Our pal Shane Gibson has posted some sales help videos on his sales blog (http://www.salesacademy.ca) Check them out. Shane has lots of interesting things to say and many helpful tips for those who want a hand in the sales world. Shane has also been a speaker at our Vancouver Real Estate Technology Meetup.
Remarkable marketing guru Seth Godin writes about Business card mistakes. One of the common mistakes he points out is how real estate agents business cards typically look alike. He says “don’t buy those color business cards with your face on them. You’re not an ordinary real estate agent, so there’s no sense in acting like one.”
(read his article to see the rest of his common mistakes)
The Globe and Mail ran a story on the changing real estate market and it’s effect on newspaper advertising.
“It’s bad enough that a cratering housing market is leading to a slump in real estate advertising at newspapers, as a dreary series of earnings reports showed last week.
What’s worse is that a lot of that advertising may never come back to newspapers even if the real estate sector recovers. That’s because a significant chunk of those advertising dollars are moving — you guessed, online.”
Are you still advertising in print? do you do any web marketing?
Whatever it is that you do… you should be tracking it. You should be able to know how much your online and print marketing is effecting your business. Do you know? This and this might help.
(hat tip - Rob Lewis)
I saw a post in the 37signals blog the other day about the 2008 Presidential Campaigns. Apparently all presidential candidate logos must use red, white, and blue. Sounds good right? Well, not if everyone is doing the same thing. Check out the logos for 2008… any of them stick out? (image care of 37signals via 4president.org)
Now think about your real estate business - Does your advertising look like your colleagues? How about your business card, does it look like your colleagues? If the answer is yes - time for a change.
I get flyers from real estate agents in the mail every day. Almost all of them are the same old look and feel.
Why not do something different?
The other day a Realtor put a flyer under my door to my condo. I heard it come through so I walked over and picked it up. Now, the flyer looked the same as any other but the delivery method got my attention and made me look at it. Initially I thought it was a good idea to gain access to a building and push flyers under every door, but then I wondered, what happened if the pizza guy did that? Chinese food delivery guy? etc.
Stand out from the crowd… it is worth it. Here are a few thoughts:
- why not hand out coffee/business card to drivers leaving their condo’s garage in the morning?
- when it snows, hire a few guys to run around and shovel your clients walk ways - be sure to leave a note saying it was done by you
Saw an interesting promotion being run by M&M’s today and thought it could be applied quite nicely to the real estate industry. It seems that most real estate professionals do similar marketing to their clients and potential clients - why not try something different?
- give a little bag of custom M&M’s to every person that walks into your open house
- send them to everyone who has bought or sold though you in the last year
Check them out - it might work for you. - http://www.mymms.com/shopnow3
Jordan Behan the President of TellTenFriends.com posted a list of tasks you can do to create some buzz marketing around your business. He has even promised to complete the list personally for his business. Here is the list from Jordan’s site (via Ron McDaniel):
1. Email an Old Friend or Acquaintance
2. Contact a Stale Connection
3. Email Extended Family
4. Call Someone You Have Never Talked To
5. Congratulations Call or Note
6. Send a Surprise Letter
7. Any Day Card
8. Mail a News Clipping
9. Social Networking
10. Online Directory
11. Squidoo Expert Lens
12. Tag Your Website or Blog
13. Blog/Message Board Comment
14. Join/Participate in an Online Group
15. Talk to a New Person in Person
16. Contact a Reporter or Writer
17. Contact an Old Employer/Employee
18. Customer Follow-up
19. Call/Email a Person You Respect
20. Mini Announcements
21. Digg Your Site
22. Flickr Fun
23. Personal Success Email List
24. Did You Know? - Trivia
25. Instant Messaging
26. Text Messaging
27. Email a Useful Link to Someone
28. Testimonials
29. Celebrate Success
30. Write a Blog
31. Have a “Get To Know You” Meal
32. Host a Dinner Party
33. Arrange a Networking Lunch
34. Publish an Article
35. Meet More Neighbors
36. Send a Press Release
37. Give a Speech
38. Volunteer
39. Online Interview/Podcast
40. Conduct a Survey
41. Local Government Involvement
42. Open House
43. Interview a Leader
44. YouTube.com
45. Meet Business Neighbors
46. eNewsletter or Newsletter
47. Produce an eBook
48. Nominate an Organization
49. Challenge a Coworker to a Buzz-Off
50. Podcast Show
51. Host a Seminar or Training Session
52. Unexpected Booth
53. Organize a Group
54. Become a Board Member
55. Conduct a Focus Group/Roundtable
56. Conduct a Customer Contest
57. Organize a Charitable Event
For more information feel free to contact Jordan directly as I’m sure he would be pleased to speak with you about buzz marketing and how you can take it to the next level for your business.
Jordan Behan
778-840-TELL(8355)
jordan[at]telltenfriends.com
www.telltenfriends.com
Redfin.com points out the dos and don’ts of real estate listing descriptions. Articles in the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post give a few examples as well.
Worth taking a look at these articles especially if you have ever written “must see!”, “an overabundance of exclamation points” or “new paint” within your listing description.
There was an article in yesterday’s Vancouver Sun about which words in a listing description help and which hurt. It was an interesting article about the use of specific words and how they can impact the sale of a home. You can read the full article here (c/o LA Times via the Houston Chronicle - not the Vancouver Sun).
I have spoken about agents providing value and not just data…. this is a great example of the value of a real estate agent. Anyone can write a description of a house. But a real estate agent should provide value in writing a description of a house that is using stats and facts like the ones in this article so that the home sells faster and for its full value.
Those that help
•Handyman special
•Curb appeal
•Move-in condition
•Landscaping
•Granite
•Gourmet
•Golf
Those that hurt
•Motivated seller
•Good value
•As-is
•Clean
•Quiet
•New paint
On a side note and I think a good example of having information available on the internet for all to see. I was trying to find this article on VancouverSun.com but for some reason it is not there. (I’m not sure why, maybe they only have the rights to use it in the newspaper and not on the internet.) Either way, it took me less than 2 seconds to Google the authors name and find the exact same article but on the LA Times website. So I linked this blog post there.
Why does this matter to you? Well, I run into agents all the time that want to limit the information they put on the internet thinking it will bring them a “lead” when that person has to call or email to get the details they want. I suggest to you that you are actually losing that lead by doing this. A simple Google search for the address, building name, mls#, etc will most likely provide the information that the searcher is looking for - and it won’t be your website they end up on!
The other day I was talking about an agent that listed a home for $1.00 and was getting a ton of exposure on the internet for this simple tactic. Today, I see a similar story where a real estate agent in Texas gives guns to homebuyers. Costs her $500.00 per gun but has gained some extraordinary exposure to her and her business.
What can you do to gain exposure like this?
Here is the story from Reuters:
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas real estate agent looking to add more bang to her business is offering clients in law enforcement a free Glock pistol if they buy a home from her.
Julie Upton, a Houston-area real estate agent, spurned traditional buyer incentives like free gasoline cards or home improvement store gift certificates.
Instead, she placed an advertisement offering a pistol with the purchase of any home worth at least $150,000 in the city police department’s monthly publication, “Badge & Gun.”
The free guns are only for those in law enforcement, said Upton, who is married to a police officer.
“We thought it would be a good way to entice other police officers,” Upton said. “And whether people want the gun or not, it has stirred up a lot of attention.”
Upton has given away two pistols to police officers who purchased homes from her. The guns cost about $500.
And so far the advertisement has not generated negative attention from the anti-gun lobby, she said.
In Texas, no license is required to own a rifle, shotgun or handgun, but a permit is needed to carry a concealed weapon, according to the National Rifle Association.
Are you looking for an interesting way to gain exposure for your listing?
Evan Kane a Chicago Realtor posted a listing to his MLS for $1.00 - According to Sellsius he is getting some grief from the real estate board there but he has definitely gained some exposure for his listing.
What simple thing could you do to make your listing stand out from the crowd and gain some remarkable exposure?
(this small, unique listing technique I’m sure has brought significant exposure to his listing…. some exposure that you can’t buy)
