The Relationship Revolution

Success and Frame of Mind

I'm thrilled to be joined by an old friend for next week's Guest Expert Conference online. Kim Ades, MBA, is founder and president of Opening Doors and Frame of Mind Coaching. Not only is she one of real estate's foremost experts on performance and sales success ... she's also really passionate about it.

We're going to take our Relationship Masters and guests on an interactive journey to explore the seven secrets that top performers incorporate in their careers to attract more sales - even in a weak market. "Two real estate agents can have the same training and skill sets," Kim says, "and yet one succeeds and one doesn't. Some agents are experiencing tremendous success in this downturn market and some are struggling. Why?"

Come find out! Even if you're not a Relationship Master, be my guest for this special PropertySource University Webinar. To register, just use this link. You'll receive all the info you need by return email. There is no charge. That's next Thursday the 5th at 1PM Eastern time. If you've never attended a Webinar, take a look at our guide.

Kim's got some really valuable ideas to share, and I want our Masters to get in on it! To give you a clue, one of the 7 Secrets is Heightened Awareness. As she puts it, "The ability to identify the thoughts and beliefs that stand in the way of the goals people have created for themselves, and to crush them." OK! Another secret is, of course, Relationships. That's part of the reason why Kim's coaching is a natural for participants in our relationship marketing system. Join us! She promises you'll feel "exponentially better" afterwards.

Send e-Greetings to Multiple Groups

We know all our Members will be happy to hear about this new relationship marketing feature! You've always been able to send e-Greetings either to all your contacts, to a specific group, or to a list of individual contacts selected from your Relationship Manager. Now you can select as many groups as you like and send at the same time.

After you pick the e-Greeting you want to send, the "Customize Your Greeting" screen will come up. Under "Select Your Recipients," choose "Contact Groups," then choose multiples from your list of group names that appears. Just hold the control key ("Ctrl" on most keyboards) down while you click each group name. You may want to send a special holiday message, for example, to both your Neighbors group and your Church group. Or a Father's Day e-Greeting to both your Softball Dads and your Tennis Buddies groups.

Don't forget to take advantage of other customization options you have. Preview, then send!

As with all your e-Greetings, you'll receive a copy for your records. And your contacts? They'll be surprised and delighted!

A Master at Customizing Her Site

I guess it's obvious that Peggy Greb listened and interacted during her recent 1-on-1 with her Systems Coach! Take a look at how she customized her PropertySource website and I'm sure you'll agree. We want to spotlight it here to acknowledge her achievement, and also to give you an idea of what's possible on your site that comes with your Relationship Master membership.

This particular consultation was in response to Peggy's plan to add more graphics to her website, and link to other useful sources of information. Just one of her new pages will show you how informative and helpful a website can be with a little ingenuity; there's no question that her clients will know she knows her stuff.

One of her new pages is called "Economy Borough Real Estate," part of her territory in Beaver County, PA. This area offers homebuyers large lot sizes, lower taxes than nearby Allegheny County, and more house for your money, according to Peggy. The page begins with links to 11 new sections which tell her customers everything they ever wanted to know about the area. And then some! Along the way. she paints us pictures of the opportunity with graphs. Did she create them? Read on.

This graph is in the section called "Market Trends". She points out that it shows, while there's a lot of inventory, there are also steady sales. And, by the way, this shows Peggy's resourcefulness. She's a real estate professional - not a graphic artist. So she called her broker, Northwood Realty Services, and asked if they had any existing material and applications she could use. She knew graphics like these would provide another layer of professionalism to her site and flesh out her statements about the market.

She also selected graphics that depict sales cycle, average price/average sale and inventory for the area. But she's not done yet. She provides a link to the West Penn Multilist (MLS) showing nine pages of properties sold (so far) this year, compared side by side for features, price, and lot size. And, of course, she linked to the Borough website, utility companies, school info, weather and more. When you reach the bottom of the page, and the link to all her listings, you can't argue with two overriding facts: First, that the Borough offers opportunities you probably want to explore if you're looking for a home in that part of the world. And second, that nobody knows the area better than Peggy Greb! She's been with us since February of 2005, and has obviously learned what it takes to be a standout.

 

New Feature: Tips from the Experts

Have you seen "The Insider" yet? This is our latest category in Articles of Value; your clients will find the columns here both useful and interesting. Each issue features quick-read tips from experts in a relevant field: remodeling, landscaping, energy conservation, hiring a contractor and more! Each one summarizes the best information in a pragmatic format that saves them from having to search for and sift through several articles and sources.

For example, the "Top 5 Ways to Boost Payback on Resale" features five specific remodeling projects your contacts can do to add to the resale price of their homes. Each tip gives the average payback percentage, the estimated cost of the project, and the national average resale value it would add. The article goes further, adding 5 other top resale projects in a simple list, and indicates the source of the article online where your clients can read more if they like.

Like the other Articles of Value, you can customize The Insider ... both the cover letter and the back page of the article itself. We also give you additional tips you can use to make even more of an impact on your clients and prospects. For example, the "Boost Payback" Tips & Tricks includes the site address where you can go to print out a page with average resale value for a specific region and/or large city. Enclose that with your mailed Insider to make the connection with you, their trusted agent, even more valuable.

We'll comb the Web for you to find the most pragmatic columns from the experts on topics most popular with home buyers, sellers and homeowners. Everything from "Questions To Ask A Contractor" to "Easy Outdoor Entertaining."

We're always on the lookout for ways we can help you build lasting relationships with your contacts ... in this case, by providing them with information of interest in a professional easy-read format. The columns tell them you're always thinking of them, and looking for ways you can make their lives better and easier.

Check The Insider out today! You'll find the new category inside your "Article-of-Value Campaigns." Give your clients a place on the inside track.

Invitation Letters Engage!

One of our most successful tools for confirming your contact data is the Invitation Letter. Each Master receives one complimentary printed set of Letters, one set for each membership year. Or you can choose to print your own at any time. Invitation Letters drive traffic to your website, and help generate a detailed current profile for each of your contacts that is automatically updated in your Relationship Manager once they register. These professionally created letters invite your clients to register for the $50,000 Home Sweet Home Sweepstakes. That process includes updating their email and street addresses, as well as phone numbers, birthdays and home anniversaries. If you qualify for this printing offer, be sure that you've loaded every contact you have a street address for. Then: Log on to your Relationship Manager and click "Free Printing Offer." Read the information on the "Free Invitation Letter Offer Page." Click "Preview the Letter Layout." Click "Confirm Your Contacts and Content" and complete your                                                        personal information on that page. Click "Submit." We'll do the rest — all you need to do is sign, stamp and mail! You should receive your printed and customized letters in two to three weeks. If you've already taken advantage of the printing offer during your current membership year, you can choose the "Print Own Letters" option and follow the instructions. You can select new contacts who have not received letters in the past, or change the content and send an all-new letter to anyone in your personal database. This is one of the most important communication engagements that you can make in The Relationship Revolution®.

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Best of the Best Series

We've had a number of requests from members asking for more in the "latest and greatest" category for homeowners.  We've recently posted a new e-Newsletter feature called "Best of the Best" and we'd like to hear your feedback. Please take a look at the article and let us know what you think! Good e-Newsletter content?  Would you like to see this format in our Print-On-Demand and Article of Value areas as well?  Your comments and suggestions help in every aspect of our growth!

Giving Program - Another Record!

Certainly more fun than reading about "new records" for oil prices every day, isn't it? This is GOOD news!

Member participation in our Realtors Reach Out program has generated $24,500 to date! Those dollars go directly to the American Cancer Society. Here's how it works: PropertySource donates $50 for every new or renewing member in our relationship marketing program who wants to participate. They, in turn, identify their most valuable clients, and let them know through a customized campaign that a donation has been made in their honor.

We initiated this phase of the Realtors Reach Out campaign (the receiving organization differs in each phase) late in October of 2007, and two things have been happening regularly since: First, our members are very happy with this opportunity to give back to the community. And second, their clients are very moved by the gesture. Most individuals have been touched by cancer in one way or another.

It seems to me that, as the real estate market is not as bullish as it has been, these donations mean more now to both parties than they would have earlier. And I believe those clients, as long as our members stay in touch, will remember their agent when the next opportunity comes to refer a friend or family member looking to buy or sell a home. And in the meantime, we all get to do some good.

Wedding Anniversary e-Greetings

Now you can surprise and delight your customers on the anniversary of their wedding. While most of our Members congratulate clients on their home anniversaries, some also record the wedding anniversary in their Relationships contact manager. Those of you who do asked us for e-Greetings to match. Voila! Here they are.

To find them, just go to your e-Greeting category, then select "Occasions" as a subcategory. The first item in the drop-down list is "Anniversary". We've posted seven new greetings, including two with Flash. As with all our categories, we've given you a variety of looks to please any of your customers.    

White Pages Lookup Syncs

We've made some changes in the White Pages lookup feature, to sync your searches with recent changes at whitepages.com. Now you can also view records in those cases where no phone number is listed. Instead of returning no records at all for an unlisted number, the system now returns the list of records that do exist. Many times, that can confirm the street address of the contact you're looking for.

Plus Spell-Check
For many of us, a spell-check feature is a must! Now you'll find that safety tool in e-Greetings, Invitation Letters, and your Listings detail pages as well as other places inside your Relationship Manager. Look for the box after inserting your message or listing, and click it to engage the spell-check tool.

Broker-Specific e-Greetings

Baird & Warner, one of our broker partners, has really worked proactively to integrate our relationship marketing tools into their way of doing business. Not only do associate success stories from the Relationship Revolution appear regularly on their Intranet, but they have also created many broker-specific e-Greetings that associates can select from inside their Relationship Manager.

The Chicago-area firm has been very consistent over the years in regularly adding e-Greetings - for Open Houses, Recruiting, Home Buying Seminars and more. The broker-specific sub-category appears in the category column along with the rest of our e-card choices. As the broker greetings are fully integrated into our system, their associates can add a message to recipients, change the subject line if they like, and send to some or all their contacts - as they can with every other e-Greeting.

One of their cards for general use is this one below which emphasizes the brokerage's long tenure - part of Chicago area real estate since 1855.

Another (below) supports their introduction of automated open house email alerts. Associates invite their clients and contacts to register for the Baird & Warner Homefinder.

We recently congratulated Baird & Warner on reaching the two million mark in e-Greetings sent! Their next record with us will be when they hit 500,000 contacts loaded (we'll keep you posted). It's great to see a broker and their associates fully engaged with a system that also works hard for them.