If you are a productive agent, you eventually run into the Glass Ceiling.  It’s not a limitation by sex, age or any personal characteristic.  Rather, it’s TIME.  You have so much going on, you are trying to handle it all yourself, and you just do not have the time to do so.  The “Little Things” are taking away from your primary purpose of building a profitable business.

That’s when it’s time to turn over the “little things” to a good Virtual Assistant (VA).

CyberStar® Dianne Dunn of Keller Williams Realty, New Bern, NC, has had a VA for seven years.  Here are a few tips she passes along, together with some of the tasks she has turned over to a VA.

“I have used RealSupportInc.com (Carrie Gable) for 7 years after she was recommended by my fellow CyberStar® Joan Prout.  Every top agent should have a VA, and I would recommend that you make sure any VA you choose is very familiar with real estate and that she is familiar with your database management program.  We use Top Producer 8i and Carrie knows it well.  I also recommend that your VA has a checklist of all the tasks that need to be completed, and that she follows them carefully so you do not need to supervise everything.

“Tasks that my VA does for me include, but are not limited to:

• Creates virtual tours and posts them on all of our websites.
• Sends thank you letters to sellers, including links to all websites where the property is listed
• Sends out monthly reports to all sellers from Realtor.com, Homefeedback.com and VirtualTour.com
• Sends out an email blast to our entire database whenever we have a new listing or a price change.
• Prepares monthly statistics and posts on our blog and in the Realty Times newsletter
• Keeps me updated on the stats for my monthly neighborhood newsletter

She does many other tasks upon requests, and she, like any good VA, definitely makes me money!”

Maybe it’s time that you broke through the Glass Ceiling?  If so, hire a VA today.

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

More tips on finding and using a VA can be found in my new eBook, “Digital Essentials for Today’s Agent.”  Only $29.95!

We tend to think that “getting the listing” happens at the end of our listing presentation, when we present the listing form and ask that they sign.  My mentor taught me differently.  “You get the listing (or lose it!) long before the end of your presentation,” she said.  “What you do from your first contact with them should be designed to impress them with your professionalism and competence.  Your listing book and all forms should look uniform and professional.  The object of all you do is to form a relationship with them.”  She also said that it didn’t matter that I worked with the largest firm in town (Long & Foster Real Estate): they would choose me, not my company.

She was right.

One of the most important things she taught me re. relationship building was to pay attention to the sellers’ children.  Think about it.  They love their children (presumably!), and if you pay attention to the children, you are scoring points with the parents.

Here are some ideas I’ve gathered as to how you can include young children in the listing/selling process, thus scoring points with the parents.  Note: Always get the parents’ permission before implementing any of these ideas or others you might have!

• Have a complete, professional-looking, children’s packet.  This would include a “Clean Room” certificate, something written in “kid speak” on how to help Mom and Dad with the move and a couple of blue ribbons the parents can give them for doing something special.
• Present them with a list of fun children’s Web sites….there are tons of them out there!
• Give each child a supply of their own business cards.  Do them in Microsoft Publisher.  Place their photo on the front, and give them the title, “Special Assistant To Emma Moore, ABC Realty.”  Your phone number, not theirs, should be on the front.  Place a picture of their home on the back, but not an address.  Tell them that they are your very special helpers and that you want them to have their own business cards…just like yours!  One of my CyberStars® has done this for years, and it has come to be expected when she lists a home in her farm area.

You can think of more ways to include the kids in the listing/selling process, I’m sure.  Just remember: they love their kids and they will think more of you if you pay attention to the kids.

BTW: MoversDirectory.com has some wonderful tips on moving with children.  Take a look at it for more ideas, and give the link to the parents at or before your first meeting.

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

Check our Allen’s new eBook, “Digital Essentials for Today’s Agent,” here!

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!

Today’s Real Estate Tip on my Facebook page focused on the benefits of going out of town to take seminars and attend conventions.  Doing so enhances the learning process and enables you to build an agent referral network.  Many of my CyberStars(r) derive a large part of their income from agent referrals nationwide precisely because they do so.

Here’s an article from my new eBook, “Digital Essentials For Today’s Agent,” that will be on the Web next week.  It is written by CyberStar(r) Sandra Nickel of Sandra Nickel REALTORS, Montgomery, AL.  Sandra is a top agent in Montgomery and has been for years.  Her article reveals her system for building a profitable agent network.  Here’s what she says:

“As a small independent, I have no access to corporate referrals, so I am on my own to build an agent referral network.  To do so, I rely on attending a lot of REALTOR® functions, most out of my area, and have done so for years.  This, together with my use of technology, allows me to create an profitable agent referral network with over 2,000 members.

“When attending a function, I gather business cards and attendee rosters.   When I get back into the office, I place the agent’s contact information into my Top Producer database, labeling each with the contact type ‘RefAgt.’  My agent list, accessible instantly from my Top Producer database by searching for ‘RefAgt,’ now numbers over 2,000.

“Once a week, usually midweek, I send out my ‘Sandra’s SuccessGram,’ a sales tip and informal dialogue, to the entire database of agents.  Here’s an example:

Let’s face it:  No matter how well your price your listings right now, you’re probably going to get low offers.  Why?  Because buyers are being told by the media that they can get away with it.

So, warn your sellers that low offers might be coming in a way they will understand…and with a smile, too!  Here’s a script for you:

‘Mr. and Mrs. Seller, where buyers are concerned, there are more nuts out there right now than squirrels to eat them!  So be prepared for low offers.  And just remember: any offer is good because it alerts us that somebody out there wants to buy the house!’

We know how to communicate with buyers and sellers in any market, so look to us for all your Central Alabama referrals!

Thanks–we appreciate you!

“A few keystrokes for ‘RefAgt’ in Top Producer instantly brings up all contacts labeled ‘RefAgt,’  I insert my text, and one click emails the message to all 2,000 agents.  This keeps me top-of-mind with the recipients and enables me and my team to enjoy a steady flow of agent referrals, all at a zero cost!”

Several points from Sandra’s article are worth noting:

• She attends a lot of seminars and meetings (CRS annual meetings, NAR Conventions, StarPower gatherings, CyberStar(r) gatherings and more) out of her area so that she can indentify and network with high producing agents from around the country.
• She uses a real estate specific database, not Outlook, which allows her to easily use contact types, action plans and target marketing to stay in touch with her network.
• She sends out information which members of her network find useful in building their businesses.

During a recent thread on the CRS (Council of Residential Specialists) group on LinkedIn, an agent asked if anyone was getting results from Top Producer’s Market Snapshot.  Several agents replied that they had not gotten any results, one even commenting: “We have it had it since day one in two areas. Haven’t had a great response. Sellers find it interesting but it hasn’t brought in many listing leads. Much better ways to invest.”

Top Producer Market Snapshot

I was surprised, as I had heard from many of my CyberStars(r) that they were making money using Market Snapshot.  Several of them submitted articles for my upcoming eBook of CyberStar(r) tech tips and said that they wouldn’t be without it along with explanations of how they use it.  I was pleased to see a comment later in the discussion from Lorna Calder, CRS, of RE/MAX Associates Northeast, Houston, TX.  You can see her fine Web site here.

Lorna wrote:

“This is one tool that I will not do without!

“I use it exclusively at open houses to turn prospects into captured leads. I capture almost every name, address email and cell phone of my walk-ins at open house and use Market Snapshot as an integral part of my open house system. I also have my sphere set up on it.

“The results are measurable, and I am able to see who is viewing the snapshot from Market Snapshot’s back office. I have closed 8 buyer transactions from open houses in the past year, thanks in large part to my use of Market Snapshot. This is a valuable tool that buyers and sellers can use to put their finger on the pulse of the market, which is usually why they are at open house: to get info. I understand and respect that most people are not buying this instant (I am one of those people) and that they need to ‘percolate’ a little, as Allen said in his comment.

“Objections and concerns are an opportunity to provide more information to prospects, and Market Snapshot does this effectively in a non-obtrusive way.  It is permission-based marketing, and it also helps drive traffic to my website.”

I applaud Lorna’s comments.  They demonstrate one of my major findings during my seminars around the country: two agents can have the same product, one gets no results, the other gets fantastic results.

The reason?  Some think of a particular product as a “magic wand.”  They think that the product itself will bring results.  Not true!  Two agents can have the same Web site from a template company, for example.  One customizes her site, adds features and publicizes it extensively.  The other does not.  The first makes a lot of money from her site; the second makes none and blames the Web site company for her results!

So…take a look at the tools you have.  If one is not working for you, apply what you know about marketing as Lorna did and turn that tech tool into increased commissions for your business!

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

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