5+ years in the business, I am finally over all the newby issues and have been focusing on analyzing my marketing practices. I would like to know what has been your top business generating marketing practices. A new FSBO postcard has already generated a response (not sure if it was a fluke though?....and I know cold calling works (when I take the time.)What works for you?

Pat, how long have you been doing an FSBO postcard campaign? Lately I have been working expireds and fsbo's, not a bad response (10%) but I would like it to be a bit higher. Are you doing follow-ups to the ones you mailed? I haven't tried cold-calling as I don't see that as one of my strengths but I might try it.

I would recommend developing a really strong local internet presence. Everyone is searching for homes online nowadays. And with so many REO's, short sales, and really all types of properties for sale on the MN MLS, buyers seem to be out in full force.

Find a good local company that can help you improve rankings on google. This will drive more buy and list side business. I hope this helps!

Hello guys,
I was searching forum for realtors to get some help and finally i found it. I am a new real estate agent looking ways to market myself. I have talked to some fellow agents but nobody would help me. Please give me some tips.

Help Me

I agree with Ryan, the majority of buyers nowadays look online for houses. Invest in a decent website and try to get it up in the rankings for local searches.

As far as marketing yourself, don't get too obsessed with mailers, flyers, hangers, or anything else that will most likely end up in the trash. I'd advise focusing on letting all you're friends and family know that you're an agent and that you're there if they ever need any real estate help. I did quite well my first year and all of it was from friends and family. It'll also serve as good practice, getting comfortable talking to people as a professional.

I have only been in real estate for one year, but maybe I can help!

After spending money on newspaper ads, very good business cards, a decent website and other marketing materials, I have come to realize that the best way to build your business if you want to survive financially and mentally is through free mediums like social media (Facebook as an example) and work of mouth.

I have received more leads through word of mouth and Facebook than anything I every spent I dime on! And it works...

Do the following to market yourself:

1) A very good website that is user friendly with a lot of resources on it and a good SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

2) A fan page and or Facebook group and constantly posting on your wall what you offer, what's on the market etc.

3) Get the best looking, nicest business cards possible and hand out at least a few everyday (I am aiming for 5 a day!)­.

4) Start BLOGGING! The best way to get a high rating on Google is through blogging and when you teach your clients about real estate as you go, they love it.

5) GOOD LUCK AND ALL THE BEST!

SUCCESS = BEING CONSISTENT

You can have the greatest or worst idea for growing your business in the world. Until you test and track it for a period of time you will not get consistent data to know what works,what doesn't,and if it is working how to improve it to work even better.

Most don't stick with a plan.

Example: I want to lose 50 pounds.

Person 1 works out hard for 3 days straight and drops 5 pounds.(starts getting results) but slacks the following week and puts 2 pounds back on.

Person 2 sets a schedule and works out 3 days a week and keeps doing it for 2 months and loses 30 pounds. Person number 1 that is off and on is at the same weight when they started or has maybe lost 5 pounds.


Most people don't give things enough time to work. I take about 40 commercial listings a year through mailing expired's. I don't even think about it now that I have my letter like I want it. My business partner pulls commercial expired's everyday and sends out.

Once you have a process down you "set it and forget it" until something comes along that will improve that process fro a greater return. Then you start test and tracking other ideas and before long you have multiple processes that are giving great returns that you can set on auto-pilot. Years later when you sell the business you can show pay this much for the business and with these systems it runs itself.

If YOU ARE the business then you can't sell yourself.

Great ideas....please keep them coming. I do have my site up and going www.charlottepatterson.com (am fine tuning it daily)and have started blogging (not sure what frequency is best) I wanted to advertise in the local paper....their prices are crazy. Have been plastering my site everywhere I can think to. Would also welcome ideas on this....Have been sending postcards to expireds and fsbos with limited response....but it's still early. Andyw....hang in there...not all Realtors are like that. Maui, I have been calling in addition to the cards. It helps.

Charlotte a few points:

Nobody is looking for Charlotte Patterson except for maybe a few repeat clients you have. So for instance I have about 7 websites.

One for commercial foreclosures,one for residential foreclosures,one for my company website ( I am the head broker ) ,one website with my name for repeat clients, my main commercial website,and my main residential website.

This website looks like something Prudential provides you being one of their agents. Am I correct?

If so you need to think long and hard about if you want to do to much with the site because if you ever leave that company you will lose all you worked for. Now if the website you pay for and you can change out the company logo then that is a different story.

Remember brokers give you all this free stuff to keep the splits fat for them and to incubate you so it would make it hard for you to ever really leave them. If you are not the broker you never know what the future will hold and when you need to make a change so being able to quickly move things over in your business is key.

Now the website. The website looks nice but has no value for seo rankings. The first thing you need is a name change. Go to the Google keyword selector tool and type in something like (Home Buying Kansas) and it will give variations and number of searches per month.

From this you will get valuable info. So naming your website www.kansasrealestate.com ( I know it is most likely taken but you can find others.Then you need keywords with links in your website to go up in the ranking. Long tail keywords are most important as you drill down to buyers and sellers in your city or county. You get less leads but more CREDIBLE leads.

On your contact info form you just say (I am a great agent) and instead you need a strong (unique selling proposition). Like "4 hottest deals in your price range delivered to you daily to beat out the competition!"

It's how you word it that will get them to give up the info. I just can't type everything here as It would fill up a whole book.

I haven't even gotten into posting to 40 plus social networking sites,setting up networking groups by subtype,or videos of listings and blogs to 20 plus video seo sites.

good luck

Thanks, Super. Some great points. It is my site, (not the companies) yes,, i believe in the "pack light" theory....just like to keep my options open. Most of the site was packaged....cant believe the time it takes to get everything the way I would like it and am still working on it.....and, all the extra stuff like seo. Thanks for your tips. I will be incorporating many of them.

Definitely use the internet wisely. Especially be careful with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. By "careful" I mean be sure to read up on it and know all about it before you start to spend money. Personally, I would try to avoid PPC if possible since it's easy to blow a LOT of money FAST and get little-to-no results QUICKLY. The best way to promote yourself online, quite frankly, is through SEO. Of course, I realize that learning SEO is not an overnight task. So if you know someone who can help you out then great. If not, be careful who you give money to. The internet is full of self-proclaimed "experts" and 'gurus' who are happy to make promises and take you money, but not so happy to actually provide the service you paid for. Of course, there ARE reputable companies out there, no doubt. Just be sure to do your research.

In my opinion, you can get a better return on your marketing budget by investing in SEO (long term), as opposed to PPC (short term). And well, unless you live in an area stuck in the 50's, embrace technology and establish a strong online presence.

Just had an inquiry on one my listings from a Remax/Palos Verdes Realty agent who's signature line is "Certified Distressed Properties Expert"....ahem.....when did this certification class slip by me?

Internet is the cheapest way to get in front of the most possible clients in today's real estate society. It may cost you some time to get started, but ends up paying off huge in the end if the clients find you first.

Other than that, you should be spending at least 50% of your marketing money on your past clients. If you've been around for 5 yrs you should have at least 50-100 clients by now, correct? Market and stay in contact with them. Be their friend and the referrals will follow easily. Plus, you'll feel better about your service to them if they come back and recommend or use you again!

Alex surely has that "smiling all the way to the bank Colgate special smile" doesn't he?

So with all the "Specialists" designations available on line, agent Pat could easily run out of space on the business card.

Pat Producer
State Agent No. 007, GRI, CSS (The seniors thing) CCS (For condos) CHPS (for horse properties), CSSS (short sales), CHRS (Home retention), CBFP (for beach front, CMPS (mountain properties, CDPE (distressed properties thingy) CIAS (investor agent newbie one)

Did I miss any?

I market myself as a brand. I am under a broker, so my advertising follows the proper protocols. However, the key is MICRO and HYPER LOCAL! So my FB business pages focus on that in order to target those in a smaller specified area, although I am licensed for an entire jurisdiction. Other agents (especially in my company) ask me what I do and I tell them, and they merely say "oh that's not how you should get business" or "that never really works". NOT TRUE. With anything, you need to REALLY engage it and give it at least three months, maybe four before you see any REAL return! But Facebook is a good way to put yourself out there with your expertise. I also have two blogs, one of which is a photoblog a GREAT way to show potential buyers outside of the area what your particular city is about outside of the usual photos and posts about the State house, etc

Okay, I was really dragging my feet on starting a Facebook group, but this last post has pushed me over the edge. For some reason I had to read the hype on business Facebook group about 10 times before I was convinced! I'm all practiced up with personal Facebook though, so it shouldn't be too difficult, so why not?

After years of dominating every search engine in my market with multiple sites. (at one time I had the first 9 spots for "My market real estate") and making great money from the web ...... I've watched the quality of the leads generated from random organic searches diminish over the last 30 months to the point that I don't work SEO anymore at all.

Yesterdays News.

With the advent of Social Media, buyers and sellers are looking to their networks for recommendations and information when shopping. There’s comfort and security in dealing with someone you’re been introduced to by a person you trust.

Over the last 2 years I’ve worked hard at building a presence on FB, Twitter and LinkedIn ~ cultivating relationships, driving people to my websites and “working the room” to encourage people advocating for me.

The results have been better each year and quality of the contact (conversion rate) has been 100%.

Having said that – I think it’s great that the other realtors in my market are spending time and money on SEO

Cheers Dave

By marketing I assume you mean: how do you obtain clients that will do business with you and because of this, provide you with commission checks.

I've been out of the real estate biz sales biz for 4 years (purchased a property management business thank God.) I used to farm a horse property subdivision and I called expireds. This worked well for me at the time.

Now:

I am using an aggressive mail campaign to go after expireds and I am also door knocking expireds (few people have landlines any more, so I door knock).

I also door knock owners who have received notices of default in an effort to obtain short sale listings.

Don

I've been having success with hanging door hangers, believe it or not. It's passive marketing in a way, but potential clients pay more attention to a door hanger than a regular flyer. Plus, I sometimes run into a live person in my door hanging travels, and those end up being the best contacts.

Maui,
I would like to start marketing to expireds and fsbos, too. I have been checking out some campaigns but there are so many and prices to obtain systems are all over the place. Can any of you recommend a campaign that works well?

I believe I get the most bang for the buck advertising properties rather than myself specifically using a a mixed media approch that incorporates traditional media, digital media, social media, repeat business /referrals programs and WOM!

Why focus on advertising your properties? Because it gives you two for one - exposure for your property and yourself as the contact person. The more people see your name and your listings, the more they will want to learn more about you and what you can do for them.

Below are a few ways to get exposure for your listings and yourself.

Branding - make sure everything is consistent with your image from your business cards, website, print, newsletters and other. Use the same images, colors, logo in a distinct format so people will begin to recognize you and your listings or information. Consistency is key.

Traditional Marketing:
Print: Newspapers, magazines, HOA newsletters, specialty pubs, business cards.
Signs: Yard signs, car signs, billboards
Direct Mail: Post cards or letters to target market, area or sold home radius mailing.
Canvassing: Introduce yourself to the neighbors where you have listings. Maybe they need your services or know someone who may be interested in your listing.
Cold-call: Get a list of expireds or a neighborhood you want to farm and start calling to introduce yourself and follow-up.
Networking: Check out Meetup.com for networking opportunities
Press Release: Send out a press release about your property to local publications and online.

Digital Marketing & Listing Sites
Your Website.com
Broker Website.com
Local online mls
NAR Realtor.com
Local online publications & classifieds
Craigsist.com
Trulia.com
Zillow.com
LuxuryHomesandAutos.com (great place to market luxury properties)

Social Media - Get the word out!
Facebook | Personal network | FB Page & groups | FB Ads
Linkedin
Twitter
Blog
Guest Blog
Message Boards
Email Marketing to Realtors and Client Base
Flicker - upload photos
Other

Repeat Business & Referral programs
Always stay in front of your customers (email or newsletter) and always be asking for referrals.

WOM (word-of-mouth)
Do a great job and deliver on promises and you'll get lots of WOM!

Hope this helps :)

Laurie
LuxuryHomesandAutos.com

The best thing to do is get a real estate CRM system like IXACT Contact and start creating drip marketing campaigns and sending out mass email pieces to stay in touch with your sphere.

[url=http://www.ixactcontact.com]Real Estate CRM[/url] IXACT Contact, for instance, has pre-designed letter and email templates. Flyers and an e-newsletter template will be released next week. Sending out something like a monthly e-newlstter is very easy and cost effective using a CRM, and will produce great results in terms of increasing your referral and repeat business.

Strong internet presence with lead capturing website. Follow-up emails to those who sign-up on your website is important. Many third party vendors allow for search capabilities via IDX or VOW, ensure to include this on your Site. Definitely setup a facebook page and twitter as well.