One thing a real estate agent loves more than anything is someone who is eager to sell. It makes his job so much easier if his lead turns out to be ‘hot’. So what are some of the keys to finding the eager to sell person? Very often it depends on what is going on in their life.

If a person cannot afford his repayment and the bank is about to foreclose, then he will be eager to sell quickly. This is because if he can sell up before the bank forecloses, he will be able to pay off his debts and so his credit history will remain good. Liquidating his assets means that he can stay afloat. Then in the future when things are better for him financially, his ability to get a loan will not be impaired.

When people get divorced, they need to sell their house to split up their assets evenly. These people incur large legal fees and so are anxious to sell quickly to pay their bills. Emotionally they want the deal to be done quickly so that they can achieve distance from their pain and each other and start afresh. When you offer to help them sell, you are doing them a favor.

A death in the family may precipitate the decision to sell up and move away from painful memories. In such a case the person will be eager to sell quickly. You are helping them to achieve their goals of starting a new life. They will appreciate a courteous and sympathetic approach that you must never fail to give it to them.

Another way to find an eager seller is when you see a property that is in really bad repair. It has broken windows, peeling paint and is generally seedy-looking. This is likely to mean that the owners cannot afford its upkeep and may even have been served a Notice to Condemn. They will certainly be eager to sell their house and you may be able to either fix it up and sell it, or flip it to another investor who does that sort of thing.

So where do you find these people who are in trouble and need your help? Yes, word of mouth plays a small part and once you are in the real estate world that will come to you. But there is a surer way.
The local office of the County Recorders is where you should begin your research.

Here you will find posted the Notice of Default, given when people have not been able to keep up with their mortgage repayments; the Notice of Divorce and the Delinquent Property Tax Notice.

Tags: Email Lead Generation, Finding Real Estate Seller

Leads are crucial to successful real estate agents because a percentage of your leads will convert to customers who are eager to buy or sell. Without customers the agent has no business. If you have no leads, life becomes exhausting and business unappealing. One of the primary tasks for a real estate agent is to generate leads.

With no leads you will need to spend all weekend sitting around open homes in an effort to attract a customer. You will spend heaps of time cold calling, which will irritate the recipients of the calls and make you suffer from a feeling of rejection when they hang up on you. Worse still, you may have to continually ask your friends and family for some leads or referrals.

Leads may be generated online if you have a website. Make full use of technology by looking into lead generating software. You can buy software like The Silent Salesperson that will help you create your own personalized CD-ROM. It is inter-active too, so that a relationship can be established between you and your qualified lead - which will soon be your customer.

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Written in easy-to-understand language, this book Real Estate Investor, demystifies the legal and tax aspects of investing with easy-to-follow, real-life examples.

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People love technology; they will be much more likely to play a free CD-ROM than read an advertising brochure. Handing or mailing people a CD-ROM tells them that you are right up there amongst the most pro-active real estate agents. You’ll get a tsunami of qualified leads swamping your email box.

Of course finding the leads is not the only problem. You may get tons of leads from various places - you can even buy lists of them - but it is what you do with the leads that is ultimately the most important thing. Leads must be converted into paying customers. A lead-tracking inventory system is a good idea for organizing all the leads you get. No point in getting leads if you lose them or fail to follow them up because you lost the contact details, or thought they were too cold to bother with.

If they are cold leads then you can warm them up by sending out the right emails, postcards or whatever else you like to use, to them. You need to make them familiar with you, your services and the fact that you know what their problems are and can handle them. Once they begin to associate you with what they need and feel that maybe you can help them specifically, then they become warm leads who are likely to respond to you in a positive way.

Tags: Real Estate Leads, Real Estate business, Real Estate prospecting

What is the quickest way to waste money in real estate? Market to an area that is too wide and diverse. Just imagine all those pamphlets and flyers going out to thousands of people who are not interested in them. You may as well throw your money in the trashcan. That’s where your carefully thought-up marketing campaigns are going. So what to do? Choose a niche.

There are so many niche markets to choose from that it would be impossible to have enough agents to cover them. Conversely, there are millions of realtors who are all vying for a big piece of the bigger pie. You can choose your niche in many ways. Geographically may be the easiest, then you would probably choose an area that is close to where you live. Makes sense to cut down on traveling costs.

Or you may choose an ethnic group, especially if you are fluent in another language. You may decide that you love vacation homes, the elderly, or the world of business people. These are all legitimate niche groups. Many are sure to be under-served by a realtor. They may get some of those many generic brochures, but since they are so generic and offer nothing of value, out they go.

Once you get to know the neighborhood that you’ve chosen for your niche, you will be able to target its specific problems and perceived needs. Once the people suddenly realize that here is someone who knows about them, how they feel and what they need, guess whom they will be contacting when they need a realtor? Your brochures will end up stuck on their refrigerators with magnets. Hey, you could always stick the magnet on the back yourself.

So do you have marketing dollars to throw away, or will you choose a niche market and become a big fish in a little pond. You need to serve up quality information with a frequency that will keep your name in the minds of your target niche. It’s impossible to do this with a huge area. There is no way anyone person could get to know the specifics of a whole city - or even half of it. Most agents like to target an area of somewhere between 500 to 1000 homes.

Doing this will eliminate most of your competition. You can be the expert - and will be - on your area. You’ll enjoy it so much because you are working within the area of your interests. And you’ll soon be so familiar with it that other realtors will begin to ask you for advice.

Tags: Niche Marketing, Real Estate Leads, Successful Marketing

It’s official; real estate agents really do need an Internet presence. Why? Official reports declare that these days people interested in buying a home look for it on the Internet before they have even contacted an agent. They go to the Internet before opening a newspaper, especially if they want to buy in a different region. Have you ever tired to get newspapers from other regions? And if they want to sell their home, they tend to put it into an MLS because they want to save paying the agents fees. So if you want to be where the action is, you need to be on the Internet.

It’s not only the popularity of the Internet that should make it attractive to an agent. If used properly, the Internet with all its attendant features like email, sign up forms, auto responders and newsletters, will cut your advertising costs dramatically. Spend a few minutes to add up your postage costs for all those fancy flyers you just sent out. Then compare it with the cost of sending via email. And what about the printing costs in the first place? You can design and send ads via the Internet without using all that paper. Half the time it just gets thrown in the trash anyway. And if the email gets deleted, at least it hasn’t cost you money.

Another reason for an Internet presence is that it will save you time. You can set those emails to go out at regular intervals - daily, weekly, or whatever you desire. This all happens while you are doing other important things. Time is money, so why not automate as much as possible in your hectic schedule?

If you are working for yourself, you may find having an Internet presence means that you have no need to maintain an office. Think of the overheads you’ll save if you simply have a smaller office at your home and let your website be your showcase. If you are just starting up, this could be the way to go. It is possible to reach a much broader area from the Internet than it is from your downtown office. Think of your website in the same manner as you do your mobile phone; indispensable.

People expect you to have a website these days. It is now considered old-fashioned not to. A web site can be generating new leads for you, while you are out on the job chasing up leads from yesterday. It’s like having a partner - one that never sleeps and you don’t have to pay a wage to.

Tags: Real Estate business

Once you’ve decided to utilize technology to help your business succeed, you’ll want to make sure you don’t get into trouble with complaints of sending Spam. Spam is an email that you didn’t want, didn’t ask for and have no interest in, sent by someone you don’t know or maybe know but dislike. It could even be sent by someone you do like, but you still didn’t want the darn thing clogging up your email inbox. In other words, it’s being pestered with ads without permission. And it’s illegal.

You don’t want people to complain you sent them Spam, because it will ruin your reputation and have a negative impact on your business. So how do you avoid it? Firstly think of the customers you will be emailing. Are they from a purchased list? If so they are considered ‘cold’, that is they don’t know you, so why would they care to receive email from you? Do they even have an email address? If they do, you might want to send them a postcard alerting them that they will soon be receiving an email from you and why.

If they are from your demographic location, they could be considered ‘warm’. Obviously this is better than cold. But the rules as per CAN-SPAM, still have to be observed. Unless you provide an opt-out form you are operating outside the rules. You also need to provide an opt-in link - that is, for email or newsletter requests from your website.

You’ve probably received them yourself. You want a newsletter from an interesting website so you sign up and give your name and email address, then you get a page that tell you to click on the link that they’ve sent to your email address. This ensures that you are a real person and that you have given your permission for them to send further email. But don’t use your company email provider for an email marketing campaign. It is not built to send too many emails at once and you could crash the server.

You also need to craft your email carefully to avoid Spam filters. Some words shriek SPAM! Words like free, special offer, new and exciting and lots of exclamation points. Always strive to look and sound professional in your email. Sure, you can write in a bright and breezy style, but remain professional in what you say. You wouldn’t turn up at the office in a bikini, would you?

Tags: Avoid Spam

Email plays an important part in every business these days. It is quick, easy and cost effective. You can automate the process many times. But if you want to achieve a specific result, then you need to have a specific script in your emails. Before you can know what you need to say, you need to work on knowing your customer. This includes knowing what their pain is likely to be, so you can supply the answer to it and thus eliminate their pain or problem

For instance, they may need to sell their house and everyone knows it’s a buyers market. If you craft your email to address this problem specifically, including what to do about it, your prospect will almost jump through the computer to get your help.

Some points for an attention-grabbing email script are: -

• Introduce yourself immediately. Be courteous.
• Be succinct. Get to the point without rambling on about things that are not relevant.
• Set yourself up as the expert. To do this, immediately state the problem your client may have and your solution to it. “We know it’s a buyers market, but we still have satisfied customers….”
• Be creative and different to the rest, but don’t detract from your main message with frivolous graphics or icons. They will seem unprofessional.
• Include a call to action. “Phone me right now on (phone number) for an appointment.” Is better than, “I’m here when you need help.” Which suggests they can defer any action to a latter date.
• Use language that is definite, like … “We specialize in….”
• Name drop. Rather than bragging, simply state that you were able to help customer XX with their problem. This will help them to feel they can trust you.
• Use the correct jargon for the industry or you won’t seem like the expert you claim to be.
• Sell the appointment for further discussion, rather than the product - or in this case, the service. You can’t do that in the limitations of an email.
• Be bold and specific. Rather than ask when would be a good time for an appointment, ask: “Is 11 a.m. this Wednesday convenient or would next Wednesday be better?”

Email is one of the easiest ways in which to keep in contact with your prospective leads or customers. You can make the task much simpler with auto responder software. Some allow you a free trial or $1 for the first month, so it is easy to choose the right one for your needs.

If you want to learn more about email prospecting I recommend WTpower

Tags: Email Scriprs for Prospecting

A big part of a realtor’s business is done on the telephone. If you are not used to making phone calls, some scripts could be useful, but practice them with a colleague or someone else so that they will sound natural.

One thing about using scripts is that you can never be quite sure what the other person is going to say, so you can’t go by a script completely. Cold calling is not easy and it does help if you have some idea of what you are going to say before you start. Always start by introducing yourself and the business you work for, first off.

• Keep it informal. A bright, casual approach is best. Speak as if you are talking to an acquaintance. Use their name if you know it.
• Be courteous. There is never any excuse for rudeness - not even if they are. Some people may be rude if you catch them at a bad time. Forgive them mentally and move on.
• Never ask how they are; this gives them a chance to say they are too busy to talk.
• Get to the point quickly. No one wants to chat about the weather with a perfect stranger.
• Sound positive and optimistic; it’s catching.
• Never sound apologetic. It has a negative connotation.
• Use a touch of humor where possible. People like to laugh and it disarms them.
• Be professional and never say anything that could be construed as sexual harassment.
• Make sure their number is not in the DO Not Phone list, or you could be in for a hefty fine.

Scripts are available for purchase online, or you can make your own up, depending on what you want to happen. For instance, if you want to find out who is likely to be selling their house in the neighborhood you could say something like: -

“Hi, I’m Jack Sprat with Lean’s Real Estate. Who do you know that is thinking of selling at this time?”

If they don’t answer for a moment, they may be thinking, so don’t interrupt with more chat. Wait until they answer.

If you ask, “Do you know of anyone who wants to sell their house?” that makes it too easy for the person to simply say, No, and hang up. By saying “Who do you know…?” you are actually prompting their thought processes to think who they might know rather than give a yes/no answer.

If you are simply trying to get your name out there, you could ask: - “Who handles your real estate needs?” As against, “Do you have any real estate needs.” - again, this type of question makes it too easy to answer No, and hang up.

From there it is a simple thing to ask if you could put their name on your company’s mailing list. You do have a monthly newsletter going out, don’t you?

Tags: Telephone Scripts

Once you’ve gone to the trouble and expense of a marketing campaign, you’d hate to find out that you’ve made a mistake that is costing you in terms of leads, not to mention advertising dollars. So what are some of the things you need to avoid?

One main mistake is to do the same as everyone else is doing. You look at the competition and think they seem to be successful, so you copy them. Big mistake! There are many realtors out there. They all want to buy and sell property. If all but one look and sound the same …and that one is you, guess who the customer is going to notice? So dare to be different, stand out from the crowd and give the customer value by addressing their problems, not just trying to sell yourself.

And that is another mistake that you need to avoid; telling the customer how clever you are at selling property. Certainly, you need to be clever, but you don’t need to tell them. Show; don’t tell is an adage for authors that is also pertinent for realtors. Showing the customer how you deal with a problem, letting them see you in action is far better than umpteen brochures declaring how smart, clever and quick you are.

Another mistake that realtors can make is to depend on one or two forms of advertising at the expense of others. Use all the technology that you can get. Most people who want to buy a home now search on the Internet as a priority; they don’t read the newspapers first. Sure, it takes time and effort to get a website up and running - and to maintain it, but many tasks can be automated these days. Why leave a gold card on the table?

Only half using technology. If you need training, go get it. The frustration of trying to do something that you are not sure how to do may give you - or your boss, an ulcer. Besides, if you train to do it properly, you’ll save time and money and your boss will love you for it. He might even pay for the training.

You have designed a great poster advertising everything in just the right way and it’s even got your phone number on it. But no mention of your website address. Research shows that people remember names far more easily than numbers. Names mean something to them. If you have a website, you should certainly have the address on all your advertising.

Another mistake is to be inconsistent. You don’t follow up a lead because you had a lot of rejection that day and this will be the same. Know that feeling? Stay positive; on the law of averages, it should turn out to be a gold nugget.

Tags: Marketing Mistakes

It is important to keep track of your CRM in any business. In real estate - as with any business - the customer is of prime importance. No customer will want to deal with someone who constantly forgets his needs, appointments, or anything else about him. That will make him feel of no importance. And when you have lots of customers, you will find it impossible to keep all their details in your head.

You can transfer the details to a notebook, of course. Then you end up running out of space on that page, so you have to continue on another page that is further along because the next one is filled with details about another customer. So in the end your notebook is a scribbled mess that no one can understand - not even you. You lose phone numbers, miss appointments and forget the details of the sale; not good for business.

There is a much better way and the name of it is software. Today, there are many CRM software applications that are suitable for either large or small business. They make keeping track of all those details an absolute breeze. It’s like having a robotic secretary that never forgets a thing and never forgets to remind you about it. Forget the inefficiency of paper and go to technology for your needs.

Already got it? It’s that thing on the computer that is used for a calendar or phone book. Then learn to use it in the way that it should be used. CRM software is a powerful tool if used properly. You can keep and update the entire history of a customer or a lead. It’s right there in front of you with the click of your mouse. You’ll never be so organized. You can create reminders about deadlines and when you need to make that important phone call. These will pop up automatically, then with the click of your mouse, you can open up all the pertinent information about that client or lead.

You can send an email to the customer with another click. Or get this: you can click on the phone icon and the customer’s number will be dialed automatically. The time of the phone call will be logged automatically. The software automatically keeps a record of the email and orders and the times they were sent. What else can it do? You can print mailing labels, log faxes and keep simple records. How good is that?

Pricey? Buy the one that is suitable for your needs. You’ll save money by freeing up your time to be used elsewhere.

Tags: Track CRM

Your real estate business will only be as successful as your marketing campaign; therefore it is essential to get your marketing campaign right. No matter what you use for a marketing vehicle you must constantly test, analyze and tweak to see which part brought in good or bad results. Once you know this you’ll be able to decide if it can be improved - or if it should be dispensed with.

Six important elements of your marketing campaign are: -

• Marketing purpose
• Marketing objectives
• Presentation
• Information
• Venue and
• Expectations


Marketing purpose seems to be obvious. You want to get leads to buy and sell property so you can make a profit. But wait! If your goal is to have happy and satisfied customers, you will still achieve the first goal - and probably do so more quickly. So your marketing purpose is actually to establish an emotional relationship with the customer based on your brand or service; this includes trust and respect.

Marketing objectives. The main objective here is to get your name out there where people can recognize it, draw their attention to your product or service and let them know how it will improve their life. You also have to give them the opportunity to purchase the service.

Presentation: Use everything at your disposal to achieve a meaningful and stimulating presentation. New technology is wonderful for this, but don’t forget the tried and true methods of advertising, brochures, postcards, newsletters and the like.

Information. The customer needs to be instructed, informed, involved and entertained. The last will enhance the first three objectives. High-pressure selling or hype of any kind will turn your prospective customers away in droves. They have seen enough of it and are cynical. Humor will make them laugh - and keep reading.

Venue encompasses presentation but is more, in that it includes where your presentation will take place; websites, shop windows, newspapers, magazines, television and radio. Make use of them all.

Expectations: yours, your manager’s and your customers. To start with, what are your own expectations? You will want a good ROI, but Rome wasn’t built in a day and you can’t expect to be an overnight success. It takes time to build good presence, gain trust and respect and get your campaign going. Your manager will be pleased to see the leads roll in, but he doesn’t expect you to be superman - at least not all the time. It bears repeating; your customer is the most important part of the equation. Once you get happy customers everything else will start to fall into place. If you don’t you’d better get out there and start analyzing and tweaking your campaign to see what’s missing.

Tags: Successful Marketing

Having a presence in your community is an important part of being able to generate leads. Why? Because if you are a respected member of your community, i.e. you have ‘presence,’ then trust is established and people feel that they will not be ripped off when they deal with you. This is so necessary for a real estate business because that is recognized as one place where sharks abound. So how do you get presence in a community, establish trust and make a successful business?

One important way is to join clubs and organizations. Lions Club, Rotary Club are often featured in the local paper for the good work they do. If you also become the treasurer or secretary of the club, your picture will be in there along with the article. This will make your face known and you will gradually establish a presence. People will associate you with that club and good work and so you will become a trusted member of the community.

It need not be even as formal as the two clubs mentioned. You could simply attend the PTA meetings of your children’s schools. You could be an active member of your church or play golf on Saturdays. Wherever members of a community gather to conduct any type of pursuit, from schools to recreational clubs, is a good place for you to establish a presence. But you must actually make people notice you, don’t just be a wallflower.

A realtor whose face and reputation is known will often have people call him or her when buying or selling is being contemplated. These are known as hot leads and realtors are extremely happy to have as many as possible. There are other creative ways to establish a community presence.

You could write letters to the editor of your local paper on a whole range of issues, not just real estate. People read it and begin to know what sort of person you are, what you feel passionate about and what makes you tick. You could also establish a real estate newsletter for the local paper if you wanted to. But don’t just do one thing, more than that is necessary to establish presence.

You can do a similar thing with your blog, but there, people have to be motivated to look it up, while with a newspaper, they read it for other reasons than real estate dealings. You can write newsletters to be delivered around town, or placed into various places of business that attract good crowds.

Networking is a beneficial practice in many businesses, but in real estate, he who networks gets more leads. What is networking? Basically it is getting together with a bunch of like-minded people and talking about what you are most interested in. In the case of real estate, that is generating leads.

Of course you don’t just talk about it, you try to help others and they try to help you. Imagine if you know of a family who is moving to Los Angeles and they are looking for a particular type of house. You don’t know that area very well so have been unable to help them. But during your networking you meet a real estate dealer who mentions that he has just such a house to sell. Bingo! You can furnish his name and contact details to your customer and everyone is helped.

You might say this has not helped you much; the other chap got the sale and the commission and you didn’t. But remember, you have to pay it forward to get help. This means you do a good turn to get one back. In a few weeks your friendly real estate dealer will find that someone from his area is moving to yours. He remembers your name because you helped him. So he contacts you and alerts you to the opportunity coming your way. Or he may give your contact details to the person moving.

In fact he is so happy you helped him that he gives your name to several other people he knows who just might need your assistance. Sound good? Where can you find these social networking places?

There are many formal ways of social networking. Internet has many social networking websites; ActiveRain is one of them. Join a number of National Realtor groups. Talk in forums about real estate. Having your own website and blog helps too.

Social networking can also be informal. It can be as simple as a coffee with a couple of friends or working out at the gym - and chatting to the guy next to you. It can be popping in to that happy customer you closed the deal with last week and asking if he knows of anyone else needing your services.

There are many creative ways in which social networking can take place. In fact, if you have a website, you could even have a speaking character to talk about your business. Then it would be helping you in the social networking scene.

Tags: Networking for Leads

We know a website is important in lead generation and we know that you must have an email form on the website, but how can we generate leads for that ‘niche’ group? You may have heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). If not, don’t panic; it’s the way to get leads for a specific group of people or even an area, and it’s all quite simple.

When you have a website or a blogspot you write on it what people want to know - and also what you want people to know. So if they want to know where the best available homes for a certain area are, or whether there is a home for sale near a certain area, you can tell them - after they give you their email address. But you need to write your website page or blog especially with your niche group in mind.

For instance, there’s a new housing estate going up in your area, with great schools and sporting facilities nearby. It would be ideal for people with young families, so this is the niche group you want to attract. Start your new blogging entry with plenty of reference to homes near schools, homes for young families and parents with young children. Add as many synonyms as you can think of; don’t do this at random - the sentences still have to make sense. Likewise, if your niche area is a locality, then you need to mention the name plenty of times in your blog. Why?

Search Engines love specific website pages. For search engines to ‘recognize’ your page, you need to have plenty of relevant keywords. When people type “home near school” into their search bar, your page will pop up in the top ten list - on the first search page. So your website will be ranked higher and be more likely to have that specific group come to it.

Mass mailings are all very well, but bring in less targeted leads. Generating leads for a niche group will cut your marketing costs. You will be able to design promotions that specifically target your group. There will be less of them but they will be more likely to need what you offer. You will close more deals with a niche group because your advertising will be more focused on what people want, rather than what you have to sell them and what a good deal you can get them.

By targeting a niche group, you’ll cut out much of your competition, and you’ll stand out from the crowd.

Tags: Niche Leads

You may think that if you send out enough emails to people who may be thinking of selling property, that you will get some good leads. It sure beats cold calling on the telephone, right? You may get the odd lead by doing this, but don’t count on it. There is a better way.

You need to have a website dedicated to your realtor business, even if you work for someone else. People who view real estate websites do so because they are interested in buying or selling, so the visitor is already a warm lead. But you need more than just a website; you need an email sign-up mechanism - on every page.

You also need to have a Web analytics program so you can see which pages are useful and which have a high abandon rate - and what to do about it. People come to your website to get specific information. They will happily part with their email address to get it. But the email form needs to be above the fold of your page, because a lot of people don’t bother scrolling. You want their email address so that you can implement a deeper relationship with them. If they recognize your name on the email that you then send them, they won’t be so likely to delete it as Spam.

Don’t ask for too much information for the sign-up. This will create a barrier and the person may leave without giving you the information you need. Keep all your sign-in forms the same, otherwise people may be confused and think it is something different. Keep any questions relevant to the topic of real estate.

Allow your prospective customers to dictate the terms of the relationship. If they can choose whether they want to be contacted by phone, email or just receive the newsletter, they’ll feel more in control. No one wants to be hassled with a phone call, unless they say so. An email suggesting they give you a suitable time for a phone call can be an effective way of disarming people who may initially be resistant

Use an automated email service to get your products or service out there. You need to have a clear call to action and your contact details. A sequence of five or so weekly emails will make prospective customers more familiar with your name and so more likely to contact you when and if they need your services.

Tags: Email Lead Generation

It is important to have a good reputation when working in real estate, just as it is in any other business. The main way someone’s reputation becomes widely known is by word of mouth. People meet people and talk about their dealings and doings. They talk about the people they like and the people they don’t like. And if someone rips them off, they talk about that more than anything. So you can build a word-of-mouth reputation that is either good or bad; it’s your choice.

If you want a good reputation, it is important to be totally fair and honest in all your dealings. You may be desperate to sell a house to those people, but if you are going to tell them that the jet tub is a Jacuzzi and the floors under the carpets are made of expensive timber, and you are really not sure if this is true, then don’t say it. There will come a time that they will find out the truth for themselves and then they will remember you lied. So your reputation will soon be in tatters. And don’t think they won’t say anything. People love to gossip about others - especially if they’ve ‘done wrong’.

Honesty is the best policy when trying to build a good reputation. Don’t gloss over the obvious bad points of a house, but point out what can be done about them, and how much it’s likely to cost. You could mention that the cost of the house reflects what repairs are needed - if this is so. No house will be perfect, but if you stay positive and optimistic, your attitude will go a long way to minimize the bad points. And there will always be good points to balance them.

Another way to build your reputation by word-of-mouth, is to become known in your community in other ways. You can choose an organization to join that helps the community in some specific way that is unrelated to real estate. This will give you a wider people base to interact with. If it is a high-profile organization, so much the better. Just be sure its reputation is good, or it could have the opposite effect of what you are trying to achieve.

Always pay attention to the way you communicate with your clients. Many complain that they can’t access their real estate agent, but in some cases this may be because you don’t communicate with them in their preferred way, so they feel you can’t be bothered with them. They may prefer a phone call to an email, so if you know that an email is the best way for them to receive complicated information - they can print it out or keep it to refer back to - a phone call to let them know you are sending it will go a long way towards making them feel that you have their best interests at heart. If you keep your customers happy, they will soon build up your reputation in a positive way.

Tags: Reputation in Real Estate

A hot lead in real estate is one that is likely to generate a transaction between the real estate dealer and the customer. In other words, the customer is willing and eager to talk about the business of buying or selling a property or piece of land. Hot leads make the real estate dealer’s task much easier. He is able to provide the expertise needed to either find the property or home the buyer is in need of or to put into action the selling plan that is best for the property under consideration.

A cold lead is one where the real estate dealer phones the person concerned without really knowing if he is in the market for buying or selling. Just imagine if someone you didn’t know rang you out of the blue and asked to sell your property for you. You’d feel like being rather rude to him, especially if you had no intention of selling.

Following up a cold lead is not a good idea for any real estate dealer. For starters, no one likes to put themselves into a place where they could be abused. They will feel upset and rejected and their business will suffer as a result. Not only is there an emotional upset, but they have spent a great deal of time with nothing to show for it. That’s not good sense in any business.

Another consideration is that they will be likely to get a bad reputation rather than a good one. People will wonder why they are being hounded about buying or selling. They will remember the name because they dislike it and if the time comes when they must sell or buy something, they’ll be more likely to contact the competition.

How much better it would be to at least warm up some of those cold leads before picking up the phone. Good real estate dealers will do this by making themselves known in a variety of ways. Advertising brochures delivered around the community where they work is one way. These should be written in a friendly and personal manner. Remember, you need to gain trust and sell yourself as well as your business.

For this reason it’s a good idea to use graphics of your family and pets it you have any. Certainly you should have a photo of yourself on any advertising; that way people will recognize you should they see you in the street. They will feel that they know you a little bit and so you become a friendly acquaintance to them instead of someone to be avoided.

The Multiple Listing Service or MLS is a marketing database set up by real estate agents - usually a group who agree to co-operate. It contains information that is accurate and up-to-date about properties that are available for sale. Each MLS must have rules and regulations for ease of use and these vary, depending on whose MLS it is. Frequently the rules are similar to those established by the National Association of Realtors.

Who uses the MLS? Both listing brokers and buying brokers use it to great advantage. Since it is available to many more brokers and thus covers a larger area, the buying broker may find in it just what he needs for his customer. The broker who listed the property then offers him compensation.

While realtors primarily use these databases, owners who wish to sell their homes privately (that is, without using the services of a realtor) may also list them on the MLS. This is where it is possible for the realtor to get good real estate leads. You know this person is selling their house, so they must soon need a place to live, whether it is rental accommodation or whether they intend to purchase another home.

While they may have intended to do all the hard yards in selling and buying, they can easily find that the task is too much for them. If you have put your name and contact details in front of them, you will be the first person they contact for help.

The leads you get from MLS can be considered hot leads, since the person is definitely selling or buying, or both. The MLS can be used from both buying and selling perspectives. You may have a customer who wants a certain type of home that you’ve looked everywhere for and just cannot find. Everything you offer him or her seems unsuitable for some reason. Then you come across just the thing on the MLS.

Even though the seller intended to sell privately, he will accept your offer for the speed with which it came up and he is still in pocket, since it doesn’t cost him as much to sell through the MLS. You still get a small fee; your customer is happy enough to give you a referral and very likely so is the person who is selling. So there are three happy people doing business quickly and easily through the MLS.

Tags: Real Estate Leads, Use MLS

The referral is an important part of growing your business. Referrals generate hot leads, a vital part of any business. When thinking in terms of referrals, we should ask ourselves not just how, but who, what, when and why.

Who - refers to the person we ask for the referral. He or she will likely be a customer who is so happy with his purchase that he will be delighted to help in any way he can. He will think of all his friends and acquaintances that might require similar services. And hopefully he will give us their names and phone numbers. So the who is really more than one person. It is your satisfied customer, and your prospective customers who we hope will be equally satisfied and give referrals in their turn.

What - is the referral itself. Is it to be a name and phone number given you on a scrap of paper, or a glowing testimonial about you to their friends? Why not make it work both ways? Both are worth gold. In fact your satisfied customer will be sure to pass on the news of his delight with you and your service. A little hint from you can make this happen more quickly. You could even have a quick questionnaire ready for him to fill out and sign. Then you could include it when sending a brochure to his friend.

When - is an important part of the equation. Some experts feel that straight after the deal is closed is the best time to ask for a referral. Others declare it should be a few weeks later, after your customer has had time to enjoy his new purchase. Still others would like it to be in the middle of all the excitement of buying or when you are getting positive feedback. One thing is for sure; never ask for a referral when the customer is obviously unhappy about something. Fix that problem first.

Why - are referrals so important? It’s because they generate trust. You would be more likely to go to a doctor recommended by a friend, than one whose name you picked out of the yellow pages. When you need a specialist, your doctor will give you a referral to one. That’s because he knows who is right for your problem. Similarly, a person giving a referral does so because he is convinced you are right for the job or service that his friend requires.

That brings us back to how. Always be courteous, pick the right time and place. And don’t forget that asking for a referral is all part of the business. You needn’t grovel. You are offering your expertise to your customer’s friends. This will help them to get what they want and become happy customers in their turn.

Tags: Ask For a Referral

Every business should have a plan and every part of a business should have a plan. In real estate, you need to create a prospecting action plan to have a successful business. Your plan should be aimed at generating hot leads, warming cold leads and dealing with leads in a manner that is satisfactory to the business and the customer.

Use everything that is available to you in generating your leads. The wider the net, the more fish it will catch. You have the power of the Internet at your disposal, so create a website and experts predict that 89% or new prospects will look at it. Also use advertising brochures, ads in the local paper, snail mail, email and telephone to get your name out there and make it familiar to all and sundry.

Do your market research. Keep in touch with what’s happening in real estate, both in your local area and countrywide. Know the areas where there are good schools and sporting amenities that young families would like to move into. Retirees will prefer good health care amenities, ease of access to activities and fewer steps in their home. Find out what is available and who wants it.

Work to improve your skills. No use generating hot leads if you lack the expertise to see when it’s time to close the deal. Learning how to read body language could be an asset. Cultivate your phone manner. If you sound brusque and less than friendly over the phone people will be put off.

Never hesitate to get professional help in any area of your business. Professionals are there to help you succeed in your business. They can see clearly what area needs to be strengthened, whereas you may be too close - or too busy - to realize it. Certain behaviors or strategies could be costing you time and money without you being aware of it.

Always analyze what you have done to see whether your strategy is succeeding or can be improved in any way. Remember if you are totally focused on your customer and how to help them best, then this will go a long way towards your success.

Learn to prioritize. This may come naturally to some people, but not to others. If you have appointments that must be kept, don’t get sidetracked into doing something else that will make you late. Being late makes people feel that you don’t care about them or the deal, so you will lose customers.

Tags: Prospecting Action Plan

There are several ways in which you can add value to your real estate services. You just need to think outside the box to see if you can come up with some that are right for you. Why would you want to add value? It will give you the edge over your competitors. It will make your advertising stand out and will cause hot prospects to phone you first.

One realtor bought a removals van and offered its use free to any who used his services - so long as they were not moving too far away. Who wouldn’t choose him to deal with if it saved them the hassle of lining up a removals van on the day they wanted? He got free advertising too, because he had his own ads on the side of the van. If buying one doesn’t appeal to you, work with one or more you can trust in the area and you’ll be able to supply your customer with the details.

Another way to add value to your services is to have contacts with a financial lending institution - or several. You can then advise your customer where to go for a loan if they need one. If you have names and contact details to pass over, it will save them the worry of finding someone suitable to their needs. Some people get so stressed with all the problems of moving that they will really appreciate all the help you can give them. If you have a good working knowledge of the different types of loans available and can advise your customers of what might suit them, this will add a great deal of value to your services.

If they need to rent for a short time in between selling and buying, you could have a list of homes ready for them to look over. If they are leaving the district in which you work, having the information on hand for their destination area will certainly be appreciated. This is where networking comes into its own. You may have a real estate friend in that area. Even if you can give them a contact number it will help.

You could even source packing boxes for those who are moving, and business names and numbers for those moving into the area. A simple list of doctors, vets, lawyers and other businesses, addresses of schools, details of sporting facilities or anything else that will help them to settle will be appreciated and help people to remember your name.

Tags: Real Estate Sevices

CRM - customer relationship management - is basically a method of managing customers in a business. These days it is most often a software system with Internet capabilities bought by a business to help in keeping track of customers and all their needs in an efficient way. No business can thrive without the necessary customers, but once people become customers they need to be treated the right way so that they are satisfied and increase the business for you by word of mouth referrals.

Human beings forget things and make mistakes. When there are many people sharing the same information and it must be written up over and over again by different people, mistakes will be made. This causes confusion for the business and frustration for both business and customer. It very often leads to a deal being lost, all because the dealer was not properly informed of the customers needs and time schedule.

The right kind of CRM software will enable a small business to do more in a set time, thus increasing output. All facets of the business, from sales and marketing, to accounts and advertising, use it. It will help the marketing department identify and clarify their goals and objectives. Those people who are most likely to be the best customers are identified and targeted. All the information is sent to all departments in the business, saving time and mistakes.

A large business will become more streamlined in their existing processes, with improvements seen in accounts, telesales, sales and marketing to name just a few. All businesses large or small will benefit by being able to match their customer’s needs with the appropriate product or plan in a timely and hassle-free manner. Many happy customers mean thriving businesses.

If your business is considering CRM software, there are some pertinent questions they should ask. They need to know what kind of technical support is offered and what help in maximizing business result are offered. Finding out if communication will be proactive is imperative, while knowing all about updates, templates, forums and best practices will help to seamlessly integrate the software

Of course they also need to determine if the actual cost of the software is justified and which service provider they should use. A real estate business cannot function without customers. People talk about how they’ve been treated by a certain business. Other people ask who’s the best business to deal with. If your customer is a happy one, they will refer you. CRM will help you to keep your customers happy.

Tags: Generating Business

A skill that goes a long way towards ensuring the success of your real estate business is learning how to identify a hot prospect. That is, one who is well and truly ready and determined to buy or sell their property as quickly as possible. Someone who is eager to do all they can to help you in the deal and who must sell - or buy - no matter what the price it. Here are some tips to help you.

Some people put their homes on the market, but they don’t really want to sell immediately. So why would they list their homes when they are not ready to sell? They think that is a good way to ‘test the waters’ and see how much it will bring or how long it will take. They may know they have to sell by the end of the year, because that is when they move to a new job. But they don’t actually want to sell too soon, or they will have to rent for some months until they finish up where they are.

Rich Dad said, "Business and investing are team sports." --- Robert T. Kiyosaki, Author of The New York Times Bestsellers "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and "Rich Dad's" Series.

The ABC's of Real Estate Investing will help you:-

-Achieve wealth and cash flow through real estate.
-Overcome the myths that are holding your back.
-Find property with real profit potential.
-Evaluate a property and set your own purchase price.
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-Discover hidden profits in the properties you buy or own.
-Increase your income through proven property management techniques.

They may have talked about moving to a new location for a variety of reasons, but they want to be sure their house sells for enough to cover the cost of another one. So while they will sell at some time in the future, it’s not urgent; they are prepared to wait. Only by talking to your prospect and finding out about their goals and plans, can you identify the ones that are hot from those that are
lukewarm.

A hot prospect - one who is determined to sell as quickly as possible - will often quiz you about your selling strategies, your advertising campaigns etc. So if you find yourself on the wrong end of a third degree about the way you do things and your business in general, it’s all to the good. You can start to think this could be a hot prospect.

Of course, if you have the right software, that will also help you to identify a hot prospect. Anyone who fills in the forms, parts with their email address and requests more information or a newsletter, can be automatically flagged as a hot prospect. Their names and contact details go into the ‘hot’ section, ready to be dealt with by you as soon as possible. You are in charge of configuring your software to identify these hot prospects in the first place, so you know that they are ready to go.

Tags: Real Estate prospecting

Let’s face it; whatever can help your business along and give it a boost should be used. Most businesses are into public relations in some form or another. They want to look good to the public; have a good public image that will connect them to would-be customers in a positive way. Branding is just one part of PR.

If you think about it, you’ll recognize that big corporations and businesses do it all the time. They choose a face that becomes a front for the business. The person gets up front and personal with the general public in as many ways as they can. They give interviews on TV and for magazines about a variety of things, not just about their business. They are the ones who give out the cheques that are donated to charity. They are seen to look good and people then associate that with the company. Watch for it next time you are have the television on and see how they present themselves.

So can you do this with your business and will it help? Yes, to both. You may not be able to give large donations to charity, but you can do other charitable works. You may not get on national television, but you can get into your local newspaper. Remember, if you work for yourself, you are the public face of your business. What do you want the public to see?

It’s okay if they see you competing in your favorite sport - so long as you are a good sport. That will make you personal to them. It doesn’t even matter if you win or lose the competition. What you need to do is let people see that you have a heart. You care about things just like they do. You are passionate about things other than your work, just like they are. They will empathize with you when they see you are a ‘real’ human being, not just someone out to get as much money as they can.

It’s not all about how they see you, though ‘image’ and attractive packaging does play a big part in the process of showing your company to everyone in a positive manner. It’s more about an emotional connection between your service and your customer. A business is made up of people. They do things for and with other people. It’s the personal touch that matters in any business and that is what can help your business to the top - or send it crashing down.

Tags: Real Estate business

Firstly, what does a prospector think about? Gold, gold and more gold! He gets out on the site and looks at it critically to see where the best gold may be located. Everything he does is aimed towards getting this gold. While each task is special in itself, it is still aimed at the one end result; getting out the gold and making it useable. He digs, he carries and he patiently washes what he digs to separate the gold from the gravel.

So why should a real estate dealer think like this? He is not digging for gold, is he? Yes, in a manner of speaking, he is. Selling real estate is his gold. That is where he gets his profit. So everything he does should be aimed at generating leads.

He needs to get out on the site. Where is that? Wherever real estate deals may be had - wherever people are likely to be buying and selling their homes. Only the real estate dealer is not confined to just one site like the prospector may be. His area can encompass farmland, cities or rural villages.

He needs to carry. Carry what? Not loads of gravel, but information. The realtor needs to have all his information in a place where he can access it easily or he will lose some of his potential gold. He needs to know where a good lead might be, who is buying or selling, what the market is like and many other things.

Just as the prospector needs to pan, or wash the gold to separate it from the gravel, so the realtor must learn how to separate his information. There are leads that are likely to bring him a profit and leads that are not. Some of these leads may just need time to incubate; others may need action immediately to reap the reward. The real estate dealer needs to know which is which.

The real estate dealer needs to be just as patient as the prospector. Just as a prospector has to learn by trial and error where the best gold is, so there is an element of trial and error in the craft of knowing which leads are likely to bring profit and which are not. A prospector needs to carefully examine his haul so that small pieces of gold are not missed. So a real estate dealer needs to examine his leads carefully to see which ones are ready and whether he may have missed some.

Tags: Real Estate prospecting