22
Jun

As a real estate agent, you’re always looking for ways to bring in new business. Many REALTORS® spend a lot of time and energy hunting for new business and trying to acquire new clients. What many fail to realize is that the real value lies in investing your energy into furthering the existing relationships that you’ve already built.

It takes 5 times the amount of time, money, and energy to find and service a new customer then it does to maintain and service an existing customer. And that’s not all. 80% of people who don’t have a real estate agent will get one through a referral. A good REALTOR® has a way to manage and organize his/or her contacts and gradually obtain more information on them as time goes by. Having a detailed database of contacts is a necessity because this is precisely how you can keep in touch as effectively as possible and market to your clients in a way that is targeted, personalized, and relevant.

I’ve previously discussed the advantages of positioning yourself as an expert on all things home related. By building and promoting a comprehensive business directory of Home Inspectors, Plumbers, Attorneys, Landscapers, etc. that you can recommend to current and past clients, you give your clients a reason to CALL YOU between transactions, rather than you always having to initiate.

At this point, you might be nodding your head but saying to yourself, this is all a lot easier said than done. You might not have a consolidated database. You might not have a complete and detailed business directory. You might not be marketing to your clients in a targeted and personalized fashion. Well, all this can certainly change. And although the change requires some commitment and a little bit of work, it’s actually much easier that you would imagine.

We are continually working to make IXACT Contact the best real estate contact management solution available. It is quick to learn, and easy to use. The navigation is intuitive and the overall feel of the system is very user-friendly. The system allows you to create a comprehensive database of all your contacts, which can be added to over time. It allows you to filter, sort, and run reports on your database. It also has a great business directory feature that makes it amazingly easy to implement our suggestions mentioned above.

As a REALTOR®, you need to focus on fostering loyalty and generating referrals and repeat business. With the right knowledge and a little bit of help, you’ll be well on your way to a successful career in real estate sales.

As the VP of Sales & Marketing at IXACT Contact, my goal is to help REALTORS create more referrals and repeat business using IXACT Contact’s easy-to-use web-based contact management system. Sign up for a risk free, 5-week free trial! Go to http://www.ixactcontact.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rich_Gaasenbeek

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31
May

Frequently in commercial real estate sales and leasing you will have the situation where the prospect or client tells you the real estate agent that they want to get other quotes or check out the competition regards the sale or lease of the property before they make a decision. Another frequent phrase that you will hear is that they want to think it over and they will come back to you.

Too many agents respond to this by offering some form of discount to try and hold the client and not loose them. The discounts offered will normally be in:

  • Advertising
  • Fees
  • Commission

The reality is that you should normally never discount your package as you cheapen your services and position. You become the agent that is desperate for the business. The client has you just where they want you at a point of weakness.

There is one simple rule to use when you strike this situation. I call it a ‘reverse play’.

A ‘reverse play’ works well if you have really presented your services of sale or lease well and that you know you were professional in every respect. This is what you should do.

When the client says that they want to come back to you after speaking to other agents, simply say ‘That’s a good idea, I would do the same if I were you. Important property decisions require careful consideration. On your investigation you will likely find that the offering and proposal I have given you today is well targeted to your market to get you the best result in the shortest time. When you have checked this out, I would be more than happy to finalise this and move on it for you.’

What you are doing here is moving the pressure out of the situation and remaining confident that your offering is superior to other agents in the market today. Your ability to show that confidence in your presentation will more than likely influence the client to come back to you faster or even reconsider the package immediately.

Success in commercial real estate sales and leasing is not achieved by discounting. It is achieved by being confident about yourself and your offering. This method of reversing the conversation keeps you in control. You can walk out the door knowing that the client will still be open to talking to you again and has likely taken the bait of your proposal.

John Highman is an expert real estate author, conference speaker, and coach. He helps Real Estate Agents to improve their market share, listings, and commissions. You can get a free ebook of real estate tips and tools right here at http://www.commercial-realestate-training.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Highman

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22
Feb

Some consider this current situation very similar to the 1960s and they have plenty of reasons to do so. Back then you could finance a two-bedroom house for $6,999. 10 years later, a typical Florida house was approximately $15,000. Through inflation alone, that home would have cost about $32,000 by 1980. But, in fact, a typical Florida home sold for about $45,000 by 1980. It was much the same story during the 1990s. If home prices followed inflation, your typical house would have cost $66,500 at the end of the decade. But in 2000, Florida homes were valued at $105,500. The decade produced home appreciation 59 percent above inflation. Moving on to the present, a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom house in Lehigh Acres is just $31,000. If you wanted to purchase the same house a few years ago, it would probably have had a price of more than $50,000.

Although this is terrible news for sellers, we cannot hide the fact that this is great piece of information for potential buyers. Speaking of, the number of people that want to buy a house in Lehigh Acres and in all Florida is very generous. There are logical reasons for this situation as the Sunshine State offers great weather through the entire year, nice beaches, friendly neighborhood and many more. As far as the entire state is concerned, home prices have fallen about 20 percent in the past year and this trend will continue in 2011.

Speaking of the 1960s, the actual mortgage rates are easily comparable to those times which mean that the potential home buyer has a much stronger financial power. Even the smallest percentage can make a crucial difference. For example, a $100,000 home in Florida, a half of 1% could save the home owner almost $500 per year; it is not much it’s something. Buyers can get more home for the money, which is a perfect scenario for families looking to upsize.

Sale numbers are quite high, despite the current lockdown in the national real estate situation, which means that the inventory levels are dropping slowly, but surely. Real estate experts affirm that now it is the ideal time to purchase a home because prices will most likely start to rise again in the years to come, even though they will not reach the 2005-2006 prices which were overinflated anyway. This recommendation is for families that are looking to buy a new home; for people thinking of retiring and of course, for investors that have a few money saved for such special occasions – an opportunity to make a fortune in the years to come when prices will go up again.

Florida has a lot to offer to its inhabitants – it has a very strong economy, especially in healthcare and technology sectors. From a more social point of view, it is a great place for kids being a very peaceful neighborhood and offers very good schools. We will let you discover other benefits of living here after you purchase your very own home in the Sunshine State.

Article written by Adrian Padeanu. Purchase Lehigh Acres real estate at affordable prices by visiting our online real estate guide at www.floridalehighacres.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adrian_Padeanu

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19
Jan

“What?? Are you crazy? Is moonshine still a big draw in Charlotte?” you may say.

Sure, I’ve read the news and understand the dire straits the housing market is in. And, no, there is no gold rush (that I’m aware of…) coming to Charlotte; we’re getting hammered like everyone else. My reaction is just based on the sheer need of buyers and sellers to transact real estate and what that means to real estate professionals.

Pat Riley, the legendary professional basketball coach, used to tell a story to his players before big games. He would talk about a small, blue-collar company filled with 9-5 workers; they would clock in, clock out, and never really form any real relationships with each other. Every day was filled with just going through the motions to earn a paycheck.

Then one day, it was announced that their company had won the bid to send the first rocket to the moon. And then, something strange happened. The largely unmotivated workers started coming to the office early and leaving late. They would meet up together after work and really started to get to know each other. Close relationships began to form.

At this point in the story, Riley would look his team in the eye and say, “You know why? They just wanted to make history.”

I tell this story because what is happening in real estate right now is historic. The gigantic number of buyers and sellers facing severe sales issues has never been seen before. But great problems create great opportunities. Innovation is always fostered in such situations.

And that sort of makes it fun if you care about learning in this profession. Things could be normal and the real estate business would have its usual flow of sales. Life would be fine and things would be controlled and steady. Yawn. And yawn.

Or there could be a broken market, problems abounding, millions of customers desperate for new ways to solve old problems, an industry in need of fresh innovation, and people open to trying anything that sounds like it has a chance of working. Billions upon billions of dollars and assets are ready to be disbursed to whoever can come up with the killer idea to fix overall market liquidity. And this idea can be thought up and disseminated from your computer, wherever you live, right now. That’s exciting!

And fun! Here’s wishing a profitable (and innovative) 2011 to you all. Thanks for reading!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brett_D_Furniss

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17
Dec

One of the best cities that you can choose to call your home and where you can raise your young family is Green Acres.  The city is found in Palm Beach County in the State of Florida, and right now, it is enjoying a good number of awards, one of which is being included in the top 100 Best Communities for Young People, as given by The Alliance for Youth in the year 2008.  Aside from this prestigious award, Green Acres has also been designated as a Tree City USA, and it has been so for 18 straight years.

Green Acres really is a very lovely and safe community that attracts young families as well as young adults who are looking for jobs, what with more than 700 companies that made Green Acres its home.  Couples who want to retire from work are also looking at real estate options in the city because of the safe and secure atmosphere that the city provides.

For people who are searching for the perfect house for sale or home for sale in Green Acres, then they can definitely take advantage of the Internet.  Online, they will be given a good number of real estate companies as well as agencies that can help them search for the perfect house.  However, just because it is so easy to look for real estate buyer agent as well as avail of their services online, you should know that there are some things that you have to consider before signing the dotted line.

The most important thing that you have to ask your potential buyer agent is if he or she is licensed to do real estate negotiations as well as deals.  The license is given by the state, and it is a very important credential that you have to look for, especially since you are going to shell out a huge sum of money.

Another thing that you have to consider is the name of the buyer’s agent.  This includes his reputation, may he be working for a real estate agency or working for himself, as well as his professional background.  You can search for facts as well as additional information regarding the buyer agent in the Internet.  Chances are, satisfied and unsatisfied clients have made testimonials and comments relevant to the services rendered by the buyer agent.  If he is working for a real estate agency, it will not hurt your cause, too, to know more about the agency before hiring their services.

Looking for a Green Acres real estate buyer agent online is very easy, but it is just as easy to lose money and waste time if you do not make the right choice.

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