Shock and Awe Marketing Tutorials in Plain English

So, since ths is my personal blog, I thought I would make sme personal shout outs in the best way I know how... with some youtube parodies.  So, for my Saturday fun post, here are a few of my favorite videos dedicated to a few of my favorite peeps.

1. For @Ines.  Because you are my favorite Twitter Whore.

2. For Steve Hundley, because hockey mom's rule! 

3. For Teri Isner, becuase I know how much you enjoy history.

4. For @Trulia because this one was too good not to include again.

5. For Cyndee Haydon. Because you are my Paris Hilton (AKA always jetting off to sme new location to get a tan).

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OK, I'm not one on promoting other people's shizzle, but in this case, I highly recommend that if you are tuly interested in SEO and you want to see some of the best minds in the industry speak, you register right now for this Fort Lauderdale area event.  This is the real deal.  Dave Synder (the ardorably acerbic SEO rockstar from searchandsocial.com) is putting on an event right here in Florida. I will be there and I fully expect a tribe of Realtors to be there to completly bombard da man and his panel of SEO experts with all your questions so I can get a couple of days of peace.

What is Scary SEO?

Scary SEO is a  mini-conference at the end of October that is focused on education, networking, and fun.

How much will the conference cost?

At only $200 it is also focused on being one of the best values you will find in a search conference.

The fee includes two days of SEO, SMO, and SEM training, lunch both days, and a networking party on the 25th

Everyone from the seasoned Internet marketer to the small business owner will benefit from this event.

How can you register to attend?

Spots are limited. So please register as soon as possible to ensure your participation.

When is it?

The event will take place at the Hilton Deerfield Beach/Boca Raton on October 24th and 25th.

What will you learn?

• The Code of SEO: Coding and Design concepts that improve your SEO efforts
• Link Building: The Basics and Beyond
• SEM Strategies: How to make paid search work for you
• Protect Your Rep: Online Reputation Management
• SMO Tactics: How optimize social media for use in your SEO
• Importance of Analytics: Beyond clickstream data
• SEO Project Management and Educating Clients
• Information Architecture and Content Creation Plans

The last couple of years have been pivotal for the real estate industry.  Technology is advancing at neck breaking speed.  Social media is a very real part of our day to day business.  And, to top it all off, the real estate market has shifted drastically from a seller's to a buyer's market.

The above, and more, has affected how real estate agents are perceived, how we get our leads, where we spend our money and our day to day activities.

This post is about what I have learned and integrated into my business over the last year or so.  These lessons are not in any particular order, but are truths as I know them. 

So without further ado, here we go:

The Power to Choose Clients Wisely

There is a tendency in our industry to let ourselves be abused by our clients.  We will work with unmotivated sellers by taking overpriced listings.  Buyers who end up using a different agent to purchase their home after spending hours in your car or your friends who only remember that you are a real estate agent when they need someone to run comparables when they need to file a property tax adjustment. 

I was one of these agents.  I once spent over a year showing homes to a husband and wife who couldn't agree on anything in the hopes of making a sale.  I knew, just knew that I was the one who will finally help them buy the house of their dreams.  And, after so many days and months of searching, it was just a matter of time.  NOT!

I learned very quickly, to prequalify ALL my clients, to trust my instincts and to work with only motivated consumers who respect my expertise.  After all, I do not get paid until I help someone buy or sell their home.

The Power of Referrals

A lot of my business comes directly from referrals of satisfied clients to their friends, family members or coworkers.  You can not underestimate the power of referral. 

It is so much easier to work with someone who already comes to you knowing that you have helped someone they know.  There is built-in trust with every referral.  My goal with every family I help is to ensure that they are so outrageously satisfied with the services that I provide that they will naturally want to help me grow my business by referring their loved ones to me.  It makes life so much easier and more pleasant for all.

Having said that one of my biggest AHAs with the shifting market has been to expand my business by bringing in "new blood" if you will, new clients that have found me by other ways or means.  This has ensured a constant stream of business and growth.

The Power of the Internet and SEO

Paper advertising, snail mail and an occasional static website was all the rage for most of the Realtors up to about a couple of years ago.  How things have changed! 

Proper understanding of SEO can propel real estate business to a totally new level.  Your potential success can be as good as your SEO knowledge.  Let's face it, I may have helped close to 200 families in my last 7 years of being in business and a lot of my business comes from referrals from these families and friends, but internet is limitless.  Its reach is extensive and pretty amazing.  I get calls and emails from people considering relocating to Pasadena that never would have found me if it wasn't for the SEO principles learned right here on RSS Pieces and attending Mary McKnight's SEO and blogging training.

Unfortunately, when I look around the real estate community around Pasadena, California, it is clear that most real estate agents have not changed the way they market for new business.  Many still see that being on the internet is only a matter of having a static website that hasn't been touched in years.  Many still spend thousands of dollars monthly advertising in LA Times even though LA Times recently announced the closure of their Real Estate section as we have come to know it.  I can count on one hand the number of agents that are blogging or joining social networks. 

Read More:  How to generate leads from your real estate blog

The Power of ONE

With blogs giving us an opportunity to interact directly with potential consumers AND allowing us to offer Action Buttons for Home Searches, Market Updates, Mortgage Reports and more, why would we need both a blog and a static website?  I love the fact that I can now offer my customers an integrated website with everything they need under one roof and be able to respond to their inquiries in a way where others with similar questions might learn from.  Old style website - go away!  An integrated website/blog is the way to go!

 Read More:  Blogging and SEO 101 - How to Get Started

 The Power of Social Networks

I love social networks!  It is amazing how many wonderful social networks are being built daily - Twitter, Facebook, Triiibes, Active Rain are just a few that come to mind. These sites offer amazing opportunities for marketing our seller's listings, making connections with other like-minded agents, stagers, lenders, appraisers and inspectors. 

Other educational sites like AgentGenius and RSS Pieces make it so much easier to learn what real estate agents are doing around the country and generate ideas which lead to implementing best practices.

Read More:  Reputation Management and Using On Line Tools to Build and Monitor Your On-Line Identity

The Power of Creativity

Why is it that we teach our clients to automatically ask for price reductions?  There are other creative ways to negotiate and have a win/win for both the buyer and the seller.  For example, many times the buyers would be much better off asking for seller concessions like having sellers pay down the interest rate for the life of the buyer's loan.  It doesn't cost the seller as much as a price reduction and offers buyers a long term benefit.

Why is it that every time I go into my office, I see agents sitting at their computers for hours staring at the MLS screen looking for listings?  Why not target an area that has a home that their buyer would like?   Send out letters to owner telling them about your buyer(s) and see if they are interested in selling their home.  There is so much more that can be done.  We need to just step out of the box of doing things the way everyone else is and do something different.  We create our own destiny!

The Power of Knowledge

Study the real estate contracts - know them inside and out.  Writing clean and effective contracts is what we get paid for.  Know real estate statistics for the area to be able to negotiate ferociously on your buyer's behalf.  Understand how to price listings strategically by looking at the existing inventory and study the habits (statistics) of home buyers in the area. 

Attend conventions, take training classes, meet and interview people.

Real Estate is not brain surgery, but you can never stop learning.  This industry is moving too quickly to assume that we know it all just because we've been in the business for awhile.

And, finally The Power of Treating Your Business like a BUSINESS

We are independent contractors.  If you think about it, some of us handle millions of dollars of inventory every year.  That's like running a small corporation! 

Have a business plan, track your expenses, understand where your leads come from and adjust your plans accordingly.

So what are you doing in your real estate business?  What are the lessons that you have learned?  I'd love to hear your stories and your "confessions".

Irina Netchaev

Pasadena Real Estate - blog

RSS Pieces Will Remain Dark Today to Mourn Our Friend, Bear. For those of you that do not know, a dear friend and part of the RSS Pieces family unexpectedly passed away this past weekend. While many of you may not know the name Bear, you probably know Ann Cummings (New Hampshire Real Estate Blog) very well. Bear was Anns significant other and a well known figure in New Hampshire real estate.

John and I had the pleasure of having both Bear and Ann visit with us last autumn. The four of us and Laurie Manny spent a weekend at our home sitting by the pool, talking SEO, blogging, life and some other crazy and irreverent stuff that only 5 New Englanders could truly relate to. What was most evident during that weekend was how much Bear and Ann adored one another.

Whenever I saw that 603 number on my cell, I could always be sure it was Bear calling to ask me something about the blog or even just checking in with me that they were doing all the right things.  He even once called me up to tell me how worried he was about Ann that she was spending so much time buiding backlinks.   That was Bear, someone who always wanted the very best for Ann, always looking out for her.  And that is what I am sure he will continue to do.  Bear was funny, smart as heck and real joy to spend time with. We will miss him and always treasure the brief time we spent with him.

To Ann, there are no words to express how our hearts ache for you.  Please know you are in our prayers and feel so priviledged to have been able to know Bear.

For those of you that know Ann, please reach out to her as best you can to let her know she is in your thoughts and prayers.

Here is a post Midori Miller wrote last year about meeting Bear and Ann

Please visit Monika McGillicuddy's blog for service information and more information about Bear and Ann

Bear's Obituary

If you have other posts about Bear and Ann or want to share images, please place the links in the comments below and I will be sure to post them here as an online Memorial to our friend. 

No One Can Know

No one can know just what you've lost;
No one can understand the cost;
But when you feel your energy drain,
Please count on us to help ease your pain.

Let us help you cope with grief;
We hope with time you'll feel relief.
We can't replace the one who's gone,
But let our concern help you carry on.

By Karl and Joanna Fuchs

OK, so I never make blog announcements but these two are extremely cool. We are welcoming the blogs for 1parkplace and Russell Shaw and announcing the approval of 1parkplace for offering it's IDX search and lead generation solution to the ARMLS.

Real Estate Lead Generation Blog: Steve Hundley

The first is that of Steve Hundley, CEO of 1parkplace.  For those of you that don't yet know just how much I love the 1parkplace IDX search and lead generation solution, just talk to our clients using it- Laurie is generating between 5-30 leads per day, Ines, Mariana, Teri and others are also raking in leads daily. Most of you may also know that we have had a very strong relationship with 1parkplace and exclusively offer their RSS feeds through our blogging platform.  Steve is a newbie blogger- so be gentle and give him encouragement.  He's a fast learner and is happy to share what he knows- so if you have questions- go to his blog and ask away.  Or, better yet- register for a webinar - his presentation and tips on lead generation can change your business.

What's the product?

1. A map based IDX search

2. Search, CMA, VIP Sign in etc lead generators

3. Back end client management and drip email campaign system

There are other features but these are my top 3 picks.

Read also: How to generate leads from your real estate blog: we have proof

Why am I excited about Steve blogging?  Because I have been telling him he should for almosta  year now- he is a master at crafting online strategies that get results for top producers liek Ruth Pugh and Gregg Neuman and amazes me with his knowledge of how to use on and offline marketing to generate more leads and grow your business.  His new blog will focus on tips, tools and ideas on how to improve your bsuiness, online presence and lead generation. 

Check out his "Steal This Post" blogs - these are articles he writes that you can use on your own blog - they are mostly controversial, research or entertainment pieces meant to be linkbait.

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