Melissa Krchnak
By Melissa Krchnak
Have you tweeted about your new listing? Did you take a picture and +1 it on Google Plus? Are your friends liking it on Facebook? Is your tour going viral thanks to YouTube?
Sounds silly and yet I’m serious. Have you Googled your listing yet? I bet the person who wants to buy it has. They’ve map searched it, checked its walkability and researched the school district. Have you?
See, you can make a big impact by thinking local. Real local. Whatever that new home owner would want to know about the home — from the cable provider to the nearest dog park — you should be giving it to them. They want to know what you know… and some of what you don’t. So, go through your current listings and start blogging (and all other forms of social media) about that which you’d want to know. Important stuff, like where’s the nearest Pinkberry?
Melissa Krchnak is the assistant team leader for Keller Williams Realty in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Connect with her at kwrancho.com.
Anand Patel
By Anand Patel
Now that I have your attention, let me explain!
Last month my wife and I took our three-year-old daughter to the Disney On-Ice show that came to our town (Tampa, Fla.). It wasn’t until the day of the event that my wife decided to tell me this show, which was called Disney on Ice: “Dare to Dream,” was going to feature various Disney princesses and their stories. I wasn’t too excited, but anything for your little pipsqueak, right?
As we were walking up to the arena entrance I saw a swarm of little girls seemingly attack a Disney vendor hawking all sorts of princess paraphernalia. I thought to myself – ok, this is strange. Once inside the arena as we were escorted to our seats, I again was confused and shocked as to why all these girls were dressed up from head to toe in princess clothing. Halloween wasn’t for another five months! Throughout the show, as the arena filled with screams of little kids cheering for their favorite princess, I sat there looking around in awe at the powerful business machine that is simply Disney. They had come up with a way to create a very profitable revenue stream from their old characters!
An Idea is Born
Being the business nerd that I am, when I got home I googled the Disney Princess franchise and discovered that the idea of the Disney Princess line came from a man named Andy Mooney. Disney hired Mooney in 1999 to help their consumer products division improve their dropping sales. At that time, while attending his first Disney on Ice show, he found himself surrounded by young girls dressed as princesses in generic, non-Disney costumes. That’s when the idea of capitalizing on Disney’s existing cast of princess characters hit him. The Disney Princess franchise was born. In my opinion, this was genius!
What’s the point?
What does any of this have to do with real estate? As I thought about it some more, I realized how many times I find myself (and many others fall into this trap as well) looking for an outside “shiny object” to help with our business. Continue reading »
Laura Rubinchuk Schwartz
By Laura Rubinchuk Schwartz
It seems there’s a new hyped technology in real estate every week. Old favorites include Facebook, Craigslist, Twitter, Blogging, YouTube, and LinkedIn. But what about those sites that were so popular so fast and now we never hear about them anymore? Remember Posterous, Postlets, and now Pinterest? Real estate agents tend to kill technology quickly.
With so much to do every day to keep your business going, the biggest of which is lead generation, do you really have time to learn every new platform that suddenly emerges? Probably not. Should you? Probably not. As an agent who built my business on technology, I have a few suggestions for those of you who feel like you’re drowning in new technology and don’t know where to start, or where to find the time:
1. Figure out what works with your schedule: You can’t be the master of all trades, but you can master just a few. Some things take more of a commitment to make it work, ex. Twitter and Facebook are daily commitments for most. Other platforms may just an as-needed thing, like Postlets for advertising listings or Craigslist (if you don’t use Craigslist for lead generation).
2. Don’t waste time learning every new technology. I haven’t spent a single minute on Pinterest. I see Facebook friends posting wedding ideas or baby shower themes on there — don’t kill this by inundating useless real estate information on it. Don’t force a round peg in a square hole just because someone told you to.
3. Learn something so you’re comfortable with it, then use it as part of your lead generation. Continue reading »
Rob Reuter
By Rob Reuter, YPN Manager
It’s official: 2012 has kicked into full gear. If you haven’t already, now is the time to start your business planning. Elizabeth Mendenhall, 2012 chair of NAR’s Strategic Planning Committee, recently asked YPN members what kind of statistics they consider when forming their annual business plan. From my former selling days, I focused mainly on two statistics:
- Absorption Rate: Focus marketing in areas/neighborhoods/price ranges that have high turnover rates and low time on the market.
- Frequency of Income-Producing Activities: Where does my business come from and how much time/energy do I put in these areas?
Several other YPN members have great ideas as well:
Dollars/Hour Earned (Brian Copeland): How much are you earning per hour? Take your gross annual income and divide it by the number of hours you worked. Increasing this number means you are making more and working less!
Months Supply/Inventory (Nobu Hata): Communicating this information to the consumer effectively will help ensure more accurate pricing.
80/20 Rule (Tiffany Curry & Kate Koplinka): Are you part of the minority doing the majority of the business?
Market Share (Lena Williams): Increase the percentage of your market share if geographical farming is part of your plan.
Average Sales Price (Kenny Parcell): Continue reading »
Stefanie Hahn
By Stefanie Hahn
Intimidated by video? Don’t be! There’s a plethora of ways you can incorporate video into your blog or website this year, without it being over-the-top promotional (and without your mug being the only thing in front of the lens). Here are some creative tips for video newbies.
Stefanie Hahn is the education director for Coldwell Banker Hearthside, REALTORS® in Collegeville, Pa. Visit her Web site: www.StefanieHahn.com.
Stefanie Hahn
By Stefanie Hahn
Make a New Year’s resolution to better manage your name and online reputation. The first step is to figure out which social media platforms work best for you and your business. Check out my video to learn more.
Stefanie Hahn is the education director for Coldwell Banker Hearthside, REALTORS® in Collegeville, Pa. Visit her Web site: www.StefanieHahn.com.
Shannon Williams King
By Shannon Williams King
Looking for affordable, unique gifts for your loved ones or yourself? Here are five must-have tech gadgets all road warriors need, and a few more gift ideas I thought sounded cool! What’s on your list this year?
1.) Kindle Fire – At $199 who can’t resist finding out what all the fuss is about? I love Amazon, so I think I’ll like it. They say it’s the iPad2′s closest competition… I want to find out! Is this on your list?
2.) Mophie Juice Pack – True road warriors are always on the phone. Don’t find yourself without battery power for the ever so important phone call. These small cases double your phones’ battery life. Only $79 online!
3.) Motorola t505 – A must have if your car doesn’t come equipped with built-in Bluetooth. You will love the way this little device integrates with your car’s radio. Buy it online at Amazon for the best deals – about $60.
4.) Drivesafe.ly App – You can now text and drive safely! This is the perfect FREE gift to “give” your friends, clients and kids. Who knows, you might even save a life.
5.) Wide Angle Lens Kit – For your iPhone or video camera – all of us who shoot photos with our smartphones you can now use this wide angle attachment to get the best photos possible. $50 on HDhat.com
And now for some other fun ideas!!!
6.) Square up – Think PayPal for your smartphone. It’s perfect if you sell products, have a fundraiser, or a garage sale. Or someone just owes you money. You can now accept credit cards for ANYTHING with just your phone! And it’s FREE… what a great gift for those you know who are in any service industry.
7.) The Flip – OK, so they are going out of business — but I just LOVE this camera. So while supplies last you can still manage to get a 1-hour model for $80! Continue reading »
David Krichmar
By David Krichmar
Any time you come in contact someone who needs a REALTOR®, you should add them to your database. Trust me, I know this idea in itself is not brilliant. Once you have a database, how do you keep in touch with those clients?
The key to having a database is to stay in touch with past clients, current clients, and future clients. Not just past clients. What about someone who contacted you but did not need your services at that time; that is defined as a “future” client. So if you don’t already, add every person and email address to your data base as soon as they contact you. Now would be a great time to start. Once you have a growing database, let’s talk about 5 ways to keep in touch with them.
- e-Newsletters - Again, not a rocket science idea; you probably already do this. But if not, start doing it. Many email marketing programs will do the newsletter for you and send it out monthly. Making this the easiest way to keep in touch. Make sure the newsletter does not just talk about real estate, but other topics as well. This gives a better chance of your contacts actually reading the information and finding it helpful. Keep in mind, not everyone needs a REALTOR® right at this moment. But they always are looking for helpful information.
- Friend them on Facebook - As Facebook has grown, the majority of folks are on Facebook daily. So friend your database on Facebook. This makes it easiest to keep up with their needs and life events. Most people look at Facebook as being private, so not all clients may accept your friend request. In this example I suggest just friending past clients, that way you have the strongest relationship with them. 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.
David Krichmar
By David Krichmar
Let’s go old school for a moment. Trust me, I am not saying online marketing (social media) should not be No. 1. But until humans become robots and do not have eyes, there are other ways to market as well. Here is the first half of seven ideas I have come up with to market yourself offline:
1. FSBO’s- Yep, the dreaded “for sale by owner.” Yes, they can be a waste of time; but honestly, how much time does it take to ring a door bell? That’s all the time it takes to approach a FSBO. Instead of taking the usual, “Can I list your home?” approach. How about offer to do a marketing flier about the home with your info? If the seller has any buyers that are interested in the home ask them to give you a call. Offer to post their home on Twitter, Facebook, and blog about it. It can’t hurt you to try a different approach than most REALTORS®.
2. Real Estate Magazines- We all love to look through the real estate magazines that show homes for sale. Grab a bunch of these from your real estate office or from your grocery store. Then staple your business card to the front and drop off a copy monthly at your local salon, dentist and doctor offices, oil change places, etc. What does it take to do this? Some business cards, a staple, etc. Try it!!
3. Books- Yes, books are dying. But until they do, go by your local book store (Barnes and Noble or a local used book store) and find the real estate section. Stick a business card in the first chapter of every real estate and mortgage book. How long can this take???? Seven minutes per store — I timed it myself.
Stay tuned for Part II to read the rest of my great suggestions to market yourself offline.
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.
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