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As the year draws to a close I’ve been looking at some of the things that business people do to build a real estate marketing strategy for the New Year. One of the things they focus on is putting together a marketing strategy. But if you look at doing the exact same things next year that you’ve done this year you’ll probably achieve the exact same results.

Take social media for example. If you have a bunch of followers on Facebook you may find that they’re not as engaged as you might think especially if all of your postings are only about your just listed properties.

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We kicked off the day with our presentation on Social Selling. We started with a good discussion on how to engage prospects through social media. One of the biggest ‘ah ha’ moments for agents in the audience was that their prospects are actively searching for Realtors through their networks.

Through a variety of search tools we showed them that they could mine Twitter Facebook and LinkedIn for insights into what their prospects were looking for and offer helpful advice and guidance. There are some really good tools out there that help people stay in touch with their network and proactively allow them to follow up with prospects. The one we showed was called Nimble which integrates social feeds into an easy to view dashboard.

One of the biggest questions that we got was around where do I get the content to post on all the networks? Well one of the ways that agents can find content is to repurpose the material that they use in other channels. For instance they can use their overview of real estate reports as a blog post and then use sections from that post in Facebook as well as Twitter and even on LinkedIn. We advised them to observe the 80/20 rule: meaning that for every 20% of promotional content that you post you should share 80% content from other people that would interest your fans and prospects.

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In this Exclusive Webinar -Winning with Social Media for Real Estate, Andrew Jenkins and I delved into tools and techniques that work in to generate more clients and transactions. People…

I've talked to dozens of Real Estate agents about some of the biggest challenges facing the industry today. The same things kept coming up over and over again. The vast…

There’s a myth often perpetrated in the media that agents earn easy money by just putting properties on the MLS and sit around collecting commissions.

In my experience, the truth is very different. Most agents work long hours, dedicated to helping their clients.

Yet most earn less than they would like. And many struggle to survive.

It’s not for want of talent or hard work.

Most usually it’s because they’re not good at marketing and selling their services.

And often, that stems from “crippling beliefs” they have about marketing and sales that undermine their attempts to get new clients and transactions.

I’ve seen four particularly damaging beliefs that are commonly held by real estate agent agents and other professionals. Beliefs you must eradicate if you want to succeed at winning clients.

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I often get asked by agents, “what’s the most common business development problem you see?”

Out of all the potential issues, not having enough leads is by far the one I see the most frequently amongst real estate professionals. And it’s also the most debilitating one.

When I’m having discussions with agents, almost half of them say something along the lines of “if I can just get in front of the right clients, I can almost always sell.”

Now occasionally they’re wrong. They’re overestimating their selling skills.

But very often they’re right.

You see, “selling” is not that far removed from what agents do on a day-to-day basis. It involves talking to clients about their wants and needs, understanding the market, and proposing solutions.

Some agents have big psychological hangs up about selling. It’s beneath them. It doesn’t fit with their self-image. But often, when push comes to shove, they’re not that bad at it.

And if you’ve worked in the industry for any length of time, you’ll inevitably have been involved in a number of client meetings. You’ll have built up experience in it, even if you don’t like it.

Lead generation is a different kettle of fish though.

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Social media experts have probably told you that keeping your clients up to date on your activities is an important part of your day-to-day tasks. But with all the social networks out there (and new ones popping up seemingly every day) how do you find the time? From LinkedIn to Facebook to Google+ to Twitter it seems like all the posting and tweeting is eating up every precious moment in your day. It’s keeping you from doing what you really love – and what will ultimately bring you additional business.

And even if you can squeeze in getting on all the social networks, is all your hard work in putting content out there building a lasting, sustainable presence that will help you grow your business? As an someone who has talked to many agents over the years, I’ve felt that pressure too. There are three simple strategies that can help you release the pressure and focus on what works to grow your business!

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I have a confession to make that you might not have heard before… I LOVE my smartphone. (OK you might have heard it but not from me!)

I carry it with me everywhere even when I haven’t brought my wallet.    I love being able to Google anything at anytime (how many episodes of Hogan’s Heros were there anyway?)

I’m more productive in many ways because it’s with me pretty much all the time.  I can check my email and respond to critical decisions when I have a few seconds to kill.  I can easily check and update my calendar if I’m out of the office and need to schedule an appointment.  I can pay bills, quickly check the weather, and SO much more!

But I’m also aware of a problem… For a long time I’ve been a little worried that my Smartphone might be actually making me less productive.  And its not the radiation I’m talking about!

But over the last few years I’ve come to realize I’m actually nervous when I don’t have my phone nearby.  Almost like a smoker without his cigarettes, but its not like I can just borrow someone else’s whenever I feel like I need a “fix.”

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