I just received this message from Allen F. CyberStar(tm) Pete Doty of Denver, CO (www.DenverRelocation.com):

"Just wanted you to know that 50% of my business this year has come from the Web & 50% from friends, family & referrals, both broker and past clients."

Now that’s running a business!  I asked Pete to give me some background as to what he did over the years to achieve this balance.  I hope his response can help you build a better business!

"Here’s a rough view of what I’ve done.  I used SEO ("Search Engine Optimization) to bring my site from page 47 to a 3rd or 5th spot on page #1.  Also,  everyone I have ever come in contact with is on a drip email campaign.  I use RealProSystem’s  drip  campaign and stealth Web sites and swear by them.  I only had to do minor editing on RealProSystem’s pre-planned emails…they are terrific!  I duplicated one of these drip emails and put it on my 3 IDX follow up programs.

 "I have 4 major Web sites plus some minor ones:

• www.DenverRelocation.com, done by myself and a Web coach
• www.PeteDoty.com, my RealProSystem stealth site
• www.DenverHomeSource.net, self-published
• www.DenverHomeSource.com, self published
• www.SuburbanDenver.com, template from my franchise

"I have to emphasize that my membership in your CyberStar(tm) networking group has had a huge impact on my success.  The techniques I learn and the tools recommended by others, such as RealProSystems, are priceless!"

NOTE: After investigating RealProSystems, you can order it at a discount from www.AFHSeminars.com or by calling us at 800-695-3794.

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

I asked my fellow CRS 206 instructor, Mike Selvaggio, to contribute his Ten Top Tips for the revision of my best-selling book, "Dominate! Capturing Your Market With Today’s Technology."  The CRS 206 course is the Council of Residential Specialist’s 2-day technology course, the best course, in my opinion, for learning how to market with today’s technology.  Mike does a superb job on the digital photography module of the course, and he’s my "go to" guy when I want to learn more in this area.

Here are Mike’s top ideas…Top 10 + a bonus #11:

1.       Shoot lots of shots

2.       Shoot bedroom shots 4 feet off the ground

3.       Buy a wide angle camera like the Canon sd800

4.       Have at least a 512 mb card for storing your photos

5.       Reformat your card while in the camera at least once a month

6.       Always have your camera ready for that great shot

7.       Shoot kitchens by holding your camera over your head and if possible, stand on a chair

8.       Shoot exterior front shots at ¾ angle, not straight ahead. Stand on the non-garage side.

9.       Best shots are on cloudy days, not bright sunshine. Avoid harsh shadows.

10.   Take your best shot in the field so you do not have to work it over in your computer

11.   Set the resolution of your camera BEFORE you shoot so it matches the ultimate use (bonus tip)

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

So much technology….so many decisions!  How is one to decide what’s "the best" when it comes to buying a new computer, a scanner, a digital camera, new software or new Web services?

When faced with a major purchase, many of us are prone to "Analysis Paralysis."  We research, study, research and research again.  By the time we make a decision, we have lost time, productivity……and the technology we are researching has probably been improved upon!

This doesn’t have to be the case if we rely on experts who know a lot more about whatever product we’re researching than we do.  Here are two sites I depend on when it comes to making good, quick decisions when buying new technology.

PC Magazine’s Top Rated Products
This is my "go to" site when I need to buy technology….it has never let me down.  Checking out PC Magazine’s top picks online is quick, easy and accurate.  Go to PC Magazine online and click on "reviews," pick your product, then look at their top rated products.  Don’t think…just pick one of them that is in your price range, and you save a lot of time and avoid making costly mistakes!

CNET’s Editors’ Top Products
As  with PC Magazine, CNET offers a "top picks" section.  Like PC Magazine’s top picks, this where I go to make a fast, on-target decision when making a major purchase. To see CNET’s system, go to CNET, click on "reviews" and your decision is made easier!

Top Ten Reviews
I don’t use this site as often as I use PC Magazine’s, since it’s not as business oriented, but it is useful at times.  See it here.

So many agents lose money because they just can’t make a decision when it comes to buying today’s technology.  Remember: you do not need to suffer from "Analysis Paralysis."  Use the experts, make your choice, buy it…and start making money with it today!

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

I am so blessed to be associated with my CyberStars(tm), nearly 200 top agents from the US, Canada, Australia and The Bahamas!  The are a constant vein of marketing and technology ideas that show me how successful agents dominate their markets.
 

I recently received another example of their marketing prowess to today’s consumer, this time from CyberStar(tm) Allyson Hoffman of RE/MAX North, Chicago, IL.  Ally sent me a copy of her Mother’s Day mailout, containing a one page message and 10 1 cent stamps.  The message noted the recent postage increase and suggested that the recipient use the 1 cent stamps together with the "old" postage to send a greeting to one’s mother, grandmother or any mom who is special to the recipient.

That, of course, was traditional marketing with a twist, the attention getting stamps.

Ally didn’t stop there, however.  She made sure that the recipient knew where to find a variety of information she provides.  At the bottom of her message was the following:

• Buying/Selling & Area Information: www.Allyson.com or www.AllysonHoffman.com
• Homes For Sale: www.PropertySearchNorthernIllinois.com or www.PropertySearchChicagoArea.com
• What’s Sold & For How Much: www.HomeValuesChicagoArea.com
• Sharing Thoughts:www.RealEstateNorthernIllinois.com/blog

Think about the number of today’s marketing methods Ally used in her message:

• Traditional ("snail mail")
• Traditional (marketing "pizazz" with 1 cent stamps)
• Custom Web site (Allyson.com)
• Customized template site (AllysonHoffman.com from #1 Expert)
• Stealth sites (property search and home value sites from RealProSystems)
• Real estate blog (RealProSystems)
• Numerous domain names for target marketing

Ally accumulated these tools over the years.  The point is that she, unlike the majority of agents out there, invests in the tools needed to build her business, always being alert to the needs of today’s consumer and adapting to them.

BTW:  If your organization would benefit from a technology/marketing seminar focusing on the ideas of the CyberStars(tm) and examples of tools they use, I’d love to hear from you.  Email me and we’ll check for open dates!

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

I just returned from teaching a wonderful class in Medford, Oregon.  We did a lot on video marketing during our time together using the new FlipVideo.  A student who had never done a video before (much less posted one to YouTube) used the camera, took some videos during the day, stitched them together into one video and uploaded them to YouTube.  "Easy," agreed the class!

During group discussions on how to use video on sites such as YouTube, the following suggestions came out.  Perhaps you can use them to further your use of video on the Web in order to make more money and to provide better service!

1. Counseling interview (see CyberStar(tm) James Nellis’s great counseling interview here)
2. Interface with lenders for foreclosures & short sales
3. Client testimonials
4. Listing presentation
5. Buyer presentation
6. VIP buyer presentation
7. Tours of local attractions (golf course, amusement park, historical sites, etc.
8. New resident tours
9. General area tours
10. Special community event involvement
11. Preparing your home for sale
12. Listing tours
13. Previewing property for out-of-town buyers
14. Short sale education
15. Lender & broker price opinion presentations
16. Home inspections
17. Inspection before going to closing
18. Self-promotion of any type
19. Office recruiting
20. Promoting affiliates & business partners
21. Promote client appreciation events
22. Client weddings or other special events
23. Youth activity events
24. Family events
25. Vacations

You will be able to think of others, I’m sure.  The main point is that YouTube’s 70 million unique visitors per month make it a marketing vehicle you just can’t ignore!

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

Here’s a quick tip for improving your contact with your Web site or other leads….

CyberStar(tm) Linda DeVlieg of Coldwell Banker Legacy, Albuquerque, NM, sent in a query to our CyberStar(tm) Google Group re. improving her drip email.  CyberStar(tm) Pete Doty of  Pete Doty & Co. Metro Brokers, Denver, CO, responded.  Thought you’d like to see it…and learn from it.

Linda: "All of my internet leads go into a GOODER drip system.  I’m seeing that other agents are finally using some type of drip system.  So to stand out and be different, what else can I be doing to keep in touch that will be what someone else doesn’t want to do?  My leads come in either with a phone number or without a phone number.  All of them have email  addresses."

Pete: " I have found the secret!  If there is a phone number, you call!  Right now!  Not an assistant, not a lender, not your VA…..YOU.  Boy will you be different!   No negative responses, a fair number of fax numbers and disconnects (maybe 50%) but some very grateful and surprised future clients. And you spoil them for all the other sites/agents they visit who never call back."

A simple technique, but one guaranteed to increase your income!

It’s a great day here on the lake in Reston…time to go fishin’!  Hope it’s a great day wherever you are, too!

Yesterday, I led a CyberStar(tm) panel for RE/MAX of Northern Illinois in Chicago.  Our main aim was to share what we, the CyberStars(tm) do to implement technology in our businesses in order to make money, save money and save time.  It was a tremendous session….the three panelists left the audience with a lot of ideas, techniques & strategies.

Spotting a row of "30 Something" agents early in the seminar, I made a point.  Knowing what their answer would be, I asked them to imagine that I needed to get in touch with them.  Would they prefer I call them?  All shook their heads "no."  How ’bout my emailing them?  Again, "no."  Well, what about my text messaging you?  This time, all heads nodded "yes."

Today’s buyers and sellers see their time as more valuable than most of us ever did.  Returning voice mails (with its inherent "telephone tag") takes too much time; replying to email takes too much time.  They want to text message….instant communication.

Part of our mission, as it is with all of my seminars, was to impress upon real estate agents the need to think differently when it comes to servicing today’s consumer.  The Internet has changed everything, and the successful agent needs to take this change into account…..even in the way he/she communicates with most consumers.

I previously outlined here a new way of structuring your real estate magazine ads, i.e. making a pitch for something on your Web site on the top 1/3 of the page rather than an overall emphasis on the reader calling you.  Again, the consumer’s needs lie behind this strategy.  They would much rather surf the Web for information than contact an agent.

Here’s your action item for today: if you don’t know how to text message, get a 14 year old to show you how on your phone!  That’s the way I learned, and you can, too.  Without the ability to text, we are handicapped when it comes to meeting the needs of most of today’s consumers!

(P.S.  Texting is the most effective way to communicate with those teenage grandkids of yours, too!)

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

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!

CyberStar(tm) Helen South of Lane Realty, Queensland/Mt. Tamborine, Australia, has a very successful Web site.  You can view it here.  Helen not only pays great attention to her site content (including her absolutely stunning photos and her much-visited recipe page!), she pays attention to visitor statistics.

She recently wrote the following on our private Google Group.  In her post, she shared information on VisiStats, the service she uses to monitor her Web site traffic, measure visitor activity, collect geographic information on her visitors and more.  Helen writes about VisiStat:

"There are many reasons I like their service, but here is just one example.  It allows me to analyze how good the feed through is from my home page.  Today, 77% of the visitors who landed on the home page went onto look at other pages.  More than half of the remaining 23% came from overseas, & I have to presume landed by accident.  One Australian visitor actually viewed 56 pages, another viewed 39 pages!"

If you have a Web site, I trust you know how to measure your visitor statistics.  You might have a "seniors" page, for example, and if your stats show that it is the most viewed page, you have some valuable information.  You can use that information to beef up your seniors page….and to tweak your traditional marketing.

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

I posted before on the Flip Ultra, a light, inexpensive and oh-so useful digital video camera.  I said that I was going to order it, I did, and I love it!

I opened the box, and the Flip Ultra was even smaller and lighter than I had imagined, fitting easily in my shirt pocket with room to spare.  I stepped out on the balcony and took my first video after only 5 minutes of experimenting with it.  The video quality was excellent, complete with zoom and sound.

Back inside, I  flipped out the built-in USB plug, plugged it into the USB slot on my notebook, and the software  in the camera automatically downloaded.  Once the software downloaded, I was able to (among other tasks):

    * Download the video to my computer…one click

    * Edit the video

    * Grab single frames to save as photos

    * Add music to the video

    * Email the video…with one click, which both compresses and emails the video

    * Upload the video to YouTube ….with one click! (You can one-click the video to other video sites or to your site)

I’m going to use the Flip Ultra on family occasions, when fishing, on trips, etc.

The main reason I’m mentioning it to you, however, is that it has any number of real estate uses.  Among them are:

• Video tours of your listings posted on your Web site
• Video tours of you area posted on your Web site or given to other agents at conventions or seminars as part of your campaign to build referrals
• Video tours of the neighborhood around your listing
• Video updates for out-of-town buyers who bought a new home
• Promotional videos to post on your site or on sites such as YouTube
• Video of your counseling interview or marketing presentation posted on your site or on YouTube.  To see a great counseling interview by CyberStar(tm) James Nellis, go here.)

You can think of many more uses for online video, I’m sure.  The Flip Ultra makes it easy to capture the videos you want to use in your marketing efforts.

I ordered my Flip Video Ultra, 60 minutes of storage, from Amazon.com: $139.99 + Shipping.

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