First, let me say that I am not a big fan of Realtor.com.  I poll all of my classes around the country when we cover the three available sources for agent Web sites, asking the class how many have a presence on Realtor.com and how many of those are making money with their Realtor.com site.  A majority of attendees have a Realtor.com site of some sort; less than 1% are making money from it.

That said, I recommend having a minum presence on Realtor.com since a majority of sellers will look for you there before choosing you to sell their home.  But…be aware that you don’t have to pay Realtor.com’s exhorbitant fees these days.  They will negotiate, and you will save money.

Here are some of the comments posted by a few of my CyberStars(r) when the topic of negotiating with Realtor.com was broached on our private Google Group:

“No matter what they say, they will deal.  It took me 3 months of bluffing/cancelling/etc., but I did get my annual fee drastically reduced from the ‘chart.’”

“I’m in their 2nd tier (25-50 listings p/yr).  I negotiated a 44% discount with them last year.  My subscription is for their ‘enhanced showcase’ only.  I tried the zip codes feature a few years ago and dropped it.  When I checked my stats on buyer/seller leads from the Web, only 5% of my buyer leads came from R.com, and 10% of our seller leads.  Not very high, but like you, I suspect that sellers expect to see you on R.com.  I use it as a marketing tool in my Pre-List, since many agents in my area don’t subscribe, or subscribe and never utilize it with the 25 photos and extended text descriptions that are offered.  My VA handles it all as part of my listing program.”

“I have been able to negotiate a significant concessions on the featured homes.   You just have to tell them what you’re willing to pay, and they’ll come back to you.”

“If you are worried about keeping clients happy with your online marketing (which I was when we let Realtor.com lapse earlier this year), my solution was to talk about how being on just one site isn’t important anymore, which is why we were giving them hundreds of sites.  Then we created a list of the IDX sites in town and also talked about the growth of Zillow, Craigslist, Trulia and other sites we could post to for free.”

“I also am SMALL TIME, but got a 50% discount on renewal of Featured Listings, about 3 months ago.”

“After 8 years I am no longer paying the   monthly Realtor.com extortion fee and guess what?  I am still selling homes!  That’s $3400 a year to spend on new money-making tech tools and on more effective Web marketing strategies.”

Again, I am not saying that having a presence on Realtor.com is or is not necessary to your success, but if you do use Realtor.com as a marketing tool, I hope you see that it pays to negotiate!

It’s a beautiful day here on the lake in Reston…hope it’s a beautiful day wherever you are, too!

Hope you’ll check out my latest post on Active Rain, “Allen Commits Heresy, Or Why You Shouldn’t Waste Time On Twitter!”  Leave me a comment on your reaction….

It’s a great day here on the lake in Reston…hope it’s a great day wherever you are, too!

CyberStar(r) Carol Pease

I was talking with CyberStar(r) Carol Pease of Keller Williams Realty, Austin, TX, today, wishing her a Happy Birthday.  Carol and her husband, Ernie, are two of my favorite people, and it’s always a pleasure talking with her.

Towards the end of our conversation, Carol told me of a site she recently discovered: Driving Route Planner. If you have not yet used it with your buying prospects, give it a try…you’ll be sold on it!

Driving Route Planner will:

• Let you enter up to 8 different addresses for one trip, i.e. 8 different properties for them to view
• Estimate the minutes spent at each stop so that you can calculate the total time of the trip
• Choose between shortest & quickest routes
• Choose the sequence of stops during the trip
• Enter departure time so that you can estimate your arrival time at each stop
• Give you a printout complete with times, miles and carbon footprint for the trip

Carol uses Driving Route Planner all the time, presenting her buyers with a printout of their house tour and finds it to be a valuable free tool for her business.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

It’s a great day here on the lake in Reston…hope it’s a great day wherever you are, too!

Some things just really make you sad if you know how effective today’s technology can be!  I saw a comment on a networking site the other day where an agent was thrilled that she had received her first lead from her site…in two years!  Almost brought tears to my eyes!

This does not need to be and should not be the case!  My view is that if your site does not earn you $20,000+ in closed gross commissions per year, it’s not worth having!!

As my ol’ Pappy told me, “If you want to be successful, do what successful people do!”  When it comes to having a successful agent site, if you study money making sites and incorporate their principles into your own site, it should be successful.

Brian Copeland

A great place to start is by looking at the agent Web site of one of our newest CyberStars(r), Brian Copeland, CRS, of Village Real Estate, Nashville, TN.  Brian is relatively new to real estate, but he really “gets it” when it comes to marketing to today’s consumer using today’s technology.  He was the Greater Nashville Association’s Rookie of the Year and was selected by Real Estate Magazine as one of the nation’s “Top 50 REALTORS(r) On The Rise” in 2007.  

Talk with Brian, and he will tell you that since 87% of today’s consumers go first to the Web to choose a home or an agent to market their home, an agent must have a strong Web presence.  Brian does.  He has an excellent Web site, a great blog, and he has already staked out his territory when it comes to social networking sites.

Several features I love about Brian’s money-making site:

• Great design and easy navigation
• “The Buzz Around”: 4 interchangeable testimonials on his splash page
• Very heavy emphasis on client testimonials with lots of video client testimonials
• Great listing treatment: lots of photos, maps, request a showing, add to favorites list, points of interest, direct link to inquire about the listing and more
• Wonderful use of video on his “Resources” page
• Link to his blog

So many Web sites out there….but which can build your business and make you money?  Here’s a list of 20of my favorite sites, most of which I demonstrate in my seminars, showing how agents can make money, save money and save time using them.  Hope they help your business!

It’s a beautiful day here on the lake in Reston…hope it’s a beautiful day wherever you are, too!

1.     Issuu.com (Free)
Takes any document, spreadsheet, PowerPoint show saved in PDF format and converts it into a sexy “eBook” format.  Posting your marketing presentation, home tour, etc. here can be a real point of difference when going for a listing!

2.     City-Data.com (Free)

My fellow CRS Instructor, Mike Selvaggio, introduced us to the great data available on this site while we were at our CRS 206 meeting at the DC NAR meetings…outstanding resource for your data and analytics

3.     Atom.Smasher.org (Free)

Cute…but useful.  Make your own digital sign to include in presentations, emails, etc.  I use it to do a “Welcome Sign” during the introduction for my seminars.

4.     GoToMeeting.com

This site, and its big brother GoToWebinar, makes doing online Webinars and training sessions a snap.  I use GoToWebinar to conduct private Webinars with my CyberStars(r) and for presenting Webinars with clients to promote our upcoming seminars. 

5.     LowesRealtorBenefits.com (Free)
Great prospecting & client retention tool.  CyberStar(r) Mel Coker of Columbia, SC, writes about this and how he uses it in my upcoming eBook.  A great resource that few agents seem to know about. 

6.     Google Docs (Free)
Great online document collaboration tool for working with your Virtual Assistant. 

7.     Google Analytics (Free)
Every agent with a Web site needs to use this measurement tool to analyze traffic to his/her site so that adjustments and improvements can be made on a regular basis. 

8.     Google Maps (Free)
Linking Google Maps to an agent’s listings results in more sales and is a terrific listing and showing tool. 

9.     Google Earth (Free)
Screen grabs of listings, property to be shown, etc., from Google Earth are great sales tools.  Here’s an example that CyberStar(r) Alan Mah uses in his property eBook for listing presentations.

10.  Agency Logic Power Sites
Tremendous, easy-to-use single property sites for displaying listings, selling listings from your Web site and getting the listing by showing sellers that you go the extra mile in marketing your listings. 

11.  RealProSystems
The biggest money-making option for agent Web sites according to my 200+ agent networking group. 

12.  FotoFlexer (Free)
Online image editor with great features and photo effects. 

13.  Photo Story 3 (Free)
Create slideshows using your digital photos, touch-up, crop, add special effects and voice narration, titles and captions.  Extremely easy to use! 

14.  YouTube (Free)
Not just for tipsy teenagers, YouTube has become a valuable marketing venue for savvy agents.  Hope your video client testimonials, marketing presentation, area tours, etc. are up on YouTube…it pays! 

15.  Animoto (Free)
Takes digital photos and turns ‘em into videos.  Best suited for the younger generation that likes action in their presentations!

16.  TubeMogul (Free)
One click uploads your videos to the top video sites and gives analytic data on who, what and how videos are being watched. 

17.  Jott
Great time saver!  Ever have a voicemail where the caller goes on and on and on?  Jott translates voicemail or notes into text messages for easier, faster review.

 18.  WalkScore (Free)

Instantly locates all area attractions within waling distance of an address.  Great for adding data to your listings.

19.  Xobni (Free)

 For Outlook, a great tools for managing/analyzing your crowded email!

 20.  Zemanta (Free)

Free service that will find free photos to include while you are blogging or writing emails

I want you!

I am going to publish an eBook of technology tips, techniques and strategies from agents just like you who use toay’s technology to meet the needs of today’s consumer.

Send me your sumission….can be short or long…and I’ll make you famous!  Pick a tech tool you use, write about how you use it to make money, save money or save time.

Email it to me at Allen@AFHSeminars.com.

I look forward to hearing from you!

It’s a great day here on the lake in Reston…hope it’s a great day wherever you are, too!

Fujitsu ScanSnap S510

One of the Top 5 tools used by my CyberStars(r) is the Fujitsu ScanSnap.  I continually hear from them how indespensible it is and about the number of time-saving money-making uses they have for this hardware.

Here are two pieces on using the ScanSnap from two of my CyberStars(r).  Each will be included in my upcoming eBook on how the CyberStars(r) use today’s technology to mee the needs of today’s consumer.

My Favorite Tool: Jackie Safran, RE/MAX Hometown, Metuchen, NJ

My favorite tool (other than my Mac) is my ScanSnap scanner, the S500M for Mac.  This phenomenal little machine has a small footstep so that it takes up a tiny space on my desk.  It is so easy to use, and its speed always amazes me.  It is very user friendly, and the scanned jobs are excellent.   As a Mac user, it enables me to make anything into a PDF file that can easily be sent to a pc user and they can open the document.  This machine gets my 5 star rating!  I use mine mainly for turning contracts and other documents into PDF files so that everyone can open them.  I use my ScanSnap instead of a fax machine as much as possible, as it will copy both sides of two-sided documents.  At the end of a transaction, I scan all of the documents into one PDF file and then save in on a CD. 

The software included with the machine allows you to scan to folders, scan to emails, and much more.  You put in a pile of paper, push a button and you have the document as a PDF file in seconds.  The ScanSnap has made my life so much easier and saved me so much time in the last 18 months since I purchased it.

ScanSnap Uses: Chris Laurence, RE/MAX Choice, Front Royal, VA

I have two ScanSnaps, one in my home office and one on my desk at the office.  All items relating to a case (listing docs, contracts, plats, settlement statement, etc.) are scanned and filed into case folders right from the ScanSnap.  I can easily retrieve them to email to other agents, and I can also upload documents easily to Settlement Room’s online transaction management system or elsewhere.  It is easy for me to file old cases and to quickly retrieve old plats, etc., for re-use when I list the home later.  I have also built a library of restrictive covenants for the various subdivisions in my area.  All are scanned for easy retrieval.  All tax “stuff” is also scanned and filed: receipts, summaries, breakdowns, actual returns and schedules and more.

I hope Jackie’s and Chris’s commets are helpful for you…and that you will give serious consideration to getting a ScanSnap of your own.  It will make you money, save you money and save you time!

It’s a great day here on the lake in Reston…hope it’s a great day wherever you are, too!

I am relaxing here for a day or two at the Buccaneer Hotel on St. Croix after teaching the CRS 206 course here.  It was a wonderful, relaxed, information-packed course with 28 wonderful real estate agents in attendance.  Here are a few of my thoughts after the course in no particular order:

• The students’ favorite tools/strategies were Snagit, the Flip digital video camera, a real estate specific database, using a VA (Virtual Assistant), getting a business coach and blogging.
• When agents who have never created a video or posted one to YouTube see one of their classmates who has never done one either doing it front of them, it’s a Wow!  Reaction: I can do that, too!
• When agents who have never created a panoramic photo see one of their own do so in VisualTour.com, there is a similar reaction.
• Students tend to lose their fear of technology when they see how to market with it in the CRS 206…and how easy it is.
• Most see the need to focus on their Web sites and blogs as their core business tool after learning about what a money-making Web site should contain and seeing specific examples from successful agents.
• Most resolve to use the automatic followup systems in their real estate database or systems such as Gooder Group or Real Pro Systems.

As mentioned, this class was very enjoyable…relaxed and exciting at the same time.  My main goal in teaching it is to show attendees how to make money, save money and save time using today’s technology…mission accomplished here in St. Croix!

Two further points:

• Every agent wanting to build a more profitable business needs to take the CRS 206 technology course.
•  If your group wants to bring in a 206, I would appreciate your asking for me to be the instructor…I love doing the course, and the “non techie” approach I use seems to work well.

It’s a beautiful day here on the beach in St. Croix…hope it’s a beautiful day wherever you are, too!

If you have not yet discovered (and used!) single property Web sites, it’s time!

A single property Web site is, as its name implies, a Web site focusing on a single property.  There are several companies that provide such sites, but they basically work the same: you upload text, photos and, in some cases, documents that pertain to a particular listing to the single property Web site company.  They arrange it in their standard format, send you the link, and you put that link on your Web sites, blog and any other sources you have for posting it. 

Here is a selection from my new eBook of real estate tech tips from the CyberStars®, to be released shortly.  In it, CyberStar® Peggy West of Peggy West Properties, Houston, TX, presents some tips on how she uses Agency Logic Power Sites, my favorite single property Web site provider.  (You can see more information on Agency Logic and receive special pricing by clicking here.) 

“I love to razzle-dazzle my sellers with their very own single property web site!  My favorite provider for this is Agency Logic.  Agency Logic’s site is for a single listing, and it has a multitude of pages.  I can add anything to it that I wish (such as documents for downloading, links to my blog and other sites), and it is easy to create…I don’t have to be a “techie” to create it or to add to it.  Best of all, it results in a really great “Power Site” for each one of my listings!  

“Agency Logic uses the property address URL for the site, i.e., “108 Oak Street”.  We can upload 30-100 photos of the property, link to the school system, neighborhood web sites, create our own neighborhood web pages, attach surveys, downloadable fliers and property information of any type in pdf format….well you get the idea. 

“We can attach a non-branded version of the Agency Logic site to our local MLS listings.  With so many agents showing maybe 1-10 photos of their listings and giving no real information or downloadable information, we shine!  You can upload the non-branded site to REALTOR.com as well. 

“I have had buyers come into one of my listings and say, “I don’t even have to see this house.  I’m already in love with it!   I saw it all on Web site!”   

“Agency Logic single property sites are a great listing tool as well.  Do the site in advance (it does not take much time at all) and post it on your site (hidden, of course) before the listing appointment and show it to the sellers on your tablet or notebook pc.  We are all in competition for listings, and this has to be the biggest “point of difference” I have seen.   

“You can see samples of my Agency Logic sites at www.46WincrestFalls.com, www.13619Alchester.com, www.27Williamsburg.com and www.11107Wickway.com.  Again, I recommend these sites to all agents who want to take more listings and sell more listings.”

Peggy is one of the top agents in Houston.  This is only one of the tech tools she uses to build her business, and I hope you will give it some consideratio.

It’s a great day here on the lake in Reston…hope it’s a great day wherever you are, too!

My last post pointed you to a free highway sign generator.  CyberStar(r) Teri Isner of Keller Williams in Orlando sent me a tip for my upcoming ebook on the sign generator as well.  Turns out the highway sign is one option of 12 sign options available at AtomSmasher.org.  Really neat!

Teri uses Atom Smasher for some neat purposes, as you can see here from several of her examples.  Give it a try!

Las Vegas Strip Sign

Street Crowd Sign

It’s a great day here on the lake in Reston…hope it’s a great day wherever you are, too!