Posts Tagged ‘Michael Russer’
You Complete Me —Not!
Saturday, March 3rd, 2012
“You complete me.” is a great movie line but in real life and business it is about one of the dumbest things to say there is. Here’s why.
You Are Complete Already
Every day you are bombarded with roughly 7,000 marketing messages that imply, one way or another, that you are not “enough” without the product or service that is being hawked. And in the question of love, it is often said that there is “the one” (apparently out of over 7,000,000,000 people on this planet) that will make your life complete. Really? Here’s the problem; all of these messages leverage, and in fact, enhances a typical person’s need to feel needy. This means throughout much of your life you focus on what’s missing rather than on what you already have which is quite complete indeed.
The key here is not to fall into the trap of feeling needy, which is a very “old brain” survival mechanism, a throwback to the days when we were hunter-gatherers. Now imagine going through life feeling totally complete yet being open to possibilities for enhancing your current situation. ”Need to feel complete” and “Open to enhancement” are very different yet subtle distinctions. The first is based upon fear at it’s core, the other opportunity. Neediness will drive away possibilities (both in business and life), enhancement will open you up to them. Nobody is attracted to a needy business partner or lover. Yet think about how powerfully attractive someone is when they are confident in who they already are yet open to the possibilities of something even greater through “collaboration”.
For example, sperm and egg cells are absolutely and totally complete in and of themselves. They don’t “need” each other. However, when they do come together something miraculous happens that neither could have imagined (as much as a single cell can imagine anything). Something infinitely greater than the sum of the two is literally born of their union. This is what can happen when you are open to possibilities yet not desperately seeking to complete who you are —in business and in life.
On a personal note and one who is newly single, the idea of “The ONE” being out there for me is very alluring (damn that neediness!). Let’s just say that I’m open to that possibility as well as anything I couldn’t even imagine. That is what makes life interesting —it’s the not knowing yet at the same time being okay and not attached to any particular outcome. We are all on our own unique adventures. How much we enjoy and get out of it depends upon whether we travel it with a sense of desperation or wonder. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which approach serves you best…
Check Out the Latest in Digital Cameras & Boost Your Marketing Appeal!
Friday, March 2nd, 2012
As a real estate agent, you understand the importance of great pictures. Oftentimes, people begin their home search online months prior to contacting a real estate agent about looking for a home. And what’s their main source of getting a good feel for that home? The pictures on your website or other real estate websites. In short; great pictures should be a top priority.
Now, as Real Estate Virtual Assistants, we work with real estate agents all over the country and have seen our fair share of amazing pictures and those that are, well, less than great. And, even though we’re not buying the home, we get a real sense of how much the real estate agent cares by these pictures.
It may seem like an insignificant portion of marketing, but this first impression can really determine whether a potential buyer will contact you or if someone decides to list their home with you. Think about it, if a seller sees bad quality images of a home you’re selling; they’ll think twice about how you’re planning on showcasing their home to buyers.
So, you may be thinking, “well, I’m not a photographer and I can’t afford a professional one either.” Hey, we get it! Everyone’s budget varies and taking the time to take great pictures may feel like a waste of time with everything else you have going on.
To help you get on the right track, we thought we’d highlight some of the latest in easy-to-use, point and shoot cameras. You may not be a budding photographer, but good quality photos are something everyone can achieve. Take a look at these four cameras that were recently reviewed by Entrepreneur.com. Choosing one of these high-quality options will take your real estate photography to a whole new level. Oh, and did we mention some of them include HD video? Your video marketing just got easier too!
Pro Shooter
Nikon 1 J1 ($650)
Credit Nikon for putting digital SLR-camera technology into the palm of your hand. The fist-size 10.1-megapixel J1 offers first-rate optics (proving that more megapixels don’t automatically mean better photos), the ability to grab a still image out of a video shoot and remarkable image stabilization and autofocus. Swapping in a 30-110 mm zoom or 10 mm wide-angle lens (at an extra cost) adds to the Nikon’s versatility.
Mighty Mite
Pentax Q with one lens ($750)
Roughly the size of a deck of playing cards, the Q is incredibly small for an interchangeable-lens camera. But fear not: It takes seriously big pictures. What’s more, the 12.4-megapixel sensor is capable of producing crystal-clear stills and HD video. However, its price can easily cross the $1,000 mark if you covet multiple lenses.

Best Value
Panasonic Lumix GF3 ($550)
Of the cameras here, the 12.1-megapixel Lumix delivers the best value and the easiest-to-master touchscreen control system, along with simple-to-use video tools. The fact that Panasonic packages the GF3C with a 14-42 mm lens makes it tough to beat for the price.
Audio Star
Olympus E-PM1 ($500)
Olympus packed years of experience building small, multilens cameras into the E-PM1, which captures solid–if average quality–12.3-megapixel images. It also comes with clever features such as an accessory port for lights and flashes. The big surprise: the E-PM1′s built-in stereo microphone records rich audio for its diminutive size. One bummer: It took us a while to figure out the menus and controls.
We hope this is helpful as you consider showcasing your listings with better images that capture people’s attention. A little money spent up front for a great camera can provide a surprising return on investment as more buyers contact you and sellers trust that you’ll do the best job in capturing the look and feel of their home.
Have an awesome day!

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!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Are You Living to Work or Working to Live?
Saturday, February 25th, 2012
Anyone who is in business for themselves at some point addresses the question “Why am I doing what I’m doing?” How you answer that question will make a huge difference in your sense of fulfillment and quality of life –and for those you love.
Work, Work, Work ad nausem…
Our Western society tends to put work and high-productivity on a pedestal. It looks favorably upon, and often financially rewards, those who dedicate their lives to producing ever greater quantities of products or services. High performance business people are the new rock stars of our generation. This is all well and good –to a point. Beyond that it is easy for one to lose site of why we are putting in those 80 hours per week. Why we don’t have time to spend with the kids as much as we (or more importantly, they) would like. Or why it is not fun or fulfilling anymore no matter how much money we make.
When we lose site of the fact that we are a human “being”, by becoming a human “doing”, something will eventually break. Your marriage, your business or maybe even your nervous system (i.e. burnout). Becoming a “Human Doing” is a lot easier than you might imagine. It starts out by using all kinds of reasonable excuses and rationalizations to work more and harder. ”We need the money to put the kids through college.” ”We need a larger house.” ”If I don’t work my ass off my competition will eat my lunch.” and so on. These rationalizations are based upon a fear of either not having or being enough.
Keep going that way and pretty soon you become uncomfortable when you are NOT working! BTW, Sunday is probably your toughest day of the week because you are least likely to work that day and being away from work makes you anxious. At this point your very sense of self and self-worth, of who you are, is dependent upon your work. This is when you are officially a member of the “live to work” crowd. Work has become your drug of choice to distract you from being in the moment (i.e. living as a human “being”). And the cruel irony is those who succumb to this are almost never as productive as those who have figured out that their business exists to serve them, not the other way around.
Beyond Balance
How many times have we heard from business gurus that “We must maintain balance between our work and personal lives.” While true, simply saying this masks the fact that lack of balance in one’s life is a symptom rather than the cause of the dis-ease. The cure starts with the realization that no matter what your position, talents or accomplishments in life, you have and already are “enough”. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake, nice to have but not necessary.
When you choose to think this way (and it is a choice) you will find yourself living as a human being again and viewing your work as a tool that exists only to serve your life (and those your work affects) and nothing more. This is when you will find a space open up for you (and those around you) for “life balance” which is a natural result of this new perspective of work/business. You know what else will happen? You will start thinking of ways that your business can work harder for you. And when that happens you have a truly successful business –and life.
3 Tips for Powerful Email Marketing!
Friday, February 24th, 2012Is email marketing a part of your strategy for this year? You’ve probably realized that getting into your
clients, past clients and future clients inboxes is a great way to remain connected to them. But is it effective?
Recently, Boomerang for Gmail analyzed over 5 million messages in their database to gather the most up to date stats on when to send emails, key words to use, key words you don’t want to use and how much time is spent on email everyday. Whether you send out a regular real estate newsletter, have a customized drip email campaign or take time each week to personally email your database; you’ll want to check out these ways to best reach your audience!
Time of Day
- Most people want to read emails before work or at lunch. After a long day in the office, the last thing they want to do is go home and get caught up on more emails. To be most effective, send out emails between 6-8am or 11am-1pm.
Length
- In their study, Boomerang found that the average person spends more than 2 1/2 hours a day on email. That’s seem outrageous, but when you break it down to an average of 147 messages in your inbox in a day; you’ll spend 5 minutes deleting junk mail and an average of 90 minutes responding to those 12 key emails that take thoughtful responses.
The point? If you want people to read your email, keep it short and concise! The minute someone opens an email and sees paragraph after paragraph; they loose interest and will most likely hit delete. Eye catching graphics in your newsletter and bold headings can help people navigate easily through your email without feeling bogged down.
Words to Use, Words to Avoid
- Oftentimes we know if we want to read an email or not just by the title. This can be the most important part of grabbing your readers attention, so you want to make it count! Below are the title words that attract readers and those to avoid.
Use:
- Apply
- Opportunity
- Demo
- Connect
- Payments
- Conference
- Cancellation
Avoid:
- Confirm
- Join
- Assistance
- Speaker
- Press
- Social
- Invite
Some of these on the list may seem surprising, but with a study of over 5 million emails; it seems these are the words that make people take notice or delete an email. So, choose the words of your title carefully!
I hope these tips concerning email marketing have been helpful! If you’re not currently engaging your audience in a weekly email, a real estate newsletter or customized drip email campaign; you should! These are great ways to remain at the forefront of people’s minds and when they have a real estate need; guess who they’ll call first! If you need help along the way, your real estate virtual assistant can help you get started on your quest to create an effective marketing plan!
Have a great day!

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!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Don’t Talk About It, Just Do It
Saturday, February 18th, 2012
Do you know anyone who talks about what they are going to do and then never seem to get around to doing it? Most of us have done this one time or another. When it becomes your standard operating procedure however, it is cause for major concern. Here’s why and how to avoid this success-killing behavior.
A friend of mine is one of the most charming, charismatic and high-energy people I know. The other night she came over for a visit to share the incredible excitement she had about her new class on how to be a successful entrepreneur. She literally gushed about how she was going to do this and that to make sure she was the best in the class and be a huge success story for the organization that was providing this training. She shared how she brought the other class members and even the instructors to tears with her fire, passion and commitment to make it happen. This was just the first of 16 classes and she already was their inspiration!
This young woman has the talent and drive to make it happen so I believed her when she said that starting the next morning she’ll be up at 7:00am and focus intently on making this entrepreneurial dream come true. Well, the very next morning she calls me at 10:00am saying she just got up because (fill in the blank for any number of reasons). My immediate thought was that she’s already failed before she even got started. How could this have happened? How can anyone go from incredible fire, passion and determination to not even getting out of the starting gate? Well, the irony here is that she had quite literally foretold that this would happen.
It has been my experience that the more effusive someone is about what they are going to do, the more insecure they are about actually doing it. In fact, the whole process of enrolling others in their excitement (like my friend above) is actually an unconscious attempt to get others to validate their intentions. The more you can get others excited about what you are going to do, the more likely it may happen because others are now excited about it as well. This is bootstrap thinking at its worst.
Real determination will not allow one second to be spent on talking about what you are going to do –it is too focused on making it happen. This suggests a real easy self-test to gauge just how really committed you are to anything. The more inclined you are to telling others about what you are going to do, the less committed you are to making it happen —period. And, if you catch yourself excitedly wanting to tell others about some future accomplishment take that as a sign to spend more time honestly evaluating the “why” behind that intention. Chances are it has nothing to do with a particular goal other than to feel good about oneself. The unfortunate thing is that the more one behaves in this way (i.e. saying before doing) the more hits they take to their self-confidence and self-esteem.
There is way too much “future talk” in our society (being an election year certainly doesn’t help). Don’t be part of that conversation, instead put your energies into making it happen. You will be a lot happier and so will those around you.
Showing Up For Success
Sunday, February 12th, 2012
One hears a lot of complaints spoken by many sales people in this industry –and they are usually about people (clients, prospects and other agents) they work with. The old adage is if you don’t like something either do something about it if you can or accept it if you can’t -in either case complaining never helps. In the case of not liking how other people show up for you there is something you can do about it and it is surprisingly simple.
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Human Beings tend to be very reflective creatures. When walking down a city street and we see someone looking up intently, we simply cannot help ourselves from doing the exact same thing. The next time you are part of group sharing a meal observe intently and you will likely catch the others reaching for their drinks at the same time. Likewise in sales we are taught to “mirror” our prospects to put them at ease and feel more trusting. This approach breaks down however if your client or prospect is rude, unreasonable, offensive etc. Mirror those behaviors and you will likely lose more than just the sale!
While you can’t control the (negative) behavior of others, you certainly do have more influence on it that you may realize thanks to our innate tendency to reflect what we see or experience in others. The way to do this is to simply show up in the way you wish others to show up for you. Watch what happens in your relationship with other people when you consistently do this in a way where you are not attached to the results. Unnattachement is important here because otherwise you would have an agenda that would show up clearly to the other person –behavior you definitely don’t want to see from them.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
~Mahatma Gandhi
Sometimes in close personal relationships (such as with a spouse) showing up in the way you want your significant other to show up for you is not enough –usually because of some emotional baggage that is tied to your relationship. If their behavior is not appropriate and they don’t respond to the way you show up for them, then you need to take one additional step. You let them know clearly and without emotion that until they start showing up for you the way they want you to show up for them you will not show up at all –period (meaning, not engage with them).
This is a powerful way to get others to recognize and take ownership of their own inappropriate behavior and in that awareness, be in a space to do something about it. By the way, imagine how powerful and confident you appear to an abusive prospect or client when you take this approach.
If you want to make a difference you first have to show up, period –something that not everyone is willing to do. Then, show up in the way you want others to show up for you and sooner or later you will see the change in the world you are being.
Coffee Shop Talk – A New Look at Blogging for SEO
Friday, February 10th, 2012
I was in a coffee shop the other day and overheard a small business meeting taking place. Now, I am not in the habit of eavesdropping, but when I heard the term SEO, my ears perked up. As a blogger, I know that one of my main responsibilities is to use key words throughout our clients blogs in order to organically boost their SEO. It’s a tried and true tool that works. (If you haven’t tried it, you need to!)
In the conversation, two of the people were part of the small business and the other person was their web designer. He was talking about the key words and links he was going to create for them throughout their new, custom designed website. I was impressed, this small business seemed to be on the right track with investing in a solid website that was up to date and peppered with SEO boosters throughout. I kept listening.
The web designer went on to talk about the company’s blog for SEO. “The website is great for SEO,’ he said, ‘but the blog will keep you at the top. If someone goes to Google, you want to be found on the top of the list.” Wow! I wanted to stand up and applaud this web designer! He knew what he was talking about and was letting this small business know exactly what it was going to take to be most effective in their marketing.
Sadly, when our clients are running low on funds, one of the first things to go is their real estate blog. Why? Real estate blogging is somewhat ambiguous, just like other social marketing like Facebook or Twitter. There isn’t a great way to measure your return on investment… or is there?
Did you know that you can see your real estate blog working for you? Try this: Go to your real estate blog and see what key words your Real Estate Virtual Assistant is using to boost your SEO. (Now, if you don’t find any key words linked throughout each blog post; you’re in trouble. Using and linking key words are what boosts your SEO!) After you’ve grabbed a few of these key words; test them in Google. Do the search yourself and see where your company comes up in the search engine.
If you’re not on page 1 or page 2; you’ll need to either up how many times your Real Estate Virtual Assistant blogs for you each week, or give it a little more time if you’ve just started your real estate blog.
Let’s look at an example. Our client, Oak Shores Realty, has us blog for them at least two times a week. I’ll blog real estate tips, community events or home tips each Tuesday and Thursday. They also have us blog their new properties that come on the market, market statistics and local news as needed. This has translated into major success for them in their Google ranking! By searching one of their key words in Google, Lake Nacimiento Real Estate, you’ll see they’re at the top of the list on page 1!
Have a great day!

Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Mid-Life Crisis vs. Mid-Life Transformation
Saturday, February 4th, 2012
If you are anywhere between 40 and 60 years old chances are you have experienced something generally referred to (and depicted in uncountable comedies) as a “mid-life crisis”. Most think of this in terms of a mortality-awareness panic attack. For some it certainly is that and no more. There are others however that use that awareness as a jumping off point for a major reset in their life. We all come to terms with our own mortality and failures to achieve what we thought we would by a certain age. What we do about it can literally affect how you live the rest of your life.
Never Waste a Good Crisis
A mid-life crisis, as the name suggests, is a fear-based reaction to the sudden acute awareness of one’s limited life span and failures to achieve goals and dreams. And any time you react based upon fear, the result is usually not good. A person going through a mid-life crisis will typically try to assuage their fears (or dull their awareness of them) by looking to external things. A new lover / spouse, hot new car, etc. with great mis-guided concern about what others think of them. Unfortunately this approach never works because it is the opposite of acceptance of what is. And until one reaches that acceptance they will never find true peace. Quite often, once the manic phase of a mid-life crisis burns out, the person reverts to “settling” for their current life situation. Not a very inspired way to live the rest of one’s life. By the way, “settling” and “acceptance” are worlds apart.
A mid-life transformation starts out the same way –a sudden realization that a) life is short (and getting shorter by the day), and b) you are not happy with your current state of affairs. Those who use this new-found awareness as a jumping off point for true transformation react quite differently from those is “crisis” mode. There is no panic or fear-based reaction. The first thing that happens is true acceptance of what is, then a deep inquiry as to what can be.
A mid-life transformation is an inside job, internally focused. There is little concern about what others think –a good thing because many people going through true transformation tend to lose many of their “friends” who are threatened by the “new you”. A mid-life transformation is about assessing (and being grateful for) all the skills and experience you have acquired so far and re-purposing them to design and live the life you want. A mid-life transformation is not about acquiring anything, it is about releasing what was always inside of you that was afraid to come out all those previous years.
There is something far worse than a mid-life crisis however. And that is being so dead inside that you never have one. Millions of otherwise hardworking, decent law-abiding people exist with barely a flicker of life. They go through the motions, smile when appropriate, tip the waiter, say hi to the mailman and hang out with friends whose lives are as dead as theirs. These are people who are so afraid of who they really are and the possibility of their own greatness that they bury any glimpse of that awareness. They’re born, they live, they die and all they have to show for it is a little 2″ dash between dates on their tombstone. These are people who live complaining about what is and die with nothing but regrets.
Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.
~~Henry David Thoreau
So if you had (or are about to have) a mid-life crisis –celebrate! It means you are still alive and a bit more aware. Now the trick is to turn that awareness into an opportunity to transform your life from the inside out. Take full responsibility and go for everything you are worth until your last breath. Do that and I guarantee you will live life fully and have no regrets at the end of this journey.




Whether people are just tired of moping about the economic downturn of the past few years or they’re sensing true change, it seems there’s an overarching sense of positivity for 2012… and that’s exciting! Of course just thinking positively is not a magical formula for boosting the economy, but it’s the actions that spring from a positive outlook that are agents of change.