By Melissa Krchnak For years I’ve been harping about highly suggesting agents give consumers “what they can’t Google.” That is, after all, where our value lies. Once upon a time, consumers needed a REALTOR® to tell them everything about a home. Now, they have it all at their fingertips…literally. Their cell phone’s in their hands right now. So much of what used to be private, …
The Irony of Leading Trends
By Dave Robison Lately, I have heard numerous agents at many different brokerages talk about their experiences trying to get listings. These stories are from top performing agents, not rookies. One of the agents expressed how frustrated they are because, for the first time, the referrals they are getting are interviewing other agents too. We know that many home buyers …
The Real Estate Pro’s Guide to Pinterest (Part 1)
By Charlie Allred Last month, I wrote “How to Capitalize on Pinterest,” where I said the main benefit of Pinterest for agents and brokers is driving visitors to your real estate website. Well, last week I read a statistic that stated 70 percent of home sellers and 74 percent of buyers found their real estate agent online. These numbers prove …
Marketing to Expired Listings
By Brandon Doyle Many books and seasoned real estate experts will tell you to go after the expired listings. Your competition knows this – they may be going after your listing that just expired right now! While there is nothing we can do to stop them, what we can do is make sure to provide enough value and stand out …
The REALTOR® Value Proposition: Do You Have an Elevator Pitch?
By Sam DeBord This week I’m in Washington, D.C., for the REALTOR® Party Conference & Expo, and it got me thinking: Some of the most interesting committees I’ve worked with lately have focused on a range of issues surrounding the value proposition for the REALTOR® brand. From a communications audit at our local board to a state/NAR combined idea building …
Does Slow, Steady Growth Actually Create Real Estate Bubbles?
By Sam DeBord If “a stitch in time saves nine,” does a market that corrects itself frequently save itself from over-correcting? We’ve been told that slow and steady growth is the safest path for an investment. Real estate markets that follow a moderately increasing appreciation path are the rock-solid investments that provide safe harbor from volatile equity swings. And yet, …
Keep it Relevant in Content Marketing
By Brandon Doyle Content marketing is all about creating original content that the reader values. A lot of people go wrong by copying and pasting another person’s works, or just regurgitating what someone else has already said. It is important that what you talk about on your real estate blog or website is relevant to your reader, and to your …
Geo-Farming to Build Your Business
By Brandon Doyle Establishing a geo-farm in a local neighborhood that you’re familiar with is a great way to gain additional listings. This is something that takes time and a commitment, but can be very rewarding. The first thing you’ll want to do is pick an area to farm. It should be close enough to your home or office that …
‘That’s Why We Are All Not Profitable!’
By Dave Robison Marilyn Wilson with the WAV Group has been visiting brokerages and state associations with data that her company compiled about our industry. While attending one of her recent presentations, I snapped a quick photo with my phone of one of her graphs. She said there are two different types of companies listed on the graph. The companies …
My $25,000 Commission From a Rental Call
By Lynn Minnick When I was a new agent back in 2000, I took a rental call. It was a young couple, around my age, looking for a rental in town. Once we started talking, they told me they could spend $1,400 per month. That was higher than my mortgage payment at the time, so I asked them if they’d …