By Adam Briley
To maintain a successful real estate business, it’s critically important to look back in order to move forward; a majority of my business over the last few years has come from past client referrals.
So, how do you connect with clients long after a transaction is through?
By Todd Waller
[phone rings]
Me: Hey, Kristin! What’s happening today? Do you and Brian have any questions about the listing docs I sent you for review?
Kristin: (laughing) Geez, Todd! That’s impressive, answering the phone by addressing me by name.
Me: Really? It’s an old habit of mine.
Kristin: Habit?
Me: Yeah! Any time I talk with a client or customer on the phone, I capture their number and add their name to my contact list. That way, when my peeps call, I know who I’m talking with and likely what they want to talk about.
Kristin: That is really impressive! That makes me feel even more important and comfortable working with you. Nice touch.
Me: Thanks! Now, how’s the house coming along?
By Carrie Foley
The other day, I received a call from clients looking for a new home.
Like so many conversations I have these days with my buyers, they had a list of homes they had sought out on the Internet that they wanted to see. Each home had been found, researched and carefully selected based on information gleaned from Google Maps, peer reviews of the neighborhoods or schools, and other detailed listing information found online. Much of their research was conducted either through my website, which links with the MLS or on popular real estate listing sites.
Today, there’s a limitless amount of information instantly accessible to the technology-savvy home shopper. It appears—on the surface, at least—that the role of the real estate agent is diminishing, especially for the younger generations of buyers. In fact, as millennials embrace every emerging social platform and application from Vine to SnapChat, expanding their ability to access an incredible wealth of real estate information and opinions generated by their peers and friends, what will become of agents?
We’ll stay right here. Why?
Because we bring to the table these three invaluable assets:
By Mark Brace
In my first-ever video for REthink Report, I’ll explain how to “Be the First.” Why is this practice so important for all real estate agents to understand? According to the National Association of REATLORS®’ latest profile of Homebuyers and Sellers, 66% of buyers and sellers worked with the first agent they interview.
But how can you be that first agent to get in front of potential clients? I’ve got some helpful tips and insight, so watch this video to find out more!
MARK BRACE is an agent with Grand Rapids, MI-based Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Michigan Real Estate. He is also a member of the REthink Council. To contact Mark, visit his website www.markbrace.com, find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MarkBraceRealEstate or follow him on Twitter, @GRRealtor.
By Kim Gellalty
Each year on this special day, I take time to recognize the hard work of my administrator and administrative team.
If you have an excellent administrative assistant, you know he or she is invaluable. Your administrative assistant is the one who holds down the office as you race across town to show a buyer a new listing that may have 10 offers on it already; he or she is the person you can count on to write that last-minute addendum to include the seller’s cat because you completely forgot that your buyers wanted little Fluffy. As life savers and organizers, administrative assistants are more than just extra help; they’re the backbone of your business, helping you build a successful real estate career now and well into the future.
By Chuck MacPhee
It was 2005.
I was two years out of college, had a great consulting job, traveled the country, and got married. So what do you think the first thing this financially stable, 20-something newlywed did? Well, he fulfilled the all-American dream and purchased a home, of course.
By Player Murray
It wasn’t too long ago that many of us in the real estate business felt like we were heading toward a completely “mobile” business. Nowadays, we can do practically everything from our phones, tablets and laptops, and going “paperless” has become more and more common. Given how much business we can accomplish on the go, it would stand to reason that the physical office space is becoming less important to our agents, but I propose that just the opposite is true.
By Jill Griffin
Recently, a status update I posted on Facebook received 66 Likes.
And no, it wasn’t an engagement or a wedding announcement and it wasn’t a post about a new job – I love my job! It was an update about my ever-growing real estate business changing from Jill Griffin Homes to The Carrera Team. Now, 66 Likes may seem a little high for this kind of news but it’s pretty common for my Facebook posts to get a ton of Likes and comments.
Why? The answer is simple:
By Lynn Minnick
These days, I’m trying to be more efficient with my time, because there just aren’t enough hours in the day.
If I can combine some of my monthly real estate goals and activities in a way that makes the best use of my time, I’m all for it. If I can do all that and have FUN doing it, even better!
By Margaux Pelegrin
I live in Philadelphia where snow has become a four letter word.
February is traditionally the beginning of our ‘spring market’ and yet here we are at the end of the month and nothing feels like spring! Each week brings a new threat of yet another snow storm – keeping kids home from school, parents on the brink of insanity and buyers behind their computers trolling the Internet for new listings instead of walking through streets to look at properties.
While the winter weather is no doubt to blame for decreased inventory and sales, many popular real estate websites are reporting a 25% increase in traffic from December. But cold weather troubles aside, a lot of buyers are starting their home searches on the web, which means our web presentation of listings is more important than ever.
With that in mind, here are some tips to optimize your listings’ web appeal.
Thoughts on Leadership 