Lisa Gray

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Lisa is an accomplished marketer with years of expertise in direct response marketing, digital marketing, data analytics and business development working with both B2C and B2B.

AI’s Role in Real Estate: Revolutionizing the Way Agents Work

Jul 9, 2023

Artificial intelligence, or AI, has been the hot topic of news coverage lately. It seems like we can’t get away from it.

While some experts provide scary future scenarios, others are hailing AI as akin to a wonder drug.

Data analysis and insights

The truth is, right now, AI can provide significant benefits to real estate agents. Here are some ways in which it can enhance your work.

AI can analyze vast amounts of real estate data, including property listings, sales data, market trends, and demographics.

This helps agents make informed decisions, such as determining the right pricing strategy, identifying profitable investment opportunities, and understanding market demand.

Lead generation and management

AI-powered tools can automate lead generation by analyzing online user behavior, social media data, and other sources to identify potential buyers and sellers.

AI can also assist in lead management by categorizing and prioritizing leads based on their likelihood of conversion, allowing agents to focus their efforts on the most promising leads.

Property recommendations

AI algorithms can analyze buyers’ preferences, budgets, and other factors to provide personalized property recommendations. This saves time for real estate agents by narrowing down the options and presenting clients with properties that best match their requirements.

Virtual property tours

AI technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) enable brilliant immersive virtual property tours. Real estate agents can provide clients with more realistic virtual walkthroughs of properties, allowing them to explore and evaluate properties remotely. This saves time for both agents and clients by minimizing unnecessary in-person tours.

Natural language processing and chatbots

AI-powered chatbots can handle basic customer inquiries, provide property information, and schedule appointments. Natural language processing enables these chatbots to understand and respond to user queries effectively.

This automation will free up a lot of time, allowing you to focus on more complex tasks and personal interactions.

Market predictions

Here’s where it gets super exciting.

AI algorithms can analyze historical data and market trends to predict future real estate market conditions. Real estate agents can leverage these insights to anticipate changes, make proactive decisions, and develop effective marketing strategies.

AI is poised to be a valuable tool to augment the real estate agent’s skills and efficiency, ultimately enhancing the overall client experience.

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

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 Plan

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 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, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Become-A-Listing-Legend-3D-Book-White-274x300.jpg

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

How to Nurture Your Home Buyers through a Tough Market

Jun 29, 2023

If ever there was a time that your real estate clients needed your experience and expertise to lean on, it’s right now.

At this point, to say the real estate market is confusing the daylights out of them would be an understatement.

Right now, consumers feel it’s a great time to sell a house (although too few are doing so) and a lousy time to buy one. (Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index, June 7, 2023)

Housing analysts are now describing the market as “resilient.” Keep that word in mind because it may become your mantra when discussing all things real estate-related.

Now is the time for all good agents to put themselves in their client’s shoes. Listen more. Nurture more. Help them, counsel them, and go to battle for them.

There’s so much to learn

As you know from working with clients, buying a home brings confusion, fear, and excitement. It’s an odd combination, but there you have it.

Think back to when you bought your first home. If you weren’t an agent, you can probably relate to how homebuyers feel.

Keep that memory alive so you can better relate to your first-time buyers or any client feeling anxiety over the process.

If you don’t hold buyer consultations, now would be a good time to start. These get-togethers not only offer counsel to your homebuying clients but help you as well. A knowledgeable client is the best type to have.

Go step-by-step into explaining the purchase process and what they can expect from you. Keep the jargon out, if possible, and use simple language to ensure they understand.

Ask questions and then listen to the answers.

Keep in touch

Responding as quickly as possible to calls, texts, and emails from your buyers will go far in allaying some of their stress and providing memorable customer service.

Even if there’s no news about the transaction, reach out to them and let them know you’re still working hard from your end.

In fact, everything you do with your buying clients, from beginning to end, should be another step to building a foundation for a long-term relationship.

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

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Magnify Brand Visibility and Stay Connected the Easy Way with Automated Marketing!

Jun 14, 2023

When clients need a real estate agent, it pays to have an easily recognizable name at their fingertips. But coming up with fresh, eye-catching content and sticking to a regular schedule of sending this content out is incredibly time-consuming.

An automated, recurring marketing campaign is the easiest way to maintain brand exposure and stay relevant; while freeing up time for more high-level tasks.

Put Your Time to Better Use

Automating your marketing ensures you adhere to your long-term marketing strategies because you never miss sending out a campaign.

Scheduling postcard campaigns to go out automatically allows you to focus on prospecting, handling listing appointments, and developing other business growth strategies.

Meanwhile, targeted campaigns are working in the background to drive customer engagement and
ensure clients have your name in mind when it is time to list a home or find a new property.

The Content Card Series Campaign is shown above. To see more, Click Here.

Scheduled postcard campaigns give you the competitive edge

Regardless of speculated market shifts, homebuyers and homeowners will continue looking to trade up or relocate and will reach out to agents to take the plunge.

With an ongoing scheduled postcard campaign, you ensure your name is front and center with your target market when they are ready to strike.

In addition, various campaigns are available with customized messaging to fit certain niche markets. For instance, many fence-sitting homeowners are unsure if this is the right time to sell. The Fence Sitter postcard campaign is designed with the ideal message that speaks to their looming concerns and calms their fears.

The smart money is on automation

According to Lenskold Group, 78% of marketers reported that marketing automation increased revenue.

And 75% of brands saw a return on investment within 12 months due to using automated marketing campaigns (Focus Research study).

Launching an automated marketing campaign is the best way to make every moment count in your business, raise your brand profile, and stay relevant.

To get started launching a scheduled campaign or learn more, Click Here.

To check out our FREE Contact Manager, Click HERE.

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

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Guess Which Buyers Have Joined the Luxury Homebuyer Ranks?

Jun 8, 2023

The media love to promote the idea that our millennial generation is so saddled by student debt that they require a bailout from the American taxpayer.

Guess what? That’s hogwash.

In reality, according to an Experian survey of student loan debt, Gen X and baby boomers, each hold more student loan debt than millennials.

According to a different Experian survey, fewer than half of millennials (42 percent) claim they have never been denied credit. Most surprising is that “… 66 percent of millennials have no student debt at all,” claims the Boston Globe’s Beth Akers.

More important, at least for real estate agents targeting millennial homebuyers, there are more than half a million millionaires in the millennial generation, and “… 93% of them have a net worth ranging from $1 to $2.49 million,” according to Mark Politi at LinkedIn.com, citing Coldwell Banker research.

Recent Engel & Völkers Trend Report surveys find that many have a higher net worth. Of the Americans looking to buy a home for more than $3 million dollars (so-called “peak luxury buyers”), nearly 60% are members of the millennial generation.

The number of younger millionaires will explode with the baby boomer inheritance wealth transfer over the next few decades. And according to the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury study, they will shop for high-end homes.

How can you position yourself to be the go-to agent for this cohort?

Carve out your space on social media

Yes, it takes time, but engaging with others on social media is critical to attracting these luxury homebuyers. Remember, the millennial generation was our first to grow up online.

However, not every social media platform is right for real estate agents. Keep your target market in mind in choosing where to market. For instance, millennials, born between 1977 to 1995, are, in 2023, between the ages of 28 and 46.

Older 40+ millennials are the wealthiest, with the top 1% net worth at nearly $8 million. The top 1% in the 35 to 39 age group is worth more than $4 million. The youngest group’s top 1 percent is about $600,000, according to Levi Rasmussen at WallStreetSurvivor.com.

These statistics should help when choosing which platform to use. Check its demographics to ensure it attracts your target audience.

“There is often a misconception among luxury brands and marketers that digital marketing is incompatible with the luxury industry,” according to Rumble Romagnoli with Relevance, a “… luxury digital marketing agency.”

People believe that UHNWIs [Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals] do not engage in social media, do not make online purchases, etc., or that if they do, it is only through super-exclusive social media sites or at private member’s clubs. This is absolutely not the case,” he concludes.

LinkedIn and Facebook are two of the best social media platforms an agent can use to target this audience. You might also consider Instagram ads, Romagnoli suggests.

Concentrate on emphasizing your expertise in both the luxury market and the local real estate market in general.

Erin Nicole Davis, citing an Engel & Volkers luxury homebuyer trend report, adds that “… real estate professionals who provide a personalized, high-touch experience when working with these buyers” will be the winners.

Bonus: You may just end up rolling in referrals!

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 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 and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

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

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

The Most Important Thing to Know About FHA’s “40-Year Mortgage”

Jun 1, 2023

Did you do a happy dance when you read the headlines about the FHA coming up with a 40-year mortgage? Me too.

Until I actually read beyond the headlines.

It’s not a new home loan product on offer, and the operative word in its name that people seem to be missing is “modification.”

Let’s dive into what the FHA is actually offering because it’s not what the media are saying it is.

It’s a mortgage MODIFICATION

“As of May 8, homeowners straining to pay their Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages have another lifeline: the 40-year mortgage modification,” explains Natalie Campisi at Forbes.com.

The program aims to reduce the borrower’s mortgage payment by at least 25%. But, with rising mortgage rates, financial experts caution their clients not to get too excited about the program.

Even “… HUD acknowledges the effect is blunted as interest rates remain high,” according to Campisi.

If you have clients interested in this loan modification, urge them to call their servicer. Their situation will then be evaluated for whichever program fits.

Sadly, too many journalists missed the word “modification” when reading the press releases for HUD’s 40-year mortgage modification program. Homebuyers nationwide are now excited about getting a lower house payment if they can get an “FHA 40-year mortgage.”

As usual, it’s up to real estate agents and loan folks to clean up the mess and set consumers straight.

The best way to get the word out? Through your newsletter, blog posts, direct mail, and social media posts.

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 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Is Instagram a Good Place for Real Estate Agents to Market for More Listings?

May 29, 2023

A few weeks ago, we promised to update you on the latest social media demographics. We started with TikTok, and today we dive into Instagram.

The criteria we used when choosing the “best” social media options is simple: Those in your target demographic should use the platform heavily. If that includes buyers and sellers, you’ll want to hang out where baby boomers do.

If, on the other hand, you are targeting millennial real estate consumers, we can show you where to spend your time.

Remember, when it comes to marketing your real estate business, targeting is critical. Otherwise, you are wasting both your time and money.

Let’s talk Instagram

Although India leads the world in Instagram users, with more than 225 million active users, the U.S. comes in second, with “… at least 143.4 million active users,” according to DataReportal.com.

Instagram tends to attract a young crowd in the U.S., with ages 18 to 24 accounting for its largest audience share (27.7). The second-largest share of audience is those aged 25-to-34 … to which 25.7% of Instagrammers belong,” according to data from Oberlo.com.

Pay close attention to this statistic: “As of 2022, around 87% of Instagram’s 1.31 billion users who might potentially be targeted with ads are outside the United States.”

If you’re selling international real estate, this statistic may not bother you. But that nearly 90% of the platform’s targeted users are outside the U.S. should be a deal breaker for real estate agents.

Add to that the young age of the average user. There are platforms with far better demographics if you’re looking for potential homebuyers and sellers.

Who you should be targeting

Although we went over this in our last post about TikTok, in a nutshell, baby boomers are the ones buying and selling right now, making up 39% of buyers. According to the NAR, they have overtaken millennials’ share of the buyer pool (28%).

Sellers? Baby boomers again, but Gen X is part of the pool as well. NAR says the typical seller is 60 years old.

So, we’ve struck out with both TikTok and Instagram. But check back because soon we’ll have the winners of which the-social-media-platforms-are-best-for-real-estate- agents contest.

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 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Take Control of the Real Estate Market Narrative and Keep it Positive

May 22, 2023

“The party’s over for America’s Housing Market …,” blasts a headline from MarketWatch.com.

“Is The Housing Market About To Crash?” asks one at BankRate.com.

This is the real estate news that consumers are hearing daily. It’s quite challenging, in fact, to find positive news.

Even though there is positive news.

It appears that agents who want the good news pushed out to help counter the bad need to take control of the narrative.

If you pride yourself on keeping in touch consistently with those in your CRM, whether by direct mail, social media marketing, or anything else, blasting out the good news is not difficult.

Real estate consumers beg to differ with the media tale

A funny thing happened to the media narrative on its way to becoming an ever-more negative Nellie. Fannie Mae released its Home Purchase Sentiment Index®, proving that real estate consumers are more positive than the media thinks.

“Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) jumped 5.5 points to 66.8 in April, marking the highest monthly gain in two years,” Adam Barnes said at TheHill.com.

62% of those surveyed said it’s a good time to sell. This represents an increase of “… 5 percentage points month over month,” Fannie Mae suggests in a recent press release.

Optimism about the housing market from those who will actually be involved in it. Who would’ve thought?

There is more positive news

March was a great month for home sellers. According to ShowingTime, there was an increase in foot traffic through homes for sale (mostly in the Midwest).

The low inventory prevents many would-be buyers from continuing their home searches, so the news that showings increased is very good.

If you have fence-sitting homeowners, share this news with them. And, just FYI, “Not all regions fared the same in March,” according to the pros at ShowingTime.

“The overall increase in showing activity was driven by the Midwest, up 18% from February, and the Northeast, up 15%. The South stayed relatively flat with a monthly increase of 1.4%, and the West dropped 2.7%.”

Your part in the process

Sharing the positive aspects of the market with your potential clients is more important than ever. Blog, post to social media, and create direct mail pieces to grab their attention and fight the negative narrative.

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 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Is TikTok a Good Place for Real Estate Agents to Market for More Listings?

May 16, 2023

In real estate, as in other businesses, it’s important to remember that you need to know who your “audience” consists of if you ever hope to effectively target them with your marketing. Many agents target “anyone who is breathing,” and that’s understandable.

It was how they generated leads as a newbie. They had little other choice. But, think back to those days. That type of marketing is not only expensive but time-consuming as well.

As we grow into our business, we know better than to shoot arrows and hope something sticks. Target marketing is far saner and more efficient.

Who is your audience on social media? It depends a great deal on the platform, first. Some are chock-full of folks you should be reaching out to, while others simply waste time and effort.

It’s time to update our social media recommendations for real estate agents, and we begin with TikTok.

First, let’s nail down your target audience

While it was somewhat lucrative to target first-time buyers in the past, you may want to change your strategy this year. They made up only 26% of last year’s real estate consumers, which is a huge drop from the previous year’s 34%, according to the folks at the NAR.

With the country’s current wonky economy, don’t look for that number to improve this year.

If you plan on sticking with the first-timers, you’ll be targeting folks in their mid-to-late 30s (NAR calls the 36-year-old “The typical first-time buyer.”)

Repeat buyers are always worth an agent’s consideration because of the very real chance that they also have a home to sell. This target’s age is 59 years.

Your largest buyer pool will be the baby boomers, who comprise 39% of all buyers. Millennials have dropped to 28% of the pool.

Finally, if you’re after listings, stick with older Gen X folks and baby boomers. “The typical home seller was 60 years old,” according to the NAR.

When it comes to social media marketing, spend your time on platforms with the robust participation of baby boomers (folks age 59 to 77).

Does that include TikTok?

Not at all. Let’s take a look at who hangs out on TikTok.

According to the platform’s survey of its users:

80 million Americans are “active users” of TikTok.
The largest share of these users (60%) are age 16 to 24. “80% are between the ages 16-34.”
Although Gen X (age 47-58 in 2023) “is highly active on social media … less than 5% of them are on TikTok,” according to digital content provider Gitnux.com.
Baby boomers are almost invisible on the platform. Those who are age 55+ make up 5.1% of users. Throw in the next youngest demographic (age 45-54), and that number nudges up to about 13%, according to Oberlo.com.

Your TikTok takeaway

Unless you love hanging out there, we believe other platforms are far more worth your marketing time and effort (Facebook is one).

Wherever you decide to market on social media, remember that your post needs to be relevant to your target audience.

Check back soon when we look at Instagram and whether it’s worth your marketing time and energy.

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 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

How to Avoid Job Burnout in a Changing Real Estate Market

May 8, 2023

If your daily “busyness” consists of “… chasing online leads, slamming social media with videos, or banging the phones with cold calls” (thanks, Sarah Long) with limited results, you’re not alone.

And you’re probably a little on the stressed side. Burnout, by the way, is caused by stress.

The first step in dealing with burnout is recognizing and paying attention to it. If you don’t, you may end up in that growing pool of agents currently ditching the business.

And we really, really want you to stay. We are, in fact, your biggest cheerleaders.

What does real estate burnout feel like?

In the words of an agent friend, “It feels like I’m running out of gas, physically and emotionally.”

“Cynicism and detachment … feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment” is how Sherrie Bourg Carter Psy.D. describes burnout at PsychologyToday.com.

She goes on to explain some of the symptoms of a full-fledged burnout event:

Restless sleep and feeling tired most of the time.
Being forgetful, unable to concentrate.
Loss of appetite.
Feeling depressed or anxious.
Quick to anger.

Who is at risk of burnout?

According to the Chicago Tribune’s Ellen Jean Hirst, anyone whose work life is filled with “maniacally stressful days” is at risk. She goes on to state that those in positions where they frequently feel out of control are also good candidates for the condition.

Not knowing which way the real estate market will turn and when unsure if and when the next commission check is coming can make an agent feel out of control.

Experts say, however, that women are more prone to stress-induced burnout than men.

Can we avoid burnout?

Reducing your stress level will go a long way in helping you to avoid burning out. “Many stress management techniques are skills that are learned rather than activities we do naturally,” suggests Elizabeth Scott, Ph.D., at verywellmind.com.

Thankfully, there are apps to help you learn these skills. Find a favorite and use it daily. Here are a few to get you started:

Calm (track your moods, meditate)
Personal Zen (science-based app for handling anxiety and stress and developing positive habits.
Insight Timer (“… free app for sleep, anxiety and stress”)

This uncertainty in the market won’t last forever, so get yourself pumped about the future. Plan to join your colleagues at a real estate convention and attend the educational opportunities offered. Or take a vacation. Yes, a vacation.

Take short breaks throughout the workday. Get outside, enjoy some fresh air, and exercise while you allow your thoughts to wander. This is especially effective if you can get into nature, even if it’s just the local park.

New agents might consider a mentor. Is someone in your office willing to allow you to shadow him or her?

A study of real estate agents found that 80% are optimistic about their futures in the real estate industry. You can be, too, if you take care of yourself and curb the stress in your life.

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

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 combined with 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 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Introducing a BRAND NEW ProspectsPLUS! Rewards Program

May 1, 2023

The PLUS! Points Achievement System is a rewards program for prospectsplus.com customers.

Customers can earn PLUS! Points by unlocking various achievements, such as making a specific purchase or completing a task.

PLUS! Points can then be redeemed at any time for an account credit at a rate of 1 point = $.01.

PLUS! Points have an expiration date of one year from the date they are converted into an account credit.

Bonus PLUS! Points: throughout the year, we will offer opportunities to earn bonus PLUS! Points by purchasing a postcard from a new series or completing other tasks. Bonus PLUS! Points will automatically be added to your “Redeem” page on Prospectsplus.com once you have qualified.

Get started earning PLUS! Points NOW, CLICK HERE.

How to Get Started

To get started achieving PLUS! Points begin at your account dashboard.

To locate your account dashboard, click on your name in the upper right corner of our prospectplus.com. A drop-down menu will appear, click on “Dashboard” (see screenshot below).

How to View Achievements

From your dashboard, click “View Achievements” in the upper right-hand corner (see screenshot below).

On the Achievement page, you’ll notice locked achievement badges and maybe even some unlocked badges as well. Be on the lookout for new badges to be added in the future.

A locked achievement badge – will be grayed out and has not been achieved yet. Move your cursor over a locked achievement badge, and it will flip over and display what you need to do to accomplish the badge and how many PLUS! Points it’s worth. To get started completing that badge, click the available link on the backside of the badge.

An unlocked badge – is a badge that you have accomplished. It will be displayed in full color. If you place your cursor over this badge type, it will flip and describe what you did to achieve the badge and how many PLUS! Points you earned (see screenshot below).

Get started earning PLUS! Points NOW, CLICK HERE.

How You’re Awarded PLUS! Points

When you complete an achievement within seconds, a badge will appear on your screen with confetti announcing your accomplishment (see screenshot below), and PLUS! Points will automatically be added to your Redemption account.

How to Redeem PLUS! Points

To redeem PLUS! Points or view your balance, click on “Redeem Points” in the upper right corner of your Dashboard page or Achievements page.

On the Redeem page, you will see a breakdown of all PLUS! Points you’ve achieved, what badges you’ve earned, and how many PLUS! Points you’ve redeemed in the past.

To redeem unused points, click the yellow “Redeem” button on the Redeem page. Your redeemed points will automatically be converted to a credit on your account that can be used during checkout (see screenshot below).

Stay on the lookout for more opportunities to achieve PLUS! Points on ProspectsPLUS.com!

Get started earning PLUS! Points NOW, CLICK HERE.

What Home Buyer Incentives Are Most Popular in the Current Market?

Apr 26, 2023

“ 2 in 5 home sellers are offering concessions to homebuyers,” according to data from Redfin buyers’ agents. It appears that gone are the days when buyers felt the need to waive the home inspection and other contingencies just to win the home in a bidding war.

“… 42% of homes sold in recent months offered buyer incentives,” according to the another Redfin report.

Some cities find more buyer incentives than others. Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver, San Diego and Phoenix lead the way when it comes to sellers being willing to give something up to get their homes sold.

Since the chances are good that you may run into a situation where you’ll need to counsel a client about offering concessions, let’s take a look at some of the most popular.

mortgage rate buy-downs
cash for repairs
cash for closings costs
warranties on household appliances.

Offer to pay points

As we all know, one of the biggest disadvantages in the current real estate market is rising mortgage interest rates.

If you represent sellers that just can’t seem to get the home sold within their deadline, counsel them about what is likely the most effective buyer incentive, paying the buyers’ points.

Check this out: “… lowering the buyer’s interest rate can make their monthly payment a lot more affordable,” according to Christy Bieber at Motley Fool.

If they are weighing just lowering their asking price for the buyer, explain to them that buying down the buyer’s mortgage rate is the better deal. Especially for the seller.

Bieber explains that “… if you had a $300,000 house on the market, dropping your home to $280,000 would have about the same impact as buying down the buyer’s rate by 0.75%.”

“But reducing the buyer’s rate that much would only cost you $9,000, so you’d end up about $11,000 ahead.”

This tactic should be reserved for only those clients who need to sell and are having a hard time doing so. Keep it in your back pocket and pull it out if you suspect that it’s mortgage rates standing in the way (if your listing is a starter home, for instance).

Other popular incentives to speak with your client about include:

Pay a portion of the closing costs
Include personal property if the buyer has expressed an interest
Offer to pay for the first year or so of HOA dues
Warranties are always appreciated
Designate a specific amount of money toward repairs “Seller will pay $500 at closing for repairs.”

Offering incentives to the buyer may be a hard pill to swallow for the seller. Approach the topic at the beginning of the selling conversation so that they aren’t caught by surprise and counsel them on the benefits of offering buyer incentives.

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

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 combined with 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 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 and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

LEVEL UP: Go from One Listing to Market Maker

Apr 19, 2023

Dean Jackson, Founder of GoGoAgent and Listing Agent Lifestyle, states, “Most agents begin focusing on finding a buyer after they get a new listing.”

“Often, the reason agents are only focused on getting listings is because of their belief they need the listing to be able to find buyers.”

But what if instead of matching buyers and sellers, listing by listing, you become a Market-Maker who controls your market?

How incredible would it be to arrive at your listing appointment with a list of buyers you’ve already been communicating with from the surrounding area?

Dean Jackson says, “There’s nothing more powerful than promoting your access to buyers at your listing appointment because you’ve got the very thing the seller wants more than anything.”

“Regardless of who else is competing for this listing, they can’t win when you already have buyers in hand.”

When you begin to see your listing appointments this way, you are changing the game entirely and taking the first steps toward becoming a Market-Maker.

Rent By Number Series is shown above. See more **HERE.**

How to Begin

Create a Renter Prospect List in the area you are currently prospecting using the Demographic Search tool on ProspectsPLUS.com, and launch a marketing campaign to this list.

Then, before your next listing appointment, print out your list in map form. Use the List Management Tool under your ProspectsPLUS!® account options.

PINPOINT YOUR RENTER PROSPECTS LIST ON A MAP

Take your map with you on your listing appointment. Show this map of prospective buyers to your homeowner, and inform them you’ve been communicating with this list
from the surrounding area for months.

“The most essential item you can take with you when going on a listing appointment in a competitive market is access to buyers.”

Then, discuss the high probability that their home buyer is on this list.

“…Specifically, when you factor in the NAR statistic, homebuyers purchase homes within 15 miles of their previous home.”

Imagine the feeling you’ll have selling this listing to your own buyer – that’s a true Market-Maker!

Bottom Line

The most essential item you can take with you when going on a listing appointment in a competitive market is access to buyers.

While other agents discuss what they’ll do to find a buyer once the listing agreement is signed, you stand alone because you’ve already done the work.

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

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 combined with 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 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

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