Smart Phone to Video Tour 1-2-3

The first thing you want to do is set up a free account on the Posterous photo-blogging service (click here for a previous post about the use of Posterous and photo-blogging). This just takes a couple of minutes and only needs to be done once.  Now you are ready to create your video tours.  Here’s what you do:

1. Plan Your Walk-through – you want to keep your video tours short yet have great impact, this requires that you first think through what you are going to show and say as you show it.
2. Shoot the Video – use your smart phone to do this and try to keep your hand as steady as possible.
3. Post it Privately On Your Posterous Account – by sending your video to private@posterous.com Posterous will send you back a special link to your video up on your account site.  This is a private posting so only your prospect will be able to view it.

That’s it!  Now at this point you are probably wondering why I recommend that you keep this kind of tour private.  First of all, shooting it with your smart phone allows you to complete the process in about 2 minutes and you can highly personalize the video by talking directly to them.  This is incredibly powerful for relocating clients and prospects.  By definition you wouldn’t want this kind of video to be seen by just anybody.  You could certainly use your Posterous account to post publicly viewable videos as well.  However, I’d spend more time and hire a professional videographer if you are going to show these tours to the world.

The method described above is perfect for 1-on-1 communications with prospects or clients that appreciate seeing properties they simply don’t have the time (or capacity) to view in person.  It is free, fast, easy and will certainly set you apart from the crowd.

It’s so easy to get lost in “doing” when we are not sure of the reasons behind it.  Or worse, because it is what “everyone else is doing”.  And the very worst of all, because it fills the space of the moment, squeezing out any possibility of just “being”.

These were the questions and concerns that came up a couple of days ago during a recent meeting with a speakers mastermind group I belong to.  Just like you, to a person they felt overwhelmed by the process of keeping up with social networking even though they were not quite sure what it could do for them.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge proponent of social networking.  However it is just a tool.  One that you should be driving, rather than it driving you.  And, if you feel the need to be in sync all the time, perhaps it’s time to rethink your sync…

People who are way out of sync with the digital maelstrom of the moment aren’t always bad followers. They might be great leaders.

Seth Godin

If you are feeling overwhelmed trying to stay on top of social networking then a) it’s not working for you, you are working for it; and b) chances are the people you try to stay connected with are feeling the same.  As the powerful tool it certainly can be, you either learn to master it, or let it go. But never, ever let it (or any other tool) lord over you —that’s just plain foolish.

Music Travels Uphill Too

Long time Online Dominance students (and eTEAM members) Marie Sue Parsons and her daughter / partner Stephanie Young had a listing in the very exclusive “Riviera” section of Santa Barbara.  The only problem was (and it was a big one), it directly overlooked the famous outdoor Santa Barbara Bowl.  This is where some of the biggest musical acts in the entertainment industry come to our fair city and play under the stars.  However, as everyone knows, sound travels quite effectively uphill.  Anyone looking for a nice quiet neighborhood wouldn’t ever consider this property, despite its breathtaking views.

This is when Marie Sue and Stephanie started thinking out of the box, way out.  Understanding that if sound travels well uphill music will too, they decided to host an exclusive invitation-only open house during the evening that the Steve Miller Band and Stevie Nicks were performing.  They headlined it as the property that offered a free birds-eye view of every Bowl concert (which typically charges big $$ to attend).  Well, the response was incredible and the sellers thought Marie Sue and Stephanie were geniuses for coming up with the idea.

What’s so cool here is that they took the very reason why the average consumer might shun this house and turned it into a unique benefit that a certain segment would kill to have.  This is really smart marketing.  Kudos to Marie Sue (who I’ve known for over 30 years) and Stephanie!  CLICK HERE to see the write up they received in the local Santa Barbara press = great PR…

Focus, Focus, Focus

Mega-producers Noel & Lee Bittinger are members of my ULTRA eTEAM and decided to go after the more affluent listings in the Canton, MI area.  Only after months of planning and refinement did they even speak to a Web designer.  The extraordinary result is SellingCantonHomes.com.  It was the focus of a recent HOT SEAT session we did to evaluate its effectiveness and refine it even further.

The video below is a recording of that Webinar that shows you exactly what they did on the site and why it is such a powerful listing generating machine (be sure to watch it full screen!)

The site shows a lot of clever thinking and the application of rock-solid online business-generating principles.  Take some time to study this site, view its “irresistible offers”, read the copy to see how engaging it is and so on.  This goes so far beyond the typical “For Sellers” button or menu item on the typical agent Website —something potential sellers recognize instantly.

Websites are not just for buyers.  Literally half the market is being ignored online, until now…

How you answer this question is a measure of your professional depth and commitment.  Given that Kevin Tomlinson doesn’t even have to look at the Miami MLS to tell you which South Beach condos are for sale, under what terms and what unique features each offers speaks volumes about his depth.  One that his competitors can’t hope to match because they are far too busy trying to be everything to everyone.

The same with Linda Jefferson of GoArmyHomes.com who can give you every nuance of working with relocating army families.  Like it or not, real estate sales is no longer just about sales.  It is also very much a function of how well you serve and stand out from your competition as evidenced by your passion and depth of knowledge.  It doesn’t matter if your experience spans hundreds of square miles if it’s only one-inch deep.

This reminds me of something my Dad said something to me when I was in my teens that I’ll never forget…

There are those with years of experience and those with experience in their years.

Max O. Russer (Mr. Internet’s Dad)

Guess which one prospects will be attracted to and to whom clients will refer others.  If you call yourself a professional it is incumbent upon you to maintain and grow the depth of specialized experience and knowledge implied by that moniker.  Anything less is just posing.

Sure, an VA can help with file coordination, mailings and client correspondence, but can they really help you win over a listing appointment? You bet.

It is important to do your due diligence when looking for a virtual assistant. Choosing a qualified and talented team of virtual assistants will be the key!  If you have the right VA on your side, all you will need to do is tell them your goals, and they will take care of the rest.  In our experience as a Virtual Assistant Team, our clients often say, “I’d really like to stand out from my fellow agents in the area,” or “I’d really like to attract more high end sellers.”  

Over the years, we have developed thorough systems that we are ready to put to work for each client.

We’ve even put together comprehensive Marketing & Pre-Listing Presentations that can be customized to showcase your your marketing efforts:

If you know what you want but don’t know what you need to do to get there, a Virtual Assistant can help.  Your VA will make recommendations and come up with an effective marketing strategy, based on your unique needs.

What would you rather do for your next listing appointment: Bring out the same routine you’ve been giving to all prospects for the past years, or call your virtual assistants to prepare a marketing presentation outlining all of the benefits of choosing you to sell their home?  Pull out all the stops! Brochures, single property domains, virtual tours, targeted extensive online exposure, even highly targeted advertising on Facebook.

The best part is, your time can be spent booking your next listing appointment while your VA rolls up their sleeves and delivers on your promises. Rest assured, your VA will implement all of the marketing efforts after you win over the listing.

You CAN have the confidence to promise a quick turnaround and professional marketing pieces. What are you waiting for?

Carrie Gable and the team at RealSupport, Inc. are our “VA Quick Tip” columnists offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents and brokers nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistant industry, RealSupport offers marketing, branding, website and logo design, listing marketing, lead generation, technical support, transaction management, social networking, blogging and much more… Just ask!

Dave Ramsey was the keynote speaker at the recent STAR POWER conference in Murfreesboro, TN. He spoke about the tortoise and the hare. According to him, the tortoise always wins —eventually.

If you look at the behavior and personality of the two it’s not hard to see why. Hares are quite often undiagnosed ADHD, Ritalin-deficient go-getters that are constantly looking for either a) their next adrenalin high, or b) the next bright-shiny object / silver bullet that will promise to deliver it. They confuse the distinction between strategic and tactical, and a well-defined “process” is something that gets in the way of all that sense of urgency they literally thrive on.

The tortoise however focuses on measured steps that will eventually take them to their objectives. Their path is strategically well planned and they are comfortable with the fact they will not get there overnight. “Slow and steady” is their motto as they put blinders on to avoid the glint of all those bright shiny objects that promise quick results.

Tortoises stay focused, calm and resilient. Hares are easily distracted, get tired and often don’t read (RDR)…

It is my contention that Aesop was writing for the tortoise market. Hares have no time to read.

Anita Brookner

Now you may protest that the hare has a lot more fun. Well… that depends upon how you define “fun”. Chaos can seem like fun for awhile, until it isn’t any more. A long-term consistently growing, financially profitable business —now that’s what I call fun :0)

YouTube: YouTube is one of the leading website online today. In 2006 Google purchased YouTube which has proved to be a successful endeavor.  Each day, the site receives over 2 billion views and on average each person spends 15 minutes a day on the site. Realtors have caught on to this trend as they can create Community webpages and embed the perfect community video.  Also, uploading new listing videos to YouTube is a great way to showcase a home and gain huge exposure for your clients.  Interested buyers can search YouTube for listings in their area, resulting in leads for you and buyers for your listing clients!

Google Docs: Google Docs allows you to upload files online to share with others and also allows restricted or full access from any computer.  Posting your marketing or prelisting presentation on Google Docs will take the worry of files being too large to send through email or even having your personal laptop with you at all times.  A key feature is that multiple users can have the same document open and Google Docs allows editing capability at the same time as well!

Google Analytics: In an age of seemingly abstract marketing tools such as building SEO, and Social Media sites in which you aren’t able to see any official stats, Google Analytics steps in. Easily track what people search for when they land on your site.  Search the most used key words so that you can integrate them into your website or blog allowing for enhanced SEO.  Customize your preferences to see only the data that interests you.  Using Google Analytics allows you to see reports of the traffic to your website or blog.

Google Voice: As an agent, you’re constantly going from your office to your car to your home and you may find it a challenge to let people know where they can reach you!  Google Voice will generate a phone number for you in which you can be reached no matter where you are!  This phone number will ring through to your different phone numbers until you are reached; which is great for not missing those important calls! Google Voice also sets up a voicemail which can transcribe messages and send them directly to your inbox.  This tool also offers free calls and texts anywhere in the US and Canada!

Google Translate: Do you find yourself in a metropolitan city with people relocating from all over the world?  Easily reach these potential overseas buyers with a website that speaks their language!  Google Translate can translate your website into any language!  Generate links of your website in Spanish, Italian, French or any other language and post these links to your site.  Potential client can click on that link and instantly see your entire site in their language; talk about impressive!

Google Calendar: This tool allows you and your real estate team (or heck, even your spouse) to create individual calendars and then share them to merge into one calendar.  This allows agents to see their team members meetings or showing appointments as well as sharing what they have going on each week.  Everyone can access the team calendar and when adding an appointment to their personal calendar; it will show up on the team calendar.  This is ideal for avoiding scheduling conflicts while also bringing a cohesive feel to the team.

iGoogle: As an agent, time is a precious commodity and with all that’s vying for your attention, the last thing you want to do is spend your time jumping from website to website.  The solution?  iGoogle.  This “landing page” allows you to create a personalized portal in which you can access your Facebook and Twitter accounts, YouTube, Google Docs and Google Calendar all from one page!  How great would it be to upload a new listing video to YouTube and then check your Facebook business page along with Tweeting about your new listing all with the ease of staying in one place?  You can also add RSS feeds which means you will be automatically updated each time your VA posts a new post to your blog!  Customize your weather, sports updates or any other personal items that you would like on your page.  Use iGoogle as your home page and each time you get online, you’ll see all the information you need at once!

I hope all, or at least a few of these tools have sparked an interest as something you would like to begin incorporating in your daily life!  If you have any further questions or need help in setting up any of these FREE tools; let your Real Estate Virtual Assistant know!  We’re here to help!

Carrie Gable and the team at RealSupport, Inc. are our “VA Quick Tip” columnists offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents and brokers nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistant industry, RealSupport offers marketing, branding, website and logo design, listing marketing, lead generation, technical support, transaction management, social networking, blogging and much more… Just ask!

Watermarking 1-2-3

Watermarking is the process of overlaying text on top of photo.  Typically the overlaid text is just barely visible yet identifiable so it performs the job of marking the photo without detracting from it.  Up until recently this was typically done with a program like Photoshop by people who knew how to use it (not many Realtors fit that description).    Now there is a much easier and quicker method I just discovered that anyone can use to watermark their images in just seconds.  It’s called WinWatermark Standard and you can download and use it for 30 days at no cost.  However, once you use it you will not hesitate to pay the very reasonable $29.95 to keep using it.

Watermarking Best Practices

Watermarking by definition is supposed to be subtle, so you don’t want to go crazy with it otherwise it will work against you.  Here are some best practice tips to help you get the most out of your watermarking endeavors:

• Watermark Text – consider using the URL of your Website as in the photo example above.  This marks your ownership of the photo and extends your online brand.
• Watermark Size and Position – the size needs to be large enough to be recognizable but not so much that it takes away from photo itself.  Same with positioning.  If you watermark your images to primarily protect them from being used by others, then consider a 45 degree upward angle orientation in the middle of the photo —this makes it much more difficult for anyone to remove it.  If that is not an issue then consider using a smaller one in the lower right side of the photo using normal orientation.  IMPORTANT: whichever style you use to watermark your images keep it consistent throughout your site.
• Color and Transparency – suggest you use white text with about a 22% transparency.  The amount of transparency you use for each image may need to be slightly less or more depending upon the image itself.  Remember, watermarking needs to be subtle, not stand out and shout.
• Keep It Simple – WinWatermark gives you many options to style your watermarks.  If you go overboard with styles your watermarks will be distracting at best and a turnoff at worst.

South Beach Condo King Kevin Tomlinson is a firm believer in watermarking and uses it very much to his advantage with all the custom condo images on his site.  Every GoArmyHomes site we build out has the neighborhood photos watermarked as well.

If you are putting a lot of effort into your Website you may as well protect your investment.  Watermarking lets you do this and extend your brand at the same time.  That makes it a powerful tool that should be in everyone’s digital toolbox.

It’s not easy to be transparent.  Allowing someone to see your strengths, weaknesses, successes and failures is tough, yet it seems that those are the relationships that are the truest and deepest in our lives.  It’s a step of faith to be vulnerable and let others see the real you, but it’s a chance worth taking.

Now, before you start to think of this as a therapy session, this type of transparency actually does relate to your work!  One of the things we as a team of Real Estate Virtual Assistants love to do is to bring you fresh and innovative ways to reach your clients, so here’s a new one!  It’s bold.  It’s daring.  It takes you being completely vulnerable in order to draw in potential clients.  It’s HomeThinking.

This company began on the understanding that transparency is the truest way to allow clients to see who you really are as an agent.  HomeThinking is designed to empower buyers and sellers to make informed choices on agents in their area, and they love it! They’re able to see agents’ sales, the sale amount and the time it took them to complete the sale.  Testimonials (agent reviews) from previous clients are also helpful in getting to know how the agent was to work with and their overall performance.

Sound interesting?  Here’s how it works.  Simply sign up for this FREE service!  You can enter your bio and even upload listings to your account.  Use your link for your website, email signature and/or on your blog so potential clients can gain easy access to your statistics and reviews!

Buyers and sellers are able to search for you specifically or for agents in their area.  Agents are ranked by home sales and potential clients can even narrow down the search to price range and other features.  Another bonus is that buyers and sellers can input either their home wish list or details about their home and Homethinking will generate a list of agents that are bested suited to list their property!  Visit HomeThinking.com to see what else is available or to get started!

It may seem scary at first to be completely transparent, but as you’ll soon find out, it will pay off in the end!  Dare to have confidence and you’ll find buyers and sellers will respond to this open and honest approach!  If you have questions or want help setting this up; ask your real estate virtual assistant!

Carrie Gable and the team at RealSupport, Inc. are our “VA Quick Tip” columnists offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents and brokers nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistant industry, RealSupport offers marketing, branding, website and logo design, listing marketing, lead generation, technical support, transaction management, social networking, blogging and much more… Just ask!