Archive for March, 2017

More Listings In 2017: Your Starter Kit Has Arrived.

Posted on: March 29th, 2017 by Tim Garcia

Howdy,

Tim here, and I’m just going to cut to the chase: good things (like generating more listings and working with home sellers) don’t come to those who wait – they come to those who agitate (their real estate leads and clients).

And when I say agitate, I mean it in the most motivating (NOT irritating) way possible.
Agitate: verb, to arouse public concern about an issue in the hope of prompting action.

So, do you need more listings? Want to know how and where to find more home sellers? Whether it’s via your real estate website, over the phone or in-person, let’s break down the essential resources (and actual things you need to say) to actively agitate and reel in sellers. And keep them.

What to have handy:
– Seller’s Corner: automatic email alerts with home values sent to your clients – reminding them you’re the neighborhood expert, delivering relevant info they find useful (what their home’s worth), and ensuring you’re the top-of-mind agent when they’re ready to sell.
– 4 Urgent Reasons Folks Should Sell Their Home in 2017
– 15 Features That Sell Homes The Fastest And At The Best Price

Perks:
You’re doing the right thing (irrespective of whether or they choose to sell now or later) by planting the seeds to get them thinking, and for inevitable growth, trust, loyalty, business, and – you guessed it – more listings.

What to say:
Hey there, how’ve you been? Just touching base to see if you’re [still] considering selling your home.
I bring it up ‘cause it can be a little tricky doing it all alone.

If they say YES:
Wonderful. Have you looked into how to get things started or who to talk to?
Aside from dealing with the hassles of legal documents, inspections, and managing tours and schedules, selling on your own can also cause your property to stay on the market too long without getting offers – which can cause buyers to think something’s wrong with your home.

You deserve serious, educated, financially-capable buyers. I’d love to get you connected with them.
Have you thought of showcasing your home online? I have the latest, cutting-edge marketing tools including virtual tours, HD & panoramic photos and detailed property info to get you started, and attract honest folks.

Do you have more time to talk today? Or should we schedule another chat over coffee next week sometime?

If they say NO:
Ah, gotcha. Well, can we at least stay in touch?
I have all the accurate neighborhood home values (including yours) I can send, at your discretion.
Can I get your email address to keep you updated (monthly or weekly)?

When/if the day you’d like to sell arrives –  you deserve access to the best ways to feature, broadcast and promote your home online, and ensure a speedy and financially fulfilling selling process, with serious and educated buyers only.

I would be thrilled to work with another [awesome, charming, fun, great] homeowner, such as yourself.

 

Not satisfied with how the conversation went?
Want to go the extra mile and continue the dialogue?
Take a gander at this home care script for your sellers.

Good luck out there,

Tim
Marketing Director
Direct | 408.213.4668
1101 S. Winchester Blvd, J-225
San Jose, CA 95128
Buy Just 3 Months, Get 2 Completely Free
+ Free Service For Existing Customers With Our Referral Program

More marketing advice can be found on our featured Tip Of The Week Archive page.

P.S. – if talking on the phone or in-person isn’t your cup of tea at the moment for one reason or another (trust me, many of us can relate), feel free to contact us, and/or check out this email marketing message (you can literally copy, paste, fill in the blanks, and click send) to convince folks to sell with you: Sell It! Effectively Convince Sellers They Need You To List Their Home.

 

talklikealistingagent

 

 

More marketing advice can be found on our featured
Tip Of The Week Archive & Current Tip Of The Week webpages.

 

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Let’s Double Your Chances They Sell With You.

Posted on: March 24th, 2017 by Tim Garcia

Do you find yourself asking, well, yourself: “How do I get more listings?” and/or “Where do I find home sellers?”  If so, this article is for you.

Irrespective of our heavy reliance on digital exchanges (via your real estate website, CRM email marketing, texting, mobile, or Facebook and other social media platforms) – verbal communication with folks still matters. Your home sellers are no exception. If anything, they need to hear your voice and/or see you in-person more than anyone else.

What better time to connect than during a weekend Open House, community event, or quick call over-the-phone?  Let’s take a gander at how you can navigate conversations in a thoroughly strategic, fulfilling and memorable way for both you and your homeowners (a.k.a – your prospective home sellers).

Basic A.S.K. formula:
Appeal to, and locate: their needs.
Softly tantalize: your wisdom.
Kindly and consistently provide: the satisfying answers.

What to have handy:
– Your Homebrella network: essentially all of the home care quotes, insight and resources (your trusted service providers’ information) that folks need to get answers, and get things done.
– Know what’s up with insight on some of what’s trendy and effective: 8 of the most popular home improvement trends amongst homeowners, illustrated tips for boosting their home’s curb appeal, bathroom ideas that are big on storage and style, cheap landscaping ideas that’ll rake in cash later.

Perks:
– Keeps you in their good graces and top-of-mind when they’re ready to sell, down the road.

What to say:
Hey there! How’ve you been? Can you believe Spring’s already here?
Summer’s just around the corner, too! And people are getting busy from the looks of it.

Home improvement, repairs, and remodeling are pretty popular these days.
Do you have any projects on your agenda?


– If they say YES:

Terrific! Well, instead of searching and scrolling through Google or Angie’s List, and calling places left and right for answers, quotes and resources- I’m here to make things super convenient for you.

What sort of home care/construction are you looking to get started with? I’m happy to send you some leads.
While I’m at it, I can even set you up to receive updates on home values in the neighborhood, including yours. They’re a great way to keep up with market trends and know what your home is worth. That sound good? Thanks for your time!

Wrap it up:
Jot down their requests, provide the resources via your Homebrella network and set them up to receive Seller’s Corner alerts. Easy, huh?


– If they say NO:

Ah, gotcha. Well, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – right?
Anyway, in case something does come up – instead of searching and scrolling through Google or Angie’s List, and calling places left and right, for answers, quotes and resources – I’m here to make things super convenient for you.

Any home care project you’d like to get underway, consider me your starting point.

In the meantime, are you interested in learning about home values in your neighborhood?
Whether or not you ever plan to sell your home, they can be super helpful in terms of keeping up with the market trends and knowing what your home is worth.

Just want to make sure – is your email address still _____?
Hope we can stay in touch. Thanks for your time!

Wrap it up:
Don’t forget to follow-up with them via your CRM (Client Relationship Manager) with any home care requests they send you, and set them up to receive Seller’s Corner CMA (Comparable Market Analysis) alerts.

FYI – you kind of just doubled your chances of folks selling with you. Way to go.

Remember to simply A.S.K., and you shall receive.

Really hope this helps,

Tim
Marketing Director
Direct | 408.213.4668
1101 S. Winchester Blvd, J-225
San Jose, CA 95128
Buy Just 3 Months, Get 2 Completely Free
+ Free Service For Existing Customers With Our Referral Program

More marketing advice can be found on our featured Tip Of The Week Archive page.

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Keeping Sellers At Your Beck And Call.

Posted on: March 14th, 2017 by Tim Garcia

 

Hey there,

I hope you’re having an amazing week so far.

Check this out: 90% of homebuyers begin their search online. That’s an astounding number, right? And 32% are first-time homebuyers, which means they’ll need an agent for years and years to come.

What’s even crazier is that 89% of homebuyers that live in their agent’s database claim they will use their agent again during their next transaction.

But here’s the kicker: Only 11% do.

And who are these 11-percenters? To be frank, they’re typically your close friends and family. You know, referrals and contacts that are insanely loyal to you. These are the folks that would follow you into the Sahara Desert without so much as a bottle of water or sunblock.

So let’s go back to that original 90%. When they are ready to buy and sell again, where do they find their next agent? Do they suddenly start combing through newspaper and magazine advertisements?

Heck no.

These folks are still searching through the noisy and cluttered Internet to find agents.

That’s why it’s essential that you stay top-of-mind with your clients long after a transaction. Email them with relevant, helpful, and insightful content. Send them original emails and newsletters with your expert advice. Provide them with links from around the web that inform and entertain.

Want to really stand out from your competition? Provide your clients with a holistic view of their home’s value. They’ll bookmark that page and follow it the way they do the stock market. With this in mind, send them relevant content on how they can increase the value of their home. I’m talking remodeling tips, landscaping tricks, and really anything that can increase their home’s ROI.

And guess what? When it’s time to buy, sell, or refer a friend, you’ll be the first person they think of.

Pretty sweet, yes?

We’re here to help you. Let’s get started.

 

Cheers,

Tim & The Marketing Team
408.213.4668
tim@propertyminder.com

 

More marketing advice can be found on our featured
Tip Of The Week Archive & Current Tip Of The Week webpages.

 

 

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Sellers (Re: Staying connected).

Posted on: March 7th, 2017 by Tim Garcia

Someone once told me that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but when it comes to communicating with past clients – that’s a different ballgame.

You worked hard to help folks become homeowners, and they loved you afterward.
But did that relationship deteriorate over the years due to lack of communication?

That’s a shame because the average person sells his or her home every 3 to 5 years.

If you keep in touch with people, you’ll be the person they turn to when they’re ready to sell (or buy again).

The best ways to do this is with an easy-to-use customer relationship management and seller outreach system. It will reestablish those connections today to turn old contacts into new leads by:

  • Organizing your entire database.
  • Sending branded emails to each client featuring your photo, contact info, and link to your website.
  • Easy email marketing to make sure you and your old leads never drift apart again.
  • Monitoring every sent email, including opens and when they view new listings in your market.

Your success heavily relies on the strength of the relationships you have with each and every person in your database.

Let’s discuss today how we can reconnect with them.

 

More marketing advice can be found on our featured
Tip Of The Week Archive & Current Tip Of The Week webpages.

 

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RealtoRelevant Mainstream News (+Our Two Cents)

Posted on: March 3rd, 2017 by Tim Garcia

A few mainstream articles that caught our eye this month (+ our take on each one and how it’s relevant to you)…

Listings: A Matter of Supplying (Home Care Resources), Then (Silently) Demanding They Turn To You To Sell.
– Step 1 to be an “all things real estate” agent: knowing what home improvements are trending among homeowners (i.e. – your future sellers). Check out: “Homeowners Spent a Record Amount on Remodeling – but on What, Exactly?”
– Step 2: connecting your network of trusted Service Providers to your clients for any and all of their home care needs, via Homebrella. You provide the homeowner resources – they more likely they are to keep you in mind when they’re ready to sell.  Simple as that.

The Missing Link To Remedy Low Inventory
Low inventory in your neck of the woods? Forbes recently featured an article entitled: “What To Do When The Real Estate Market Has Low Inventory”. While some featured suggestions make sense (acting quickly, flexibility on closing dates, crafting the perfect letter offer, etc.) we can’t help but note one missing link– a marketing system that generates listings for you. That’s what Seller’s Corner does (virtually automatically). Learn more on the next free Generating Listings (Seller’s Corner) webinar – LIVE Tuesday, March 17th at 9:00 am (PST) / 10:00 am (CST) / 12:00 pm (EST)

Also – your listing leads don’t have to be new relationships. Have you ever considered extracting more business out of your current database? The buyer you helped find a dream home for in the past should be the homeowner you stay in contact with, and the seller you ultimately list for. This quick 8 step-by-step chart on how to increase repeat business is what we’re really talking about.

Revving Up Your Real Estate Base (+ The Tools You Need Or Already Have)
In a quick 4 minute video, Gary Gold explores How to truly tap into your sphere of influence in real estate. Gold leaves no stone unturned in efforts to harness the power and momentum of your lead/client base – including gathering and organizing personal contact information, maintaining and engaging in conversations anywhere you’re at, mindfully tracking folks and the market, identifying important leads and ranking new ones, etc.

Gold also underscores the importance of a carefully detailed and structured CRM (or Client Relationship Manager) as a vital means of reaching out consistently, as well as taking advantage of the inherent power of the MLS search (two dynamic features we ensure that you make, and get, the most out of with your AccelerAgent website!)

Feel free to keep up with us on Facebook & X (aka Twitter) for breaking company updates and real estate news headlines.

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Be G.R.E.E.N. & Make Some Green.

Posted on: March 3rd, 2017 by Tim Garcia

 

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass – it’s learning to dance in the rain (and chasing the proverbial pot-of-gold at the end of the rainbow). This March is your shot to make other agents (figuratively) green with envy, and (literally) make some green of your own in the process – by, well, staying G.R.E.E.N:

Guess:
Well, predict. Look into saved MLS search data. What do leads/clients need the most? What are they researching, and what will catch their attention? Then, reach out and show your interest by warmly delivering relevant and useful info (exact and/or similar property matches for buyers + home values for homeowners – your future sellers).

Before you contact anyone, outline a plan of action. Need ice breakers? You’re in luck:
With Buyers:
“Hi there,

How are things? I noticed you were interested in ___ BR /  ___ BA, near ____, at $___. Here are a few similar listings you may find worthwhile. If you have any other specific home search criteria, send it my way. I’m more than happy to do more research to find you the home you’re looking for.

By the way, are you interested in attending an open house this month?
If so, let me know. I have all of the information you need.”
With Sellers:
“Hey there,

How have you been? I’ve been great. Just trying to keep up with this hot sellers market. Several of my listings this past year sold for more than the listing price. Have you ever considered what your home is worth?

The reason I ask is ‘cause it never hurts to have a home evaluation, even if you’re not thinking of selling anytime soon. Here’s what’s happening in your neighborhood… (be of value by delivering this via Seller’s Corner ). I can even bring you a hard copy next time we cross paths. Are you free to meet for coffee this week?”

Speaking of sellers, don’t forget to check out a phone script for seller outreach that we wrote for you.
Reach Out:
…In every way possible. Contact everyone on multiple levels (including their email, cell phone and home address). Text messages count, too. Enough said.
Express:
Practice being heartfelt and sincere. Refer back to specific contact details and organization in your CRM, and let them know they matter (hint: quality relationships mean more referrals – by the way, here are 8 questions you need to ask yourself to boost referrals). Do “something” for others, and others will do “something” in return. Scratch their back, they’ll scratch yours. You get the idea.
Earn:
…New and repeat business by spending time on your AccelerAgent website.
First off, your AccelerAgent website already does these four things well. Second, Custom IDX allows you to give folks instant access to what they want to see. Need an interactive demo to see how things work? Want tips on more ways to capture website visitor interest? That’s where our free webinars come into play.
Navigate:
You’ve earned their business. Great. Now, make them loyal customers with the right balance of effective technological and humanizing face-to-face marketing. Steer them back to your AccelerAgent website, set up branded MLS alerts and Seller’s Corner alerts, and don’t forget to pick up the phone and get personal (Open House Follow Up Phone Scripts + Seller Outreach Phone Script).

 

Let’s get our March on strong,
Tim
408.213.4668
tim@propertyminder.com

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5 Mistakes Your Website Is Making, Right Now.

Posted on: March 1st, 2017 by Tim Garcia

 

Quick question: How long would you say you remain on a website that loads slowly, looks awful, isn’t intuitive to navigate and basically doesn’t do anything to solve your pain points?

According to some studies, consumers spend only around 15 seconds on your website. That’s not a lot of time to capture interest and get them excited via relevant, engaging content.

So what are some of the biggest faux pas that real estate agents – and businesses in general – make when it comes to their websites?

Here’s five of them, and if you’re concerned that you may be making some of these same mistakes, let us know and we can help build you a branded website that can throttle your business into overdrive.

 

  1. Where’s the CTA?

Go look at your current website right now. No really, give it a gander.

Where is your call to action? Is it clearly positioned where a consumer will see it? Think about the color scheme of your CTA button and how that might stand out against the rest of your website. Is it big enough without looking tacky?

 

  1. There’s too much clutter

Have you ever been to the cheese aisle at a major grocery outlet? Sometimes the options are so overwhelming that you just give up.

Same goes for your website. Remember that you’re using it in large part to capture leads so you don’t need to convey every single detail of your professional history or services. There’s plenty of time for that once you capture your leads and get them on the phone.

 

  1. Where’s the GA?

Some reports have stated that a whopping 75% of small businesses don’t use analytics tools on their websites. That’s like driving your car in the pitch black of night with zero assistance and yet still hoping to arrive at the correct destination.

Google Analytics (GA) and other tools can help you turn the headlights on so you can see where you’re going. Without these tools, how would you know if your leads are even opening your emails or clicking on the links in them that point to your website?

Track, tweak, transcend.

 

  1. Are you social?

Some people love social media. Some think it’s a sign of the end times.

Despite your personal feelings about social media, the reality is that it needs to be a huge component of your marketing. A great way to build up your audience is by making sure you having things like social media icons clearly placed on your website where visitors can see them.

Also make sure to have icons under every piece of content you publish to encourage likes, retweets, shares and more.

 

  1. Laptops and cell phones and tablets, oh my!

Your clients are on their mobile devices just as much as you are, so get on your phone or tablet right now and visit your current site.

Is it mobile friendly? Is it just as easy to navigate as the web version? Where is your call to action and lead-capture form? Is the navigation clear or confusing?

 

Branded websites to boost your biz

From call to actions to mobile-responsive designs (and everything in-between), a branded website that both captures the essence of your business while providing an enjoyable customer experience is critical to the sustained success of your business.

Thankfully, if you’re feeling like your site could use everything from a refresh to an overhaul, we’re here to help.

 

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