Do you practice 'cost recovery' when making business decisions?

Do you practice 'cost recovery' when making business decisions?

When it comes to print, web design or email campaigns, do you get recommendations from other professionals who have had success with the companies you hire? If not, you may just be throwing your hard earned money away.

Choose companies that:

• Have good reputations that come with solid proof
• Offer competitive prices and will stay within your budget
• Can track your results to ensure your money is well spent

Advertising & Marketing:

Do you have a monthly newletter that goes out to all your SOI? How much does it cost? Has it paid for itself? Ask for a trial period to test the effectiveness before fully committing yourself.

I use NewPanda.com and I love it! The newsletters are about local information and can be personalized for your niche, expertise and personality. For $25 per month, I send out a newletter one time per month and social media bits several times per week.

For my business, I purchased my domain name and had a static site built with GoDaddy.com for local information purposes only. It costs me about $250 per year and that works for me!

I tried the 'front page' internet .com for my area and 6 months was plenty of time to realize that it just did not work for me so I discontinued the service.  Why just 'wait and see'? Not going to do it! I spent a total of about $800.00.

Creating effective local market reports is easily done by pulling up Flex.mls for the the latest statistics regarding trends, solds, pendings, actives, cancelled, etc.. You pay for it in your dues, so why not use it to the fullest? Invest in a camera that takes good photos and get out and take some community shots! Mine cost $349 and is easy as 1-2-3.

The most helpful thing I have done to gain exposure in my career is to join ActiveRain and it is priceless! It has helped to build international relationships and friendships within the real estate industry, been a source of reliable information from the start and brought me referrals.

Technology:

Utilizing Docusign for my out-of-area clients has been extremely user-friendly and saved time, resources and energy with just a few clicks of the mouse! For $29 per month, it is money well spent knowing it is indeed reliable and secure.

I recently revamped my computer systems and ordered Mac's for the home office and our downtown branch. The systems run so fast and offer fluidity between all of them. What is on one can be easily accessed by another. It will eventually save me time as I continue to get busier.

I have accounts with LinkedIn.com, Plaxo.com, Facebook.com, Postlets.com and use them consistently as another way to gain attention via the internet. They cost nothing but a little time put toward updating and entering information.

Work smarter, not harder:

My advice to anyone looking to achieve much needed exposure to gain clients and become successful, find out what others are doing to increase their business standing. Talk to a mentor who seems to make it all look easy, get out into the community and meet and greet, find out what your brokerage is offering and get advice from advertising and marketing specialists who know the newest and greatest trends in the marketplace.

You'll be so glad you did and remember, you must see the value of committing your time and money to what works. Be sure all processes and procedures go toward 'cost recovery' or ROI. It makes solid economical sense to work smarter, not harder regarding advertising, marketing and technology. Besides, most of your time should be spent creating lifetime relationships by helping clients achieve their real estate goals!

Happy sales to you all.