customer service

Real Estate Market Headlines are Crazy Your Clients are Counting on You to be Calm

Jun 15, 2022

The following are several housing market headlines from the past few weeks,

“Is the US Housing Market Headed for a Crash?”

“Will US House Prices Go Down this Year?”

“This Might be a Housing Bubble.”

“Yes, this is likely the worst housing market ever for first-time buyers. But it still may be a good time to buy a home (really)”

Is it any wonder that American real estate consumers are confused? Even some who work in the industry (especially new real estate agents) are a bit befuddled, not knowing which way to point their marketing dollars.

Calm and focused are qualities to hang on to with all your might during these times of uncertainty.

This is your wheelhouse

Many people equate being calm in the face of adversity to being fearless. The difference between the two is that “… you can’t control your fear response. Remaining calm, however, is the choice to respond a certain way despite the fear,” according to Tanner Christensen at creativesomething.net.

And, frankly, this is something you have experience doing. Consider this, you decided to join the ranks of an industry that offers little certainty when it comes to getting paid. That, my friend, is the perfect display of a calm, focused individual if you ask me.

That’s a memory worth hanging on to and bringing to mind when you need a boost in confidence during these crazy market headlines and industry predictions.

The *Looking For Listings* Scheduled Campaign is shown above. To see more, **Click Here.**

Learn more about the stuff you should know

Becoming somewhat of an expert in the various aspects of your business will do wonders for your psyche, as well. When you’re confident in your answers to questions and solutions to problems, the unshakable factor is built-in.

So, what do you need to expand your knowledge about? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Marketing: A combination of online and offline marketing is an amazing strategy. They require, however, different approaches and may have different audiences.

Drill down to the basics, such as choosing to understand why so many agents are spending their marketing dollars on direct mail marketing as well as, choosing to automate their marketing. Once that’s mastered and direct mail marketing campaigns are in place, move on to the next marketing strategy.

Finance: Don’t count on your clients’ lenders to teach them about mortgages. Learn or brush up on, different forms of financing a home and what the various GSEs offer. Get to the point where you can explain the mortgage process, start to finish, in just a few minutes.

Construction basics: A NAR study finds that 60% of buyers want their real estate agent to be able to point out possible problems with a home.

To become that agent, learn all you can about construction regulations in your area. What permits are required for various improvements? If septic systems and wells are common in your market, get to know everything you can about them.

Much of the research can be done online. Just ensure that the source is credible.

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 when. Four key market segments are included, 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 it is 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

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

Make 2022 the Year You Get Your Testimonials Working For You

May 4, 2022

When real estate consumers visit your website they are typically searching for three things:

Listings
Knowledge of the selling/buying process
Information about what it’s like to work with you

The latter includes answers to certain burning questions common among these visitors, such as will you sell their house for what it’s worth and in the time frame they desire? Will you make the process smooth and easy for them?

Oh, you may be thinking, “so all I have to do is fill my website with my sales stats, my tenure in the business, and brag about community expertise.”

Nope. It’s not that easy

We live in a world where consumers are overly bombarded with sales pitches and have learned to not only tune them out but to distrust them.

Tell them until the cows come home that you’re the “neighborhood expert” or the king or queen of local real estate and they may or, more likely may not, believe you.

Steer them to a website full of helpful information that shows your expertise and provides a sprinkling of strategically placed client testimonials that prove your real estate chops, and now we’re talking.

How to choose testimonials that will attract buyers

It’s easy to get carried away when posting testimonials to your website. Many agents post all of their positive reviews, which results in a TLDR (too long, didn’t read) situation. The visitor becomes overwhelmed and, if they read any of them, it will most likely be the first three or four listed.

Many visitors won’t read any of them.

*Real Estate Times* Series is shown above. To see more, **Click Here.**

If you’re wondering which of your testimonials have the most power with consumers, take a look at these takeaways from NAR’s Homebuyers and Sellers Generational Trends study:

“… an agent who is honest and trustworthy” is the most important criterion used when homebuyers choose their agent.
When working with a buyers’ agent, helping them understand the buying process “… was most beneficial to buyers 30 years and younger at 84 percent and for buyers 31 to 40 years at 71 percent.”
When asked about the most important benefits their agent provided, 61% said that their agents “Pointed out unnoticed features/faults with the property.” Slightly less than half appreciated their agent’s ability to negotiate “… better sales contract terms.”

You can find NAR’s entire study at nar.realtor.

Now, go through your buyer testimonials and select only those that mention the aforementioned. For instance: “Jack helped us understand the entire process, from start to finish.”

Testimonials to attract sellers

Now you’ll want to do the same with your testimonials from sellers.

When choosing an agent, homeowners look at the agent’s reputation, evidence of honesty and integrity, and the agent’s knowledge of the seller’s neighborhood.

Once they choose a listing agent, they expect the following:

the agent to get the home sold within the client’s timeframe

their agent to suggest an appropriate and competitive listing price
the agent to aggressively market the home to buyers

Finally, go through all of your testimonials to find the very best, either buyer or seller. This is the one you’ll want to place, prominently, above-the-fold on the home page of your website.

The rest can be sprinkled on your other pages.

Sure, there’s a time and place for self-promotion, but when every page of your website is devoted to describing your accomplishments you become the Selfie King or Queen of real estate.

Skip the self-hype and let your past clients speak for you.

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

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

Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine, with rich, full-color content, and a sharp, professional esthetic. 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

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 it is 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

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

Conversations you Must Have with your Buying Clients

Feb 10, 2022

To Become That Stand-Out Agent

Crazy business, isn’t it? You studied, got your license, paid all those fees, found a broker, and GOT TO WORK.

If you were lucky, once onboard, your broker had some sort of training program for new agents. Most, however, teach a few rudimentary tasks and send agents on their way.

What is universally lacking is training on how to work with clients – especially buyers. In many cases, this leads to a less than stellar experience for home buyers.

Want to become a stand-out with your buyer clients? Here are three things you absolutely must share, that many agents won’t.

Rent By Numbers Campaign, see more **HERE**

Closing costs

Have you ever wondered why there is so much focus on educating buyers about the down payment while details about closing costs are rarely mentioned? I have a theory about that.

Buying a home is expensive. That’s a given. Telling a client who is on a budget that they’ll need thousands of dollars in cash to put down on a home almost feels like we’re scaring them off.

Once past the down payment hurdle, who wants to say “Oh, yeah, by the way, you’ll need about that much more in cash for closing costs?” It’s much easier to let the lender take the hit for that one, right?

But we owe our clients much more than this. There is nothing worse than meeting with the lender and learning you’ll need twice as much cash as your agent told you that you’d need.

So, vague references to closing costs don’t cut it. Be the agent that helps change the perception of the industry by being upfront and honest about all aspects of the transaction – especially financial aspects.

Give them more information about the loan process

First-time buyers have a tendency to think that loan preapproval is an iron-clad guarantee that they’ll get the loan. It’s the lender’s job to tell them otherwise but how many do so?

Since you, as the agent, have a vested interest in the buyer’s successful closing, don’t assume the buyer’s lender is going to do this.

What is especially important for your buyers to understand is that their loan can fall apart right up until the moment the loan is funded.

Quitting a job, moving money, buying anything on credit, applying for new credit can doom the entire purchase.

First Time Buyer Campaign, see more **HERE**

Treat the final walkthrough seriously

I once had a friend who bought a house and used a well-known local agent. It was her first home so she relied heavily on the agent’s experience.

During the final walkthrough, my friend allowed her agent to take the lead and, it’s a good thing because all of the appliances which were to remain with the home were gone. Refrigerator, washer, dryer – all missing.

Since the walk-through was scheduled the day before closing, the closing had to be postponed while the seller replaced the appliances.

After my friend moved in she found that the garbage disposer was also missing, plants were removed from the landscaping and several other fixtures were gone. At that point, it was too late to remedy the situation and she was forced to replace everything out of her own pocket.

The agent fell down on her duty to her client.

Make a walk-through checklist of every aspect of a home and use it during the final walkthrough. Counsel your client to move slowly and inspect everything.

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

1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

2. 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 it is 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

3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

5. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

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

Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you in your success.

We’re here to support you.

Your ProspectsPLUS! Team

An S.O.S. Sphere of Influence Intervention. No More Excuses

Feb 1, 2022

It’s Time to Take an Easier Path

Imagine what the future would look like if you could stop cold calling, door knocking, or chasing after FSBOs indefinitely – or at least cut way down on those activities?

Ditching the more distasteful aspects of your real estate lead generation routine may be possible. If you vow, right now, to get serious about your CRM database.

Warm calls are so much more pleasant. Making phone calls and having happy people answer the phone beats a cold call any day.

It’s time to make building better relationships with people you already know, your priority.

Are you only fishing for a day?

Have you ever heard the adage “You can give someone a fish and they have food for a day or you can teach them to fish and they’ll be fed forever?

I look at an SOI database in a similar way.

You can get by living “listing to listing” just making ends meet or you can build a robust SOI database that will feed you ongoing listings, indefinitely.

The Holiday Scheduled Campaign is shown above. It’s the perfect way to stay in touch with your sphere. Learn more, **HERE**

The first method is all about instant gratification and takes a smaller amount of effort.

The second method is about building something for the future, something substantial, that will take ongoing effort, but the rewards will be significant and lasting.

So the question is, how do you want to live your life – fish by fish or with an endless stream of dinners?

That being said, how’s your sphere of influence going?

Agents who have been in the business for more than a minute tell horror stories about friends and even family members who “forgot” that they were in real estate and listed their homes with another agent.

I guarantee you at some point this has happened to you, whether you’re aware or not.

In fact, NAR states,

“The typical real estate agent, sadly, earned 13 percent of their business from repeat clients and 17 percent from referrals.”

Look at those numbers – they’re frustrating, aren’t they?

Especially when NAR also states that nearly 90 percent of real estate consumers say they would use their agent again in the future.

If past clients liked their experience with their agent shouldn’t agents be getting more than 17 percent of their business from them?

Did they forget about you because you’ve forgotten to stay in front of them and nurture them?

What has neglecting your sphere REALLY cost you?

If your strategy has been only chasing new leads instead of working on your sphere, you may have lost sight of the lifetime value of your client.

Take a past client for who you earned $4,000 in commission. Assume (by staying present in their life) you are their agent for four more buying and selling transactions (of the same value) over time that’s $16,000 in revenue.

Now let’s say they send you two referrals per year for the next 10 years (of a similar value) that’s $80,000. This ONE client has a potential lifetime value of $96,000. How many clients, just like this, have you let fall to the waste side over the years?

What has that decision cost your real estate business?

Time to refocus your attention

We get it, agents have a ton of irons in the fire during the typical work week, and keeping in contact with their SOI typically ends up as a low priority.

What would happen, though, if you moved your SOI up on the “To Do” list? Made those warm contacts (instead of contacting strangers) a priority?

You’ll end up on the minds of the people in your sphere, including your past clients, and when someone mentions to them they’re thinking about buying or selling a home, guess what happens next?

So, how to get your real estate business on the referral track?

Step 1: Organize your database

Yeah, it doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun, but it’s necessary to keep you on track. If you already have an organizational method, you’re one step ahead. If not, let’s create a simple one.

Start by grouping your contacts. There are many ways to group them, so choose labels that make sense to you. Some suggestions include:

Hot leads (new incoming leads)
Cold leads (people you haven’t been able to reach)
Family, friends, past clients
Vendors
People you know through your kids
Neighbors

Step 2: Go through all of the contacts and verify the information

At a minimum, you should have the contact’s full name and the name of immediate family members. Naturally, you won’t have family member info for some contacts, such as leads, and that’s okay.

Step 3: Pick up the phone and start calling people

Start with people you know, like past clients, relatives, and friends. Let them know you’re thinking of them and checking in to see if you can help them with anything.

While on the phone, tell them you’re updating your database and want to ensure you have their correct contact information. Verify that their addresses (mailing and email) are current and that you have the best phone number to contact them.

Birthdates are important too (people LOVE getting birthday cards and it’s a great excuse to call). You don’t need a year, just ask for the month and day.

When you make these calls, listen carefully to their end of the conversation for any tidbits you can add to the database. Great information to note in their record includes important family milestones, news on their business/job, or events involving their children or spouse.

Then, as soon as you hang up, DO THIS! Update their information in the database, don’t “think” you’ll remember, just do it.

And, schedule a follow-up call in your database, and a reminder to prompt you to send them a birthday card, anniversary card, etc.

If they told you about an important event that’s coming up, wouldn’t it be great to mark your calendar with a reminder to shoot them an email and ask how everything went?

Step 4: Committ to a time in your weekly schedule to work your Sphere

You’ve started the process of building toward a future don’t stop now. Before you know it, you’ll have an organized, clean database, making your real estate lead generation a much more enjoyable and rewarding process.

Two free tools that will make the process of building up your database much easier:

1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

2. 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 it is 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

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

The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

The Take a Listing Today Podcast

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

Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you in your success.

We’re here to support you.

Your ProspectsPLUS! Team

Instill Calm in Your Prospective Clients Instead of Fear

Jan 28, 2022

If only I had a dollar for every online article and blog post I’ve read about home buying and how “difficult”, “scary” and “challenging” it is.

“Buying a house is exciting, intimidating, and, honestly, a bit complicated,” says one agent.

“The first time you undertake a home purchase, the complexity of the transaction can be particularly frustrating because there are a number of unknown rules and procedures that you are generally forced to learn through ‘the school of hard knocks,’” says another.

The combination of highfalutin’ words and the imagery of the “school of hard knocks” is enough to scare any real estate consumer into staying put.

My initial reaction to these fear-inducing blog posts and articles is, “If the process is this difficult, scary, or complex, it may be time to find another agent.”

Be the expert who soothes their fears

If clients aren’t completely familiar with the buying/selling process going into it, the best agents counsel them so that they learn and ultimately feel more comfortable.

Unfortunately, there are agents that think scaring potential homebuyers about the complexities of real estate is a way to win their business.

The first quote above is from a national real estate company’s website. It’s fine to caution folks that buying a home because it’s an unfamiliar process, might be challenging. However, a better statement would be to mention that it won’t be challenging if they work with you.

Because you, the superhero of the real estate world, will teach them what they need to know and be with them every step of the way.

You are an awesome communicator who wouldn’t dream of allowing your client to enter into the process without being armed with all the information he or she needs.

You are the expert and are happy to share your expertise with your clients. Want proof, you might ask? “Here’s my testimonials,” (list of former clients saying how amazing you are and how you explained everything and made the process so easy).

Think what a breath of fresh air your website, blog posts, and other marketing materials will be to a consumer who has surfed all the negative and scary agents’ sites.

When they land on your website and read words of encouragement and simplicity they will breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking for the right words to instill confidence? How about:

“Buying (or selling) a home doesn’t have to be scary, intimidating, confusing, or challenging. Allow me to show you how it’s done.”

Imagine THAT phrase added to all of your real estate marketing materials.

6 Reasons to Go After Baby Boomers Right Now

They own 26 million homes in the U.S.
They control 70% of all wealth in this country.
They hold more than 50% of all owner-occupied homes.
41% state they will definitely purchase another home.
They are almost completely ignored by the real estate industry.
And, we’re giving you the first 100 prospects on a Baby Boomer list for free right now!

That’s Right, Discover Baby Boomers in Your Area and GET THE FIRST 100 FREE!

To get the first 100 on a Baby Boomers Prospect List FREE USE PROMO CODE: BOOM100.

CLICK HERE to create your list (From a desktop/laptop computer) with the Demographic Search tool.

This offer expires on January 29th, at midnight.

Do You Need Help Creating Your Baby Boomer List? Watch This How to Video Below.

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

1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

The Contact Manager Tutorial

Oct 18, 2021

STEP ONE: Send a List to the Contact Manager

To send contacts from a list to the Contact Manager, click on your email address from the horizontal black navigational bar in the upper right-hand corner. A drop-down menu will appear. Choose “Mailing Lists.” from the menu.

Once in your mailing list section, decide which mailing list of contacts you want to move over. This list will also still remain in the “Mailing List” section as well.

Once you decide on your list, click the blue “Options” button for that list and choose the option “Send List to the Contact Manager” (see screenshot below).

STEP TWO: Add Tags to Your Mailing List

A window will pop up after you complete STEP ONE, allowing you to add tags to the list you are sending to the Contact Manager.

You can type in one tag or multiple. There are some tags already available in the tag drop-down menu. If you don’t see a tag you want there, you can create a tag by typing it into the provided space.

Once you are done adding tags, click the yellow “Import” button, and your contacts from this list will be imported into the Contact Manager.

STEP THREE: View Contacts in Contact Manager

You can now go to your Contact Manager and view contacts from this list. You will not see your list title from the mailing list section in Contact Manager, only the contacts from the list.

To get to Contact Manager, click on your email in the upper right-hand corner of the website and choose “Contact Manager” from the drop-down menu (see screenshot below).

Once in the Contact Manager, you can filter the contacts listed by using the “Tag Filter” located at the top center of this section to see how many tags there are with a specific tag title.

You can also add a new contact name to your Contact Manager by clicking the yellow button that says “Add Names.” Be sure to complete the new contact’s birthday and home anniversary date if there is one.

The “Add Names” yellow button can also be used to download your entire “contact Manager” list with tags and export it from the website.

STEP FOUR: Send a Postcard to a Specific “Tag” of Contacts

To send a postcard to a specific “tag” of contacts, choose your postcard from our postcard section.

Once you are on the postcard series screen, select the blue button titled “Add List’ (see screenshot below).

A drop-down menu will appear. Select the “Contact Manager List” and hit the “select” blue button (see screenshot below).

STEP FIVE: Add Specific Contact “Tags” to Your Mailing List for Your Postcard Mailing

Now add the “tags” you want to use to create your super-targeted mailing list in the box provided (see screenshot below). As you add the tags you want for this mailing list, they will appear in blue (see screenshot below). The screen will also give you your new quantity of contacts for this “tagged” mailing list.

Once you are done adding your tags, you are ready to continue editing your postcard and send it out to your new targeted list.

Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you in your success.

2 Easy Ways to Raise the Bar in Real Estate

Jul 22, 2021

While many agents are working hard to redeem and protect the real estate profession’s good name.

Consumers seem to have a never-ending list of complaints about some real estate agents demonstrating a lack of honesty and integrity.

Take the REALTORS® Code of Ethics (1-3), for instance: “REALTORS®, in attempting to secure a listing, shall not deliberately mislead the owner as to market value.” Yet how many times a month do you hear about an agent who tried to buy a listing?

Read on for two simple tips to raise the bar in real estate.

1. Apply professional ethics to even the small stuff

If a house is the size of a shoebox, it isn’t “cozy.” Yet, for some reason, that word is too frequently used to describe these homes.

Exaggerating, obfuscating, and withholding the truth in listing information is unethical and it ticks off real estate consumers. Jay MacDonald, writing for Bankrate.com, calls these “lying listings.”

He tells a story about an agent in Michigan who showed his clients a home described in the listing as a “stunner.”

“The only thing that would ‘stun’ anybody about the house was how bad the previous owner did the work to ensure that every room would need to be redone. I don’t know what was going through the listing agent’s mind to say that.”

It’s frustrating for both the buyer and the buyer’s agent to have relied on a listing’s description to take the time to visit such homes. Too much frustration leads to anger and then the entire industry ends up with a black eye.

2. Be responsive

Enter the following phrase into Google: “real estate agents don’t return phone calls.” The titles of the results are embarrassing:

“Home Buying: How do you handle agents not returning calls?”
“6 Signs of a Crummy Real Estate Agent.”
“What is it with agents not returning phone calls?”

There’s even an instructional video for agents titled “Returning Phone Calls for Real Estate Agents.”

This is arguably the most common complaint against real estate agents. Sure – it doesn’t apply to all agents, but again, it’s the bad apples that spoil it for all.

In a California Association of REALTORS homebuyer’s survey, the majority of respondents said they chose the agent that was the “most responsive.”

Many of these buyers said they were willing to wait 30 minutes for a return call. Sadly, only 3% of agents met or exceeded this expectation. Of course, 30 minutes is a heartbeat to a busy agent, but if you are that busy you can most likely hire an assistant to return calls.

Based on the survey above, if you are interested in growing your real estate business it is definitely worth your while to make quick and ongoing communication a number one priority.

Stir Up More Listings With a FARM Fence Sitter Campaign.

They’re Currently on SALE 10% OFF the First Month – FOR 3 MORE DAYS!

FARM Fence Sitter Scheduled Campaign (shown above). Learn more, HERE

TO LAUNCH AN FARM FENCE SITTER CAMPAIGN:

Hit “CLICK HERE”, below, to schedule your campaign (from a desktop or laptop computer).

And, remember, YOU DON’T PAY for each mailing until it actually goes out (cancel or change each mailing up until the night before it goes out).

Launch a FARM Fence Sitter Scheduled Campaign now, CLICK HERE!

Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you with your success.

PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. 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 when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here

2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

3. Become a Neighborhood Brand

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a NEW 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically every month to an exclusive carrier route (membership includes your own online Homes & Life Agent Magazine). Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

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The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here

5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

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Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

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The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here

New Agent University: Use Caution When Referring Vendors to Clients

Jul 8, 2021

The first steps in starting a new business are akin to trying to take a sip of water from an open fire hydrant. The number of tasks the new agent must undertake to assure success added to the learning curve can be somewhat overwhelming.

At some point, someone will recommend that you compile a vendor list. This list includes tradespeople that you will refer to clients, such as:

Stager
Home inspector
Cleaner
Landscapers
Pest inspectors
Contractors
Painter
Plumber

You get the idea, right?

Most agents refer to these folks as “vendors,” but we’ve also seen them referred to as “affiliates.” We think the latter better reflects their relationship to you. After all, they are an extension of your brand and your real estate business.

Their customer service, or lack of, will reflect on you

One agent we spoke with told us a story about his early days in real estate. He put together a vendor list based on recommendations from another agent. His first listing was a lovely home that needed new flooring and the owner was amenable to having luxury vinyl plank installed before the listing went live.

The flooring contractor he was referred to by his fellow agent claimed 30 years of experience in the flooring installation business so he felt confident in referring him to his client.

Big mistake.

The job was botched, from start to finish. Our agent’s client sent photos to the agent of floor planks with gaps between them, broken planks glued in place with caulking, ragged cuts and flooring glue spread throughout the home.

The entire floor would need to be pulled up and, since it was glue-down vinyl, there was no guarantee the planks could be reused.

It turns out that our veteran flooring contractor left the job in the not-so-capable hands of two trainees, without his supervision.

Needless to say, our agent friend was horrified and his client took the botched job out on him.

It’s crucial to carefully vet anyone that you will be referring to clients. Don’t rely on just one interview. Check the person’s references, read Yelp and BBB reviews, check with the state contractor’s board to vet those vendors whose craft requires a license.

Finally, check each vendor’s social media pages. Yes, it sounds a bit like stalking, but it’s not. It is basic due diligence and required if your reputation and trustworthiness is on the line.

Set a reminder to re-vet your vendor list every six months or so.

Don’t stop there

Call anyone to whom you refer a vendor to follow up. Ask how the job went and ask if they would hire that particular vendor in the future. Negative reports should be run by your vendor to get his or her side of the story.

Never remain loyal to a vendor that does subpar work or provides less-than stellar customer service to your clients. If you feel even a smidge of discomfort with any of your vendors, rethink referring them.

Your professional reputation is on the line so be scrupulous when vetting vendors for your referral list.

SOI Animal Series Campaigns are Currently on SALE 10% OFF the First Month – FOR 3 MORE DAYS!

SOI Animal Scheduled Campaign (shown above). Learn more, HERE

TO LAUNCH AN SOI ANIMAL CAMPAIGN:

Hit “CLICK HERE”, below, to schedule your campaign (from a desktop or laptop computer).

And, remember, YOU DON’T PAY for each mailing until it actually goes out (cancel or change each mailing up until the night before it goes out).

Launch an SOI Animal Scheduled Campaign now, CLICK HERE!

Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you with your success.

PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

3. Become a Neighborhood Brand

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Are You Providing Testimonial-Worthy Customer Service?

May 4, 2021

The bare minimum. Every profession includes those who work just hard enough to be considered “doing their job.” Real estate is, sadly, no exception.

It’s the “list and pray” listing agents who feel a sign in the lawn and an MLS listing is sufficient. It’s the buyers’ agent who skips the counseling and doesn’t listen to the clients’ wants and needs in a new home.

Agents like these cast a cloud over the profession, even though the real estate industry is populated with many customer-service-oriented agents who go the extra mile with each client.

Take a look at some ideas contributed by agents with clients who love them.

Explain EVERYTHING

Buyer counseling is a vital aspect of your job. Buyers who understand the process and paperwork and are aware of some of the pitfalls they may face along the way are more relaxed. They are thus easier to work with and come out of the transaction feeling positive about their agent.

Although we rarely see this same counseling suggested for sellers, it should be.

Explain to your buying and/or selling clients, in detail:

The mortgage process, start to finish, in plain English
The entire selling or buying process
The paperwork they’ll be asked to sign
What is expected of them during the process (sellers need to leave the home, buyers should be punctual and respectful of the sellers’ time, etc.)
What happens at closing

Then, ask what they expect of you. It’s hard to go above and beyond something you aren’t aware of.

Service add-ons to consider

Whether your client is the buyer or seller, they’ll both face the huge task of moving. You can make it easier on them while making yourself memorable.

There are many things you can do, including turn your assistant into a concierge-for-a-day. Some of the services he or she can provide include:

Ensuring the utilities are scheduled to be turned off at the old home and on at the new.
Cancelling landscaping, pest control, pool and housekeeping services at the old home.
Draw up a list of the area’s best of everything, such as park, daycare, gym, veterinarian, plumber, electrician, gardener, restaurants, handy person. Find them on Yelp.com.
Supplying them with moving boxes. One agent we know has the boxes printed with her branding.

Always provide updates

If you only handle a few transactions at a time there really is no excuse for your clients to not receive update calls from you or your transaction coordinator.

Keep them abreast of what’s happening with the transaction. Unresponsiveness is one of the things clients most complain about.

For agents who handle many transactions simultaneously, consider purchasing client communication software that they can log into online and follow the transaction’s progress.

The relationship shouldn’t end at closing

Clients also appreciate a closing folder with all of the pertinent paperwork organized inside. Sure, they’ll receive one from the lender, but yours should be different—far more user-friendly. Include the listing, all marketing materials, and all paperwork involved in the transaction.

Finally, plan at least one annual or biennial client appreciation event to help you remain top-of-mind with former clients. Going “above and beyond” is something to which many agents merely pay lip service. Make client satisfaction your top priority for each client and enjoy the payoff: Loyal, referring, and returning clients.

Ready to add more clients to your roster? Launch a FARM, Fence Sitter Campaign in just minutes.

They’re currently on sale 10% OFF the first month – (sale ends 7/24/21).

FARM, Fence Sitter Scheduled Campaign (shown above). Learn more, HERE

TO LAUNCH A FARM, FENCE-SITTER CAMPAIGN:

Hit “CLICK HERE”, below, to schedule your campaign (from a desktop or laptop computer).

Use promo code: FENCE10 to save 10% off the first month.

And, remember, YOU DON’T PAY for each mailing until it actually goes out (cancel or change each mailing up until the night before it goes out).

Launch a FARM, Fence Sitter Scheduled Campaign now, CLICK HERE!

Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you with your success.

PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

3. Become a Neighborhood Brand

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

4 Ways You May Be Turning Off Your Clients Without Realizing it

Apr 8, 2021

Referrals should be the lifeblood of every real estate business. Sadly, they aren’t. It truly isn’t difficult to provide the customer service that will leave your clients raving. It’s also easy to turn them off to the point they warn others not to use your services.

When a client leaves you or doesn’t use your services for future transactions, you may be guilty of committing one (or more) of the Four Cardinal Sins of real estate.

1. You turn into Amelia Earhart

One of the most common complaints from consumers about their real estate agents is that they disappear. And they don’t have an out-of-fuel twin-engine Lockheed to blame.

The practice is so prevalent that Google offers up these suggestions for searches:

Realtors…why don’t they answer their phones???
What’s with agents who don’t answer their phones?
Why are most agents so unresponsive?
What to do when your realtor ignores you
Realtor not responding to emails
Real estate agent not responding
Real estate agent not getting back to me
Am I annoying my realtor?

We find that last one especially sad. The solution is to get clear on communication expectations on the very day that a client agrees to become a client. Not only should you learn their preferred mode of communication (phone, text, email, etc.) but how often they expect to hear from you.

If they call, answer. At the very least respond within a reasonable amount of time.

2. You haven’t mastered the art of listening

All of us have heard about the agents who show homes to clients that are out of their price range or lacking in their wish list “must haves.” Both are a result of not listening.

Are you guilty of letting your mind wander, of multitasking in your brain while a client is speaking to you?

Sherrie Bourg Carter at psychologytoday.com suggests:

Good listeners don’t jump in with answers.
Your client should be speaking 80% of the time. The 20% of the time that you speak should be spent asking clarifying questions.

Tune out the grocery list, the angst over your next appointment and everything else that rattles around up there and listen to your client.

3. You’re a cut-corners-penny-pinching agent

It’s amazing that, in this day and age, there are still amateur listing photos in the MLS.

As a listing agent, the most important job you have is to market the home. Photos that don’t present the home in the best light possible are not acceptable. Especially when one considers how much that seller is paying in real estate fees.

If you can’t afford a professional photographer, you can’t do your job properly. Stop taking listings and become a buyer’s agent.

4. You are a listing-buyer

A common complaint that we read online is about the listing agent who beats the client up, repeatedly, over lowering the listing price.

Then, there are the listing clients who complain that their homes sat on the market while others around them sold.

Either condition can result when an agent “buys” the listing.

Your job as a listing agent is to recommend a list price that is close to or matches the current market value. As a real estate advisor, your job is also to counsel a client or potential client what happens to homes that are overpriced.

To take an overpriced listing with the hopes of a price drop, later on, is shoddy customer service. If you’re guilty of committing even one of these “sins,” you may be losing clients. Think about the best customer service you’ve ever received and vow to mimic it with every single client.

Hurry! SOI Scheduled Campaigns are on sale 10% OFF the first month for ONLY 3 MORE DAYS! (sale ends 4/10/21).

One of Seven SOI Scheduled Campaign Designs (shown above). Learn more, **HERE**

TO LAUNCH AN SOI CAMPAIGN:

Hit “CLICK HERE”, below, to get started on your SOI Scheduled Campaign (from a desktop or laptop computer).

And, remember, YOU DON’T PAY for each mailing until it actually goes out (cancel or change each mailing up until the night before it goes out. The price shown at check out is per mailing, not campaign total).

Launch an SOI Scheduled Campaign now, CLICK HERE!

Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do t

o help you with your success.

PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

3. Become a Neighborhood Brand

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.