Realtors - Self Promote Your Way To Success

Okay, so we all can agree - listings are the lifeblood of the real estate industry. And if the keys to selling them arelocation, location and location, then the challenge in getting them is self-promotion.

But how do you promote to the masses without going broke? Below are a few ideas and strategies to effectively market yourself on a shoe string budget.

Sponsor A Workshop
Sponsor a workshop for homeowners attempting to sell their homes FSBO. Advertise it in your local newspaper and note that seating is limited.

Then, require attendees to RSVP their intent to attend. So, with little effort you will have developed a "warm list" of prospective buyers and sellers.

The workshop should be relatively short; 60-90 minutes long. Provide a movie, popcorn and a sitter for kids so that parents won't have to worry about getting a babysitter. More parents are likely to attend and you'll have their undividedattention.

The workshop should be long enough to share useful information, but short enough that you won't stress about how you're going to fill the time. Heck you can even joke with callers that it'll only be as long as "Bambi," or whatever movie you decide to show.

Host the workshop in your office if you have adequate space. If not, the local library, a Title Company, Mortgage Company or other location will suffice. Do not rent a space, but do have it in a nice location.

Title and Mortgage Companies may even be inclined to pay a part or all of the costs for co-sponsoring the event with you. After all, each attendee is a prospect for their products and services, too.

In the workshop you'll be instructing attendees on the dos and don'ts of selling their properties; establishing the right price, creating curb appeal, staging a home for sale, establishing how and when to show their properties, and more importantly how to be safe when showing properties.

One objective of the workshop is to give each attendee sentially the same information you give when you go on listing presentations. It's kind of like a listing presentation in reverse, where they come to you as a group.

So, at the end of it each attendee will have a greater appreciation of the advantages of using a Realtor, your marketing plan, contact number, email address, etc.

Be sure to follow up with a series of letters to continue building the relationship. As a general rule it takes 4 - 7 contacts before you develop enough rapport with prospects to earn their business, but it's well worth the effort. Make it easy on yourself and consider prewritten form letters that are ready made to copy, paste and send.

Every attendee will be a potential customer for you; as a seller and a buyer. After all, how many are likely to sell their properties without the services of a Realtor?

Now, how many are likely to buy a property listed with a ealtor? Right, again! And guess who can be there when they need professional assistance?

So, here are a few final questions before I close. Do you know of another Realtor that host events like this on a regular basis?

How about one who hosts an Open House for his/her office? Okay, then how about one that conducts workshops on how to finance home loans? Still no?

Hopefully, you can now see the near endless possibilities for self promoting your services. And if you institutionalize them, meaning that you make them regular events, they could become part of the services you provide that distinguishes you from your competitors.

So, whenever you hear somebody say location, location, location; think self-promotion, self-promotion, and self-promotion.

About the author:  Lanard Perry is the author of "Farming Expired Listings", a guide to successfully farming expired listings. Visit http://www.farmingexpiredlistings.com to learn more cost effective marketing ideas and strategies.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.