Category: Life as a Realtor

Fall email marketing may be key to boosting real estate sales activity

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Email newsletters are a great way for real estate professionals to keep clients up to date with the market, even after activity cools in the fall. However, it is important to ensure the information in those email blasts is pertinent to the current housing situation, and encourages would-be clients – whether buyers or sellers – to get into the market even as attentions may be turning elsewhere.

One of the smartest things agents can do at this time of year is not necessarily highlight how strong the market is, but rather how much they are able to help clients on both the buying and selling sides of the real estate sales process, according to Forbes article, Robert Reffkin, founder and CEO of the technology-driven real estate company Compass. Agents should always look to highlight their personal expertise, but as the market chills, that experience may become an even more important differentiating factor.

Find what works
The good news for agents is that it’s becoming easier for them to determine which aspects of their marketing resources are resonating with prospective clients. This gives the ability to really hone in on the kind of messaging that helps them forge connections with their clients, and turn those into potentially years-long relationships.

Agents should take the time to carefully examine these issues and determine what’s leading to clicks and calls and what isn’t, and use that data to inform future decisions about email marketing that focuses on agents’ personal brands.

A stronger return on investment
Agents may wish to scale back the volume of email messages they send out this time of year. That gives them the chance to put together better content in each email blast, which could be more effective in terms of grabbing people’s attention and click through to an agent’s website. These sorts of “lead magnets” could include checklists that help people understand when it may be the right time to buy or sell, or other helpful info given the current market that could prove valuable for anyone looking to get into the market.

Agents need to be able to adjust their marketing frequently to meet the trends they are encountering in the course of their daily work. The more attuned to these issues they can be through careful examination of their marketing strategies and results, the more likely they will be to generate greater success in the long run.

How to Succeed in Real Estate

How to Succeed in Real Estate

Want to become a real estate agent? Coaching and training are essential aspects of building a successful real estate career.

No matter if you are new to real estate or launching a fresh leg of your journey, one thing will become clear quickly: A winning mindset is essential to success. That means confidence, clarity, and focus.

Still, it’s important to understand “mindset” isn’t just telling yourself nice things in the mirror. In fact, this feeling of certainty – of knowing you can handle whatever this career throws at you – comes from many aspects of your personality and training.

Here’s how to become a real estate agent with a winning mindset:

Remember, You Are Helping People
Why a career in real estate? Simply, lots of professionals don’t really have a chance to help others make positive changes in life. Real estate experts are different: You play a key role in helping your clients achieve an important life milestone. For many of them, home ownership is the “American dream.” That alone should give you a boost when the going gets tough.

Confidence Comes from Preparation
Everyone is going to have days when they run into problems. The key is that you have “done the homework” and don’t get stumped when these situations pop up. The more you learn about real estate–and your local market in particular–the more you will be able to come through when it counts. Read up, network, and see what’s working for your colleagues.

Everything is a Learning Opportunity
Worst case scenario: You make a mistake that has a tangible effect on a client’s house-hunt. Of course, you should do everything you can to set things right and navigate those troubled waters. But, here’s the key: You learn more by diving in and letting yourself own those situations than you do by shrinking back. “Lessons learned” can give you unique real estate insights.

It Is Never Too Soon to Teach
Mentoring is a huge part of success in real estate. Those who are just joining the profession will get on their feet the fastest when they can learn from those who’ve been where they are. Real estate agents who are hitting their stride should start sharing information about their specialties. Learning how to explain topics to others will make you more effective in the long run.

Set Goals, Reach for Them, and Build Momentum
Whether you’re working as part of an agency or on your own, there will always be more for you to do. The key is to set goals that are plausible, but still call for you to stretch. An attainable, yet meaningful goal will keep you moving forward. Be flexible and try not to get too bogged down in process: Instead, ask yourself: What will reaching this goal really mean for me?

Give Every Client Your A-Game
Once you have been through a few dozen clients, you will start to see situations that seem routine. Always bear in mind that every client has a story and specific goals. Your ability to build rapport and trust with your client is what sows the seeds for success in the long run: After all, they will be the ones referring friends and family to you in the future.

Join BHHS Homesale Realty and you’ll have abundant opportunities to put these ideas into practice. We focus on providing education, technology, and tools that will help you become a real estate agent with confidence and a winning edge. Contact us to learn more.

Time management is vital for successful agents

There are only so many work hours in the day, and real estate professionals often need to get a better handle on how they manage their time to gcalendaret the most out of their business.

There are only so many work hours in the day, and real estate professionals often need to get a better handle on how they manage their time to get the most out of their business. As agents often know full well that time is money, finding the best way to strategize in this regard can pay off.

Perhaps the biggest key to effective time management is being proactive about planning, according to Max Real Estate Exposure. After all, if agents aren’t spending time during their work days trying to figure out what to do next, they’re going to be making more efficient use of every hour of the day. In these cases it may be helpful to think about what kinds of goals agents want to accomplish over the course of a day, week or month, and use their experience to determine how long they think that should take them.

What comes next?
Once goals have been established and the time various tasks should take has been figured out, it’s wise to set the schedule for a given period of time. Agents have to determine whether they want to devote a large chunk of a given day to lead generation, for example, or if they want to break up that day with other activities such as online marketing work or following up with clients. Here, too, it might be wise to leave at least a little wiggle room, since it’s not always easy to predict how every effort is likely to proceed, or if things might crop up unexpectedly that deserve agents’ immediate attentions.

The fact is, though, that the more agents know what they “should be” doing at any given time, the more likely they will be to do so, and meet whatever goals they set for themselves in as timely a manner as possible.

Knowing the value
It’s also worth noting that there’s a difference between being busy and being effective in whatever tasks are being undertaken, according to Inman. There’s plenty of work agents can do in a given day, but they need to think about how much closer that work gets them to achieving their goals, and exactly what an hour may be worth to them in terms of dollars and cents. That way, they can figure out whether they’re getting a maximum return on investment for every hour they spend on any task.

However, it’s also important to get a big-picture look at these tasks and see how they intersect. Moreover, it may be about keeping things simple. Agents who block off their time in advance may find that they’re juggling too many things at once to be truly effective at any one task, and that can erode the effectiveness of time spent on all tasks.

Having a clarity of vision when it comes to what needs to be done, and charting the right course for getting there, will often go a long way toward ensuring that agents are getting the most out of the time they spend on the job. That can translate into a happier lifestyle as an agent.

How should agents approach new tech purchases?

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In today’s market, smartphones are the lifelines for real estate professionals while conducting and managing their
day-to-day business. With our vast growth and rapid change in technology, mobile phones quickly become outdated. So how do agents know when and how to effectively swap out their current models for the next gen? And moreover, what emerging tech should they consider adding to their arsenal to continue to advance in the industry?

Agents who have had their iPhones or Androids for a few years at this point may be amazed by the technological advancements for smartphones that have come over the last few years. There are now so many more features, both in terms of apps and built-in hardware that it makes a smartphone purchase decision a little more complicated, but often necessary, according to Popular Science. Generally speaking, those who have had Android devices or iPhones may want to stick with what they’re used to, but those looking to make the switch have a lot to consider.

Comparing the options
It is not always easy for agents to go from one type of device to the other, but some agents can benefit from a change if need be. For instance, those who really give their phones a workout might need a stronger battery and a greater processor speed, while others might prefer higher-resolution screens or better cameras. Moreover, price is likely to be a factor as well, and what an agent has to pay for a new smartphone can vary widely based on a number of factors, including the kinds of upgrade incentives their service providers offer.

It might also be a good idea for agents to consider when they buy their smartphones. All new iPhones and some Android models are often released in the early autumn; therefore agents would benefit by waiting to upgrade their device during that time year.

Of course, when considering any such switch, it’s important to do as much research as possible to determine exactly which next-gen smartphone will meet an agent’s needs most effectively.

It’s not just hardware
Of course, agents rely on technology for a lot more than just what their smartphones provide, and as such it’s important to regularly examine emerging software options that can help them get ahead as well, according to Fit Small Business. There are plenty of options out there that can help agents on multiple fronts: everything from lead generation and client relationship management to handling electronic signatures during the real estate sales process and building and maintaining a website.

It is also important to consider the budget they may have for such an option, whether it’s a monthly subscription payment for a specific type of software service, or the up-front cost of a more sizable one-time purchase. In either event, it’s also vital to weigh what kind of return on investment the software option is likely to provide. If it’s something that could pay for itself within a few months or a year, it’s probably a smart move for agents to adopt it.

It’s vital to encourage clients to leave reviews

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Having a number of good reviews on various websites can go a long way for real estate professionals, as many would-be buyers and sellers conducting online research, often use this as a resource for choosing an agent. Of course, the best way to get good reviews is to continually provide positive experiences for clients on either the buying or selling side of the real estate sales process, but agents can’t always count on people to go online and leave a nice note of their own volition.

That’s where an agent’s ability to read the situation and determine whether the relationships they’ve built up with their clients are strong enough to let them suggest the idea of leaving a good review, rather than hoping they do so, according to Premier Agent. There are plenty of ways to do so without coming across as insistent – which is why some agents may avoid the suggestion in the first place – and that might include talking about the importance good reviews have for agents early on in the shopping or selling process.

That way, by the time the sale is complete, people may already be prepared to leave a review without additional prompting.

Other methods
In addition to casually hinting at the importance of reviews, agents may also be wise to write that kind of ask into client-facing email newsletters. If these people are signed up for a newsletter in the first place, they’re probably going to feel pretty good about the agent overall, so asking them to take a few minutes to leave a positive review within the context of that newsletter can often pay off.

But even before doing any of that, the more agents can do to make sure it’s easy to review them on any number of sites – by providing links and examples – will probably go a long way as well. And for agents who start to cultivate even a handful of reviews per week, featuring them on social media can be a good way to encourage others to do the same without coming right out and asking.

Using what comes
In addition to simply letting those positive reviews build up on sites like Zillow, Yelp or Google, it can also be helpful for agents to regularly comb the feedback they get and post the best examples – permanently – on their websites and elsewhere, according to 360 Training. Editing them down to just a few quick words and including them at the tops of pages on the site, or incorporating them into marketing materials, may be a good way to put the best possible foot forward when people start looking for an agent to work with on a sale.

The work of obtaining and cultivating lots of positive reviews may seem a little daunting at this time of year, even for the most experienced agents, but their value for both the short and long term cannot be understated. If dozens or more good reviews are the first thing prospective clients see, the return on investment for just asking current clients for this favor is likely to be massive.

Brought to you by HMS Home Warranty.  HMS is an industry leader with over 30 years of creating success for clients and providing peace of mind for customers.  To learn more click www.hmsnational.com.

PA House Passes New Legislation

We always want to make sure you stay up to date with the latest legislation in the world of real estate. Please take a moment to review the below links on a recent bill that was passed in Pennsylvania.

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PAR provides supporting testimony in favor of RELRA amendments

House Bill No. 863