Archive for May, 2008

I Am NOT a Lead…

May 30, 2008 Agent Life

Many of you may have seen this video before about real estate clients and how they feel about being treated at leads:

For many agents watching this video, it’s a hard pill to swallow. They’re not paying you for your time. They don’t care about your personal life. They only care about how many listings you have and how much you know.

What are your thoughts on this video? Do we treat our clients like leads? Or are these people ridicuolus in their expectations of an agent?

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Using Direct Mail for Marketing Campaigns

May 29, 2008 Marketing

A lot of agents are tempted to use mailers as a form of advertising. Unfortunately, in most cases much of the effort and cost is wasted with no return. Here are 5 tips on generating more income from mail.

1. Do not send to the popular and well known neighborhoods. These residents are bombarded with real estate mail along with a ton of other junk mail. Your postcard or letter will likely not even be read!

2. Choose a targeted area that you will send to regularly. You can choose a geographical location or neighborhood based on neighborhood sales prices. By sending to these areas on a regular basis, it will create awareness as they begin to recognize your name. Try to mail out at least once a month with something new or interesting.

3. Send useful mail: Many mailers are boring, unattractive, or don’t even get looked at before they’re tossed in the trash. Make sure your mailers are eye catching and provide value. You can offer free reports, recipes, market updates, and other neighborhood and community information. Don’t forget to also send Just Listed, Just Sold, and open house cards as they will show homeowners you are active in the market. Having a mailer professionally designed may be well worth it if you are not good at designing your own mail materials.

4. Be cost conscious: The price of a direct mail campaign can become quite costly. Be sure to compare rates with various printers and to also discuss paper sizes, weights, and color options in your mail campaign. Keep in mind it is cheaper to mail postcards than a 9 x 14 envelope.

5. Track your progress: Make sure you keep track of where you are mailing to and what responses you receive. If you are consistently sending mail and not seeing any return, you may want to reconsider your direct mail campaign and see what changes could be made to improve your results.

The US Post Office has a lot of information available regarding Direct Mail. To view their resources, click here.

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FREE Access to Tradepub.com

May 28, 2008 Technology & Productivity

Complimentary Sales & Marketing Resources

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Real Estate Safety 101

May 27, 2008 Agent Life

Many real estate agents, excited by the prospect of a sale, often overlook the important necessity of practicing real estate safety tips. It would be nice if we lived in a safe world where we never had to worry about bad people. Unfortunately, for all the nice people we meet, there are always a few to be wary of. Because of this, it is very important to learn about real estate safety and practice these real estate safety tips at all time.

 It is a common misconception that only female real estate agents are subjects of these crimes and need to worry about real estate safety, but many real estate related crimes and violence have also happened to male agents. These real estate safety tips aren’t meant to scare you but to help you avoid dangerous situations.

To help protect yourself in real estate, here are some tips on real estate safety:

1. Research your clients: It never hurts to run a quick search of their name on Google or check their names and addresses on sites such as Anywho.com.

2. Always meet at the office first: Never meet a customer at a property if you have not met them previously. Make it your policy to always make photocopies of drivers licenses or other identification before you get in the car with them. It’s also not a bad idea to write down their car make and model and license plate information. You may also want to make a big deal of introducing the person to other agents in your office as this may deter them if they could be easily remembered or recognized.

2. Always tell someone where you are going: Make sure they know where you will be and when you expect to be back. It’s not a bad idea to have a friend or family member call to check in on you or send a quick text message while you’re out with clients.

3. Be wary of cash buyers: Always find out their bank information and request a verification of available funds if a buyer is paying cash before you go out. Most buyers will be compliant with this once you explain to them it makes their offers even more attractive to sellers. If a customer refuses to do this or be pre-qualified for a sale, it can be a huge red flag that something could be suspicious.

4. Always leave yourself an exit: One of the first things I learned when doing an open house is to let the customer walk into the room first so you are not trapped. It is also a good idea to keep your cell phone in your hand in case you may need it.

5. Remember safety in numbers: It’s okay to ask someone from your office to accompany you if you are nervous about a customer. Just make sure you’re willing to return the favor if they should ever need it.

6. Don’t underestimate women: Many people will let their guard down around female customers, thinking only men would attack them. Women are just as capable of robbery or may work with a partner who could be waiting at a house for you to arrive.

7. Trust your instincts: If something doesn’t seem right to you, there is no requirement for you to work with any customer. Your life and your safety is always more important than any sale.

8. Brainstorm with your office: Ask your office manager if there are any safety guidelines in place. If not, make sure it is something you discuss at the next sales meeting on ways to be safer in real estate.

9. Dress for safety: Do not wear provacative clothes or shoes that are difficult to run in. Make your public profile photos as professional as possible. You are a real estate agent - not a model. Many agents are targeted due to their appearance in public profile photos online and in advertisements. Wearing valuable jewelry can also make you a target for theives.

10. Practice Car Safety: If possible, park on the street and in well-lit areas. Make sure you can always get to your car easily. Do not ever get into your client’s car.

These are just a few ways to practice real estate safety and be safe while selling real estate. For more valuable resources on real estate safety and to download client safety forms, visit the Real Estate Safety Council.

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Using MySpace and Other Social Networking Sites to Meet Clients

May 24, 2008 Marketing

Social Networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and others can be a great way to gain more clients. Contrary to popular belief, there are not just high school and college kids using these sites. From my MySpace friends list alone, 3 of them have bought and sold houses in the past year.

Here are some ways to make social networking work for you on a site like MySpace.com:

Create a Profile: Creating a profile on these sites is easy to do, even with little or no website or html experience. The sites provide step-by-step instructions, custom lay-out options, and more. To make your profile attractive, choose a simple color scheme. Fill out the About Me, Who I’d Like to Meet, Interests, and other forms to display on your page. Be sure to enter your zip code, school information, website link, and other networking information.

Beef Up Your Friends List: The best place to start adding friends is searching for old classmates from college or high school. Search for people by their email address or last name to find friends you may have lost touch with over the years. Next, search by age and zip code radius to find other friends and to eliminate anyone under the age 18. Don’t forget to look for other local businesses or other professionals to network with.

Post Interesting Bulletins: Bulletins are messages that can be read by everyone on your friends list. This a great way to share links to your listings, offer your services, or notify people of special events. Share a joke, recipe, video, story, news article, or other non-real estate info in between real estate posts so people will not be turned off by your bulletins. Do not post more than 2 bulletins each week. If you feel the need to write, start a blog on the site. Be sure that everything you post meets national and state advertising requirements, as well as your broker’s rules and the MySpace terms of service.

Check the Classifieds & Forums: MySpace free classifieds are one of the site’s best kept secrets. By checking these every few days you can potentially tap into meeting with many good people and gaining exposure for your listings. Networking groups also provide a good way to meet people.

Keep in Touch: Once you’ve added friends, it’s important to keep in steady contact with everyone on your list. Leave comments on their pages, send them personalized messages, and reply to their bulletins. Include your link on all outgoing messages and comments at the bottom so they will always be subtly reminded of your business.

Practice Savvy Internet Safety: Don’t share personal information or agree to meet someone unless it’s a public, well-lighted place. If something seems unusual, trust your instincts. No sale is worth jeopardizing your safety.

These tips will help you make the most of your social networking experience. Within a few months you should hopefully start seeing some results from very little effort.

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