Real Estate Client Referrals Uses Social Media, Too!

RECR has always tried to stay on the cutting edge of lead generation. And, one avenue that has come about recently is the advent of social media and the power that it can give real estate agents in lead generation. It only makes sense that we have a presence there considering how many are tapping into that power.

And, the fascinating thing about it is the reasoning behind why it is so popular. This is one of the best examples I have ever found as to why social media exists, why it works, and why so many are turning towards it to help build their businesses!!

Into social media? Follow Clint on Twitter…and fan us on Facebook! You can also subscribe to our channels on YouTube and Slideshare.

Let me start of by saying that this is satire. And this should be read with that idea in mind. It is intended to be humorous. Nothing more. Ok?

As long as we understand one another, you can keep reading…

If not, please push ALT + F4 now.

Common Man’s Dictionary to Real Estate Advertising

1 car garage: Sure, you can drive your Ford Escort into the garage but there is no room to open the door.

Advertisement: A tool used by business to get money out of people that don’t have it for something that they don’t really need.

And much, much more: Truthfully, nothing else comes to mind. But, we can’t tell you that.

Auditor: Person that arrives after battle to finish off the wounded.

Bank: Loan shark.

Beachfront property: No hurricane insurance available at any price.

Bedroom in basement: The basement has a 1′ by 2′ window you might be able to squeeze yourself through as an alternative to burning to death in a structure fire.

Bright and sunny: No window treatments or venetian blinds are included because previous owners simply nailed Pikachu blankets to the window frames.

BRILLIANT CONCEPT: Do you really need a two-story live oak tree in your 30-foot stained-glass sky dome?

Broker: What buying a house is going to make you.

Budget: Written proof that you can’t afford the things you want.

Build sweat equity: The house is not habitable currently and unless you plan on working your hind end off to make it livable, it would be easier to bulldoze this place and live in a tent.

Cape Cod: Stylized after a 74 yr old lobster fisherman’s garage.

Cash Flow: The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.

Cathedral Ceiling: You will go broke trying to heat this place. It would be easier to set fire to the couch.

Charming: Small. See also, “Tiny”. Snow White might fit, but five of the dwarfs would have to find their own place. See also “Cute,” “Enchanting,” and “Good Starter Home.”

Close to all amenities: The backyard is a shopping mall parking lot.

Close to Schools: You will spend a generous portion of your morning and evening commute stuck behind buses in just about every street you attempt to take to avoid them.

Comfortable: One coat closet larger than the “Charming” home.

Commuter’s Dream: Located at the bottom of an off-ramp right beside a truck stop.

Completely Remodeled: Not only does this statement give the company attorney a stroke, it also usually means new kitchen counter tops and a vanity sink in the bathroom.

Complete remodeling in 1992: Hurricane Andrew…’nuff said.

COMPLETELY UPDATED: At the advise of the listing agent, the seller has decided to remove the metallic gold shag carpeting from the living room and replaced the avocado colored stove.

Contemporary: The house is at least 15 years old.

Country living: Too far from anywhere to drive to work…or to shop…or get to an emergency room in time to prevent bleeding out from a paper cut.

Country in the city: A grotesquely overpriced large lot with a 2 bedroom house built before World War I that used to be on 100 acres that have been split off and sold to a Home Depot and a car dealership. Yes, there is a Starbucks in the parking lot.

Cozy: Not a single room could fit a full sized bed. And, the toilet doubles as a kitchen counter when you close the lid.

DARING DESIGN: It’s a warehouse.

Desirable neighborhood: This “charming” house is extravagantly overpriced thanks to being located next to a neighborhood where the snobs live.

Doll-house: Tiny place filled with ugly knick-knacks.

Easy Care Yard: Acres of Red or White rock used to systematically cover actual useful space.

Easy freeway access: Located right on the noisiest arterial street closest to the freeway.

Easy to heat: See “cozy”.

Efficiently designed kitchen: The kitchen is too small to fit two people at the same time and everything you need to reach is simply done so by turning around. The down side is that in order to open the stove, you have to step into the living room.

Everything’s Been Updated: Sure, they updated all the things inside the house…but the house itself has been condemned.

Executive neighborhood: Everyone’s last name in this area is Jones. And yes…you are required to keep up with them.

Extra Storage: Four coat hooks nailed on the back of the front door.

Gated Community: There is a reason it is gated…Every seen ‘District 9′???

Great Starter Home: House has 4 rooms. Two of which are additions.

Handyman Special: Forget It! You don’t have the skill required to make this home livable.

HI-TECH/CONTEMPORARY: Lots of steel shelving with little holes. You know…the kind your dad used to store tools on in the basement. There is also a lot of glass in places most people wouldn’t put it.

Wont last long!: This home hasnt sold in 374 days after two price reductions and the sellers have finally given up hope on making any money on this sale so they dropped the price another $20K.

Immaculate: Remove your shoes. Chances are the carpet is white along with the walls, furniture, cabinets, appliances, and the family pet.

In-city living: The house comes with a deadbolt lock on all windows, a bar across the door capable of stopping a battering ram…and a moat. Being outside in this neighborhood after dark will probably require an armed escort.

Institutional Investor: A active housing investor from 2006 who is now locked up in a mental institute.

Just available: The previous owner just died on the premises. That is the only way anyone would want to sell a home in this market unless they are trying to save a foreclosure. Hope you don’t believe in ghosts.

Large family room: The basement can hold a couch and a chair…which is more than can be said for the living room. Just try to keep the kids from eating the exposed insulation.

Lots of storage space: The basement is too small to be called a family room.

Low maintenance lot: No yard. The kids will have to play in the street. Or, maybe in the shopping mall parking lot.

Luxury Living: It has a Jacuzzi tub. It’s leaning against the wall of the garage. But, at least it has one.

Market Correction: The day after you buy a house.

MUCH POTENTIAL: Steer clear unless you have a lot of money and actually believe your blind dates really did have nice personalities. See “Ready to Rehab,” and “Fixer Upper.”

Must see inside: Yeah…that’s cause the outside is ugly.

MUST SEE TO BELIEVE: An absolutely accurate statement. It is hard to drive that kind of pain home through the eye without actually using a sharp instrument and a forceful thrust.

Market Correction: The term your broker/agent uses for a market crash while telling you that your house is worth 37% of what you paid for it.

Meticulously maintained in the original condition: The avocado-colored appliances are 50 years old. Minimum.

Modern: It doesn’t have a dirt floor and it is insulated with something other than beaver pelts and flour sacks.

Motivated sellers: Subtract 15% from the asking price and see if they counter.

Natural setting: Forget about planting anything because the deer will eat everything in your yard but the sagebrush and knapweed.

Near transportation: an Amtrak train goes through the backyard roughly every 15 minutes, day and night.

Neighborhood Watch: Your next door neighbor has binoculars trained on your house. Your movements are tracked and reported to the police any time you have company.

Newly remodeled kitchen: The 50-year old cabinetry and faucets have been replaced with cheap modern equivalents.

Nice Condition: Apparently “nice” means different things to different people. See also: “Lipstick on a pig”.

Nighttime Security: The street lights located on all corners of the home completely eliminate darkness 24 hours a day. Sleep is impossible.

No need to preview: Yeah, because if you did, you wouldn’t show it!

Old charmer: Herbert from Family Guy lives next door.

ONE-OF-A-KIND: Ugly as sin. The neighbors hope the place burns down so their property value goes up.

Park-like setting: There is a tree located somewhere on this block.

Partial mountain view: You can see the tip of (insert name of local mountain) if you climb the roof and stand on a chair.

Pet friendly neighborhood: Various forms of organic matter are constantly deposited in your front lawn despite the fact that you don’t own any pets.

Plenty of Parking: The stadium across the street has ACRES of parking spaces available.

Practicing Water Conservation: Yeah, the lawn is died. No one watered it. Ever. (Thank you Steve and Heather Ostrom!)

Prestigious: Expensive. Probably not worth it, either.

Prime Location: We have already had better offers from more qualified people than you…don’t ask.

Quaint: Buy a wall paper steamer so you can get that crap off the wall without having to gut the entire place.

Ready to move in: The interior has been painted with one coat of cheap paint and the shag carpeting has been raked and shampooed.

Ready to remodel: This place is about to collapse; you will have to invest twice the asking price in remodel before you can move in. Seen the movie “The Money Pit”??

Recreation room with wet bar: Basement has been sheet-rocked, painted and has a faucet.

Reduced To Move: See also: “Walmart Rollback”

Rent With Option to Buy: We know you wont be able to qualify for crap…But, if you can make steady payments, it works for us.

Safe Neighborhood: Regardless of your attempts at privacy, your neighbors will continue to attempt to peer through the slits in your Venetian blinds. See also: “Neighborhood Watch”

Seasonal creek: There is a 4 foot wide, 6 inch deep muddy ditch that runs across the property…And it only fills up after a good rain or during spring thaw.

Secluded setting: The only thing further away from civilization is a polar ice cap. Grizzly Adams once lived here.

Show and Sell: In other words, the listing agent will be doing no marketing and the stubborn seller doesn’t want it staged.

Shows Well: The seller actually cleans the place up before you bring your buyers over.

Sophisticated: Plain. White walls with zebra print rug and furnishings. A large piece of abstract art is in the dining room and a canvas the size of a Chevy hangs on the wall covered in what appears to be pantyhose, tin foil, and computer diskettes.

Spacious: We knocked out a wall and expanded the living room into the garage.

Sprawling ranch: Inefficient floor plan that appears to have been designed by a drunk monkey.

Storybook: This house is old and the roof is not flat. See also: “Little House On The Prairie”

Stunning house: The house is not ugly…the interior, on the other hand…

Sunny corner lot: There are no trees anywhere near this property located on the corner of the two busiest streets in town.

Sunken Tub: The tub isn’t sunken…it fell through the floor. The remaining structure is only capable of holding water or a body. Not both.

Territorial view: Great view of your neighbor’s bedroom window and “private” hot tub with the glass roof. If you lean hard against the glass and look hard to the left, you can see a broken down Pontiac in the alley.

Three season sun room: Putting screen up around your front porch does not make it a “sun room”.

TLC: Tear down, Level and Condemn!! (This after a Realtor told me her country property needed just a little TLC…Upon visiting, I promptly fell through the front porch up to my knees!)

Townhouse: A 3 story walk-up on the north side that is sandwiched between two others that look exactly the same. Not only can you hear your neighbors fight, but you hear when they play music, watch TV, use the bathroom, or blink.

Tudor: A quaint two bedroom where both bedrooms are now in the attic which is not insulated.

UNIQUE CITY HOME: Used to be a warehouse.

UPPER BRACKET: No, this doesn’t include you. See also: “Executive Neighborhood” and “Prestigious”

Usable land: Vacant lot. Probably filled with broken glass, nails, large rocks, bicycle parts, and Jimmy Hoffa.

Victorian Sweetheart: Once you steam off the wallpaper, you will need to strip off 14 layers of lead-based paint.

Walking distance to (insert noun here): There is nowhere to park your car within 20 minutes of this house.

Well Below Market: We keep having to reduce the price on this shanty because nobody wants it.

Will Help Finance: Soooo….the owners know they’re asking too much. And, taking that into consideration, they are more than willing to “help” you get into this house that you can not qualify on your own.

YOU’LL LOVE IT: No. No, you wont.

Feel free to add your own in the comments!!! Id love to see them!!

Follow Clint on Twitter and make sure you go to the RECR fanpage and become a fan!! If you have any questions about RECR, please call Clint at 800-977-7058.

A day in the life of the internet…
Created by Online Education

I wrote a featured post recently about choosing your words carefully when it comes to an agent’s tag line and how to make that better. As I was writing that post, I kept thinking to myself…..Well, what about all of these listing ads??  Why not write about them as well??

I see examples all the time of bad MLS photos. But, what is more prevelant to me is the incredible lack of decent COPY in these same listing ads.

See…One of the more routine activities of a Realtor’s job is to write copy for the ads that are used to support your listings.  Whether those be online, print, brochures, or flyers, the goal of these ads is create a positive explanation of the property that will increase the flow of traffic to that ad from interested buyers.  And, lets face it….that is the ultimate goal in this form of advertising.

However, it is fairly easy to fall into the grey area and start to make statements that aren’t necessarily true…perhaps even blatently false…and even worse, bordering on discriminatory.

Now, I know that no one actually intends to write copy that is discriminatory.  But, the fact of the matter is that some of the text used can be just that depending upon who is reading the ad.

Here are some of the reminders that I have compiled both from some of the listings I have seen and a list that I found in BrokerAgentPro:

1. Describe The Features Of The Property Remember to stick to the facts about the property.  Obviously, you can embellish a bit to make the language more fun, but don’t blow it out of proportion.  Also, don’t profile your potential buyer by focusing the ad on one specific style of buyer.  We all have some idea of what type of buyer will suit the need for the property, but isn’t every financially qualified person a potential buyer? Here are some examples of what you should say:

• Condo with exercise center and pool
• Historic home with wrap-around porch
• Qualified Senior Housing
• Located On Cul-De-Sac
• Bring your Hammer and lots of ideas!
• Extensive Remodeling including windows, new floors
• Bright and Sunny living room
• Comfortable and Spacious
• Designer colors!

Avoid phrases that focus on the buyer.  Also, consider subtle little things that might be interpreted wrong by a potential buyer:

• Empty Nester’s Paradise (Are kids welcome??)
• Great family neighborhood (Will singles be allowed??)
• Hispanic Community (Uhhhh…Do I need to elaborate??)
• Near Indian grocery (Is this the Indian part of town??)
• Perfect for a single guy (Is it not safe for a single female????)
• Bring your kids! (Uhhh….Sorry, but I dont have any….)
• Totally remodeled (Really???  EVERYTHING was redone????)
• New heat and AC (The entire system or just the unit itself???)
• New carpet! (Well, it was new last year…)
• Wonderful neighbors (Rock bands are fun neighbors!)
• Kept in perfect condition (Oh yeah??  Is that what the inspection report will tell me???)
• All new appliances (Does that include the water heater and the furnace?)

2. One thing that agents like to do in the ad copy is make descriptions of the neighborhood that the listing is located.  This is all well and good and adds a sense of the community, as well as the home itself.  Some good examples are:

• Gated neighborhood
• On golf course
• Horses allowed
• Tree-lined street
• Secluded off-street location
• Close to Shopping

Now, remember…its perfectly OK to talk about the neighborhood.  But, it is NOT OK to talk about the neighbors! Don’t use language that establishes a preference to the type of person that will fit with the local flavor.  Phrases to avoid:

• Exclusive area (Really….excluding whom???)
• Elite neighborhood (Who qualifies for this???)
• Country Club location (Are non-members allowed to buy there??)
• Surrounded by young families (So…elderly need not apply.)
• Mature area (So, you young people…you go somewhere else.)

3. Whatever you do, do not offer up assurances about what CAN be done with the property.  Not only can adding onto the existing home be more difficult that you anticipate, but the buyer could take your statement at face value and then be very disgruntled later on.  Between permits, easements, building codes, and neighborhood opposition…who knows. Anything could stop them from being able to do what YOU said could be done.  So, avoid things like:

• Un-obstructed view of the lake (From now til when???)
• Perfect for a bed and breakfast
• Add a second story and see all of downtown
• Ready for a new master bathroom
• Plenty of room for a pool (Of course, we have to move your sewer line and the underground gas line and the……)

4. Lastly, in the attempt to remain perfectly accurate, dont use brand names in generic ways…

• Jacuzzi tub (Umm, its says Whirlyride on the drain…)
• JennAire grill (Umm, the lid says Coleman…)

When it comes to marketing a home, the goal of the ad copy is to describe the features of the home and to attract quality buyers.  It is increasingly important to use accurate language.  But, more than that, it is vitally important that you do not violate anything within the COE or the Fair Housing laws. NEVER refer to the sex, racial origin, family status, or age of ANY potential buyers or current residents of a particular area.  And remember, if you direct your advertising to target a specific type of buyer, you are discriminating against other buyers that may be just as capable perhaps even more capable of buying the same property. And even more importantly, if you submit an offer from a potential buyer, and the offer is rejected, the buyer could feel that the rejection is a result of some form of bias against them based on the descriptions put in the ad.

One of the best lines that I was able to find when it came to writing ad copy — “Ignore the ambiguous meanings…Remember that YOUR REPUTATION IS AT STAKE!”

If you would like more information on Real Estate Client Referrals, please contact Clint at 800-977-7058. Or, fan us on Facebook! Or, follow Clint on Twitter!

You can barely toss a random trade magazine or scan through a blog post without there being some reference to fact that real estate agents should be embracing social media. Whether that be blogging to help market themselves or having a business page on Facebook…just about everyone everywhere is agreeing that this should happen on as many levels as can be handled.

The really funny thing is I think this phenomenon is actually hindering a fundamental issue that has plagued (and continues to plague) the real estate industry as a whole — the fundamental lack of communication between agents and clients.

This issue is no more prevalent than where I work. I deal with this very thing on a daily basis. And, the number one complaint that I get from the prospects that we send out to our member agents is that they never hear from the agent. Yet, when I go to check on the agent, I can see that they have updated Twitter 14 times during the day and have 12 new Facebook status updates and written 2 new blogs.

Really?? You told me you “didn’t have time to speak with that client” I sent you….yet, you had time to play Mafia Wars for 3 hours??

Now, before you start to judge me and my position on this matter, I understand the need for the social media profiles. I get it. I actually created the marketing position I am in at my company because of them. I understand. I don’t knock you for that.

But, to apply effort in that direction without taking the required time to speak with your clients is cyber-slashing your own wrists. Sure, you might get an additional client or two…maybe pick up a new listing thanks to that blog you wrote. Awesome.

Here’s the real deal — If you suck at follow-up communication with the clients that you already have, getting more clients isn’t going to make it any better for you. AND, if you cant follow up on the people you are working with right now because you feel the need to increase the size of your mafia or play Texas Hold’Em with your college buddies on Facebook, all you are doing is turning another good client into a real esate agent hater. Now that person is going to tell everyone they know what a schmuck you are and to never use you (probably naming your company or brand in the process).

Thus…All you are doing is making your actual job HARDER! And, you are making it harder for everyone else in your office, your company, your brand, and your general line of work.

Nice job. Those agents that are out there busting their tails really appreciate it. (Can you smell the sarcasm yet??)

One of the best things anyone ever told me with regards to sales is to do all your follow-up first. Get the hard stuff out of the way so that you have time for the fun stuff. (That is why we have dessert AFTER dinner!) Calling your mom or your beer-drinking buddies can wait. Call your clients first. Get that handled. After all, they are the ones that will be paying your commissions!

Why in the world would you want to hinder your potential income by pushing them away?? Seems counter-productive to me. Can you afford to just push away money?? Yeah, I didn’t think so…

Your clients are expecting to hear from you. Making them wait for information they requested is not smart. In fact, it’s rude. Don’t push them off. Don’t wait until the afternoon or the next day. Making them wait only causes them further frustration and builds up a level of disdain for you and your profession.

Call them. Get it over with…it will relieve them…AND it will relieve you because it has been dealt with — good or bad.

Social media is a power tool. And with great power comes great responsibility. That responsibility lies right on your shoulders. Don’t push away the things that pay your bills — your clients — because you have to get a new status update posted about your pedicure or feel the need to tweet about your football team’s shoddy performance the night before. That’s dessert. Take care of your meat and potatoes first.

If you would like more information on Real Estate Client Referrals, please contact Clint at 800-977-7058 or follow me on Twitter. If you are on Facebook, fan us up!

I was recently playing around with services that allow you to post presentations online…companies like SlideShare and Scribd.

I posted this to Scribd a few days ago…and in that time, it has climbed to about #7 on Google for some of our primary search terms!!!

In my mind, that is AMAZING!!

Feel free to check it out…

Real Estate Client Referrals Presentation

If you would like more information on Real Estate Client Referrals, contact me at 800-977-7058 or follow me on Twitter.

Like many people, I suffer from seasonal hay fever.  And, like many people, I start stocking up on drugs, Kleenex, and eye drops in about March so I have enough on hand by May that I can survive until September.  The medicine cabinet in my house looks like the allergy aisle in Walgreens.

Allergies, as a whole, are a pain in the butt.  I have had them my entire life.  I had them so bad that, from the time I was 5 until I was 17, I had to have shots weekly to help build up my immune system enough to where walking past a horse in a field didn’t throw me into a an asthmatic fit or cause my eyes swell shut from the histamine reaction.

On a side note…I once got a horse hair in my eye.  I nearly died.  I had to be given adrenalyn to stop the reaction before my airway shut off completely.  I am still deathly allergic to horses.  Not a good combination for a kid growing up in rural western Montana!

“Sanity” and “Happiness” can be difficult to achieve when you are coughing, sneezing, sniffing, wheezing.  So, because of my severe allergies, I have had to learn all kinds of short-cuts and inexpensive changes to help eliminate my risk of having an allergy attack throughout the year, not just in summer.

Here is a short list of things that I did in my bedroom to help me become less likely to have an allergy attack at night (which is usually when I got hit because I didn’t take medicine before bed).

When planning your bedroom, or re-designing it to make it as allergy-proof as possible, you need to:

• Use low VOC paint (VOC is short for volatile organic compound)
• Get an allergen-free mattress, box spring, and bedding
• Use pillows and comforters that are filled with fiberfill, not down or feathers.
• If you want carpet, use something with a very dense weave to it.  Better yet, skip the carpet and get hardwood floors!
• Avoid ‘stuffies’ like the plague!
• Add new weather stripping to all doors and windows.  If you can afford it, replace your old, inefficient windows with new windows.

All of these steps will help eliminate your allergy risk by measured amounts.  But, without proper maintenance, you will only be safe for a short period of time.

So, on a regular schedule, you should:

• Wash bed linens at least once a week to help reduce dust mites and skin particles (the number one cause of dust in your home)
• Use a micro-fiber dust cloth.  Not a feather duster!!!
• When you dust, don’t forget your ceiling fans, walls, blinds, etc.
• Use natural cleaners to avoid chemical allergic risks
• Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter (HEPA is short for high-efficiency particulate air) and use it on all fabric surfaces including your mattress, curtains, and other fabric-covered furnishings.
• Keep a HEPA air filter running in your bedroom to remove dust and allergens from the air

A good night’s sleep is hard to achieve when you can’t breathe.  And, these simple steps will nearly eliminate your restless nights.

Clint Miller is the Internet Marketing Manager for Real Estate Client Referrals.  If you would like information about RECR, please do not hesitate to contact him at 800-977-7058

Many of you know that I recently bought a home.

And, for those of you that don’t know that I recently bought a home…I recently bought a home.  Here’s proof.

Although we are very happy with our home we did purchase, during this process, I happened to notice that as we viewed house after house, I kept seeing the same things happen over and over.  And….not good things.  Bad things.  Bad things that were blatantly obvious to me.  Bad things that literally turned me off.  Bad things that were keeping this otherwise fine house I was standing in from selling faster.

So, as we went through the homes, I started keeping track of things that I saw that made the average buyer – ME – want to run away screaming.  Here is my “Top 10 Seller Sins”:

1. Addition Addiction – Ok…exactly what were these people thinking when they added this addtion to their home??  It isnt level.  The door frame isnt square.  And, that simulated wood-grain indoor/outdoor burber carpeting is HIDEOUS!!  Wasn’t this were the garage should be anyway?? I guess that explains the severely sun-faded paint job on the Sport Family Truckster in the driveway and the Christmas decorations piled floor-to-ceiling in the closet in the spare bedroom.  I don’t care what anyone says…Bigger is NOT always better.

2. The “Pet-Owner Moaner” – The over-all assumption that since the seller loves their pets more than chocolate, so does everyone else.  Here are a couple of quotes I heard directly from the sellers mouths: “Awwww, my cat must really like you to nestle into your neck like that.”; “I know he looks big, but he is really just a teddy bear.”; “We were able to clean up everything in the house except the cat room.”; “I cant remember if my son put away the ferrets or not, but feel free to look around downstairs.”
a.  Ok…first and foremost, Im allergic to cats.  I don’t mean that cats make me sneeze.  I mean that I quit breathing and require adrenallin shots to keep from dieing.  That thing is lucky I didn’t toss it out the open window that was next to me.
b. The “teddy bear” they were referring to…Yeah, that was a 158lb Rotweiller with a googlie eye and a broken tooth on the right side.  His chain was tied to a cinder block that he happily drug around and tossed into the air during “playtime”.
c. The “cat room”??? Oh Lord in heaven!!!
d. If you cant figure out if your son left out a pack of rodents in the dark rooms down the creaky stairs without a safety rail and a working light switch, you can be damn sure Im not going to find out for you.

3. Auditory Unawareness – If you cant hear that your refridgerator is making a clicking noise that can be heard from the front yard, Im fairly sure you cant hear the floorboards creaking, the doors squeaking, or the apparent family of raccoons living in the attic.  You also only hear what you want to hear.  Instead of “Your house is priced too high”, you hear “Your house is of a high value”.  Its not the same.  Pay attention!

4. Color Blind – Holy Lord!!  Who decorated this place?? Its like Andy Worhol threw his color pallet into a Cuisinart and hit ‘liquify’.  The fuscia flower print wallpaper needs to go.  And, I don’t carew what you say, it doesn’t do any justice to that wall with the fake woodgrain panelling it joins up to by the sunshine yellow couch.  Worse yet…the white cabinets, white-washed walls, white countertops, and white tile is just a bit much.

5. “Take it or leave it” – Yup.  Heard that come right out of a seller’s own mouth.  We were discussing the possiblity of him making a necessary repair to a sliding glass door that lead out to a deck.  Between the glass panes was about half an inch of standing water.  Obviously, the seals on the window were compromised.  When asked if he would spend the money to get the glass replaced and the seales re-done…or just replace the entire door…that was the response I got.  Guess what…I left it.

6. Price-itis – The fear that your home wont sell for the price you are asking for it.  I put in an offer on a home that was only $5,000 under what was being asked.  The counter came back with a reduction of $1,000, but a clause to pay $4,000 in closing costs.  Now, I may be bad at math…but, isnt that the same damn thing????

7. Fried Food Funk – You know what Im talking about here.  If you can smell it, you won’t sell it. Bottom line here is that fried food smells, kitty litter, a back yard filled with dog crap, a nursery reaking of dirty diapers, etc…all add up to one thing – a very short showing.  (Well, it also leads to gagging, shortness of breath, tears streaming down your face, and everyone skrunching up their nose and making that internationally known face that says, “Do you SMELL that???”)

8. Photog Fog – Everyone should take pride in their family photographs.  I do.  But, Im not trying to sell my house!  I went into one home where, I kid you not, the entire living walls…every square inch…was covered in frame pics of family.  There must have been 100 pictures in that room.  Frames mounted together like a patchwork quilt of memories and bad matting jobs.  Love the sentiment…love the family pride.  But, I was COMPLETELY distracted from seeing the actual house.

9. “I collect them” – No kidding, really??? Nothing would have made me realize you collect dolls were it not for the fact that Im now suddenly very aware of the fact that 226 eyes are now following me through your house like Chucky with an ax to grind.  Yeah, I couldn’t tell that you collect Vegas casino ash trays since they are on every flat surface in your entire house including 4 separate 6-ft tall bookshelves, your coffee table, the top of your TV, the end-tables,  and the extra two shelves that you put up encircling the entire living room.  But, worse than that, you have them on your toilet tank, your dresser…and in an amazing twist, you have drilled holes in them and replaced half of the doorknobs in your house with them.  In case your agent hasn’t told you this….PACK THIS CRAP UP!

10. Livin in the past – I don’t care what you think, the pea soup green shag carpeting is not coming back in style.  And, regardless of how many memories are associated with it, the nine-foot long, hunter orange, faux-leather couch on the wooden legs with the sleigh-style arms on the each end is FREAKING UGLY!! Regardless of whether or not they still work, the matching avocado green stove, fridge, and counter tops are ugly…and they are ugly 24/7/365.  If you want to move this house…replace this ferocious eyesore.  Better yet…HIRE A HOME STAGER!

Yeah, selling a house is hard.  Selling a house in the market is harder.  Selling one of THESE houses with a seller that sins like this…nearly impossible.  Sellers, if you are reading this…listen to your agents.  Agents, if you are reading this…make sure your sellers understand that buyers – like me – will look at these like neither of you know what you are doing and act accordingly.  Probably by running away quick.

If you would like more information about Real Estate Client Referrals and how we can send you more clients to work with, please contact Clint Miller at 800-977-7058.  Or, follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/TheRealClint.

Being in the industry that I am, I deal with agents all day long in just about every state in the union.  Some of the agents I work with are as solid as they can get…others, not so much.  But, the one thing that I do know is that all of them WANT to be successful.  It’s just that some of them have the ability to ensure that it happens to them.

You can WANT to be successful with all your heart – The fact of the matter is that you will only be successful if you work hard, work smart, and avoid the pitfalls that the majority of agents hit at some point in their career…usually within the first 2 years.  According to recent statistics, as many as 50% of new agents are no longer active within one year.  And 75% of them are done within the first 2 years.

My question is – Why?

Is it because they don’t know how it works?  Is it because they think this is easy?  Perhaps it’s because they are “visionary” and plan on breaking new ground wherever their butt lands…

News Flash — New agents don’t come into the business to fail.  No one takes on a new career with the specific purpose of being the low man on the totem pole.  But, few realize that this job is just that…a job.  It’s work, people!  In fact, it’s hard work.  And by being such, you must have certain skills and apply some effort to make sure that you succeed.

Now, with today’s market, there are certain factors that are working against new agents.

• There is an ever-widening space between what the consumer wants and the performance level of certain agents.  Agents require better training, coaching, and communication skills (online or offline) than ever before.
• The market (in most areas) has become more challenging then ever before.  Agents can’t just jump in and get “easy sales” to get their feet wet.
• Committed, long-term oriented agents (seasoned veterans) are taking a much larger share of the market leaving less for new agents.

So, with those factors in mind, this list of 10 mistakes that new agents make regularly should help you stay on track…and make it past the first 24 months of your career.

1. Don’t think that there are multiple ways to start.  There aren’t.  Despite everything that I have said about this being a “numbers” game in the past, it is sales.  And sales is a numbers game.
2. Don’t try to “do it differently”. Fast food joints and cell phone kiosks are full of people that thought that they had a better way to go about getting prospects.  If you are not out there talking to as many people as humanly possible about real estate and trying to turn business your way, you will fail.  Lead generation is quite possibly the most work a new agent faces, but one that will lead to the greatest reward in the long run.
3. Don’t rely on others for business. Your manager isn’t going to give you clients.  The other agents in your office aren’t going to give you clients.  If that were the case, your commissions would be much smaller.  If you want business…go out and get it.
4. Don’t fall into the technology spiral. This job isn’t about tasks and technological advantages (although, those help!).  It is about people relationships.  And if you are not out there helping people and talking with people and letting people know what you can do for them, you will be flipping burgers in no time!
5. Don’t think that a deal is ever “done”.  I had a manager once tell me that the sale isn’t over until you are eating the steak that you bought with the money that you got from the bank after the check cleared.  And, my immediate response was, “But, if I want to eat that steak again, shouldn’t I keep in contact with that person?”  In this business, the sale is almost never over…because you can sell that person again.  Or get a referral from that person in the future.  Maintain your relationships with your clients and they will monetize in the long run.
6. Don’t start off “part-time” without a clear strategy to go “full-time”. That’s right.  If you have to start this business part-time, you MUST have a full-time mentality.  This job requires at least 50hrs per week.  If you can not commit to that right away, make sure you have a plan in place that allows for a move to full-time within a specific time frame.  “Part-time” is a disservice to your clients and to your officemates.  Also, Managers – Do not hire someone that is going to go part-time without a firm commitment of a full-time placement.  You are wasting your time, effort, and money without it.
7. Get coaching often and make sure your broker is on the same page that you are on.  If your manager cant commit to helping you be more successful, maybe you are in the wrong office.  (Managers – You’re goal should be to ensure that you commit 100% to the success of a new agent.  They need you.  Without you showing them the way, the likelihood of them falling on their faces is 75% in 2 years.  As a manager, a 25% success rate should be infuriating!)
8. Don’t base your office choice by the commission structure of the office!  Don’t base your decision to work for one office or another on the payment structure of the office.  You need to sell real estate.  In fact, you need to sell LOTS of real estate.  So, choose an office that will allow that to happen.  The money will come as you sell more.
9. Invest in your business!! Many agents decide that they cant invest in their business until they “get successful”.  When is that going to happen?  How will you compete against all of those other agents that are doing what you are not?  How will anyone find you to work with you?  Why would someone want to work with you if you don’t at least appear to be successful?
10. Don’t do this if you are “seeing if its right for you”. The last stat I read was that 50% of new agents got into this business to see if it was a good fit for them.  If you are not 100% committed to being a success at this business, you are wasting your time, your manager’s time, your broker’s time, your client’s time, and everyone’s money.  As a very wise Jedi Master once said…”Do.  Or do not.  There is no ‘try’”.

I realize that some of these words might be a bit harsh…be a bit difficult for some of you to read.  But, they are true.  Your success or failure rides directly on your shoulders.  So, make sure you choose and environment that will help you get where you want to be.  Pick a manager that is committed to your success.  Find people that will tell you the truth – even when you don’t want to hear it.  And, develop a plan of attack that requires you, your manager, and your broker to be committed to your success.  If you do that, you might make it beyond that 24 month time frame and have a long, successful career.

If you would like more information on www.recr.com and how we can help you get more clients to work with, contact Clint Miller at 800-977-7058.  Or, follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/recr.