Turn NAR Settlement Challenges into Opportunities For Your Real Estate Business

Mar 26, 2024

The recent settlement between the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the Department of Justice has sparked discussions across the real estate industry.

While there are concerns about potential impacts, there are also potentially positive aspects for real estate agents to consider.

Anytime an industry experiences a disruption, innovation within the industry rises to meet these changes, and this time will be no different.

The following are some thoughts to consider as you navigate the changing real estate industry landscape.

Commission flexibility

With more flexibility in commission structures and compensation arrangements, agents have the opportunity to differentiate themselves and offer unique value propositions to clients.

This could incentivize agents to enhance their services and find new ways to add value throughout the home buying and selling process.

If you don’t provide your clients a complete list of your services (including value-added) during the listing presentation, get one together.

Now more than ever, buyers and sellers need to understand the irreplaceable level of value and expertise you provide for them.

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Increased transparency

The changes brought about by the settlement may lead to more transparency and clarity for both agents and consumers.

By removing blanket compensation offers and encouraging negotiation, the settlement empowers agents to have more open discussions with clients about commission rates and compensation structures.

This transparency can help build trust and foster stronger relationships between you and your clients.

New business models

The settlement could result in a more dynamic and adaptable real estate market.

With increased flexibility in commission arrangements, agents may have the opportunity to explore new business models including fee structures, partnerships, collaborations, consulting, and value-based services.

This could lead to a more resilient and innovative real estate industry that is better equipped to serve the needs of clients in an ever-evolving market landscape.

While the NAR settlement presents challenges, it also offers opportunities for real estate agents to innovate, build trust, and adapt to a changing industry landscape.

By embracing these changes and leveraging them to your advantage, you can position yourself for success in the coming years.

When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazin

Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct, response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here

2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Planner

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 6-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

3. The Free Online Real Estate Business Plan

The Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your financial goals. – Click Here

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

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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

Hire a Real Estate Website Builder Who Knows How to Attract Organic Traffic

Mar 21, 2024

As promised, here’s part two of our walk-through on how to find a real estate website builder that builds websites that convert…

Do their websites convert?

Remember: “… simple designs have higher conversion rates.”

And, again, the home page should be the simplest of all.

We know how tempting it is for agents to tell visitors right off the bat that they’re the best agents on the planet and why.

But leave that for the About page. Consider using your best, short testimonial instead.

Understand what’s important to your visitors and jettison the rest, again, at least on the site’s homepage. You can’t convert visitors who leave the second they land on your site.

So, what’s important to them? Here are the no-brainers:

Buyers are looking for an agent, listings, and knowledge about the buying and mortgage process.
Sellers are looking for an agent and knowledge about the selling process. They, too, may be looking at listings to find their next home.

They want to find this information easily, so don’t make them guess where it is on your site.

Do they have the ability to attract organic search engine traffic?

So, how do you turn your website into an even bigger lead-generating monster? Start by performing small changes to several pages on your site.

Localize blog posts as much as possible. It only takes minutes to add local search terms. Here’s an example from a recent post about appraisal problems in hot markets:

Fiery real estate markets such as what we’re experiencing are a dream come true for sellers unless prices are rising so fast that the market can’t keep up.

Stick the name of your market in that post to boost its SEO value.

Fiery real estate markets such as what we’re experiencing here in Vallejo …

For even more value, link the name of the city to its page on your site. These types of links are called “internal linking” and each of your blog posts should contain at least one.

“… using the right internal linking strategy can boost your SEO.” Learn more about internal linking and how you can use it to boost your site’s visibility in organic searches at Yoast.com.

Then, work on your neighborhood pages by adding local photos.

Right about now you’re wondering “What happened to help me find the right real estate website builder?”

Regardless of the real estate website company you choose, your site will need to be localized.

Does the website builder get you through the entire process?

Compare vendors on whether or not they offer the “goodies” to help make your workday easier:

Template-based pages that make adding and deleting information a snap
Help to build landing pages
CRM integration that will help you convert website visitors into leads
A slew of apps to help with everything from lead capture and management to boosting SEO and increasing website traffic.

The best real estate agent website maximizes an agent’s brand and optimizes his or her online activities with one simple goal in mind: To help you get more leads, sell more houses, and improve your professional and personal brand.

When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazin

2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Planner

3. The Free Online Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

The Pros and Cons of Real Estate Closing Gifts

Feb 28, 2024

“I think I’ll send my new patient a $50 Macy’s gift certificate to thank her for allowing me to perform her annual physical,” said no doctor, ever. Come to think of it, my hairdresser, accountant, and lawyer have never gifted me either.

Yet real estate agents, somewhere along the line, came up with this notion that they absolutely must provide a closing gift to their clients.

Obviously, the agent who first gifted a client must’ve found the practice successful because it was quickly copied and has now become standard practice.

Does giving a gift to a client make you memorable? If that were the case, more service industries would take up the practice, don’t you think? I don’t know about you, but I return to my hair stylist every month because I love the way she cuts my hair.

My accountant saves me money on my taxes. So, is it the gift that makes them remember you, or was it your performance?

Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of giving closing gifts, to real estate clients.

Pros

I’m not a tax expert or an accountant, but the IRS says agents can deduct up to $25 for each person they gift during the year. No, that’s not a whole lot of money and if you make the big bucks, you’ll need to buy a whole lot of gifts throughout the year to even put a dent in your tax bill.

If you feel you must give a gift, consider handing your clients the keys to their new home on a quality (meaning, not plastic) keychain. With your branding on it, you’ll be able to deduct it as a marketing expense and possibly get a larger deduction. Talk to your tax professional.

A swanky annual client appreciation event, on the other hand, will give you a bigger tax deduction as well as put you right back there at the top of their mind.

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Cons

Since referrals are the lifeblood of a successful real estate practice, and keeping them coming in requires remaining top-of-mind with former clients, it would have to be a major gift to make you memorable throughout the years.

What will make you memorable is frequent contact throughout the year — the birthday cards, the client appreciation events, and the ongoing direct mail campaigns.

Here’s something else to consider: you are a buyer’s agent. You have been at your client’s beck and call, spending weeks or even months driving your clients to house after house before they finally found one they wanted.

You submitted the offer, you coordinated your client’s end of the transaction, and you smoothly paved the way to a successful close. All parties are satisfied with the outcome. In return, you are paid a percentage of the sales price of the home.

You did your job and you got paid. Shake hands, as business people do, thank them for their business, and move on to your next client.

The subject of closing gifts, as you know, is a point of contention among agents. How about you? Do you gift?

PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review

The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review allows you to enter your business goals for the remainder of the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Have you Heard? USDA Home Loans Just Got More Attractive to Buyers

Feb 19, 2024

Back in October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture enlarged its map of eligible areas for USDA home loans. In fact, “… they added 1,131 areas to its USDA mortgage footprint for 2024 and removed thirty-six,” according to Dan Green at Homebuyer.com.

Even better, is that, while the program still restricts the loans to those buying in rural areas, some of these added areas are now closer to large cities, such as Los Angeles, CA, and San Antonio, TX.

This is important news for agents working with credit- and financially challenged buyers who can’t qualify for a traditional mortgage.

A quick refresher course on what the USDA offers to homebuyers

The USDA home loan programs reside under the umbrella of the Rural Development Agency. This office provides money to low-to-moderate-income families to build, rehab, purchase, and refinance homes within the rural areas it serves. This money comes in the form of direct loans, loan guarantees, and grants.

The two most popular USDA home-buying programs include a direct loan and a guaranteed loan. The former is restricted to those borrowers with low to very low incomes.

Since the applicant borrows the money to purchase the home directly from the USDA, not only is there no down payment required, but closing costs are kept to a minimum.

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The guaranteed loan, on the other hand, appeals to those with moderate incomes. Although the guaranteed loans are backed by the USDA, they must be obtained through a USDA–approved conventional lender.

Qualifying for a USDA loan involves two aspects. Not only must the borrower qualify, but the house the borrower wishes to purchase must be eligible as well.

Aside from the fact that the home must be located in a USDA-designated rural area (more on that in a moment), it must be considered “modest” for the area. In other words, no swimming pools and no other features that might be considered extravagant or unnecessary.

The USDA has additional requirements that the home must meet, as well.

Borrower eligibility is determined mainly by income and ability to repay the loan. The USDA will look at your client’s credit reports. Late pay and delinquencies may not disqualify a borrower, it depends on the entire financial picture.

Finally, each program has different income requirements.

Understanding the USDA mortgage zones

The USDA divides eligible areas for its mortgage programs into different zones based on population density and other demographic factors. These zones determine the eligibility of properties for USDA-backed loans, which offer favorable terms, including low interest rates and zero down payment requirements.

Historically, these loans have been key to facilitating homeownership in rural areas, serving as an amazing resource for low- to moderate-income homebuyers.

Check the USDA website to find out if the market you serve is among, or near those added to the map. Interested in seeing some of the new rural areas opening up? Check this out!

When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazin

2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Planner

3. The Free Online Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Simple Methods for New Real Estate Agents to Track Marketing ROI

Feb 12, 2024

As a new small business owner navigating the marketing of your business can consume a lot of your time.

Sure, determining a budget should come first, followed by how you’ll allot that money.

Over time, however, it’s also important to track how well those dollars are working for you and which marketing methods give you the biggest bang for your buck.

Fortunately, there are several easy and practical methods you can employ to track the ROI of your marketing dollars without breaking the bank or requiring advanced analytics expertise.

Before you do anything else

Before diving into any marketing campaign, it’s essential to establish clear and measurable objectives. When it comes to marketing, whether it’s marketing to increase eyes on your website or making the phone ring, the end goal is to generate leads.

Define your goal with each marketing vehicle you plan on using. Whether it’s increasing website traffic, generating leads, or boosting sales, defining specific goals will provide you with a benchmark against which you can measure your ROI.

The Empty Nest Series is shown above. To learn more, Click Here.

Use Google Analytics to track your marketing performance

For instance, if you are considering social media marketing, you might want to use Google Analytics.

The service, “… under search traffic, will tell you where your visits are coming from. You will be able to see returning visitors through that tab, which will allow you to then calculate your related ROI,” according to a Quora.com user and social media agency owner.

Other metrics to track, such as website traffic, bounce rate, and conversion rates, will help you assess the impact of your marketing efforts on your online presence.

Put your email marketing platform to work

Plan on marketing via email? Platforms such as Constant Contact and Mailchimp make it easy to track the performance of your email campaigns and identify areas for improvement.

Take the time now, before you become the busy agent we know you’ll be, to get to know your platform, inside and out.

Regularly Review and Adjust

Tracking ROI is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and tweaking. Regularly review what you’re doing to identify what’s working well and what areas need improvement.

When you find a marketing method (or several) that works, pour more money behind it and dump the stuff that isn’t working. You can always revisit them in the future. Right now, though, as a new agent, every penny should count.

When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazin

2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Planner

3. The Free Online Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

How to Calm Homeowner’s Fears about a Problem Listing and Find Success

Feb 5, 2024

“There’s someone for everyone,” an old adage, but nevertheless accurate.

And it’s true for houses as well. There’s a buyer for every house; sometimes, it just takes longer to make the match.

But there are other reasons aside from being overpriced that homes don’t sell, as you well know.

Dated homes, from layout to easier-to-fix problems like nasty wallpaper, ugly carpet, or just plain filth, may send buyers fleeing back out to their cars.

It’s not only the home you’ll need to work with but your client as well.

What is a problem listing?

Aside from the obvious (filth, outdated features, bad layout), there are other reasons a home may end up on the hard-to-sell list. These include:

Location of the home

Unreasonable or unacceptable HOA rules

Cosmetic problems

Poor renovation choices

Bad neighbors

Yes, other problems may pop up that make a home a problem listing, but these are among the most common.

Offer solutions

“Some problems with properties require more work than others,” say the Chicagoagent.com editors. We would add that some require more money as well.

Agent Jolenta Averill of Madison, Wisconsin’s Lake & City Homes knows this first-hand.

Averill took a listing for a circa 1940s home. It had been gutted and remodeled, removing all traces of the charm of the period.

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In the process, the front door had also been removed and the space walled over, creating a major psychological barrier for potential homeowners.

The homeowner fired her original listing agent and hired Averill before leaving the state to get to her new job in Florida.

With an absentee owner, the agent was forced to take control of the situation. She requested architectural renderings and price quotes from several contractors, tasking them with designing a walkway, a stairway, and, of course, a formal front entryway.

Rather than becoming overwhelmed by how much work might be required, Averill reviewed her analysis with an eye toward what might concern buyers the most. In the end, “There wasn’t an objection I didn’t consider and couldn’t handle,” she said.

Be their pillar

Sellers of problem homes are often frightened, and can you blame them? They worry about how much work and money it will cost to make the home competitive in the market. They worry that the home may not sell at all.

They have no idea where to start the process. That’s where you come in.

“You have to take the time to investigate and tell them nothing is impossible,” according to agent Julie Brown at chicagoagentmagazine.com.

“Some things are harder than others, but you should be able to reach out and find resources to help you … It’s constant communication and just telling them that you’re there for them. You’re not just there to help them make a sale. You’re there to help them through the entire process, whatever comes up,” She concludes.

When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazin

2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Planner

3. The Free Online Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

How to Create a Real Estate Website That Will Convert Leads

Feb 1, 2024

Each year, the folks at realtrends.com release their annual real estate website rankings. Those rankings, regardless of the company compiling them, are always a fun read.

Realtrend’s criteria for getting a spot on their list include websites with the “best design.” In fact, they’re looking for “show-stopping websites.”

These are not always the best-designed websites to increase organic SEO or capture leads.

Nope.

It’s not just the prettiness factor that proves a real estate website “… has what it takes.” We beg to differ. The “best” real estate websites actually work for their agent-owners.

They do this by ranking in organic searches, helping to convert leads, educating visitors about the buying and selling process, and informing them about the area and its attractions.

The Quotecard Series is shown above. To learn more, Click Here.

And they do it while not annoying the visitor, making them search for the information they need, by loading at lightning-fast speeds and more.

There’s an old Duke Ellington-composed song that says it all: “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”

The best real estate websites are not only pretty, but they’ve also “got that swing”

A real estate website that has “that swing”:

Features responsive design (don’t yawn–we’ll explain, in plain English)
Is attractive in its simplicity
Converts visitors, or leads, into prospects
Attracts organic search engine traffic
Is user-focused

Let’s take a look at each aspect in more detail. Then, use this information when having your real estate website built.

Responsive design

This is one of those phrases that makes eyes glaze over.

What it refers to is a website that adapts its “… content based on the browser space available. This allows consistency between what a site shows on a desktop and what it shows on a handheld device,” according to Mads Soegaard at interaction-design.org.

Why is this important? Responsive websites load quicker on mobile devices. And, since 76% of homebuyers use a mobile device when searching for homes and agents, responsiveness is critical.

Attractive in its simplicity

Think “clean” when it comes to a real estate agent’s website layout. Don’t let anything detract from your branding, from your CTAs, and from the user’s experience (fluff won’t be read anyway).

Leave a lot of white space, use short sentences and paragraphs, and take advantage of bulleted and numbered lists.

“… make your website — especially your homepage — simple and clean with easy-to-navigate buttons and tabs,” suggests the pros at quicksprout.com.

Simplicity is key, they say because sites “… with simple designs have higher conversion rates.”

Check back soon for part 2 where we’ll show you how to build a website that attracts organic search engine traffic, ensures higher conversion rates, and the extra “goodies” it should offer real estate agents.

When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazin

2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Planner

3. The Free Online Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Two Simple Productivity Hacks Every Real Estate Agent Needs

Jan 29, 2024

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to be more productive this spring, look at two tips we’ve rounded up from productivity experts. We think they’re a good place to start.

1. Quit focusing on the wrong stuff

Which tasks that you perform in your workday produce the best results? Make a list. Those tasks should be your focus and the rest should either be discarded or handed off to someone else.

They simply aren’t worth your time and performing them makes you less productive.

If you need help figuring out what to keep and what goes, “Consider tracking everything you do, the time it takes to complete each task, and the results,” suggests CamMi Pham, at medium.com.

“Then go back, assess your list to see what did (or didn’t) prove fruitful, and consider your findings to optimize for future tasks.”

2. Eliminate distractions

Many of us suffer from distraction-itis. For me, it’s the cute little miniature pinscher that sits on her own chair next to my desk. What a time stealer!

For many, it’s the phone. The average mobile phone user picks up his/her phone 1,500 times per week, which works out to an estimated 3 hours and 16 minutes daily. (crossrivertherapy.com)

When eliminating distractions, which is critical to becoming more productive, it isn’t enough to just put the phone in another room. It will still ring when you get a call and chime to notify you of texts and voicemail.

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Turn it off. The same goes for email on your laptop or desktop. Create a dedicated time to check the phone for messages, to check your email, and to attend to whatever else commonly distracts you during the workday.

Why?

“There is clearly a direct connection between the various distractions at work and productivity,” according to Juliet Dreamhunter, a certified goal success coach.

And the reason we’re so easily distracted? Apparently, our attention span is 8.25 seconds. That’s less than a goldfish’s at 9 seconds, according to Steven Zauderer, CEO of CrossRiverTherapy.

If it’s an irresistible pup, your kids, or coworkers, use those 8.25 seconds wisely and figure out how to minimize distractions and work at your full capacity.

May this be the year your productivity soars!

How to Get More Home Listings: 6 Must-Know Tactics for Real Estate Agents

Jan 27, 2024

In today’s competitive market, real estate agents need a strong strategy to attract home sellers and secure more listings. Whether new to the industry or a seasoned pro, these six proven tactics will help you generate leads, build trust, and grow your business.

1. Target Your Ideal Seller with Direct Mail

Direct mail remains one of the most effective ways to reach potential home sellers. Sending market updates, just-sold postcards, and home valuation offers help you stay top of mind when homeowners are ready to sell.

2. Use Video Marketing to Engage Sellers

Homeowners want to work with agents who showcase their expertise. Create short videos explaining the home-selling process, market trends, or success stories from past sellers.

Post these on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to build credibility and attract sellers searching for guidance.

The Q1 Real Estate Marketing Guide is shown above. For a FREE download, Click Here.

3. Build Relationships with Local Businesses

Partner with moving companies, home stagers, mortgage brokers, and contractors who frequently interact with homeowners preparing to sell. Offer referral incentives or collaborate on events to educate homeowners about selling.

4. Create a “Seller Concierge” Program

Differentiate yourself by offering exclusive seller services such as free home staging consultations, pre-listing home inspections, or deep-cleaning services. Position this as a value-added service to encourage homeowners to list with you over competitors.

5. Target Absentee Owners & Expired Listings

Absentee homeowners (e.g., landlords and vacant property owners) are often motivated sellers. Send direct mail, emails, or even make calls offering a free property evaluation and insights into market conditions.

Re-engage expired listings by presenting a fresh marketing plan and explaining how you can help them successfully sell their home.

6. Host Local Home Seller Workshops

Educating homeowners on selling builds trust and positions you as an expert. Hosting webinars or in-person events about market trends, home staging, and pricing strategies can generate warm leads.

Getting more listings requires a mix of proactive marketing, relationship-building, and leveraging technology.

By implementing these six tactics, you can increase your visibility, attract motivated sellers, and grow your real estate business.

WATCH THIS VIDEO Target your local market and generate more listings with ease. Learn how the Local Market Stats Postcard Series AUTOMATICALLY adds local stats to your postcard FOR YOU.

PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

2. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Plan

The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for the remainder of the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here

Google is Adding AI to its Search Tool. Is Your Real Estate Website Ready?

Jan 24, 2024

If it feels like the whole Artificial Intelligence (AI) thing is taking off without you, you’re not alone.

“Nobody is asking whether AI is moving fast enough, and …, it’s certainly not behind the times,” suggests Jon Arnold, Principal of J Arnold & Associates.

He goes on to say “If anything, the times are now trying to catch up with AI, as its recent evolution has happened faster than our ability to adapt.” (emphasis is mine)

But adapt, we must, especially if we hope to attract clients via our websites.

Google Search is incorporating AI Generative Search.

Let’s look at the Google Search changes and how real estate agents can adapt.

AI Generative Search

Google’s new search not only looks different but it will act differently as well.

The folks at Google say that the new search “… uses generative AI to give you more information and context to your searches.”

What is Generative AI? “Generative AI focuses on creating new and original content, chat responses, designs, synthetic data or even deepfakes,” according to George Lawton, a London journalist who has studied the topic.

For the general public, Generative AI search differs from a normal Google search in that it won’t give the user a list of links.

Instead, Search Generative Experience (or SGE, Google’s name for the service) “… uses AI to answer your questions right on the Google Search webpage,” says Imad Kahn at cnet.com.

“After entering a query in Google Search, a green or blue box will expand with a novel answer generated by Google’s large language model, like the one powering OpenAI’s ChatGPT,” he concludes.

The Local Market Stats Series is shown above. To learn more, Click Here.

What Does the Average Real Estate Agent Need to Know?

One of the biggest impacts that SGE will have on agents is in regard to SEO for their websites.

While still in development, early users of Google’s SGE claim that it may obliterate SEO efforts by reducing “… visibility for organic search results.” (yoast.com)

How? By placing the “…. AI-generated overviews at the top of search results, users may find the need to click significantly reduced..”

Agents who depend on their websites to generate a significant number of leads will need to make appearing in the “…AI-generated snapshot” their priority.

Parthi Loganathan, CEO of Letterdrop and formerly with Google Search’s product management team suggests that we “… focus on providing new and valuable information, improve readability, and encourage others to cover your product.”

He goes on to claim that “Opinionated content with a clear perspective is becoming more important as AI-generated answers answer simple questions with factual answers.”

Again, SGE is still in development but it’s only a matter of time until it becomes the norm when using Google’s search engine.

Do the research to understand exactly how your content can be included in that soon-to-be coveted AI-generated snapshot box at the top of the search results.

We’ll keep you posted as to SGE’s progress.

When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazin

2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Planner

3. The Free Online Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

3 Creative, Low-Cost Tips to Bring in Buyer Leads

Jan 10, 2024

Do you ever wonder why they don’t call you a “lead generator” instead of a real estate agent? After all, generating leads consumes a huge portion of the typical agent’s work week.

If you’re new to the business, getting leads is a make-or-break proposition. Either you generate solid leads, or you go out of business.

Yes, this is not the best time to hunt down real estate consumers. The media is doing a good job of scaring them away from the market. But there are buyers out there.

We asked several agents we know what they’re doing right now that is inexpensive, and they graciously allowed us to share their answers.

1. Tweet

Although we don’t recommend Twitter for marketing your real estate business, we thought diehard Tweet fans might enjoy this tip.

Anytime you have a free couple of minutes, hop on Twitter and type “moving to [name of the city]” in the search box. You can use variations of the search term as well. Try these:

Buy a house in [name of city or name of the neighborhood]
Best neighborhood in [name of city] to buy a house
Real estate agent in [name of market]

These were off the top of our heads, and you’ll no doubt come up with more.

This tip, by the way, comes from Bernice Ross at Inman.com.

2. Content works if done right

According to statistics at Placester.com, more than three-quarters of homebuyers who use the internet when house hunting say that they prefer reading articles over being blasted by ads or self-promotion when visiting an agent’s website.

“Any old message or clever tagline isn’t going to pique their interest – what they crave now is useful, interesting content,” cautions Seth Price at Placester.com.

Content marketing won’t give instant results, but when it starts working, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start long before.

By the way, a brilliant way to increase your site’s visitors is by posting and sharing content about local businesses on social media. Be sure to send a copy to the business so they can share the free advertising with their readers.

3. Use others’ listings

No listings of your own? Ask your colleagues if you can share their listings on your blog and social media. Facebook is an especially good platform for sharing listings, as long as you don’t do it too often.

Stick to listings taken within your brokerage, and talk it over with the listing agent first.

Bonus tip: Spread the truth about what’s happening in the market. Nobody knows better than you that the market isn’t as bad as the media makes it out to be. People are looking at homes, this is an excellent sign that real estate is alive and kickin’!

When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Happy New Year! What Will You Do Differently in Your Real Estate Business This Year?

Jan 2, 2024

Although the attribution is under debate, Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as “… doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Regardless of who truly gave that one to the world, it sure is true, isn’t it?

As we head into a fresh, new year, it’s time to do a lookback at 2023. What worked? What didn’t? What did you hope to accomplish that you didn’t? Where are the gaps in your marketing plan that need to be filled?

Is this the year you’ll hire help?

Today we throw out some ideas. No, nothing new, but perhaps new to your business in 2024.

Understand your audience

“Census data shows that 4 in 10 Americans are finding it difficult to cover their expenses,” according to Emma Newbery at Fool.com.

“On average, Americans need an additional $11,434 to afford the same standard of living in October 2023 compared with January 2021 …,” suggests Aimee Picchi at CBSNews.com, citing a study by the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee.

Sadly, the media doesn’t seem to understand the plight of average Americans in this economy. They deliver the news as if we’re doing peachy, making money hand over fist without a care in the world.

Naturally, those struggling the most are not likely in the market to buy a house right now. But, rest assured that a chunk of the higher earners in that 40% of Americans just may be.

The Get More Listings II Series is shown above. To learn more, Click Here.

Are you online enough?

Strengthen your online presence via social media and a robust offering of advice and information on your website.

The secret? Ensure that what you post is irresistibly sharable.

These topics don’t all have to be real-estate related. In fact, those that are shared the most tend to be community-related, such as those about local coffee shops, restaurants, dog groomers, etc.

Yes, you’ll want to throw in educational real estate pieces to show your expertise and educate your followers. But social media is a place for them to get to know all aspects of who you are.

Get a Niche

Have you considered specializing in a real estate niche? Focusing on one group of people, type of property or neighborhood is an amazing way to stand out from the crowd of other agents in your area.

Popular and lucrative niches include:

People – veterans, ethnic, foreign buyers, generational (for instance, baby boomers, or Gen X), new-home buyers.
Geographic – as mentioned earlier, this might be specializing in a particular neighborhood, condo community, or beach-front properties for instance.
Property type: luxury, starter homes, condos, multi-generational homes, new construction, waterfront, golf course.

Use your content, both website and social media, to show them you’re not blind to their plight. Keep them abreast of the local market, but have some fun too. Any positive news you can provide will have them coming back for more.

When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Lisa Gray

Commission flexibility

Increased transparency

New business models

Do their websites convert?

Do they have the ability to attract organic search engine traffic?

Does the website builder get you through the entire process?

Pros

Cons

A quick refresher course on what the USDA offers to homebuyers

Understanding the USDA mortgage zones

Before you do anything else

Use Google Analytics to track your marketing performance

Put your email marketing platform to work

Regularly Review and Adjust

What is a problem listing?

Offer solutions

Be their pillar

Responsive design

Attractive in its simplicity

1. Quit focusing on the wrong stuff

2. Eliminate distractions

1. Target Your Ideal Seller with Direct Mail

2. Use Video Marketing to Engage Sellers

3. Build Relationships with Local Businesses

4. Create a “Seller Concierge” Program

5. Target Absentee Owners & Expired Listings

6. Host Local Home Seller Workshops

AI Generative Search

What Does the Average Real Estate Agent Need to Know?

1. Tweet

2. Content works if done right

3. Use others’ listings

Understand your audience

Are you online enough?

Get a Niche