Posts Tagged ‘Michael Russer’
The Secret to Successful Relationships
Monday, December 12th, 2011
Ever have the words, “Sure, no problem!” get extended to “…but you’ll pay for it!” When you meet someone for the first time, there’s a little process everyone goes through of assessing the other person and how you will relate to each other. If both parties are up front and honest in that process, you end up with a strong relationship, be it personal or professional. If not though, watch out! That’s when people can surprise you and end up costing you way more than you expected, whether through personal emotions, or money and time invested.
Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you’ll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others. — Benjamin Franklin
Every relationship starts out with potential and branches out from there. Sometimes those branches lead to an amazingly productive and positive outcome, which is what everyone desires. No one goes into a relationship hoping it will fail! Where the bough breaks is when your purposes for the relationship are not aligned. From there, a power struggle of sorts ensues as each individual tries their best to get something from the other.
When meeting new clients, agents have an introduction period where they get to know and understand their new prospect, and with enough experience this is generally sufficient for your purposes. But what if the client isn’t entirely up front? What if the person just wants to go window shopping – next thing you have over invested your time driving him around just to satisfy curiosity. Or, perhaps you are working with a couple who as it turns out are at odds in what they are looking for in a house! Sometimes these things don’t become apparent until after you are already invested in the client relationship.
An easy way to avoid this is to create a simple needs assessment (read this as “Real Estate Relationship Readiness Assessment”!). As part of your interview process, have the individual complete it, or in the case of a couple have both fill it out separately then compare. By doing so, you are managing expectations – yours and theirs. This will allow you to keep the relationship on a productive and positive course by serving both the immediate need as well as giving you insight into future desires, which increases your ability to serve the client.
The tough part is when you have to pull out of a relationship before getting over invested. And let’s face it, it’s going to happen in life more than once. Once you realize you and the other person are not aligned in purpose, it’s very difficult to back track. To do so would be changing either yourself or trying to change the other person to suit. And that’s never a good thing for anyone.
So, go into all your relationships openly and honestly to get the greatest success!
Healthy Benefits of Indulging
Monday, November 28th, 2011
Are you like me? Feel like you ate the entire Thanksgiving table by yourself? With groaning belly, your little internal voice scolds, “I shouldn’t have done that.” Then the guilt kicks in, you beat yourself up and promise to never do it again. But it’s OK – really! See, it’s actually good for you! Here’s why…
Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!
― Mae West
It’s commonly called “indulgence” and is most often looked at as a negative kind of thing. People who indulge themselves are viewed as lazy, greedy, and selfish. In striving to maintain our self-image as good and decent folk, we deny ourselves things we truly desire, both big and small. The more we refuse to acknowledge these things, greater importance gets attached to them and we have to work all the harder to not indulge. Talk about stressful! That’s right – the stress of NOT doing something can be more harmful than doing it (in moderation of course).
Now, suppose for a moment that instead you denied those little voices telling you that to indulge in something is bad, and gave yourself permission to enjoy. Oooo – there now, doesn’t that feel good? Not only do you have that little reward, but you have a few other things going for you. Firstly, people who take time to do something for themselves are shown to have an increased sense of self-worth and accomplishment, because you know have the ability to reap the reward of your work. Secondly, when you admit to a weakness or desire and let go of judgment over it, you find that thing has much less hold on you going forward. Finally, by being honest with yourself, you are building a true and realistic image of yourself rather than a false one based on ideals.
Keep in mind however, that any indulgence should be safely within the bounds of your lifestyle and kept under moderation. Making a conscious choice to enjoy life’s little pleasures should never pose a serious danger to health and well being.
That being said, the next time that voice says “You shouldn’t do that,” feel free to answer, “Oh yes I should! It’s good for me!”
The Gift of Being Grateful
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
How often do you go out of your way to help people? Most real estate agents complain their time is already crunched with too many demands. Being almost constantly overwhelmed can make us blind to other situations going on around us. This also, unfortunately, makes us blind to the possibilities or gifts available to us at any given moment as well.
Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart. — Henry Clay
I read a news story lately about a man who, although late for an appointment, stopped to help a stranger on the side of the highway change a tire. Nice, right? Just hold on… The tire being secure, the man gets in his car and drives off, but a couple miles up the road suffers a heart attack! Meanwhile, the man he had just helped with the tire came along, called for help and performed CPR until medics arrived – saved his life. If the first man had not stopped to help with that tire, the second would not have been able to get there in time to rescue him.
The message here is not original, but is a very simple and profound truth. Soon or later, you get what you give, often multifold. And not just the normal things you do for people in your everyday life. It’s the special times, the times when you see an opportunity to do something meaningful for another even though it is not convenient or enjoyable for you.
As Thanksgiving approaches (for the U.S. anyway), take a minute to think about the news story I mentioned, and by turns put yourself into the position of each man. Imagine how grateful the guy felt who needed help changing his tire that someone had enough empathy to pull over on a highway and provide assistance. Imagine the depth of gratitude the man having the heart attack felt to have someone there who knew what to do to pull him through. Imagine what the outcome would have been had neither of those two events happened?
What are you truly grateful for? Who made what happen in order for that to be possible? You never know how deeply what may seem like a simple act on your part impacts another person. So look for those opportunities, enrich someone else’s life… as well as your own.
The Truth Behind Untruth
Monday, November 14th, 2011
Ever have the rug yanked out from underneath you by someone you thought you knew and trusted? There is nothing like that kind of betrayal to put your world in a tumult. The blitz of emotions – shock, anger, confusion, disbelief, sorrow – churn over and over. The extent to which this happens depends on how close you felt to the person who stabbed you, but we all feel this to some degree in these kinds of situations. But the way you find your way through remains the same whether the betrayal came from a dear family member or a distant business associate.
Betrayal is the only truth that sticks. — Arthur Miller
Everyone suffers some kind of betrayal in their lifetime, it is one more thing that unites us. When we have to admit to ourselves what has happened, we desperately search for a way to prevent the inevitable disruption in our lives. You want the answer to one question… Why? But you are not likely to get the truth of this from your personal Brutus! So, you make justifications in order to rationalize what’s happening. In extreme cases you may even end up betraying yourself, your own instinct or intellect, in order to comfort yourself with more falsehoods.
The real danger here is not in what happened between you and that person. It lays in the future – your future. Whether in a minor way (say a past client goes to a different agent), or in a major way (say your Mother goes to a different agent – ouch!) in the back of your mind you will hold this bitterness and it will cloud your interactions with potential future clients with self-doubt or mistrust.
Instead, recognize that betrayal is, as with all things, a conscious choice an individual makes. As personal as it feels, it has nothing to do with you and all to do with that person. Release the disappointment, assign the responsibility where it belongs – squarely on them! Do not allow bitterness to get settled in your heart and destroy your trust in others, don’t let that grace be taken away from you. Then you will hold your own truth in your hands ever after.
Reconnecting with Momentum
Monday, November 7th, 2011
Let’s be honest here… We just simply can’t be 100% all the time. Whether due to illness, lack of sleep, stress, or even just plain don’t feel like it, sometimes our brains simply disconnect for a while. Fact is, humans sometimes need that “down time” to regroup and refocus. However, it can be really difficult to get back in the swing of things. What do you do to regain momentum?
The best way out is always through. — Robert Frost
One of the most basic laws of physics is that a body in motion tends to stay in motion while a body at rest stays at rest. So let’s say you have had a brain disconnect, that’s like you have come to rest. And that’s OK! As long as you don’t stay there. In order to get through it and become productive again, you need to move.
It doesn’t need to be a huge, monumental effort. One small step, one little thing, just do something to get into motion. Once that happens, you will find it gets easier to take another step, make another larger more meaningful move. Soon you will find you are back up and running full speed!
Increase Website Traffic Through SEO Optimized IDX
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011You probably pay a lot for your IDX service, but have you ever wondered if you are getting as much out of it as possible? Many agents don’t realize that proper and strategic use of your IDX integration can not only make your site more engaging to the visitor, but increase your traffic and search engine ranking as well. You just need to take four steps…
Four Steps to Getting the Most from Your IDX
Search engines, are constantly crawling sites, looking and comparing information to determine the best results to return to users searching for a particular set of keywords. By using a few simple strategies, you can leverage your IDX for content:
Step #1: Ensure your IDX resides on your site.
Most do this now because of the high demand for it, but if you don’t start from this premise, the rest of this article is a moot point for you. When it does, then every individual listing in the MLS can be viewed as a page of content on your site – and this is the central crux of the matter.
To see how many pages you are being credited for, try this… In a Google search, type site:yourdomain (in the example below, site:onlinedominance.com). In light gray writing at the top of the page, you will see the words “About ______ results returned.” So Google finds 1,340 pages of unique content associated with Online DominanceTM.
You can get “content credit” for all those listings in your MLS, provided you follow the next steps.
Step #2: Create predefined searches and install them on your site.
Having just a form for people to fill in with their search preferences, while vital, is not sufficient for this purpose because search engines are just an algorithm and are not interested in completing preference forms. So, if you want the search engine to see your content, you have to make sure the data from the MLS is being actively pulled onto your site. By creating predefined searches, such as by price, location, or even type of property, you are setting up a stream of constantly linked data of every listing that falls within those parameters.
Step #3: Create unique content describing that search
One of the more recent “gotchas” initiated by Google is an update that finds “low quality” pages, which is basically information it determines is syndicated from one source to many different sites. So, unfortunately for you, this means you can’t have just the predefined search. But you can end run this by taking the time to write a paragraph or two of custom content and add targeted title tags, so when the search engine indexes the page it may see some syndicated material but this will be offset by the unique content.
OK, you’re almost there!
Step #4: Link often and well
If you want the search engine to think a page is valuable, you have to treat it as if it IS valuable. So, every time you write something that relates to one of these searches, for instance a blog post about a recent upswing in sales in a certain price range in your market, include a link to that predefined search result page.
How this Helps Get Traffic to Your Site
So I know right now you are saying “Sure, I understand how to strategize the IDX, but what about the traffic and visitor engagement?”
Well, when the search engines find more pages of relevant content that is frequently updated, it helps your page ranking. Also, having lots of related third party sites (such as Trulia, Active Rain, etc.) link back to multiple points on your site helps not only ranking but the likelihood of people finding you. Finally, since every listing is viewed as a page on your site, searches on specific addresses (like when someone drives by and sees a yard sign) will yield your site as a result, so you don’t have to rely on over-used or highly competed for keywords.
As to customer engagement, people love the convenience and instant gratification of being able to see properties in the ranges or categories they prefer with the click of a button. Often, they aren’t sure exactly what they are looking for until they see some results, and having to go back and adjust information in a search form can be a bother. You will get more clicks on saved searches that then allow the user to sift and sort their specifics from there.
A Few Words of Advice
You have the step by step plan to get your IDX SEO optimized, and as always the next step is to implement. But be aware of a few more things before you do!
- Do Not Sock Google – Google is like the referee in a game, it watches to see if you are playing by the rules, and will throw the red card at any suspected foul punch. So, if you had say, 30 pages on your site one day and then next had 20,000, what do you think will happen? That’s right! So, pick the top 2 or 3 searches you think would be most effective in your area, and start adding those, going through all 4 steps to get them strategized. Add slowly to make your results most effective.
- Use the language your users use – People will tend to type search terms that they use in natural language. Name your predefined searches that same way to increase the match rate and hence your page position.
- Get a help in executing this over time – This is the perfect kind of task, low-level and long term, to get a VA to help you execute. Set up the process, set your priorities, and give a VA marching orders. You will see the results as they are added to your site, while freeing you up from worrying about maintaining the flow of information.
So, there you have it! Make sure you are getting the most out of your IDX’s capabilities when it comes to site traffic and visitor engagement by consistently initiating these strategies over time. The best thing is, since that IDX resides on your site, it will all be for your greater good!
Special thanks to Brad Carroll of Dakno Marketing for his contributions to this article.
Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an internationally recognized Internet speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry. He’s dedicated to helping real estate professionals leverage their people skills into profit on the Internet. Send your Internet questions to help@askmrinternet.com or you can visit his Website at http://www.OnlineDominance.com and Facebook page at Facebook.com/OnlineDominance
This article is reprinted in its entirety from the October 2011 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright © 2011. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark of RUSSER Communications.
Setting Your Intentions
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011The following is a true story. It happened in a small village in southern New York where several residents lost everything in a flood the night of September 8.
“On October 12, Steve’s neighbor knocked on his door. He was tired from running constantly between his job, putting his home back together till all hours of the night, caring for his family, and sleeping on other people’s couches. He was sick (literally), anxious, and extremely stressed about where the money for even simple things like clothes or his kid’s birthday was going to come from, let alone finishing his home before it gets too cold. He had been searching and praying in his mind for some answer, some relief. And he wasn’t the only one, other friends nearby had lost their homes too and he was concerned about them. But when he saw the strange look on his neighbor’s face, he dropped his tools and opened the door.
In her hands were 10 envelopes. She handed one to him and said, “Open this, tell me what’s in there.” The envelope contained $1,000 – ten crisp hundred dollar bills in a paper wrapper.
Shortly before she had a knock at her door, and there stood a man dressed as a Catholic priest, but not anyone she had ever seen in the village before. He smiled gently and told her, “I need you to do me a favor. You live here, you know who has been hit hardest. Please take these envelopes and hand them out to the 10 people who need it most.” Then he turned and walked away around the corner and was not seen again. But whoever and wherever he is, we hope he knows the deep gratitude and hope he left in that neighborhood that day.”
Now I ask you, what was that? A coincidence? An angel? Everyone is going to have a different answer and opinion. But here’s what I think… When you set your intentions and put them out there, you get a response. “The Universe” by whatever means you recognize or wish to call it – God, fate, luck, karma – will give you what you need if you are open to receiving the gifts. Next time you are lost, hurt or confused, remember that when you let go of trying to control the means and process (How am I ever going to do this?) and start instead by focusing on the need and outcome (Please send help!) you project that to all around you.
One other thing… “The Universe” will respond with equal enthusiasm to your own! This is true in any and every aspect of your life, be it business with your clients, your relationships with friends and family, or even your own journey. The more positive and energetic you are when setting your intentions, the greater your return.
Living and Working Fearlessly
Saturday, September 24th, 2011
Had quite a conversation with my best friend this morning. We were discussing what it meant to have a full / “ideal” life. Her’s was having strong connections with loving family and friends, a stable career, a reasonable lifestyle and contentment with all of that. My definition of an “ideal” life was markedly different. One that, if you consider carefully, could have a major impact on your own business and life.
Ponder this for a moment: Everyone alive on this planet today will likely be dead in 100 years from now (major breakthroughs in life extension notwithstanding). We have just so much time and when it’s over it’s over, fini, caput. So given this context, is what you are currently doing and even more importantly, who you are currently “being” represent your full, ideal life?
It’s a safe bet how 99.99% of people living in the developed world will answer this question. Money, possessions, deep loving relationships, exciting lifestyle, etc. won’t cut it if you are in “prison”. A prison where the seemingly impenetrable bars are made of nothing more than of our fears about living fully, outrageously and from our hearts.
How many of us have “comfortable” relationships, comfortable jobs, comfortable lifestyle, comfortable distractions and so on. The more affluent of a society we live in, the easier it is to be sucked into “comfortable” rather than living fully —which by definition means allowing oneself to fully and intensely feel pain, pleasure, love and overall lust for life. Striving to be comfortable, safe and protected is like soundproofing your soul as the universe is playing Bach’s 5th symphony. You know something great is occurring and you are afraid of what might happen if you let go of all self-imposed protections to experience it.
Imagine what your life (and by extension, your business) would be like if you were “fearless”. Not that you can or even should eliminate all fear, but playing full out in spite of fear. Breaking free of the self-imposed prison bars of fear. Freeing yourself up to infinite possibilities you never could have imagined…
Fate loves the fearless.
~ James Russell Lowell
Our hearts are always whispering to each and every one of us. It is very hard to hear when we bury ourselves in work and distractions. We each have our own true path during this blink of an eye we call life. Your heart is your guide and your head is your servant to help you achieve what the heart knows is best for you. You don’t have much time left, so use it wisely.
Outrageous!
Sunday, September 18th, 2011
Have you ever felt “stuck” in your business or life? If so (and frankly, most currently do on both counts) perhaps it is time to be, well… outrageous.
Outrageous is not about being goofy or tastelessly offensive for the sake of eliciting the biggest reaction from others. On the contrary, being outrageous is all about letting who we really are come out and shine for all the world to see —without concern or attachment to how others (even close others) see you.
It is no accident that some of the most successful people in the world are considered outrageous. My personal hero is Richard Branson of the Virgin group of companies. I can’t imagine anyone having more fun, while making more money, while changing the world for the better than him. Another favorite of mine is Rush Limbaugh. Regardless of your political leanings, you’ve got to admit that this guy (who I believe never finished college) does and says exactly what he wants and as a result attracts the largest radio audience in the U.S. and “Has more fun than a human being should be allowed to have!”
You see that’s the beauty of being your outrageous self. Doing so will attract far more people to you than any other way. Human beings are almost preternaturally attracted to those who have discovered the secret of just allowing the entirety of who they already are shine through —like moths to a bright flame.
For most people, being outrageous is the purest form of who they are, who they “be”. The jaw-dropping reaction we normally equate with “outrageous” is because almost everyone is so constrained in the way they live and interact that when someone does allow their true “outrageousness” to show, it is a shock to those who witness it.
I have Dalinian thought: the one thing the world will never have enough of is the outrageous.
~ Salvador Dali
Being truly outrageous in the manner described here takes tremendous courage and a willingness and faith to let go of all pretenses. Few are currently willing to do this which is the primary reason being outrageous will cause you to stand out incredibly. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. When you are ready to truly be outrageous, the world will unfold like a beautiful flower and you will surely wonder why you waited so long to be who you already are.
These Bullets Are Real
Saturday, September 10th, 2011
My 19 year old son Max and I went to a shooting range yesterday. Being raised in the rural regions of Upstate NY I’ve grown up with guns. Max on the other hand had never shot a weapon in his life. And even though I had experience, it has been nearly 30 years since I last fired a gun. In addition to having some great father-son time together, we both came to a sobering realization. It’s one thing to pull the trigger, but it is quite another to be on the receiving end…
We got to shoot some pretty awesome weapons including 9mm, .40 and .45 semi-automatic pistols, a .50 caliber revolver (that was more of a hand cannon!) and a very cool semi-automatic assault rifle. In case you were wondering, my favorite was the .45 caliber Sig Sauer semi-automatic pistol. Apparently I wore a big grin every time I got to fire it. That was quite an introduction to firearms for someone who had never even previously held one in his hand.
As we were shooting away, Max and I both started to think about how horrible it must be dodging bullets fired from these powerful weapons. Something our brave men and women in the armed forces have to do every day.
It’s one thing to see shooting on TV, in movies or a video game. It’s quite another experiencing its deadly power first hand. Yesterday Max and I had a crash course on how to shoot safely, properly and somewhat straight. But most of all, we gained an appreciation for how much courage our fighting men and women have and all they give just so we have the freedoms we do.
Think on this as you consider dodging the “bullets” that business may send your way this coming week. You get hit by one of those it may ruin your day, but it won’t take your life.
