Why 83 percent of real estate agents become irrelevant after handing over the keys

As technology improves, targeting and following up with clients is easier than ever

One of the major reasons homeowners do not rehire their real estate agent is that they simply cannot remember their agent’s name. A dismal 17% of homeowners actually use their agent again, according to a consumer panel at Real Estate Connect San Francisco.

Real estate agents are on the go, busy, and do not have the time to regularly follow up with clients. Delivering relevant, real-time and personalized information to clients is a full-time job in itself. With targeted advertising becoming the norm for advertising across all industries, real estate must adapt as positive client relationships drive success.


Enhancements in mobile technology are making it easier than ever to better target clients and follow up. Mobile is the primary reason Facebook has been able to turn its ad network into a money-printing machine. Real estate agents must get serious about mobile if they want to thrive in the modern market. Specifically, the millennial generation is going to become more prominent over the next decade. Agents need to move beyond email blasts and postcards targeted at their entire audience to target the needs of individual consumers. Making information relevant at an intimate level is a sure way to maintain relevance among clients.

How do you even know what clients want to hear? What is it going to take so that information you send to them does not go in one ear and out the other?

Ask clients what they want to hear

There are a plethora of free online survey tools to send clients and gauge topics they want to know. Agents tell me clients are always asking for a service provider referral, what is selling in the neighborhood, and whether it’s a good time to refinance. These are only a few, but I am confident providing actionable information to your clients is a great way to keep them engaged. Moreover, as an agent, you become your clients' trusted source for local real estate news and updates.

Get serious about analytics

Analytics are the future of real estate marketing and in turn, will ultimately save you money. Understanding how your clients are looking at real estate data is critical to improving the entire client-agent experience. This will allow you to understand how your clients behave, translating directly into actionable data for you.

Diving deeper into what communication channels each client prefers will allow you to build a more intimate experience with each of your clients. For example, it does not make much sense to continue to send direct mail to clients who prefer digital communication and despise direct mail. Therefore, you focus on delivering the best digital experience for that client and save the money associated with mailings.

Overall, relevant, mobile, real-time and actionable data is the future of real estate content and marketing. Keeping clients informed when they want to be is critical, and ultimately will help 83% of agents stay relevant after handing over the keys.

Cost Comparison: Full-Time Employee versus Transaction Coordinator/ Virtual Assistant

Want to SAVE over $60,000 in business expenses this year?
A cost comparison for a full-time employee versus a Virtual Assistant


Although the Transaction Coordinator/ Virtual Assistant’s hourly rate is more than the employee’s rate, you save the cost of benefits and overhead that would have to be applied to the new employee’s wage. And, because Transaction Coordinators/ Virtual Assistants are usually more experienced, more efficient, and better connected than the employee, you’ll need to devote far less time to the project to get the same results, only 480 hours a year versus 2,080 for the new employee.

Remember, with a TC/ VA you only pay for the time on task! No more paying for socializing, hour long lunches or frequent trips to the washroom. Your employee’s 8 hour day can be crunched into 3-4 hours. Simply put, a Transaction Coordinator is more cost-effective.

Good selling requires.....

A good salesperson builds trust and confidence with their customers and clients. One way to do this is to demonstrate expertise. The more you know about your product or service (and share with your customer), the more your customer or client will trust in your abilities. Trust builds loyalty. Trust and loyalty leads to sales.

Knowing how to explain all aspects of the offer to purchase and the myriad of forms and disclosures required by law, including agency.

Both written and oral. The better you communicate, the better you will be at selling. Remember, communication is a two way street. It is important to listen. If the three most important words in real estate are "location, location, location," the three most important words in communicating are "listen, listen, listen."

Effective communication will allow you to build rapport. Rapport leads to trust and trust builds loyalty. Trust and loyalty leads to sales.

One of the biggest consumers of time in any sales business is prospecting, and prospecting usually produces no immediate results. Prospecting is all about contact with people. Contact with people creates opportunity. Said another way, contacts create contracts. If you are in a sales slump, increase the number of new and existing contacts each day by 20%... you will see results within 60 days.

There are many ways to prospect.

• Develop relationships with individuals who have access to many people and refer business to them in return for referrals. Examples: Tax preparers, insurance agents, plumbers, and others whose services you use and to whom you refer business.

• Participate in online communities.

• Ask for referrals..."have I done everything to earn your referral business?"

Make it positive. Motivate yourself to look for the silver lining in all events. "Attitude determines altitude."

Always do what you believe is in the best interest of your client. Your interests will take care of themselves.

Top 5 reasons to partner with a Virtual Assistant or Transaction Coordinator

1. Lower operational costs:

• Reduce costs associated with the production of products and /or services. 
• Cut down overhead associated with equipment, payroll, human resources training, medical, office space and utilities. Only pay for the work that needs to be done eliminating the costs associated with idle or non-productive time. 

2. Make more efficient use of time:

• Give you the flexibility to delegate tasks according to skill and abilities; thus increasing the quality of the work while reducing the time spent on each task. 
• Give you the ability to focus more time on the business aspects in which you are highly skilled and enjoy. 
• Make time for the urgent, imperative matters that arise. 
• Give you time to focus on the overall business goals and set priorities accordingly. 
• Allow time for the little things that sometimes get left out or overlooked. 

3. Keep up with technology:

• Gain access to an industry professional that can implement the top trends and technology, and has a vast network of resources to capitalize on. 
• Give you the edge you need to stay competitive, and evolve. 
• Implement the right tools and resources for your business. 

4. Enhance productivity:

• Implement tools and processes to operate more effectively. 
• Enable you to deliver better results in a shorter time frame. 
• Speed up the process of getting your products and/or services to the client. 
• Enable you to carry out the projects that are currently on your wish list. 
• Give you access to a larger range of highly skilled peopled. 

5. Convert your business into a hi-speed virtual office:

• Give you the ability to work anywhere in the world while remaining accessible to your client base. 
• Facilitate the exchange and collaboration of information and documentation. 
• Enhance the efficiency and accessibility of the business information available to the client. 
• Automate processes and procedures.

New Closing Rules take Effect

New Closing Rules take Effect

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has implemented new rules related to real estate closings where there is a mortgage involved. The most pertinent changes affect the timing of the loan process and required disclosures, and the subsequent closing.

What to know if you are a Buyer:

If you are buying real estate with a mortgage, it will take longer to close the deal. The contracts have been changed to allow up to 45 days for a loan commitment. It will be imperative to get your lender all the required documentation very quickly so there will not be delays. It is crucial that you are working with a lender who is well versed in all of the intricacies of the new laws.

What to know if you are a Seller:

If cash was king before, it is now emperor. If your buyer has a mortgage, your sale may be subject to delays because of the required notifications and waiting periods involved. You will not be able to schedule simultaneous "back to back" closings on the purchase of your next residence. 

Both buyers and sellers -- It is more important than ever that you have an experienced, knowledgeable REALTOR® by your side. We will help you navigate these increasingly complex transactions.

5 reasons your sellers are looking for another agent

Your reputation earned you the client, but are you sure you can keep them? These days many sellers are coming down with cases of the wandering eye. The changing tides and urgent needs that come along with selling real estate mean you have to pay attention to keep your clients and avoid your hard work going to waste.

Here are five reasons (and signs) your sellers might be shopping for your replacement:

1. You leave them with more questions than answers

If you find yourself explaining or unexplaining advice your clients have found elsewhere, you might be in grave danger of losing them. This usually means they feel both unsatisfied and uneducated. Both of these mean your commission’s in danger.

2. They’re flying blind

Now, clients and customers want to feel like they understand the process and what’s happening with their transaction. If you haven’t explained what the “road to closed” looks like, you’re leaving your client relationship and commission in danger. No one likes flying blind.

Sharing insights into how the home selling process works gives you a great opportunity to get back in your sellers’ good graces. Incorporate these statistics that sellers love into your explanation of the process to reinforce the fact that you’re an experienced real estate professional.

3. You’re hard of hearing

Repetition is a great tactic for making sure your audience gets the message … unless you’re paying that audience thousands of dollars to listen. Beware of repeat conversations, email exchanges and debates. These are clear indicators of client frustration and that they may soon be looking for your replacement.

4. You’re too nice

Smiles, gifts and great conversations are all a part of great client service, but they mean nothing if you can’t close the deals. Don’t mistake your great rapport with a client for a great working relationship. Ultimately, sellers want to work with the agent who can actually move them home.

 5. They’ve fallen in love with Google

The days of consumers passively waiting for service providers to meet their needs are long gone. When any or all of the above are true, your clients will start hunting for answers and help elsewhere. This is dangerous for your relationship because it means you’ve been officially dethroned as the “real estate expert” in their minds.

How to win back the client you already have ?
We want to hear from those of you who’ve dealt with this challenge.

How do you win a client back when you sense they might be slipping away?

Tips to Improve Your Social Media Skills

Just the facts!

Did you know the fastest growing market on Twitter is people aged 55 to 64? Or that LinkedIn has the lowest percentage of active users? Before spending your precious ad dollars or sinking your valuable time into social media promotion, make sure to identify which social media site will get the biggest bang for your buck/time. Do a bit digging for some hard stats, you won’t regret it.

Facebook and Twitter and Instagram…oh my!

Social media is constantly evolving. One of the most important things an agent can do to improve their exposure is to stay up on changes to the changes and be contently on the lookout for new opportunities. Emerging social media sites such as Pheed, Bubblews, and Sulia are worth taking a look for promotion and lead generation.

Do it often—just not TOO often

Try to find the sweet spot of the frequency of your posts. Posting too little will have no effect on your business but post too much and you will come off as annoying. According to Track Social, the sweet spot is posting twice a day for most social media sites. Customer and fan engagement tends to drop off significantly anything after that two a day average.

Your email address is an ASSET of your business.

You need to own your own domain, not a domain you may have to surrender some day. What is the value of your future business?

Here are a few thoughts on the use of a permanent e-mail address for REALTORS or any business:

1. Your e-mail address is an asset of your business and you invest in the e-mail address you use every time you give out a business card, piece of marketing material, or run an ad with it included in the ad. You are teaching the world that to communicate with you by e-mail, send e-mail to that e-mail address. If you ever changed e-mail addresses, for any reason, you would probably not receive e-mail sent to the "old" e-mail address. What about a customer who sends e-mail to you at the "old" e-mail address? If you do not receive the e-mail, you can't respond. What is the cost of potential lost business?

2. Anytime you use an e-mail address with a domain you do not own, you are investing in someone else's asset, you are a "renter" and not an "owner"...would you rather rent or own? If you use an comast e-mail address, who owns your e-mail address? If you use an AOL e-mail address (LOL..yes there are a few who still do...and I must mock them), who owns your e-mail address? Not you. The "owner" can raise the rent at their option. Maybe you think that they would never do that, but it is in their power to do so and not yours, whether you think so or not.

3. Who do you want to brand...you or gmail (or any other domain you do not own)?

4. Dot Com (.com) is the "800 number" of Top Level Domains...would you rather have an "888" toll free number or an "800" toll free number? New top level domains represent a risk to your business. Stick to the tried and true.

It makes good business sense for all businesses to own their own domain and to use it not only for their web site address, but for their e-mail address.

WHAT MAKES A STRONG CALL TO ACTION?

Before we get started it is important for your website to have a goal, that is, what is it you desire from your users? That may be to gather email addresses, capture leads, or get your visitor to enter their credit card information to buy something.

A call to action makes use of a banner, button, or some kind of graphic or text to lead your visitor down a predetermined path that results in them completing your goal. In the instance of real estate, a call to action to could be as simple as a button on the home page that says “start your home search” or “find your home value.”

So, how do we get a functional call to action? These are the some best practices:
Know a need – When first thinking about creating a call to action, you need to have a purpose in mind. Essentially, a need that you want to fill for your potential customer. Most call to actions make use of terminology like, “Buy this now!” or “Sell your home with us.” These are clear paths that you can start your new customer. Also, you will know how to fill their need.

Sweeten the deal – What’s in it for them? Why should they click that button, in other words? These people need to know why they should click that button on your site rather than someone else’s. Maybe you don’t take the normal amount of commission when selling a home. Or, maybe you give an amazing gift at closing. Let them know what they’re going to get out of their click.

Focus the language – Just as when creating a resume, everyone is always told to use action words. The same applies in this case. The focus is what you want them to do, not what you want from them. “Call, Buy, Register, Subscribe, Donate” are largely used active words. Essentially, they make the button say “Do This!”
Put it where it matters – This is easier said than done. The more important the Call to Action, the bigger it should be. Not only that, give it a contrasting color that will bring even more attention to itself. Lastly, it will need to have some space. Don’t butt it up against something else of less importance, this is distracting. These things are usually best left up to a designer because, honestly, they know what they’re doing and do it for a reason.

Call to actions are an essential piece to having a successful lead-generating website. It is the easiest way to help steer the potential customer into your new client.

Do you have any best practices that you have found that work best for you?
Please, feel free to share!

Photography Tips For Shooting a Home

FHA change eases buyers’ wait time

The Federal Housing Authority just made it easier for borrowers with previous hardships to qualify for an FHA-backed loan again. This is welcome news for buyers who went through short sales or foreclosures during the recent economic downturn.

The FHA announced that it is shortening the mandatory waiting periods for homeowners with a black mark on their credit to buy again using an FHA loan. These negative marks might include a short sale, foreclosure or even bankruptcy.

Before the FHA announcement, homeowners who went through one of those hardships faced a three-year mandatory waiting period. With the changes recently announced by the FHA as part of their Back to Work - Extenuating Circumstances Program, buyers who lost their homes due to financial hardships, but who can now prove over a course of the year that they are back on track financially, may qualify for an FHA loan sooner.

Under the new program, FHA announcements indicate a buyer can repurchase again after one year instead of three, provided they can document they lost 20 percent of their income.

This recent FHA announcement has sparked much interest from homebuyers who lost their homes due to extenuating circumstances.

Because the housing downturn is now six years old, there are many more buyers coming back into the market as they have passed the previously allotted waiting periods of three or four years, and they are looking to acquire financing again.

We encourage buyers to become familiar with today’s repurchase rules. These rules vary depending on the financing used and the type of hardship the applicant previously underwent.

Currently more than nine out of 10 mortgages are either funded by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, the FHA or VA. So, if a buyer is looking to purchase and needs financing, it is more than likely he or she will be using one of these three financing options. 

Each of those options has different rules directing the time frame for seeking financing again following a short sale, foreclosure or bankruptcy. To help consumers make sense of these options.

To qualify for the new FHA program, buyers should be prepared to:

• Prove that the foreclosure or short sale was caused by an economic event beyond their control, causing an income reduction of 20% or more for at least six months.

• Prove they have recovered from the economic event that led to the crisis.

• Prove that their credit was satisfactory before the economic event.

• Show that credit has been re-established over the past 12 months.

• Complete at least one hour of one-on-one housing counseling from a Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved counselor.

12 "Expert Picks" for Fail-Safe Colors

12 "Expert Picks" for Fail-Safe Colors
Here are twelve neutrals that color experts and designers rank as their top

 "fail-safe" picks.

Amazing Gray (Sherwin-Williams SW7044)

I repainted my bedroom this color, which is a medium gray with just a hint of green. It’s not too cool and not too warm. My plan is to use it with other grays, a charcoal gray upholstered headboard, and dusty plum and chartreuse.
—Jackie Jordan, Director of Color Marketing for Sherwin-Williams

Sage Morsel (Valspar 5005-1C)
I believe more in timeless colors than fail-safe colors like this gray green with its sophisticated gray undertone. You can find this color in your garden, paintings, and vintage photos, but the lightness of the gray green makes it perfect for today’s home.
—Sue Kim, Color Trend and Forecast Specialist for Valspar

Cinderblock (Ralph Lauren UL222)
For a warm, medium dark neutral I love Cinderblock. It just makes everything look rich and sophisticated. Very restful and pleasing to the eye. I just finished a Victorian reading room where I used it on the walls, trim, and ceiling as a home office and my client loves it.
—Myke Reilly, Designer and Co-Founder of The Happy Collective in San Francisco

Chelsea Gray (Benjamin Moore HC168
When people think about neutrals, they often think light and they don’t have to. This is a darker color that's still soft. It’s great with lots of linens, antiques, and vintage-style furnishings or it’s rich behind a contemporary white sectional.
—Sharon Grech, Color Expert for Benjamin Moore





Manchester Tan (Benjamin Moore HC168)
This is a very warm neutral that is almost like an off-white. It’s not gray or cold, and it’s not a boring beige. It's nice with dark and mid-tone woods and works well with cooler colors like blues or with reds, yellows, and greens.
—Sharon Grech, Color Expert for Benjamin Moore




Restrained Gold (Sherwin-Williams SW6129)
This warm and inviting color not only looks good with painted white trim but also stained trims like oaks, plus it maintains its hue well in daylight or artificial light. It also looks great in just about every room and pairs well with a wide range of colors, from reds and oranges to blues, greens, or purples.

—Karen Mills, Owner of Interiors by Design in Kansas City, Missouri 




Warm Caramel (Glidden GLN01)
I think this is simply the most comfortable and delicious full-bodied neutral. It works wonderfully with both traditional and contemporary design styles and is perfect used alone or paired with another color. It is one of our top sellers from coast to coast.
—Barbara Richardson, Director of Color Marketing for Glidden




Smooth Stone (Glidden GLN36)
Smooth Stone is the perfect neutral, if you are looking for a color that has subtle character and one that is truly neutral without the influence of red or yellow undertones. It works beautifully with other accent colors, too.
—Barbara Richardson, Director of Color Marketing for Glidden




Star of the Garden (Kelly-Moore KM4004-2)
This is my favorite fail-safe hue. It is a neutral that has it all—not too light or too dark, too warm or too cool. It’s the perfect complement to all of today’s most fashionable colors. It’s popular for exteriors, too.
—Mary Lawlor, Manager of Color Marketing at Kelly-Moore Paints





Ever Classic (Pratt and Lambert 32-34)
This is a perfect gray for walls or trim. It’s a mid-tone, neither too cool nor too warm. While all grays are trending strong right now, this is a gray that is a classic and will never go out of style. This color will lend a sense of luxury and refinement to any room in the house.
—Peggy Van Allen, Color and Design Specialist for Pratt & Lambert

Safari Vest (Behr UL190-17)
Safari Vest makes a wonderful background color, because so many other colors harmonize with it. Cream trim and black accents create a classic modern scheme, or pair it with accents in burgundy, forest, or navy blue for a more traditional look.
— Erika Woelfel, Director of Color for Behr

Toasted Wheat (Pratt and Lambert 7-26)
This has been one of our top colors for many years. It is a warm, nature-based tan that is extremely versatile. It has a certain amount of depth so that it will have a presence, but it is neutral enough that it won’t steal the show.
—Peggy Van Allen, Color and Design Specialist for Pratt & Lambert

Commission cutting

Did you know that many consumers believe that if you earn a 6 percent commission you keep the entire 3 percent on the buyer or seller side of the deal? It’s no wonder that they feel commission cutting is fair game. What can you do to educate them otherwise?

One of the most important points to realize is that the moment your sellers ask you to cut your commission, what they are really telling you is that you have failed to demonstrate your value.

Arm yourself with a premium marketing plan

An excellent strategy for demonstrating your value is to give your sellers a written premium marketing plan. This plan outlines all the services you provide to give the sellers the maximum exposure that results in the maximum price for their property.

Powerful commission defense:

You will also need at least two scripts that illustrate why it’s better to hire you as opposed to an agent who cuts his commission. When a seller asks you to cut your commission.

• “Mr. and Mrs. Seller, in order to achieve the highest possible price for your property you need someone who is a strong negotiator, wouldn’t you agree?” 
• “So if John Agent from Competitor Realty couldn’t even negotiate a full commission on his own behalf, how effective do you think he will be negotiating the best possible price on your home?”
• “Mr. and Mrs. Seller, this is my premium marketing plan that will help you obtain the highest possible price in the shortest amount of time. If you would like to pay a lower commission, perhaps I can find a junior associate who is willing to work for less money.”

Note that neither of these scripts mentions the word “discount.” Discounts are perceived as a benefit. Instead, addresses the seller’s need to net the most from the sale, and the fact that no one wants to be represented by a “junior associate.”

The six-card commission defense
At this year’s Real Estate Connect San Francsico conference, Ben Kinney of Keller Williams revealed one of the best commission defense strategies I have ever seen. The primary challenge facing agents right now is that the public doesn’t understand how much the agent actually nets at the end of the day.

A second challenge is that agents are now receiving phone calls where the homeowner asks, “How much do you charge?” If the agent answers, “Six percent,” the caller hangs up before the agent has a chance to explain his services.

Kinney’s approach to this situation addresses both of these issues. Here’s what he does:

1. Kinney comes armed to the listing appointment with at least 10 business cards. He uses these cards to illustrate what happens with commissions.

2. When clients ask, “How much do you charge?” his reply is, “Three percent.” This is also the answer to the phone call that asks, “How much do you charge?”

3. The next step is to ask the seller, “How much do you want to pay the agent who brings the offer to you — it can be 2 percent, 3 percent, 4 percent or even more.” Assuming that the seller says, “Three percent,” he puts aside three cards in addition to the three cards representing his commission.

4. He then continues by explaining: “Just so that you understand what happens to the 3 percent that you will be paying me,” he takes three cards and continues as he removes the first card, saying, “Every agent has to pay their broker part of the commission.” He takes the first card and puts it aside.

He then picks up the second card. “This amount goes to the marketing of your property,” which includes such services as professional photos; video; Web marketing; social media marketing; newspaper ads the agent pays for; brochures; gasoline; and all the other expenses entailed in marketing a home.

He then puts that card aside, picks up the last card and says, “This is how much I get paid.”

He then tears the card in half and says, “But I have to pay taxes, so this is how much I keep.”

He then asks a very important question: “So if another agent offers to lower their commission, where do you think the money comes from? Three percent goes to the other agent, 1 percent goes to their brokerage, and the government keeps 50 percent of what they earn. They’re not going to take food out of their children’s mouths, so the only place where this money can come from is by cutting into the 1 percent that I use to market your home.”

So the next time a client asks you to cut your commission, try one of the scripts above, or if you’re feeling adventuresome, give Kinney’s approach a try. It works for Kinney’s team and it can work for you, too.

ChristineMatus.com

561-444-8860

4 Keys to Making a Great First Impression

“You have just 7 seconds to make a good first impression.” Roger Ailes, CEO, FOX News
“You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” Will Rogers

We know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but we just can’t help it. The root of the problem is that our brains are capable of making 1,001 estimations and calibrations at lightning speed. First impressions are just another timesaver.

According to a joint study by NYU, Tufts, and Harvard, people make 11 decisions about us in the first seven seconds of contact: education level, economic level, perceived creditability and believability, trustworthiness, level of sophistication, sexual identification, level of success, political background, religious background, ethnic background, and social and professional desirability.

If you happen to be on the receiving end of this process, there are a few things you can do to make a great first impression:

Honorable mentions. If you really think about it, meeting someone new really is quite an honor. After all, you never know what that relationship could turn into or how it might transform your life or business someday. Knowing that, it’s easy to treat other people with distinction.

What have you done for them lately? Playing the hard-sell networking card within a few minutes of meeting someone is a turn off. Instead, figure out what you can do for them. What they can do for you will naturally follow.

When you lose, you win. You may indeed be the best at everything, but you don’t need to show it. Compliment others, and be genuinely impressed by their achievements–be a little jealous even. The rewards of humility will be apparent quickly.

Network like a ninja. The artfulness of martial arts comes from using another person’s strength in your favor. It just so happens that getting people to talk about themselves in conversation works much the same way. As soon as you know something about someone, ask how they did it, or why they did it, or what they learned from it. Showing your respect and recognition will make you attractive.

Don’t forget to pass these helpful tips along to your clients and colleagues.

ChristineMatus.com

Face Book Fan Page

5 Facebook Fan Page Problems & Fixs
Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook are probably the top three social media sites that every blogger should be on right now. And even though the first two have millions of users under their belt and are great lead generation tools, there really is no other network as powerful as Facebook.

Just try to think who of your friends doesn’t have a Facebook account! That is the reason why every business and every blog should have a Facebook fan page.

If you haven’t yet created one for your blog, you are missing out on a huge potential audience, high engagement levels and targeted traffic. But even if you have one, there are no guarantees. The fact is most fan pages will remain unnoticed and won’t ever break the hundred likes barrier. Getting people to click that elusive “Like” button isn’t as easy as it sounds. And even if you have the fans, generating likes, comments and ultimately Facebook traffic has its pitfalls. The following post is all about those pitfalls. In the below paragraphs you will find five of the biggest reasons why people might decide your Facebook page isn’t worth a visit and of course tips to help you fix the problem areas! Let’s get started:

1. You Don’t Have the Likes

That’s undoubtedly the key ingredient that you need in order to convince people to like you. Unfortunately it’s a paradox that doesn’t quite work in your favor:

In order to get more people liking you, you need to have likes in the first place. That is exactly the reason why building your fanbase from 0 to 100 likes is tougher than reaching say 500 fans once you’ve gotten those initial 100 likes. So how do you get started? Well you spread the word!

Here are some simple steps to help you:

Insert a fan page box UNDER your posts – It’s quite common to see those in the sidebars, but they are far more effective placed under the posts. That way they work as a call to action. You basically tell people “Did you enjoy my article? Then why not like me on Facebook to stay in touch!”

Share your Facebook posts on Twitter – Whenever you publish something on your fan page, click on its date header to open it in its own URL and share your post using that link. Now people will first be directed to your fan page, giving you the chance to get some of your Twitter followers to click “Like”

Tell Your Twitter followers – Don’t be scared to promote your fan page on Twitter once or twice per week. Unlike the previous approach, here you simply point people to your page with a message along the lines of “Enjoying my tweets? You might want to take a look at my Facebook page!”. You should create 3-4 different variations, so that you don’t post the same message over and over.

Use the Facebook Page Promoter Lightbox – A very neat WordPress plugin, that works as a pop-over like box. As with all pop-over plugins, that is far more effective than its sidebar alternative. Thanks to the plugin, I’ve generated over 250 new likes in just three weeks.

Write an article about Facebook – Why not let people know you’ve started working on getting Facebook traffic and promoting your fan page! In the post you can provide readers with tips or reasons why they should be on Facebook. That is a great opportunity to tell them about your own page and show them some of the techniques you are following.

2. People Aren’t Talking About It

Although getting likes does take time, it’s straightforward – you just need to start promoting your fan page. There however is another metric, which might be a bit more difficult to understand. What I am referring to is the “Talking About This” number. That one is displayed just below the cover photo and the title of your page.
First, what does “Talking about this” describe?

Well it is basically the number of unique Facebook users, who have interacted in one way or another with your fan page in the last seven days. Likes, comments, mentions and shares all count as interaction. So with that in mind, we can easily assume that if a page has thousands of likes yet very few people talking about it, then something is wrong. A possible reason for that might be that the page isn’t being updated. Another reason might be that the stories aren’t getting any engagement in the form of likes and comments. 

So, how do you increase the “Talking About This” number? Here are some guidelines to help you:

Ramp up the frequency – You can’t expect to get good results if you post a story once every two weeks. Try to share something with your fans at least four or five times per week!

Share different types of content – You need to spice things up. One day you could post a funny picture, the other day you can ask a question, then you could post a quote or why not a did-you-know kind of post with no links in it.

Craft a good call to action – The description you write holds a huge importance for whether or not people will click on your link, like your story or leave a comment. You can be as direct as saying “Like if you agree” when you post a quote for instance, or you could say something along the lines of “I would appreciate to hear your thoughts!”.

3. You Care About Getting Clicks Only

I really hate landing on a fan page, where the only thing I see are links to articles from the blog that the page belongs to. Not only that it feels rather spammy, but it’s also boring.Even if we assume the content you share is actually worth reading, this still doesn’t mean you should use your Facebook page solely as a promotion platform. Content might be useful, but the real problem is it is often “emotionless”. Sharing practical tips is great but it can’t produce an emotional attachment so to say. Additionally people also need a couple of minutes – first to actually read the post and then to decide if it’s good. That is why the stories that make an immediate connection with the viewer are in most cases images. You see them and you immediately act upon them, especially if they include a thought you can relate to or a funny story about the things you like or situations you’ve fallen into. In the end your desire to get clicks will end up dragging your page’s popularity down and hence returning less traffic for you. Another problem is that you will be getting very few likes (images for instance tend to receive double the likes of a link to an article), which definitely won’t make your Facebook stream look trustworthy.

4. It Feels Like You Aren’t There

One great way to create a welcoming feeling among your new fans is by simply showing them “you are alive”. If you have a fan page about your blog, you should also emphasize on the blogger behind everything. The idea is to add a small pinch of your personality to the mix.
Sounds simple in theory, but how do you do it in practice?
Not only ask, but reply – in a real world situation where you ask a question, it is quite obvious that you will also wait for an answer and then give your standpoint once again. It’s the same here. Whenever you ask your fans something, don’t forget to observe the answers and reply back (by mentioning the person by name, so that they get notified) with a thoughtful and constructive comment. Also take the time to like the comments that people are living as a way to say thank you.
The descriptions, again – As I already said, descriptions are important because they can work as a call to action. However one other reason why you must include them is because there you can write your own summary and present your own perspective. For example if you’ve just shared a great post (not from your own blog) it will seem more genuine if you also say a few words about what the post talks about and why you actually liked it. Those simple things do make a difference.

5. You Overwhelm Your Fans

Even if you share interesting content, ask for opinions and don’t forget to add some humor along the way, you shouldn’t overdo. Sharing too much updates is as bad as being inconsistent. Aside from the fact that seeing the same person (or page in our case) posting dozens of times throughout the day is plain irritating and it makes you want to slap them, if you post too much, people will simply stop noticing you. That’s similar to the so called ad-blindness, when readers simply don’t notice advertisements placed in common positions and having similar layouts on thousands of websites.
So, how much is too much?

I’d say four or more posts per day. I’m generally updating my fan page two times per day at most and the results are quite good. I tested bumping the number up to four and even five for a few days but that didn’t result in much of an improvement, so it’s not worth the time. I even got a comment from a guy who liked what I shared but said I should slow down a little.

Final Words

Those I believe are the main reasons why people might decide to steer away from you or unlike your fan page at some point. All in all I believe creating a successful fan page comes down to finding a balance between your own content and more interactive stories and also being consistent but not too overwhelming. 

Now I’d like to hear your thoughts! Are there other factors that might scare you away from a fan page? Do you agree to the points I’ve shared? Let me know your two cents!

Real Estate Boot Camp

Social Media Mistakes & Fixes

I read a post recently about singing the Star Spangled Banner before you hit send on a fiery comment or Facebook rant.

Wait! The next time you want to press SEND 
sing “The Star Spangled Banner” first!

Next time you are dying to press send to
Tweet that terrible thought......
Facebook a fictitious fact …........
Google a grand gaffe......
Comment carelessly......

Try singing “The Star Spangled Banner”.
It should take you about 1 ½ minutes...
Time enough for you to enjoy the brief satisfaction of speaking your mind and long enough for you to realize that you could lose a lot more if you pressed send.

Unfortunately this does not always happen as we're human and get swept up in the moment.

We've all seen the "salesy" comment in groups that blatantly screams "Please don't come on here and sell your self or company," yet the person finds it necessary to do so. The mass linkedin email saying bring me an offer on my new listing to everybody under the sun.

Whatever the case is you have most likely made a mistake on some sort of social media platform and learned from it.

What is a mistake you've made on social media and what have you done to fix it and/or make sure you never do it again???

Give us some insight as to what happened and what you did to fix it or what lesson you learned to correct the behavior in the future. You just might save another from making the same mistake.

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Realtors worry the changes will lead to a dilution of the Realtor brand

Now that the dust has settled after the National Association of Realtors board of directors approved changes to the operating agreement for its official website, realtor.com, many Realtors worry the changes will lead to a dilution of the Realtor brand and the standards of professionalism, including accuracy, that go along with it.

As of Monday morning, an overwhelming 50 of 62 respondents to an informal poll on the “Raise the Bar” Facebook group page said they felt “betrayed by NAR. Like a knife in the back”

due to the trade group’s decision to allow realtor.com operator Move Inc. to obtain listings from entities that are not Realtor-owned and controlled, and from brokers who are not Realtors, including rentals and new-home listings.

Inman News also received more than 100 emails and comments on inman.com, Facebook and Twitter from readers sharing their views of the changes. While some hailed the move for potentially boosting realtor.com’s ability to compete with rivals Zillow and Trulia, the overwhelming majority blasted the board’s decision.

           Screen shot from “Raise the Bar” Facebook page

“I’m disgusted with our ‘leadership.’ Real estate transactions involve the largest financial transaction most individuals will make in their lifetimes. Realtors uphold ethical standards and provide professional (vs. amateur) assistance. We’ve enjoyed some privileges as members. Now, our BIGGEST privilege has been stripped from us,” commented Evergreen, Colo., Realtor Jeri Groves.

“With no distinction between anyone with an ‘armchair quarterback’ opinion and professional Realtors, we’ve just denigrated our brand — one that already has a reputation little better than used car salespeople in the eyes of the public. This is SHAMEFUL! Move.com wins, and every Realtor loses. The entire NAR leadership should be recalled. Let’s start a petition!!!!”

Keller Williams agent Matty Green commented, “This is crazy! We pay dues to NAR for the privileges of membership, including having our listings on realtor.com. Realtor.com in turn charges us for the privilege to have our name and phone number (instead of the broker’s) show up on the listing in order to have a ‘competitive edge’ over nonpaying agents.
“Now there is nothing to stop realtor.com from charging us more so that we can compete with non-Realtors advertising on the same site. Maybe NAR should have negotiated free preferred listing status on realtor.com for all NAR members in this deal. My guess is realtor.com makes too much money off of us and they wouldn’t have agreed to it. That’s why this happened behind closed doors and without our input.”

Marty Sorrentino of Re/Max Innovations in Wantagh, N.Y., said he couldn’t grasp the concept of having non-Realtors post their listings on realtor.com. “Realtors have to adhere to strict guidelines and policies (including a strict code of conduct and mandatory ethics courses every four years) all designed to protect the public. Now realtor.com is going to allow builders and other non-Realtor persons to have access to ‘our’ site,” he said.

Marvin Shelley of Fayetteville, Ark.-based The Shelley Group commented, “If I quit paying NAR, can I then just post my listings on realtor.com for free? Is that what I read?”

Inman News reader Kathy Evans said consumers would suffer from the move rather than benefit. “Yes, they will have more listings at their fingertips, but they will not be serviced by Realtors. NAR directors have let us down,” she said.

Another reader echoed many in worrying about one of realtor.com’s most distinguishing features and the focus of its recent marketing campaign: the accuracy of its listing information.

“This is a sad day for Realtors. We need to remove ALL our listings from realtor.com and take back our data. Realtor.com, while no longer the most browsed source … was definitely the best rated and most valued source of listings because it represented a higher degree of reliability and integrity of the data,” he said.

“Now, NAR is allowing others to input data that we can’t verify. So, now we have a product that our name is attached to, yet we have no control over it. I’m sad to have my name associated with realtor.com.”

Others expressed concern that the move would make realtor.com no better than the third-party sites it rivals.

“The changes on realtor.com will create great competition only if listings are updated frequently. Listings on Trulia and Zillow will show active after been sold a year ago. So daily updates of listings on the site will make a big difference,” said Tennyson Jusu of Solid Source Realty.

Dale Pearson at Carolyn Pearson Real Estate in Overland Park, Kan., said NAR’s leaders “just don’t get it.”

“In today’s world it’s not about who is No. 1 online. This is not a zero-sum game. Our buyers and sellers are smart. Like you and me, they search multiple sites for information. To think they can gain a monopoly (to charge us more fees) — a site with info that nobody else has — is ridiculous and old school,” he said.

“Now, we’ve become ‘the same’ with the competition. This is actually to their benefit — not NAR’s. Sameness is boring. We’re in a reactive mode, not proactive, and have become a follower, not a leader.”

Commenting on Inman News’ Facebook page, Kathy Frieze, a real estate agent with Re/Max Integrity in Corvallis, Ore., said, “Realtor.com is not succeeding because the site is not consumer-friendly and its management is living in the age of the dinosaurs. Allowing rentals and non-MLS listings will not change their underlying problems. NAR needs to break loose from Move and align themselves with (a) more progressive model.”

Deborah Madey, a broker at Peninsula Realty Group, said she didn’t see how the vote benefits Realtors. “How will this impact members and their businesses? I’m not convinced that there is no benefit. I am curious to understand it. I am extremely bothered that the impact to members is not a point of discussion. If (realtor.com) is king or not is irrelevant unless it brings value to members,” she said.

Madey said NAR and realtor.com have not communicated the value of the data integrity and rules Realtors live by when updating listings. “Our data is more accurate because of self-policing forces. It’s updated more frequently. Unavailable properties and bad data must be removed. That benefit may go by the wayside,” she said.

NAR should use realtor.com to communicate the value of Realtors, not just to display listings from multiple sources, Madey said. “Why does the public think there is no difference between a Realtor and a licensee. I think that (realtor.com) should be about (Realtor) listings, about what NAR does for the public (i.e., all the lobbying that is done to protect property rights, etc.). I think that (realtor.com) should be a public-facing site that helps consumers learn about everything real estate from Realtors and NAR,” she said. “I think it’s time that our branding move up on the priority list. We don’t do it very well, and never have. And, we’re still dismissing it,” she added.

Sam DeBord, managing broker and team leader at Coldwell Banker Danforth, agreed with Madey but said the call for better branding had to be mixed with the realities of online traffic trends.

“Realtor.com is a marketplace. Realtor is a professional brand. We need to draw maximum consumer traffic to realtor.com where we can push the brand. If that means getting ‘all listings’ (which consumers demand) and then explaining the difference, so be it. Branding harder in a shrinking market is not good strategy,” he said.

Beth Braznell, a NAR director who attended last week’s special meeting, said the board’s vote was not about protecting the Realtor brand. “There is no Realtor brand in the consumer’s mind. The decision … was exclusively about competing with Zillow from the standpoint of keeping Zillow from doing to us what Expedia did to travel agents and to protect the investment NAR has made in (realtor.com),” she said.

In response to concerns from some Realtors, NAR spokeswoman Stephanie Singer said the revised agreement will reinforce the Realtor brand. “Realtors want realtor.com to have the resources and flexibility it needs to give consumers what they want while ensuring that today’s buyers and sellers can continue to rely on Realtors for the most accurate, credible market information,” she said.

Changes to realtor.com will include features that emphasize to consumers the value Realtors bring to consumers, both when buying and selling a home and in protecting the American dream of homeownership.”

While not part of the approved amendments, NAR and Move said last week realtor.com will reinforce the value of using a Realtor when buying, selling or investing in real estate, and will give consumers tools to differentiate between Realtors and non-Realtors.

Move Chief Strategy Officer Errol Samuelson said realtor.com would “call out” when a listing belongs to a Realtor and highlight any certifications or designations that Realtor has. In addition, the site will have targeted messages on search result pages and listing pages highlighting Realtors’ advocacy work on behalf of local homeowners, he said.

Move declined to provide further details about the plans being considered to differentiate Realtors until they are formally launched “for competitive reasons.” Move’s Form 8-K detailing changes to the operating agreement for investors does not mention specific plans to boost the Realtor brand.

In a Q-and-A article about the realtor.com changes, NAR said the Realtor brand will continue to be pre-eminent on the site, not just in the domain name but in every aspect of the site, its mobile apps and its public relations.

“When the changes are implemented, the site will continue to clearly distinguish Realtor-represented listings and will use language that more prominently emphasizes the difference between Realtors and non-Realtors,” said Bob Goldberg, president and CEO of NAR subsidiary Realtors Information Network Inc., or RIN.

NAR pointed out that 1999 NAR President Sharon Millett, who had witnessed realtor.com’s inception, had been at the meeting and said now was the time to compete “head-to-head” and give consumers the accurate, comprehensive site they want.

“There was a time when restricting the site to only Realtor listings was appropriate,” she said, “but that time has passed.” The article noted member dues do not go to the operation of realtor.com, and NAR does not collect revenue when members purchase realtor.com products and services. The article also said many directors had expressed concern about non-Realtors getting leads from realtor.com, and said members of the RIN board would be “addressing the issue.” 

Move CEO Steve Berkowitz sought to allay Realtors’ concerns about maintaining realtor.com’s accuracy. “Comprehensiveness does not come at the cost of accuracy. What our goal in this process and in everything we’re trying to do is to allow the consumer to not only see a comprehensive set of data but also identify the difference between the data that has been delivered with authority (by) Realtors,” he told Inman News.

“We don’t take the ‘what’s for sale’ listings from just anybody,” he added.

Listing information will be sourced from “authoritative sources,” Berkowitz said. For-sale homes data will continue to be sourced primarily from brokers and multiple listing services, Realtor-affiliated or not, he said, and new-homes data will come from BDX, a consortium of top homebuilders that also powers New Home Source, of which Move owns 51 percent. Consumers will not be allowed to upload listings.

“The focus on accuracy is absolutely core to everything that we do. (Sourcing from MLSs is) almost a guarantee of accuracy because listings are required by their MLSs to be accurate,” Berkowitz said.

“We believe the MLSs are the best source of information about homes for sale and that’s why we’ve spent 14 years building those relationships. The MLSs are very important to the process,” he added.

He said the changes would actually bring more accuracy to the site by identifying the source of a listing and designating when it has been provided by a Realtor.

“The definition of data accuracy is not only that the data is accurate but that the consumer knows where the data comes from,” Berkowitz said.

Identifying Realtor-represented listings as such amid those from other sources will actually strengthen the Realtor brand, he said.

“It’s best to have a home listed with a Realtor and buy a home with a Realtor but not every home is listed with a Realtor and it’s important to know that to have your Realtor ask the questions they need to ask,” he said.

Realtor.com will inform consumers that the best professional to work with is a Realtor, Berkowitz said. This will include outlining the advantages of working with a Realtor, the Realtor code of ethics, and what Realtors do to support homeownership.

“Our job as a business is to build the brand and to build the consumers’ relationship with that brand, and that’s a foundation built on trust, which is built around education, awareness and accuracy,” he said.

“If we walk out of this with one thing we’re going to accomplish, it’s we’ve built the trust in the Realtor brand,” he added.

Move said it was still evaluating its content sources “within the realtor.com accuracy proposition” and would include criteria regarding how often a source updates its content. The site will continue to show the last time a listing was updated.

While 90 percent of realtor.com’s listings are currently updated every 15 minutes, Berkowitz said he was unsure whether Move would require sources of new homes and rental listings to update that often.

“I know we have the single most accurate source of new-homes data. We already have the spec homes where builders built it and put it in the MLS — this (change) is about new-home communities where the inventory is about how many lots are available,” he said.

Currently, Move is getting its rental information from MLSs and apartment builders directly, but is evaluating how to bring in additional content.

“We’re not getting into the ‘free for all’ marketplace (for rentals),” he said. “As we look at it and continue to expand it, we have lots and lots of authoritative sources out there for rentals,” he added.

While accuracy matters to both those looking for rentals and for-sale homes, the stakes are higher with for-sale homes because of the price tag involved, Berkowitz said.

Andrea V. Brambila

Associate Editor