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Blogging with Activerain

Why use ActiveRain as your Blog?

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ActiveRain currently has a membership of over 160,000 RE Industry members averaging 200 new members daily.  There are more than 1.3 million articles posted, with an average of 10,000 new posts monthly.  Two million+ visitors traffic the ActiveRain network each month, over 80% are consumers.  Only Rainmaker upgraded accounts receive Google traffic to their blogs and posts.  ActiveRain Members blog posts receive more than 500 views on average.  Activerain provides a wide of variety of tools, services, and solutions to the Real Estate community and to the consumer.

So you think this might be a good resource for your business?

• Think about building your realtor base nationwide
• AR is a cost effective way of starting a blog
• Access to Localism  you can sponsor your community ( if it is available )

Here is the link to an ebook that will guide you through ActiveRain

 

Blogging on Trulia

Trulia Blogs

One way to set up a blog is on a site such as Trulia. Trulia is similar to other MLS aggregators that put together the property listings for the public ot search. You can start your blog once you set up your account on Trulia. Here is a short video on seting up your blog.

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Trulia has other features like trulia voices where consumers can  ask questions about real estate and realtors who have signed up for trulia voices can answer these questions. Just another  way to make contact with the consumer !

 

Why Look at Zappo’s Core Values ?

What are your Core Values ?

Zappos is an online store that sells shoes and other items. They have a huge selection and are very efficient. I heard Alfred Lin speak at the Real Estate Connect Conference in San Francisco in August of this year and I was very impressed. He talked about what his company sells, which one would imagine was shoes but instead he said that Zappo’s sells happiness. Zappo’s mission is for their customers to be happy. So everything they do is with this in mind!

This led me to think of the real estate business and what we sell . One might think it is property but I would say we sell the experience. Think about what your customers experience with you. What sets their experience with you apart from the rest?

These are Zappos 10 Core Values. We can use them for our business as well. I encourage you to take a look at them and think about how you can utilize them to better attend to your own business. or better yet come up with your own.

Send me a list of YOUR values.

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

The Value of Blogging

 Are you Part of the Conversation ?

In the video below Seth Godin & Tom Peters talk about the value of blogging. Never before has it been so easy to reach the masses and get your message out. Are you sitting on the sidelines or contributing to your profession, community and the greater good?

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Worrier or Warrior Which are You?

So many people are so very enthusiastic as they launch their  real estate careers, then comes the reality that it takes alot of learning & hard work.

As a Managing Broker I have seen so many different types of people enter the field.

The Worrier : they have done the same thing over so many times and still do not think they know what they are doing. They continually doubt themselves and thus, their customers may doubt them due to the fact that they are always doubting themselves.

Don’t get me wrong I think what we do as realtors is very important & serious business. We deal, in most cases, with the largest purchase & investment a person will make in their lifetime.  My only observation is that the continual doubting and worrying by the agent makes the customer nervous. So I ask you when does the doubting end?

When do you know you know what you are doing? How would you feel going to a doctor that was worried about what he was doing? I don’t think you would go to that doctor. So the same goes for the customer who feels their agent is insecure and not able to fully support them through their transaction.

Now on the other hand….

 The Warrior :  Their attitude is I don’t care what I don’t know just let me out of here so I can work with customers!The Warriors are those agents that don’t know what they don’t know ! Many times they don’t care either ! (Which is pretty scary!)

They are so eager to work with the customers that they skip the training and hit the streets customers in tow !  The customers don’t know, they don’t know, they trust them because their confidence and their ability to work with them is their greatest skill.

If those agents just take some time to learn the technicalities they will be super stars! Instead many times they run themselves ragged and figure they’ll deal with the important details later !

My hope for them is that  they have a strong manager that will slow them down just a bit and assist them in learning the basics, so, that they can  assure that all those deals will close with the least amount of complications possible !

Realtors check out Google Voice!

One Number Rings all your lines !

I have been using Google Voice, formerly Grand Central for quite some time. I got a number when it was still Grand Central. I am sure you would agree that in the Real Estate business your phone is your everything! Customers have your number, your office has your number, vendors have your number, its on your cards and website. As realtors, you need to be accessible & responsive by email & phone.

Well, Google Voice makes that very easy. You need be invited to join & then you can choose practically any area code you want, from local or faraway destinations. You set it to ring your work phone, your cell phone & your home phone or whichever numbers you want to ring. You then can screen your calls, listen in and then decide to pick up or send directly to voice mail. Google Voice also transcribes the voice mail into text and it emails it to you !

SMS and Miscellaneous features

When people SMS your Google Voice number, the message will go directly to one or more (however many you have set up) mobile phones. You can respond to those SMSs directly from the phone, and that response will appear to come from your Google Voice number. You can also send and receive SMSs right from the Google Voice Web interface, so that you don’t have to take out your phone every time you want to text your friend to ask why he’s late picking you up—assuming you’re in front of a computer already, that is. Google Voice lets you archive your SMS logs too so that you can reach them anytime from the website.

Stay tuned for more information on how to use Google Voice in my future posts.

My Google Voice # is 954-892-6199.

Give me a call!

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More Tips for Working with Buyers

What else does the repeat buyer want from their real estate agent?

Tell them what comparable homes are selling for – 11% of buyers want this from their real estate agent.
Help determining how much they can afford – 11% of buyers want this from their real estate agent.
Help find and arrange financing – 2% of buyers want this from their real estate agent.

Be sure you don’t make a habit of “winging it!”

Do you have up to the minute knowledge of the market?

Do you have a credible and dependable loan officer that you work with to qualify your buyers?

I’m sure you will agree, when you get to the point of submitting their offer you will be asked for documentation and the credit worthiness of your buyer … JUST BE PREPARED!

Realtors Get the Word Out About Your Listings

How to Use Postlets to Share your Listings

Here is a video on how to use Postlets

 

Postlets are a great way to get your property noticed. Where other Agents may post their property listings on Craigslist and other sites, a property listing done on Postlets outshines them all.

You can also post the same flyer on various sites like: Craigslist ,Facebook,FrontDoor, GoogleBase,  HotPads  
MySpace ,Oodle ,Trulia , Twitter,  Zillow 
This is a major time saver. Vflyer is another program that is also very good. 

Please participate in the survey below

 

Real Estate Agents Investing in your Business

How Much are you Going to Invest in your Business this Year?  

Your first consideration is “How much did you invest in your real estate business last year and what was your ROI?  Secondly, what were the dollars that produced “results”!  Start making a list of your activities, dollars spent and what were the results!

Here is your measuring stick and rules:

* You must constantly be measuring because you can’t manage what you don’t measure.
* Look at your past expenses and determine if you received a favorable return on the investments in your business.
* Simply focus dollars in the areas that generate a result.
* A rule of thumb for marketing dollars:  You should invest a minimum of 15% of your gross income (dollars before commission split and or fees to your broker) in marketing dollars.

If you would like some assistance in creating a budget, give me a call! Let’s make it work!

Real Estate Agents Must Have a Google Profile

Is Google Getting Social ?

As real estate agents we all want to be easily discoverable  on Google. Well now is the time to add a google profile to your marketing arsenal.

Rismedia states that 30% of all Web searches are conducted to find other people so it stands to reason since Google is the number one search engine that having your google profile can only help you.

If you don’t have a google account you need to sign up for one and then fill out the profile. You can add your website and other profiles on Facebook & Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, etc.

Add information that people may search for like current employer, other companies you worked for, & schools you’ve attended.

Here is a short tutorial on Google Profiles

Make sure you check off “display my whole name so I can be found in search” and make sure you do not display your email address. When you enable the contact feature people can contact you directly from your profile. Of course add a photo!

This may be google’s segue into the social media world to compete with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter & Flickr …so hurry and get in on the action!

Google Profiles is a great way for real estate agents to promote their visibility and build business.