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How much would you pay to reach potential clients searching for homes in YOUR area? It’s all what we’re pouring advertising dollars into, right? Just how much are you paying right now to accomplish that?

For one online presence, it doesn’t have to cost a THING!

Realtor.com has a “Find a Realtor” search (which I just noticed the link is now at the top of the page – YEAH and about time!) I am AMAZED how many agents are not taking advantage of this FREE advertising – it’s web based and free for the taking. And with 90+% of potential clients searching on the web – you need to be taking advantage of it. Check yourself out – Is your information even there or are you a gray silhouette?

How about your local MLS and State Realtor Association websites? Is your information up to date? Is it there?

What if your information is on these sites – is YOUR website listed? or your company’s? Do the links work? Are you User Friendly or do the viewers have to really work to get your information? Is the contact information up to date? Do the sites have your current photo? Does the information brag up your services, or is it the generic crap of “I really work hard for my clients! Service is my top priority! Blah blah blah”.

It doesn’t take much to post or update your information and get it done today. What do you have to loose? It’s free!

You know you need to make that call – but they love to talk and talk and talk AND TALK. What do you do? Slydial!

You need to make that call, but don’t want to bother someone you know is busy. What do you do? Slydial!

AND you can Slydial anyone who has a cell phone from either a cell phone or landline. Your call goes directly into their voice mail.

How do you use Slydial?

1. Dial 267-SLYDIAL (267-759-3425) from any landline or mobile phone.
2. At the voice prompt, enter the U.S. mobile phone number of the person you want to slydial.
3. You will be directly connected to their voicemail. Leave them a voicemail, sit back and relax.

AND IT’S FREE!!!

So, who you gonna call? Slydial!

(I just talked to a potential client who hired a Virtual Assistant awhile back and it didn’t go well …. claimed to be a Real Estate Virtual Assistant – didn’t know anything about Real Estate. It didn’t work out well and it left a real sour taste in the mouth for any future thought of using a VA. Thus this post.)

We hear about the cliche’ real estate agent stereotype. I have had my real estate license since 1996, brokers license since 1999; even had my own real estate brokerage for many years. I knew when I turned that corner from regular Jane Doe on the street to being a real estate agent, I had to work above, beyond, and consistently to get past that real estate agent stereotype in my community.

However, since I have been in the real estate business for many many years, I have found that cliche’ stereotype is misguided and the majority are trustworthy agents who really do want the best for their clients and community.

Since then, I have niched my career path. And I have found myself in a position lower than the stereotyped real estate agent – the virtual assistant. Eeww boy, there must have been “virtual assistants” out there who really did a disservice to their clients!

Some people fantasize about working from home. They may have a few office skills thinking they can set up shop by claiming to be virtual assistants. I cringe when I read advertisements about the new employment frontier of working as a real estate virtual assistant. Many entering this niche are people with NO real estate experience trying to be an agent’s virtual assistant. Which spells disaster for your real estate business. That is like getting into the real estate market with NO background. (We’ve all done that – I did that – and it’s hard to start from scratch!) There IS A LOT to learn as an agent, takes many years and experiences. Someone who is or has not been in the real estate business either as an on-site assistant or agent would have NO idea how to assist virtually.  You would literally be paying to train them while they are learning the basics.  (I believe you have to start your business someplace, but you should disclose how experienced or inexperienced you are and let the agent decide which direction they want to go.) I understand how you’d get burnt hiring an inexperience person who labeled themselves a “real estate” virtual assistant. You need the help NOW!

Most Virtual Assistants are professional and trained independent contractors who are serious about helping your business grow. Many have vast marketing skills and knowledge to add to your marketing arsenal and really help you aspire to where you want to be. Some were real estate agents or agent assistants who still hold onto their licenses and some belong to the Realtor(r) Association.

But then there are the ones from India who will work for $4.00 or less an hour. To see if these “va’s” are for you, call  tech support in any larger company (i.e. any computer or software company) and try to talking to them – would you want to trust your business with someone like that for $4.00 or less /hour? On a side note -  I did call Adobe last week and the little gentleman on the other end told me that I should go to India to sell real estate since it is BOOMING there. He said it twice. Uh, thanks for the tip – I’d rather have my software working, thank you very much.

As agents, we don’t want to have the entire industry judged by a few bad apples. Please don’t judge the entire VA industry based on a few who mislabel themselves. Many many are professional, experienced, highly trained and would make a wonderful tool to build (or Bild) your business.

Client contact is very important to current and future business. You need to do more than write client contact information on scraps of paper, back of your business card or on a post-it. Unless you have little office fairies or angels, your contacts will stay right where you left them …. in a pile on your desk, in your briefcase or on the seat of your car.

So, what do you use to organize your contacts’ information? and possibly your entire office including how you deal with listings and closings?

I did some internet search – yes, I Googled it – and found a site which will compare contact managers for you. I reviewed it and was quite impressed. Then I looked on ActiveRain – getting to be another favorite site of mine – and come up with the same gentleman – GaryDavidHall.com. He does have a pretty no nonsense approach and goes into great detail about each manager. (You can also purchase them from that site as well – my jury is out on that as I have always dealt directly with the company.) His ActiveRain Blog has some WONDERFUL tips and suggestions.

But the one thing he said in his blog is to be very committed to your contact management system you purchase. It’s an investment of your time and money, but is greatly worth it as your business will run smoother.

If you have questions about Contact Managers, would like my “professional opinion” or would like a “little office angel or fairy” help you set up or revamp your system, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Last night I was chatting with a friend of mine who is a loan officer. Our discussion turned to using “Social Media” in our market …Ah, “Social Media” -  the newest catch phrase buzzing around offices and blogs. Okay, we know we need to do it. We know we need to use it and sign up for it, but how? How does it all work? How does it “link” together?

First you have to have a personal Facebook page, adding your Business Page. Facebook will not allow you to have a Business Page if you don’t have a personal Facebook page to start with. Here’s how to build your Facebook Business Page. Load it up with your professional information and photo. Link that to your website and blog. Start commenting, “Liking” other Facebook business pages (ie – Gitomer, TBWS etc). You can also “share” articles from other blog posts onto your Business Page.

Next, sign up for your Twitter Account. Start following some industry powerhouses – ie Gitomer and TBWS and others. You can tweet, but wait. I’ll show you an easy way to kill 2 birds with one stone when tweeting.  Twitter can be customized with your picture and background. Link that to your website and blog, also. Feel free to retweet when you find something  your followers may find interesting.

Then sign up for Linked In. Elaborate on your profile with Linked in – fill it out completely – include your photo. Start inviting business associates to link with you. Do a search and then invite them. Post links to your blog when you have written your blog. This post will then show up in Twitter as a Tweet.

Sign up for Active Rain. It’s a great networking tool and a wealth of blog posts for Real Estate professionals. The topics are varied, vast and all are quite interesting and useful. Here, you can post or repost your blog, twitter or Linked-in articles.

And with all these - link back to your blog and website with your comments and posts.

That’s the very condensed version of using Social Media. But most of all it works; but you have to work it. Not only are you giving your clients useful information, but you are optimizing search engines organically – FOR FREE!

If you need help, feel free to contact me.  Also, I would love if you “Liked” me on Facebook; followed me on Twitter; link with me on Linked In; or find me on ActiveRain.com.