One reason I love teaching seminars nationwide is that I hear from agents who have achieved great success applying what I teach. One such agent came to my attention today in Bryan, TX, where I am teaching the CRS 206 two-day technology course. She is Mari Montgomery of Keller Williams Realty, Huntsville, TX. You can see her Web site here and her dynamic blog here.

Tonight, while working in my hotel room, I got an email from Mari. Among other things, she shared the following:

“I knew from the beginning that my website was my everything.  I have been through numerous websites and experiments in internet marketing.  I drew the idea for my current website on a napkin and got it done by a very smart guy.  My business comes almost exclusively from internet leads.”

I learned the following about Mari:

• She entered real estate in August, 2008
• Prior to entering real estate, she was the Choral Director of Huntsville High School
• She has only lived in Huntsville for three years and therefore did not have a Sphere of Influence there
• She started with no people in her database
• She has closed over 30 transactions to date
• She ranks 14^th out of 150+ agents in her office
• She ranks 162^nd out of almost 2500 Keller Williams agents in the greater Houston area.

Mari added one other item to her note: “I’ve got a lot to learn and am looking forward to the ride!”

I’m not surprised, but many agents whose production does not come close to Mari’s are not in the CRS 206 course…nor do they attend other courses. They are “too busy” or they feel that education isn’t worth the effort. Last week, I had a number of very heavy hitters in my CRS 206 course there. It was held in Waltham, MA, and some of the heavy hitters came from California, Oklahoma, Vermont and several other states. They realize the value of good education and they travel to get it.

Here’s what I hope you take away from this post: your Web site and a commitment to real estate education, primarily the CRS courses, will get you to the top….quickly.

It’s a beautiful day here in Bryan, TX….hope it’s a great day wherever you are, too!

Check out Allen’s New eBook of CyberStar(r) Tips Here!

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!

I'm Confused!

You would think that someone who wants to list and sell real estate would pay attention to the “little things,” those things that top agents do that unsuccessful agents do not do.  A few examples from my recent experience: 

Open House Directional Arrows:  My home is on the water at Lake Anne here in Reston, VA.  There are a number of homes and condos on tehwater in our community, and these properties are always in demand.  This weekend, there were two open house directional arrows leading from the main road into our waterfront community.  Neither had a “Waterfront!” rider on the directional arrow. 

These agents can’t even figure out how to add instant appeal to their directional arrows?  Unbelievable! 

A Personal URL:  My informal polls in the technology seminars I teach nationwide show that roughly 80%+ of the attendees do not have their own URL.  Instead, they have URLs such as: 

• Sarah.Jenkins@ABCRealty.com
• Bruce@hotmail.com
• Sandra@AOL.com

These agents haven’t figured out that #1 causes major problems if they change firms, #2 shows consumers that they are cheapskates and #3 shows the consumer is a “rookie” when it comes to today’s technology?  Neither #1, #2 or #3 has figured out the value of a personal URL for their email and Web site and blog?  Unbelievable! 

Not Returning Messages From Their Web Site Within One Hour:  Every year, I do an experiment: I send an email to four Web sites in different sized market areas around the country pretending to be a buyer.  I ask for more information on one of their listings.  My message says that I have sold my home in Virginia, I have $180,000 cash and that I need to find a home in their area within 2 months.  I then wait for a response.

In the six years I have been conducting this experiment, I have had only one agent get back to me within 1 hour.  As for the rest, the earliest reply came back in seven days and 50% of the agents never replied.

Don’t these agents understand that consumers seek information from many sites at the same time and that they usually give their business to the first agent who gets back to them?  Unbelievable! 

Spending Too Much Time In The Office:  You have one in your office….the agent who spends most of his time in the office.  He researches, he works the Web, he takes up everyone else’s time talking about non-real estate subjects, he bitches about everything (especially the sales manager, the broker and the top agent in the office).  He goes home at the end of the day convinced that he has “done” real estate.

Don’t agents such as this understand that buyers and sellers don’t live in filing cabinets and that the good agents who drop by the office do not want their time wasted?  Unbelievable!

Agents Who Don’t Think They Have To Sharpen The Axe:  Too many agents do not go to local seminars…..much less to a seminar out of town where they could build an agent network.  They are “too busy,” or they “can’t afford the fee” or, my favorite, they “have buyers” they are showing houses to.  They forget that a “buyer is only a buyer when a buyer buys,” and precious few of their “buyers” buy.

Don’t they realize that the way to make more money, save more money and save more time is to learn what you don’t know?  Unbelievable!

Oh well….when my own life reaches the lofty heights of perfection, I’ll straighten them out!

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

NOTE:  I’m teaching the CRS 206 Technology Course in the following locations shortly.  Click on the link for registration details.  Hope you’ll join me!

Christiansted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, April 23-24

Albuquerque, NM, April 30-May 1

Jackson, TN, May 6-7

2009 CyberStar(r) Summit

We just concluded our CyberStar(r) Summit in Scottsdale, AZ.  110 CyberStars(r) shared real estate tips, technologies and strategies during 2 days of intense sharing.  Our CyberStar(r) Summit is a unique event in real estate conferences in that we ALL share what we know with each other in the areas of real estate technology, marketing and business practices.  The CyberStars(r) are all top agents, but they check their egos at the door and share their “best stuff” with fellow attendees openly.

We did a lot on social networking (great presentations on how Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, etc., can be used to grow your business!), reducing expenses while increasing income, increasing Web site and blog effectiveness, marketing w/real estate video on YouTube, marketing materials, scripts, forms, ideas to serve today’s consumer better…and so much more.

We were exposed to uses for sites and services such as SlyDial, DriveBuyTech, ShowingFeedback, HomeSteps, Snagit, TinyURL, PhoneTag and about 50 more sites that can be useful in real estate.

You might not be a CyberStar(r), but our experience points out the amazing value of networking with your real estate peers.  Most agents don’t attend conventions such as their franchise conventions, NAR annual convention, CRS Sell-A-Bration and others.  I’m always amazed when I talk to someone who does not attend such events.  How do they expect to grow, as real estate agents and as human beings, without attending these events?

So…seek out networking opportunities and get on board.  Learn and grow!

NOTE: If you are interested in CyberStar(r) membership, see our eBook on the requirements/benefits of membership here.  For a list of our members, go here.  If you think you qualify, let me know by emailing me at Allen@AFHSeminars.com.   I’ll get you an application.

I will be posting some specific techniques from our Summit in my next post…stay tuned, and let others in your networking group know about this blog!

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

Allen F. Hainge, CRS

My first post of the year serves to wish all of you a happy, prosperous and joyous New Year!

 2008 was a year filled with challenges for many of us.  It is now behind us, and a new  year lies ahead.  May each of us in our own way take the coming year “One Day At A  Time,” meeting whatever challenges face us each day with courage, determination and a focus  on what is important in our lives and in the lives of those we care for.

 Today’s new year begins with a new day…today.  I hope that today is a wonderful day  for all of you, and that it is one of many, many great days for you during 2009!

I just finished teaching the CRS 206 course in Columbia, SC.  As usual, we covered a number of today’s best tech tools, tools that meet the needs of today’s consumers.  One of the tools I demonstrated was Issuu.com.  You can visit it here.

 Issuu is a free upload site…but one with a difference.  Files saved in PDF format, such as PowerPoint, Excel, Word files and more saved as PDF’s, can be shown on Issuu as ebooks, emagazines or more.  It is a simple process: create your document or presentation, save it as a PDF, go to Issuu.com and click on "Upload."  Couldn’t be easier, and the results are really amazing.

I have posted a number of presentations to Issuu and will continue to do so.  You can see the slides I did for my presentation for the Texas Assn. of REALTORS(r) here.  CyberStar(tm) James Nellis of the Nellis Group here in Northern Virginia has a number of presentations on Issuu including their listing presentation, eflyers and more.

If you use PowerPoint, use Issuu as a point of difference for showing your presentations in a very "with it" way…you’ll be glad you did!

Here’s an update on where I’ll be in the near future.  Hope to see you at an upcoming seminar!

April 21: Chicago, IL

    CyberStar(tm) Panel RE/MAX of Northern Illinois.  Register with Candy Kissner, CKissner@RMXun.com, 847-219-4097

May 5-6: Medford, OR

    CRS 206.  Register with Oregon CRS Chapter, Jane Robertson, OregonCRS@OregonCRS.org  or 866/ 625-8494

May 21-22: Duluth, GA (Atlanta)

    CRS 206.  Register with Northeast Atlanta Metro AOR, Barbara Janes, barb@namar.org or 770/ 495-7300

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