Hotels use signage. Fast food uses signage. Retail uses signage. New housing development use signage. The apartment and home rental markets do not use signage. By using signage, I mean that other than property signage few properties invest significant advertising and marketing dollars into signage.

At the same time, the Department of Commerce states clearly that signage is without exception the least cost most effective form of advertising bar none in the United States. (more…)

Real estate software can help improve your business and there are several products each with it’s own specialized purpose. Real estate professionals search online for realtor software designed to enhance or manage their property listings.

A popular property software is the content management system. This software focuses on buyer property matching or property listing so that potential home buyers can search and view residential and commercial listings. Content management systems allow the professional to add, edit and delete property listings. (more…)

Twitter is the newest form of communication and has become a very hot electronic commodity. Many different people use Twitter to share information or just to stay connected. Real Estate agents would definitely benefit from using a network like Twitter.

In real estate you depend on a certain amount of networking to gain new clients and to become successful. Twitter allows you to connect with a wide range of individuals from all walks of life. As an agent you could use this ability to share your listings with others, promote yourself and your agency and more importantly meet new potential clients. (more…)

There really is a big difference between selling houses and helping people buy homes.

If you’re just selling houses, you’re not worried about whether the house is the right choice and will be a good home for the buyer. You’re not concerned about whether they’ll be able to keep up with the payments or afford whatever repairs might be necessary. You’re not wondering if they’ll be happy there, or if their children will be safe there. (more…)

Facebook Breaks New Ground

My name is Rebecca, I am writing this article to describe yet one more ground breaking innovation from Facebook. I am a young mother of three who used to think computer literacy was a subject I missed at school. I started using Facebook a little over two years ago and have become an avid social networking fan ever since.

I feel that my relationships with friends and family have grown exponentially these past years as a result. My recently discovered half brother and I communicate and stay in touch with each other regularly in a way that just would have never been possible or likely before. (more…)

Long holidays can really be annoying to real estate agents who want to keep working.

Even those “3-day holidays” when it seems like everyone really leaves on Friday morning and doesn’t get back until Tuesday afternoon can really put a kink in getting things done.

So what productive thing can you do with your time when everyone you need to contact is off playing?

Start with cleaning up your lists – making sure that everyone who should be on a mailing list is there, and that you have their current address. It might be time to purchase a good database software program and make sure every person is there – in their proper slot. (more…)

Hey all,

Just a few tips you might want to consider applying to your online marketing efforts. If you’ve followed my posts and newsletter in the past, then you probably already know that tens of thousands, and in many cases, hundreds of thousands of searches are performed every single month in large metropolitan areas for mortgage loans, loan officers, and homes for sale.

If you’re serious about generating more business online, here’s what you need to consider: (more…)

Have you looked at many realtor websites? If you have, you’ll notice that most of them look alike. It’s almost like they were stamped from a cookie-cutter, with the only difference being the name of the firm. (Actually, I think many of them were.)

The only obvious purpose of most real estate websites seems to be that of offering a MLS search, or perhaps some Chamber of Commerce type information about the City.

And while that’s very generous of you, I don’t think that should be the purpose of your personal real estate website. (more…)

Getting listings in real estate is often viewed as what the “top performing” or “veteran” agents can do. After all, they have the experience and the client base so they can get listings easily, right?

It doesn’t take being in the business for a years and years to get listings monthly. Actually with the right steps in place, any agent can get listings in less than 90 days. You don’t have to do extensive cold calling, mailing out 10,000 flyers, or even door knocking, it just takes a focus on what sellers are actually looking to accomplish. (more…)

Businesses who are responsible for finding sales leads have often taken advantage of the unique technology offered by call capture. The real estate industry has particularly made use of the technology in order to both generate high quality real estate leads and to determine the effectiveness of their marketing. However, some business owners are still not aware that different levels of call capture exist. The three main levels are basic caller ID, ANI (Automatic Number Identification), and finally the integration of call capture with online reporting and tracking.

First, caller ID is a basic form of call capture that comes standard on many phones and phone services. Although most businesses have this type of caller ID, it is a technology to which even individual consumers are now accustomed. Caller ID displays a list of numbers that have called a line on a small screen generally attached to the phone. The advantages to caller ID are twofold. First, it will allow you to see numbers that have called the business line. Many potential customers do not leave messages because they are unsure what to say. Caller ID allows the business to return calls even when customers do not leave messages. The second advantage of basic caller ID is cost. Caller ID is often just a few extra dollars a month. However, disadvantages of basic caller ID comes in the form of limitations. Most importantly, caller ID will not capture blocked or unlisted numbers. (more…)