As we countdown to a new year and new decade I am reflecting on what has been effective in my business for the past year. I want to continue to do what works and gives me proven results and dump the rest.
Thankfully when it comes to my business, it is pretty easy to track what works and likewise, what doesn't.
My blogging efforts have had a huge return on investment in 2009 in many ways. My blogging efforts have established me as a local expert in my market, my market reports are widely read, I have been interviewed by my local newspaper, I have gained many clients through blogging and had three of my largest closings in 2009 directly attributed to my blog on Active Rain, so my AR blog gets to stay in my repertoire.
Reading AR posts has given me so many new ideas to try; some have worked out really well.
Here's a few that gave me good results:
-
RealEstateShows.com virtual tours where I can post an unlimited amount of pictures
- Single listing websites
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youmail.com voicemail (if I forget my phone at home, I can listen to my voicemail's on my computer at work!)
- Using Twitter
- Using Facebook
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Learning SEO (search engine optimization)
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Adding postlets to my sidebar on my blog
- How to beef up my AR profile
2009 was my first complete year at my new office, RE/MAX Coastal Redwoods. This move has proven to be extremely cost effective. I left a large, thriving office to go with a start up RE/MAX office. The owner at RE/MAX loves all the new marketing efforts that I learn about and is willing to invest with me in them. My office is, in my humble opinion, on the cutting edge of internet marketing in comparison to our competitors. I believe much of that has to do with what I learn from my fellow bloggers on Active Rain.
My office is ringing in the new decade with a bang with our first annual client appreciation event. It is going to be RE/MAX Coastal Redwoods way of showing our clients and the vendors and other professionals that we work with, how much we appreciate their efforts. I believe this is also a cutting edge effort as I am not aware of any other office in my market, including the office I worked at before RE/MAX, that does anything similar.
I expect 2010 to be an even better year than 2009 for me and my office. We are experimenting with signage and other new marketing efforts that will clearly show RE/MAX Coastal Redwoods is ahead of the competition. I will share these new efforts throughout the year and of course, give you feedback on what gives proven results.
As I continue to contemplate business practices that gave a good ROI for 2009 and where I would like to put my marketing dollars for the coming year and where I would like to expend my valuable time I allot to my business, I know this for sure, Active Rain has proven it gives back more than I give.
I would like to thank the Active Rain staff and some Active Rain members who have helped me in so many ways either directly or by providing consistently informative posts:
Active Brad
Broker Bryant
Missy Caulk
Marti Garaughty
Lenn Harley
God Bless all AR members in the coming year,
Fran
GOOGLE ME
Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2012 than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!
*PER DNAOR-MLS
83 Comments on Business Practices that Paid off in 2009
Excellent post Fran,
Thanks for sharing. Best of luck for a great 2010
Thanks for great learning material. I absolutely agree on the thought of being ahead of your competition. Great team is the way to go.
Double your sales next year and share your knowledge with AR.
Thanks again,
Honorata
This is very encouraging! It reminds me to spend some more time this year with AR for my appraisal business!!
Fran,
Great post...it does pay to track what works and what doesn't work so that the following years planning can be effective...thanks for the postlets info...I had no idea you could do that! Good luck next year..sounds like you are ahead of the game.
It is smart to review what did and didn't work at the end of each year when making goals for the New Year. Thanks for sharing!
Love the year end wrap up and review. I am doing the same type of reflection for my Mortgage Practice. Enjoy your posts and look forward to reading them this next year.
Fran thank for the information on what worked for you in this past year. The information on the newsletter was great and gives me a good starting point on what t and how to start one. Be looking forward your your posts in 2010.
Great post Fran! You have shared so much fabulous information and I know we all do appreciate it. I was happy to see you are using one of the new tools that I just recenlty discovered and have implemented just this week- the singles property website with texting service. The site I used was: epropertysites.com and I am happy to have found them. I too am waitng to see if it worth the investment.
Thanks so much for all you have shared and best wishes in your new office and for a fantastic 2010!
Fran, congratulations to you on a successful 2009. Your work this year is certainly placing you in position to excel in 2010. Best wishes!
Hi Fran: You feedback is valuable. I'm subscribing to your blog and wish you all the best in the new year!
Sharon Bruner
Fran,
Wonderful post! I also used realtor.com and found that it was not worth it's costs. I was just wondering do you have a website that you do recommend? I also tried Move.com and found out it too was not worth it.
Thanks,
Tanner Brewster
Great post! Thanks. Having more years in marketing than I do in real estate, I can appreciate the need to carefully evaluate what is working and make the necessary changes. And clearly, it's not always the most expensive stuff that is the most effective. It's important to evaluate in terms of time spent, also -- not just dollars.
Thanks Fran. I have just started posting my markets statistics, but you have shown me that I could do better.
thanks for the great blog. I haven't tried RealEstateShows.com - I'll look into that one.
I will be looking for a Blog on your First Annual Client Appreciation Event. I believe that is the best way to build a sense of community... and loyalty. Keep us posted on your progress!
Fran....Thank you for sharing. I like the way you presented your thoughts, and ideas. Keep them coming.
Jerry Gray CRB,CRS,GRI / Allen Tate Realtors / Winston Salem, NC / 336-918-2433
Fran,
Thank you for re-energizing me to continue blogging. For me, it gets hard to blog when you are busy and more fun to do other things when you are not. I am inspired by your business success with blogging. I hope to emulate your success!!
I love all the ideas & have bookmarked for future reference! I too have had a large return on property webites & Social Networking. I am excited to amp it up in 2010!
Great post! It's very inspiring to hear of your social media success. I plan on focusing a great deal of resources towards social media this year, and look forward to a similar testimonial at the end of 2010!
Thanks for sharing all your great ideas and congratulations on your success in 2009. I especially like the client appreciation day. What a great way to say thank you and to encourage referrals.