Nov
20
6 Unprofessional Tips to Make Your Real Estate Blog Soar
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Critics. You gotta love ‘em. They’ve got a warning or harsh comment for anything that doesn’t align with their worldview.
Perhaps I should call them naysayers. Or old school diehards. Maybe taskmasters. Gruffy, but lovable.
Whatever name I give them, however, one thing is true: the hair on the back of their neck stands on end at anything that sniffs of unprofessionalism.
Take blogging, for example. A real estate critic–if you can get him on a blog–will write articles on open houses, listings and the market. He sticks to the party line like Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins: “Precision and order/ That’s all I ask.”
He gasps at a misspelling. Shakes his head at grammatical mistakes. And soils his pants at the mention he should consider writing about his daughter’s first day of school.
I have to confess: Todd Carpenter’s great article People Really Do Want You to Tweet About Your Cat inspired this blog post. In particular what he said about his Twitter topics of discussion during Connect 08–namely antics at an after party, who he wanted to go to lunch with and tequila drinking etiquette:
“Unprofessional? Yes. Absolutely unprofessional. That’s the point really.”
So what’s unprofessional behavior got to do with real estate blogging supremacy? Quite a lot. Let me show you how through these 6 tips.
Tip 1: Get Personal
If you’ve been exposed to social media at all, you’ve definitely heard this concept: Let your hair hang down. But it’s more than that. It’s about personality. Breaking the mold. Letting your spirit come through.
If you like stallions, mention stallions in your blogs posts. Draw stories and metaphors from your loves and passions. Show people you love something more than real estate. And land. And the economy. And money.
2. Be Vulnerable
Last year I wrote about the heart attacks Jet Blue lawyers probably had when their CEO publically complained about his own company. That’s honesty. That’s vulnerability. And it’s credible.
Why is being credible and vulnerable important? Because of the soft stuff: Your reputation. What people think about you. That stuff compounds, even though we can’t track it. Stockpile whuffie and money will eventually arrive at your doorstep.
Tip 3: Display Passion
I love to see people who are enthusiastic. [Except maybe Anthony Robbins.] You can’t help to get hooked to their drive, their urgency, their energy. Look at Jay Sekulow or the guys at the Motley Fool. Their is no doubt they are alive. And love being alive.
The result? Their enthusiasim has drawn substantial followings.
Decide to be something more than a warm body in the blogosphere. Decide to be life. A light. Do it now.
Tip 4: Make Worry-Free Mistakes
At some point you are going to forget to dot an i or cross a t. Don’t worry. You may upset your English professor. You may drive Jim Cronin away. But like the late copywriter legend Gary Halbert [work safe video] said a long time ago, “You’re going to piss some people off no matter what. Ignore them. They’re not your audience.”
Tip 5: Fail Often
Jeremiah Owyang tells a story about his first presentation he gave for a client when he started working for Forrester Research. The presentation bombed. The client poo-pooed him. And his boss scolded him.
This would drive some people to want to live under their bed with a bottle of vodka and sleeping pills. Not Jeremiah. He failed. But he was okay with that. Why? He got over it and vowed never to do it again.
Moral of the story: Lunge out of your comfort zone. And learn. Growth will naturally follow.
Tip 6: Apologize Profusely
For the longest time I thought that people who apologized were sissies (what about you?). Apologies stank of weakness. Hmf. I thought it was enough I felt really bad on the inside. Problem is, no one can see your heart. Or hear your thoughts. You need to apologize. And loud.
Furthermore, when you do screw up, admitting you wronged someone will build magnificent bridges between you, that person, your base and their base…because your entire little affair will probably be blogged publically.
Nobody likes someone who stiff chins it and never admit he’s going the wrong path or said the wrong thing. So, get in the habit of asking for forgiveness. This is almost as productive and life-changing as the habit of gratefulness.
Conclusion
While this list isn’t exhaustive, I think it definitely sums up what four years of experience in blogging has taught me–sharing personal experiences on how to be a better professional will make you rise to the top.
The cascading formula is simple: Jakob Nielson wants you to write articles. Brian Clark wants you to add value. Todd Carpenter wants you to be personal. And I want you to be unprofessional.
Go on. Soar.
Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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Nov
12
How a Cocky, Obsessive CEO of GE Can Make You a World-Class Blogger
Filed Under Real Estate Blogs | 2 Comments
To say Jack Welch is cocky is a gross understatement. Legend has it that some twelve years after he joined GE, Welch announced at his annual performance review his plan to become CEO.
And that was in fact just what the brazen, young engineer did. In 1981, Welch stepped into the roll of GE’s youngest Chairman and CEO ever.
During the first five years of his tenure, Welch cemented his reputation and eliminated employees ruthlessly, earning the title “Neutron Jack”–the people vanished but the buildings remained. From 1980 to 1985, he cut 112,000 jobs.
What was his hang up? Welch was obsessed with dismantling nine-layers of bureaucracy, cutting inventories, shutting down factories, reducing payrolls and cutting lackluster product lines.
He had a ferocious desire for efficiency. And profit.
Introducing the Most Successful Manager of the 20th Century
Some criticize Welch as mean-spirited and petty. Brutal. Apathetic. Others claim he’s quick to judge. Says he used limited information to size people up. And write them off.
But one thing can be said about him: he was successful.
During his 20 plus year tenure, GE’s market capitalization rose from $13 billion to $400 billion. Revenues grew from $27 billion to $127 billion. And earnings grew tenfold.
In 2000, Fortune magazine said Jack Welch was “Manager of the Year.”
The Key to Jack Welch’s Success
What was the key to his success? Certainly more than one factor contributed to his success. But if I was to name one singular and solitary reason for his dominance I’d say it’d have to be his philosophy to cut any businesses that GE couldn’t be #1 or #2 in.
This concept was a simple way to make quick, sound judgments. And to remain focused, lean, fast and competitive.
Ideas, projects or business that couldn’t meet this criteria were thrown on the trash heap. Welch was obsessed with keeping GE trim and in fighting shape. Fat nor sloth were welcome.
How can this idea help you in blogging? Easy. Figure out what market you can enter where you are guaranteed to be #1 or #2.
Why This Is So Important
You have to think about this deeply before you tackle a project like a blog. Otherwise you are doomed to fail. You are doomed to fail for three reasons: lack of audience, lack of discipline or lack of motivation.
Almost everyone you know–including yourself–has failed at blogging. When I say fail I mean they have everyone has at least one languishing or dead blog in their history.
If you don’t, I think statistically you will in the next five years.
Part of the reason behind the failure rate behind failed blogs is because know one is listening. Or you’re not very good. Or you simply don’t care.
When you use Welch’s principle this is what it does: it gets you to focus. And it has one other unintended affect. It demands discipline.
Watch blog launches by successful bloggers and you’ll get the sense that not only did they take Welch’s principle in to consideration–but they in fact live or die by it.
I believe that Greg Swann did this when he launched Bloodhound Blog. And the truth probably holds for Real Estate Tomato Blog. These bloggers launched blogs they were fairly confident they could dominate as #1 or #2.
The same is true for Future of Real Estaet Marketing. Before Inman and Joel Burslem launched his blog there was…well, no one. Lots of tech blogs. Political blogs. Cultural blogs. Some social media blogs. Blogs on real estate marketing. But no blogs dedicated to the impact technology is making on real estate–it was the first.
What If I Can’t Always Be the First?
Real Estate Zebra, well, not the case. Even in May 2006 Daniel Rothemal had a monstrous mountain of competition already on the playing field.
But he defined himself pretty narrowly. You can see this in his zebra manifesto. And no doubt he’s worked pretty hard.
Domination demands positioning yourself to win. And hard work.
So. Wanna start a blog? Or resurrect a languishing one? Or overhaul the lackluster yawn-fest you are working so hard on now?
Then decide what you can write about and dominate the #1 or #2 spot. This may mean launching into a field completely new for you. So do your research.
Regardless, you’ll have to study your market. And then plan.
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Nov
5
What Barack Obama’s Acceptance Speech Can Teach You About Marketing
Filed Under Real Estate Marketing | Leave a Comment
Do you know who David Axelrod is? He’s Barack Obama’s chief strategist. And he’s the man who Barack owes for winning the election.
Barack made this clear during his acceptance speech last night. He said, “To my chief strategist, David Axelrod–who has been a partner with me every step of the way, to the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics–you made this happen.”
It’s amazing what you learn about real estate marketing from a political campaign. And it’s even more amazing what you can learn from Barack’s acceptance speech. And what it can do for your marketing success. So let’s see what we can learn about real estate marketing from Barack’s acceptance speech.
Consumers Are in Control
I don’t think there was ever any question in Axelrod’s or Obama’s mind about who they needed to win over. Even during his acceptance speech, Barack Obama said “you” more times than we. And during his campaign, that was clear. He surrendered the message, the conversation, to his voters.
In the same way, you need to surrender your message and your conversation to your prospects and clients. How do you do this? Listen and respond by giving your prospects and clients what they asked for. It’s as easy as that.
Brilliant Storyteller
Outside of his excellent skills as an orator, his smooth, seamless delivery, Obama can tell a story. He can weave the hard issues of life into a personal drama that just about everyone can relate to.
Take 106 year old Ann Nixon Cooper. Her story arced over a century with a generous amount of pain, hardship, misery and progress to finally see the day when she could not only vote–but vote for a black man. Over 60 years ago, this was impossible for two reasons–she was a woman and black.
Like a legend, that story will attach it’s self to the Obama presidency. And spread. Because it’s a story we believe. And it’s a story we respond to. Create a believable story and people will follow you.
Created the Common Enemy
Obama knew the problems that plagued America. And not only the country, but the government. Whether he’s right or not, that’s another story. But he defined the problem in such a way that people responded. And responded in droves.
In his speech, Obama cataloged petty, immature, partisan politics, selfish, greed-driven markets and utter ignorance of the widespread suffering on Main street as the poisons that ruined our country.
In other words, he created an enemy. A common opponent apathetic, fatigued people could rally around. People rally quickly when threatened. Think Pearl Harbor. 9/11.
Find the enemy in your own market demonizing people…and communicate a plan how you plan to exorcise it to the people who are demonized and you’ll win big fans, rock star like status.
Used Social Media Wisely and Liberally
On Obama’s website, you could easily sign up for every single social media site Barack was on: Facebook, Twitter. You name it.
While he didn’t use social media directly in his acceptance speech, he did, I believe, use what he, Axelrod and their team learned from what voters were telling them via the social media sites.
How do I know? The sole purpose of social media is relationship. Connection. Listening. And responding.
It’s impossible not to learn anything about how people are feeling about your market, city or state when you listen to them. And social media allows you to talk to an impressive swath of people at all times of the day.
Think about it: This is cheap market research.
Free tools you can use to find potent stories, discover the problems that plague them and give the consumers the control that will ultimately make you a person they can trust. And a person they want to work with.
Your Turn
How do you plan to give consumers control? How do you plan to use social media? Do you have any brilliant stories you share in your marketing? Do you have a common enemy in your market?
Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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Nov
4
It’s hard enough to get a referral after a successful sale. Expired–forget it.
To make matters worse, the economy’s tanked and it’s an election year. (Is the election almost over?) So, selling a home can seem near impossible at times. And wrenching a referral out of it like pulling teeth.
And it doesn’t matter if you are a rookie or seasoned veteran. Some homes just won’t move and never produce a referral. Even if you use critical strategies like these.
But here’s the real kicker: if your signs stays up a long time in somebody’s yard, or someone else’s sign replaces yours, the neighbors will feel you did not do your job, and they won’t quite trust you. Even if it wasn’t your fault the home didn’t move.
And like the seven natural laws of real estate prospecting, this is just a natural law in real estate, too: Homes that are on the market longer than 60 days are earmarked as problem homes.
However, a home that stays on the market too long gets a bad rap, but unfortunately, so do you. It can turn into a referral nightmare.
It gets even worse if your picture is on the sign in the yard. And if you have two such homes at once, it could get really ugly for you.
So, the idea is to spot a potential problem home during the listing presentation. (There’s good reason you don’t want to win every listing presentation.)
What you want to know is if the home is something you want to add to your inventory. Or not. Here are the 13 questions you should ask yourself before taking a listing:
1. Is this a home you would not object to buying yourself?
2. Does the home show well?
3. If not what can be done to improve the salability (and is the seller ready to take those steps)?
4. Are the sellers’ expectations and timeframe reasonable?
5. Are the sellers motivated?
6. Is there a sense of urgency?
7. Is there a need to sell? (More space? Relocation?)
8. What are the positives of the home?
9. What are the negatives of the home?
10. Are there any structural issues that need to be addressed?
11. Will the sellers address the negatives prior to listing the home?
12. Will the sellers agree to price the home in-line with the neighborhood comps?
13. Will the sellers list with you, at your commission rate and terms?
If the answers to the above questions are mostly “No,” then why bother taking the listing? You are just setting yourself up for acquiring a bad reputation.
To do so will ensure an unhappy relationship with unreasonable demands until the term of the listing expires. And a dismal career to boot.
You don’t want a dismal career, do you?
Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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Oct
22
10 Critical Strategies for New Real Estate Agents in Any Market
Filed Under Leadership, Strategy | 2 Comments
The President of the United States gets 100 days to prove himself. You get less. A lot less.
But like the President, what you do in the early days of your new career will largely determine whether you sink or swim.
This is a time of opportunity for you. A chance to start fresh. A new beginning. But it’s also a time of vulnerability. You’re a stranger in a strange land–with just a few dollars in your pocket.
The stakes are obviously high.
Failure in the early days of your career can spell the end of a promising business. So this post is not just about exploiting opportunities and advancing your career. It’s also about preventing failure.
Therefore, your goal should be to arrive at critical mass as rapidly as possible. If you succeed in this, you’ll free up precious time to focus on business development.
Follow these 10 critical strategies and you will inevitably exploit opportunities, prevent failures and advance your career.
1. Promote Yourself
First and foremost, make a clear break with your last job. Quit it if at all possible. Part-timers are crummy real estate agents.
Then, hit the ground running. Announce to everyone you know–including your old boss and co-workers–that you are a real estate agent. What you want is immediate traction. This means reworking your network.
Furthermore, learn everything you can about real estate. And start sharing that information. On a blog. In a newsletter. At networking events.
And most importantly: watch out for people who want to hold you back.
2. Accelerate Your Learning
If you aren’t a reader–become one. Fast. If you aren’t a learner–get over it. You’ll need to become one if you want to succeed in real estate.
Now, if you have trouble learning or find reading boring, do this: view it as an investment. Imagine every hour spent learning is a possible $100 down the road.
Furthermore, to be systematic about learning, you’ll need to define your learning agenda. You’ll need to find the best sources of insight (this could be designations, coaching, conferences or mentors. Or all of them). What’s always helped me when I want to learn something is to adopt a learning plan. This will work for you, too.
3. Match Strategy to Situation
Always diagnose the business situation you are entering before you create a strategy. Is it a hot market or a sluggish market? Urban or rural? What are the challenges and opportunities? Should you play offense or defense? What are the right skills needed to lead?
Also, understand the history, the people and the culture of your market. This can be some of your best clues on how to succeed in your market.
4. Nail Down Early Wins
While there are a lot of ways to build credibility, early wins is certainly one of the best.
What is an early win? Great thing about early wins in real estate is that you get to define them. An early win could be getting a buyer for a piece of property your company’s best salesperson has been having trouble selling. Or it could be as small as meeting key leaders in your city.
Early wins involve rewards not just for your clients or co-workers–but for you, too. But whatever the win, make sure it’s a tangible result. Something you can measure.
5. Negotiate Success
How do you build a productive relationship with the people you work with–whether clients or co-workers? There are several do’s and don’ts.
First, the do’s. Take responsibility for making every relationship work. Clarify expectations ealry and often. Negotiate times for action. Aim for early wins important to your clients and co-workers. Pursue relationships with people your clients and co-workers respect.
Second, the don’ts. Never trash the past. Don’t avoid communicating with your clients or co-workers. Never surprise them. Never approach them with problems only. Never run down a checklist. Never try to change the people you work with.
6. Get Alignment from Key People
Think of yourself as an architect for your business. You’re the one who’s responsible for making sure your business is productive, effective and efficient. And that the important people in your business–the one’s who are going to help you succeed–are behind your strategy.
This includes all the obvious people: your boss, partner, manager and co-workers. But believe it or not, this also includes your spouse. He or she needs to be on board with you are doing. Otherwise, expect grief.
7. Build Your Team
I can honestly say that the number one way to grow a business is to build a team. In other words, delegate work. Rock star agents probably not so much, but other successful agents move rapidly to add people to their team because they realize they can accomplish more when they have a group of people working as one on a compelling vision.
8. Create Coalitions
Sooner or later, you will need the support of peers–whether you like them or not. That’s why it’s so important to identify supporters and opponents, and then figure out how you can influence them.
This might mean you’ll have to humble yourself and act kindly toward someone you can’t stand. If that makes you want to hurl, think about this: one act of kindness now could lead to a strategic advantage in the future. One act of defiance now could lead to a stonewall–and a critical failure.
9. Keep Your Balance
This is the real estate killer–unending work. Seven day work weeks. Midnight closing times. Going into the office on holidays. Allow this to happen and you will burnout, or worse, lose your family.
Take stock, set limits on your business and be disciplined. For example, you could have a goal for a four-day work week. Or a four hour work week. Whatever your plan, stick to it.
10. Develop Everyone
If you follow the previous strategies you should be well on your way to reaping a rewarding real estate career. However, you’re not done.
Don’t forget about the people around you. Make it a plan to develop every member on your team into a leader. Help those in your peer or mastermind group to grow. Help client’s achieve success outside of buying or selling a home. Ask yourself: whose life can I accelerate?
If you want more help on making that transition between jobs, read Michael Watkins The First 90 Days.
Did you find this article useful? If so, leave a comment. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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Oct
14
Why Your Advertising Never Works (And What to Do About It)
Filed Under Real Estate Marketing | Leave a Comment
Has this ever happened to you?
You spend the weekend hunched over your computer writing and designing a postcard to announce a new listing. On Monday, you spend one hundred dollars to print the postcards. On Tuesday, you spend an additional fifty to mail them.
But nothing happens. What gives?
The Reason Your Advertising Doesn’t Work
The reason your advertising doesn’t work–whether it’s a billboard or email newsletter or postcard mailing–is simple: you never test.
Testing, especially for you DIY real estate marketers, is critical if you want to find out what works. And make it even better.
But all good tests start at the same place: a good test strategy. You must know where you are going before you begin the trip. And to do that, you must ask the right questions. Otherwise, at the end of the test, you are lost in an ocean of data.
To avoid that conundrum and to stop wasting your time and money, follow these four critical ways to test.
Creative
Creative tests involve experiments with the copy, cover treatments, envelope size and envelope copy. These tests tend to be the easiest to conduct. And offer a popular way to increase response.
A common test is to write two entirely different pieces of copy. One uses fear and the other uses pride. And the whole reason you went after these two emotions is because you’ve studied your prospect and profiled him. (Remember, writing is one of the best skills you can practice and hone.)
Another common, easy creative test is envelope copy. Try one envelope with a teaser like, “You will never sell your home, unless…” and the other envelope with no copy at all. If you find out the teaser copy pulled in more response, then roll it out to the rest of your list.
Or test and refine the teaser copy. Your call.
Offer
Most real estate marketers go after offer tests after they’ve tinkered with the creative. These tests involve promotions–or a combination of promotions–to increase response.
An example of differing offers can be as simple as “Sign with me and I’ll let you use my moving van” or “Sign with me and I’ll pay your moving costs.” You’re looking for what motivates people–service or money.
Offer tests help you understand what drives response and are an efficient way to work your list of prospects.
One thing to watch out for when conducting an offer test: make sure you account for the full cost of the test. Examine how the test impacts your profit and loss in the long run. That means don’t forget to include all costs for owning a moving van, if that’s your offer.
Timing and Frequency
Another big question real estate marketers like you need to ask is “When and how often should I mail/email/advertise/etc.?”
The answer to that question will help you to determine if an aggressive pay-per-click campaign or ad placement does better in getting more customers for a small investment. Or it will give you the value of an incremental mailing.
Do you get more response when you send out an email on Monday morning or Monday evening? Do you get more response when you email them twice a week for three months or once a week for six months?
Those are the kinds of questions you need to ask.
Keep in mind, you need to wait to the end tests before making a judgment on your test. Especially when it comes to long-term tests. If your incremental mailing is six months, wait six months.
Lists
Testing lists is a basic must-have in your marketing plan if you want to acquire new prospects and clients. But the questions you need to ask aren’t as cut-and-dry as the previous tests. You’ll need to think deep on this.
For example, which zip code responds better to an appeal on prestige, success or fear? What neighborhood will accept a flat-out advertisement versus a more editorial style advertisement?
However, investing time in figuring out the right questions to ask will reward you well. In addition, you must experiment with just a portion of a list until you find the right combo of other factors. Once you do, then roll it out to the rest of the list.
Conclusion
Asking the right questions is the key to effective testing. And once you find out which list responds to the right copy, creative and offer you’ll become a rock-star real estate marketer.
Did you find this article useful? If so, leave a comment. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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Oct
6
7 Proven, No-Nonsense Ways to Get Way More Referrals–and Save Your Real Estate Career
Filed Under Networking, Real Estate Prospecting Ideas | 2 Comments
For the overworked, overcommitted and all-around overwhelmed real estate agent I have one piece of no-nonsense advice for you–that really works.
Learn to make people talk about you.
Last week I wrote about the two most productive lead generation activities in real estate marketing that several Baylor University researchers discovered–referrals and IVR technology.
To piggyback on that discovery, I’m going to zero in on referrals this week and IVR technology next week.
You’ll Make More Money. Simple Enough?
Referrals are by far the most effective leads you can find. They don’t cost anything and they come with a substantial recommendation from a past client, friend or family member.
Referral leads are ready-made leads. They are leads that require nothing more than for you to bump them into the basket.
But it’s not really that simple.
It does require diligent work with clients, providing divine customer service–the kind of service that people only dream about. But when they do experience that kind of care, they can’t believe it, and they can’t stop talking about it.
Sound like a far-fetched dream?
It doesn’t need to be. Just follow these 7 practical steps to creating a great referral business and in less than six months you’ll unlock a majestic mountain of fresh, ready-to-buy or sell leads.
1. Provide Astonishing, Jaw-Dropping Service
The first step is to provide a high level of service in the first place. If the service is not exceptional, no one will send any referrals. This goes back to the idea of divine customer service.
But in my experience what most clients want from you is consistent feedback. (Has that been your experience?)
When your clients feel you have communicated with them clearly and regularly and beyond their expectations, their level of satisfaction goes up. Clients can overlook other errors at times, but lack of communication is rarely forgiven.
Achieve a satisfying level of communication with your clients and you’ve found the first key to generating more refarrals.
2. Ask Past Clients for Referrals
A second, but simple step toward obtaining referrals is to ask for them.
There is no substitute for actually prospecting for referrals. Picking up the phone and communicating with your past clients is crucial.
3. Ask Current Clients for Referrals
Third, do not forget to ask your current clients. (Tips two and three can be summed up this way: ask every client.) The people you are currently working with can be your best referral sources.
The ides is to strike while the iron is hot.
They’re telling everyone they meet that they are either buying or selling. They are in a fit of anxiety, eager to talk to people about buying or selling a home. Their whole conversations revolve around their current activity in real estate.
So, you want to hit these people early on when their excitement is high.
4. Create an Automatic System to Cultivate Past Clients
Understand you must consistently contact your past clients in order to achieve success in referrals. Creating a program that helps keep you in constant contact with your past clients will yield the best results.
You will receive a good 80 percent of your referrals from 20 percent of your past clients.
5. Track, Monitor and Measure Referrals
Make sure to effectively track who is sending you the business. You need to know which people to spend the most time, energy, effort, and dollars on.
You might be surprised who is your leading salesperson in the field. By tracking, you can accurately reward the ‘top producer’ of referrals. And people love recognition from others.
A simple spreadsheet or more complex customer relationship management software can help you do this.
6. Build Something Past Clients Are Proud to Share
Put out the welcome mat. Invite your current and past clients to visit your website to enjoy articles, tips or quizzes.
Also, make it easy for your current clients to navigate your website or blog. Do something on the web that establishes your authority.
7. Identify and Provide What People Want
Finally, the surest way to success is finding out what people want–and then giving it to them. This can even be about finding needs or wants people don’t know they have…and meeting them. Think Apple iPod.
Nobody thought they needed the iPod. But Apple mined their customer base and the world at large and discovered some keen insights that helped them develop the iPod. All Apple had to do was get out of the way after that.
Conclusion
My best advice to you is become something incredible. Become something people can’t stop talking about. Become a purple cow.
Be diligent in identifying and providing what your customers want or need. Pay close attention to what people on the street are saying. Never stop asking, listening, learning and giving.
Once you do this, all you’ll need to do then is get out of the way.
Did you find this article useful? If so, leave a comment. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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Sep
29
The Two Most Productive Lead Generation Activities in Real Estate
Filed Under Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Prospecting Ideas | 2 Comments
In June 2008, four Baylor University researchers discovered that referrals and IVR (Interactive Voice Response) technology rank as the top two most productive lead generation activities in real estate.
Researchers Pullig, Indergard, Blake and Simpson focused on lead generation as a three-step process:
- Lead generation. This step identified potentinal clients through efforts like direct contact, print advertising, list acquisition or referrals.
- Conversion of the lead to an appointment. This step established an appointment.
- Closure of the appointment to a transaction. The final step involved a listing with a seller or the buying of a property with the buyer.
What Real Estate Lead Generation Activities Really Worked
In addition to referrals and IVR technology, real estate agents in the survey rated seven other lead generation activites as significantly productive–that is, they had a higher return on investment than other activities.
- Repeat Business
- Open Houses
- FSBO Expired Leads
- Networking
- Signage
- Telemarketing
- Internet/Website
Where Do Agents Spend Their Money When Creating Leads?
The Baylor researchers identified 18 different sources that real estate agents invested their lead generation dollars into. The top nine sources for lead generation spending were:
- Direct Mail (23%)
- Internet/Website (17%)
- Print Advertising (14%)
- Referrals (10%)
- Signage (9%)
- Repeat Business (6%)
- Open Houses (5%)
- Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Technology (4.5%)
- Promotional Items (4.2%)
What Kinds of Leads and How Do Real Estate Agents Handle Them?
Five Characteristics of Successful Lead Generating Real Estate Agents
The Baylor researchers also discovered two things about those real estate agents who reported doing better or much better in their market. These real estate agents also reported:
- Significantly higher lead conversion rates to appointments
- Higher conversion rates from appointments to a transaction when compared to those who say they are not doing as well
Real estate agents who reported doing much better in their market tended to:
- Have higher lead and appointment conversion rates
- Spend less on open houses as a percentage of their total spending
- Spend less on promotional items as a percentage of their total spending
- Are more productive when using open houses
- Are more seeker oriented in their lead generation activities
The Not-So-Surprising Results of Faster Lead Conversion Follow Up
Characteristics of Successful Agents in Tough Markets
- Higher lead and appointment conversion rates
- Greater spending on Internet/Website as a percentage of total spending
- Greater spending on IVR Technology as a percentage of total spending
- Less spending on signage as a perentage of total spending
- Less spedning on open houses as a percentage of total spending
- More seek-oriented in their lead generation activities
In contrast, real estate agents in a healthy market tended to lean on attract-oriented lead generation strategies while agents in stable markets use a balance of both seek and attract-oriented activities.
What to Do Next
One way to approach this information is to use it as a baseline for your own lead generation investment.
Are you spending your lead generation dollars in the right places? More importantly, are you tracking, measuring and testing your lead generation activities?
Without question, IVR technology is the perfect tool for tracking and measuring the effectiveness of your lead generation activities. In fact, IVR technology can slach your advertising costs by 30% while raising the amount of leads you generate.
Second, determine which type of market you are in. Then, adopt one of the strategies pointed out above: seeker-oriented, attract-oriented or seeker/attract-oriented.
Third, develop an effective referral-generating system. Service-For-Life is a great, inexpensive tool.
Finally, if you are stumped on how to close more appointments into listings and more listings into transactions, seek help. Training by coaches like Bob Corcoran is priceless.
Did you find this article useful? If so, leave a comment. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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Sep
24
5 Unbeatable Reasons for Using Audacity to Get the Most Out of Real Estate Negotiations
Filed Under Real Estate Negotiation | Leave a Comment
You, more than likely, are timid. That is extremely dangerous.
When you are timid, your value is lowered and you create a never-ending cycle of doubt and disaster.
Ever wonder why you almost always lose every real estate negotiation or listing presentation you enter?
It’s probably because you are timid.
Machiavelli said, “It is better to be impetuous than cautious, for fortune is a woman, and it is necessary, if you wish to master her, to conquer her by force.”
In other words, it’s better to enter a real estate negotiation or listing presentation boldly rather than bashfully.
Audacity and shyness elicit very different psychological responses from people. Shyness puts obstacles in your path. Boldness eliminates them. That’s why it’s essential to overcome your natural timidity–and practice the habit of audacity.
What are some of the benefits of audacity? The following are among the most pronounced reasons for cultivating a habit of audacity.
1. The More Audacious the Claim the Better
We all have weaknesses. But entering a negotiation or presentation with boldness has a miraculous impact timidity or shyness could never have.
Con artists will tell you the bolder the lie, the more convincing it becomes. People will hardly believe someone would have the audacity to sell the Eiffel Tower [work safe video on YouTube]–if it weren’t true.
The sheer audacity of the story makes it credible. Audacity distracts people away from a claim’s weaknesses. It draws attention to your strengths–and not your deficiencies.
What does this mean to you? When entering a negotiation or listing presentation, go further than you planned.
Ask for the moon and you will be surprised how often you get it.
2. Lions Circle Weak Prey
Some people have a sixth sense for the weakness of others.
When you show a willingness to compromise, back down, bend, be pushed around or retreat, you bring out the lion in people who aren’t necessarily bloodthirsty.
Don’t forget: Everything depends on perception, which Johnathan Miller points out in his post “[On Top of the Mountain] What’s Up with Value?” is personal.
Once you are seen as the kind of person who quickly retreats, compromises or backs down, the word will get out. And you’ll be pushed around without mercy even though it’s a subjective, personal perception.
Audacity announces to people “Not one to be bullied.” And that word will get around, too.
3. Audacity Strikes Fear and Creates Authority
Wish you could overpower a bully? Someone who–intentionally or unintentionally–is behaving audacious? Then do this.
Assert yourself. Pull out your bold move. You could:
- Tell them to be quite.
- Walk out of the home or office, slamming the door.
- Pound your fist down and grit your teeth.
- Smile, and tear up the contract.
In her article, “Top 10 List: What Sellers and Buyers Expect from a Real Estate Agent,” Elizabeth Weintraub strongly believes that people not only want you to be friendly–but assertive.
I couldn’t agree more.
The bold move makes you seem larger and more powerful than you really are. If it comes suddenly, with the stealth and swiftness of a viper, it inspires that much more fear.
By intimidating with a bold move, you establish precedent: in every subsequent encounter, people will be on the defensive, in terror of your next move.
4. Audacity Destroys Gaps
When you hem and haw you create a gap that allows others to think as well. You don’t want to do that.
Besides, your timidity infects people with awkward energy. It elicits embarrassment. Doubt springs up on all sides. You don’t want that, either.
In persuasion, two things are fatal:
- Hesitation. It allows people time to reflect. To think about what you are saying. To weigh their options.
- Timid speech. As Greg Swann points out at Bloodhound Blog in his post how to tell a hawk from a handsaw (quoting Ben Jonson) hesitation in speech injures you. People think disordered speech reflects disordered mind.
Boldness destroys such gaps. The swiftness of the move injects confidence. The energy of action and precision of voice leaves people no space to doubt and worry.
The bold move crowns persuasion with triumph. It leaves no time to reflect.
5. Audacity Captivates Peoples Attention
Want to captivate an audience at your next listing presentation? At the right time, make a bold move.
Audacity gives you presence and makes you seem larger than life. The timid fade into the curtains. The bold draw attention. Stand out. Demand respect.
What draws attention naturally draws power. We cannot keep our eyes off the audacious. We cannot wait to see their next bold move.
For example, you could:
- Make a near-unbelievable claim: “I don’t work for anything less than 9% commission. That’s how good I am. Let me explain.”
- Give them an offer beyond their imagination: ”If I don’t sell your home…I’ll buy it from you. And pay your moving costs.”
- Stun them into silence with an impetuous, daring move: Arrive at the listing presentation with your “For Sale” signage in your arms.
Whatever you do, think large.
What Not to Do with Audacity
Audacity should never be the strategy behind all of your actions. Some circumstances don’t require a tire iron–but a kid’s glove.
Audacity should be part of a larger plan. Think through your negotiations and listing presentations and always conclude with a bold move.
Learn to control and use audacity at will. And Never lose the ability to tell when boldness is appropriate–and when it is not.
Timidity, on the other hand, has no place in power.
Faking it, though, can bring tremendous results. It can make you likable, approachable and personal. A perfectly timed show of shyness allows others to put their guard down. And that’s when you can regain the upper hand.
That is, if you ever lost it. Or never had it.
Did you find this article useful? If so, leave a comment. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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Sep
18
Take Advantage of This Psychological Buyer Quirk to Sell Any Home Now
Filed Under Real Estate Listing Tips, Real Estate Marketing | 3 Comments
Once upon a time a seller could price her home with the promise that she would get the full price.
She would review each offer as it came in. She would work with her agent to make a careful and calculated decision about which offer she should take. Then, she would select her buyer–normally above or at full price.
Unfortunately, in most markets today, this doesn’t–or can’t–happen.
The Death of the Typical Bidding War
Hot markets meant buyers made absurd, exuberent offers for just about every home that was priced. That doesn’t happen anymore.
In a slow market, a typical bidding war begins–if it begins at all–with the marketing of a slightly undervalued home. That means selecting a price that is at the low end of the expected selling price range.
This may not please your seller one bit–but it may result in multiple offers. And naturally, multiple offers tend–no promise, though–to drive the selling price up.
However, if you choose a low-pricing strategy, make sure that the property is adequately exposed to the market before you entertain offers. (And make sure you use the seven natural laws of prospecting I wrote about in August.) That’s the key to taking advantage of the psychological buyer quirk I’m going to share with you in a minute.
The New, Slow-Market Approach to Pricing a Home
Typically, sellers using this approach wait 10 days to two weeks before they entertain offers. During this time there is a broker open house and one or two public open houses.
Without this exposure, your home could sell at the low end of the range because only a limited number of buyers will have seen the property.
But if all the pieces come together, you’ll have an environment for a multiple offer situation–which can be very lucrative.
How to Correct Pricing Misconceptions of a Home Seller
In addition to stressing the benefits of setting a lower price to your sellers during the pre-listing stage, this time also affords you the opportunity to correct sellers’ misconceptions on pricing.
Some sellers might be tempted to choose another salesperson who quotes them a higher asking price.
This shoud make you ask: “Does the salesperson want your success or a listing?” A salesperson who gives an unrealistically high price is making an empty promise.
Why Overpricing Doesn’t Work
Other sellers believe that overpricing will work to their advantage because it will give them ‘bargaining room.’
If you run into sellers who want to overprice their home, tell them that althouhg overpricing in a rising market may be appropriate, no one has ever had a successful client overprice in a falling market.
Leaving bargaining room isn’t as valuable a negotiating tool as bringing in a greater number of highly motivated buyers.
The Secret to Creating Irresistable Demand for a Home
How do you lure in the greatest number of motivated buyers? By setting a competitive price. Seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t know this.
Explain to your client that an attractively priced home pulls in buyers. This sometimes means a home below market value.
Tough sell. But remind them, more buyers equals more competition. And more competition means that the home will actually sell–which, in reality, is the most important thing to keep in mind.
Tap Into This Psychological Quirk of Buyers
Did you know that a home usually gets the most attention from buyers just after it’s put on the market? That’s right. Immediately after a home is listed, its flooded by buyers.
These are the buyer’s who are highly motivated. They have agents. They have instant notification via email and text when homes go on sale. They scour neighborhoods weekly. They’re primed.
And they flock to new homes on the market–ready to make a bid on the drop of a hat if necessary.
If you could view the number of times a home is seen during the first four weeks, what you’d see is a spike in activity in the first two weeks–then a sudden drop.
That’s why it’s necessary to encourage sellers to take full advantage of this phenomenon by showing their home in the best condition and…setting it at the best price during the first four weeks of the marketing efforts.
You want this home to be something buyer’s won’t forget–even if they’re not ready to buy just yet.
Here’s why.
Let’s say you did this for two weeks…but no takers. After your careful research, you and the sellers decided it’s still priced too high because you got plenty of activity…but zero offers.
If you use a tool like Showing Feedback, all you have to do is log into your Email Center on your account and send an email blast to all of the agents who have viewed the home. This includes every single person who was in the first wave of buyers.
If the home is priced accordingly, then there’s a good chance that you have laid the foundation for multiple offers.
What to Do Next
Now, if you find that you still don’t get the activity that you expected–lower the price even further.
You’ll eventually get to a point where the house is priced at an acceptable rate for the market. Send out another email blast…and kick back…and wait for the calls to come in.
Because they will. It never fails
Remember: There are enough people in this world who are interested in your client’s home. As long as you have chosen your clients carefully.
You just have to make sure the price gets to a point that they crave. Then they’ll come out of the woodwork.
Did you find this article useful? If so, leave a comment. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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