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Friday, November 22, 2024

stand out

    Sure, it’s all about you, but does your bio resonate with the reader? Does it compel them to read on to learn about what you can do for them?

    Crafting an effective online bio is essential for making a strong first impression on potential clients. Your bio not only serves as an informal introduction, but it should also provide insight into what sets you apart in the real estate world.

    Here’s how to ensure your bio intrigues the reader.

    Be human

    The “About me” section on your website is your chance to connect with clients on a personal level while also, subtly, showcasing your expertise. Avoid vague statements and instead focus on clear messages that resonate with potential clients. 

    A good way to do this is to highlight personal connections to neighborhoods and skills you have that enhance your real estate knowledge. This might be construction skills, home improvement experience, décor, design, etc. 

    Remember, clients are looking for a professional with real estate skills first, so while personal details humanize you, focus on your experience and what you bring to the table.

    The Get More Referrals Series is shown above. To learn more, Click Here.

    Make them excited to work with you

    Stand out from the crowd by providing specific reasons why clients should choose to work with you. Again, general statements offer little value, so throw in pertinent personal information but remain professional. 

    On the other hand, be mindful of including hobbies and/or skills that don’t add value for the consumer. Strike a balance between personal and professional to showcase both your personality and your real estate wisdom.

    Make it error-free

    Before publishing your bio, make sure to thoroughly proofread it for errors. Misspellings and improper punctuation can be distracting and detract from your professionalism. 

    While minor errors may not be deal-breakers, they can create a less-than-ideal first impression. Take the time to review your copy carefully to ensure it is error-free and polished.

    Putting together an engaging and error-free bio is an important opportunity to prove your value and to set you apart from all the other agents they may be considering.

    Overall, ensure that your bio answers their primary question: “What’s in it for me to work with you?” and you’ve got yourself a client!

    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 Magazin

    Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct, response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here

    2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Planner

    The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 6-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

    3. The Free Online Real Estate Business Plan

    The Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your financial goals.   – Click Here

    4. 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

     

      A Real Estate Referral List!

      Nearly half of homebuyers surveyed (49%) by the NAR said that the third most important benefit that a real estate agent can provide is “. . .a better list of service providers,” such as a home inspector and other services. (NAR 2022 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends)

      While homebuyers consider this a benefit, the industry understands it as “value-added.”

      Who would’ve thought that something as simple as a list of vendors could be a treasured service? 

      No, it’s not a new service, but it’s become an in-demand one and a way for agents to set themselves apart while offering value to your services.

      It beats a closing gift

      A real estate vendor referral service is the gift that keeps on giving. If set up properly, it brings your brand before their eyes multiple times into the future. It can also benefit you by giving you “touch” opportunities down the line.

      Content Card Series is shown above. To see more, click Here.

      How to put together a real estate vendor referral service list

      Whether you call them vendors or affiliates, the people on your list should be many and varied. Oh, and highly vetted, which we’ll discuss later.

      Let’s take a look at some of the vendors you might want to include on your list:

      • Accountant
      • Appliance repair/installation
      • Carpet cleaner
      • Countertop Company
      • Electrician
      • Flooring installer
      • Garage door installer/repair tech
      • General contractor
      • Handyman
      • Handyman/woman 
      • Home inspector
      • Home warranty company
      • House cleaner
      • Insurance agent
      • Interior designer
      • Landscaper
      • Lenders/mortgage broker
      • Moving accessories
      • Moving company
      • Painter
      • Pest inspector
      • Pet pooper scooper
      • Plumber/HVAC technician
      • Pool Service
      • Popcorn ceiling removal
      • Professional home organizer
      • Property Manager
      • Real estate attorney
      • Roofer
      • Septic Company
      • Stager
      • Tile contractor
      • Title company
      • Trash hauling 
      • Well inspector
      • Window washer

      Luxury agents might want to include:

      • Architect
      • Audio/visual services
      • Engineer
      • Home security systems technician
      • Home watch/Housesitting services 
      • Landscape architect
      • Trust attorney
      Vendor list research

      If you’re just starting a real estate vendor referral service, you’ll need to do some research in your quest to figure out who to include. Start at yelp.com, read reviews, and jot down the names of those you want to interview.

      Join your neighborhood at NextDoor.com. One of the main topics of conversation on the platform is “Who do you recommend for [insert the service].”

      In fact, if you enter any service into the search bar at the top of the page, you’ll find every conversation having to do with it. 

      Finally, ask for recommendations for your real estate vendor referral service from colleagues, family members, and friends.

      Once you’ve compiled a list of names, move on to the Better Business Bureau to check for complaints. 

      Then, ensure that the vendors you’ll interview are licensed and bonded by consulting the appropriate state licensing board’s website.

      This step is very important. “… the Realtor is not responsible for the work of a properly licensed contractor, or pest inspector for that matter. When a Realtor calls a licensed professional, they are doing so only in their capacity as a representative of their client,” according to Tim Jones at DailyRepublic.com.

      Still, consider putting a disclaimer, in writing, on your website.

      Now, you’re ready to interview each candidate. Don’t forget to ask for references. Get the references’ phone numbers and contact each one.

      There’s more to the compilation of this list than meets the eye. Avoiding RESPA violations is tricky, and we’ll cover that in Part II, so be sure to check back soon.

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

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

      Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts combined with engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you.

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


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

      The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

      3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system

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

      4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

      The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals.  – Click Here

      5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook 

      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

        A couple of years ago I watched an online video about things that buyers do that “Realtors dislike”.

        The writer opens the video with this statement: “… there are things that buyers do that I absolutely hate.”

        Yes, those are her clients and potential clients she is talking about.

        To this day I still can’t quite wrap my head around why an agent would post something like this. Can you imagine the CEO of Olive Garden or JCPenney dissing his or her “bread and butter” in this manner?

        Instead of bemoaning the things that real estate consumers do that drive agents nuts, why not think about what agents do that drives them nuts and vow to not be like those agents?

        1. Work on your empathy

        When you’re empathic, you have “… the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling,” according to Greater Good Magazine, published by the University of California at Berkeley. 

        If you feel yourself slipping into an empathy void, try to look at the situation from your client’s viewpoint. For example, the agent in the aforementioned video thought that her clients were being petty when they voiced displeasure about the color of the tile in the bathroom. 

        Take a deep breath and consider this:

        • These people are considering paying hundreds of thousands of dollars by going into decades of debt to purchase a home.
        • The down payment and closing costs alone most likely represent every penny they’ve been able to save for years. 
        • Re-tiling a tub surround can cost up to $4,000 according to the pros at Angie’s List. Tiling a walk-in shower costs from $2,500 to $5,000, but “some companies charge up to $10,000.”

        How long do you imagine they’ll have to save for that? Would you be willing to live with unpleasing aspects of a home for that long?

        There ya go! That’s empathy at work.

        Life Event Series postcards are shown above. To see more designs, Click Here. Send them out to older baby boomers and downsizing seniors.

        Need a baby boomer prospect list? Right now get the first 100 prospects on a baby boomer list for free with promo code: BOOM100.

        2. Avoid making excuses – for anything

        This may sound rude, but it’s nevertheless true: Real estate clients, unless they’re family or friends, don’t care what is going on in your personal life. They only care about ONE THING: buying or selling a home. 

        It’s not their problem that an agent’s teenage son is acting up and she had to miss an appointment to deal with him. 

        The most unprofessional thing you can do is proffer a lame excuse for not following through on something you promised. If life happens (which it does) and you can’t perform, hire someone else who can. Pay another agent in your office to do it. 

        3. Become an excellent listener

        In the digital age, the word “listening” encompasses both the spoken and written word. Nine times out of ten, not listening to a client will result in wasted time and frustration for you, your client, the listing agent, and the sellers. 

        Then there are the rest of the folks in the domino chain that might be affected, from the title rep to the lender to the inspector.

        Slow down, and take your time when speaking with or reading texts or emails from a client. 

        If you listen to your client, with empathy, if you always show up and refuse to make excuses, you’ll have a client for life.

        And they will be happy to share your name with others.

        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

        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

          Borders and shadows are an easy addition to your direct mail marketing pieces that make your home images stand out and draw attention to your agent photo or logo.

          On ProspectsPLUS!, you now have the ability to add borders and shadows to all of our product templates including postcards, magazines, flyers, brochures, and so on.

          The following are a few simple steps to follow to add a colored border or shadow to various templates on ProspectsPLUS.com.

          HOW TO ADD AN IMAGE BORDER: STEP ONE

          Choose a postcard or other marketing piece on ProspectsPLUS.com. Once you have clicked on the front (and back of your piece), hit the yellow button, “Click Here to Edit Your Template” to begin to edit your piece.

          STEP TWO:

          Choose an image in your template that you want to add a border to and click on it with your right mouse button. A drop-down menu will appear. Click on “Add Border”.

          STEP THREE:

          Arrow your cursor to the right to select the thickness of your border by clicking on it. A checkmark will appear next to your selection.

          STEP FOUR

          Arrow your cursor up to the word “Color” and click. A choice of colors will appear. Arrow up with your cursor to select a color and click on the selected color to choose it. You will notice the border on your photo change to that color. That’s it!

          HOW TO ADD AN IMAGE SHADOW: STEP ONE

          Choose a postcard or other marketing piece on ProspectsPLUS.com. Once you have clicked on the front (and back of your piece), hit the yellow button, “Click Here to Edit Your Template” to edit your piece.

          Then, choose an image in your template that you want to add a border to and click on it with your right mouse button. A drop-down menu will appear. Click on “Add Shadow”, then arrow right to choose your shadow thickness. Click on your choice and a checkmark will appear next to that choice.

          STEP TWO:

          Arrow your cursor up to the word “Color” and click. A choice of colors will appear. Arrow up with your cursor to select a color and click on the selected color to choose it. You will notice the shadow on your photo change to that color. That’s it!

          To get your creative juices flowing, the following are samples of products on ProspectsPLUS.com that have been enhanced with borders and shadows.

          The Team Homes & Life Magazine Cover with a photo border. See more, Click Here.

          The Team Homes & Life Magazine feature property page with shadows added. See more, Click Here.

          The Color Series Just Sold postcard with a border added. See more, Click Here.

          The Seasonal Postcard back with a border added. See more, Click Here.

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

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

          Homes & Life Magazine is 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

          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

          © 2024 ProspectsPLUS! | Real Estate Marketing Blog