Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
If you are reading this post and are still active in real estate, congratulations! You have survived a year of many challenges. You can pat yourself on the back remember how hard your worked. Feel a sense of accomplishment and embrace every challenge that was put in front of you.
We faced many challenges. We had good times and bad times. From all of it, I hoped you’ve learned something!
Now, let’s look ahead. Here are some things you should be doing in 2011:
Send out quarterly/yearly market updates to your clients. Market updates allow you to share accurate information based on factual data within your local area. I do this in an e-mail to my clients. Thank goodness for 10K Marketing’s “The Thing.” It’s one of my favorite tools to use to share local real estate information with clients.
If you read an article or hear a news story, share and comment on it. Post on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog. Use your expertise to expand or argue the story. It’s also a great way to combat negative media attention.
Share your own success stories. I came across a blog that had pictures of their clients in front of their new home they just closed on. I thought it was a pretty neat idea.
Take an active role in your location/state/national association. There are many committees within the associations that want input from people like you. Don’t be afraid to be a leader and contribute your view or expertise to the industry at large. Plus, you can learn a ton of things to help you become a better agent.
BLOG! Apparently it’s really cool to be a blogger. That’s if you do it right. There is a key to being successful. Being original is the most important. Incorporate pictures and video. Have you done a video blog yet? Look up Dale Chumbley here for a superb example. You can easily share local real estate information and put a face to your blog. I have yet to try this, but it’s mostly because I look like an idiot on camera.
Educate yourself. Don’t simply fulfill your CE requirements. Take courses to expand your knowledge. Obtain a designation.
Stay Positive! Like every year, there will be challenges. Keep your chin up. Being negative will not get you anywhere.
Brooke Wolford is a real estate practitioner with Edina Realty, Hastings, Minn. Follow her blog at adventuresinrookierealestate.com.
Comments 7
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Nice article, glad that some of these I am already planning to put in place. Others I was just “Thinking about”, but now I will consider even more seriously!
Thanks!
Thank you for your article. Very positive and good ideas!
Great suggestions for real estate agents. I really struggle with the whole blog concept. If you’re really going to run a high quality real estate blog it almost has to be a full time job, if you’re going to put out original, quality content. Coming up with fresh ideas to blog about on a daily basis can be a full time job in itself. Has anyone out there had any luck hiring freelance real estate writers for blog content?
Regarding Blogging and any form of Social Networking, Marketing or Media.
At 49 I’ve recently put a dog in this fight. In the last 6 months while my competition has been baking or eating cookies I’ve been on a mission to totally overhaul, reinvent and become more relevant in Real Estate. One thing I’m certain about is that it is imperative that what you put put there is true to who you are. It must sound like you, smell like you and look like you. Afterall if they bothered to call you after seeing your content in hyperspace then it better be you that shows up. I liken it to writing the very same things I would say in their livingrooms. If you don’t have the content go learn it.
This is an exciting time in our business and it takes so little additional effort to be exponentially more effective than your competition.
Great article Brooke. We all need to stick to the “new basics” and never stop learning. Keep up the good work and see you in DC.
Brooke,
I am active on the web with blogging, facebook, etc. It can be so distracting when you get on to blog or post on facebook and see someones interesting news or cute pictures. I need to put my web blinders on! Oh, I totally know what you mean about the vlogging, I hate the way my mouth moves when I talk and I sound super serious like a news anchor LOL
To Robert- I love your comment about the agents still baking cookies. Like the smell of cookies sells a house anymore!