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Thursday, November 21, 2024

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 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.

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Congratulations to Jim Smeaton from Charles Rutenberg Realty our $10,000 Contest Winner!
Watch us surprise the winners at their home with the $10,000 check, Here!
And…

We have One More Surprise…

Everyone who entered our 10k Realtor Contest will receive a $100 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card!

Thank you everyone for your support and wonderful contributions!

Watch our Contest Winner Announcement Video that ran Live on Facebook to see all the action and our other semi-finalists Here!

Make sure to Sign-Up for our Newsletter to get the latest updates on contests and promotions for your chance to win !!!

 

 

Real or Fake News?

It’s all over the news – the government is harming homeowners and real estate by wanting to do away with the mortgage interest deduction (MID). From major real estate portals to the National Association of Realtors’ website, hand wringing rules the day.

Is it fake news, the truth or are the reports somewhere in between?

A little history

Before 1986, all interest on all loans (even credit card bills), regardless of purpose, was tax deductible. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86) did away with all of those deductions, with the exception of mortgage interest.

Interestingly, the TRA86 was touted very much the same way today’s tax reform efforts are – as a way to simplify the tax code and do away with tax loopholes.

To itemize or not to itemize

To take advantage of the MID, a taxpayer must itemize deductions. For itemizing to make sense, his or her deductions must exceed the standard deduction. These deductions include the MID as well as charitable contributions, medical expenses, property taxes, state and local income taxes and others.

Now, if you itemize deductions you know that it isn’t as cut and dried as it seems. The charitable contribution deduction, for instance, carries a cap. And, filers can deduct only the amount of medical expenses that exceed 10 percent of their adjusted gross income (7.5 percent if the filer or spouse is 65 or older).

This restriction allows only 19 percent of taxpayers who itemize to claim the medical expense deduction, according to Matthew Frankel at motleyfool.com.

It is very difficult for the average middle class American to come up with enough in itemized deductions to beat the standard deduction. In fact, only about 30 percent of taxpayers itemize deductions.

The reality

Here are the stats:

  • About two-thirds of American households own their home.
  • Only one-fourth of homeowners claim the MID.
  • The average tax savings for households with income between $40,000 and $75,000 is just $152 a year. That’s $12.66 a month,” according to Anthony Randazzo, director of economic research at the Reason Foundation.
  • Households with earnings of more than $100,000 derive nearly 90 percent of the MID’s benefits.
  • “In 2015, the federal government spent $71 billion on the MID,” according to Derek Thompson with The Atlantic. He also calls the MID a “moral indictment of the tax code,” and the $71 billion dollars it costs this country “a public-housing policy for the rich.”
But … it incentivizes home ownership, right?

“Economists don’t agree on much, but they do agree on this: the interest deduction doesn’t do a thing for homeownership rates,” suggests Roger Lowenstein at the New York Times.

Remember Jonathan Gruber, the Obamacare architect? He co-authored a National Bureau of Economic Research study earlier this year that found “The mortgage deduction has a precisely estimated zero effect on homeownership.”

“One reason for this is the way the MID is structured. As mentioned earlier, a taxpayer must itemize deductions to take advantage of the MID. It is primarily the wealthy who have enough deductions that make sense to itemize.”

“The value of the deduction increases with the individual’s income tax rate so that higher income taxpayers receive more benefit than lower- and middle-income taxpayers,” according to Tim Manni at HSH.com.

Manni goes on to say that the MID encourages Americans who can afford to, to buy larger, more expensive homes, “rather than to encourage significant homeownership at low- and middle-income levels.”

Even without economists’ word for it, knowing the statistics on who actually uses the MID, common sense tells us that homeownership rates and home prices aren’t going to plummet if homeowners can’t deduct mortgage interest on their taxes.

What the MID actually does

“The MID benefits far fewer Americans than politicians and the media are letting on and, in fact, it drives up tax rates for the rest of us,” insists the National Review’s Robert VerBruggen.

Others argue that the MID subsidizes wealthy households and the money saved by doing away with it will help fund tax reform that benefits the middle class.

Whichever side you fall on over this issue, it’s important to understand the facts. Only then can you intelligently answer your clients’ questions.

Need our assistance? We would love to help you! Call our support team a 866.405.3638. 

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