What if instead of a consumer snapping a QR code to get more information on a listing they could actually snap the code, have a small browser window show that asks them for a time to schedule a showing to view the property. I am not aware of anybody doing this.

This could be very effective for an agent to arrange the showings as well. The QR code could be on the online listing, the street sign, and any publications that are printed as well. The info would automatically be sent to the sellers agent to be arranged or approved.

This seems like a much more efficient method than calling the listing agent or their company, getting access to the property and then organizing that with all of the other showings they have.

Fuel for thought.

For a practical look at this type of technology in action in the restaurant industry click here.

Courtesy of Real Trends

By knowing and understanding the effectiveness of video in the real estate space, brokerages and agents can better promote themselves and their listings. With video, real estate professionals can share information by showing, rather than telling, providing unique perspectives of their listings with hopes of garnering stronger consumer responses.

Members of RISMedia’s Real Estate Information Network® (RREIN) understand the many added values that video offers. “In 2010, multiple media sources reported that video content makes up almost 50 percent of all online traffic and is projected to grow to over 60 percent by 2013. Clearly, consumers feel online video is an extremely important part of the online experience,” says LP Finn, operating officer of Coach Realtors®, located in Long Island, New York.

In August 2010, Coach Realtors® partnered with VScreen, a leading Internet video services provider within the real estate industry. The partnership provides Coach Realtors® with unique and professionally created video content that Finn and his company use to source their website, www.coachrealtors.com. “VScreen provides us with a library of hundreds of professionally made videos. These videos, updated biweekly, speak directly to the online consumer on such topics as short sales, finding the right agent or how to create a home office,” says Finn.

The brokerage places this content directly in the center of its homepage, catering to the online visitor’s thirst for video. The content provides information to the entire Coach brand, which includes 18 branch offices and more than 600 agents. Looking forward, Finn plans on producing content to match the company’s various philosophies. His projections stand as a testament to the company’s dedication to video and new media. “In 2011, we plan to begin producing our own video content to compliment our firm’s recruiting and growth strategies.”

Rod Smith, Coldwell Banker Chicora’s general director of brokerage, also a RREIN Member, believes video to be “the wave of the future for real estate.” “We have really been focusing on using video and have tried to get all of our agents to utilize it,” he says. “We jumped on the Coldwell Banker bandwagon by using the first-of-its-kind real estate channel on YouTube called ‘On Location.’ We have even purchased FlipCams for many of our offices so the agents have access to a quality camera to make videos of their listings, the area and their personal profiles.”

Having just revamped its website, www.cbchicora.com, Coldwell Banker Chicora has also added a tab to specifically showcase its videos, linking users to the brokerage’s aforementioned YouTube channel. Additionally, Smith notes that the brokerage has even had a few buyers purchase properties, sight-unseen, after viewing a video of a home they were interested in.

By making the decision to enter the world of video, your brokerage will be tapping into a dynamic and cost-effective way to market your listings and company. With its invaluable potential and limitless possibilities, video should be rapidly affecting marketing budgets and strategies everywhere.

Affirms Smith: “With 86 percent of all buyers using the Internet to begin their search for real estate, what better way is there to showcase a property than a video?” 

Courtesy of RISMedia

Last week I spoke to a group of about 70 mortgage bankers with Western Bancorp on what I would do if I were them to increase their business and be more successful at what they do. I went over a list of activities I would do if I were them, but first I started off by talking about why people start their own businesses, like being a mortgage banker. I stated it is typically because of the freedom and the unlimited earning potential and they all agreed.

Unfortunately, freedom can also cost unlimited losses as well. What so many small business owners forget to understand is we have the freedom to set our schedule instead of having someone else set it for us, however, in order to be successful we still need to set some kind of a schedule. One which includes all of the activities we need to do to accomplish our goals, and then we need to live by it. It is our road map to success. No schedule leads to no business. A schedule filled with productive activities leads to a lot of business! It is simple to do, but unfortunately it is also simple not to do. Bottom line is, no matter how good your intentions are, if it is not in your schedule it is not going to happen, no matter how bad you want it.

When I meet with people one on one about their business, the first question I always ask is to let me see their schedule. It is amazing to me how many people either do not have a schedule at all or if they do it is completely blank. Both of those options are a train wreck waiting to happen!

We can’t just have it in our heads. Our minds are meant for creating ideas not storing them. We need to take the time to create our success plan, whatever it is and outline the things we need to do to accomplish it, then put those things in our schedule and stick with it day in day out … forever. Now, that is not to say we cannot make some adjustments along the way and modify our schedules to become more efficient, but we have to follow our directions/road map to success and that road map is our schedule. Way too many people spend the majority of their day thinking about what they need to do instead of doing what they need to do. I know it sounds so simple, but it is amazing how most people don’t have a detailed schedule with all of the things in it they need to do to accomplish their goals.

Look at your goals as your destination on a trip halfway around the world to a beautiful and remote place you have never been to before and look at your schedule as your map/directions to get there. Could you imagine traveling half way around the world to a place you have never been and doing it without detailed directions and a plan? Of course not, we know we would get lost and never make it. Well the same thing applies with our goals and our schedule. We have never been where our goals are so we better have a detailed plan and schedule on how to get there and the discipline to follow it every day or we will never make it.

Remember as you set your schedule to keep your F-5 in mind and make sure you put time in to focus on all of them every week. What is your F-5 you ask? FAITH, FAMILY, FRIENDS, FITNESS, AND FINANCE.

Tom Tognoli, founder, COO, VP and managing officer of Intero Saratoga, Intero

There’s been a lot of debate since the dawn of social media about best practices for selling on these platforms. When it first became widespread, a lot of practitioners started putting any and all listings on Facebook and may have even seen some success from that approach. But in the age where we’re sold to in almost every area of our life, people don’t want to be sold to through an application that’s supposed to be a list of their “friends.” The key is how you use it with your listings.

We’ve been talking on Twitter (hope you’re following us @realtormag) this morning about whether you should clog your clients’ Facebook stream with your listings. I cover technology for the magazine and from what I’ve read, heard at conferences, and seen from sales associates, the quick answer is no. Here’s a short list of tips for promoting your business on social networks.

■Facebook should be a place to develop the brand of you. This is a network where you can share, for example, your love of the islands off the coast of New England and put photos from your trips there. If a potential client shares that same love, this is how you build affinity with them — through mutual interests. You should share the places you like to go, the people you love to see, and your passions, and this will help to make your clients feel more connected to you. By building this connection, when they do need a real estate pro, they will likely call you. It will also broadcast that you’re an authentic person.

■You should share that you are a practitioner in the field. However, if you put too many listings out onto your clients’ wall or feed, I promise you they will click the hide button on your posts or they might just unfriend or unfollow you. Nobody wants to be sold to constantly, especially if they aren’t even interested in buying a house at the time. Instead, make posts that talk about your activities, e.g., “It’s a great Friday, made even better by the fact that I just sold a house on Smith Lane.”

■If you really want your listings on Facebook, buy Facebook ads. I’ve heard about great results from practitioners who are using this as an ad channel because it targets the ads to the demographics you want. I know of a New York brokerage that had great results selling lofts because they aimed their advertising at young, single males in investment banking and law.

At the February Business Luncheon (February 11, 2011), David Michael DiMartino will be available before 11:30 a.m. and after 1 p.m. to take your professional portrait!

PLEASE CONTACT DAVID DIRECTLY TO SCHEDULE YOUR SESSION!
Home: 239-947-0746
Cell: 239-913-7097

Price: $125.00 Plus Tax

This package is offered at a special discounted rate and includes:

• Choice of various back drops
• Two quality high-resolution digital images (one color, one black & white) for business cards brochures, press releases, ads, etc.
• Two quality low-resolution digital images (one color, one black & white) intended for web use
• Instant previewing of your selection
• Special attention to Portrait retouching includes softening facial lines, removing stray hairs, blemishes, brightening teeth and eyes
• One CD containing your selected finished Portrait files
• Full copyright permission for unlimited use

Nancy has a very serious blood disease called Primary Myelofibrosis and it is very aggressive.  It is not leukemia but just as acute and a donor must be found! 

If you would like to find out more about helping Nancy or another patient like her please see the link below to the National Marrow Donor Program. The process is easy and there is no cost to the donor.
 
Joining the registry:
http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/index.html?src=tabjoin

” You cannot wing it,” says Matthew Ferrara, CEO of The Learning Network. “You wouldn’t put a play on Broadway without rehearsing. You wouldn’t send soldiers to war without boot camp. There are people who believe that if they just keep talking, they can talk their way into a situation, but every consumer knows if you’re winging it, and you’ll lose them.”

Clients deserve your best effort, so brush up on the basics and work for that listing.

Conduct Wide-ranging Research

“You’re there to market yourself and impress the seller, and they value the fact that you take the time to learn as much as possible about their home,” says Julie Antunes, ABR, CRS, a REALTOR® with Sonoran Desert Lifestyles Real Estate in Scottsdale, AZ.

She photographs the property, using those pictures on her Competitive Market Analysis. In addition to running comps, when time allows she also visits those properties to get a better sense of them.

Antunes stresses the need to know all of the things that make a property unique, like being located in a flood plain or in the flight path of an airport.

Ferrara recommends that REALTORS® gather information, such as the unemployment rate and the last 10 years of property tax changes, to illustrate the full community environment. He also believes it’s important to learn all you can about the seller.

“We spend too much prep time studying the house and not the human,” he says. “Do you know anyone who knows the seller? Do they have kids? What activities are they involved in? The house won’t make the [listing] decision. The human will.”

Share Comprehensive Information

“The more complete your presentation package is, the more the seller will open up to you because they see how committed you are to getting their listings,” according to Antunes. She’s created a checklist to make sure she doesn’t omit anything from her comprehensive listing packet, which includes:

Market analysis
Comps with photographs
Tax records
Net proceeds estimate
Marketing plan
A professionally designed brochure that highlights her background
“From Offer to Completed Sale” sheet
Seller’s Guide that explains selling a home from the title perspective
Seller FAQ statement customized to her area
Booklet of forms required in the selling process

Although you don’t need the latest technological bells and whistles to woo a client, you do need to show that you’re comfortable with technology.

“Everyone wants to know where their listing is going to be on the Web,” says Antunes, who uses a small laptop to demonstrate how the real estate sites work. “But you very much have to understand your audience. That’s why I do print-outs of comp listings for people who like paper. Younger clients usually don’t want all the paper, and ask if I can e-mail documents. It’s whatever the client wants.”

Ferrara suggests showcasing your use of technology by focusing on outcomes, such as “Every listing we have has 25 photographs and three videos,” or “Our Web strategy generates xx buyer inquiries per month.”

Communicate Effectively

Before discussing the property, Ferrara recommends determining the seller’s priorities and explaining your company’s unique contribution to the marketplace.

“Everyone thinks every seller wants the highest price for the house in the shortest amount of time, but that’s not true,” he says. “Do they want the lowest price possible or highest possible level of service? You have to figure out what the seller values before you can go forward.”

“I have to convince the seller that we’re the best choice for them. We show how my company and I are performing in this market with measurable, objective standards of performance, e.g., ‘Most companies sell a home in 200 days, we do it 180 days’ or ‘Most companies get 93 percent of asking price, and we get 95 percent.’”

Ferrara reminds agents to devote three times as much effort to asking questions as you do talking at the seller. Always repeat what the seller says to confirm your understanding, and always ask for the person’s business!

Listing presentations allow you to shine a spotlight on your expertise and your willingness to go the extra mile – and that’s an opportunity too important to waste.

“Sellers will give you back what you put in,” according to Antunes. “If you walk in and put down a three-page market analysis and say, ‘Here’s my business card,’ you’ll get a 10-minute conversation before they say good-bye. If you do the work, you’ll get the results.”

Courtesy of the Women’s Council of Realtors eConnect January 2011 edition

2011 Officers are as follows:

President
Heather Wightman, John R. Wood REALTORS

President-Elect
Judith Gietzen, Amerivest Realty

Treasurer
Karen Boring, PNC Mortgage

VP of Membership
Debra Morris, Coldwell Banker

Secretary
Dodona Roboci, Coldwell Banker

The 2011 Governing Board’s leadership responsibilities include oversight of 2011 designated committees, membership objectives, industry educational opportunities for members, and overall advancement of WCR Bonita Springs-Estero Chapter.

The Bonita-Estero Chapter of the Women’s Council of REALTORS® is dedicated to being the premier business presence, providing leadership opportunities and helping all members to acquire new skills to meet the challenges of the future with success. Guests are welcome to attend by registering online.

Believe it or not, grabbing the attention of potential clients is not difficult and will not cost you thousands of dollars. Buyers and sellers today are sharp, savvy and technologically advanced, so you’ve got to speak their language. You can do that through your Web site, on your Facebook business page and in video.

Your Web Site
Many times, your Web site is the first impression that a client has of you:

Is your Web site content relevant and current?
Have you checked for spelling errors and broken links?
In general, is your site appealing?
Does it make the visitor want to return?
Is there enough information on it to make them want to remain on your site longer than 15-20 seconds?
Is it easy to navigate? Will visitors find what they’re looking for quickly?

Your Business Facebook Page
So many people will tell you that they’re not very good on the computer, but nine out of 10 times, they will still have a Facebook account! To stay within the Facebook guidelines, you’re not allowed to conduct business or do anything “commercial” on a personal profile page. You must set up a business or fan page to promote your office and/or business. How you do that is important in standing out from your competition:

• Does your business page have a “Welcome” tab that new visitors will see first when they arrive?
• Does your Welcome page include your message, a video and a way to reach you?
• Are you taking full advantage of the entire amount of space you have (600 by 200 pixels) for your custom business profile picture?
• Are you making regular (2-3 times per day) posts to your Wall?
• Are you checking the page often for questions/comments posted by others? Are you responding to them?

Using Video
We live in an impersonal world. Because of e-mail, voicemail and text messages, people no longer have to interact personally with others. That’s exactly why you need to use video in your business. It brings a much-needed personal element to your potential clients and current customers.

Remember, don’t get intimated by the thought of recording a video:

• Keep it short and simple. There’s no need to record a 10-minute video to get your message across.
• Speak from the heart and look into the camera.
• If you’re camera-shy, you can still have a great video using still photos, background music and voice-over.

Make the decision now to take a hard look at your Web site, your Facebook activity and using video in your business for the New Year. You can’t expect to have different results without trying something new! Standing out from crowd can be as easy as 1, 2, 3, and starting with these three steps will have you well on your way.

Courtesy of Women’s Council of Realtors’ eConnect January 2011 edition