Real Estate Marketing for the ขYouข Generation

Real Estate Marketing for the ขYouข Generation

by: Dominick Evans

Are you working in the real estate industry? Are you a real estate agent, mortgage consultant, builder, real estate broker, appraiser, construction worker, etc?

The Internet is the wave of the future. You can no longer sell homes without at least some sort of internet presence.

According to Harris Polls….over 70% of people in the world use the Internet.

The Internet is the most trusted source for purchases and this includes houses.

Chances are…you already have some sort of Internet presence on the web. You may have gone with a real estate web site design company for your design. You may think your design is ok. Is it really?

That is the first thing prospective clients see when they click on a link to your web site. If they don’t like the design then they leave. The web site design company may even make templates that you can use. However, did you know that you aren’t the only one using the same exact template?

I have gone to enough real estate sites to realize that these companies are making a lot of money by cloning your site. People that are buying homes aren’t going to want to see a clone site. In fact, many may not even realize it is a clone site. They click on your link and leave as soon as they see the design, not even realizing that your site is different.

These sites contain the same articles, same look, same design, etc. They are based on image marketing. Image marketing isn’t going to fly on the Internet. It just doesn’t work anymore.

You are probably wondering what image marketing is. In the early 1980กs real estate agents realized how successful image marketing was. Back then they used catchy slogans (such as #1 in sales), told you everything they had that other agents didn’t, and used images (including their faces), to win you over so you’d choose them as your agent.

Since the 1980กs people have gotten wiser. They no longer care what you have, what your credentials are, or that you are ข#1 in salesข. Did you know nearly every agent in your area claims to be #1 in sales? How do you know? You can’t track other agents sales since they all work on commission.

So what can you do? Stop using the words ขME ME MEข and start using the word กYOU!ก

Let them know exactly what you have to offer them. List what you can do for them. There are numerous ways you can do this without compromising your job and your commission.

Offer them FREE informative articles.

Did you know that I went to a real estate agent’s site and they wanted me to put in my phone number and email just so I could read their free article? Doesn’t this seem a little odd to you? I don’t even have to mention the kind of spam I received once I did put in my email. I was contacted daily with statistics (that seemed to be made up), information, and a bunch of updates on the agent’s web site progression. I don’t care how many sales he had in August. I just wanted to read his article on Moving when you Have Pets.

This is the number one way to LOSE clients not gain them. No one wants to be nagged incessantly to buy or sell their home. Buying and selling a home is one of the BIGGEST processes a person will go through. They can lose or gain money in the end, and choosing the wrong agent isn’t something they want to do.

So, don’t let them choose the wrong agent. Offer them buyer, seller, investment, and even FSBO articles. Why FSBO’s? If you are so willing to offer information on how a client can sell a home on their own then you really must care about your clients. You won’t be getting anything in return for FSBO articles…or will you?

Did you know that over 90% of home sellers that start out as FSBO’s end up going with an agent? They do not get results, don’t understand the process well enough, or it simply is too much work for them to handle. They may not have the time to put in to selling the home on their own. When choosing an agent they are going to remember the person who was so willing to help them out, by offering advice and information. They are going to remember you!

Give them indepth information on the area you serve.

Did you know that one of the biggest complaints home buyers have is not enough information on the cities, towns, and communities in your area? You need to do more than just list a link to the URL for each community page. Have a history, demographics (such as income level, number of residents), school information, and businesses listed about each city and town you serve. You may even want to include pictures, small maps, and anything else you can think of to make the page really stand out.

You are offering something very few real estate agents even consider offering. The prospective clients will have a much better understanding of the area, and can decide where they want to move, and what they can afford.

Community pages usually list hospitals, businesses, restaurants, sporting facilities, and recreational opportunities for your area. You may even want to list important community events such as festivals, fairs, and holiday celebrations. This will definitely be helpful to current residents and prospective residents.

Your time and effort will pay off in the end. The buyer is going to want to go with the person that offers the most information on the area they are moving. Why not let this person be you?

Offer free calculators.

If you are a mortgage consultant why not offer free calculators on your site so your clients can see what kind of loan they may be eligible for? The calculators may have different requirements and can give them a basis to go off of before they contact you to assist them through the mortgage process.

Blogs and Forums

You may want to have your own web blog and forums on your site. The search engines place these two things very high if there is content on them that is relevant to your site topic. You can write articles or post other real estate articles on your blog. Forums not only give you a place to post articles, they also give you a visible way to interact with clients (prospective and current) in a public setting. You can answer questions and it is a very humanizing thing. People will see you less and less as the elusive agent they know only enough about through your web site. They will see you as a well informed, caring individual.

Once they realize that you are in fact a human (much like they are!) and not just a concept in their mind they are going to be more willing to trust you with the sale of their home, their mortgage, and/or choose you to build their home.

Team up with a Local Group

People looking to buy a home are more likely to work with a team (or network) then a solitary individual. If you are an agent you probably work with the same inspector, appraiser, or loan specialist. Why not become a team? You can refer clients to one another and create a network of clients. You also get your name out there because you aren’t the only one working for you…your team is promoting your business, as well.

There are many other things you can do to increase your visibility on the Internet and increase your profits. You just need to remember that the client always comes first. When you do this, you are sure to win over clients every time!

For more information on how to promote your real estate web site, the importance of real estate web site design, SEO, linking, and more email me at [email protected] or go through the contact form at my web site http://www.domashdesigns.com.

(This article can be replicated so long as a link back to my site is added, and proper credit is given. Thanks in advance.)

About The Author

Dominick Evans is the Head Designer for DomAsh Designs a web site design company that specializes in web site design, promotion, internet marketing, virtual assistance, and writing services for business professionals. DomAsh Designs specializes in work for Real Estate Agents, Brokers, Mortgage Specialists, entertainment web sites, retail, pop culture sites, and the computer industry. A new division of DomAsh Designs is going to start offering family based web design within the new year. All work is copyright to Dominick Evans www.domashdesigns.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on December 27, 2004

by Dominick Evans

HighTech Real Estate Marketing

HighTech Real Estate Marketing

by: Dale Ryan Serbousek

A quick glance through the Sunday real estate ads reveals that most homes are sold the old fashioned way. By print ads and word of mouth. Truth be told, placing your home in the Sunday paper does little more than quench the ego of the agent listing your home. Demand more!

Traditional real estate marketing reaches about 70% of the people who want to buy your home. The other 30% are buyers who are outofarea. They are the buyers who surf the web, looking for a home in the town their employer just relocated them to. They are the buyers who are looking for a retirement home, or a second home near their kids. If you are not placing your home in front of these buyers, you could be chopping thousands of dollars off the selling price of your home.

Lets look at eBay for an example. Most sellers tell you the key to getting the highest dollars amount for an item is to have as many potential buyers looking at the item. The final selling price is directly prortional to the number of people watching the auction. The same holds true for selling your house.

In closing, ask your real estate agent how they plan to advertise your home on the internet. Do not let them get away with placing your home in the Sunday paper, and calling it a day. Sure, your home will sell. It may even sell fast in some markets; however, the only successful real estate transaction is the one where you get the most money when selling your home. Now go getกem.

About The Author

Dale Serbousek is and ePRO Realtor in Bellingham, Washington. He specializes in hightech real estate marketing, helping sellers realize the full value of their property. He is also a coveted eBay Powerseller, a title owned by less than 1% of all eBay sellers.

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 24

by Dale Ryan Serbousek

Personal Branding Techniques for Real Estate Agent

Personal Branding Techniques for Real Estate Agents and Brokers

by: Dan R. Vella

A key principle of marketing is to find something unique about what you offer as the basis of your sales message. Even if what you offer is a commodity, there is always one thing unique in your business you. A big error made by many Real Estate Agents and Brokers is to try to develop an institutional image like most big companies. People do not like to do business with institutions; they like to do business with people. In advertising terms, branding is the "image" created in the minds of people when they see or hear a name, product or logo. Companies invest a lot of money in creating and maintaining their brand, but the Internet has sparked a new trend called "Personal Branding". Personal branding isn’t only important for promoting a product, business or political cause, but also for promoting yourself for advancement within your own organization. It involves developing your personal reputation. Branding can be done to any product, or any person. Before undertaking an exercise in personal branding, however, consider your distinctive strengths and abilities and what they offer the market place. Traditionally personal branding was for sporting celebrities who gained enormous coverage and following through their sporting prowess. Movie stars have also had celebrity status and association since movies began.

A personal brand is about creating strong, favorable associations in the minds of people that you encounter. If you don’t actively do this, they will still make associations. Therefore, it may be better to be proactive and undertake the branding exercise for yourself, you cannot control what they think but can give them some information to assist with the associations.

WHY BRANDING OURSELVES?

Places you in a leadership role

Enhances prestige

Attracts the right people and right opportunities

Adds perceived value to what you are selling

Earns recognition

Associates you with a trend

Increases your earning potential

Differentiate yourself from the competition

Position your focused message in the hearts and minds of your target customers

Confers top of mind status

Increases authority and credence of decisions

HOW DO WE BRAND OURSELVES?

Like any branding exercise, the key to personal branding is having a good product, one which you understand and pitch to the right market. The first step in personal branding is knowing who you are, find out what strengths your brand possesses and how these strengths can help you. Personal branding is not about presenting a façade to the public; a poor product will not stand up to market scrutiny. This is also a choice of brand elements, people you deal with, the look that you have, and how you conduct yourself. Once this has been done, determine what you are going to offer. As a product what do you do, what need does the product of you satisfy in the market. Next figure out the position you will take in the audience of your mind. What unique space do you wish to occupy and what unique associations do you want people to recall when they think of you? Finally, once you have established the first three steps, manage your brand over its lifecycle. That is keep visible, be consistent and be yourself. According to Montoya, the wellknown personal branding guru, the key to managing your personal brand is wordofmouth (WOM), the most trusted form of communication.

How does one go about building a personal brand? Recognize your personal strengths and gifts! Think about how you best connect with people, consider what your target audience needs and wants, identify the value you deliver to meet those needs and wants, and communicate in a way that reaches your constituents in their hearts and minds and via the channels that work best for you

Functional associations are important such as timeliness, quality, dedication; as are emotional associations like inspiring, leadership, being an innovator.

The three C’s of personal branding are clarity, consistency and constancy.

Clarity deals with being honest about yourself and your strengths and promises of value attached to your personal brand and being clear in the way you communicate them. Often, for simplicity, you must focus on one or two aspects that are most vital and focus on communicating them. Think about the things you associate with prominent artists or mangers, and they are unlikely to be complicated.

Consistency is keeping things consistent for the customers. This does not mean staying stuck in the past, but just not undertaking drastic changes. Coca Cola have had a consistent message for 50 years; the message evolves continuously and is not stagnant but is consistent. Artists like Madonna change every three or four years, but there is a consistency to the change.

Constancy means being visible with your brand and maintaining an ongoing level of awareness in the marketplace. Oprah Winfrey is visible constantly, and although most of people do not have the visibility or exposure of Oprah, they can still be visible in a smaller audience. There is no point trying to build a brand image quickly to coincide with a new exhibition or performance you may have coming up – brands take time to build in consumers minds.

A FREE PERSONAL BRANDING TOOLKIT FOR REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS

NetReal.net, a company noted for its templatebased Real Estate Web design solutions, offers a Winter Holidays Gift for Real Estate Agents and Brokers – the Personal Branding Toolkit: http://www.netreal.net/personal_branding.php The Personal Branding Toolkit contains the “Essential Marketing for Real Estate Professionals” ebook and 17 Real Estate Reports and the tools to personalize them with your name, contact info and photo.

NetReal’s editorial team put together the top 25 highest rated Real Estate marketing articles of 2004, and created a musthave ebook “Essential Marketing for Real Estate Professionals”. The ebook covers Marketing 101 , Network marketing, Personal Marketing, Customer acquisition and retention, Telemarketing & Direct Mailing, Emarketing. You can personalize this ebook with your data and send it to your contacts, absolutely free of charge. This is a great way to offer a helpful gift to your colleagues and partners.

The “17 free Branded Reports” allow you to create your own branded Real Estate reports (for buyers, sellers, investors, movers) with your contact info and photo/logo and an exquisite design. Distribute them to your prospects or clients as edocs or printed materials, or upload them on your website. Show your professionalism with these great tools to acquire new clients.

The Personal Branding Toolkit for Real Estate Professionals (http://www.netreal.net/personal_branding.php) is free for everyone.

About The Author

Dan R. Vella is marketing editor for NetReal.net. NetReal.net (www.netreal.net) is a privatelyowned company providing real estate web sites and marketing solutions for real estate industry, focusing especially on the lowcost end, and empowering the realestate agents through the use to Internet technologies with the most affordable costs.

[email protected]

This article was posted on November 30, 2004

by Dan R. Vella

Reciprocal Links: Look Before You Link

Reciprocal Links: Look Before You Link

by: Robert Raught

A reciprocal link is when a web site links to you and you link back to them.

If you own a website, Iกm sure youกve received emails asking for link exchanges. This articleกs purpose is to help you decide who you should be linking to and why.

Look before you link!

Indiscriminate linking can be harmful to your search engine rankings and your reputation. When considering another website for a link exchange, always check out the potential link partnerกs web site and the page that your link is going to be placed on.

Five essential rules to follow when choosing a link partner.

1. Make sure that the website is related to yours. For example, if you’re a real estate agent, don’t exchange links with pages about diet pills or casinos. Link to other real estate related web sites, like mortgages or real estate agents in other areas.

2. Don’t link to link farms. You can tell a page is a link farm by the fact that thereกs usually no company logo, hundreds of links and no real content.

3. Think of your outbound link as a recommendation for that site. If the web site or link page is of poor quality, don’t link to it. Ask yourself, กWould I recommend this page to my visitors?ก

4. Ensure your link will be found by search engines. Just paste the URL of the web page youกll be linked on into Google, Yahoo, or MSN. If the page comes up in the results, itกs indexed.

5. Examine the links on the potential link exchange partnerกs web page. Make sure the links point straight to other sites and are not redirected or use JavaScript linking code. Look at the HTML source code and check the the links for the following text: ‘rel=nofollowก. This code tells major search engines not to count this link in ranking algorithms.

If done correctly, reciprocal linking can be a great way to increase your online traffic. So, don’t forget! Always look before you link!

About The Author

Robert Raught is the lead SEO expert at Technet ( http://www.increasedonlinetraffic.com/ ), a search engine optimization firm based in Washington state. He also publishes daily SEO news and articles in an online RSS enabled blog titled ‘the Optimizerก ( http://www.increasedonlinetraffic.com/seonews.asp ).

This article was posted on September 08

by Robert Raught

Chicago Real Estate: Is It Overheating?

Chicago Real Estate: Is It Overheating?

by: Nick Anderson

Chicago real estate is one of the greatest success stories of the recent boom in property prices. With low, low mortgage rates for Chicago home (http://www.bestchicagomortgage.com/mortgagecalc.html) mortgage loans, demand for real estate is going through the roof as people rush to snap up great homes on the beautiful Chicago lakefront, as well as in Chicagoกs many attractive suburbs.

More than eight million people now reside in the Windy City. One of the few Midwest cities in the last decade to increase in population, Chicago may be well on its way to satiation. There are so few homes available that folks who want to buy Chicago real estate are getting in ahead of the crowd by purchasing preconstruction. Many preconstruction opportunities are available in Chicago real estate.

Chicago Suburbs Real Estate PreConstruction

In the Chicago suburb of Palos Hills, 17 different preconstruction properties are available. You can, for example, purchase a 2600 square foot 3 bedroom, 2 bath townhouse for $347,700.

While itกs too early in the construction process to offer a photo, many features and details are now available online. Each of the townhouses in the development will have a full basement and an eatin kitchen with doors leading out to the patio. The very larger master suite (20×19) has a walkin closet and bath. This unit is being built to be handicapped accessible as well.

Another of the many Chicago

(http://www.chicagorealestatereport.com/chicagorealestate.html) real estate finds available for sale in the preconstruction phase is a smaller town home, 1800 square feet, with an asking price of $247,700. This 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath unit will be ready in December and will include spacious bedrooms (the two smallest are still 14×10), a basement and granite counter tops with stainless steel sinks in its 13×11 kitchen. The townhouse community provides free parking for its community member owners.

Researching Chicago Real Estate Online

Along with Chicago real estate listings and preconstruction properties, online real estate sites such as Chicago (http://www.chicagohomeforsale.com/typesofchicagoareahomes.html) Homes for Sale offer some additional features that could be very helpful to potential buyers, especially those relocating from outside the Chicago area. From this site you can indicate the neighborhood you want to investigate and ask for information on all aspects of Chicago real estate in the designated area.

With Chicago real estate being as glutted as it is, many may be tempted to say the market is overheating. But you can still find real value in the Chicago real estate market by keeping an eye out for undervalued properties and hidden preconstruction homes that very well might prove to be exactly what you’re looking for.

Nick Anderson is a nationally syndicated columnist reporting from MyChicagoIl.US

About The Author

Nick Anderson is a nationaly syndicated columnist with www.mychicagoil.us.

This article was posted on August 18

by Nick Anderson

Farm Expired Listings For Big Commissions

Farm Expired Listings For Big Commissions

by: Lanard Perry

Many real estate agents begin and sometimes sadly end their careers without a plan. And as the saying goes, failing to plan is as good as planning to fail. ]

Sure, some do the usual and expected things to cultivate new business, like mailing letters and post cards to friends and relatives, phoning acquaintances, and giving out business cards to any and everybody they meet.

Heck, some are courageous enough to กcold callก prospects, the most dreaded of all tasks! And while all of these activities are good things to do, they don’t necessarily translate into new business opportunities now or later!

And while these may be good strategies you need more. But instead of working harder why not work smarter?

The most successful Realtors and Real Estate Agents have กlead generating systems.ก Some Farm Expired Listings for huge profits.

A good listing system can:

jump start new or average real estate sales career

bring in real estate listings on a regular basis; week after week

generate prospective buyers and sellers

give you marketing exposure in months rather than years

position you to know the best real estate investment buys

Personally, I love Expired Listing Systems and their laser beam like focus on warm, responsive sellers. Sellers that are typically still Realtor friendly, eager to sell and will do what it takes to get their properties sold.

Owners of expired listings are motivated for many reasons; double mortgages, vacant properties, terrible tenants, recently married and combining households, recently divorced and liquidating real estate assets, and on and on.

Plus, they have gone through a listing cycle and may be anxious to get on with their lives. But, as you know, or will soon learn, all listings aren’t worth having.

As for me, I initially listed every property that I could; vacant land, single family homes, condoกs, triplexes, mobile home parks, mobile homes, homes in top notch condition, fixer uppers, whatever.

And I got to feeling pretty darn good (and just a little smug) as my listing portfolio grew to more listings than I could manage.

So, I first hired a part time clerk/assistant to help me market my listings, then took on a newly licensed salesperson as a partner and split the listing fees 50/50. Pretty soon my listing system was humming and I was averaging 12 listings a week.

I then had an army of agents working for me day and night, as almost all of my listings were in the Multiple Listing System. Working to get me paid, even when I was chaperoning field trips, getting a haircut, or just taking a day off!

Thatกs what a good real estate listing system can do for you!

So, if you don’t have a good listing system you should get one. After all, if real estate listings are the lifeblood of the industry then how successful can you be without them?

About The Author

Lanard Perry is the author of กFarming Expired Listingsก, a real estate listing system that shows how to list 12 listings a week.

Visit http://www.farmingexpiredlistings.com for more info.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 1

by Lanard Perry

7 Marketing Methods for Real Estate Coaches

7 Marketing Methods for Real Estate Coaches

by: Joanne Victoria

You shower, shampoo, dress your best, check to see if you have plenty of business cards, drive about an hour, introduce yourself by saying กHi, I’m Mary and I’m a coachก and the other person says, กHi, I’m Jack and I’m a coach, too!ก. You meet more coaches than you knew existed. How do you get business when you are surrounded by what may be perceived as your competition?

Here’s a great strategy to create fantastic outcomes.

Time is precious and you can’t get it back, so it needs to be used wisely. For those of you who have limited time or don’t have much of a desire to network, but you know you have to, try Target Networking® for Real Estate coaches. As you target your work market for clients, you can target or focus your networking market using the same skills.

As an example, what if your target industry is real estate? Your target markets could include the bank, mortgage, real estate and insurance companies. Your target audience then becomes banking executives and mortgage brokers, real estate brokers and real estate and insurance sales people.

What do next? Follow these 7 methods to Target Networking® success for your Real Estate Coaching career.

1. Research these audiences in your area, determine their association meeting places, and invite yourself as a guest.

Remember, the smaller the niche, the bigger the reward. If you go deep within your industry, you become the expert in your field and the possibilities are endless.

2. If part of your marketing plan is speaking presentations, you could also get yourself a free booking at any of these organizations with your target audiences. Yes, I said free.

If you are willing to spend your time milling about an obscure cocktail party venue with unknown quantities, you could easily put together a 30minute presentation in front of your entire market. You will create new relationships, save time and make more money.

3. Here’s the drill. Grab your yellow pad and let’s get going!

A. Use one page at a time and place the sample industry, Real Estate, in the center.

B. Without conscious thought, jot down anything that comes to mind in relationship to Coaching in the Real Estate industry. You can help these people in many ways.

C. Your final document, or at least one of them, should look like a sunburst, with your industry, the sun, and your market, the rays.

D. You could extend this piece even further by adding another dimension, your audience. The sun is the industry, with lines as the sun’s rays representing your market and lines off these representing your audiences.

4. Check your local business newspapers for anything close to what you have chosen. Refer to the yellow pages if you’re not familiar with these publications or associations.

5. When you get a copy of these business newspapers, check their calendars for meetings in your industry or market.

6. Visit your local Chambers of Commerce, check the membership list and get brochures of businesses in your target industry, target market and target audience.

7. Go to the reference section of your business library and review the Major State, Regional and National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States.

The Association books have subjects by index, so if you did this today and went to ‘real Estate, Nationalก, you would discover a minimum of 60 associations! This does not even include State & Regional.

So, pick up that phone, start dialing and enjoy Target Networking® for Real Estate Coaches. With this exercise, you will have a major part of your year’s marketing and networking successfully managed.

You will be the only Real Estate Coach in the room, get the clients that are truly in your target market and make that drive and all your efforts worthwhile.

About The Author

Joanne Victoria , owner of New Directions in Sausalito, CA, works with independent professionals who want to build their business and still stay true to who they really are.

Buy her book, Lighting Your Path! How To Create the Life You Want, here: http://www.JoanneVictoria.com/book.htm

Sign up now for her FREE monthly ezine Lighting Your Path! Discover Your Inner Truth

at: mailto:[email protected]

Tel: 4154911344 mailto:[email protected]

This article was posted on March 09, 2004

by Joanne Victoria

Your 30 Second Commercial

Your 30 Second Commercial

by: Sue and Chuck DeFiore

This tip is so simple, that many people weกve talked with never bother using it, but it is highly effective. Prepare a 30 second verbal commercial about what your business offers. This should be 50 words or less, and practice saying it until it becomes second nature. End it with phrases such as กIกd love to have you as a clientก or กIกd like to do business with youก.

For example, my 30 second commercial goes like this: กHi, my name is Chuck DeFiore and Iกm a lease purchase consultant. I can help sellers move their property in 30 days or less, and help buyers get into a home today that they can buy tomorrow. Iกd love to help you with your real estate problem.ก

Although this appears to be a very simplistic approach, your commercial gives the individual you’re talking with a sense of the confidence you feel about providing your service to him or her.

Copyright DeFiore Enterprises 2000

About The Author

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our กhow toก Home Business Solutions Digest, itกs like having your own personal coach: mailto:[email protected]

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 17, 2004

by Sue and Chuck DeFiore

Money Making Real Estate Marketing Ideas

Money Making Real Estate Marketing Ideas

by: Lanard Perry

Real estate marketing is a lot simpler than most Realtors make it out to be. Some equate expensive products and services with quality.

However, effective real estate marketing does not have to be expensive, complicated, or sophisticated. Sometimes, plain, simple, direct and to the point makes lasting impressions that result in increased business opportunities and more income.

One of the most effective real estate marketing ideas involves Expired Listings. If you’re newly licensed, new to a community or simply looking for a way to increase your business you should aggressively pursue them.

Expired Listings are plentiful and always easy to find. All you have to do is look at your daily MLS updates.

If you make them a staple of your real estate marketing efforts by pursuing them consistently you should be able to develop a steady stream of prospects and a solid income within 3 6 months, depending on your local market conditions.

Still, getting them is easier said than done. However, a good real estate listing system can help set you apart from other Realtors in a relatively short period of time.

Visit http://www.farmingexpiredlistings.com if you need one.

Below are some additional real estate marketing ideas.

1. Bumper stickers. Are you advertising yourself via bumper stickers, yet? If not you’re missing out on a simple, cost effective marketing strategy.

So, here’s the deal. Itกs very simple. Have some bumper stickers printed with your web site address and other business information on it.

Ask your church, sorority, fraternity and/or other groups you belong to to support you by placing them on their cars. Many will be happy to help out, especially since it won’t cost them anything to be supportive.

Also, make enough for family, friends and clients who are happy with your services and willing to share how great they think you are.

2. T Shirts & Jackets. Real estate marketing via T shirts and jackets is not a new or novel idea, but how many Realtors do you see advertising via this medium. Did you say กnone?ก Thatกs what I thought.

So, have some tshirts and jackets made with your web site address and other business information on them. You, your family and friends can wear them almost anywhere. Market your business year round for a one time cost. When itกs too cold for tshirts wear the jacket.

3. Baseball Caps. Hereกs another great way to get a lot of free advertising.

Have some baseball caps made with your web site address and other real estate business information on them. Heck, you might as well spend a few more bucks and outfit your childกs baseball team with them. It makes for great publicity and is also a nice thing to do for kids!

Ask the parents for กquid pro quoก by asking them to place your bumper stickers on their cars.

4. Envelopes, Stationary & Business Cards. These are the mainstay of any real estate marketing campaign, and a must for your marketing campaigns.

Make sure your web site address and other business information is printed on all of your stationary, envelopes and business cards. Leave a few wherever you go. Give them out like candy, as they are doing nobody any good in your pockets.

5. Magnetic Signs. Automobile signs are the กmeat and potatoesก of real estate marketing of most serious agents. If you don’t already have some get some. No,not the generic ones that your Broker has laying around, but signs with your name, web site address and other business information on them.

Place them on your car doors or roof. Take them off and reattach them in different spots from time to time to avoid fading your paint job.

6. Flyers. Print flyers with your web site address and other business information on them. Keep some with you at all times and hang on bulletin boards or simply lying around to be picked up. Itกs a great, inexpensive real estate marketing idea that reaches a lot of people fast.

Print out a few hundred at a time and pay your kids to place them on car windshields in grocery store and shopping center parking lots on Saturday mornings.

7. Articles. Another real estate marketing idea is to write articles. Writing articles is a great way to demonstrate your expertise as a real estate professional while plugging your real estate business. Itกs also an inexpensive way to increase your website ranking.

These real estate marketing ideas, anchored by a good real estate marketing listing system, can help supercharge your business and help you achieve the success you deserve.

So, the sooner you adopt these strategies the sooner youกll be able begin reaping the benefits of them.

Copyright © 2005, Lanard Perry

About The Author

Lanard Perry is the author of กFarming Expired Listings A Guide To Your Personal Success.ก Get a FREE Sample Chapter at http://www.farmingexpiredlistings.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 29

by Lanard Perry

How To Get New Business

How To Get New Business

by: Sue and Chuck DeFiore

Market, Market and then market some more. So many small and homebusiness owners do what we call spot marketing. They market hard for their business, get a response then stop marketing.
Marketing must be an ongoing process. Letกs repeat that…Marketing Must Be An On Going Process. In addition, you should have multiple marketing strategies. For example, we market on the internet through newsgroups, newsletters, press releases, forums, writing articles. We also market by running support groups, joining local groups and chambers, and being active and getting involved in the community. We give out our brochures and business cards. Your cards and brochures are not going to do you any good sitting in your files. We send out followup information for every cold call we make and speak to someone. While we might not do business with them now, we might down the road. However, we certainly won’t hear from them, if they don’t get something from us.
The following happened during a teleclass we sat in on: One of the other participants asked about getting customers for interior design work. She had a brochure with her services, and would give a free consultation to her clients. However, she wasn’t turning those into sales. A couple of things we suggested were to 1) put pictures in her brochure of before and afters for homes she did; 2) offer to redo a small area of their home for half price, so they could get an idea of her work. She loved the ideas, and thought they would work marvelously for her.
Remember, you won’t get the business, if you don’t ask for it. Along with the marketing you have to also be a salesperson. You have to ask for the sale. You don’t have to be obnoxious about it, in fact, if you are, you probably won’t get it at all. As most of you know, we never push anyone to order or do something with us, itกs up to them. We want our customers to make an informed decision, and for it to be winwin for everyone, and that is how we conduct our business. You should also. However, realize that for certain businesses a stronger approach might be necessary.
For those that work with services only, you have to create a need for that person to act now. Those in real estate know, if the owner is not motivated now and is just fishing for price, the deal might not go. You have to make it go, either by using a new strategy or following up at a later date. There are some deals that do go even if there is not a lot of motivation, but because you were able to come up with a creative real estate strategy that peaked the owners/buyers interest now and for him/her to act now.
For those in service businesses listening skills are a must. If you are not a good listener, learn to be. If you are constantly thinking only about what you are going to say about your product/service, you are missing out on what your customers needs are. The best way to think of your services or products is what are the benefits for your customers. Make a list of them, know them well and then youกll be better able to listen to your customers.
There are many different ways to get new clients, repeat business and to stay focused.
Copyright DeFiore Enterprises 2001

About The Author

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our กhow toก Home Business Solutions Digest, itกs like having your own personal coach: mailto:[email protected]

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This article was posted on June 23, 2004

by Sue and Chuck DeFiore