first time buyers

Listing Agent Alert: Do You Remember How to Work With Buyers?

Nov 11, 2019

It’s not as if listings were a dime-a-dozen over the past few years. You worked your rear end off to even generate seller leads, let alone actually list them.

Sellers had it so easy – fielding multiple offers and selling lightning-fast and for major bucks.

But the times they are a-changin’, and you may need to dip a toe or two into the buyer pool in the future.

It naturally depends on if increases in inventory outpace demand. And, there’s a whole bunch of stuff that could happen to impact that scenario.

Just in case the “experts” are correct in assuming we’re headed for a buyers’ market; do you remember how to work with them? Let’s take a crash, refresher course.

“Buyers are liars” – or are they?

Sure, it’s a common saying since real estate agent caveman (and women) days, but it’s still creepy.

First, don’t we all pretty much lie when we’re thinking of buying anything? Think about it: you may know exactly what you want when you walk into Macy’s.

Say what’s on a home buyers mind (Available in the postcard section under Fence Sitter Buyer Series)

Even when you can’t locate the item or even which department it’s located in, you’ll tell a salesperson that no, you don’t need help, because you’re “just looking.”

Americans, by and large, don’t like salespeople. We don’t trust them.

When will real estate agents get it that the vast majority of consumers consider you salespeople? Every year when that “most disrespected” professions list comes out real estate agents rank among the most despised.

Yeah, it sucks, because we know better – we love you. But they don’t know you, so don’t take it personally. Again, people don’t like being sold to (which is why used car salespeople rank on that list every year as well).

So, when a buyer tells you that he or she isn’t “ready” yet or is “just looking,” it’s not fair to think of him as a liar.

Your best defense here is to do everything in your power to banish the perception of real-estate- agents-as-sharks. Take off the sales and promotion hat for starters.

Buyers are time and labor-intensive

Listing agents have it made. Breeze in, get a signature on the contract, stick a sign in the front yard and let all the town’s buyers’ agents sell the home.

Help a renter become a home buyer (Available in the postcard section under the First Time Buyer Series)

Yeah, I know, that’s pretty simplistic and not entirely realistic, but you have to admit that a listing agent’s job (especially if he or she is good at it) is a whole lot easier than a buyers’ agent.

While other agents are working on selling your listing, you’re out taking more of them.

Compared to listing clients, buyers are time and labor-intensive. And first-time buyers will gobble more of your time than repeat buyers.

The key to saving some of your precious hours is by putting the proper systems in place:

Prepare a buyers’ consultation that nails it. Create handouts or website content that walks the buyer through the process, step-by-step and answers every possible question he or she could have.
Consider creating in-depth buyer guides – one for How to Buy a Fixer, How to Buy a Newly Constructed Home, How to Buy a Waterfront Home, How to Buy a Home on a Septic or well or whatever.
And, don’t forget Mortgage 101 guides on the various government-backed loan programs.
Get your preferred vendors lined up so you won’t waste time trying to round up a lender or home inspector or contractor for your buyers.
Stick all these valuable guides on your real estate website to make it even easier for buyers to access them. Education is power (and a time-saver for you).

These things not only provide a better client experience but save you time in the long run.

Buyers have totally unrealistic expectations

Don and Joan want to buy a condo in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. High on the wish list is panoramic views “We need lots of natural light, low fees and on-site amenities, such as a gym, pool, and a pet spa,” Joan said.

Don chimes in with some of his must-haves: “We also really want heated floors, a gourmet kitchen with granite countertops, a wine cooler, and a walk-in pantry,” he says.

“We would love a media room, a sauna, and a fireplace in the master bedroom. Our lender says we can pay up to $250,000,” adds Joan.

Yes, uneducated home buyers tend to be unrealistic. Sadly, when Don and Joan actually lay eyes on what that $250k will buy them (it won’t be in Beacon Hill, where the lowest-priced home right now is $1.5 million), they’ll be crushed.

Although “buyers are unrealistic” may be an accurate statement, whose fault is it? They don’t, after all, work in the real estate market every day so naturally, they don’t understand it.

It’s why the pros create a buyers’ consultation

Back to that, again, huh? A consultation should be the backbone of every real estate agent’s buyer’s system.

With the market potentially changing, as a listing agent, you’ll also be facing unrealistic expectations from your listing clients. They will no longer have the luxury of demanding top dollar for homes that need work.

2020 is going to be an interesting year in real estate.

Help them take the next step (Available in the postcard section under the Move-Up Market Series)

Send at least 100 Considering a Move postcard from the Move-Up Market Series to an area where you want more listings.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list too l to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free killer tools to help your success this year!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

2. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar

Avoid these 4 common real estate agent marketing mistakes

Marketing Success

Jan 21, 2019

Turn on the marketing “light bulb”

It’s a safe bet that the percentage of real estate agents who come from a background in marketing is quite small. Therefore, it’s understandable that marketing can be a challenge.

Fortunately, learning by example is an effective way to overcome this lack of knowledge. Let’s take a look at the following four common real estate marketing blunders so that you can avoid making them in the future.

Marketing Mistake 1: The lack of a plan

Planning isn’t as interesting or fulfilling as doing almost all things in life. So, we get it that creating a marketing plan isn’t something you put at the top of your to-do list.

But, that’s marketing mistake number one. Just as you caution your buying clients to enter the process prepared, with a plan, so too should you, when marketing your business.

Even a rudimentary plan can help keep you on track and on budget, but the more detailed the plan, the better it will perform.

The Real Estate Marketing Planner Free Download

A powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when is our Free Real Estate Marketing Planner. It includes weekly strategies for Four key market segments including, Niche Marketing, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence.

Please take advantage of this Free 12-month Marketing Planner, go here to download.

Marketing Mistake 2: Not understanding where the money is

One of the biggest myths about homebuyers is that the largest group of them are first-time buyers.

You’ll find this misinformation online on agent websites, sites trying to sell stuff to agents and even news stories.

“ … the majority of people looking to purchase a new home are first-time buyers.”

NAR tells us that first-timers make up only 33 percent of all homebuyers (and that number is down from the previous year). Therefore, diversify your marketing dollars to include target markets in addition to first-time home buyers. Some of the other top target markets include Baby Boomers, Move-Up Market, Lifestyle & Interests, Empty Nesters, High-Income Consumers, and Investors.

Notify the move-up market to turn to you for help. (Available in the Move-Up Market postcards section)

Marketing Mistake 3: And who are they?

NAR breaks buyers and sellers into generations and Gen X (born 1965 to 1976), according to the association, makes up the largest home seller pool at 27 percent.

In reality, baby boomers (between the ages of 54 and 72) in the market far exceed that number, at 43 percent. NAR, however, cuts the generation in half, making it appear to be a smaller group of consumers.

But, since both generations own homes and are likely to move, a smart agent will target both.

When you understand where the money is, and vow to strategically target those with it, everything else marketing-related, from the social media platforms you utilize to your content, falls into place.

Marketing Mistake 4: Going it alone

Assist an Empty Nester Achieve an Important Transition (Available in the Life Event postcard section)

Marketing involves a whole host of talents that most real estate agents don’t possess. Sure, you may be an ace photographer or may have studied graphic arts in college, but an agent who has all of what it takes to market his or her business would be a rarity, indeed.

There’s not a thing wrong with outsourcing your marketing needs, be it from the creative side (writing, photographing, videography, etc.) or the hands-on side (managing bulk or email lists, website work and social media management) or the design side by trusting in an industry marketing expert like ProspectsPLUS! for all of your real estate marketing materials.

Your job is to generate the leads required to make deals. Save time and frustration by hiring experts for the rest of the work including turning to industry expert marketers, such as ourselves, for marketing materials that speak specifically to the market you are targeting.

We understand the possible fear of committing the appropriate budget for this important area of your business. First, outsourcing marketing tasks is tax deductible (as are marketing materials). Second, it frees up more of your time which, in turn, means you’ll be working more on the money-making activities.

Offer decision-making assistance to baby boomers (Available in the Life Event postcards section)

Time for you to go after the “current” largest target market, Baby Boomers!

Send at least 100 Downsizing, Retiring Soon postcards from the Life Event Series to an area where you want more listings.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are 4 free ways we can help you have an INVINCIBLE 2019!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

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

2. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan – Click Here

3. The 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, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here

4. The Free Online ROI Calculator

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

Also…check out these game-changing tools!

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5 Budgeting Tips for Agents

Business Success

Jul 25, 2018

Get ahead of the inevitable rate hike

Fannie Mae’s economists dusted off their crystal balls, peered into the housing market’s near future and came away upbeat.

In the overall economy, they predict strong growth and low unemployment rates to continue. So, bring on the rate hikes, right?

They predicted four rate increases in 2018 (up from the three they predicted in March) and then another three in 2019. Hopefully, this won’t impact too many of your buying clients.

Their housing market-specific news includes a continued tumble in the conventional mortgage application rate. Which is why, in a business so dependent on a healthy economy, it’s important to be strategically budgeting both your personal and business money.

I did a deep dive into the experts’ opinions on what it takes for an independent contractor to financially succeed during the tough times. Here are several of their basic tips.

Start with your personal budgeting

Taking care of your personal finances is job one. Once that’s done, you’ll have a clearer picture of how much money you need to make and how much of it you can devote to your business expenses.

When budgeting, you need to be flexible enough to accommodate your income swings and to allow for an emergency fund. Most financial pros suggest you’ll need enough to cover both your living and business expenses for six months.

Once complete, that budget may be a real eye-opener. Look for ways to cut needless spending and redirect that money elsewhere.

Forbes.com’s Laura Shin suggests taking a critical look at your recurring spending. “Are you really using all the offerings of your mobile phone plan …? Do you go to the gym often enough to justify the monthly cost? What if you took up running, played tennis with a friend or used exercise DVDs instead?”

She also mentions that you consider cutting the cord. Cable TV has become ridiculously expensive when there are other, less expensive options (streaming) out there.

Your business budget

If you don’t already have a business account, open one now. Your tax preparer will worship the ground you walk on.

And, if you do your own taxes, you’ll be immensely grateful every quarter that you don’t have to pick through your expenses to separate the business from the personal.

Your real estate business budget needs to include more than your listing expenses, gas, and auto maintenance costs. Among the other categories, ensure your budget includes money for: taxes, health insurance, disability insurance, website expenses, salaries, marketing your business, closing gifts, wardrobe, and professional fees.

Once you’ve created the budget, it needs to be maintained. Track your expenses and income and tweak the budget, as needed.

Consider the bucket system

If you’re like a lot of us, you haven’t a clue where you spend your money and how much is wasted. Budgeting is a pipe-dream that you know will never meet reality.

So, make budgeting a game, of sorts. Divide your expenses into three “buckets.”

1: The first bucket holds all your ongoing expenses, such as utilities, house and car payment and other debt payments.

2: The next bucket is for expenses such as food (both dining out and groceries), entertainment and clothing.

3: The third bucket is for the money you’ll spend in the future for things like healthcare deductibles, retirement accounts, home repairs and maintenance and vacations.

Do the same with your business expenses.

Your business expense bucket

Start the system with bucket number three, decide how much of each commission check you’ll need to set aside for future expenses. Experts suggest that you open a separate account for your third bucket. The first payment you make from each commission check should go to this account. The rest of the check goes toward monthly personal expenses (bucket number one).

The amount left over after taking care of recurring expenses is what you can dump into bucket number two.

To remain on track, monitor your spending for two or three months to determine how much you’re spending from the second bucket. Take the average, multiply it by 12 and divide by 52. This will give you the amount of money you can spend, weekly, from the second bucket. Divide it again by seven to get your daily limit.

Remember to be mindful of your spending, especially for business items. “Expenses should create income. If an expense doesn’t create income, it should be eliminated,” Tom Wheelwright, CPA told Inman.com’s Dani Vanderboegh.

Question every purchase. If you don’t need to make it, don’t.

A smart way to utilize your marketing budget? Attract buyers with a proven method of marketing.

Send the Don’t Wait postcard from the Fence-Sitter Series to at least 100 prospects in an area where you want more buyers.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are 3 free ways we can help you CRUSH IT in 2018!

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

2. The Free 2018 Real Estate Business Plan.

3. The Free Online ROI Calculator.

Also…check out these cool tools

Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero!

Attract Better Clients

branding

Jun 24, 2018

Engage the right audience

Ok, I’ll say it: some real estate clients are better than others. The qualities that go into the making of the ideal client are subjective, but the fact remains that your favorite clients, financially and otherwise, are head and shoulders above the rest.

So, how can you attract more like them and fewer of the others?

It starts with your branding. Since it’s the chief attractor of leads, improving your branding will help you attract more of the leads you are seeking.

You are your branding

Scary, right? Unless you are the agent that has spent a great deal of time working on your brand, what you are putting out there may appear unfocused and too general.

Let’s break it down and see where you might need a new strategy.

First, who is your target client? And, no, “anyone with a pulse” isn’t the correct answer. In fact, pursuing all real estate consumers is one of the most common mistakes real estate agents make. When you try to be the “every agent” to everyone, you lack focus and your brand gets watered down.

Instead of standing out, you blend in.

Take some time to think back on your past clients, picking out those you truly enjoyed working with and who were most profitable. See what each of them have in common and then write out their client profile, combining the commonalities among those on your list.

Focus in

Are you suffering a brand identity crisis? It happens frequently when agents don’t take the time to focus on a target client pool.

For instance, suppose the primary real estate consumers in your area are Gen Xers with a family and a home to sell before they buy another. However, your blog posts and social media shares are about condos and your happy hour cocktail client events don’t speak to the primary client pool at all.

Once you have narrowed down your ideal client, it’s time to customize your brand (and content is a main component) to appeal to and speak to that client.

When you strategically focus your brand’s “voice,” you’re more likely to attract the clients you prefer.

Keep it simple

Hopefully, your brand communicates to potential clients in a way that engages them. Unless you’re a strictly luxury home agent, this means keeping your web content and blog posts simple – writing in plain English and at a 9^th-grade level.

Sounds weird until you understand that the average American adult reads at a 9^th-grade level, although studies show that we prefer to read at a 7^th-grade level, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy.

Other studies show that nearly 80 percent of us don’t really read the words but scan the content. Therefore, the average reader isn’t looking for flowery prose, real estate jargon they can’t decipher, clichés or self-promotion.

And, whatever you do, avoid trying to sound like every other agent in town.

“Would you go to a dinner party and repeat what the person to the right of you is saying? Would that be interesting to anybody? Why are so many businesses saying the same things at the biggest party on the planet — the marketplace?” Jason Fried, co-founder of Basecamp asks in an article at Inc.com.

Keep your content simple in vocabulary, friendly and engaging while you supply your ideal client with the real estate information he or she craves. How’s the current market? What step should I take next?

Your brand’s voice, evident in your content is important, but it’s speaking to an empty room if you don’t promote it. Use social media channels and direct mail marketing to push out your branded content and bring more eyes back to your website and more calls to your phone.

Brand voice is just one part of a brand, but, for real estate agents, it may just be the most important aspect.

Are you currently focused on attracting sellers? What do sellers want more than anything? Buyers!

Send the I Have a Buyer postcard from the Listing Inventory Series to 100 prospects in an area where you want more listings.

Need help targeting buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are 3 free ways we can help you CRUSH IT in 2018!

1. The Free 2018 Real Estate Business Plan.

2. The Free Online ROI Calculator.

3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan.

Also…check out these cool tools 🙂

Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become a hero!