Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
When I first got into this business, I was immediately struck by the enigma that is a real estate team. No matter how closely teams resemble one another on paper, real estate teams will always vary in terms of production. Take two teams of five agents each, and even though experience level or age or any of those factors may match up perfectly, one team will still produce an average of ten home sales per agent in a given year while the other may only produce five. Now I ask: If you could somehow figure out how this successful team achieved such high sales, would you do it?
What we’re talking about here is almost like body building. What does it take to win a body building contest? Well… I’m not completely sure but I do know that if you’re going to create a high performance body, you better be committed to it and willing to the pay the price. For body builders, that probably means countless hours in the gym and careful monitoring of their food intake. While real estate success may not require you to put down the sweets and hit the weight room, building a high performance team takes just as much drive, dedication and willingness to change. Most agents will never build such a high performance team because they don’t put in the effort that’s required. Growing is not the easiest endeavor; in fact, it’s oftentimes downright uncomfortable. As the saying goes: No pain, no gain.
So what are the obstacles standing in the way of high performance team success? Here are the most common complaints:
- Once I train an agent, he or she will just leave to start on his or her own. Why would I train my competition?
- I know of agents or had an agent who worked with me and left and took some of my clients. Why would I want to risk that again?
- My clients call me because they want to work with me. So wouldn’t it reflect poorly on me if I hand them off to someone else?
- I don’t have enough time to put in this extra work. Don’t you know I’m already busy as it is?
- I don’t have enough money to build a brand or advertise this team. How would we succeed without a big marketing budget?
Many agents use these “excuses” as reasons why they shouldn’t join a team. Well, that’s just good news for you because now you’ve got less competition to worry about. As long as agents don’t want to jump across those hurdles, you will enjoy increased market share. The secret is for you to acknowledge these complaints and push on anyway. (Remember that whole “no pain, no gain” thing I mentioned?) Think of these obstacles as your weight room reps; overcoming each one makes you stronger and more likely to become a high performance team.
This method has worked for my team for the past five years. Last year, we averaged 40 home sales per agent. In our market, that’s more than ten times the average agent sales. The results are real. So how do you increase your sales with the same amount of agents as other teams? You focus on becoming a high performance team, acknowledge the stumbling blocks in your way—like those five common complaints listed above—and keep moving forward regardless. Continue reading »
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
The Average Marketing Scenario
A couple years ago a loan officer asked me a brilliant question that they should have asked themselves before they spent $30,000 on a failed marketing campaign. “Dave, I have had a billboard for the past year on I-15 and I don’t get any calls off of it. What is going on?” I sat there for awhile trying to think of his billboard and I couldn’t remember it. Later that day it hit me. It took me all day to remember it. The loan officer had a prime location with his name and phone number and his company name on it. It said something like “your loan officer” or “call me for a mortgage.”
His marketing wasn’t working. He wasn’t getting any calls. I had that same marketing plan before. I had that same marketing on a moving van for three years. It was typical agent marketing that consists of: name, phone number, and how cool you are — it doesn’t work. I rarely got any calls, and nobody knew who I was. Then, I changed it and my business started to change.
There are two keys to smart marketing:
1. Can people remember you or your marketing?
Have you ever heard that famous statistic that the average home buyer/seller forgets their agent’s name within six months? I tested it out once. I met someone who said they just bought their home four months ago with the president of the Salt Lake Board of REALTORS®. I said, “Ohhh, awesome! What is their name?” Of course I knew their name, but I was wondering if the statistic really worked. They couldn’t remember. They said she is the president and surely I must know who they were talking about. Of course I knew, but how was this person going to recommend her to any of their friends and family?
Now lets talk about the loan officer’s billboard. After I drove by the sign, I couldn’t remember his phone number, name, or website. What a waste of money. His only chance of being remembered would have been if I wrote down his phone number the next time I saw the billboard, and kept it for when I had a need. Fat chance at that.
So what did I do to change my marketing after unsuccessfully advertising on a moving van for three years? it came down to branding. First, I created a scene of a desert in the background with my picture on it, and a Web address: UtahDave.com. Why in the world is there a desert when I’m trying to sell a home? Because every agent has a home on their marketing materials. I wanted it to be different, and the desert scene goes with Utah.
I don’t think the desert is key to your success, it just happened to work for mine. Maybe if I was “AlaskaDave” I might have an igloo instead of a desert. Geico has a Gecko, and the last time I checked they don’t sell geckos. The main thing is finding a special branding or memorable image…just don’t be like everyone else and have a home be your background.
The proof is in the pudding. I just got a listing appointment…and where did the listing come from? Continue reading »
David Krichmar
By David Krichmar
And now for Part 2. (Check out part 1 here.)
4. Magnet Sign- “No one has ever called off a car magnet.” Really? Ask around your office — someone has gotten a deal off their magnet sign on their car. Get a nice and easy-to-read magnet for your car. Heck, how else can someone tell you sell real estate when they see you at a traffic light?
5. Name Tags- Yes, trust me, I know. No one has ever said, “You look amazing in that outfit. Now if only you had a tacky looking name tag, the outfit would be complete!!” But just like with magnets, it gives you the easiest and most direct way to make sure everyone knows you sell real estate. Make sure the name tag is direct and easy to read. Heck, make it catchy. Maybe a name tag that just says “Looking to buy a home? Ask me!” How much does a name tag cost? Maybe $15 on the high side?
6. Open House- Again, no one likes them… which gives you an even better opportunity to ask REALTORS® in your office if you can hold an open house for them, for one of their listings. It helps get that REALTOR® more traffic for their listing and it helps you get some new potential buyers. You can also try this approach with smaller home builders.
7. Market to a Professional- Think of a marketing campaign and aim it at a certain professional group. Try to choose a group that has some influence on other people such as CPAs or financial advisors. Or groups that have many coworkers, such as teachers, firefighters, police officers, or HR departments. Then offer them something for free. Some examples are a free home warranty, appraisal, free iPad, or talk about a specific program that is just for them (e.g. tax credit for teachers). Then make a flyer and drop it off at schools, fire houses, offices, etc. These groups are great to market to because if you do a great job they will tell all their friends and coworkers.
Like I mentioned in my previous post, online marketing should still be king. But, there are still other ways to market yourself. If business is slow, or you are new to the real estate business, then this list gives you some inexpensive easy ways to market yourself.
David Krichmar has been in the real estate business since age 19 and is currently a mortgage expert in Sugar Land, Texas. Connect with him at www.daveyourmortgageguy.com or @DaveMortgageGuy.
Toby Boyce
By Toby Boyce
We’ve all seen the advertisements on television. The more Axe bodywash you use, the more female attention you are going to get.
Well, I recently conducted a not-at-all scientific experiment and wore Axe body wash to the library. A couple of girls and guys smiled at me, but I was really disappointed as I expected there to be a line out the door complete with cat fights. I mean, that’s what the advertisement leads us to believe will happen, right?
Ahh, yes. But we know better. We know that isn’t true. We know that there are a lot more things that go into whether you’ll have a female talk to you than what body wash you used this morning.
So how is it that so many of these “real estate gurus” continue to travel the country selling the exact same thing? The magic bullet that will save your real estate career and desperate agents buy into it.
“Those that came here today hoping to just pick up one piece of usable information are just prolonging their failure.” It was the line that got me in 2006. I was struggling and forked over $600 that we really didn’t have for a system that I never really ended up using. Why? Because I needed a magic pill and they offered one.
When teaching technology classes in my office and others, I see too many agents looking for the same result from social media. The most common question is, “How much will blogging make me?” Well that’s hard to answer because it depends on what you do with it and where you take it. But you can do it. Sadly, I can count on one hand the number of blogs I’ve set-up over the years that are still functional and being maintained.
Yet every single agent has access to the “magic pill” for their real estate career — a business plan. Continue reading »
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
About 10 years ago when I started advertising online, I knew I only had a few years before the rest of the world caught up. When I first broke out my SEO and PPC campaign, I was paying $1,000 a month. It gave me heartburn at the time, but my business grew and flourished.
That first month I was dumbfounded how I turned $1,000 advertising into $20,000 in commissions. Sure enough, other agents started to do the same thing. My costs started to grow as it got more competitive. Back in January 2008, that cost grew to $20,000 in one month. Ouch. I hadn’t done anything different 7 years ago from that month, I had just let my campaign stay the same. I realized times change and you have to change as well, or one morning you will wake up saying “ouch” like I did that month.
The new secret to advertising is three-fold and its extremely cost effective!
1. Have a Facebook business page. You can’t just have a personal one. Use a personal one and a business page. There is a difference.
2. Focus on getting likes. Don’t pay for likes. Attract people to ‘LIKE’ your page. This is how you grow your sphere. You can see how I did this at www.facebook.com/utahdavehomes You must have a welcome page that brands you and invites people to ‘LIKE’ it. I went to www.builderonlinesolutions.com and for as low as a $199 promotion you can get your page branded for you. Continue reading »
Stefanie Hahn
By Stefanie Hahn
What are QR codes? How can they work for my business? This video tutorial offers tips and suggestions for utilizing this hot new marketing tool.
Stefanie Hahn is the education director for Coldwell Banker Hearthside, REALTORS® in Malvern, Pa. Visit her Web site: www.StefanieHahn.com.
Dawn Miller
By Dawn Miller
If you’re a new REALTOR® or if you’ve been in business awhile and re-evaluate your budget every year, I am here to reassure you there are only five tools you need to start or maintain your real estate business.
I’ve complied a short list of the must-have’s for those REALTORS® newer to the business who are questioning advertisements’ promising leads, great return on investment, and more. Hopefully I will re-energize other REALTORS® who have been in the business awhile to “get back to basics” and understand what we really need to make the best use out of the tools we have or how to do as much as possible with just a few good programs.
1. Contact Database
Whether you use MS Outlook, Excel (gasp), Top Producer, or even the contact manager through your MLS system, you really need some place besides your notebook or bar napkin to store contacts. I recommend a database that will do many functions, like Top Producer. It is a small investment that provides so many different tools, from e-mail programs, to drip e-mail campaigns, and more.
2. Blog
Notice I did not say website. Many REALTORS® are using their WordPress blogs as their main Web presence and even having IDX feeds so consumers can search homes. Get a free WordPress account today, or pay a little extra each month for additional features. Consumers are asking for hyper-local content and information. Blogging allows you to be the expert in your neighborhood.
3. Virtual Tour Program
There are many programs that are free, less than $10 a month, or charge per-tour. There is one that stands out among the rest–Visualtour.com. For $30/month, you can create unlimited virtual tours, advertise your listings on dozens of websites, and use the program to self-promote. Take still pictures and turn them into panoramic shots and video through their software. If you use this program right, it serves so many functions you might just have to cancel other programs or advertising you are paying for now. Check out a virtual tour I did while on an real estate trip in Dominican Republic: http://www.visualtour.com/show.asp?t=2038675&prt=10003
4. Realtor.com Advertising
For $11 a month, I tell prospective sellers their homes will show up every 8-9 pages of homes as a featured listing on Realtor.com versus one time in the 350+ pages of homes for sale. That’s powerful! New REALTORS® sign up for showcase advertising while they have few listings to save money–as the monthly charge is based on the number of listings you carry in a 12-month period. Then call sellers to tell them they will have a “premium advertisement” on the number one real estate website.
5. Niche
There are “riches in niches.” How do you set yourself apart from the other REALTORS®? Take the time in 2010 to educate yourself through a REALTOR® designation. Analyze your market, your past business, and what makes you tick to discover how to set yourself apart. If you’re reading this, you already have a niche. Remember, NAR statistics show the average age of a first-time homebuyer is 30 years old. As a YPN member, you may be in the position to relate to and communicate with that first-time buyer.
Dawn Miller is a REALTOR® from Virginia Beach, Va., and chair of her local YPN chapter. Visit her Web site: www.DawnMillerHomes.com.
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