LeRoy Houser

How to Get Started Blogging

WordPress Codex defines “Blog” as an abbreviated version of “weblog,” a term used to describe web sites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. Blogging is an excellent way to stay in touch with past and current customers, and develop new ones, by providing them with a continuous feed of current information. The percentage of REALTORS^® who blog is extremely low, which provides those who are serious about improving their career a wonderful opportunity to develop an information system that’s unique and widely accepted by consumers. This blog, “How to Get Started Blogging,” focuses on assisting a non-blogger in becoming a full-fledged blogger.

 5 Tips for Getting Started in Blogging

 1. Audience. In the beginning, blogging traffic is created almost 100% via email notification. If you have a database or an email address book, that’s a great starting point and frankly is how most bloggers start attracting an audience. Collecting email addresses is a very important first step in starting a blog.

2. Content. The content of the blog should be focused on your product or service. For a REALTOR^®, the content should be focused on topics that would be of interest to your contacts. My blog topics are directed primarily to salespeople, but a salesperson’s blog topics would be focused on information of interest to current or future homeowners. Topics for a REALTOR^® may be real estate taxes, interest rates, new listings, insurance, or the home buying or selling process, just to name a few.

3. Website. The blog should be posted on your website for anyone to read. If you haven’t been blogging but have a website and want to blog, call your web designer to see if it’s possible to modify your current website to accommodate a blog. If you are like most salespeople and don’t have a website, discuss your need for an integrated blog with a web designer prior to having a website created. In my case it took almost 2 months to have my website fully functional, but it gave me a great opportunity to write blogs and accumulate web addresses. Blogs can have a very positive effect on increasing traffic on your website, which in turn creates more sales opportunities. Without a website, blogging success is extremely limited.

4. Frequency. There are some Bloggers who post blogs on their websites multiple times a day, while there are others who post daily and weekly. I typically post on Thursday afternoon at 2:00pm Eastern. There are no perfect systems, but for me, weekly postings are a good balance. Find what works for you.

5. Length. My blog is very long compared to most. Many blogs are only a paragraph in length, some have more information than others, but all good ones have photos. Just write about what your customers should know, and if you find yourself getting too long, just do what I do and break the post into Part I and Part II. This gives the reader information in smaller portions that are easier to absorb, and it also makes them return to your blog in anticipation of Part II – so everyone wins!

Bloglinks

Below is a list of links to successful blogs that we hope will be useful to you in the development process.  Notice that all of these blogs are different, but they are all successful. Please call me directly at 804-363-0458 if I can help you further. LeRoy

 Julie Montgomery’s blog – http://www.trulia.com/blog/juliesellshomes/

 Sandi Bauman Team – http://chicohomesearch.net/

 Teresa Bordman’s Blog – http://www.stpaulrealestateblog.com/

 Sharon Paxon’s Blog - http://newportbeachrealestatecafe.com/

 www.about.com – blogs about anything and everything

 www.activerain.com – real estate blog

 http://blogs.hbr.org/ – Harvard Business Review blog

 http://realestatetomato.com/ – designed our website and showcase numerous excellent blogs

For a Salesperson, Making Friends is Key to Making Money

Making contacts with the right people is the key to selling anything, so the focus of any successful marketing campaign is these “right people!” There was a time when networking or socializing was a feature of any REALTOR^® meeting because getting to know a fellow salesperson was considered part of being successful. Things have changed!

Once upon a time, nametags and name placards were given to students at course registrations to make it possible for the students to get to know each other and for the instructor to get to know the students. That does not happen much any more. Most salespeople don’t wear a nametag and a good percentage don’t have a business card with them, which makes meeting new people and making friends much more difficult. I am very grateful to the brokers, sales managers and instructors who not only taught me the importance of making new friends, but who also taught me the skills of how to do it. 

 6 Ways to Make New Friends

1. Help people. In my book, it’s okay to give someone an estimate of what their home is worth without giving them a listing presentation. It’s okay to help out at the REALTOR^® fair or at the neighborhood yard sale, or to cut your neighbors’ grass when they are out of town. Helpful people are treasured by all of those who know them because they just make life so much better and easier. By the way, a major characteristic of those people who have a bazillion contacts is that they enjoy helping other people – it all adds up.

2. Introduce yourself. It is easy to get into a conversation with another person and end that conversation without ever knowing the other person’s name. This is not smart! Make it a rule to introduce yourself to everyone you talk to. Try, “By the way, my name is __________, and I don’t think I’ve met you.” This is made easier and more meaningful if you also have a business card, but WHY would you not have one?!?!!

3. Don’t ONE UP! This is a KILLER! It goes something like this: “My son had a great year in college last year. He ended with a 3.75 GPA average!” “That’s great! Our daughter had a 4.0 her last year in school.” Or: “We went to Italy last month and it was sensational!” “We have been there as well but liked France much better.” 

One-upping becomes a habit and is a negative factor for developing a friendship. Instead of one-upping, look for those opportunities to congratulate and encourage. There are many more people who will one-up you than give you a pat on the back. So stand out – in a good way!

4. Join a Group/Volunteer. Most people who join groups and volunteer do it because they want to help others and they want to make friends with other people – but understand that all groups are not the same. Some groups obstruct friendships rather than encourage them, and REALTOR^® groups are no different. Being involved with volunteers and groups with similar interests makes getting to know other group members much easier because everyone has an interest in common.  Groups like the Chamber of Commerce, the Red Cross, the SPCA, the American Cancer Society, or the American Heart Association – and many others – enrich our quality of life, and these organizations are found in most communities and are supported by volunteers. Volunteering not only makes it possible to do something good for other people but also makes it possible to be friends with some of the finest people in your community who also focus on helping others.

5. Be Positive! A positive person can make your day, and we all like to be around them.  Given this business environment and the negative aspects of what’s happening in the neighborhoods, it’s all too easy to get involved more in the negative than in the positive.  Just last week  I met a lady who was walking in the opposite direction and when we passed each other, she said to me, “Beautiful morning, happy Friday!” We all have a reputation – just make sure yours is a positive one, and you won’t have to worry much about attracting new friends. “Have a Happy Day!”

6. Know Stuff. It’s important to be able to engage people in conversation, and one of the best ways to do so is to know What’s Up! Based on the volume of information available electronically to us 24/7 it’s almost impossible not to know What’s Up, but there are people who just don’t know. Don’t be one of them! It’s much easier to converse with people who are well-informed and who can talk about almost anything. Other people are attracted to people who are easy to talk to and who know Stuff. 

Databases and friendships have a way of getting stale and most will need to be reconditioned, replaced or at least refurbished in due time. Making friends is an ongoing function for most people, and especially for REALTORS® because our very business is dependent on people moving in and out. Making new friends is just a part of what successful salespeople do and in my opinion the failure to continuously make new friends is a major cause of “the struggle” that most salespeople encounter. One of the benefits of selling real estate is that the more friends you make the more money you get. Have fun, work hard, and make lots of MOOLAH! LeRoy

Connectors Make the Difference

In real estate most of us have several database groupings of people, such as past buyers and sellers, hot prospects, sphere of influence, etc. All three of these groups have the potential to make a fortune for a salesperson simply by giving them referrals. That being said, we all know that potential is one thing, but performance is something totally different. Every professional sports team is made up of individuals who have unlimited potential, but it’s impossible to win or get paid with potential – it’s performance that wins the championship.

Every person listed in a database has the potential to give a referral at least once a year, but most don’t. Since we can put a face with these names, removing them from the list is difficult – unless we have someone better to replace them with OR you have a policy to remove them in a set amount of time (say, 18 months) if they have not given you a referral or a piece of business of some kind. When it comes to giving you a referral, all people are not created equal. Even though they have the potential, some in your database are just not connected to enough of the right people to help you. Some of these non-referrers could be relatives, close personal friends, or people you work with, but nonetheless, they just don’t have CONNECTIONS.

I love teaching CRS 210: Building an Exceptional Customer Service Referral Business, and one of the segments I like the most is the discussion about Connectors. Because it focuses on every aspect of getting referrals, the course is a “money-making experience.” Following that same vein, here are some ideas about Connectors and how to make money with them!

1. Connected people are not necessarily famous, important, wealthy, educated, or successful, but they all have one trait in common: Read the rest of this entry »