In the heat of the tweet - Twitter growth chart

Master the Lead Game through social Media

Some real estate pros have been reluctant to try social media because of the massive hype, trendy names, and unfamiliar practices. Others have found a competitive advantage and new ways to connect by diving into Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr and YouTube. Despite market doldrums, social media in real estate is growing at a furious pace.

Many real estate professionals missed the inflection point where Internet marketing surpassed traditional channels in value and effectiveness. While some agents continue to question its value, real estate rock stars already use social media to:

Generate local exposure and word-of-mouth
Increase Web site and blog traffic
Build their contact lists and new business partnerships
Answer expertise requests
Connect with clients and qualified prospects

The traffic that social media drives to real estate Web sites is currently about 3 percent of the total audience. But given its explosive growth, real estate pros can ignore social media’s potential at their own peril. A quick look at the numbers shows that social media is changing the way millions of people—including your target audience—communicate:

Facebook claims more than 250 million users; 30 million access the site through mobile devices
Twitter has 30 million users and its year-over-year growth is over 1,000%
Google and other search engines are weighting social media more heavily in search results Real estate traffic from social networks like Facebook, YouTube and MySpace is booming

If you make a living in the real estate industry, you not only have to be ready for technology changes within the industry, but from outside. If your target audience embraces mobile technology and social media, you must master those channels as well. Get used to it. The number of marketing options will only increase in the future.

Many agents and brokers are excited about exploring social media and mobile marketing, but not sure what can be expected in terms of ROI. The good news is that new and old school technologies can be measured.

To read more on how social media can increase your real estate business download our FREE ebook http://www.eneighborhoods.com/report_leadgen.html

Power up your presentation skills to meet 2010 commission goals

Each year, U.S. corporations spend thousands of hours and millions of dollars on advertising and promotion to create opportunities for their sales teams. But too often, the lion’s share of those dollars and hours invested don’t pay off.

Why? Nearly every promotional dollar spent is about getting to that all-important initial meeting. But once the meetings are scheduled, many sales pros deliver presentations and proposals that simply are too weak to move prospects to the next step. It's probably too much to say that every dollar that doesn't result in a personal meeting is wasted, but it's a dollar that won't help you reach your sales goals.

In any type of sales, the fastest way to earn more is not adding more prospects to your pipeline – it's converting more of those prospects to clients.

Unless you have a secret formula, generating more prospects and leads for your pipeline also means spending more money and time. If you operate on a local level, there are a limited number of prospects in your market. By becoming a more effective presenter, you can you can build your bottom line without spending one additional hour or dollar on promotions.

In the end, it doesn't matter how brilliant your knowledge, insights and solutions are if you don't present them effectively. Your ability to turn more presentations into closed business can be called your "propose-to-close" ratio, which shows how effective you are at turning prospects into clients. If you set up four meetings with prospects and one becomes a client, your propose-to-close ratio is 25 percent.

Make presentations your competitive edge

Focusing on your presentation power may be the single best investment you can make in 2010. First, few sales and business development pros make it a priority to continually improve their presentations, so there’s a clear competitive advantage. It’s also a small expense with huge potential results. To help you get the most from each meeting, here are some ideas to deliver more profitable presentations and a simple way to measure and improve your sales success in 2010.

- Play a role. Many veteran sales pros consider themselves masters at marketing presentations. Unless you're turning every prospect you meet into a closed sale, there's room for improvement. Early in your sales career, you may have experienced the power of role-playing in overcoming objections. Role-playing is still one of the best ways to build sales power and effective listening skills. Before meeting with buyers or sellers, consider role-playing with a colleague who will provide a candid critique of your current skills.

- Personalize your presentations. Do you prepare for every presentationthe same way, with the same materials? If so, please take a moment to close your laptop computer and use it to smack yourself in the head. Web and mobile resources featuring maps, charts and video have raised the bar for consumer expectations. Younger buyers and sellers raised on special effects and 3D animation are not impressed with black-and-white printouts. Your in-person presentation materials should be equal to or better than the materials they just saw on the Web or their smartphones. Invest in the tools to make personalized, high-impact presentations you can tailor to individual buyers and sellers.

- Tell a story. Most people’s brains are wired in such a way that they soon forget facts and figures, but they remember stories. With so much product information available online, consumers quickly become overwhelmed by data. It’s been said that reports convey information, while stories convey experience. You should know your product facts and statistics by heart, but your goal in the meeting is to create a shared experience with prospects that makes them feel comfortable working with you. Don’t tell people how fantastic your solutions are, let them learn it from the success stories and experiences you share.

- Profile your prospects. In today’s Web and social media world, it’s easier than ever to profile your prospects. Google their names and professional information. A few minutes of research on networks like Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn can help you better target your presentation and help identify a prospect’s goals, priorities and background. Your presentation for a graphic artist would probably be very different then one for an engineer. Once you learn what they know, learn who they know. It’s always helpful to mention someone you know in common, particularly if that person thinks highly of you or is a past client. If you feel comfortable, call the person you know in common and ask for a referral prior to your meeting. You’ll blow past the getting acquainted stage and move on to productive advisor status much more quickly.

No goals, no glory

What you don't measure, you can’t improve. This oft-repeated business maxim is oft-repeated because it’s true. Just by committing to continual improvement and measuring your progress, you can become a more powerful presenter. Remember, if one presentation can change your career – imagine the financial impact of making the most of every presentation.

Prospect where there is gold—online
According to a California Association of Realtors® study, traditional agents earn $36,700 annually. Internet agents earn more than $100,000.

Where is this real estate gold? Mostly, it’s online. The percentage of home buyers who begin their search online is north of 85 percent and climbing, while sellers begin researching listings, neighborhood information, home prices and more long before contacting a real estate agent. Internet agents were
identified as those who generate 70 percent or more of their leads from online efforts, sold one home each month as a result of online marketing efforts, and who realized that their livelihood depends on how well they attract prospects online.

Internet agents don’t waste time duplicating what the Internet does—they complement Internet information with their own neighborhood knowledge, marketing and transaction skills. They begin where the Internet leaves off. Why is it that so many real estate pros don’t focus on prospecting and lead generation? One reason is that many of today’s most important prospecting strategies—search engine marketing, email, social media, mobile marketing and direct response—are not key skills for many real estate pros.


Two skills you must master are evaluating leads and optimizing your marketing mix. Only you can identify the most effective lead generation strategies for your practice and local market. Then, it’s a matter of ramping up the effective activities while eliminating unproductive activities and driving down costs.
To learn more on how you can master lead generation http://www.eneighborhoods.com/report_leadgen.html

Talkin’ about lead generation

Real estate boils down to a fairly simple job description: Generate leads and turn them into closed business.
–Real estate columnist and coach Bernice Ross

Leads are the lifeblood of any real estate practice. Along with converting prospects to clients, lead generation is probably the most profitable task you can block into your schedule. It’s not overstating the case to say that lead generation skills mean the difference between success and failure in a changed real estate market—just ask the thousands of former real estate agents who fell by the wayside in recent years.

Why? They simply lacked a cost-effective way to create a steady stream of leads. When listing opportunities dried up, so did their real estate careers. With fewer active buyers and sellers in today’s challenging market, it’s more important than ever to make the most of every opportunity to generate leads and turn them into personal contacts.

Today’s do-more-with-less business climate means operating with scarce marketing resources, so it’s important to invest wisely in lead generation.

Converting prospects to qualified leads is the first link in the chain of conversions that brings your business to life. Without a consistent lead generation program, you may never get to the client service activities most real estate pros consider to be their core strengths: presentations, proposals, offers, negotiations and closings.

Master lead generating skills with this free ebook: http://www.eneighborhoods.com/report_leadgen.html

Check out this audio slideshow tool

Realize that telling isn’t selling!


Many of us have attended a sales training course and heard this familiar refrain. It’s not enough to tell your prospects about features and benefits – you must also SHOW them. That’s why the best way to present real estate knowledge is visually. Buyers want photos, video, virtual tours, and 3D maps to help them understand properties and neighborhoods quickly and easily.


It’s also important and crucial to recognize that this trend is accelerating especially with young buyers who are currently emerging as a force to be reckoned with in real estate transactions. Younger buyers also known as generation Y are individuals who grew up on blockbuster movies with special effects and playing 3D computer games; are not going to be happy with columns and rows of data. Younger buyers are visually stimulated.




The best way to make complex information easy to understand is to make it visual. It enables you to show the relationships and comparisons that can make buying and selling decisions easier. Find out other ways you can attract buyers.

Download this free real estate ebook: Stand Out and Sell More: Using Real Estate Knowledge to Build Your Business http://www.eneighborhoods.com/report.html