Facebook Fan Pages: The Difference Between Asking and Earning.

By Todd Carpenter, Social Media Manager, National Association of REALTORS®

I’m getting a lot of these e-mails lately:

“XXXXXX became a fan of YYYYYY on Facebook and suggested you become a fan too.”

With the advent of fan pages, savvy real estate agents are adopting Facebook as a marketing tool and using these pages to promote their business. I think this is a great idea. However, asking me to become a fan of your page puts the cart before the horse.

What have you done to earn me as a fan? You asked? That’s not enough. I don’t think I’ve ever responded to one of those e-mails. Read more

A Sunday Open Like No Other

Don’t call it an open house. That was the message from the hardworking “M&M Team,” Maria DelBoccio and Michelle DePinto of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, who staged a “lifestyle marketing event” at their $1.7 million new-construction listing in Arlington Heights, Ill., yesterday.

OK, so the listing was 20 miles from my house, and exponentially more than I could afford. Still, I had to check this out.

The first thing I noticed was, although there were other open houses in the neighborhood, none of them had valet parking. Nor did they have a Maserati parked in the driveway, a singer crooning “Fly Me to the Moon” when you walked in the door, bruschetta and caponata (delicious!) served in a backyard tent, and cakes and other confections (also delicious) served in the three-car garage. Read more

Market Yourself on Social Media!

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

A couple of weeks ago, I had the good fortune to sit in on a session held here in Chicago for the new Certified Social Media Marketer (CSM) credential. Developed late last year by Bill Lublin and the team at the Social Media Marketing Institute, it aims to help professionals promote themselves via online networks.

Lublin started devising this designation when he noticed a gap between enthusiasm for using social media for business and an actual understanding of how to do this effectively. A couple of points that real estate pros need to know as they think about how to use social networks to sell themselves and their services are: Read more

Sugar Ray Leonard: “Knocked Down Doesn’t Mean You’re Knocked Out”

By Katherine Tarbox, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

I hope you’re planning to join us in San Diego, Calif., for the 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in November, which will feature boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard. I had the pleasure of interviewing him this afternoon for the October issue of the magazine about what it takes to stay in the ring and persevere during tough times.

Interestingly enough, Leonard understands how tough it is for practitioners since his son works as a mortgage banker in Atlanta. “The good times are gone,” he says. He noted that fighters get knocked down all of the time, but the key is that they have 10 seconds to get up. Read more

Scripts Are Coming Your Way

By Katherine Tarbox, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

At the 2009 Keller Williams Family Reunion in Orlando, I listened to many practitioners who said they wanted more scripts to help them through these demanding times. In response to this request, we developed content to help you answer the tough questions clients are asking, from how to handle buyers’ objections to sellers’ pricing concerns.

Beginning next week, you’ll notice that the Monday and Friday editions of your Daily News e-mails from REALTOR® magazine will include one-question, one-answer “Quick Scripts” from some of the best real estate coaches in the industry. Topics will include prospecting, cold calls, client referrals, committing buyers, open houses, qualifying buyers, tips for listing presentations, and price reductions.

Here are a few samples of what’s in store, courtesy of business coach Cheri Alguire:

They say: “If I can’t get $x for my house, I can’t afford to sell.” Read more

NAR Gears Up for Health Care Reform

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

The National Association of REALTORS® could be contacting members this summer as Congress seeks to revamp health care coverage for Americans. NAR supports what’s known as the SHOP (Small business owners Health Options Program) Bill, which would enable small business owners and self-employed individuals to band together across state lines to negotiate affordable health insurance.

NAR Deputy Chief Lobbyist Jamie Gregory sat down with REALTOR® magazine last week to talk about what REALTORS® can expect as Congress starts debating legislation. Gregory notes that the elements of SHOP have to fit into the larger health reform legislation that’s currently under discussion. The main sticking point is what’s known as the public plan option. This is where the government fills in the gaps left by private insurance providers. We’ll be carefully watching–and reporting–how this plays out.

Watch the inteview with Gregory to find out more information.

The Power of One

By Katherine Tarbox, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

I spent my Sunday brunch thumbing through the pages of a new book, Selling Luxury: Connect with Affluent Customers, Create Unique Experiences Through Impeccable Service, and Close the Sale (Wiley, 2009), which gives insights from some of the leading high-end brands such as Cartier, Lexus, The Four Seasons, and Piaget. While a home is a much different product than, say, a Rolex watch, you’d be surprised at how similar the transactions can be.

One of the messages that really hit home for me is that a customer is not just one customer. There was a powerful anecdote about how a hair stylist from California went into an expensive jewelry store and the sales ambassador was very attentive to her. The associate helped her try on rings in the six figures, though the stylist would never be able to afford them. It was a wise choice for the store worker to be attentive, because the hair stylist told almost all of her clients about how overwhelmed she was by her treatment. Long story short, the store created excellent word-of-mouth advertising and the stylist sent many clients to the jewelry shop (one even bought the very ring the stylist loved!). Read more

Save Some Green With Right Tools, Right Now

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the NAR “value proposition,” which outlined where members’ $80 in annual dues go, and also showed how many benefits they get gratis.

One of the newer free perks is the Right Tools, Right Now initiative. This is a collection of hundreds of tools that are offered to members for free, at a deep discount, or at-cost. Moreover, this suite of resources is constantly growing. For example, we recently added the NAR Green REsource Council’s ‘Eco Family Guide’ and a Mortgage Finance webinar.

You can find out what’s available anytime by going to http://www.REALTOR.org/RightTools to see new and existing offers. And be sure to check back monthly to see what new resources we’ve added!

Using Social Media to Get Ahead in the Business

How can you use social media to reach out to your clients in the real estate business? More than 100 real estate pros met today in Chicago for the RE Bar Camp to brainstorm ways to better leverage social media for their business. Watch the video below to hear how some attendees are using social media. Also, check out the article Smart Ideas for Better Social Networking to glean more ideas from the conference.

To Stage or Not to Stage?

By Wendy Cole, Senior Editor, REALTOR Magazine®

Home staging seems to be a more important selling tool than ever. Barb Schwartz, author of the new book Staging to Sell: The Secret to Selling Homes in a Down Market, notes that that even in today’s slower housing market, 95% of staged homes sell (on average) in 35 days or less. On the other hand, homes that are not staged take 172 days or more to sell, if they sell at all.

Just wondering if these figures correspond with what you all are finding out there? How critical is staging a property in your market?

Next Page »