Daniel Rothamel from RealEstateZebra.com joined us today to talk about the real estate marketing and how, for most real estate agents, the markets don’t suck! You may have to work a little bit SMARTER and DIFFERENTLY than you have in the past… but not necessarily any harder.
So many agents were spoiled from a market where they stuck a sign in the yard and had multiple agreements within 24 hours. While the marketing may not be “over cooked” any more, it is entirely possible to still make a high six figure income as a real estate agent in today’s market.
So What’s So Great About RealEstateZebra.com?
Great question! We wondered that too and decided to investigate. Here’s the scoop. As a real estate agent it is often hard to determine what the best use of your time with when it comes to technology. Daniel takes the time to talk on his blog about things like how to use video in your real estate blog effectively and controlling your online reputation. So why should YOU listen to HIM? Because he owns a successful real estate brokerage and know what he’s talking about… that’s why. 8 )
Great stuff Daniel! Sit back… this one’s a whopping 30 minutes… here you go.
Oh, by the way… it was Jonathan Bentz’s first time moderating… make sure you congratulate him here! By the way… GetMyHomesValue.com’s Mark Boyd and Marc Hargraves haven’t gone anywhere… this was just a “pet project” of Jonathan’s so we had him moderating… Mark and Marc (And maybe someone new even - wink wink) will be back soon!
OK… yeah… we’re excited! Every year, Rory, Steve and I grab the Inc 500 Magazine off the shelves and study the list of successfull companies and try and learn what we can do to grow at such a rapid rate.
I truly do not care what the “state of the market” is nor do I care what CNN dictates as a dismal future in the real estate market. What I do care about is the size of my Pipeline! I know that every day houses are being bought and sold!! I must get in contact with as many potential buyers and sellers as possible and putting them into my ProspectMaximizer (CRM) and following up with them through Phone Calls, Visits, Emails and Mailings until they buy, sell or refinance.
In this market I must be adding AT LEAST 4 new prospects to my pipeline for every 1 lost and making sure that they are followed up with automatically and physically so that I can guarantee my 4+ settlements every month. I must use Online Lead Generation as well as Traditional Methods of Lead Generation to ensure that I meet my goal of the biggest Pipeline around. I must tell myself that the only Bogus or Bad lead is the one I do not have and I will do everything in my power to get those leads into my pipeline. I will spend money on Increasing The Size of my Pipeline because I believe in my abilities to turn those leads into clients and then commissions. My pipeline can never be too big if I am using the proper CRM tool and I have the right team of people in place.
So please, do me a favor, make sure the size of your Pipeline measures up to the demands of your goals and your current market conditions so that you can have a long and happy real estate career.
In talking to a FSBO just yesterday, he was not so much intrigued by showing him how I was going to make him more money by going with me and paying my commission (although he was impressed) nor was I able to close him on the mere fact that listing his home with me will bring in better more qualified buyers. His eye brows raised and the head started to nod based on the fact that selling your home on your own and sticking that red and white FSBO sign in the yard opens the doors for anyone to stop by at any time.
He travels quite a bit for his job and his wife stays home with the kids who are both under 8 years of age. After that he told me they sold their Townhouse on their own a few years back without any problems and that is why they are doing it again. I proceeded to explain is it worth the safety of your family? That red and white sign in your front yard is typically an Open Invite to anyone driving by to stop in at anytime of the day and not only knock on your door, but walk around your house, peek in the windows and even bug your neighbors. A lot of these individuals have not even applied for a mortgage and truly have no interest in buying a home. In some cases you could be opening your doors to someone staking out your home for a future burglary. Is it worth it, I continued to ask?
When you list your home with a real estate professional you are automatically providing a much safer and secure means for marketing and selling your home. You will dramatically decrease the chance of drop-ins and nosy window peekers and you will more than not have pre-approved people going through your home.
I then asked, how much is all of that worth? I proceeded to answer it for him as he was truly speechless….It is priceless Mr. FSBO, absolutely priceless!!
We’ve established that blogs are a great way to keep your name and services in front of potential customers, but after you start a blog, how do you promote the fact that you have one?
There are a variety of websites out there with the specific purpose of promoting your blog. The best part is, the sites we link to below will promote your blog FOR FREE! All you have to do is tell these sites where to find your content by submitting a link to your blog, or your blog’s RSS feed, aka Real Simple Syndication. (For an explanation of RSS, check out this link from RSSPad)
Below is a list of our favorite blog networks, with examples of the type of FREE exposure they can provide your blog.
BlogCatalog proclaims itself to be the “blogger social network,” and submitting your blog into their free feed is actually part of the registration process (see a BlogCatalog page example).
Does anyone out there have any other sites to share with FREE blog syndication for real estate agents? Feel free to share in the comments and we will add them to our list.
So, we received an awesome piece of mail today! One of our companies, Get My Homes Value .com (Click here for the corporate site) is officially one of the fastest growing companies in the United States! It is really awesome when you try to build a great company from scratch… with no funding… and you have helped so many people that you grow to a level that is recognizable by a national magazine.
I did some math, and our gross sales growth was 775% from 2004 - 2007 (the stat used to calculate everything). The way that they chose the companies last year and will be doing this year is based on total percentage of gross sales growth (which for us is the 775% I just mentioned).
This being said… it would be KILLER if we made the Top 500 List… and our numbers look like we will… But we will have to wait until the inc.com goes live on August 20, 2008. If we do make the top 500, we will be featured in the September magazine.
We encourage agents all the time to use the promotional power of the internet to their advantage. But we can talk about it until we’re blue in the face – are there any agents out there actually doing it?
One agent in Kansas City is using a series of blogs for ALL THE RIGHT REASONS. Chris Lengquist of Keller Williams Realty, Diamond Partners, Inc., operates one of the best blogs a real estate agent can about Kansas City Real Estate Investing.
Dating back to January 2006, Chris has used his blog to cover real estate headlines in Kansas City and create conversation about the community. Nearly every one of his blog posts generates multiple comments from his readers, which Chris then uses to build social relationships. Like we’ve said in our Real Estate Followup Plan podcasts, you never know when a relationship is going to turn into a lead or referral. Even if the person you’re speaking to isn’t in the market to buy or sell, it doesn’t mean they don’t know someone who is.
In addition to using his blogs to build relationships and show off his expertise in KC real estate, Chris does an awesome job of allowing his readers to get to know him. Without spending much time on Chris’s blog, readers learn that he is a genuine family man who loves Kansas Jayhawks basketball. How many of your prospects know information like that about you after your first meeting?
Chris uses his blog as a tool for marketing and lead generation by positioning himself as an expert and letting readers to get to know him as a person. Because he is so easy to like after reading his blog, he makes his services easy to buy… and remember, people would much rather buy than be sold to.
If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it 1000 times - if you want to boost your real estate business, make sure you have a STRONG presence on the Internet. As much as old-school agents may want to deny it, the majority of your prospective clients are going online to get real estate information nowadays.
The question is, are they finding YOU when they do it? Or is it your competitor that catches their eye? Luckily, more and more agents ARE getting on the web and attempting to make themselves known on the ‘Net…but we’ve still got a ways to go.
We get it, you’re a real estate agent, not a web designer, nor an Internet marketer. But just because you don’t have experience with something, doesn’t mean you can’t learn, especially with all the resources on the web. We found a great online guide to real estate marketing made easy that is perfect for beginners or those slightly more advanced. Read over it, then compare your site to some of the common problems listed - if you do still have a ton of Internet marketing “no-nos” it’s time to make some changes.
Sorry people, as exciting as frames, moving text and ridiculously flashy graphics are, they’re just NOT user OR search engine friendly. And if you want to be adding hundreds or thousands of new leads to your pipeline year after year, you need to make sure it is!
Alrighty! Here we go with part of the the 14 day real estate follow up plan being discussed by the guys. If you haven’t already, check out Part One of the real estate lead follow up plan video.
It’s our first podcast on video… this is part one of three where Rory Wilfong, Steve Young, Dave Conklin, Marc Hargraves and Mark Boyd discuss ways that agents can successfully follow up with leads that are generated through online avenues, open houses, magazine ads and more.
So many agents were spoiled from a market where they stuck a sign in the yard and had multiple agreements within 24 hours. While the marketing may not be “over cooked” any more, it is entirely possible to still make a high six figure income as a real estate agent in today’s market.