Focusing on Multi Facetted Marketing Events will help to jump start or slingshot your real estate career into the success zone.

by Frank Wilson

Focusing on Multi Facetted Marketing Events will help to jump start or slingshot your real estate career into the success zone.

A diamond has its brilliance and sparkle because of the facets that have been cut into it. 

Add brilliance to Your real estate business is like a diamondyour real estate business by adding facets to it. A Multi Facetted Marketing Event (MFME) is taking something that you may already be doing on a daily basis within your business, and adding more dimension or facets to it. A facet is added anytime you take your original activity and spin it off allowing you to make more impressions or talk with more people. 

This is a concept that I developed some years ago while teaching agents how to effectively market themselves and their listing to the public and I feel that it will allow you to do more business with seemingly less effort. 

I realized the power of a MFME the other day when I bought flowers for my wife for our 27th wedding anniversary. I could have just gone down to the store to buy her a bunch of daisies, but, that would have only had 1 real facet, (albeit the most important one….her) more on this later. 

So, lets take a look at how not to do it so that we can discuss the contrasts: 

An agent can, on Thursday, decide at the last minute that they want to hold an open house. They through up some signs, sit aimlessly at the open and then go back to the office and whine about how this open house stuff is not very effective. 

A different, unenlightened agent, can write a blog post and after several days of no comments or e-mails conclude that blogging is a waste of time. 

Instead, whenever you do something in your business think about how you can add facets to the work you’ve already done. 

Lets take the open house as an example:

You are already prepared to be at the open house for 4 hours. But what if we can leverage that 4 hours into something greater with just a little extra work by adding facets. (F = Facet)

            F1- You make sellers happy you are holding an open house
            F2- You send post cards out to all of the neighbors, say to 50
            F3- You door knock the neighborhood a couple days before the event
            F4- You send invitations to your sphere (demonstrating to them you are
                      active)
            F5- Your open house ad shows up in the paper
            F6- Your well placed open house A boards make impressions
            F7- You place your open house info on your companies website
            F8- You syndicate your open house info to other sites
            F9- You network with other agents in the area holding open houses on the
                     same day to encourage cross traffic and sales.
            F10- You feed all of this back to your sellers reinforcing your
                       efforts to them. 
A little extra work leverages your original 4 hour investment into something much greater. 

So, how did flowers for my wife turn into an MFME? 

I was going to get her flowers any way, but by adding facets I was able to touch more people and make more impressions…so instead of buying the flowers at the local grocery store I bought them from one of my agents who was real estate roses, John L. Scottdoing a fund raiser (hey, timing is everything), here is the break down: 

            F1- My agent looked good for supporting Rotary
            F2- I felt good supporting one of my agents
            F3- Rotary was able to help others through this
                    fund raiser
            F4- My wife loved the roses

So, the original effort I was going to do anyway was now able to help or support more people. 
My next post will have examples of other Multi Faceted Marketing Events that you can engage in. 

Now….with regards to this MFME thing and roses for my wife….let’s just keep that between you and me. We know it was a Multi Faceted Marketing Event…she just thinks it was romantic…..yeah…I’m good with romantic.

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Jump start your real estate business by getting involved with the community…..everyone wins!

by Frank Wilson

Get involved to get your real estate business going……

The number 1 way to increase your business……is to be in front of people. Some agents try to do this through geographic farming, standing open houses, door knocking or other prospecting means.

How about a new approach, do something you enjoy doing AND oh by the way you happen to sell real estate. When you work side by side with people, toiling over a common goal or conversing about common interests and you later do business with them, you will find that business to be more meaningful, successful and fun.

When you lead as a salesperson you often loose, when you lead as who you are as a real person, everyone wins. Try these ideas and get involved.

Opportunities to Network:
Chamber of Commerce
Historical Society
United Way
Hospital Foundation
Navy League
Food Drive/Bank
Kiwanis
Rotary Club
Whaling Days
Regional Economic Development Council
Literacy Council
Visitors and Convention Bureau
Masons
Elks
Moose
Eagles
Symphony Foundation
Local theater group
YWCA
Junior Achievement
Business and Professional Women’s Org.
WINGS
Various Church Organizations
VFW
Humane Society
Boy/Girl Scouts
Local Search and Rescue
Kids Sports organizations
Local Golf & Country Club
Lions
Young Republicans
Young Democrats
NRA
Habitat for Humanity
Toastmasters
Exercise Club/Gym
Sorority
Seniors Computing
Bridge Club

So, now that I’m part of a group what do I do?
Write articles for news letter-Free
Show up to meetings-Free
Interact with members-Free
Volunteer for work parties-Free
Become a leader-Free
Sponsor something-Cost
Ad in Newsletter-Cost

Rewards:
Productive
Giving back to society
Respect
Business
Personal satisfaction

Hints:
Wear your name tag.
Whenever you write an article ensure your professional contact information is used.
Use your professional e-mail when corresponding with people you meet in these groups.
Make sure your signature block reflects your website and contact info.
Provide a page on your website for the organizations you belong to.

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When it comes to your real estate business….Cut the Fat, Not the Muscle

by Frank Wilson

The first rule of business…..is to stay in business.

Cut the fat out of your real estate business

Cut the fat out of your real estate business

As real estate agents, offices and companies struggle to figure out this market it is important to stay focused on what is working and what is not. “Working” means money spent that earns a return in the form of phone calls, appointments, revenue units, or direct business support items. Examples of “not working” would be money spent on; things that feed your ego, post cards bought and put under your desk, educational CDs purchased and never listened to, print advertising that never makes the phone ring.

Spend one day a month working on your business, not in your business. What this means is setting aside one day per month in which you work on the big picture; finances, marketing plans, business plan review and the like. During this time do not engage in working with buyers, sellers or ongoing contracts, don’t answer the phone and if you need to, hold this meeting with yourself outside of the office.

One of the things to look at each month are your expenses. As revenues slow with fewer closings you may be wondering where to cut expenses. This is a good discussion to have with yourself…..in good times as well as in bad. Determine a base line of what you need to support your business and what that base line costs. Consistency is important here. You don’t want to have the lights on when things are good and go dark when things slow down.

This would not be the time to cancel your cell phone plan. It would be the time to cut down on some of the fancy features that you pay for but rarely use.

This would not be the time to turn off your website….It would be the time to make sure you are getting the biggest bang for your buck by making sure your site has rich content and is generating traffic that could turn into leads.

This would be the time to not buy that new expensive marketing plan……It would be the time to pull out those cards that are under your desk that you always meant to send but never got around to it.

This would be the time to look closely at the money you are spending on print media. If it is not making the phone ring or is a significant source of traffic to your website, eliminate it.

This is more about what you do spend and less about what you save. Make sure every dollar counts. You still need, gas for your car, feature sheets and home books in every listing, a search engine friendly website, a base line mailing program or newsletter, membership in local mls’s or professional trade organizations, educational classes and the like. There is actually so much you can do to communicate with your sphere of influence and talk with potential new clients, use your one day a month to work on your business not in your business to generate some low cost or now cost ides. If you get stuck, check back and I will post a list in the near future…..Update: check out this list of low or no cost ways to jump start your business.

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28 Pro-active AND inexpensive steps you can take “today” to improve your real estate business

by Frank Wilson

Agents often beat around the bush about getting started. This is a down and dirty list of ways you can get yourself into gear with out an expensive or complicated system.

1. Send out unsolicited CMA’s, follow up with a phone call.

2. Hand written notes to your clients.

3. Call 50 houses around your new listing

4. Door knock 50 houses around your new listing

5. More photos for each of your listings

6. Blog (Limit your time spent here)

7. Do your own SEO work on your website (Limit your time spent here)

8. Call expired listings

9. Use drip e-mail marketing

10. Talk with FSBO’s

11. Develop and door knock a geographic farm

12. Develop a social farm

13. Set up past customers with automatic e-mail notifications for any homes that come on the market in their neighborhood.

14. Add content to your website (Limit your time spent here)

15. Meet with past clients and provide an annual CMA

16. Hold an open house on the weekend

17. Hold a “twilight” open house one weekday afternoon

18. Wear your name badge

19. Volunteer in the community and wear your name badge

20. Send out a monthly e-mail newsletter (Don’t write it yourself)

21. Call everyone in your sphere

22. Invite 10 past customers to lunch (one at a time)

23. Mail an anniversary card each year to your past buyers for the day they bought their home.

24. Ask your past customers to write a testimonial for you.

25. Post past customer testimonials to your website

26. Write a press release about your attendance at a class or workshop, or new designation

27. Take 10 minutes and make sure you have an informative signature block for e-mails

28. First of each year mail out a copy of the HUD-1 to each client who bought or sold a home last year.

Anything you can do that will have you talking or interacting with people will help you build the marketing momentum you need to grow your business. If you are with people you will find business……if you’re not you won’t.

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Should I consider a career in real estate right now?

by Frank Wilson

Adding Google Analytics to your website or blog is critical. I just reviewed my results for this blog and currently the number 1 string of key words are:

“should i consider a career in real estate right now?”real-estate-agent

So I thought I’d use this opportunity to, not only pump the importance of having analytics as part of your on-line marketing stratagey but to also answer….or attempt to answer this question.

Actually the answer may have always been the same…..it depends.

Starting out in real estate is just like starting any other business. You have to do the research, compare your tools and talants to what is called for, put together a plan and last but certainly not least set aside plenty of start up capital. Many, if not most businesses fail because they are under capitalized.

For a quick start to the steps of getting started go here…..

The real estate profession is still full of part time agents, speculative agents and agents who are waiting for the next big market. What this means to you is that if you come in, do the homework and apply yourself there is plenty of room. You must treat it like a business and apply yourself.

As you jump into the deep end you will find many trainers, books, CDs and manuals. In the big picture if you pick most any one off the shelf and apply yourself they will work. A couple of my favorite programs or trainers:

Walt Frey http://www.waltfrey.com/

Brian Buffini: http://www.buffiniandcompany.com/

Joe Stumpf: http://www.byreferralonly.com/

Cindy White: http://www.cindywhite.com/

Renee Chatalas: http://www.themakingofapro.com/

I like each of these…for different reasons. One of the challenges in getting started is if you ask ten agents their opinion you will get ten different opinions. Some advice for a new agent:

1) Listen to your Broker

2) Listen to your Mentor (if you don’t have one get one)

3) Listen to your trainer

4) Stop looking for the magic pill…everyone wants to find the one piece of advice that will make them rich, the one pill that will make them thin, the one procedure that will make them attractive, the one line that will get them lucky……..well stop it!

5) Don’t solicit advice from the resource room or common area of your office. Often the agents who have the time on their hands and are most likely to offer advice or “take you under their wing” are the ones you do not want to listen to.

So, despite the times, the economy, the bail out, the headlines….there are still buyers and sellers out there. If you have the gumption to get into this business and do it right, it is the perfect time.

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Website Attempts Without the Marketing Discussion

by Frank Wilson

Now that I’m with GraphicalData I am having more focused discussions with real estate agents and their brokers about websites. One of the things I’ve quickly learned is that you can not have a “website” discussion without having a “marketing” discussion.

Too often agents want to jump in and order up a website so they can check that task off some list they have in hand. Later, when the going gets rough financially they jettison the website because it is not meeting their needs.

Before getting the website ask yourself some questions, this may require a bit of introspection:
1) What kind of business do I want to do. Am I focusing on residential resale, commercial, new construction, condos…….etc
2) Write a paragraph describing your perfect buyer

3) Write a paragraph describing your perfect seller
(in both cases be specific to type of home, geographic location, qualifications of the buyer or seller)

4) What are your goals for the website?
Be realistic here. Come up with a number that you can logically work toward.

5) How much am I willing to spend?
This has to be a realistic number that will not change with the market. Too often agents and companies spend lots of money when the market is good and pull it all back when things get tough. The key word here has to be “consistency”. Granted, you may invest more as you have more to invest…but you should always have a core marketing effort going on. Note…I use the word “invest” on purpose. Dollars you spend are either to improve your business, have a goal and measurement attached or it is a charity. Too often business people mistake the two.

6) How am I going to track my success?

With this information you will be able to tailor your site to meet the needs of the people you are trying to attract and keep as customers. Don’t try to make one site do too much. If you do residential sales and property management you may want to consider two separate websites, otherwise you dilute your message and will make it harder for your site to show up on the first page or two of search engine rankings.

Now that you are sitting down to actually start planning the website looks are important but only go skin deep as the old saying goes. Content is king. I’m running across good, hard working agents who have invested a lot of money into a website that looks good but has no real content. Make sure your website developer can and does provide the IDX feed for your site. Without it you will not be able to provide interactive home searches for your clients, nor will you be able to use many of the tools that make a great site like flyer makers, CMA tools or automatic e-mail notification services.

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Website, Blog, FaceBook and LinkedIn….how do they all fit in?

by Frank Wilson

The other day we had one of our instructors, Justin Waskow in to talk with us about some of the tech tools that are already available to our agents. So often we get caught up in the new that we don’t take a moment to look at what is already available. Especially in this tight economy it is important to use what you already have and spend as little as possible on new stuff.

The title of the class was Ten Top Tech Tools for 2009. The list ranged from Google Analytics to your alarm clock and included Facebook and LinkedIn.

After the class agents asked me about the roll these sites should or could play in their marketing plan. Here is my take on how your Blog, Website, Facebook and LinkedIn can all work together to carry your marketing message to the world of buyers, sellers and home owners.

Today’s consumer is part Sherlock Holms and part research librarian. When they find something they are interested in they research it. In the case of a real estate agent they dig in to learn all they can about an individual. Most agents are not even aware they are being virtually interviewed.

Your WebSite: should be written for your customer. It is for and about them, not you. I always look at the website as a reference book. This is where your customers come to search for houses, learn about the buying and selling process, research schools and neighborhoods and get a list of local resources. Make your site information rich and easy to use. If you do, they will come back often.

Your Blog: If your website is a reference book then your blog is a magazine. It should contain short stories about current events within the real estate world. Interest rates, discussions about inventory or buying and selling tips are all useful to the reader. If you tend to be verbose, break the content down into several entries. Use plenty of graphics or pictures to break up the page. At first post 2 or three times a week, as time goes by and your inventory of information builds you can post every week or every other week.

LinkedIn: This is your on-line resume. Buyers and sellers will find your profile and meet you on a professional level. This is where you will put your professional designations, time in the business, other business you’ve been in and your education. Additionally LinkedIn provides a platform for others to give you recommendations.

Face Book: This is the personal side of you. While your LinkedIn profile will have a business photo, Face Book is the place for a more relaxed picture of you in your natural habitat. This is the appropriate place for your favorite shot of you and your pet. This is where your potential clients will see the books you like to read, the movies you’ve enjoyed and the people you hang out with.

It is important for you to periodically review what others are seeing. Do you really want your potential clients to see a picture of you chugging that pitcher of beer?

Be sure to cross link each of these platforms to make it easy for customers to follow the path. Always reference your website or blog on all of your marketing materials or articles that you write. And by all means place Google Analytics on your blog and website so that you can track your traffic.

Each of these sites has a place in your marketing plan and the great part is they are very inexpensive or free and once set up easy to maintain.

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Old values to a new real estate market

by Frank Wilson

As an industry we are struggling with this new real estate environment. Several years ago we watched buyers, sellers and agents change their view on real estate as an investment. Somewhere along the way people began to look at real estate as a commodity. Like pork bellies or oil shares consumers felt real estate was something you invested in one week, watched the market and traded like a stock weeks or months later.

The problem with that is, for awhile at least, this worked. A whole new group of real estate entrepreneurs were born. Flippers, speculators and wanna be land barons began to flock to real estate as the next ladder to financial independence. Then….we woke up and now find ourselves with the light of reality shining in. Those new to the business are now wanting to know what to do. What is reality now that the laws of gravity have been re-established.

The good news is that there is nothing new here. The basic reasons for investing in real estate are still in tact. The reason why people buy and sell real estate in our area are the same as a few years ago……..again. Rather than listening to all of the hype and overly negative media it is time to focus on what we do have and not on what we don’t. Yes this is cheer leading at it’s most basic form….but isn’t that what we need right now? Reminding people why home ownership is so important, why it is such an honor and how lucky we are to be able to purchase a home when in much of the world ownership of real property is but a dream.

It is time to bring common sense back to the market, our agents and consumers. Though the below is based on Kitsap County WA I’m sure you can find some parallels for your area:
We live in a very desirable area:
Reasonable house prices (Now)
Great Schools
Great quality of Life
Not in the city but only a ferry ride away
Good health care availability
Close to recreation
Wonderful scenery
Interest rates are very reasonable
We have a relatively stable job market
We have a wonderful selection of homes to choose from
We still have sales going on
Homes are a good investment:
Home values are down fractionally compared to other investments.
Good tax benefits
Offers more control over your living environment
Good way to build wealth over a long period of time
Provides control over your living expenses provided you have a fixed mortgagem
Homes continue to be a good long term investment.

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Tool #3 Presentation : 4 tools of a successful real estate agent:

by Frank Wilson

This is part of the ongoing series “Finding Success in the Basics”

If you are out prospecting and marketing you will be bound to run into someone personally or virtually who has an interest in real estate. This is where your skills and knowledge will come into play.

Being a real estate professional is really all about presentation, presentation of you, your company, the process, buyers choices and sellers choices. The better you are at presenting or, telling the story, the more successful you will be.

When you meet someone for the first time:

How do you look…are you dressed the part? What do you say? Are you ready with a 20 second commercial or sound bite about what you do or offer? Do you have a hand out, take away or brochure? When you hand someone a thing….do you just shove it their way or do you present it?

At open houses:

How do you present the home? What information do you have at the ready? What questions do you ask?

On Floor:

Are you ready to answer a question and immediately follow up the answer with a question of your own? Do you convey confidence in your voice? Be sure to lead them in a direction. If you like what you are hearing you might say, “sounds like the next logical step is for us to get together, is this afternoon good for you or would tomorrow morning be better?” These are not sales techniques rather business tools to help them take the next step to achieving their goals.

Listing presentations:

Do you have a listing presentation? (you should) Ensure its quality reflects who you want to be perceived as. A dog eared binder may lead them to believe you are not neat and organized. Be sure to ask questions through out your presentation, you don’t want to lecture them into submission. Don’t forget “feature/benefit” I would like to put a lock box on the house….here is how it benefits you; easily track all showings, ability to follow up on all showings, allows showing the house when you are away etc…….Do you have an extra key available or would you like me to have one made for you? Your listing presentation should only last 12 to 18 mins and be designed to tell your story and answer questions like; Can I trust you? What experience do you have? What will you do for me? How do you get paid? What happens next? How do I know if it is working. Many of these questions are not even asked, but are unshared concerns that you need to address.

Buyer presentation:

Some of you will say “What?” Yes, do a presentation for all of your buyers. Don’t be a pop tart. Don’t pop into the car to show houses just because they call and tell you they want to see one. First things first. Make sure they are safe and you indeed want to work with them. Meet strangers for the first time in your office. When you set the appointment tell them you are not going to look at houses right away but would like to spend some time learning what they want first. Tell your story, just like a listing presentation. Perhaps tell them about the county or surrounding area if they are new. Talk about the process and how you fit into it. Don’t forget to use visuals.

In closing:

Your presentation should always tell a story, whether it is an 18 min listing presentation or a 30 second introduction.

Remember 8th grade English class, your story should have an opening, a body and a close.

You and your materials should always look sharp.

Involve as many of the senses as you can, visuals, questions/discussion, things they can touch

Know your area stats, this will lead to confidant speech which gives you credibility

And always, always ask the right questions to lead to the next step;

After what we have just covered do you feel comfortable with me listing your home?

Sounds like you have a great house, next step would be for me to take a look at it, is tomorrow good for you or would Friday be better?

It does not sound like this open house would work for you however here is a list of some possibilities. Why don’t you drive by these and let’s get together later this afternoon or would tomorrow after work be more convenient?

The presentation is not the destination; it is only one stepping stone along a path in this new relationship, called a customer for life.

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Tool #2 Prospecting : 4 tools of a successful real estate agent:

by Frank Wilson

This is part of the ongoing series “Finding Success in the Basics”

Since you can’t talk someone into buying or selling a home (Unless you are Tommy Hopkins) the best you can hope for is to be in the right place at the right time. This often makes you feel like you are trying to be everywhere at once.

Prospecting is the basic tool that can make you or break you in this business. In short, it is your ability to go into the world and create business. You might not be real organized, you might not have the best presentation in town, you might not be the most polished…but if you have the ability to bring in large numbers of leads, much can be forgiven, learned or hired out.

I used to tell my daughter that she had to eat some vegetables. She could pick one that was always off limits, she chose broccoli, but she had to eat some. Prospecting is a lot like that. You don’t have to do it all, but you do have to have your recommended daily allowance to succeed in real estate. The good news is prospecting does come in a lot of flavors:

FSBO (aka Unrepresented Sellers)

Withdrawn & Expired Listings

Circle Prospecting

Geographical Farming

Social Farming

Professional Farming

Floor

Open Houses

Sphere of Influence

Door Knocking

Cold Calling

Your goal should be to build a system and a habit that allows you to talk with 10 to 15 people per day about real estate, the more of these that are new to you the better. There is always a lot of chatter about having all of your business come from referrals….sounds great but if you are new to real estate, new to an area or new to the idea of taking your business seriously that is hard to do. Prospecting will not only identify those who have needs now, but will also grow your data base with people who will need your help in the months to come.

What is realistic; your income should double each year for the next 3 years and between year 3 and 5 you should hit your stride. Agents are always looking for the one thing, the golden nugget, the grail to success…..this is it. If you prospect persistently and consistently you will as Mr. Spock often said “live long and prosper”……in real estate anyway, he was smart like that!

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