Are you using a “Drip campaign” to stay in touch with prospects who have visited your website? If you aren’t sending them what they asked for, that campaign could backfire.

On a real estate website people generally opt in to hear from you via one of four methods:

• They say yes to a special report
• They do a search for a home
• They use the automated “what’s my home worth” form
• They send an e-mail through your contact me form

When they do this, they give you important information about themselves, and unless you use this information to be choosy about what you send them, your drip campaign can serve to annoy rather than impress.As a real estate copywriter I have occasion to visit a large number of real estate websites. As a form of market research, I occasionally I leave my name, just to see what people are sending. (more…)

1. Stop wasting time

It’s unbelievable how much time is wasted each day on non-revenue generating activities. Every week I speak with at least a small handful of loan officers and Realtors (Even in California) who are still managing to close 8 – 10 deals or more per month. When I brag about these laon officers on my conference calls, it never fails to inspire at least 1 or 2 loan officers to speak up and object, claiming it’s impossible to accomplish in this market.

My answer to this? Take a look at how much time was wasted in the middle of the boom time… Compare that to what you are wasting in today’s market… About the same right? Humans are creatures of habit. We tend to do things the same, even when we shouldn’t!

In a down market, you need to spend at least 40 – 50% of your day in front of people! I’ll say it again: in a down market you need to spend at least 40 – 50% of your day in front of people! What people? Prospects, realtors, FSBO’s, affinity partners etc… Hold teleseminars to save cash, but leverage your time. Network with realtors, host mastermind round table discussions…

It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you structure your day properly. You know all that time you’re spending responding to low priority emails, and checking each and every voicemail right away? Yep, that time could be spent making you money…

2. Stop taking bad advice

It drives me nuts when I see loan officers and Agents spinning their wheels because they are so desperate for answers, they’ll listen to anyone. Yes, I am talking about the dreaded “message board education.” I understand the need for socialization, and getting some advice and friendly conversation all at the same time can be great!

But there’s a crowd of loan officers and Realtors who do nothing more than ask question after question after question on message boards, and build their marketing plans based on what they are told… Funny thing is, spend enough time on these boards, and you’ll find the very same people giving you advice on how to make money, or on how to successfully market yourself complaining about how broke they are!

Anyone else see the disconnect here? Just because something sounds good on paper doesn’t mean it’s worth your time. You’re busy, and you need to spend your time on high payoff activities, not the whim of another well meaning, but ultimately dead broke loan officer! How would you feel showing up at an aerobics class if the instructor was in far worse shape than anyone in the class chomping on a donut while barking out orders? (Don’t misunderstand me. Good advice can come from anywhere… But don’t place the ultimate success or failure of your career on the line so blatantly. Be picky)

Learn from professionals, and take the time to understand the fundamentals of marketing so that you can differentiate from good advice, and bad. (Plenty of “pros” out there giving bad advice as well!)

3. Do what’s uncomfortable

What would be the most uncomfortable thing you do right now? Pick up the phone and cold call the top 10 agents in your city? Give an office presentation at the most successful realty office in town? Record a video and plaster your face all over YouTube?

DO IT! The reason so many loan officers and Realtors are failing and dropping like flies these days is because they choose to be so darn ordinary! Always worried about how uncomfortable they’ll be if they speak to a group of realtors and lose their train of thought… Worried that they might be asked a question and not know the answer… Worried that recording a video is too hard, and advertising online makes them nervous…

See any true physical roadblocks there? None! It’s all mental! You have a choice to do what most are unwilling to do (Which is where the money is at by the way) and most of us choose to make our days ordinary instead of extraordinary…

Personally, I’d rather be uncomfortable for 45 minutes giving a presentation, than be uncomfortable all month worrying about whether my bills will be paid or not. Think about it! Better yet, DO something about it!

The Loan Officer Marketing Lab is an amazing place to get the latest on success in the mortgage business: http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com/chrish

The proper use of the term Realtor seems to be a confusing subject for many real estate professionals, as well as the public. Is a real estate agent a Realtor or is a Realtor a real estate agent. The terms seem to be used interchangeably by everyone. However, these terms are not interchangeable and do not have the same meaning.

Simply put, the term Realtor is to be used solely to indicate that the person using the term is a membe, in good standing of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and who strictly adheres to its Standards and Code of Ethics. The term real estate agent or broker refers to the profession itself.

When is it proper to use REALTOR®, REALTORS® or REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® on your website, business cards or other marketing materials?

• To indicate that the real estate professional is a Member or Member-affiliate of the National Association of Realtors(R) in good standing
• To convey to the public that the real estate professional is a Member in good standing of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
• To convey to the public that as a Member, he/she adheres to the highest professional standards and a strict Code of Ethics (more…)

It is time for a wake-up call!  According to a 2009 NAR report 60% of agents have a website that is 5 years old or more. According to Vinton Cerf, one of the founding fathers of the internet, the internet changes and grows in “dog years” not human years. That means that most agents’ websites are over 35 years old. How old is your site?

Think of your top three closest competitors. Take a close look at their websites. Are they up to date or obsolete as well?  Does yours stand out? Or, do all of your sites look similar?

When you acquire a new listing, you take a fresh look at the home from the buyer’s perspective, and advise your clients about maximizing its appeal. This may involve re-arranging the furniture and staging to reduce clutter. Sometimes the best advice is a new paint job and making some minor repairs.  Statistics back the fact that a home’s superior curb appeal can translate into thousands of dollars of added value at the close of escrow. (more…)

Are you using real estate web site content to generate real estate leads? Why not? If you already have a website with lots of website pages you probably have all the content you need to generate as many leads as you can handle, and if you don’t have one you can purchase pre-written website content…instantly and inexpensively.

Some agents with web sites under-utilize their content to generate leads. They don’t use the articles for blogging; to make special buyer, seller and investor reports; or in any other creative ways. Conversely, many of them think that having a web site is enough to generate leads, but it isn’t if you expect to make any real money selling real estate.

Using Content to Get Leads, Listings and Sales

On the other hand if you have 7-10 pages on your website geared towards sellers you’re ready to start generating more leads starting today…guaranteed. Here’s how!

Make a flyer that says something like “Want to Sell Your Home In a Slow Market?” Email me today for a FREE Report on “How To Sell Your Home…Despite the Slow Market”.

Think people will email you for information? You bet they will and when they do you’ll know that they want to do business with you, even though it might not be right away.

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Recently, a 3D floor plan company was called to our attention that takes virtual tours to a new level. As former commercial real estate brokers we appreciate the need to help clients visualize how their office space will lay out. Space planners offer renderings with elevations to accompany floor plans that help the visualization process, marginally. For major tenants they build 3D models which work much better. However, they are expensive to produce. So, 3D web graphics may be just the ticket. But, will this work when marketing luxury real estate?

Perhaps, if a buyer of a luxury condo needs to compare floor plans this would be helpful. Or, possibly a second home buyer from outside of the market place could save a trip by being able to better visualize the views from certain rooms. Or, maybe it would helpful to see the potential of remodeling, and the advantages of removing certain walls to rework the flow of rooms.

The old bottom line questions that luxury real estate professionals need to ask about the new wave of innovative interactivity still apply:

• Will this new technology help me get more listings and sell more homes?
• Will investing in this technology give me a genuine competitive advantage?
• Is this the next fad, or is 3D here to stay?

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As a luxury real estate marketing professional, what would it mean to your bottom line if more of your friends and clients went out of their way to refer business to you? Just about everyone in business knows that word-of-mouth advertising is the best form of marketing. But, few know what it takes to get that to happen, consistently. The answer is simple: be remarkable, deliver remarkable service, and get a remarkable website.

Recently, we were asked to recommend a good online computer back-up service. Our answer, hands down, was SugarSync. We had tried several systems. And, SugarSync was by far the best for several reasons:

• The price is right at $4.99 per month for 30 GB of storage.
• It enables us to share files between computers, like an intranet so we can co-edit documents in real time
• It allow us to send large files to clients
• All files are available 24/7 remotely via computer and even via iPhone if need be
• It quickly backs up all documents, photos etc., which means complete peace of mind (more…)

Everyone knows how popular the internet these days, unless you happen to be living in a cave. The information that can be found on any subject imaginable can be found by searching for it online. The internet has become the mother of all tools and is something that we cannot live without, anymore. If all you need is information, it can be found on the internet. If you want to buy something, it can be done on the internet. If you want to sell something, it can be done on the internet. If you want to keep in contact with family and friends, it can be done through the internet.

If you are looking to sell a property, the information on how to go about it can be found on the internet. If you want to sell a house, you can find many companies through the internet that will offer their services. Why would you want to sell property online? Here are a couple of very good reasons to market your property online. (more…)

The current real estate market is not doing so well. In fact, more people are losing their homes, rather than making money from their homes. This can make it very difficult for a real estate agent to make a living and support his or her family. Marketing for real estate agents is a very simple task to achieve. In order to make money from the current situation, you need to have the right campaign.

The first thing that you are going to need is a strong idea. In order for your marketing campaign to get off of the ground, you need to have a solid plan. You should sit down and take some time to brainstorm. Write out a few different ideas and narrow it all down to just one.

You should also make sure that you know the market inside and out. In order to receive the right amount of clients, you need have the right amount of information. Find out which neighborhoods have the best homes at the best prices. You should also find out where the market is at, at the current moment. It can be very difficult to sell a home when the market is too low.

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