At last week’s Leadership Summit, I asked REALTOR® association leadership to help drive the REVOLUTION occurring within our profession. The acceleration of change within the real estate industry, over the last decade, has been monumental. As leaders, it is our job to help our members and our associations stay ahead of these changes. By no means is this an easy task. However, NAR offers a wide range of resources to provide leadership with support.
First and foremost, I am sharing with you a link to Leadership Summit Resources. Here you can access numerous videos and presentations from the Summit that I hope will help to keep you motivated throughout 2017.
Additionally, we are launching, “Presidential Briefings: A monthly guide to your year in office,” which is geared solely at association leadership. This communication is designed to provide ongoing support, tips, tools, and resources to help you and your leadership team better serve your consistency. This communication is a new initiative spearheaded by the Association Executives Committee Volunteer Leadership Training Work Group and is supported by recommendations from last year’s local and state presidents and AEs. We will request your feedback and recommendations as the initiative rolls out.
On behalf of the National Association of REALTORS®, thank you for the work you do now, and for the work you’ll do throughout 2017. As elected leaders, we only have one year in our roles; we only have one year to make a difference. Let’s utilize every day to make sure that we are fulfilling the responsibilities that were entrusted to us by our members.
Let’s look towards the future and act in the moment. Now is the time to be revolutionary!
If you’ve grown up in the state of Delaware, you know fairly early on in life that there’s a vast difference in lifestyle depending on where you live.
You learn the difference between living “above the canal” and “below the canal,” and you learn to embrace the way of life where you are. Here in Sussex County, there is also another unique dynamic: the vast difference between those who live near the 26 miles of Atlantic coastline on the eastern third of the county and those who live in the rest of the county. So as REALTORS® who specialize in these unique and vastly different areas of southern Delaware, how do we vary our marketing to reach our target audiences? Well, there are many ways, some tried and true and some fairly new –
Here are a few of our favorites:
The Internet. Nearly everyone these days begins his or her home search on-line. If you’re not advertising on the Internet, you should really reconsider. With more Millennials entering the marketplace every day, you simply need to have an online presence if you want to be successful.
Video Marketing. You don’t need to have these done professionally if your budget doesn’t allow for it, but marketing your properties these days using video is *extremely* effective. Consider spending a few extra dollars and making that home shine via a 30 or 60 second video.
Community Newspapers. In terms of marketing, it’s true that the Internet has taken over — but don’t discount your time-honored community newspapers. There are many people in Sussex County who still love to pick up the newspaper and enjoy it with their morning cup of coffee. Habits and customs are still very important to many residents, and that includes reading the weekly and/or community newspapers.
Drone Technology. This can be used to market any property, but is really effective when marketing homes that are in planned communities, complete with amenities like swimming pools, clubhouses and golf courses. If you’re able to, use it as much as you can. If it’s still cost prohibitive at this point, wait for prices to come down (keep it on your wish list for the future). It really does make properties come alive in a unique way.
There are other methods, to be sure, but these are four of our favorites.
Remember: know your target market, your communities and your demographics before embarking on any marketing campaign.
A career as a REALTOR® may not be as dangerous as being a police officer or a fireman or a race car driver. But life as a real estate professional does have hazards that come along with it, many of which you have likely encountered at one time or another in your career.
With REALTOR® Safety Month beginning in a few weeks, we thought we’d today mention a few ways that you can keep yourself safe.
Remember, safety should always be your number one priority. We want you to be productive and successful, but we also want you to safely return home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHi4yNfv9Vc
Here are five situations to be aware of and steps you can take to protect yourself:
Allowing strangers into your car. You can try having your client follow you from listing to listing, those listings could be very far apart. So, it’s inevitable that, at some point, you’re going to have clients in your personal vehicle. While this is usually not a problem, there are times when danger can arise. If you must have people in your car with you, make sure you park in a location where you can quickly leave if you need to. And try not to park in an area where you’ll need to shift into reverse first, as that can take additional time.
Showing properties alone. As with the point above, there are going to be times that this can’t be avoided. But try to bring someone along with you whenever possible. Some other safety tips include letting others know where you are and always walking behind your client.
Entering vacant homes. You never know what you might find in a home that’s been left vacant for some time. It’s a good idea to never visit these properties at night and always tell a friend or co-worker where you will be.
Open Houses. You never know who is going to show up at an advertised open house event, so use as much caution as you possibly can. Partner up with a co-worker when possible and never leave your valuables unattended. Also, make sure you always have your cell phone with you in case you need it in a hurry.
Meeting new people. As a REALTOR®, you’re going to be meeting new people on a regular basis. Be sure to always ask for identification and have them fill out a profile sheet so you know who you’re dealing with. Introducing them to co-workers is also a good idea, so others have seen what they look like. That way, at least one other person can identify them.
It’s always a good idea to take extra precautions in the course of your day-to-day business dealings. When in doubt, always err on the side of safety.
The proof is all around us in 2016 – We are living in a digital world, one where paper is being used less and less frequently, and business is being conducted almost exclusively online.
This is especially true in the world of real estate, where nearly all prospective home buyers now begin their searches on the Internet. Long gone are the days of leafing through big books filled with listed homes and mailing forms back and forth to one another.
In a time when pretty much everyone has a smart phone and is never out of touch, it just makes sense to go paperless.
Here’s why:
Efficiency. Nearly everything is now done digitally, meaning agents essentially can take their offices on the road with them. With email, e-signing, cloud based storage and more, there’s really no need to return to the office if you’re in need of a document. Save yourself some gas and time, and do things via your smart phone or laptop.
Environment. Help save the environment – while also saving money in the process. Think about how much you spend annually in copier paper, ink, toner and more (and how much harm overuse of these products does to the environment).
Organization. Cloud-based systems are taking over the business world, and will continue to do so. Using products like Dropbox or Google Drive can greatly help you and your business be more organized and productive. No more piles of paper on your desk; one push of a button on your phone or computer and any document you need can be retrieved instantly.
Customer Service. With digital storage devices and greater flexibility, your clients can now expect better service from you, their trusted REALTOR®. This also has the added benefit of improving your reputation and referral business.
So here’s the bottom line – going paperless today can have incredible benefits for your growing real estate business. If you’ve been in the business for a long time, it may be a difficult transition, but one we think you’ll be glad you embraced.
