How To Make More Money in 2008: Interview with Dagmar Sands, FIABCI-USA President
By Author, Dr. Margot Weinstein, CEO, CIPS
Making money in a slower market can be very challenging. From my experiences as a practitioner, consultant, speaker and educator/trainer for over thirty years, I know that when the market changes, you need to maximize your business efforts. Even simple steps can make a huge difference in your earnings. So that I can share the latest information with my audiences, in addition to what works for me in business, I am constantly interviewing top real estate leaders such as Sam Zell and Barbara Corcoran to see what they are doing to make money.
So I recently interviewed successful CEO, Dagmar Sands, Real Estate International Inc., Atlanta, Georgia and President of FIABCI-USA, (The International Real Estate Federation). FIABCI is a Federation of 120 national real estate associations representing 2.0 million professionals worldwide. Below is an overview of my interview with Dagmar. To hear more on all the new tech tools I am using in the business, The entire interview of Dagmar Sands will soon be available at: http://www.drmargotweintein.com/, http://www.worldclassrealestatebroker.com/, http://www.heartsmartproperties.com/, and parts of it will be available http://www.youtube.com/.
Dagmar's Top Strategies To Thrive in a slower market
Dagmar Sands recommends that as the market adjusts, you should first update your business plan. Dagmar suggests that you go back to using some of the basics you used earlier in your career or try some new ones to build your network that she has used:
1. Join Groups Online. You can invite new people to learn about what you do.
•· Go to http://www.meetup.com/ and start your own group. You can call it "Investors Group of _______." It will attract investors that you could not contact on your own.
•· Join Discussion Boards, such if you belong to FIABCI, and post anything you want to share.
2. Use Technology Tools. PLANT seeds TODAY - you will HARVEST later!
You should tell everyone what you do! It's called SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION - and it works!
- Send broadcast e-mails to clients and others (FIABCI has a service for members)
- Use BLOGS and pod casts. Active Rain has a great site for blogs.
- Add video and audio programs to your web site such as Realtor in the box. Look at FIABCI's or Dagmar's web site to see her video. Dagmar's complete video interview will be posted on http://www.drmargotweinstein.com/ and on You Tube soon. So Watch for it.
- If you are attending the Las Vegas conference, contact Dagmar or FIABCI to sign-up to have your video completed at the conference with "My Realty Tools, Inc., http://eimpression.myrealtytools.com.
- Hyperlink yourself with other professionals.
- Add your listings to http://www.kijiji.com/ to www.loopnet.com http://www.propertyline.com/, http://www.heartsmartproperties.com/ http://www.craigslist.com/ for FREE - get huge exposure!
- If you have a store front office, add Plasma TV's so that after hours, you can display properties from yourself and other professionals.
3. Give Speeches about your business at a Chamber of Commerce, Consulate offices, or Local Board Functions.
4. Do More Door-to Door Calling. Hand deliver material to clients and prospects. It's that personal touch that makes a difference.
5. Create New Partnerships.
- Work with Banks and Credit Unions to help them sell their foreclosures.
- Partner with veteran investors who are investing in China where they yield high returns.
• Do Joint Ventures with developers and others.
6. Write Articles or a Newsletter of useful tips on your market conditions. You can send them to current and past clients and ASK for referrals and for their BUSINESS.
7. Attend Education Courses. Use any extra time you have to take your continuing education credits. Take a course in a new business area that is offered at a conference so you can both learn new information and new people. FIABCI conferences offer a great opportunity to learn something new and meet people who do business worldwide.
8. Start Your Own Local Investor's Club and hold monthly meetings, or if you do not have a local FIABCI branch, contact FIABCI to see how you can start one.
9. Attend Monthly meetings at CREW meetings or local Realtors® functions. This is a perfect time to build your business network and to reconnect with members that you have not talked with in a while.
10. Use Skype. Skype is a phone system to call people free who are members of Skype all over the world. Additionally, if you have a camera on your computer, you are able to see the person you are calling and they can see you. You can also use this service to do conference call. What a great WAY to personalize a phone call!.
11. Advertise that you are unique in your specialties (i.e., entertainment facilities, unique properties, international properties). One FIABCI Member specializes with clients from Israel. Another uses Auctions as method to create urgency, excitement and sell properties for higher amounts.
12 Read, Endorse and Give People How-to Books as Gifts. Endorse and send the ones you love to clients and others as gifts---add a personal note. I endorse the "The World is Flat" "Never Eat Alone" and Dr. Margot's books "Commercial Real Estate Career Education And Resource Guide" and "7 Steps to Find Your Perfect Career." Most people don't throw out books. So it is a great advertisement that usually ends up on coffee tables.
Dagmar Sands continues to be very successful in the real estate business by following the philosophy "DON'T BE AFRAID TO BE A "PURPLE SNOWFLAKE." So try Dagmar's strategies. You can make a great deal of money in a down market if you stand out, show that you are unique, and most importantly, set yourself apart from your competition by being "A Purple Snowflake! _____________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Margot offers Huge discounts - on orders of 10 books or more before New Year's: Order now!
From Dr. Margot Weinstein: If you buy 10 books or more through New Year's:
"7 Steps To Find Your Perfect Career" will cost only $10.00 each instead of $15.00 each plus shipping & Handling. (Career strategies and interviews with 8 real estate leaders Patricia Choi, Nancy Suvarnamani, Dr. Peter Linneman and others.)
"The Commercial Real Estate Guidebook" with my interviews with Sam Zell, Equity Group Investments, and others will be $15.00 each instead of $20.00 each plus shipping and handling. Contact me by email at: drmargot@drmargotweinstein.com or http://www.drmargotweinstein.com/. Or phone 3121-664-4849
Author: Dr. Margot Weinstein, CIPS, is CEO of MW Leadership Consultants LLC, and VP of Kingston Group Inc., a multi-million real estate company. Dr. Margot combines her business know-how with knowledge from her educational background and her interviews with over 150 CEOS worldwide. She has spoken and taught at top businesses and universities throughout US, Europe and China including University of Chicago, Cornell University, FIABCI, American Invsco, Equity office. She is an award winning author from the American Real Estate Society.
______________________________________________________________________________
Comments(2)