Agent Facebook Success: Rules of Engagement

Social Media Strategies

Feb 13, 2019

Your Facebook business page is useless for lead generation if you insist on using your posts to sell listings and advertise open houses to the exclusion of being, well, social.

Rule number one: Be of value

Use “value” as your cornerstone. Here’s an example.

I love LinkedIn for real estate agent marketing. Its users fall under the ideal demographics for the average home buyer and seller. But it’s one place you do NOT want to be salesy. People use the platform to network, not be sold to.

Which is why I stopped following a certain virtual assistant service. Everything she posted was an ad for her company. And, I mean, everything.

Demonstrate your expert knowledge (Available in the Postcard section under Content Cards).

Ads aren’t of value to me. At least not at LinkedIn. Not at Facebook, either, come to think of it.

To be of value to a Facebook follower, your posts need to be, above all, social.

They don’t need to always be real estate-related, just interesting, surprising or helpful.

Chicago’s Dream Town Realty nails it in the “interesting” and “helpful” categories. All posts (at least the ones we saw) are locally-oriented and full of pride for their city. The recently had a post on “Where to Go Sledding in Chicago” with a great photo of kids sledding at a local hill. This is a post that’s highly shareable and ultra-local.

Yes, they share open houses and the occasional listing, but “occasional” is the operative word. And, they don’t use the typical “salesy” jargon when they do share these items.

Where do you find these hot social media topics? Start with your hometown newspaper, your city’s magazine (such as Dream Town Realty did), or another local source.

Scour the internet to see if your town or city made it onto the many “best places to retire,” “best places to raise kids,” or “best places to live” lists. Just enter into Google, with the quotation marks, “best places,” “best neighborhoods or “best cities.”

Trulia recently put out a list of the “best” neighborhoods in the country, broken down as best for kids, best for friendliness, etc. Maybe your market made it onto the list.

Compile your own, like the Dream Town Realty list. Here are some ideas:

The best yoga studios
Top spots to watch the sun set
The best dog parks
Best restaurant patio dining
Top hiking, biking, walking trails
Do a series on day trips from your town
Best restaurants for date night
Top staycation ideas

Provide valuable information (Available in the Postcard section under Content Cards)

The list of local topics is just about endless when you start brainstorming. And, people love local topics.

Rule number two: Engagement is key

Real estate pros, by and large, do an admirable job posting to Facebook. Sadly, most aren’t engaging their followers.

So, why do non-profits on Facebook have such a high rate of engagement with their posts? This is just my opinion, but non-profits, because they aren’t selling anything, are non-threatening. But, the top organizations are also posting the right content.

The number one non-profit on Facebook is Ted, an organization “devoted to spreading ideas”. It’s a place you can find answers to your most burning questions.

Which makes for excellent Facebook fodder. A recent Ted Talk video post showing ‘how to do math in your head’ received a decent amount of engagement (nearly 700 comments, so far), it was shared more than 3,000 times. It was viewed 387,000 times.

Who knew so many people wanted to learn how to add and subtract in their heads?

When you’re stuck for content, share a post from Ted, or NPR, number 3 on the list of most popular non-profit Facebook pages.

Don’t make every post all about you. Nobody cares that you’re willing to help them “buy or sell a home.” Few care that you’re holding an open house or that you took a new listing.

Keep them informed of what’s important (Available in the Postcard section, under Content Cards).

Think about what makes you interact with a Facebook post and head in that direction with your real estate page.

Engage your audience by sending at least 100 Demand High, Inventory Low postcards from the Content Card Series to an area where you want more listings.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free ways we can help you have an INVINCIBLE 2019!

1. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar

“Get MORE Listings & Begin to Dominate Your Market!” Free online webinar. Learn the 3-7-27 strategy for explosive growth, why 95% of agents have less than 20% market share, and how to become the agent everyone competes against. Watch it now. – Click Here

2. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here

3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. – Click Here

4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! – Click Here

Creative Marketing: Be Daring, Be Memorable

Marketing Success

Feb 11, 2019

Quick! What’s the one thing all home sellers expect their listing agent to do for them?

You got it – market the home so it sells for the most money the market will allow.

They expect, and sure sometimes they receive, the services of an ace marketer. Most of the time, however, they’re getting someone who has had to learn marketing on the fly.

The truth is, how effectively you market yourself is an indicator to consumers of how well you’ll market their home.

Gain their interest with a Free Offer. (Available in the Postcard section of our site, under the Call to Action Series.)

It’s tough to find the time to figure out creative new ways to promote yourself and your business. However, the tail-end of the so-called “winter slowdown” that’s upon us right now, may just provide you with the time necessary to enter the spring market with guns blazing.

A born extrovert?

When someone is considered “bold,” she exhibits confidence, courage and a willingness to take risks, according to the dictionary.

If this even partially describes you, the world is your proverbial oyster when it comes to ways to market yourself in the real estate industry.

Unlike many of us, you aren’t afraid to step away from the pack, you aren’t concerned that one potential client might be alienated and your biggest fear is being lumped into the rest of your town’s “pack” of real estate agents.

Instead of running from the spotlight, you run, headlong, smack-dab into the middle of it.

Before Silicon Valley’s Ken DeLeon became Wall Street Journal’s number one agent in the country, he did some deep thinking about what would set him apart from the masses.

Now, this is a guy who, if he likes the song the DJ is playing, thinks nothing of getting up on the dance floor at the local dance club without a partner. And, he’s not even that great of a dancer, according to his own admission (“but I am the fastest” he boasts).

Naturally, his personality fought to be featured in any marketing he did for his brand. “I did some pretty crazy ads,” in the beginning, he admits, “such as a two-page spread in the local newspaper with me dressed as the Village People.”

“Instead of ‘Y-M-C-A,’ I was singing ‘S-O-L–D.’” A little Orphan Black-esque, It got the phone ringing and, when last we heard (which was a couple of years ago), DeLeon sold about 12 percent of the available homes in his market.

He’s not always crazy in his marketing, but he meets his goal of standing out from the crowd. Instead of a one-page market analysis, the former attorney beefs his up to 200 pages which includes neighborhood guides along with current market statistics.

Then, there are the spotlight-driven brokerages, agents and teams who shine best in the YouTube realm, with branded videos. One of our favorites is, “Teach me How to Dougie” from The Smith Group in Newport Beach, California and Santa Clarita, California’s Real Estate Rockstars.

Show off their property with style (Available in the Postcard section under Property Showcase Series).

Grab some inspiration and hog that real estate spotlight!

For the less-outrageous agent

OK, so you’re not outrageous. You’re not alone. And, thankfully, there are understated yet wildly effective ways to stand out from the other agents in your market.

In fact, to some, nothing is funnier or more entertaining than not taking yourself seriously. Self-deprecation, dry wit and irony, if you can pull it off, can be your key to uniqueness.

When People magazine dubs a video “the most inventive video advertisement the real estate world has ever seen,” you understand that people get this type of humor.

They’re referring to the brilliant work of New York City agent Brian Keith Lewis. You may have seen Lewis on stage at a past Inman Connect. If not, get inspired by more of his videos on his YouTube channel.

If real estate videos (even the understated variety) are a bit elaborate for your budget, there are other easy and inexpensive ways to promote your brand.

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorns have roses,” claimed the late French journalist and novelist Alphonse Karr.

It’s all in how you look at things, right? Try looking at those “things” through a new or different lens.

Use that lens to check out tasks that you can perform in your real estate business better than any other agent in town. Open house? Make yours different. Or, focus on broker’s opens and make them the talk of the local MLS meetings and tours.

Something as simple as returning phone calls within minutes of receiving them sets you apart from the masses.

Become amazing at one thing that’s important to real estate consumers. Brag about it, become amazing at it and you’ll be known for it.

Offer them something they value (Available in the Postcard section under the Call to Action Series)

Refuse to be average

Successful people, according to Zen Habits’ Leo Babauta, harbor one similar trait, “the willingness to challenge mainstream ideas … the ability to not only question what others do, but the courage to try new ideas, different ideas.”

So, what if a tactic doesn’t work? Try another. Push the boundaries, be brave, be bold and vow to be successful in promoting your brand.

Send at least 100 Free Market Analysis postcards from the Free Offer Series to an area where you want more listings.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free ways we can help you have an INVINCIBLE 2019!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

2. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar

4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

January Contest Winners

Contests

Feb 6, 2019

THERE ARE 3 GIFT CARD WINNERS IN JANUARY’S CONTEST. SEE WHO WON BELOW!

1. Congratulations Lisa Nelson on winning the 1st Prize $250 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card

Lisa shared the following experience with ProspectsPLUS!

“Easy to use website and up to date addresses for direct mail to targeted areas. Better and painless compared to Eddm.“

Lisa’s Latest Marketing Pieces Include – Magnetic Calendars, Property Flyers, and Just Sold postcards.

Magnetic Calendars, Property Flyers, and Just Sold postcards

2.Congratulations Tammy on winning our 2nd Prize $100 Gift Card!

Tammy shared the following experience with ProspectsPLUS!

“They are easy to use and fast. I love ProspectsPLUS! for my marketing materials.“

Tammy’s Latest Marketing Pieces Include – Just Sold, Upload Your Own and Contract Pending postcards.

3.Congratulations Ariel on winning a $100 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card

Ariel shared the following experience with ProspectsPLUS!

“It was so easy to customize and order, and I love the vast amount of options available.“

Ariel’s Latest Marketing Pieces Include -Daylight Savings Holiday postcards, Property Flyers, Just Listed postcards.

Take the lead from Tammy, Lisa, and Ariel and send at least 100 Marketing postcards to an area where you want more buyers or sellers!

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

Professional Agent Behavior: 101

Business Etiquette

Jan 30, 2019

Do This, Not This

Reading the news every day it’s easy to assume that manners are a thing of the past – some dusty old idea that few feel the need to adhere to. Our whole sense of what is and isn’t appropriate has been turned upside down to the point where bad behavior is so revered, there are TV shows on the topic.

Unfortunately, this lack of dignity carries over into the business world and the real estate industry as well. Poorly behaving agents is a subject that is becoming more prevalent in the real estate industry.

“Real Estate is a reputation business. Practicing sound business etiquette and consistent professional courtesies will enhance your reputation both inside and outside the real estate arena,” claims the Austin Board of REALTORS®.

And, truer words have never been spoken.

This is a great time of year to reach out to past clients and say thank you. (Available in the Customer Appreciation section under “Postcards”)

“When we asked agents to tell their experiences with poorly behaving agents, we heard horror stories.”

Professional showing behavior

“How about when the listing instructions say to call the listing agent for an appointment to show the house and the agent doesn’t answer the phone?” asks Realty Billings’ Amber Uhren.

“In addition, the agent doesn’t have anyone else answering the phone and doesn’t return your calls.”

How much does a listing client pay for high-quality service? Everyone is trying to make money – the seller, the buyer’s agent and, hopefully, the listing agent as well.

To not do all you can to make it easy for other agents to show the home is not only a breach of your duties to your client, but it’s frustrating for other agents – agents you may need to deal with in the future.

Even if the house has a recently-accepted offer, answer the phone, return the calls and update the listing in the MLS to reflect the change in status.

It’s professional business behavior 101.

Then, there’s the flip side. Most homeowners go through hoops to keep their homes in showing condition. Imagine the frenzy of cleaning and tidying they must go through when they’re expecting a potential buyer.

Then, having to leave the house before the buyers show up is another huge inconvenience. But they do it because they want their homes to sell.

As a listing agent, have you ever faced a ticked off homeowner when, after going through the hoops, the showing agent didn’t show? “Either show the home you made the appointment for, or call the homeowner and cancel,” Uhren continues.

One issue we heard repeatedly is that so many agents don’t leave feedback about the listings they show their buyers.

This may be an old-school custom, but isn’t obtaining feedback the listing agent’s job?

In the past, it was up to the listing agent to gather up all those business cards agents toss on the kitchen counter and make the calls to get the feedback.

Today, the onus not only seems to be on the buyer’s agent, but those that don’t take the time to reach out to the listing agent are considered rude.

Show your past clients your gratitude by saying thank you (Available in the Customer Appreciation section under “Postcards”)

Sure, it’s good etiquette for the buyer’s agent to offer up feedback, but if it isn’t forthcoming, call, text or email him or her.

Professional communication behavior

This may sound crazy, but please check your email more often than once a week.

We spoke with one agent recently, that was in the midst of a deal with an agent across town who, when asked if she got her email, said: “I only check my emails once a week.”

It’s 2019 – time to check your emails daily, at least.

Then, there are the agents who are so busy, their texts look like shorthand. The problem is, not a lot of us understand abbreviations and symbols. If the information you need to communicate doesn’t fit into a text, use email or pick up the phone.

Business communication, especially when we’re dealing with contracts pertaining to someone’s largest investment, need to be clean and clear. No emojis, no emoticons, and no text-speak.

Professional client etiquette

Then, there’s the agent who told us a story about a particular listing presentation. We’ll call her “Agent 2.”

Agent 1 did her listing presentation just prior to Agent 2 giving hers. When Agent 2 arrived for hers, the homeowner shared Agent 1’s trash talk about her. Not only is this a violation of article 15 of NAR’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, but Agent 1’s unprofessional behavior handed the listing to Agent 2.

The homeowner told her she would NEVER work with anyone who would stoop so low as to insult a colleague just to get her business.

Unprofessional agent behavior isn’t just harmful to a transaction; it is also seriously damaging the real estate industry’s reputation as a whole. Professional agent behavior boils down to what you learned in scouting.

Be polite, be respectful and be considerate.

Remind your past clients where to turn for help (Available in the Customer Appreciation section under “Postcards”)

And, although you didn’t learn this in scouting, please don’t EVER leave a listing until you check that all the doors are locked.

Send at least 100 Customer Appreciation postcards to past clients and referrals.

Show them you’re thinking of them and get them thinking of you, again.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are 4 free ways we can help you have an INVINCIBLE 2019!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

2. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

4. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Also…check out these game-changing tools!

Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand & achieve 20% market share

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero. BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too (now that’s what I’m talking about)!

Our business flourishes from recommendations (similar to yours). We truly appreciate when you leave a review – Review us here

A Refresher Course in Attracting New Clients

Lead Generation

Jan 27, 2019

The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to review and reestablish strategies that have been successful in the past.

With this in mind, let’s look at three strategies that have proven successful at attracting new clients, for many agents.

Strategy 1: Start with what’s warm

Remember when you first started in real estate? The answer to “how do I attract new clients?” was typically met with “reach out to everyone you know.” And, that advice is still pertinent.

Dust off your CRM and dig into it, starting with the warmest contacts. Reach out to family, friends, former colleagues, parents of your kids’ friends, and anyone else who you have even a modicum of a relationship. Ask them who they know that may be thinking of selling their home.

Let them know you’re thinking of them (Available in the Holiday Series postcard section)

Our Holiday Postcards are a fun, easy way to reach out to your Sphere without feeling too salesy. Or choose a handwritten notecard, for a more intimate way of saying hello and reminding your Sphere you’re only a phone call away.

Don’t be discouraged if your contacts don’t respond with interest after the first mailing. You’ve begun the process of making yourself top-of-mind for the time when their interest changes or that of their friend.

Now, take a look at all the potential clients you’ve spoken with in the past – especially anyone that requested or received a listing presentation but ended up not selling. Find out what their current status is and reach out.

This tactic worked for St. Paul broker Teresa Boardman. First, she determined that they hadn’t listed with someone else and then she contacted them.

Shortly after starting the tactic she reported that “One homeowner, I’m going to list for sure and another one looks like a real strong possibility and another is trying to decide if he should rent out the house or sell it.”.

Strategy 2: Go where others won’t

If you think that every other agent in town is pursuing canceled, withdrawn and expired listings, Tom Ferry coach Tom Toole would beg to differ with you.

He looks at an expired listing as an ideal opportunity, because “most people are afraid to call them.”

And, it works for him. In a case study at tomferry.com, Toole reports that his annual gross commission income from working with expired listings is $525,000. His marketing investment is $3,000 a month.

He makes those icy-cold calls and those that aren’t ready to re-list go into a drip campaign of direct mail marketing. This is where newsletters and postcards can really pay off.

If you are getting ready to go after this lucrative niche our Expired Postcard Series is an effective solution.

Let them know you can get their home sold (Available under the Expired Series in the postcard section)

Strategy 3: Cast a wider net

With the media running endless stories of rapidly escalating home prices and potential rate hikes, it’s understandable that homeowners can be reluctant to sell.

Which makes now the perfect time to add another niche to focus on by going after homeowners who don’t have to sell – absentee owners.

Our Get More Listings Postcard Series offers postcards with content that effectively reaches out to these absentee owners.

Depending on how far away they live from their investment property they may have no idea how values have skyrocketed and the equity they’re currently sitting on.

Nearly 80 percent of landlords plan on owning their properties for five years, so seek out those who have owned for at least three years. You can get that specifically targeted mailing list here.

Consider these suggestions for direct mail marketing to absentee owners, from Louisville, Kentucky real estate investor Sharon Vornholt:

Personalize your direct mail – Use the owner’s name, instead of “Homeowner.”
Use the same “best practices” for this mail as you do your blog posts: Lots of white space, subheadings and bulleted points.
Don’t talk about you or your brokerage. Get to the point quickly and address the benefits for the homeowner (such as an increase in value).

Nobody knows what the foreseeable future holds for the real estate market. However, there’s one thing we do know and that is to last you need to continue to list.

Therefore, there’s nothing more important at the beginning of each year than to reacquaint yourself with the best ways to attract new clients.

Send a personal note that says you care. (Available in the Notecard section under “Products”)

Order personal Notecards and make an appointment with yourself to send out a few handwritten notes per week to your Sphere of Influence.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are 4 free ways we can help you have an INVINCIBLE 2019!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

2. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

4. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Also…check out these game-changing tools!

Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand & achieve 20% market share

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero. BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too (now that’s what I’m talking about)!

Our business flourishes from recommendations (similar to yours). We truly appreciate when you leave a review – Review us here

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Rule number one: Be of value

To be of value to a Facebook follower, your posts need to be, above all, social.

They don’t need to always be real estate-related, just interesting, surprising or helpful.

Rule number two: Engagement is key

Engage your audience by sending at least 100 Demand High, Inventory Low postcards from the Content Card Series to an area where you want more listings.

The truth is, how effectively you market yourself is an indicator to consumers of how well you’ll market their home.

A born extrovert?

Instead of running from the spotlight, you run, headlong, smack-dab into the middle of it.

For the less-outrageous agent

Refuse to be average

Send at least 100 Free Market Analysis postcards from the Free Offer Series to an area where you want more listings.

THERE ARE 3 GIFT CARD WINNERS IN JANUARY’S CONTEST. SEE WHO WON BELOW!

1. Congratulations Lisa Nelson on winning the 1st Prize $250 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card

2.Congratulations Tammy on winning our 2nd Prize $100 Gift Card!

3.Congratulations Ariel on winning a $100 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card

Do This, Not This

Professional showing behavior

Professional communication behavior

Professional client etiquette

Send at least 100 Customer Appreciation postcards to past clients and referrals.

Show them you’re thinking of them and get them thinking of you, again.

Also…check out these game-changing tools!

Strategy 1: Start with what’s warm

Strategy 2: Go where others won’t

Strategy 3: Cast a wider net

Order personal Notecards and make an appointment with yourself to send out a few handwritten notes per week to your Sphere of Influence.

Also…check out these game-changing tools!

Our Real Estate Experts