Take this Critical Step to Prepare for the 2023 Real Estate Market

Dec 27, 2022

Those brake lights you see up ahead? Some are from home prices, while others are from buyers and sellers, confused as all get out about what’s in store for the housing market.

What we do know is that home prices are decreasing, homes are remaining on the market longer than we’re used to, and mortgage rates are rising.

As of this writing, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is 7.24%. We’re looking at 5.62% for a 5/1 ARM, which many buyers are pursuing right now. The current inflation rate is 7.75% (the long-term average is 3.27%).

So, what is in store for next year? As we all know, no economist has a crystal ball, and most are all over the place when it comes to predicting the 2023 economy and, specifically, the housing market.

If things have slowed down a bit in the days ticking down to the start of 2023, use this time to prepare your business as if the ‘busy season’ promises to be gangbusters.

In other words, “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.”

The Get More Listings Scheduled Campaign is shown above. To learn more, Click HERE.

Clean up your CRM

Even the most robust CRM is ineffectual if it’s brimming with bad information. While fixing the problem is time-consuming, the importance of doing so can’t be overstated. Here are a few steps to consider:

Get rid of any duplicate entries. There’s nothing more unprofessional and impersonal than sending duplicate information to the same recipient.
Now go through the database and rid it of entries for which there is no contact information.
Pull up all contacts with whom you have a personal relationship, be it friends, family, former coworkers, etc. Have any of them had a change of address? A divorce? Automated emails to couples when they are no longer couples not only make you look out of touch but also insensitive. If you’re unsure of any contact information, reach out to them.
Get rid of the wild-goose chases. This isn’t easy to do, we know. Take your time with this part of the process, studying each entry to determine how much time and effort you’ve expended and what you honestly think you’ll get out of it in the end. Any that seem like a waste of time should either be placed in a “barely breathing” category or deleted.

Think about marketing campaigns for the leads in your CRM. This one, too, sounds easier than it truly is, especially if you haven’t yet completed your 2023 business plan, but it’s still doable. Remember, your SOI and ‘hot leads’ require a different approach than those folks you don’t know and/or are still on the fence about buying or selling. Once you’ve settled on the campaigns, get them scheduled so that touches are delivered consistently throughout 2023.

Nothing you do now is set in stone, so relax. Your CRM requires input all year, but now you will have a plan to nurture new contacts.

Happy 2023!

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 BusinessBase, SOI building system

The most effective thing you can do to build a real estate business is to become more visible, more likable, and remembered more often. The BusinessBASE™ not only checks these boxes but is also a business-building machine. In two easy steps, you can build a robust sphere of influence that will provide you a lifetime of repeat business and referrals. – Click Here

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

5. 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

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

An Early Christmas Present For You!

Dec 22, 2022

THE 2023 REAL ESTATE MARKETING PLANNER IS HERE!

We Just Checked One Important Item Off Your 2023 TO-DO List!

✅Creating a Strategic Real Estate Marketing Plan for 2023 – DONE

With the 2023 Real Estate Marketing Planner, you get:

A Weekly breakdown of targeted real estate marketing actions to complete.
A monthly calendar color-coded to match weekly action items.
Weekly targeted campaign postcard suggestions with clickable links for easy ordering.
Monthly holiday mail-by-dates for sending postcards standard class to save money.
A monthly list of fun activities to reference when contacting your Sphere of Influence.
Monthly holiday observances.
Suggested Contact Manager tags for targeted mailing.

To download your FREE 2023 Real Estate Marketing Planner 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

Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here

2. The BusinessBase, SOI building system

3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

5. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

Use the Industry Slowdown to Work on Your Real Estate Long Game

Dec 19, 2022

“Overnight success” isn’t a label typically slapped on the heavy hitters in the real estate industry. In fact, some say that, in any endeavor, overnight longing for success is a common obstacle to becoming successful.

The truth is, “Behind every overnight success story is someone who worked really, really hard,” according to Gary Vaynerchuk, investor, adviser, and co-founder of VaynerMedia.

Vaynerchuk is a proponent of business-building as a “long game” and suggests that a long-term thinking mentality will help us achieve genuine success and happiness.

Let’s take a look at some of the long-term strategies that agents can and should be using to be successful during the market slowdown

Reach out, over and over and over and . . .

It’s the real estate agent with a killer follow-up strategy that is a long-term thinker. Instead of constantly trying to drum up new business, he or she understands that the fortune is in the follow-up.

More important is the consistent follow-up. Not just for the first few months but for the rest of your career in real estate.

Despite this being a basic tenet of sales in any industry, too many agents feel that they lack sufficient time, and they allow the nurturing of potential clients to fall to the bottom of the to-do list.

Those who do pay attention to it gain a competitive edge.

All it takes is to find out that a former client listed his home with another agent (because the former client “forgot” that you are in real estate) to understand the power of reaching out consistently to every person in your CRM.

The Get More Listings Scheduled Campaign is shown above. To learn more, Click HERE.

Leave no lead behind

“Internet leads suck.” You’ve heard that one before, right? That opinion stems from that same drive to obtain the instant deal.

Do yourself a favor and ask the champion cold caller in your office how many of her calls result in instant deals.

The truth is she cold calls for leads. When she gets one, the long game begins.

Those online leads may be the best you’ll ever lay your hands on. These are people who are actively looking at properties online.

And, because looking online for a home is the first step most take (according to NAR studies), they probably don’t have an agent.

Vaynerchuk advises that “… your number-one job is to tell your story to the consumer wherever they are, and preferably at the moment they are deciding to make a purchase.”

You know those friends (I think we all have at least one) who pay monthly for a gym membership, never show up there and then complain that they’re out of shape?

They’re like the agents who have leads, don’t work them, and then complain that the leads are weak.

Use the downtime while the real estate market is in flux to determine how you’ll follow up with leads and how often you’ll reach out, and then set consistent reminders to do so.

Take the steps necessary to win the long game. “Your steps may number in the hundreds,” says actress and stand-up comedian Gayla Johnson at Backstage.com.

“They may number in the thousands. But rest assured, each and every one of those steps will better prepare you for that glorious and triumphant …” overnight success.

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 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

3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system

4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

Don’t Make These Mistakes with Expired Listing Leads, Part II

Dec 14, 2022

On a popular website devoted to helping small businesses, an agent and “Real Estate Sales and Marketing Analyst” offers up an article that includes several examples of expired listing letters “that work.”

Letter number two is my least favorite. It begins, “Dear Homeowner.”

If I received that letter, I would think that if the agent couldn’t even take the time to personalize his marketing letter, how much better will he do when marketing my home?

But the best one of the bunch is when the agent explains that he offers “clients a different, unique approach to getting their home sold despite the market conditions.”

And, what does he offer clients that’s so “unique” and so “different?” Here it is, in a nutshell:

“The effective use of the internet to maximize exposure for your home”
a CMA
an MLS listing
a virtual tour
and a bunch of other stuff that every single listing agent on the planet offers.

Then, there’s the advice on a Trulia thread from an agent who suggests agents should always visit the expired listing homeowner in person.

The Just Sold Follow-Up Campaign is shown above. To see more, Click HERE.

He describes the conversation you should have right up to what he calls his “big closing question,” the “money maker.”

He tells the homeowner that he never had a chance to visit the home while it was listed. “ … would it be okay if I had a quick peek at it right now?”

As a homeowner, my question when he asked to look at my home would be: If you’re the neighborhood expert and a mega-agent, why didn’t you look at the home during the 90 days it was listed?

Should you visit the homeowner? Sure, if you want to truly cement the idea that real estate agents are a bit aggressive.

Thankfully, you’re different

The one indisputable fact about expired listings, you will have a ton of competition when pursuing them. But, your competition will often approach the homeowner using ineffective advice offered by real estate gurus.

This should make it much easier to create a positive impression for the agent who can manage to come off as human, as empathic, and professional.

Those three qualities alone will set you apart from the agents you’ll be in competition against. So, personalize all communications with the homeowner, don’t be salesy, and come up with your unique value proposition – that “stuff” you offer or do that makes you better than most.

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 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 BusinessBase, SOI building system

4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

The Real Estate Market: Shifting Gears in 2023

Dec 9, 2022

What a weird time to be in the real estate industry. Whether you consider yourself a specialist or you’ll take on any client, nobody seems to know if we’re heading into a buyers’ market or not. At the very least, the experts seem to loathe to take a guess.

In July of this year, Emily Peck at axios.com declared that “Homebuyers retake the upper hand.” By the end of October, the media appeared to be as confused as our clients when Robin Rothstein at forbes.com asked the now very popular question, “Will Prices Drop?”

The elephant in the room is inflation and, as a result, rising interest rates. Buyers are feeling the pain, evidenced by mortgage applications being “… at their lowest level in 22 years,” Rothstein says, citing the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

How can an agent prepare for the new year when we’re uncertain? Should you shoot arrows out in all directions and see what you hit?

There is a major gap between what buyers and sellers expect in 2023

A recent Zillow Group, Inc. survey of real estate agents finds that homebuyers are expecting prices to significantly drop. Zillow, however, says that won’t necessarily be the case: “Zillow research finds a rapid drop in prices is unlikely.”

Other prognosticators, however, have opposite opinions:

The experts at Morgan Stanley say that “… home prices will fall 7 percent, from the peak of pricing in June 2022 to December 2023,” according to the New York Times.
Moody’s Analytics extends its forecast into summer 2024, predicting a 10% drop during that time period. If we experience a recession, bump that percentage up 10 points.
“Economists at Goldman Sachs expect home prices to decline by around 5% to 10% from the peak hit in June,” claims Anna Bahnay at cnn.com.

As you can see from this short sample of opinions, nobody knows what will happen with home prices in the new year. If you have a fence-sitting buyer, you may want to ask them if they’re willing to gamble that prices and/or mortgage rates will fall dramatically?

A 2023 Calendar is shown above. See more **HERE**.

What if right now really is the best time to buy a home?

Sellers, on the other hand, seem to be living in la-la land, according to the Zillow agent survey. “… sellers continue to expect bidding wars, offers above asking price, and quick sales, despite the cooling market.”

In fact, 81% of agents surveyed say their selling clients expect multiple offers on their homes, while 79% say their clients swear their homes will sell for more than market value, with an equal share saying their clients expect a quick sale.

Most troubling is that 74% refuse to lower the price of the home. Which, by the way, flies in the face of reality. Nearly 30% of sellers have had to cut their home’s list price.

One can’t blame them for their delusion, really. There are so many distractions in the news, competing for our attention, that real estate news most likely takes a back seat. As an agent, your job is to educate consumers, so blog it, Tweet it, and post it on Facebook.

In fact, here’s a little tidbit from the survey that you may want to share with unrealistic home sellers:

“Competitively priced listings are going under contract in 19 days nationwide, 10 days faster than before the pandemic, while other homes are lingering on the market a median of 54 days.”

Veteran agents will most likely sail right through this transition. New agents should concentrate on communicating with and educating clients.

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 BusinessBase, SOI building system

The most effective thing you can do to build a real estate business is to become more visible, more likable, and remembered more often. The BusinessBASE™ not only checks all of these boxes but is also a business-building machine. In two easy steps, you can begin to build a robust sphere of influence that will provide you a lifetime of repeat business and referrals. – Click Here

4. 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

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

Two Tax Deductions Many Real Estate Agents Miss You May Want to Consider

Dec 2, 2022

With the tax return season heading our way, here are a few ideas for deductions you may not have considered.

1. Home office deduction loophole

Sure, most agents who work from home are aware of this deduction. But did you know that if you also work from your broker’s office, you might still qualify for the deduction?

You’ll need to meet “the principal place of business test” to qualify, and you can find this test online at Investopedia.com.

In a nutshell, the office in which you perform recordkeeping and bookkeeping is typically considered your principal place of business. If you pay business-related bills from home, your home office will likely be considered primary even if you also work from your broker’s office.

The Content Card Series is shown above. To learn more about sending a Content Card postcard, Click Here. To learn more about scheduling a recurring Content Card postcard campaign, Click Here.

2. It’s time to put your kids to work

Even a younger child can be put to work in your home office. Dusting is actually fun for them. The older your child, the more tasks you can find for them:

Cleaning your signs
Mowing lawns, pulling weeds, and more at your vacant listings
Data entry into your CRM
Research
Cleaning your office
Filing
Helping to set up an open house
Shredding paperwork
Photocopying
Refilling the flier boxes at your listings
Stuffing envelopes
Addressing outgoing mail

“… you want to give them something reasonable for them to do based on their age, but also substantial enough to justify paying them a decent wage that’s going to really make a difference on your return,” suggests Kesha, CPA and tax coach and owner of The Millennial Taxpert.

It’s legal to hire your children to do many tasks considered jobs by the IRS. “… when it comes to family-owned businesses, the Fair Labor Standards Act doesn’t have an age limit or a maximum number of hours a child can work—it just prohibits hazardous jobs,” according to Kenji Asakura, MD, and Letizia Alto, MD at semiretiredmd.com.

You will find additional information about the home office deduction online at irs.gov.

The IRS also offers a thorough walkthrough about hiring your children.

We recommend that you run these tax deduction strategies by your tax preparer or accountant.

Disclaimer: The aforementioned information is for general informational purposes only. We are not financial or tax professionals and urge you to seek the services of a licensed tax professional.

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 BusinessBase, SOI building system

4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

The Number One Home Seller Expectation Continues to Remain the Same

Dec 1, 2022

Anyone who has been a listing agent for more than a minute understands that the number one priority for your clients (as well as yourself) is to get their homes sold for the most money possible in the least amount of time.

But what do they expect their agent to do to accomplish this? Many first-time sellers may have no idea, while repeat homeowners most likely have a range of experiences on which to base their expectations this time around.

For the answers, we turn to the National Association of Realtors, which asks homeowners what they want from their listing agents each year.

The number one home seller expectation for the last decade is to help the seller meet their timeframe for selling.

The second and third top “wants” are to help achieve a competitive price for the home and help market the home.

Seller timeframes

Listing agents understand that the time it takes to sell a home varies according to certain factors and that the home’s price is chief among them.

Other factors include:

The type of market. For instance, currently, the typical home spent 51 days on market. According to Realtor.com, this is 6 days more than last year at this time.
Condition. with inventory remaining low, the current buyer pool still shows interest in even substandard homes. In a balanced market, however, there may be a different story.
Location. Another factor that buyers are still ready to compromise on right now is location. It won’t always be this way, as you well know.

Once you understand your client’s timeline, communication is key. Be honest about how realistic the timeline is, according to the market, the home’s condition, and the location.

The Get More Listings Campaign is shown above. To see more, Click Here.

Pricing your client’s home

The one nugget of information that all homeowners wait for during a listing presentation is your suggested list price.

Many don’t know how you arrived at this figure, and some don’t care. Agents we’ve spoken with suggest that listing agents ask their clients what they’re hoping to get for the home before compiling the CMA.

This way, you’ll have time to lay out a plan to explain why your clients’ estimation is so far off the mark (if that is the case) rather than be blindsided by finding out during the presentation.

Marketing

That marketing is in third place regarding seller expectations should be no surprise. In the present market, not as many homes require an in-depth marketing campaign.

If your clients’ home only requires a basic marketing campaign, let them know that and the reason why. Even if you think it’s common sense that everyone knows, communicate what you’re thinking and planning.

Communication, in fact, is key in meeting all three of these home seller expectations. That, and following through on your promises, is one of the best ways to build 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

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 BusinessBase, SOI building system

4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 24, 2022

As we count our blessings on this Thanksgiving Day, we count ourselves extremely lucky to have customers like you.

We want you to know how much we enjoy serving you and how fortunate we are to work with you.

Thank you for helping make this year a great success.

Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving and a joyful holiday season!

Your ProspectsPLUS! Team

P.S. 🦃Want to see our annual turkey delivery to a local church? Check it out below 🦃

How to Ease Buyer Frustration Over the Current High Mortgage Rates

Nov 16, 2022

“America’s housing dream is broken,” claims a CNN.com headline. The New York Times wants us to know that “The Housing Market Is Worse Than You Think.” Finally, CNBC.com resorts to the scary stuff with an article about “… how much equity U.S. homeowners have lost since May.”

Is it any wonder that homebuyers, already fatigued by competing with multiple buyers, watching home prices skyrocket (seemingly overnight) and, now, escalating mortgage rates, are beyond frustrated?

Is it impossible, as many think, to buy a home? While it may be challenging, you and I both know it’s not impossible. At least not for many Americans. They just need a lot of educating, counseling, and, maybe, a whole lot of hand-holding.

Are they aware of the ins and outs of mortgages?

Direct Response Reports. **See more Here.**

Naturally, you’re hesitant to get too deep into the mortgage weeds when advising clients. After all, you’re most likely not a financial expert and, therefore, shouldn’t be counseling clients about financial subjects.

You can, however, suggest that they get to know and understand the following concepts and strategies and talk them over with a lender:

Discount points – Discount points, also known as points, lower a borrower’s “… interest rate in exchange for paying an upfront fee,” according to the experts at the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. Pass the link on to your clients for an excellent description of buying points and the pros and cons of doing so.
Adjustable-rate mortgage – The loan of choice for the past few months, adjustable-rate loan applications have “… more than quadrupled since the start of the year,” according to Melissa Dittmann Tracey at nar.realtor. This may be the ideal solution for a buyer who plans on staying in the home for a reasonable length of time. Get the house with an ARM and then refinance into a fixed mortgage when rates drop. This strategy is not without risks, however.
Help them strategize coming up with a heftier down payment – Yes, this is a tough one for an agent to suggest. It may mean putting a hot buyer on hold for a time. April, however, is right around the corner, and if your client is expecting an income tax return, depending on the amount, it could go a long way toward helping to lessen the impact of a higher-than-expected mortgage rate.

Keep an eye on the news

If ever there was a time for Congress to act quickly, it would be now. Several bills remain in the works from last year that can greatly ease the pressure on hard-hit, moderate-income homebuyers.

Direct Response Report, **See more Here.**

Keep an eye on Congress because if any of these passes, it could be a boon for your clients.

The First-Time Homebuyer Act of 2021. Introduced in late April 2021, this act revises the IRS code to provide first-time buyers up to $15,000 in tax credits. At the time of this writing, the act sits with the House Ways and Means Committee.
Downpayment Toward Equity Act of 2021. This program will be administered by HUD to “… states and other entities to provide qualifying assistance to certain first-time, first-generation home buyers in purchasing their first homes,” according to the bill’s text.
LIFT Homebuyers Act of 2021. Introduced in September 2021, The LIFT Act will provide 20-year fixed-rate mortgages for “… first-time, first-generation homebuyers whose incomes do not exceed a certain amount,” according to the bill’s text. These loans will be offered by Rural Housing Services or the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

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 BusinessBase, SOI building system

4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

The First Step to Winning More Expired Real Estate Listings

Nov 14, 2022

Have you ever watched those YouTube videos of agents making cold calls, FSBO calls, and expired listing calls?

Most of them use the same script or at least parts of the same script.

“I’m just calling to see when you’re going to be interviewing agents for the job of selling your home.”

You could build a drinking game around that one line, shared by almost all the video agents I watched.

Does this script, in the hands of thousands of agents, in any way raise the bar? Or does it perpetuate the myth that “all real estate agents are alike?”

Dump the scripts and dialogs and come up with a way to make this conversation authentically yours.

How to approach your expired listing homeowner

First, don’t assume, as so many do, that the homeowner with an expired listing is “angry” or “frustrated.” You don’t know why the listing expired. You don’t have any idea how this person is feeling.

Maybe he or she is elated that the home didn’t sell. Maybe the agent is her Aunt Maggie, and she could never be angry with her. Maybe they’re chalking the failure of the home sale up to the market and feel it’s nobody’s fault.

Go in with guns blazing, telling the homeowner that you know exactly how they feel and that “there are only three reasons a home fails to sell” is for other agents. You’re smarter than that. You are better than that.

The goal of this first conversation is to set an appointment to meet with the homeowner to find out exactly what happened. Only when you know can you provide a solution. Guesses don’t count.

And, yes, you should empathize. But empathize with what you actually know is happening:

The Expired Listing Postcard Campaign is shown above. To see more, Click **HERE**.

This homeowner is being hounded by real estate agents trying to get a listing.

And, yes, you want the listing too, but you aren’t about to add to the cacophony and annoyances of being called all day, every day, by people spouting the same “scripts,” offering the same solutions without knowing what the problem is.

Bullet points to cover over the phone

In your own words, start by saying you understand that they’re being beaten up by real estate agents who all say the same thing, give the same promises and assume to know how they’re feeling.

Apologize on behalf of your colleagues and explain that some will go to any lengths to make a buck.

Then, admit that you’d like the listing, too, if and when they decide to sell. But you can’t begin to offer a solution until you understand what happened with the previous listing.

If you have a particularly awesome testimonial that speaks to your ability to sell expired listings, include it in your conversation.

If you don’t have a testimonial, resist the urge to lay down your resume or any stats you think are particularly impressive.

You want an appointment, and the way to get one is by being human and by being empathic.

Check back next month when we’ll take a look at how not to approach the expired listing and whether or not to visit, in person, the homeowner with an expired listing.

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 BusinessBase, SOI building system

4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

Escape the Success Trap: Outsourcing Solutions for Overwhelmed Agents

Nov 14, 2022

Numerous small business owners, including real estate agents, assume various mundane responsibilities associated with operating their businesses. Particularly in the initial stages, they handle a wide range of tasks, from janitorial duties to accounting and marketing efforts.

The savvy entrepreneurs eventually opt to enlist assistance. Conversely, those who choose not to, become “… prisoners of their own success,” according to David Tal, co-founder and CEO of Agentology (now Verse.io).

Let’s delve into the potential advantages of outsourcing for your real estate business, tasks that might be suitable for delegation, and where to find the right individuals for these roles.

The advantages of outsourcing aspects of your day-to-day business

The primary advantage of outsourcing specific functions within your real estate business is the extra time you’ll gain in your workday.

Instead of spending that time ON the business, as you do now, you can spend it IN the business. An agent friend once told me that this freed him to do what he does best: “Bounce down the street and make money!”

If approached correctly, outsourcing can also prove to be a cost-effective strategy. Online platforms for hiring, such as Fiverr.com and Upwork.com, offer access to specialists who often charge considerably less than local workers in your industry.

Opting for experienced freelancers can eliminate the need for extensive training.

Direct response reports are shown above. To learn more, Click Here.

Tasks to consider outsourcing

Many real estate agents choose to delegate tasks that they find particularly mundane or time-consuming. Alternatively, some opt to outsource tasks where they believe a professional could produce better results. If you’re unsure which tasks to outsource, we’ve compiled a short list to assist you:

Admin tasks

Real estate agents often outsource general administrative responsibilities, either by hiring an assistant or engaging a freelancer. These tasks typically include:

CRM maintenance and management
Managing phone calls and emails
Procuring necessary supplies
Scheduling appointments
Coordinating direct mail campaigns

PPC advertising campaigns

Considering the intricacies involved in PPC advertising, many real estate agents outsource this task. As noted by business consultant Larry Alton at TheAmericanGenius.com, “PPC can significantly boost revenue for businesses, but without the requisite expertise, it may also result in wasted resources.”

Outsourcing need not be prohibitively expensive, as platforms like Upwork.com offer a variety of competitively priced freelancer packages. Explore Chad Gravallese’s YouTube video for insights on effectively hiring a freelancer on Upwork.com.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

For real estate agents seeking to drive organic traffic to their website and blog, search engine optimization (SEO) is a crucial yet time-consuming task.

Delegating your SEO tasks can be a wise business investment. Platforms like Fiverr.com host numerous SEO professionals with varying price ranges. Keep in mind that lower-priced freelancers may yield either satisfactory or disappointing results, making it a bit of a gamble. To make an informed choice, you can refer to depreneurdigest.com for guidance on selecting a Fiverr freelancer.

Whether virtual or in-person, employee or freelancer, outsourcing tasks will take your business to the next level.

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

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

Brand New to Real Estate? Here’s How to Hit the Ground Running!

Nov 9, 2022

The one thing few new real estate agents are prepared for is to hit the ground running the minute they hand over their license to a broker.

Sure, you’ll find lots of information on how to get a license, but zilch about how to productively use that time when you aren’t taking classes or studying for the exam any longer.

That’s time wasted, and commission checks pushed further into the future.

Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to prepare yourself to enter the world of real estate, ready to take it on.

Research and shop for a CRM

Customer relation management (CRM) will be an ongoing and critical aspect of your business. To make it easier and more efficient, you’ll need CRM software.

Some of the larger brokerages offer in-house CRM software, but most don’t.

We offer a free Contact Manager on prospectsplus.com that helps turn your mailing lists into micro-targeted marketing machines. To learn more about how to use this relationship-building customer tool, Click Here.

Surfing the internet to find reviews of real estate CRMs, I found a couple of sites that might help you get a better picture of CRM options available (for a fee):

Once you have chosen your CRM and learned how to use it, start loading it with the names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and any other information you know about everyone you know.

Yup, everyone that is old enough to buy or sell a home.

Getting this task out of the way up front will streamline your entry into the real estate business, and you’ll be forever grateful that you did it.

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

Your first direct mail campaign

Take all those addresses in your CRM and send each one an announcement of your pending licensure.

A text-only, simple postcard isn’t going to cut it now that you’re on the threshold of owning your own business. Send out a Photo Introduction postcard and properly introduce yourself to these VIPs who are going to prove invaluable to the growth of your real estate business over the coming years.

Set up a Facebook business page

Yes, there are other social media platforms, and some that you may prefer over Facebook. But Facebook is hands down, the best of them for marketing your real estate business.

So, start with Facebook and work on the others later.

This is a task you can actually begin on your personal page. Post the image included in your direct mail campaign for starters. Then, when you get your Facebook business page set up, invite your personal page friends to join you there.

Start engaging with others by visiting their pages and responding to their posts.

Join Facebook groups. They don’t have to be real estate-related. As long as you’re active and engaging, the groups will help build your follower list.

You can do a lot to hit the ground running before your license arrives at your broker’s office. Get going. I wish you much success!

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 BusinessBase, SOI building system

4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

Lisa Gray

Clean up your CRM

Reach out, over and over and over and . . .

Leave no lead behind

There is a major gap between what buyers and sellers expect in 2023

1. Home office deduction loophole

2. It’s time to put your kids to work

Seller timeframes

Pricing your client’s home

Marketing

Are they aware of the ins and outs of mortgages?

Keep an eye on the news

How to approach your expired listing homeowner

Bullet points to cover over the phone

The advantages of outsourcing aspects of your day-to-day business

Tasks to consider outsourcing

Admin tasks

PPC advertising campaigns

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Research and shop for a CRM

Your first direct mail campaign

Set up a Facebook business page