Monday, July 28, 2025

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.

“The holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on our blessings and seek out ways to make life better for those around us.” – Terri Marshall

What a perfect quote for Realtors.

You help people discover the place they embrace as home, where they raise children, nurture relationships, and seek comfort and peace – and that help truly makes life better.

So when you are reflecting on blessings, include the combination of characteristics and skills that you have, that allow you to help people in such a positive, life-changing way.

Then take some time to reflect on everything you have accomplished in 2017.

In the daily grind we get so close to what we are doing, the outcome we are after, and the high stakes associated with that outcome, we can lose sight of the bigger picture.

We forget that little wins throughout the year can add up to meaningful big wins overtime.

For instance, at ProspectsPLUS! we had an important goal of our own.

A committment to raising $50,000 for St Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. We matched contributions on our website, dollar for dollar, and offered 1, 5, & 10 optional donations at check out. With smaller donation levels you might think our goal is a bit too big.

But we achieved it!

Little by little, donation by donation, we climbed that hill to an incredible joint success with our amazingly generous customers!

That’s how goals often are accomplished…

In small steps – a few forward a few back – all the while keeping an eye on the prize until you get there.

Now it’s your turn, to take a look back at the goals you set last year and the effort ‘over time’ that went into achieving them.

It’s a great precursor to deciding what it is you want to accomplish in the new year.

Once you are done, take a few moments to celebrate your accomplishments!

…Then prepare your new goals for an explosive 2018!

Lisa

PLUS: Whenever you have a moment…here are 3 things to check out that will help you CRUSH IT in 2018!

1. The 2018 Online Real Estate Business Plan

Treating your business like a business is a vital component to succeeding long term in this industry. While some agents put together elaborate business plans, detailing every aspect of their marketing plans, business goals and budget needs, there is something powerful to be said for keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan.

2. The Sphere of Influence Calculator

Top real estate professionals state 66% of their business comes from their sphere of influence. So how many people do you need in your SOI? Check out our Sphere of Influence Calculator (from your desktop) to find out the answer.

3. A 12 Month Strategic Marketing Plan

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

Remember, we are always here to help you in any way we can. Reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 for help with new mailing lists and marketing materials for 2018. 

How long is long enough?

Heading into the new year with visions of grandeur floating in your head?

How this year is going to be the year that’s…

BIGGER, BETTER and BRIGHTER than ever.

If only you could figure out the answer that nagging question swirling around in your head, “I spent time and money on a bit of marketing last year and it went nowhere, how will this year be any different?”

Well, here’s what statistics tell us —

If you’ve sent out a few marketing pieces throughout the year in the past, it’s going to take much more than that, to get the results you are after.

But how much more?

A strategic ongoing focus

A strategic focus that includes mailings, phone calls, emails, door knocking and community involvement — to be specific.

Don’t forget the 3-7-27 marketing rule of success discussed in the last blog (3 contacts for name recognition, 7 to associate your name with your business, and 27 to be known and trusted enough to do business).

The bottom line,

Don’t be tempted to stop your marketing efforts after a few sporadic tries. Understand the science and psychology behind marketing.

Historically most transactions or calls happen after five to seven contacts or more.

An effective month by month plan

A successful marketing plan includes a combination of the following:

Ongoing monthly direct mail with periodic direct response offers, interspersed with email marketing, phone calls, and neighborhood visits.

Follow this strategy and you are well on your way to putting yourself on the map.

What to send for impact 

Holiday Postcards:

Every month you have the opportunity to add a seasonal timely touch to your marketing.

Be sure to include a personal message on the back and follow this card up with a friendly, “anything I can do for you?” phone call every few months.

 

Free Offer Postcards:

These are great direct response pieces to send that highlight compelling free offers such as, free market analysis, list of homes and list of resources. These offers encourage interest and low-risk hand raising.

Content Postcards:

These powerful, content-rich cards have timely topics with consumer-friendly information that sets you up as the expert resource in your market.

When to scale back?

How about never?

During the holidays many agents slow down their marketing as social obligations gear up and the industry appears to take a breather.

Be the agent who takes the opposite approach.

Stay top of mind without any lag in exposure so you can hit the ground running in January while other agents are just getting back in the game.

This coming year CAN be your BIGGEST and BRIGHTEST ever!

By expanding your ongoing marketing actions and touch points throughout the year, to ensure your business continues to thrive and grow.

Start making a great impression today, then do it again next week, next month, and so on.

Your business and your bottom line will thank you for it.

Interested in a strategic one year marketing plan that has already been done-for-you? Take a look at our Master Marketing Schedule. Need our assistance?  Our team at ProspectsPLUS! is available at 866.405.3638 and excited to answer your questions.

It’s that time of year…

When we take a moment to look back at our previous year’s successes and shortcomings,

and get our adrenaline running for the start of the new year.

If you had goals or a business plan for 2017, this is your opportunity to compare last year’s plan with what you actually achieved, and learn from the difference.

If you haven’t written a business plan before and find the thought of doing so overwhelming and off-putting, I’d like to change your mind.

You don’t need a degree in business to write an effective business plan.

But you do need a path to follow.

In fact, statistically people who follow a business plan or establish set goals are nearly twice as likely to successfully grow their business than those who do not.

So how do you put a plan together that’s easy and will have you excited about the coming year?

I’m going to tell you how, but first to stack the deck…

Statistics on the Power of Goal Setting:
  • Goals that are written down are 50% more likely to be achieved than unwritten goals.
  • Sharing your goals is proven to increase the success rate of achieving them.
  • The world’s most successful people agree that what you get by achieving your goals and plans is not as important as what you become in the process.
  • Our brains are wired to achieve goals.
  • The act of writing down a goal or business plan is a very powerful motivator.

Now that I’ve warmed you up to the idea…

It’s time to rock out a killer 2018 business plan!

Step One: Determine your income goal

What income goal gets you excited to dive in an attack the new year?

Pick your number, then pull together a few additional numbers from 2017. This is worth a few minutes of your time. The results will be powerful and create a breadcrumb trail right to 2018 goal success!

Numbers to gather include, average commission earned per closing, average percent of sales contracts written that close, average appointments needed to obtain a listing.

Step Two: Complete your one page plan

Use our simple, online “2018 Real Estate Business Plan” to complete a few easy calculations based on the numbers you have gathered above.

Step Three: Calculate your sphere of influence

Since statistically 66% of a Realtor’s business comes from your sphere of influence. It’s time to determine how many people you need in your sphere to achieve the goals you have outlined above.

Use our easy online Sphere of Influence Calculator (from a desktop computer) to get a quick answer to this question.

Step Four: Create a strategic marketing plan

Now that you have your numbers, it’s time to create a strategic marketing plan for 2018.

Remember the 3-7-27 Law of Prospecting? Well it’s the key to your marketing success.

The foundation of this law states it takes 3 contacts for someone to recognize your name, 7 to associate your name with your business, and 27 to become a brand name in your market.

An ideal marketing plan that assists you in adhering to the magic of 3-7-27 is our done-for-you Master Marketing Schedule.

It’s a strategic month-by-month plan for the entire year that covers marketing for, listing inventory, niche marketing, geographic farming and sphere of influence.

Using the Master Marketing Schedule, takes the task of planning a years worth of direct marketing, from overwhelming to easy.

The future is now

With the above tools, and your killer 2018 business plan in place, your path to conquering your goals in the new year is crystal clear!

Is your adrenaline pumping?

The ProspectsPLUS! Team are your biggest fans! We are here to help you succeed in 2018. Please reach out to us if there is anyway we can help you at  866.405.3638!

 

 

 

The definition of the word motivation is: the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.

When we think about “being motivated” often that idea is tied to a motivation to work harder or achieve more.

At times, being motivated can feel like a big undertaking, like a mountain that needs to be climbed.

Often the smallest step forward is all that is necessary to create a positive and rewarding impact on our day.

With this in mind, today’s Monday Motivation message isn’t based on a task that needs completion or a mission to undertake, instead it’s a decision to choose a feeling.

“Today I Choose Joy”

This may sound a bit “touchy feely”, but choosing joy is a lost art in adulthood.

As a child the decision to choose joy is as natural as waking up.

So in the spirit of the holidays, let’s embrace the child in all of us and make the choice to feel joy as we move through our day.

At ProspectsPLUS! we recently found a way to experience joy

by bringing some holiday spirit into the office and doing a little holiday decorating.

Picking out a tree and putting up holiday lights, is something that can often become a frustrating task, added to the already endless list of things to do this time of year.

We found, once the decorating was underway…

…we couldn’t help but smile.

Soon we were laughing and truly enjoying a moment to pause and just celebrate life.

Whether you choose to experience joy through decorating your house for the holidays, sending out holiday cards to your customers, or baking cookies for an elderly neighbor…

We wish for you a wonderful holiday season filled with moments of joy!

At ProspectsPLUS! we truly enjoy helping you with anything you need! Please reach out if you need our assistance at 866-405-3638.

 

 

 

 

Spend Time Here, Not Here

There’s only one you. There are just 24 hours in a day. Put those two together and you have an insanely busy schedule.

And, it’s all too easy to get distracted by the next shiny object.

Social media is shiny. It’s distracting. And, some platforms are completely unnecessary – at least for real estate professionals.

As we head into 2018, and you’re contemplating your business plan, you’ll be prioritizing where to spend your time and money.

Take a hard look at which social media platforms you use and whether or not your time is better spent elsewhere.

Facebook – it’s not free

You may think that marketing your business via social media is a fabulous free way to get your brand in front of people.

If done strategically, it can be.

But, consider this: The majority of agent’s average about three hours a week spent on Facebook, according to a 2016 Inman.com survey.

Sadly, that doesn’t tell the whole story because more than 21 percent spend twice that amount of time – a whopping six hours a week – on the social media giant.

Ask yourself this question:

Is six hours each week better spent chasing after new business on Facebook or reaching out to former clients and those in your sphere?

Both are “free” in terms of money, but the latter isn’t as much of a time stealer and the return on time invested has a better chance of being higher.

Multiply your time spent by the number of social media platforms you’re currently using. While they all have something to offer, they aren’t all worth an agent’s time.

Instagram – A waste of time?

Unless you have an in-house marketing person, don’t feel guilty about not being on Instagram, and don’t listen to the hype saying you should be.

Here’s why.

Most online articles pushing the use of Instagram for businesses point out “In 2016, Instagram grew its daily user count by 100 million users and now has more than 600 million active users.”

What they fail to do is dig deeper. So, let’s do that right now. First, however, let’s take a look at your average homebuyer.

According to the NAR, “the typical home buyer is 44 years old, married, no children at home, and has a median income of $88,500.” Keep these statistics in mind while taking the deep dive into Instagram.

Who’s hanging out on Instagram?
  • 80 percent of Instagram users don’t live in the U.S.
  • Of the users who do live in the U.S., only 28 percent of them are on Instagram, according to Pew Research.
  • The largest demographic of Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 29 while only 18 percent are between the ages of 30 and 49 – the most likely buyer pool.
  • The largest demographic earns less than $30k
  • The average Instagram user “misses about 70% of the posts” in their feed, according to Influencer Marketing Hub.

Until Instagram begins attracting an older, wealthier demographic, it’s an ineffective use of time. Your time is better spent on other lead-generation strategies.

LinkedIn – A good investment

No, it doesn’t have the largest share of online users (only 29 percent of American adults), but LinkedIn’s demographics are ideal for real estate marketing.

  • 77 percent of users are age 30 and older
  • 50 percent are college graduates
  • 45 percent of LinkedIn users earn more than $75,000 per year and only 21 percent earn less than $30,000.

Again, recall the profile of the average homebuyer and seller and you’ll realize that this is the demographic you should be chasing.

Not only are the demographics ideal on LinkedIn, but Hubspot gathered data from more than 5,000 companies and found “LinkedIn 277% More Effective for Lead Generation than Facebook & Twitter.”

Hubspot’s Rebecca Corliss points out that “because most of the content posted on LinkedIn is of a marketing nature, as opposed to family photos or social ‘chatter,’ there is less clutter…

…so business’ marketing posts are more likely to be noticed on LinkedIn than somewhere else.”

Social media is an ever-evolving resource.

What’s hot this year may die next year.

When choosing where to spend your marketing time, don’t judge a platform by its number of users – that figure is useless for real estate agents.

Do a deep dive, periodically, into the demographics of each to decide when the time is right to jump in.

Related: 3 Tools That Drive More Business

Need help?  Call our team today at 866.405.3638 to put the best marketing tools in place to build your business easily, and cost-effectively.

Get Their Hand to Raise

More often than not, today’s consumer learns everything they can about a product or service on the internet, before making a decision.

So how do you get them to raise their hand and turn to you for help?

By being the expert who consistently gives them what they want—valuable information that can help them:

  • Become more educated
  • Solve a problem
  • Make an informed decision

So whether you are delivering your content via phone call, email or direct mail – deliver what your customers want most.

3 success strategies

Make it about them – Think about the things that your customers want and are interested in most.

Make your interaction compelling, relevant and —honest. Our Newsletters and more precisely our Market Dominator are great marketing tools to use on an ongoing basis that highlight you as the expert resource to turn to in their area.

This type of marketing puts you in the position of educator, which innately denotes a level of trust. Once you are trusted you will be rewarded with happy, loyal customers.

Don’t establish trust and you have consumers who are wary of your products or services because you haven’t eliminated their fear.

Give something of high value – This can be a tough thing for some people. The idea of giving something away for free can be bothersome or make them feel as if they are de-valuing their product or service.

In reality, offering a product such as a Free Report can be an effective, value-boosting investment in your long term customer relationship.

When you consider acquiring a new customer remember it’s 4-6 times harder than keeping your current customers engaged, happy and loyal, giving value on the front end just makes sense.

Free reports are perfect hand-outs at your Open House

Make it ongoing – Before launching into this form of marketing, consider your long term goals and draw up a plan to consistently reach out to your clients month after month.

You want your customers and prospects to come to rely on your information and updates.

Become Their Resource

If they come to count on you for the answers and resources they need, it stands to reason they will turn to you for help when the time comes.

Whatever strategy you deploy, make sure your message is clear and your marketing consistent. Connect with your base of business at least every 30 days through phone calls, visits and direct marketing, and you will find your profitability, referrals and commissions right on track year round.

Related: Marketing That Pays for Itself

Need help?  Call our team today at 866.405.3638 to put the best marketing tools in place to build your business easily, and cost-effectively.

What are you thankful for this year?

We know what we are thankful for.

We’re thankful that you have placed your trust in us to provide you with the marketing materials, services and content to aid in your success.

We know you have choices and are grateful you have chosen us.

Expressing and acknowledging gratitude is an addictive experience. The results of time spent on this wonderful subject are far reaching.

Did you know…

..taking 5 minutes to write down or think about what you are grateful for increases long-term well-being by more than 10 percent?

The following is a list of the top 10 studied results from expressing gratitude on a regular basis:
  1. Better night’s sleep
  2. Less pain
  3. Reduced stress
  4. Increased self-esteem
  5. Increased physical and mental vitality
  6. Reduced feelings of envy
  7. Helps with relaxation
  8. Helps foster new relationships
  9. Increases goal achievement
  10. Increases productivity

I think gratitude and giving go hand in hand. And we all know the resulting high that we receive anytime we have an opportunity to give.

Our Turkey Mission

Recently the employees of ProspectsPLUS!  were filled to the brim with wonderful feelings. We were on a mission to purchase 50 turkeys from surrounding grocery stores to donate to the Salvation Army and our local Food Bank.

Finding 50 turkeys 3 days before Thanksgiving was not an easy feat, but we were determined.

…and, our efforts paid off.
 The Result…

It was all smiles and warmth on the faces of the ProspectsPLUS! staff as we delivered the turkeys to the Manatee County Food Bank and The Salvation Army of Manatee County.

The Manatee County Salvation Army has plans to feed over 500 people on Thanksgiving day. They also provide Thanksgiving dinner baskets for families in need to take home and cook.

The Manatee County Food Bank provides food for over 60 food pantries in Manatee County. They also offer a Meals-on-Wheels program to Manatee County.

 Sharing in the Spirit of Gratitude & Giving

If you are thinking about catching our high, and sharing in the spirit of giving and gratitude, I have a couple easy ideas for you.

We currently are conducting a Dollar for Dollar campaign for St Jude Kids. If you donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® through our website we will match your donation.

Another great way to show your gratitude, that’s really close to home, is to send a hand-written personal note to your past customers. Express your heart-felt gratitude that you were chosen to help them in the past with the important task of buying or selling a home.

Placing the focus on appreciating the customers you already have served will feed your spirit and do wonders to inspire you to connect with more people in the hope of serving them in the same rewarding way.

Sending you wishes for a rewarding 2018 full of experiences to be grateful for!

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at ProspectsPLUS!

Remember, if you ever need our assistance? We are here to help you! Call our support team a 866.405.3638. 

Time is Non-Refundable…Use it With Intention

It’s amazing how easily we can get distracted and before you know it hours have been lost and your day is behind you.

Time seems to have the ability to expand and contract based on how we fill it.

If only two items need to be accomplished in a day, those two items somehow end up taking most of day. Yet when a day is packed with 5 or 6 important tasks to complete somehow it takes the same amount of time.

Einstein believed that time wasn’t linear.

In fact he’s quoted saying, “The separation between past, present and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one.”

Maybe that’s not a bad idea to live by. It certainly makes it easier to focus your attention on the present moment.

However you decide to focus, make sure you focus with intention.

Prioritize the tasks that you need to complete each day. Then keep your list handy and in front of you to help you stay focused. If you find yourself getting distracted ask if your distraction trumps the importance of the items on your list.

With intention guiding you, accomplishing your daily goals becomes easier and more rewarding…

…and there’s nothing like the feeling you get from crossing items off your list at the end of the day.

Need help?  Call our team today at 866.405.3638 to put the best marketing tools in place to build your business easily, and cost-effectively.