Mouth 2 Mouth

Arm yourself. Stand up and fight. Any day in which you are not actively Making Rain is a day when you are leaving the door open for your competition and large lead aggregation companies to come in and take over your market, your territory, and your clients.

I've often said that ActiveRain is for those in the Real Estate industry who wish to connect, grow their networks and their businesses. One thing I have not articulated is how much The ActiveRain Real Estate Network is designed for Rain Makers. You are here to grow, to learn, to share your experiences and bring greater joy to the work you do through connecting with like minded individuals. You are also here to grow your businesses through Rain Making.

This means come and share your ideas and experiences and learn from others, then IMPLEMENT, strategies that will help you grow as a professional. Bring in the business, either more of it, or become more effective at bringing in the business you are already bringing in. Do not sit idly by and be complacent while some large lead company takes your client from you.  Make them work for it.  You contribute to this industry, as a contributor you must demand that you receive the benefits of your contribution. Do not sell yourself short by not servicing your needs. Every day, or every week, depending upon how you set up your schedule, a significant portion of your time should be spent on marketing for new business. If you do not you will soon find yourself looking for a new job. Use the tools here at ActiveRain:

• Share and try ideas
• Develop relationships
• Learn from each others experiences
• Use the regional blogging tools
• Use ActiveRain as your competitive advantage
• reach out to your clients, and your market every working day

Every day is a Rain Day. Make Rain and close deals.

Thank You.

Many real estate sales people, especially sellers agents focus on a specific geographic area to target their sales and marketing efforts.

There are two parts to business. Rainmaking and the work. Bringing in business over a large loosely defined market can be a lot of work. When focused upon a small well defined space we make our work much easier. Rainmaking becomes more effective with less effort.

Don't get me wrong, there are other ways to define yourself. If you're a loan officer who can service loans nationwide you may find a particular niche for your services that is not geographic. If that's your aim I support it. I've done this before myself as a mortgage broker. I did have some success with it. I still believe however it is always going to be simpler and more cost effective to focus your efforts with geography in mind.

Clients, in my experience, associate themselves with a space, as if to say in a small way "part of who we are is where we live and work." When evaluating the people we work with for real estate purchases we are likely to find more comfort in someone who we might associate with a particular space.

Let ActiveRain Work For You 

ActiveRain is currently working to enhance your geo-targeted marketing. We are delivering a strong assortment of tools to help improve your businesses. Right now you have the ability to categorize your posts with regional designations. Those posts show up in our various state, city and county pages. Neighborhoods and smaller districts will also play a role.

These pages are SEO optimized, and that is constantly improving. As we work to bring your closer to your market, I would encourage you to take advantage of these features as a small part of your local marketing. Take the time to write about your market place, feed your audience with information that comes from your unique perspective. Write so that you can attract the business that is looking for you and what you have to offer.

Related Posts: 

Blog categories - Where should I put my post?

New blog categories and regional blog display

More updates to ActiveRain last night...

The connections between real estate industry professionals are what has made this industry strong and viable.  Through various associations, meetings, and MLS systems this industry has created a strong value proposition for consumers by offering well educated, well connected professionals who are able to be an advocate for the consumer with their unique connections and access to knowledge.

With the boon of the Internet era the real estate industry has become less and less connected.  The Internet makes it easier to disseminate information than ever before.  With the movement and flow of information through different channels one on one personal conversations are less able to take place.  Learning finer details of personal experiences and having a group of like minded professionals from which to learn and grow has become less and less common.  The connections today are less personal and less frequent.  This lack of connecting is creating greater and social gaps in the real estate community.

As technology advances consumers become more savvy and demanding.  The National Realtors Association holds that 7 out of 10 home buyers use the Internet to start their search. Today they demand greater access to information in ever changing forms.  Real estate sales professionals have until very recently lagged behind the technological advances that would enable them to better deliver information.  

While real estate sales people were trying to hold on to their data, they at the same time became less and less connected.  Into the void between colleagues and the gap in information demand an deliver came highly funded lead aggregation companies targeting the consumer, and further distancing the professional.  These companies are highly funded and have an ability to push aside the average sales person simply due to their ability to outspend the individual in technological adoption.  The are providing the data to consumers, and collecting referral fee's for access to consumers.

This disconnect has left the real estate sales person, alone, disconnected, and weak in the face of large highly funded lead aggregation operations.  Whereas currently the information the real estate professional provides to the market place is taken by others not directly contributing to the industry and using it to put themselves between the real estate professional and the very consumers the professional is trying to reach

Access to home listings was once through the real estate brokerage and sales person, today listings are readily available from a number of different sources.  Many players are taking advantage of large capitol are now providing access to estimates of home values, demographic data, and other information that is drawing consumers.

The ActiveRain Real Estate Network seeks to correct the disconnects.  The Network does this by connecting the parties that keep this industry running to each other, and reconnecting consumers to those professionals without a middleman.

ActiveRain reconnects real estate professionals across the industry.  By helping reconnect these individuals ActiveRain will help provide both industry professionals and their clients with a stronger value proposition.  ActiveRAin will enable individuals in the industry to grow stronger through helping to combine the resources of the entire group.

Tools that ActiveRain Provides to do this are varied and growing.  Right now they include:

• The collective dissemination and education from personal experiences.
• Facilitating more frequent and fulfilling connections both on-line and off-line for the strengthening of business relationships.
• Providing a channel through which to disseminate information directly through to consumers, bypassing the barriers put in place by large lead aggregation companies
• Filling in the gaps in connections that have left this industry weak and subject to proliferation.
• Enabling the real estate professional through technologies that help them to collect information and channel it directly to consumers.
• Helping the professional by marketing their contributions directly to the consumer.

The industry has been and is changing rapidly.  As the real estate industry changes consumers need more and more educated individuals to help guide them and avoid the pitfalls of home buying and selling.  Right now there is a lot to be gained from learning from, and becoming connected to like minded colleagues.  This type of support will help individuals gain a competitive advantage.  In addition through direct contributions members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network, will bypass companies acting as middlemen and achieve direct and closer connections to their clients.

I've seen posts specifically related to sales, the tried and trued tips, and the trials and tribulations that many of us in this industry go through.  Those have helped me gain an understanding that there are others out there going through the same issues, and I've learned from those experiences.

At the same time I've read posts talking about members themselves their lives and their families, nothing to do with real estate or this industry.  I enjoy those posts too. They are not always relevant on the surface nor do they need to be.  They have their value and their place here.  Others will always have the option not to read them.

There is however one type of post I've seen that I do not appreciate and honestly, I don't feel is appropriate for this space.  The posts I dislike are those type of posts that bread unnecessary anger fear or resentment.  Often these are rants, but not just rants, they posts that often specifically target another individual here on ActiveRain, or otherwise.

I learned long ago one way to be successful in sales is to never disrespect anyone.  That is especially true when it comes to the blogs that speak to ranting.  There is a way to constructively express criticism.  There is even a right way to express anger. 

It's most often true that when you speak judgmentally of someone else you are usually opening up yourself to the same type of judgments.  I learned the hard way that when a potential client is speaking poorly of another agent they have been working with then it's likely they'll soon be finding fault with me.

These are friends and colleagues.  In competition or not, be a good sport.  We are all here to grow. Please do not degrade The Network or yourself.

The Tone of ActiveRain By Karen Hurst

ActiveRain Bloggers By Gena Riede

Hey, We Are Being Watched... Maureen Francis & Dmitry Koublitsky

"Singing In The Rain" By Rich Jacobson

Happy Halloweiner By Maureen McCabe 

ActiveRain Blogging? By Jennifer Giraldi

There's one thing I learned a long time ago about competition.  I sensed it, but could not articulate it until I read it from Stephen Schiffman in Getting to 'Closed.'

It is very important to know that our number one competitor is not other loan officers, real estate agents or whatever segment of the industry we are in.  Our number one competitor is the status quo.  Prospects need to keep things as they are and not make a change is your number one obstacle to overcome.  

If the prospect is talking to you then there is in them a desire for change.  By taking a consultative approach and helping them lay out their needs, wants, desires, you can help them get past their need need to leave things as they are.  In the end it may be best for them to leave things as they are but this is unlikely.  If they are in conversation with you about change then they are dissatisfied with their current situation and they are looking for trust worthy guidance.  If you are consulting with them then your job is to help them come over that very difficult hurdle to help them make the change they want to make. And that, I believe, is you you beat out your competitor.

When dealing with a new client you will want to establish value, helping them see why they are working with you.  Depending upon who you consider to be your client there are many ways to define and establish value.  But there is always one fundamental question you must address. 

"Why should I do business with you?  What will I miss by not doing so?"

This is a question every client will ask themselves and you cannot pretend to know the answer when you don't know their story.  Upon initial contact you cannot have an answer ready.

 "I'm not sure you should. I know why we make sense for others similar to yourself, but I'm not sure it makes sense for you. I would need to find about your situation. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

We may believe that we have the best solutions for every customer, but we can't.  Being honest about this helps to build credibility, and it helps the person know that we are listening to their concerns. 

Compare this to a more standard sales approach, stock answers and forced demonstrations of benefit.  These are often benefits that have nothing do do with the clients need.  In this case the sales person immediately delivers a pitch to the client, trying to persuade them that they need what the sales person is selling.  This method is good for a certain type of sales technique but in today's world to sell without any sense of what the prospect's current situation is, is simply missing the point of prospecting.  In my opinion many stock answers and stock replies will only affirm that you are only looking out for yourself.

Through asking questions in a consultative approach you can demonstrate value up front.  You are an expert, you are able to consult with the prospect on their needs.  You know the questions they need to ask themselves and the options they might potentially have better than they do.  You aren't telling them your value through stock answers you are actually demonstrating it.  By taking into account the client's needs and wants, it enables us to address issues related to solving the client's problem.  The ultimate answer will to why should I do business with you will come through the dialogue that takes place around the client's need.

Adding a photo to your profile is very important. It helps readers identify and remember you.

1. Login to our account. You can login by going to http://www.activerain.com and clicking “Login” on the top right of the page.
2. Upon login you will come to a page with highlighted links on the left. Click “Edit My Profile.”
3. You will see a box on the right side of the screen with words below it that say “Upload Picture.” Click on that link and a box will open.
4. Click the browse button and you will be able to browse your computer for the appropriate picture to post into your profile.
5. Select that picture by clicking on it once and selecting “open.”
6. Then select the button “Upload Photo.”
7. Your photo will appear in the box above.

That’s it you’ve uploaded a photo to your profile.

Carnival of Blogging Success

I want to remind ActiveRain Members that The Real Estate Tomato is hosting a Carnival of Blogging Success, open to ActiveRain Members only.

Postings about success through blogging in the real estate world should be submitted to bloggingsuccess@gmail.com by Midnight tonight.

If you make The Tomato's Top 10 we'll be awarding points!  Get your submissions in now.

Include:
1.  Link to your Profile on AR
2.  Link to your Article. (Or entire article if no link available).
3.  Name as you would like it to appear with article.
4.  Please proofread and spell check all articles

Please see the details and requirements here.