I’ve always been skeptical about real estate agents and their “Brands”. I hear a lot of agents talk about it, but for most their brand exists only in their own minds and doesn’t bear out in anything else. At Cunningham Group, we recently completed a full re-brand and one of the challenges in doing so, is I wanted to make sure the brand would permeate at all levels of the company. We are about 75% complete with our re-branding but it’s as good a time as any to give you a window into what that … (1 comments)
best practices: Referrals + Brand + Lead Gen = Growth
- 06/07/17 03:35 PM
While referrals are a big part of my business, I know that I still need to generate leads to grow my business. Below is the formula I use and I've continued to see growth year over year.
Credit: www.realestateexpress.com REFERRALS Some agents work strictly on a referral basis and it works for them. That said, always keep referrals in mind when talking with agents around the country and anyone you meet in the community. Sometimes just letting them know you're a REALTOR is all you need to do. While you may think it's obvious, not everyone will know. I would recommend finding a unique … (0 comments)
best practices: How to Increase Productivity and Actually be Productive
- 05/31/17 02:28 PM
As real estate agents, we are typically all over the place and are well known for starting and never finishing things. But, can you blame us? We're trying to do the job of multiple people. Sometimes we wear our agent hat, other times we wear our marketing hat or our finance hat.
That said, if we don't want to hire an assistant, finding a way to increase productivity and actually be productive every day is key. I have a staff of 6 people, but all but one is dedicated to the property management side of our company. I still run into the same day to … (0 comments)
best practices: How to Create Raving Fans
- 04/19/17 03:48 PM
While I'm sure many of you have heard of the book "Raving Fans", if you haven't, I would highly recommend checking it out. Click here to see it on Amazon.
That said, how do you create raving fans? On our team, we pride ourselves on our customer service. By no means am I referring to someone who says Yes to everyone and about kills themselves trying to meet the customer's expectation. I am talking about creating a customer experience that is beyond expectation and will not only earn you a customer, but a fan. Many of our clients become fans and feel invested … (2 comments)
best practices: Keeping Your Client in the Loop with Listings
- 04/06/17 04:24 PM
I currently have a couple listings on the market so I thought it might be helpful to share what I do and see what everyone else does to help keep their client in the loop about their listing.
I have a couple forms set up with checklists to send clients with reporting on the listing efforts. I tend to conduct 10 day and 21 day market updates for customers. Below is my checklist of things I complete to help sell their home. For sale sign installed Flyer created Property promoted to REALTORS Professional photos taken Listed in the MLS Virtual tour completed … (0 comments)
best practices: Grow Your Business With Online Marketing, Simply And Cheaply
- 02/16/17 01:58 PM
As technology continues to advance and more marketing is being done online, companies are starting to switch their focus from traditional print marketing to online marketing. That is not to say print and tv ads are completely gone, but more companies are able to now compete. With marketing moving online, small businesses just like ours, and possibly yours, now have a chance to effectively market without spending a fortune.
To continue reading the rest of my article, visit the Original Post via Alignable .
What you'll read about: Why you should be online Using social media Pay per click ads Giving your brand a personality … (0 comments)
best practices: How to Get Great Reviews
- 02/09/17 03:06 PM
I'm sure you're wondering how I pulled off that hat! But, in all seriousness, this is from a recent housewarming party I hosted for my clients. It was combined with their daughter's birthday party. I had a great time and guess what, they took the time to post a review on just about every website you can think of! Zillow, REALTOR.com, Facebook, Google, and Yelp. Although every client doesn't opt for the housewarming party, I take the time at the end of the transaction to ask them to post a review. From looking at houses, to helping with initial home repairs, I try to … (2 comments)
best practices: Have You Heard About #GetSocialSmart Academy?
- 02/02/17 03:21 PM
Have you heard about #GetSocialSmart Academy? If you haven't, I would suggest at least looking into it. It's been very helpful for me so I want to take a minute to share a little bit about it. It's a special group unlike any other one I've came across before that is specifically for REALTORS and focuses on social media.
As a REALTOR, we're always looking to find ways to stay up to date on the latest industry trends. With so much taking place online now, especially on social media, we have to also stay abreast to new updates on the platforms we … (2 comments)
best practices: Success in Lead Generation with PPC
- 01/12/17 03:31 PM
Referrals are by far my favorite type of lead, but in order to truly grow your business, you have to find a lead generation source that can help get you past your goal. That is truly the challenge for most of us. The last 2 years, I've spent a lot of time, effort and money trying to find the best lead generation source and pay per click has been one of the best lead sources thus far. I've tried various avenues that most REALTORS try like Zillow's Premier Agent advertising. Some do see success, but those of you who don't see success like … (2 comments)
best practices: PPC vs. SEO - What's the Difference?
- 01/12/17 03:28 PM
Some people use PPC and SEO interchangeably, but they are actually different methods of getting traffic to your website. The easiest way to explain it would be SEO is your website's ability to organically drive traffic to your website and PPC is paying for clicks to your website. While SEO is great, it can take time, and PPC allows you to be more selective in the type of traffic you are trying to drive to the website. Now that I have you confused, let's jump into the differences and break down what each of them can really do for you. Pay Per … (3 comments)
I offer all of my new clients the option to have a housewarming party. Not all of them take me up on it, but the ones that do are always impressed. It's a great opportunity for them to get together with their friends and family to show off their new home without having to worry about the cost of the food. The food is usually the most expensive part and what might hold them back from having a party.
How to throw a housewarming party 1. A letter is sent to every … (11 comments)
best practices: 4 Social Media Tips for Every REALTOR
- 11/18/16 04:13 AM
Being a REALTOR is a unique job. We not only help our clients buy and sell their homes, but we also run our own business. With social media becoming a bigger part of how people communicate, REALTORS have to learn to adapt and find ways to stand out among the crowd. Social media can be very overwhelming these days with so many platforms, but below are some tips to help you tackle it.
1. You don't have to be on every social media platform. Starting out, I would recommend picking one and mastering it before adding another one. Additionally, use social media … (1 comments)
best practices: 3 Easy Client Touches You Should Already Be Doing
- 11/03/16 09:55 AM
Referrals account for a large portion of my business every year so keeping in touch with my clients is key. Although creating great relationships with clients is critical, so is staying top of mind. I would recommend having a 33 Touch Plan in place for your clients. A 33 Touch Plan is a year long plan with 33 ways you are in touch with your client throughout the year. Below are 3 easy touches to get you started...
1. Birthday card (1 touch) When you add a new client to your database, make sure you add their birthday, as well as any anniversary or special … (23 comments)
best practices: What's your client's favorite football team?
- 10/20/16 07:25 AM
It seems like a silly question, but during the home buying or selling process you may have really gotten to know your client, but do you still remember all of the details from a client you sold a home to over a year ago? After some deep thought, you might be able to start to remember details, but why worry about it when you can just pull up their information? My recommendation is to create a form that allows your client to let you know what they like so you can keep a record and if you feel like surprising them with … (0 comments)
best practices: 10 Baby Steps to Starting in Real Estate for Low Cost
- 10/13/16 07:18 AM
1) Only three initial expenses are needed: Order business cards via your franchise/broker recommendation – keep them simple and inexpensive to start. Recommend OvernightPrints.com You’ll also need basic Thank You cards. I use Thank You Note Sheets (classier in my opinion) from AmericanStationery.com. Not costly at all. Order Top Producer for $30/month 2) Setup Top Producer ... You need this program for only two things to start: LEAD TRACKING. Every day at the end of the day, make sure you enter every lead into Top Producer how many leads you got from your three marketing systems you will create first: … (3 comments)
best practices: "What does that commission pay for anyway?"
- 09/30/16 03:42 AM
How do you justify value (preferably in the beginning) with a seller? One thing most sellers don’t know (even most REALTORS) is all that a good listing agent does to sell a home, and the time involved. I once had a client ask me about commission (which I usually don’t have happen, and I made system changes after it occurred), and my response was something similar to the response below. His response was to apologize for even asking! Keep in mind most of these tools are not expensive (You can augment this for luxury sales), but are time consuming, and we … (2 comments)
best practices: HOW GREAT SELLER’s AGENTS Negotiate
- 09/26/16 06:39 AM
Part 2 of 2 of my series on Negotiating by great agents: One of the most important things we do in real estate is one of the things that we get the least training on: negotiation. This is my letter to my fellow agents (aka a plea) to read this and know how to not only get your clients to their desired results, but do so in a way that doesn’t alienate everyone in the process. These tips are based on the seller-leaning market in Las Vegas right now, obviously every market is different. In some, there is no negotiating at … (3 comments)
Is it Time for you to Re-Brand?
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