engine manages to climb the tall hill by saying, over and over "I think I can, I think I can."
From wikipedia.org: In the tale, a long train must be pulled over a high mountain. Various larger engines, treated anthropomorphically, are asked to pull the train; for various reasons they refuse. The request is sent to a small engine, who agrees to try.(emphasis added) The engine succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain while repeating its motto: "I-think-I-can"
However, we have a clarification in Star Wars, Episode Five, "The Empire Strikes Back" - Yoda tells Master Luke "Do or Do Not Do. There is no Try." Along the same line, Napolean Hill teaches, "The human mind can achieve whatever it can conceive and BELIEVE." (emphasis added). All these sayings ring true - but merely 'thinking' may be a lot like 'trying'. Thinking is not ENOUGH! To rouse the power of the spirit, we must BELIEVE. When you BELIEVE you unleash your creative power! What are you believing today? Aim high and go far! More Power To YOU! Personal Power ~ Spirit Power Your Spirit Word Coach www.SpiritWordToday.com
From CableSpots Newsletter Permalink: http://ftp.media.radcity.net/ZSND/issues/July2010/CX3686.pdf
TRENDS IN CONSUMER SALES IN WEB POWERED MARKET
A HARBRINGER OF THINGS TO COME IN REAL ESTATE?
SERVICE IMPROVING FOR CAR BUYERS: Each year, Pied Piper of Monterey,
CA sends out mystery shoppers to car dealerships to develop its Prospect "
Satisfaction Index. And the news this year is that satisfaction is up for 25
of the 34 brands surveyed.
Ford, Lincoln and Chevrolet scored above the industry average for the first time
in four years, says Pied Piper. Mercedes Benz was tops in the study and Lexus
was number two. Fellow luxury brand BMW scored below Cadillac and Lincoln and
tied with Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen. Mitsubishi placed last.
“Today’s car shoppers are armed with far more vehicle and pricing information than ever before,” said Pied Piper CEO Fran O’Hagan. “Successful brands and dealerships have responded by acting as helpful enablers for today’s shoppers. At the most successful dealerships, the stereotype of the old-fashioned car salesperson no longer exists.” (emphasis added)
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What does this have to do with Real Estate? Everything!
An information powered consumer needs a noble servant guide, not an information gatekeeper or process controller.
Is this a harbringer of things to come in Real Estate? Has it already happened? What do you think?
There is a lot of talk about real estate video these days.
I have seen everything from shaky cam real estate walk through video that looks like BLAIR WITCH PROJECT to really nice professional looking (and priced) video ads for high end homes.
The challenge for a Realtor is that this stuff takes time, and a certain artistic flair (OR a lot of money - traditionally).
We have found that most Realtors need a lot of help in BASICS in this department, and they may need to crawl before they can walk or run!
Consider: Canned but good Real Estate Video sells houses better than amateur real estate video!
Just as it took a canned web site to bring internet marketing to the real estate masses, it also takes canned video production to bring real estate video to the masses.
Of course, custom stuff is better (web or video) but is it worth an extra $10,000 a year to have a custom web site when one that costs $50 a month can make you look pretty good?
Is it worth spending hundreds on custom video when a simpler formula style approach can be successful?
Take a look at what we have created for an entry level real estate video marketing system at www.homefinder100.com for the Toledo Market. Sponsoring Agents get Television ads, web video, mobile video - for a very low price.
We DO ALL THE WORK so they can just SELL HOUSES. It's scalable and reproducible for other markets.
Agents have been a little slow to embrace it en-mass, but those who do are reporting phenomenal results. Sellers WANT it and drive our growth.
What about your market? What do you think about somebody providing entry level service like this even while market stars work on custom video for high end houses? Could it work where you sell? Is it being done?
Somebody here at AR took a big swipe at coaching and Coaches recently. The gist of their post was that coaching was a rip-off, a swindle, a waste of time and money for agents, and offered only by people who could not make it in the sales game and only want your money...
Oh, they were eloquent, and firm. A summary of the post could well be as follows:
Coaching is a complete waste of time, offered only by failed agents who can't sell, and we don't need none of that! All you need is the free resources offered online, and maybe a mentor in the office.
MY RESPONSE:
Big Swing, Loud Noise, Lots of High Fives - but Foul Ball!
I agree that there is a lot of BS out there sold as coaching. And there are a lot of free resources out there to take advantage of.
One of the biggest problems is even knowing which free resources are good, and which ones are outdated, or sound good but never really work anyway.
As a coach myself, I can tell you that I am not the whole package of a millionaire Realtor. God simply did not make very many of those. But there are some parts that I do, or did, EXTREMELY WELL. And I can help you with those.
I offer many free resources, such as free FSBO Listing scripts, recorded coaching sessions and an e-book on SEO, Web Marketing. Some agents have no doubt done well with my free help. However, better things happen FASTER when there is exploration, deadlines, role playing, live fine tuning.
You may be able to perform well WITHOUT a coach, but I PROMISE YOU you could do even better WITH a coach. How do I know? Because nobody is perfect. Everybody has blind spots, weak spots, things they don't know or are not aware of that are hurting their productivity. It's a fact that self made people are not as common as mentored successes.
Self teaching is a wonderful thing for those who are so inclined, but it is generally a SLOW process involving a lot of trial and error. A good web marketing coach can save you A GREAT MANY hours during the learning curve, maybe even help accomplish in one year what you could learn on your own in 2 years.... Which means you get more leads, convert more leads, do more deals in that first year. You have more free time, family time, or productive deal making time during that same first year since you are avoiding many time consuming mistakes.....
YOU DECIDE:
Q. How many Olympic athletes can coach themselves?
Q. How many professional singers make big bucks without ever taking voice and music lessons?
Q. Of all the people on this thread who disagree with me, and think coaching is a waste of time... How many of you list 30 to 50 homes a year or actually show 6 figures net income after each and every expense of being a Realtor is paid - and did so in your first 5 years in the business? 10 years? Ever?
Coaching is Professional Mentoring plus Encouragement and Motivational Deadlines. It works - IMHO.
You can self teach on SEO if you want to read a million web pages of outdated information, and spend hour after hour after hour doing it and tweaking your site, or you can hire a coach for an hour a week for a month and learn everything you need to learn to get to page one at google.
Q. Which way is better?
You can read books until the cows come home, and spend another 100 hours blowing listing appointments, learning by trial and error, or you can hire a listing presentation coach and be closing 50% of your listing appointments, 2-4 a week even, within a couple months.
Q. Which way is better?
BTW: I have a license, listed 50 FSBO homes my first full year in the business, and sold for almost 5 years. Today I still rank page one at Google at least 10 times for the best keywords in my real estate market. However, my work today is to help other agents succeed - so I choose not compete with them. I don't do what you do, but I understand it and admire it. I choose to have weekends off and not answer my cell phone for days at a time. You may make other choices. Ain't it great that we are all so different and yet we can grow and learn and play and help each other!
Coach Lonn : )
Somebody here at AR took a big swipe at coaching and Coaches recently. The gist of their post was that coaching was a rip-off, a swindle, a waste of time and money for agents, and offered only by people who could not make it in the sales game and only want your money...
Oh, they were eloquent, and firm. A summary of the post could well be as follows:
Coaching is a complete waste of time, offered only by failed agents who can't sell, and we don't need none of that! All you need is the free resources offered online, and maybe a mentor in the office.
MY RESPONSE:
Big Swing, Loud Noise, Lots of High Fives - but Foul Ball!
I agree that there is a lot of BS out there sold as coaching. And there are a lot of free resources out there to take advantage of.
One of the biggest problems is even knowing which free resources are good, and which ones are outdated, or sound good but never really work anyway.
As a coach myself, I can tell you that I am not the whole package of a millionaire Realtor. God simply did not make very many of those. But there are some parts that I do, or did, EXTREMELY WELL. And I can help you with those.
I offer many free resources, such as free FSBO Listing scripts, recorded coaching sessions and an e-book on SEO, Web Marketing. Some agents have no doubt done well with my free help. However, better things happen FASTER when there is exploration, deadlines, role playing, live fine tuning.
You may be able to perform well WITHOUT a coach, but I PROMISE YOU you could do even better WITH a coach. How do I know? Because nobody is perfect. Everybody has blind spots, weak spots, things they don't know or are not aware of that are hurting their productivity. It's a fact that self made people are not as common as mentored successes.
Self teaching is a wonderful thing for those who are so inclined, but it is generally a SLOW process involving a lot of trial and error. A good web marketing coach can save you A GREAT MANY hours during the learning curve, maybe even help accomplish in one year what you could learn on your own in 2 years.... Which means you get more leads, convert more leads, do more deals in that first year. You have more free time, family time, or productive deal making time during that same first year since you are avoiding many time consuming mistakes.....
YOU DECIDE:
Q. How many Olympic athletes can coach themselves?
Q. How many professional singers make big bucks without ever taking voice and music lessons?
Q. Of all the people on this thread who disagree with me, and think coaching is a waste of time... How many of you list 30 to 50 homes a year or actually show 6 figures net income after each and every expense of being a Realtor is paid - and did so in your first 5 years in the business? 10 years? Ever?
Coaching is Professional Mentoring plus Encouragement and Motivational Deadlines. It works - IMHO.
BTW: I have a license, listed 50 FSBO homes my first full year in the business, and sold for almost 5 years. Today I still rank page one at Google at least 10 times for the best keywords in my real estate market. However, my work today is to help other agents succeed - so I choose not compete with them. I don't do what you do, but I understand it and admire it. I choose to have weekends off and not answer my cell phone for days at a time. You may make other choices. Ain't it great that we are all so different and yet we can grow and learn and play and help each other!
WHO will save the REAL ESTATE MARKET?
Inspired by Seth Godin's blog of 2-2-10: READ THE FULL BLOG ARTICLE
Marketing Genius Seth Godin wonders in a recent blog post...
Why do we want somebody to "SAVE" what is already gone ?
He notes that core consumer demands will survive in any valid market. The "status quo" method of delivery may pass away, but the 'market' may not need saving at all. Why, then - he wonders - do we try to hang on to the "way things were" when it would be smarter to move forward and embrace the future?
"Who will save us..." & "What means save?" "If by 'save' you mean "what will keep things just as they are?" then the answer is nothing... it's over..." "...We need to get past this idea of saving, because the status quo is leaving the building, and quickly. "
Not just in print of course, but in your industry too (*).
Then he concludes with this thought:
Every revolution destroys the average middle first and most savagely (*)
If you want to know who will save real estate, then ask yourself who will save the joy of owning a piece of ground, decorating a home in a personal way, or burning a paid off mortgage... Don't worry. In this sense, real estate does not need saving.... Actually, it is precisely at moments like this recent recession that the American Dream has always risen above temporary circumstances. As the National Association of Realtors Says in a reverent credo, "UNDER ALL IS THE LAND". With tax credits, low prices, and great interest rates - we can even help people increase tenfold these basic enjoyments of real estate - precisely because we don't need to spend a lot of time on the 'saving' part.
So, my questions to Toledo Realtors are: Are you trying to save the status quo instead of moving forward? How will you steer clear of being one of the "average and middle" in the coming market recovery?
And my advice... Stop waiting for "SOMEBODY" to save real estate.
Hundreds of homes are still selling every month. What if all you have to do is find those hardy souls who want to buy or sell houses? What if you can build a vital and growing and profitable business by simply doing a good job helping them? The Bottom Line? More visible agents sell more homes! Don't be one the middle market agents who gets destroyed by the market revolution. OVER TWENTY THOUSAND homes watch HomeFinder Channel 100 per month. Other THOUSANDS visit www.HomeFinder100.com each month. At HomeFinder Channel 100, you can reach them economically and powerfully as a participating, sponsoring, or featured agent. The cost is less than the cost of print or mail!
IF you are ready to step up, evolve... then we can help you with that!
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HomeFinder Channel 100 News Nuggets ~ Changes Is In The Wind:
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HomeFinder Channel 100 to assist Toledo Board of Realtors with Launch of Consumer Ad Campaign ~ ONLINE + ON TV. Details coming soon.
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Several Market Leading Agents tell us they are cutting budgets for EVERY other expense category, but increasing use of HomeFinder Channel 100. Find Out Why!
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Some HomeFinder Channel 100 "FEATURED AGENTS" TO BE IN FREE TV COMMERCIALS: Find Out Why Fred Borgerson, Pamela Strassner, Tammy Frye, & Jack Schroeder choose to put all client listings ONLINE + ON TV at HomeFinder Channel 100! Learn More
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Recent meeting with TIM BRADLEY at BRADLEY AUCTIONS LLC could break new ground in Toledo real estate marketing, make a SIGNIFICANT IMPACT on local Real Estate Auction Market, and BENEFIT OUR COMMUNITY IN A BIG WAY! Stay Tuned!
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OPPORTUNITY EVENT: Next Ad Deadline: THURSDAY 2-4-2010
Order By One Deadline ~ 1st & 3rd Thursday every month ~ Ad Starts ONLINE immediately and ON TV at Next Deadline. A strong winter marketing plan makes a fast start in Spring!
Call Support Desk, 419-724-7246 or ORDER NOW!
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HOMEFINDER CHANNEL 100 MISSION ~ Partners in Progress:
Provide the best real estate marketing platform in Greater Toledo by making television
affordable and online marketing easy. We will encourage our community of real estate
buyers and sellers to hope again. We will increase ONLINE + ON TV visibility for sellers,
We will help potential buyers dream again by providing the only 24-Hour Real Estate
Channel serving the area - and by providing the area's best real estate search engine.
Our marketing services will help Real Estate Agents practice "Green Marketing" by
cutting print costs while still being able to market effectively. Because Televised Agents
can deliver more value to sellers, these agents can get more listings, more leads, more
calls, more showings, more offers, and even more referrals. All of this multimedia
power and activity allows participating agents to offer value added services to clients,
maintain livable commission rates, and sell more homes. Everybody wins!
Let's Do This together!
Lonn Dugan, Real Estate Manager
HomeFinder Channel 100
Buckeye CableSystem
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Ask Us How To Get It ALL... FREE ! Click > Agent Information, More Details
OK - OK -ForePlay is a play on the words Four Play - But now that I have your attention.... ; )
How many ways do you work the web? 1 ? 2 ? 3 ? 4 ? More?
First there was just the web... Then there blogs. Then came Twitter and now Facebook. That's the four play lineup... For a Realtor - it is getting overwhelming!
The web is a no brainer... You have to be there. Then Facebook created yet another landscape, a playing field all its own. I just don't know how fractured the communication channel can get and still be effective and efficient.
Even the TV news channels (once the ultimate local media outlet) have to play both online and at facebook, and twitter. They may have skipped the blog - but only because their regular web sites are sort of like blogs with new content daily.
At least they have a paid staff to do all that work in triplicate or focus on the FourPlay. Maybe I can coin a word other than fourplay? How about quadriplicate (is that even a word?).
Anyway, when the local news outlet has news, they now have to make a TV news video, put the story online, tweet a headline, and post a teaser to facebook.
How many times will we have to repeat a real estate announcement to make sure we hit all the eyeballs we need to reach? How many times can you split the market between the eyeballs and still have a worthwhile audience?
At some point, we need a better way than slicing and dicing into smaller market segments. I think we are there.
I don't know what the answer is. Do you?
With apologies, and an old fashioned hearts cry for somebody to say yes.... and show me why and how...
Is AR still relevant? Has facebook stolen the thunder from blogging?
Speak up! I want to know : ) And I want to believe!
Much is written about BRANDING in real estate? What does mean? Do you really have to buy a fancy logo made out of your photo or name? Is that what this is about? Not really.
Here's a POWERFUL question??? How many people in your COMMUNITY think of your name automatically when they think of real estate? In this question, the word "COMMUNITY" can mean family, subdivision, neighborhood, suburb, small town, medium sized city, or major metropolis - depending on where you sell, and how high you have set your sights...
If I were to visit your COMMUNITY and mention your name to 10 strangers on the street would they instantly say REAL ESTATE AGENT? Or would they say: "Never heard of him/her."
You know the expression "Fame and Fortune." These two words go together like "Apple Pie and Ice Cream." The truth is, Fame always comes before fortune. Said another way, there is no fortune without fame.
Branding then, is the process of becoming famous, and of shaping the reason for that fame. Said another way, branding means attaching associations and values or emotions to a word or name.
What branding does is unlock the door to fortune.
Imagine that I have a friend who can sing. (We'll call her "Sue" - not her real name)
She's a beautiful blonde gal with a shapely figure and a singing voice that is fabulous beyond words. She has more talent than anybody who ever sang on American Idol. In fact, Celine Dion can't even come close to competing with "Sue" when it comes to singing, but nobody has ever heard of "Sue."
While Celine packs them in at posh Las Vegas night clubs, "Sue" couldn't attract 100 people to a concert.
It's not that Sue doesn't have unbelievable talent..... It's because no one has ever heard of her.
So here is the million dollar secret: The world is filled with talented people..... and you may well be one of them - but without fame there is NO FORTUNE.
You may be the best real estate agent in your city......but if your name is not a household word linked to the real estate industry you're dead in the water. People gravitate to brand names.
If you want business to come to you......not your competition.....you have to be a real estate brand name locally. You have to be famous for what you do.
It's not a difficult concept to understand.....and it's something you don't want to put on hold until tomorrow. Your future begins now. If not, tomorrow will be much like today and yesterday.
The best way to build a brand is to attract attention and then share a simple but powerful message about how your are different than your competition. Then you get them to remember your name and the industry you work in.
Rich media, meaning online video with professional audio narration, is one of the best ways to brand yourself. Put a real estate oriented video of yourself or your listings on your web site, facebook page, active rain blog, and EVERYWHERE YOU CAN in your COMMUNITY. Television is great for building a brand as long as there are affordable ways to be on TV in your COMMUNITY.
Here in Toledo Ohio, I can put professionally produced real estate video on television, and give you a free web video with every order - for only $50 a month. Is anything like this available in your community?
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Inspired by a blog post that came via email from a third party. I don't know who to give credit to or I would.
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Lonn Dugan
Toledo,
OH
More about me…
Midwest Mortgage ~ & ~ BIG Marketing Solutions
Address: 5450 Monroe Street, Toledo, OH, 43623
Office Phone: (419) 764-9649
Email Me
Affordable Marketing Help is Here! Former Licensed Agent turned FSBO Listing Coach, Marketing & SEO Coach, is Active Rain Group Leader - "FSBO Killers" and "MASTERS OF COACHING.
This Webmaster, Trainer, Speaker, is a Lead Generating Fool and Blogging Junkie... : )
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