by UggBoy♥UggGirl [ PHOTO // WORLD // TRAVEL ]

With the economy at rock bottom and real estate sales at an all time low, realtors might be tempted to cut back on marketing efforts. This would be a mistake. Realtors cannot afford not to spend on advertising if their plan on long-term viability for their businesses. Even if they have a strong customer base, they need to keep a fresh supply of new customer leads for when the economy starts moving again.

Fortunately, marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. Direct mail marketing through greeting cards is a cost effective way for realtors to market themselves. It is all about developing a relationship with your customer. Building solid relationships with past, present and future customers can lead to more sales and more referrals. To build these relationships, it is important to stay in frequent contact, and one way to do this is through sending greeting cards.

Greeting cards have a 99% open rate versus 17% open rate of a business letter. In a survey conducted by the Greeting Card Association, nine out of 10 Americans say they look forward to receiving personal letters and greeting cards because it makes them feel important to someone else.

Let’s take an example of a realtor and an attorney who meet at a local Chamber of Commerce meeting. They exchange business cards. The realtor mentions that he likes to send out birthday cards and writes down the month and day on the back of the lawyer’s card. Immediately after the event, the realtor follows up with a nice to meet you card. The birthday goes into a simple database that reminds the realtor to send out a birthday card that wishes a happy birthday and reminded the attorney of their meeting and his real estate business.

At the next occasion that one of the attorney’s clients needs a realtor, who do you think the attorney will think of?

A couple simple rules for business greeting cards are to keep it formal and spell check. Keep the message brief and for holiday cards, keep the message secular. Use Mr., Ms., Mrs., or Dr. Finally, always spell check. Make sure everything is spelled correctly and double check the person’s and the business’ name.

It is all too easy to send a generic typed note on company letterhead or an email. There are millions of these going around the world daily, achieving little in the way of impact. You can ensure that you are remembered if you do it in a way that shows you really care. The best way to develop a close bond with your customers is to keep in constant contact with them on a personal basis using greeting cards; through this personal bond come referrals and sales.

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by Emilio Guerra

Article by Chris Lambert

We may have personally known a lot of people who purchased a house that they really want. Unless you yourself are planning to buy your own house you wouldn’t to ask how they found their dream house, would you? Searching for houses for sale may not be that difficult. What’s difficult is when you can’t seem to find what you’re looking for. In cases like this, you need all the help that you can get.

First, you need to find out what your requirements are, location, price, design, etc. You can browse online and ask help from real estate agents. Browsing online will lead you to different listings. If you have a specific location in mind, say Toronto, then “real estate listings Toronto” is the right search phrase to use.

Real estate listings make a good source of information when it comes to looking for houses or condos for sale. The more listings you check out the greater your chances of finding the house that you are looking for. However, there is a possibility that you may not get hold of a few other listings unless you contact a realtor.

Utilizing real-estate agents has many benefits you can take advantage of when searching for properties. One of the benefits is their resources. They have access to listings of properties for sale for your perusal. So the more listings you can review the more options you have. But there’s more. If you hire an agent, you will have someone to do the work for you. This means taking a lot of work load off your shoulders.

Although, always remember that the main goal of most of the real estate agents is making a sale in order to get commissions. This mere fact means they have a lot of connections as who is selling houses and where. So if you do not want to miss a single opportunity of discovering great deals, get assistance from real estate agents.

Just because real estate agents can assist you with your house hunting work and other real estate related concerns does not mean you have to deal with just any agent you meet or contact with the first time. You still have to carefully choose a professional and qualified one.

You might think finding a good real estate agent makes your life more complicated. This should not be the case once you find the right agent to work for you. Just make sure you do your homework and check the background of each of the agent you are considering. Most of them have websites so checking their website is a good place to start.

Real estate phone scripts are the focus during this Ben Kinney webinar titled, “Excuse Me, You Said What?” The webinar was presented by the Internet Marketing Specialist Designation (www.imsd.net) and ActiveRain (www.imsd.net) for agents looking to learn some offline real estate marketing information. Some of the real estate phone scripts offered during the call include: – Asking for real estate referrals – Handling seller objections – Setting expectations for home prices – Neighborhood prospecting prior to an open house – Fielding sign calls – Calling on expired real estate listings The Internet Marketing Specialist Designation (IMSD) is a training program developed by Ben Kinney to grow your real estate business through blogging, paid advertising, social media, classified ads, and search engine optimization. Ben shares the ad copy, scripts, tools, and strategies employed by his team to generate almost 700 listings in 2010. Get GEEKY with IMSD as we teach you how to generate loads of inexpensive online leads, the best methods to capture those leads, and advanced lead conversion tactics that include Ben Kinney’s own listing presentation.

Article by Simon Volkov

An expired listing letter is a valuable asset for realtors and investors. When properly structured these marketing letters can help professionals secure new realty deals and earn income.

The expired listing letter is sent to sellers whose real estate contract has ended. Most contracts extend for six to twelve months. When property goes unsold during the listing period and the contract ends, sellers can extend the agreement terms; locate a new realtor; list the property as for sale by owner; or take the property off the market.

Realtors and investors locate expired listings by searching the Multiple Listings Service database consisting of nationwide homes for sale. When contracts expire, agents and investors send an marketing letter to the seller in attempt to gain their property listing.

Investors new to expired listings marketing can locate sample letters via the Internet or through other realtors. Investors should adapt letters to accommodate the situation. For example, a marketing letter sent to homeowners would include different verbiage than letters sent to business owners selling commercial properties.

Good sources for learning marketing strategies is through networking groups clubs and online investment forums. To become successful in this field, investors should create a marketing plan and utilize various strategies to locate investment properties.

While expired listing letters are normally sent to sellers, investors occasionally use letters to contact real estate agents whose contracts have ended. When investors can orchestrate a sale they can earn commission from closing the sale while realtors do most of the work. Using this strategy can help investors generate solid leads and develop good working relationships with realtors.

Investors may want to consider using the services of a marketing company or copywriter to create marketing materials. Realtors often use a variety of prospecting tools such as postcard marketing, direct mail campaigns, flyers, cold calling, and word-of-mouth referrals.

The primary goal of expired listing letter is to locate motivated sellers, purchase real estate below market value, and earn profits by closing realty sales.

Investors must stay abreast of changing market trends and develop marketing strategies which make them stand out from the crowd. Sellers are often bombarded with advertisements from realtors and investors when property listings expire. Those who develop unique marketing materials and a solid plan can capitalize on this niche.

Professionals who specialize in expired listings usually work with sellers that are anxious their property did not sell during the contract period. Most are distraught, stressed out, and feel let down by their listing agent. The last thing they want is more empty promises. What they want is to find someone who can sell their home and place money in their pocket.

Investors who can solve sellers’ problems will earn their business. When developing marketing materials it is crucial to focus on sellers needs and not on the investment business being promoted.

Expired listing marketing is a competitive market. Investors and realtors must be committed to their clients and provide results. Those who take time to create solid marketing plans and develop a strong network will improve their chance of locating motivated buyers and build a reputation for being the go-to-guy for closing realty deals.

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Article by David Riewe

Leads are one of the most vital elements of a realtor or a real estate agent’s life. They know that without leads they can never achieve success in this industry.

The point here is that leads are the ones that will give the realtors or any businessperson for that matter, the potential clients that they need. This is because through leads, real estate agents can be sure that they will be able to close some deals.

Now, the question is based on how to find real estate leads, and not just ordinary leads but real leads that will boost your sales on real estates.

To know more on how to generate real estate leads, here is a list of the things that you can do:

1. Referrals

If you have a bunch of customers that were able to buy properties from you, you can use them for your lead generation. Try to ask them for some referrals. They can best give you the kind of customers that you think will buy properties from you.

2. Live seminars

This is a great way to generate real estate leads because you can be assured that most people who will attend the seminar are the ones who are most likely to buy properties from you.

Best of all, if you have reluctant but potential customers, live seminars are the best ways to convey your sales pitch, which can generate a good deal of positive response from your customers.

3. Parade of homes

It’s one of the best and surefire ways to generate real estate leads. This is because most people who attend this kind of event are the ones that are most likely interested and have plans of buying homes.

Moreover, the conviction to buy will be greater once they have seen the actual condition of the house that they want to buy.

4. Advertising

It’s still one of the best ways to generate leads. Though some people contend that it’s one of the most expensive ways of generating leads, but still you get the response that you need. So, you can definitely start from there.

However, keep in mind that in order to generate good real estate leads, try not to use the advertising style “image ads”. It entails alot of money and if you will not be able to do it right, you will definitely blow a hefty amount in just one sitting.

Indeed, generating leads can be a daunting task, but it is still the best way in order to ensure your sales. So try to use some of these surefire ways in order to generate good leads.

by Chris Devers

Article by Kelly Ting

Leads are one of the most basic rudiments of a real estate agent’s life. They know that without leads, success is not possible in this industry.

Leads are the ones that will give the realtors the potential clients that they require. This is because through leads, real estate agents can be sure that they will be able to secure some deals from some of them. But the real question is how do you find real estate leads, and not just any normal leads but the real deals that will boost your sales on real estate?

To know more on how to generate real estate leads, here is a list of the things that you can do:

1. Referrals

If you have a bunch of clients that bought properties from you in the past, you can use them for your lead generation. Try to approach them for some referrals. They will be able to provide you with the category of customers that you think will buy properties from you.

2. Live seminars

This is another good way to generate real estate leads because you can be certain that most people who will attend the seminar are the ones who are most likely to buy properties from you. Best of all, if you have hesitant but prospective customers, live seminars are the best ways to convey your sales presentation, which can generate a good deal of positive response from your customers.

3. Parade of homes

It’s one of the best and guaranteed ways to generate real estate leads. This is because most people who attend this type of event are the ones that are most likely interested and have plans of buying homes. Moreover, once they have seen the actual condition of the house that they want to buy, there would be a greater chance that they would be keen to buy.

4. Advertising

It’s still one of the better ways to generate leads. But some people still argue that it’s one of the most expensive ways of generating leads, but you will get the reaction that you require. If you do not have anyone available in your network to approach to, you can definitely start from here.

However, keep in mind that to generate good real estate leads; do not try to use the advertising style seen from “image ads”. It costs a lot of money and if you are not able to do it right, you will experience hefty setback.

Indeed, generating leads can be a demoralizing job, but it is still the best way in order to increase your sales. So try some of these surefire methods in order to generate good leads.

by Chris Devers

1. A Website

A website is necessary for every business. It is the first place that people turn to when they need information on a product or service. It is the source of primary information for people who are interested in transacting in real estate. So, one of the first tools that you need to successfully market yourself is a web address.

2. Web Presence

A web address is half of the story. People need to know how to get to your web address. The internet is host to hundreds of millions of websites relating to almost every conceivable product or service that is bought or sold. What you need is to be able to popularize or aggressively push your web site so that its visibility increases. Some of the methods that you can use are online press releases, blogging and search engine optimization The fact is that a web address is a means to increase your brand value, to generate queries and to augment business opportunities.

The real business is the brick and mortar business that you need to build. The internet is a tool that is all.

3. A Real Estate Blog

Real estate blogging is one of the most effective marketing tools for real estate agents. You should post good quality content on your blogs that helps is visible through search engines. People tend to read blogs and can use their discretion based on the quality of the contents in the blogs.

4. Real Estate Postcards

Yes, even in this day and age, the old fashioned method of postcards has relevance. This method can be used with the right timing and judiciously mixed with usage of other tools. With the right, design and strategy postcards are an effective tool at generating leads.

5.

Seminars on Home-Buying

A seminar on home buying is an effective tool for personalized marketing to a broad audience in a short period of time. There is a certain amount of effort involved in arranging a seminar, but the efforts are worth it. A seminar is ideally organized in collaboration with mortgage and home loan professionals, home inspectors and tax consultants so that you can deliver a holistic solution to prospective real estate clients.

6. Client Referrals or Non-Referrals

One of the oldest methods of generating clients and leads is the word of mouth. In fact, there are a number of high profile industries and professions where the word of mouth form of advertising is the most powerful. Need a good lawyer? Looking for a good dentist? Require a reliable real estate agent? Look for opinions amongst your friends and relatives or people whom you can rely upon for advice. As is the case with any professional service based business, word of mouth can make the difference either way. People are bound to be either satisfied or dissatisfied with service. Moreover, people will talk to others; all the more if they are dissatisfied.

7. A Big Idea

In any business you always need a plan and strategy to succeed. The big idea is where your creativity and business acumen come into play. Big ideas make the difference between success and failure or subsistence at the best.

8. Be tech perceptive

Use technology to the hilt to market yourself.

1. If you have a team of people working for you, make sure that they are well connected amongst themselves and with you.
2. Make sure that you have creative and effective content posted to blogs. Use SEO to effectively market your website and to generate queries.
3. Devise periodicals with good buys for prospective clients and maintain mailing lists at which you send the periodicals.

Let us face the fact that the internet has brought about a revolution in marketing of products and services

9. The Website Listed Below

The website listed below is a portal of real estate related information. It contains a wealth of information on direct mail and online marketing, besides informative articles on marketing yourself effectively in real estate.

by Chris Devers

· Join ActiveRain.com and Blog It!

For those of you who are wandering the Real Estate market alone and are not a part of any major organization of Realtors, Brokers and Lenders, ActiveRain.com is the #1 resource for networking with other agents and brokers who do what you do. It’s a great place to create a blog and showcase your listings, network for referrals and pick up a few extra referral leads each week.

· Submit Your Site To Over 200+ Search Engines and Directories!

I don’t know of any Realtor who doesn’t have a website except for a small few who use word of mouth and referral based marketing only to do business, but that’s rare.

It’s almost unheard of to hear of a Realtor who doesn’t have some sort of web presence online. Whether you have a blog or website or Twitter or Facebook account, you can pick up an extra lead or two this week if you submit the URL of your site to over 200+ directories and search engines.

The extra exposure will get you a few more backlinks, raise your listing level in search results and get you more traffic.

How do you go about submitting? For starters you can go to SubmitExpress.com and click on their Free Tools tab. Then click on Free Submission. Enter the details of your website as requested and click on Submit. A pop up window will open trying to offer you things, just close the box and wait a minute.

The loading will stop and say Congratulations! You can scroll down and see all the sites you just submitted to. Then you can head over to Feedping.com and then Pingler.com and do everything you just did all over again.

· Create A Facebook Page and Promote It With Articles!

Facebook is perhaps the biggest Social Networking site on the planet outside of Myspace and Craigslist.org. If you want to pick up a couple extra leads a week you could create a Facebook Page, separate from your main profile page and tailor it to promote you as an agent along with showcasing some hot listings or asking people to refer leads to you in exchange for a Transaction Coordination Fee (the legal term for paying for a lead) and then promote the page once created, using articles that you submit to free directories and search engines.

· Start A Twitter Account and Promote Your Listings!

Are you a member of Twitter? Why not? You need to be a member of Twitter if you are going to succeed at Real Estate, especially in today’s crazy economic climate where Social Media and Interaction is taking over. What you have to do is create a profile and write something unique in your Bio that stands out from the rest of the agents who DO what you DO. People who like you and think you are friendly will join and follow you.

Then what you do is any time you have a hot listing with it’s own web page where people can go and view photos and request more information, you simply head to your Twitter account and post a link to the URL of the listing online with a killer title. DO NOT write a title of the address or 4BR 2Bath Home blah blah. You have to write in a beneficial and personal matter. Say something like, “Are you looking for a sweat deal? Click here”

· How To Properly Use Business Cards…

I’m sure you’ve heard that business cards are a MUST HAVE for any business owner right? Would you believe that I went 4 years without a business card and yet somehow managed to stay extremely busy with lots of clients? Crazy I know but the main reason I didn’t employ business cards into my marketing arsenal was because I didn’t know how to properly use them to generate leads.

Now I do and you will too. It’s so simple. When you create your business card, think of coupons and that people love getting something for nothing. Heck even I love free stuff, don’t you? All you have to do is put data on the back side of your business card. Put a killer headline that says, “Give This To A Friend Who Wants To Buy or Sell & I’ll Pay You $ 500!” then under the title in smaller writing you put, “Do not throw this away! If you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell a home, give them this card and tell them to mention your name. If I can put together a deal with them, I’ll personally pay you $ 500!”

It’s that easy! Now, you are handing your business card out to every single person you meet every day right?

You must hand your business card out to EVERYONE! I’m not just talking about prospective clients and other Agents. I’m talking about the mail-man, the grocer, the lady in line at the Grocery store, etc. Constant outflow is the key with business cards.

· Use Magnetic Car Signs with Crazy Titles!

I was sitting in the bathroom the other day reading an inspirational book and I suddenly had this overwhelming idea pop into my head which told me to try this idea. I went and bought a 12×18 inch magnetic car sign and put, “You’re Never Going To Live Here!” as the title then below I put a domain name which if someone were to go to it would lead to a single property listing web site.

That’s all I put on the car sign which cost me $ 20 to make. Then I rode around town yesterday with it for about three hours. I kept getting stares and people pointing at the sign etc.

I thought nothing of it but then today I woke up to 5 leads in Inbox from people requesting more information on the particular listing and mentioning my car sign. CRAZY!

· Get Professional Coaching from A Pro Real Estate Marketer!

This is one of the best real estate marketing tips for agents that I can think of. If you don’t have a mentor, you’re missing out. Sure you can read these articles online that give tips and insights into lead generation but if you don’t have a coach or pro marketer who you can call upon to teach you and guide you, then what’s the point?

My advice, let me be your Real Estate Marketer! In the past 6 months alone I’ve helped nearly 15 agents, brokers and lenders to achieve maximum success with their websites and generate qualified buyer and seller leads. In fact, I have a full proof system that you can buy a monthly membership into which generates up to 10 exclusive, prescreened and verified home buyer leads for agents! My leads are hot and ready to buy now!

I hope this article on real estate marketing tips for agents has helped you and I look forward to your success.

by Show Appeal Realty

Article by Rose Manning

Prospect marketing can generate a massive amount of leads if you do it correctly. Most potential clients in the housing market establish a relationship with the first agent they contact online and continue to use that agent to find a home for sale or for their selling needs.

As the agent, it�s important to open the door to the right market and then put in the work needed to establish that necessary and profitable relationship.

One of the fundamental steps in prospect marketing for real estate agents is determining which prospect leads you are looking for, i.e. those who want to find a home for sale, sellers or those looking for a mortgage.

Relationship Marketing

All relationships must begin somewhere, especially pertaining to the housing market. In order to retain a healthy relationship with your clients, you must first start out with a solid foundation.

There are four vital steps which must be followed in succession when building a solid relationship.

* The Introduction: The introduction process involves finding prospective clients to build relationships with. Keep in mind the fundamental step in prospect marketing.

Introduce yourself to prospective clients through the internet, advertisements, direct mail, referrals, networking, etc. Always make sure your prospect knows what your intentions are.

* Set up a Meeting: The meeting is where you tell your prospective clients about yourself, your agency and services. Listening to and inquiring about your potential clients is extremely important at this step. Find out what they want.

Do they want to find a home for sale or to sell their current home? Let them know you are able to provide these services for them.

* Making the Proposal: Successful real estate agents explain their services and fees. Verbally communicate, send an e-mail or write them down for your prospective clients.

* The Closing: The closing is when the client accepts your proposal. This can take anywhere from a few days to a year to happen as the housing market is constantly changing. Be patient and be available.

All four steps must be taken when building a relationship with a client. Putting forth an effort and continuing to build on a client relationship should be an ongoing process.

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Article by Alexis Jameson

The world is not what it was ten years ago for the real estate agent. It is very competitive for not only new agents but for established ones as well. Where you used to be able to rely on the yellow pages and referrals in the past, today you need to rely on social media marketing.

Ignoring the fact of the importance of social media marketing in the real estate world is career suicide. Getting on the bandwagon of knowing how it affects your business is a reality check you need to take. This is especially true for the established agent who has been in the business for several years and not used to the new technology that is out there.

Take the time to learn about it and do not cut yourself off at the knees when it comes to marketing in the new world. The consumers have the power and the power is in where they are looking for information. Here are a few ways to get you started using the technology to generate leads in social marketing.

Website: Having a website online is your way of getting out there and getting noticed. You should have a website through your company that says who you are as an agent but you should also consider what many others have done and have a website that pertains to the local community. The power of having a site related to the community is a place that will benefit others in it. Showing your social justice will show others you care as well and they will want to do business with you.

Blog: Start a blog on a subject that you are passionate about. It does not even have to be about specific real estate issues and can be about a subject that is related to it. Promote your blog and gain a following of readers where they can post comments and start conversations.

eNewsletter: Sending out an eNewsletter on a weekly basis will keep you in front of the community and the people you have done business with and intend to have future business with. Give advice and tips on life as it pertains to everyone. Discuss local events and if there are holidays coming up you can even share a favorite recipe or decorating tips. Within the newsletter you are able to add in where to find you as an agent and other website information. You are reaching the community through life interests and not hard selling your services.

Join Forums: Talking in forums can be a fun way to talk to others and also give your advice to people who need it. It can be about many things that pertain to real estate but not directly to it. As an agent you know all the details that are involved in a persons decision to buy a house. Link your forum chats to your website so people can find you.

Using mediums like Facebook and Twitter are also great tools that can help you. If you have a personal Facebook add a professional one that you use strictly for business. This business is about relationships and networking. Show your clients you are a person first who cares and an agent second for successful social media marketing.

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by astoriasunday

It can feel overwhelming when you first decide that you want to take more listings. Regardless of economic challenges you will always find competition when targeting sellers to list their home. For many agents getting to 1-2 listings a month never happens. They provide the excuse of “that’s just sales” or “hey it’s feast or famine”. Instead of approaching the business like every other agent and struggling to take 1-2 listings monthly I invite you to consider a different approach.

Before diving in to making calls, sending letters, door knocking, or even setting up a new website, consider what your overall real estate marketing approach. To help you start in the right direction consider asking yourself the following questions.

1. What is my marketing personality?
2. Have I tried any seller marketing in the past with some success?
3. What can I put into action daily that will bring me leads?
4. What am I willing to pay to get a single listing? (consider having a rule such as 7% of your gross commission)
5. How can I make it easy to track my results?
6. How long will I stick with a marketing program before I make a change or cut it entirely?
7. How can I develop systems that will have automatic follow up to compliment my active marketing?

Before launching any marketing where you want to take more listings consider answering the above questions. Once you have the answers to those questions then you can put a marketing system into action. To take a serious volume of listings (30 or more a month) will require a minimum of 4 systems working for you all of the time. Most real estate professionals run one, referrals, which will tram them in survival mode.

Although each system can be different depending on your personality, consider a minimum of the following rules as you create your system.

1. Consistency – What can you have done daily (or do yourself) that will run your marketing? Can you send out postcards each day? Can you send out emails to prospects daily? Can you write an article? To bring in consistent leads requires consistent action. Have a system that allows you to put marketing into action each day of the week.

2. Active Marketing – While it would be nice to send out a few postcards or emails and wait for listings to come to you, that isn’t realistic. Part of your system should involve phone calls. You can call off of those who have requested information, the key is to set time aside each morning to call AND… you better call every morning.

When you can answer tough questions and create a real estate marketing system that has consistency and active marketing you will be on your way to taking 30+ listings monthly.

Get my power-packed free Real Estate marketing book today and start taking more listings now.

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