Posts Tagged ‘Mr. Internet’
The Instant and Free Way to Create Video Property Tours
Monday, August 30th, 2010
There are lots of ways to create video tours of your listings —most are not free or easy. Here’s a very cool and private way to do it that is free, fast and incredibly easy…
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:
- 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.
- Shoot the Video – use your smart phone to do this and try to keep your hand as steady as possible.
- 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.
Perhaps It’s Time to Rethink Your Sync
Sunday, August 29th, 2010
Just when you started getting a handle on what it takes to have a successful Website along comes social networking. In your drive to keep up and stay synced do you find yourself texting, tweeting, facebooking yourself to distraction? Or is that very activity the distraction (from life, business) itself?
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.
Turning An Objection Into a Reason to Buy
Saturday, August 28th, 2010
The most powerful form of objection handling I ever learned (thanks to Cavett Roberts) was to take the very reason for objecting and have it as the reason why the prospects are excited to buy. Here is a very clever example of this approach applied to an otherwise difficult to sell listing.
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…
The Ultimate Listing Website
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010
If you think the Web only works for buyers think again. Here’s a Website that is specifically designed to generate listings and doesn’t even use search engines to drive traffic to it.
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 to Drown Your Competition
Saturday, August 21st, 2010
How much can you talk about your real estate specialty? Assuming you have a specialty, do you run out of things to say or contribute after just a few minutes, or can you go on for hours?
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.
Are You a Tortoise or a Hare?
Monday, August 16th, 2010
Are you a tortoise or a hare? From my point of view as a speaker, trainer and coach for the last 15 years, the true answer for most salespeople is the soft fuzzy one (and darn proud of it!).
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)
Brand Your Online Photos In Just Seconds
Monday, August 9th, 2010
If you use a lot of photos on your Website or blog each one can be modified in a very easy way that will protect them from being “borrowed” by your competitors and extend your brand every time a visitor looks at them. Here’s how it’s done…
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.
Choose Who YOU Want to Work With
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
Do you work with every prospect that comes your way? Even in the best of times most agents do, figuring “Any business is better than no business.” And when times are tough, sales associates tend to look at prospects like someone dying of thirst looks at a glass of cool, clear water.
Yet this very understandable approach to new business could in fact cost you the very thing you want –a steady stream of new business.
The reality is that you will do better by being very selective with whom you choose to work. The reasons are very simple: you will enjoy your job so much more and those that you do serve will appreciate your efforts that much more.
The funny thing about human nature is that the more selective you become, the easier it will be to attract those very people. When I had my Mortgage company in the mid-1980’s, real estate agents told their borrowers they had to call and mention the agent’s name if they wanted a chance to work with me. Needless to say, this created a sense of extreme value in the minds of prospects —they were chasing me, instead of the other way around.
This effect was helped greatly by my very public declaration that I simply did not work with everyone…
It’s not a matter of who can benefit from what you sell. It’s about choosing the customers you’d like to have.
Seth Godin
There is one very important caveat here. This only works well when you also choose to specialize. Trying to be everything to everyone is like taking a megaphone to a crowd of people and screaming that you will take all comers —it kind of defeats the purpose.
Differentiate For Success
Monday, July 26th, 2010
What are the qualities that define a top producer from just another real estate sales associate struggling to keep it all together?
There are two primary ones that really make these folks, well… stand out from the crowd:
- Implementation – they consistently put into practice proven strategies and tactics. You never hear excuses as to why they didn’t do something.
- Differentiation – they strive to be different, stand out from everyone else.
This second one is so interesting because while most agents will talk about “standing out” their actions say something else. Many agents clearly become uncomfortable if they do or even consider doing something that will make them stand out. Maybe it’s a throw-back to the days when we were in high school and “being like everyone else” was social survival rule #1.
When it comes to being consistently successful however, being perceived as different from the rest (ideally in a good way) is absolutely essential both in business and life…
America has believed that in differentiation, not in uniformity, lies the path of progress. It acted on this belief; it has advanced human happiness, and it has prospered.
Louis D. Brandeis
(American Supreme Court Justice, 1856-1941)
We are all unique beings with unique talents, perspectives and gifts that can positively affect our world. It just takes willingness and courage to allow them to flower.
(NOTE: click on the image above to view a short video about the importance of differentiation in marketing)
Earn More, Work Less & Enjoy Life
Saturday, July 24th, 2010After you have been selling real estate for awhile, chances are you have become reasonably adept at generating and closing leads. Striving to improve these skills will incrementally improve your business for sure. However, here is the one thing you can do that will result in a quantum leap in your bottom line and give you more free time to enjoy it…
Job vs. Business
First of all, you can’t possibly have a massive improvement to your business if you don’t have a business. The vast majority of real estate sales professionals have a “job” they work for rather than a business that serves them. It’s a huge distinction that is lost on even some of the industry’s top producers. It doesn’t matter how much money you make, it is how it’s made that matters.
As the figure below shows, there are only three things to consider for any business (whether it’s real estate sales, manufacturing widgets or building skyscrapers) Lead Generation, Lead Conversion and Business Support. These are known as the three phases of the business cycle, and every successful business follows them.
How you handle each of these phases will determine the extent of your business success. For the sake of this article we are going to assume that your core competencies of Lead Generation and Conversion are well handled. Our focus instead will be the Business Support phase of the cycle. The way most agents handle Business Support literally guarantees they become mired in the job of selling real estate, rather than having the benefit of a business doing the heavy lifting for them.
The Three Most Expensive Ways to Get Things Done
The biggest factor that holds sales associates back from truly having a business that serves them, is how they handle all of the myriad details that need to be done outside of their selling activities. Here are the three most expensive mistakes most agents make when dealing with these issues (listed in order of most expensive on down):
- Not Do It At All – in their well-intentioned attempts to do everything themselves, they become so overwhelmed that the detailed items start falling through the cracks and their lead generation / closing activities suffer.
- Do It Themselves – one of the biggest limiting beliefs in real estate sales is that if you want to have “total control” and have things done right, you have to do it yourself. Just for laughs, tell that to the CEO of any successful company and see their reaction. Remember, any time you do something outside of your core-competency, you end up paying top dollar for amateur results.
- Hire an Onsite Assistant – this may actually work if you are naturally gifted manager and motivator of people (which the most salespeople are not). However, you are still paying way too much for what you need done.
There is a fourth way however, that allows you to focus on what you do best, brings in the most money and costs you the least. It is the way I’ve run my businesses for the last 15 years and have taught 10s of thousands of REALTORS to transform their business…
Virtual Outsourcing – Business Support On Call
Imagine being able to hire talent to accomplish nearly anything you need done, that you don’t have to train, motivate, provide office space, equipment or benefits, and you only pay for what you use. That is the payoff of using virtual assistants and consultants. It is the only way I’ve found that is accessible to every real estate sales person of any experience level that truly addresses the Business Support phase of their business cycle in a practical and profitable way.
Keep in mind however that working with virtual assistants and consultants is not at all like working with a traditional onsite assistant. In fact, if you treat them that way it is almost guaranteed to fail. The process of finding, evaluating, hiring and working profitably with virtual assistants and consultants can be a bit involved. So to avoid the inevitable overwhelm that would result from my attempting to insert all that material here, I’ve created a separate PDF download for you that covers the following topics in great detail:
- On-Site Assistants vs. Virtual Assistants
- Ways Virtual Assistants Can Support Your Success
- How To Find And Hire The Right VA For You
- Five Critical VA Interview Questions
To download this free document, just go to www.Facebook.com/OnlineDominance and click the “Cool Tools” tab at the top of the page. There you will find a number of free resources including the special report “ePRODUCTIVITY – Earn More, Work Less & Enjoy Life!“.
Case Studies
Here are just a few examples of REALTORS who have incorporated Virtual Outsourcing into their business and never looked back:
- Dave Fletcher, The Fletcher Group – uses a virtual transaction coordinator to handle the many 10s of millions of dollar closing each year. Here’s the best part, she only charges Dave if the deal closes!
- Chris Coveny, Royal LePage Performance Realty – found a skilled virtual writer to research and post on his blog for a fraction of what his time is worth.
- Roman Pavlik, Pavlik Luxury Real Estate – found several VAs to keep his listings up to date on his Website on a daily basis.
- Sven Andersen, The Andersen Team – uses a team of VAs to handle every aspect of his listing marketing coordination, which of course frees him up to bring in as many new listings he wants without breaking a sweat.
It is no accident that all of the above (and many, many others) have a business that serves them, instead of being a slave to a job. If you truly want to have a business where you can earn more, work less and enjoy life you need to focus on what you do best and outsource the rest. Virtual Outsourcing (i.e. using virtual assistants and consultants) is the most viable and affordable way to accomplish this available to all REALTORS of any skill and experience level.
NOTE: Mr. Internet®, RUSSER Communications, its staff and officers receive no compensation whatsoever from any third party vendors (unless he/they are directly involved with the creation and/or improvement of a vendor service or product), and make no recommendations as to the suitability of the products or services mentioned in this article. Always thoroughly investigate any product or service before trying or purchasing.
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.russer.com
This article is reprinted in its entirety from the July 2010 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright © 2010. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark of RUSSER Communications.
