Gary Elwood
Author Archives: Gary Elwood
Gary Elwood
Social Media Habits for Introverts
Like I said last week, extroverts are really, really good at social media. They get it instantly as if social media was made for them.
Just think Greg Swann. Or Burslem.
Then there’s the rest of us. The introverts. The quite ones. Who, well, can become pretty vocal when you put us behind a laptop or iPhone.
What can happen is that someone who is typically a wall-flower becomes the life of the social media cocktail party. Maybe even the aggravating boor who won’t shut up.
No doubt their are pitfalls in social media that all personalities can fall prey to. But I think one of the worse ones is to launch a social media campaign [you know, join Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube] all in one day…
And then abandoned it four weeks later.
When people visit those places you’ve set up, it’s like a ghost town. Where did everybody go? Don’t do that. Especially if you want to gain some traction in your social media efforts.
Instead, follow these eleven habits of highly successful social media introverts.
1. Don’t spend too much time on it.
Commit to just 15 minutes a day…just like you would if you were cold calling. And then do it. Everyday. [Except the weekend. You need a break, you know?] If you find you need more time, the following week bump it up to 20 minutes a week.
2. Invite people to join you.
If you wait for people to follow or friend you, you’re going to be waiting for a very long time. Hunt people down. Follow them. And say hi.
3. Share things you like.
Be true to yourself. Don’t try to impress people. Social media like Twitter and Facebook are about one percent business and ninety-nine percent fun. Have fun. This is not only web 2.0, but Business 2.0.
4. Analyze your results.
You’ve heard the saying: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t grow it.” Well here are ten ways to measure social media.
5. Find the key players in the network.
Don’t find a marketing person, find someone who knows lots of marketing people and then invite that person to join you. And bend over backwards to bring value to that person.
6. Attend events.
Yeah, that’s right. Stand up, close the laptop and go to a local Tweet-Up. Can’t wait to get invited to one? Organize your own Tweet-Up.
7. Seek out structure.
Sometimes you need to plan a theme for your social media day. Or week. Focus on one topic. Maybe it’s a featured home or event or giveaway (people like free stuff). That way you’ll gain some traction.
8. Avoid the crowds.
Instead of spam-following people (joining one thousand people in one day, which will probably get you banned anyway) systematically join people who you think you’d enjoy following and would enjoy following you. Being deliberate is important.
9. Prepare what to say.
Some people may not like this, but feel free to put together a dozen or so things you’d like to say on Facebook or Twitter and then share them in one frantic fifteen minute social media episode. Or heck, schedule tweets.
10. Promote by publishing.
This is the most important piece: Create content on your social media. But NEVER to the exclusion to your blog. Blogging is not dead. In fact, it’s possibly the most important component of social media. Don’t neglect it.
Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing Blog.
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Why Should Someone Pay You $400 an Hour?
Let me ask you a simple question: Why would you pay someone four dollars an hour?
The simple answer is: They’re not very valuable. That is what Jim Rohn would call “the facts.”
Now, to make more money, that person could go on strike. The problem with that is, you can’t get rich by demand.
Maybe they say, “I’m waiting for a raise.” You could be waiting a long time.
Why not just become more valuable? If you do become a valuable real estate agent…then you could make $400 an hour instead of $4 an hour.
Agents who make $4 an hour play the numbers game. It’s like they’re working at Wal-Mart. The mistake they’re making is they are working harder on their job.
But that’s not how to do it.
The secret to becoming more valuable…to earning $400 an hour…is to learn to work harder on yourself.
What does that look like? Here are three things Jim Rohn says you should work on:
Philosophy
What is your worldview? And I’m not just talking about your spiritual worldview (which is important). I’m also talking about your emotional worldview. Your economic. What’s your overriding view on family? Work hours?
Let’s focus on economics for a second. Answer these questions to help you determine your economic philosophy.
Do you think the world has an abundance of money and leads and clients…or is the pool shallow making the work world a cut-throat environment?
Do you believe you can get rich? Do you believe that you can be the best agent in the world? Do you believe that success is something that is learned rather than something that we are born with?
How you answer these questions will determine your outlook on your professional life. Let’s move on to your attitude.
Attitude
Attitude differs from philosophy in that this is how you respond to the facts of the world. The reality is you may be a new agent who works ten hour days–six days a week–to put food on your dinner table. Your philosophy would say, “You know what, I know that I don’t have to live like this. We live in a country blessed with abundant resources and ample opportunities to do better than this. However, nobody is going to give me a free ride. I have to make it happen.”
Your attitude says either “I’m going to make it happen and enjoy the ride. No matter what happens. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to serve people relentlessly. And I’m going to be very, very happy with what I have–whether it’s a CEO’s salary or nothing at all.”
Activity
Here’s where the rubber meets the road. What are you doing to becoming more valuable? Are you reading a book every week? Are you going to educational seminars? Or you learning how to communicate AND connect with people?
Do you spend time honing your skill as a good listener? Are you carving out good time with your family? Have you chosen a mentor? And are you being honest with that mentor?
These are all great questions to ask yourself to help you become a better person. It starts with your overall view of how the world works. Then it comes down to how you are going to respond to that world–brutal facts and all.
Finally, you put legs to your philosophy and attitude by going out and working on yourself. That’s the key to becoming valuable. Now, what are you waiting for? Get to it.
Did you find this article useful? If so, leave a comment. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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What Kind of Time Are You Putting into Social Media?
As you probably noticed, that’s an ambiguous question. The reason it’s ambiguous is because you don’t hear my tone when I say it.
What’s my tone? Is it soft or harsh? Am I asking you our of curiosity or concern? Let me make it plain to you: I’m asking out of concern.
I’ve been putting a lot of thought into social media lately–most notably of the microblog and network types–and what kind of time investment real estate agents are putting into it.
I’m talking about the Twitters [I use Twitter, by the way, but for reasons you wouldn’t have guessed] and Facebooks of the world…
And the slow drift away from series contact management and meticulous, heavy-duty customer relationship management.
Ten years ago, Top Producer was the king of social media camp (it was social media before “social media”): You met people in the grocery store, generated leads from ads, hooked up with prospects at open houses and imported their contact information into a tool like contact management.
You then set them up for systematic contact over a six month period.
That hard-nosed mind set bent on repeated touches and measurable results has softened.
Social media like Facebook feeds into our normal disposition for the easy way out. The result is that now we have 1,000 friends on Facebook, but no idea if those people are client-worthy…
The result is we consume more information from our Twitter feeds–but it’s all of the fluff nature.
Dustin at 4RealsStrategies has a good suggestion on how to manage your update consumption (which can seriously suck time away from you), but you certainly can’t track that and tweak to predict better results.
So what kind of time are you putting into social media? Couple months ago Wired magazine had a good suggestion on how much time you should invest in social media. It boils down to 2.0 hours a day–1.25 for social networking and .75 for Twitter.
That to me still sounds like a lot.
Besides, are you making money in it? That’s really the question behind my opening question.
See, the problem with social media in real estate is seen in Twitter’s shaky future. If it doesn’t learn how to monetize soon, it may need to plead with the government for a bailout. [That was a joke. Partly.]
Which brings me to the point of this post: When viewing tools to use like social media, it’s best to filter it through a simple little test from the book Good to Great:
1. What’s your passion?
2. What are you good at?
3. Can you make money at it?
Naturally out-going people are going to love Facebook. [Not Twitter so much, I’ve found.] Around the clock conversation with people? Life couldn’t get any better. Extroverts are passionate for people, so in this respect, Facebook passes the first test.
The next question, though, is this: Are you good at it. You may be out-going and friendly, but not have a technological bone in your body. Not to fear, really, cause Facebook is a very-low barrier to overcome. It passes test two.
Here’s where the rub comes. Can you make money at it? Well, maybe. But not likely to do so as accurately as other means. Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for working the intangibles and I think that a tool like Facebook could groom certain prospects for clienthood.
But that’s not a given.
So, in the end, use social media sparingly and make sure you maintain a rigid focus on measurable prospecting and conversion rates. At the end of the year, you don’t want to have logged in 10,000 hours on Twitter and have nothing to show for it.
That would be no way to celebrate New Year’s.
How to Become a Leader: Tax Reform Advocate Norquist’s Advice
In a recent interview with U.S. News, tax reform advocate Grover Norquist shared three keys to becoming a leader in any high-pace environment: Work hard, do not whine and know where you are going.
Let’s explore those three keys.
Work Hard
This is no secret. Succeeding in real estate [really, in any endeavor] depends on working hard. It’s the prinicple of critical mass: 90 percent of a plane’s fuel is spent getting it up to altitude. But once it’s in the air, it pretty much coasts.
This doesn’t mean you won’t work hard AFTER you become a leader in your market. You may work just as hard. But you won’t feel like you’re swimming up stream. You’ll feel like you’re floating down it.
Now, one of the biggest obstacles is overcoming procrastination. It’s usually that initial push over inertia. If that’s you, try this 10-step method.
No Whining
Whether you simply don’t have any leads coming in or you are frustrated with home owners or can’t stand the thought of cold calling, do not complain. Just shut up and do it.
All of these components of buying and selling real estate are things you must do. So grow that thick hide so rejection can bounce right off you. Criticism can easily deflect away from you.
Where Are You Going
As I’ve said before, happy endings are product of hard work. And good plans. Where you confront the brutal facts. Doing this can be the difference between a good ending and a bad one.
See the ending. And tolerate no deviation.
Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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Lure Buyers in WITHOUT Reducing the Price
RealityTimes.com reports that for the first time in a year fewer sellers slashed their prices. Trulia.com is the company tracking the numbers.
In the RealtyTimes.com report Trulia CEO Pete Flint said this:
Consumer engagement on Trulia remains at an all time high, but home sales have dropped nationally during the past few months because there has been a lower sense of urgency to ‘buy now’. As we get closer to the government incentives running out, we expect price reductions to increase as sellers begin to feel the pressure to lure buyers in, in advance of the tax credit expiration.
It’s that line “we expect price reductions to increase as sellers begin to feel the pressure to lure buyers in” I want to focus on.
Here’s what I know: While necessary [and something, by the way, you can do near pain-free with this method], price reductions are no fun for your clients.
That’s money they lose and you lose.
In fact, unmotivated sellers may simply resist the suggestion and let the home expire. You don’t want that. So how do you lure in buyers without having to drop prices? Here are a few suggestions:
10 Home Staging Tricks to Attract More Buyers
Here’s the single best piece of advice I can give you about staging homes: People are looking for things in a new home that they DON’T have in their current homes. Your job is to make the house look that way. These tips will help you.
Capitalize on This Buyer Quirck to Sell Any Home
In a slow market, a typical bidding war begins–if it begins at all–with the marketing of a slightly undervalued home. That means selecting a price that is at the low end of the expected selling price range. This may not please your seller one bit–but it may result in multiple offers. And naturally, multiple offers tend–no promise, though–to drive the selling price up.
Find Buyers in Just 25 Minutes and 25 Seconds
This is a five step plan to tackle all the leads you’ve accumulated with IVR or any other method you use…you know those leads that you haven’t called back. [Unless you work strictly work off of referrals, which is the sweet spot you want, you need to work ALL the leads you get. It will eventually lead to success. But interestingly enough, most agents who fail at IVR don’t call the leads back. It’s a shame.]
Conquer Call Reluctance Once and For All
Now the thought if calling people you don’t know makes your heart jump out of your chest…please read this post. Do it for yourself. For your career. For your family. Go for it. I know you can do it.
What about you: How do you lure buyers in without lowering the price? Is it even possible? [I argue it is because I’ve seen it happen using the above tips…but I’m curious to know what you think.]
Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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Seattle. San Francisco. Pittsburgh. Rochester. Memphis. Oakland. Birmingham.
What do these seven towns share in common? If you said they’re all predicted to post gains in average home price, then you are correct.
What accounts for these predictions? For places like San Francisco, a roaring comeback is expected because much of the cities inventory will have been sold.
For a city like Rochester a come back is likely since it hasn’t been burdened by toxic mortgages, has a unemployment rate below the national average and has a healthy stock of good-paying jobs.
If you’re a real estate agent in one of these cities, your future looks bright.
But what if you don’t live in one of these comeback cities? What if you live in a city that looks to suffer even more foreclosure losses?
Well, one way to approach this problem is simply to attack it at it’s source: Go after pre-foreclosures. That’s good advice.
But there’s also another way to boost your production this year: Systematically employ the 10 most effective marketing strategies for real estate agents [based upon Homegain’s survey]:
Need a Damn Good Referral System to Save Your Career? Think about it: what’s it worth to you to find and nurture a handful–say, I don’t know, 100–clients who love you to death? Referrals
Stage the Home to Attract New Buyers Want a couple of easy tips to help you make a home look attractive to a buyer? Then you’re at the right place. Featured Listings
Nine Things That Make Email Effective Despite the endless talk about social media–Twitter or Facebook, for example–-emails are still the workhorse of online prospecting. Email Campaigns
Postcards: Why Your Adverting Never Works The reason your advertising doesn’t work–whether it’s a billboard or email newsletter or postcard mailing–is simple. Postcards/Mailers
How a Cocky CEO of GE Can Make You a Better Blogger How can Jack help you in blogging? Easy. Figure out what market you can enter where you are guaranteed to be #1 or #2. Blogging
Gimpy Website? 5 Techniques to Create a Killer One Okay. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that if you’re a real estate agent, you probably have a website. The question is, is it any good? Hm.
Why I Use Twitter [It’s for the Cocktails, Stupid!] But let’s get one thing straight: I don’t have any delusions on what Twitter can accomplish. So what can you hope to get out of Twitter? Good question. Social Media
Social Media Matters: Selling Houses During Hard Times Second only to over-priced home, no internet marketing strategy is the biggest reason homes don’t sell. Here’s how to change that. Social Media
How to Make Emotion Your Most Potent Weapon Why is emotion so important to your advertising? In the end, every decision–to list, to sell, to buy, to call–boils down to how a decision makes a person feel. Let me explain. Outdoor Ads
Cheatsheet on How to Make Your Ads Stick in People’ Mind How do you create ideas that are sticky? You use these six principles found in the book Made to Stick. Print Ads
Did you find this article helpful? If so, leave a comment or subscribe to the real estate marketing blog.
How to Ride the Third Wave of Foreclosures to Your Best Year Ever
The Daily Beast tells us that a third wave of foreclosures looms. What, with unemployment expected to jump from 8.9 into the double digits, even homeowners with solid financial histories will find themselves going under.
However, while it might be raining in the front yard, it looks like the sun is trying to peek through the clouds in the back.
Maybe.
Realty Trac tells us that it’s “premature to declare victory yet” [February was a considerably slower month for foreclosures] since foreclosures were still at record highs.
In fact, 2.8 million households stood on the brink of foreclosure in 2009. That number is expected to rise to 3 million this year.
Welcome to the third wave.
What does that mean to you? Opportunities to help some people out. Before they lose their home. Yes. I’m talking about the pre-foreclosure.
Now, remember, working pre-foreclosures is less about padding your pocket and more about helping another human being.
I can’t stress that enough.
So, when approaching pre-foreclosures for the first time use these ideas to prove to them that you are truly their to help can save their home:
- You can sell their home. Goes without saying, but some people need to be reminded.
- You aren’t out to fleece them. Just the opposite. You want to help them save equity. Credit. Face. And you must mean it. You must have a heart. That means listening liberally and talking conservatively.
- You are a legal expert: You know all the contracts, forms, disclosure statements backwards, frontwards, inside and out. If they did it solo–or worse, not at all–chances are high they’d miss something.
- You are a professional: Like a doctor or lawyer, you’re an expert. You live and breathe this stuff. Ask them how many people would defend themselves in a court of law? Or, how many people feel confident performing surgery on themselves? Tell them this is your bread and butter.
- You are a master of the market. You know the market and can price the homes competitively. Explain to them the importance of pricing right the first time and the danger of over-pricing. The last thing they want to do is waste time.
- You are a expert on financing. You know how to pre-qualify, qualify and point prospects in the right direction for financing. But with those who want to buy pre-foreclosures, in my experience, have normally got the cash. Let them know people with ready money can buy their home.
- You are a specialist: You can handle criticism, objections and demands objectively and professionally…a must when trying to persuade someone to buy a home that is close to foreclosure.
- You are a negotiator. You know how to balance offers, counteroffers and negotiate contingencies that often will drive a FSBO bananas. Offer your batting average for selling homes at full asking price. If you’re good, they’ll think you’re a genius.
- Finally, you are a network. Develop a list of the tasks that must be completed before closing, including all the inspections, insurance, permits. Then explain to them you know all the right people and could have everything arranged in an afternoon. They’ll get the point.
Listen: I think you’ll agree, if you step out there and help some good people sell their homes and save face…it will be your best year ever.
Besides, put yourself in their shoes. There’s nothing better than doing for others what you’d want them to do for you.
So tell me…have you been working pre-foreclosures? Any success? Any tips to help improve this list? I’m looking for ways to make the first encounter a lasting impression.
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People. You just never know what they’ll do next.
But if you really believe real estate is a people business, then any effort you make to better understand yourself and how others tick will make your business flow and your bank account grow.
Fortunately, a couple of social scientists have developed tools that can help you shed light on the mystery of human behavior and get a better handle on personalities…yours and others’.
For example, Wilson Learning’s “Social Styles” puts personalities into four quadrants designed to help you work with individuals in different situations.
The Enneagram Personality Insight for Business sends you on a journey of personal and organizational discovery so you can mesh easier with others.
And the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation Behavior program uncovers how your needs affect your behavior towards others.
All have received rave reviews.
But the one I’ve found to be particularly useful in real estate is the DISC profiling system (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance).
D relates to control, power and assertiveness.
I looks at how a person approaches social situations.
S is the factor of patience, persistence and thoughtfulness.
C describes a person’s approach to structure and organization.
DISC can help you identify your behavioral profile, appreciate different profiles and capitalize on your own behavioral strengths.
It can also help you anticipate and minimize potential conflicts, hire the right people and manage people in sales environments…all essential tasks in real estate.
Bob Corcoran introduced DISC to one of his clients, Valerie Hunter-Kelly, a Realtor in Clarksville, TN, when she and Bob met about three years ago. She says it has helped her better understand how to relate to co-workers and clients on their level.
“Before, I just communicated based on my personality style, but now I understand others’ personalities so I don’t get as frustrated with them as much because I understand it’s not personal it’s just the way they communicate.”
Hunter-Kelly says she now identifies every client’s personality type based on her understanding of the DISC and then shares that information with the staff member who’s charged with helping the client get to closing.
“I always ask my buyers’ agent what the client’s personality profile is because I know it helps close deals,” she says.
She says now when a problem arises, it’s typically because the agent doesn’t know the client’s personality style.
“As soon as I meet anyone, I automatically identify their personality type so I’ll know how to relate to them,” she says. “It’s just a natural part of what I do now.”
Yes, understanding people, listening to their needs and wants and responding appropriately all take a lot of work and attention. But because this is a people business, it’s simply a must.
And the better at it you become, the better living you’ll make as an agent or broker. I promise.
So tell me, have you filled out any of these personality profile tests? What did you think?
*Bob Corcoran is a nationally recognized speaker who is the founder of Corcoran Consulting, an international consulting & coaching company that specializes in performance coaching, and the implementation of sound business systems.
And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing blog.
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If you understand people then you understand real estate.
Because if it’s been said once, it’s been said a million times: real estate is a people business. And oh how much easier work and life would be if we just understood people.
Yes, humans are terribly complex, often unpredictable and sometimes just plain difficult. There’s the client who insists on knowing everything (and I mean everything) you do as you go about selling his house. Enough to drive some Realtors absolutely bonkers.
Then there’s your buyer’s agent who doesn’t tell you anything unless you pry it out of her with a crowbar.
People. You just never know.
I really believe real estate is a people business, then any effort you make at better understanding yourself and how others tick will make your business flow and your bank account grow.
And fortunately social scientists have developed tools that can help you shed light on the mystery of human behavior and get a better handle on personalities—yours and others.
Next post we will explore some of these great tools.
And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing blog.
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What Can George Orwell Teach You about Generating Leads in a Sluggish Market?
George Orwell, the English author of 1984, Animal Farm and other classics, has six rules of writing.
You need to know this: These rules are all gems and can turn you into a ruthless copywriter. A killer blogger. A writer with dangerous copy chops.
But what do they have to do with generating leads? Simple. Use these rules when writing ads and you’ll create tight little advertisements that boost your conversion.
Combine it with one of the most powerful IVR ad formulas…and you’ll be unstoppable.
Here’s the deal: Once you read these rules, take the challenge below. You’ll definitely want to give it a try:
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive voice when you can use the active
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous!
What’d you think? Pretty simple, right? That’s the beauty of his advice. The cool thing is–it works. Want proof? Try this.
So here’s the challenge: Take any page from your website…any sales letter…any brochure…any long piece of copy you might have.
Have someone read it. Get their reaction. After they’ve read it, go rewrite the piece based on Orwell’s advice. Then give it back to that person.
And see what they think. Then come back here and tell me their response. I look forward to hearing from you!
Did you find this article useful? If so, leave a comment. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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