Welcome to RealClues The Weekly Newsletter for Real Estate Professionals www.RealEstateCoach.com–The Place You Go to Make Real Estate Dough(tm) Friday, March 6, 2009 No. 364

Copyright (c) 1996-2009 www.RealEstateCoach.com and Teleclass4U.com, LLC. All rights in all media reserved. We have a no SPAM policy. If you received this newsletter and did not subscribe to it, visit www.RealEstateCoach.com to unsubscribe.

A Special Invitation: Are you a woman holds a leadership position in either your company, your Board, CRS, or WCR? Would you like to spend 3 days with the top female leaders in the industry at a conference that will open the door to the tremendous possibilities available in today’s market? If so, email me at Bernice@RealEstateCoach.com to learn about our by-invitation only women’s leadership conference in Savannah March 25-27. We have a few slots left for a select group of women leaders.

Table of Contents

1. CoachingClues: The Business Case for Twitter 2. Welcome Notes: Search for the Opportunity in Today’s Market 3. Reprise: Strategies to Sell Listings that Don’t Sell (Part 1) 4. Create a Better Life: Simple Steps to Eliminate Procrastination 5. New audio broadcasts this month in our Listen and Learn Real Estate Program: *Eight Proven Strategies to Build Increase Your Success in Today’s Tough Real Estate Market *Ten Ways to be Make Your Real Estate Business More Profitable Now *Increase Your Real Estate Income by Decreasing Your Attrition *Never Make another Real Estate Referral Again 6. This Week at www.LuxuryClues.com: *How to Improve Your Google Ranking with Virtual Tours *A Sure Fire Way to Tell that the Market is about to Improve *Realtors(reg)–New Legislation Threatens Our Independent Contractor Status 7. Featured Products: The Best Way Ever to Improve Your Negotiation Skills 8. Positive News for Positive Realtors(reg): Good news from Fannie Mae, breaks for military families, plus the market is getting better in many places. 9. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching 10. Give Us Your Feedback on this Newsletter 11. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe

1. CoachingClues: The Business Case for Twitter Don’t want to blog? Would you like an innovative way to reach the next generation of buyers and sellers? If so, it may be time to take up “tweeting” on Twitter.

In case you haven’t visited Twitter.com, it would be smart to take a hard look at what this seemingly simple tool can do for your business. On the surface, Twitter looks like a series of unrelated text messages known as “Tweets.” A better explanation is that Twitter is a series of mini-blog posts that are limited to 140 characters, the perfect length for reading on a cell phone.

Once you subscribe to Twitter, you will then decide whose Tweets you would like to follow. You’re not just limited to following friends. On Twitter, you can follow posts from authors, bloggers, tech experts, and a host of other interesting people. These tweets appear in real time on the Twitter platform. You also have the option of posting your own Tweets that others can follow as well. The question is how to best use this powerful tool to develop business.

1. The difference between Twitter and Google Although Twitter will never replace Google, it is more effective in several respects. A good example is the recent U.S. Airways crash in the Hudson River. Google only changes its rankings when it locates fresh data. It then determines the relevance of the information using a mathematical formula known as an algorithm. As a result, the information about the crash didn’t appear on Google until several hours later. In contrast, a passenger on the ferry that rescued the crash victims was tweeting about the event in real time. The information was relayed across the “twitterverse” instantaneously. It was then retweeted (resent) to other Twitter users who immediately began following the real time tweets describing the rescue. Perhaps the most important difference, however, is that humans are better than algorithms at identifying what matters most to them. Twitter provides an interesting look at what really matters to your clients, friends, and family.

2. A great alternative to blogging Maintaining a blog takes effort. Blogging can be a burdensome chore that keeps you from being face-to-face with clients. In contrast, because of Twitter’s limited length for posts, it’s easy to post a quick comment when you have a moment between showings. You can also post pictures, videos, links to your blog, or links to other web resources. Because most links are quite long, the Twitter site automatically converts them to a “tiny URL” (i.e. a shortened URL) that takes the reader back to the original source. If you are blogging, Twitter is also one of the best ways to let others know about your blog post. Do a one-sentence synopsis. If you have an interesting and/or useful post, others will retweet it.

3. Personal Tweets Twitter has multiple uses. Many use Twitter to keep up with friends and family when they are apart. For example, people often lose contact with friends from high school and college. If you reconnect at a reunion, you can keep in touch with each other by posting what you’re doing once or twice a day. While your friends may not care about the fact that you need more coffee to get through your day, they will be interested in knowing about special events or the shared interests that were the basis for your friendship in the first place.

4. Business Tweets Are personal tweets relevant for the business use of Twitter? The answer is, “It depends.” Gen X and Gen Y want to get to know you as a person before they will do business with you. Do you lead an interesting life? Do you share similar interests? Establishing an online persona that accurately reflects who you are in person is critical. If you present yourself one way online and are different in person, the disconnect will cause potential clients to go elsewhere. To use personal tweets more effectively, give a useful tip, share an interesting picture, or share a passion you may have for a local sports team or other recreational activity.

5. What does and doesn’t work If you use Twitter to broadcast marketing messages, your followers will quickly “unfollow” you. Twitter is about having a conversation, much as you would if you were at a picnic. People want to see and experience the real you or derive some benefit from reading your tweets. Allow your followers to get to know you through what you do for fun, but also show them your business side. Post interesting pictures that illustrate the lifestyle in your area. When you see an article that has good news about the real estate market, post the link on Twitter. If there is an important City Council meeting that has consequences for your market area, attend the meeting and tweet about it in real time. The idea is to stay focused on providing value without constantly promoting the fact that you’re in real estate.

No matter what type of social media use, there’s one other very important caveat. Never say anything disrespectful or negative about anyone. Remember when you tweet, keep it short and sweet.

2. Welcome Notes Welcome to our new subscribers this week. Each week RealClues provides you with great strategies to improve both your business and your life. If you find this issue of RealClues helpful, take a moment to hit the “forward” button and send it to another friend in the business.

So many people right now are struggling with keeping their real estate business afloat. We are in a perfect storm–a perfect storm of opportunity where the next round of millionaires and billionaires will be created. Wall Street is in the worst nosedive I have ever seen, the banks are paying virtually no interest on savings, and the FDIC may run out of funds this year. What is the safest place to put your money–the real estate market! There’s a reason that hordes of Chinese investors are descending on the United States to buy up properties. Our population is continuing to grow and people must have shelter whether it’s a rental or a property they will own. Bottom line–get the message out that now is the BEST time in 70 years to buy real estate–low interest rates, low prices, and tremendous inventory. Look for investors, first time buyers, and global buyers. The current economics support each of these groups. As the old saying goes, “If you’re going to fish, go where the fish are!”

Have a great week!

Bernice Ross and Byron Van Arsdale, Chief Dough Makers www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.RealEstateDough.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.RossdalePress.com, www.ConferenceCallTraining.com, and www.TeleconferenceLine.com

3. Reprise: Strategies to Sell Listings that Don’t Sell This article first ran in 2004. Even in the height of a good market, a large number of properties don’t sell. This article looks at some fun and practical ways to sell your listings.

http://budurl.com/z7qy

4. Create a Better Life: Simple Steps to Reduce Procrastination Almost everyone struggles with procrastination. This article provides simple steps to help you overcome procrastination and do what you need to accomplish.

http://budurl.com/pvf7

5. Listen and Learn Real Estate–Visit our library of over 130 audio broadcasts and best of all, you can access them for only 99 cents per day (Please note that this is a monthly subscription–try it for one month or stay for 8 new broadcasts every month! No long term contracts–just my best new content 24-7 from the convenience of your computer–point, click, and listen!)

New for March 1-15, 2009 *Eight Proven Strategies to Build Increase Your Success in Today’s Tough Real Estate Market It’s tough out there right now, but many agents are succeeding. This session provides you with proven strategies to help your business prosper no matter what the market does.

Ten Ways to be Make Your Real Estate Business More Profitable Now There are two ways to increase your profitability. You can increase your revenue and you can decrease your expenses. This session provides ten strategies to make your business more profitable by trimming expenses and monitoring where the best opportunities are in your real estate business.

*Increase Your Real Estate Income by Decreasing Your Attrition Over 80 percent of all clients would use their agents again but only 11 percent actually do. The reason? Attrition! Learn how to avoid this costly mistake in your business

*Never Make another Real Estate Referral Again: Donna Lee Laue reveals the secrets of working with luxury buyers as well as why you should never use the word “referral” again.

6. LuxuryClues: Improve Your Web Ranking Plus Much More How to Improve Your Web Ranking with Video Virtual Tours http://budurl.com/dlsp

A Sure Fire Sign that the Real Estate Market is about to Get Better http://budurl.com/alym

New Legislation May Threaten Your Independent Contractor Status http://budurl.com/9yb5

7. Featured Products: The Best Way Ever to Improve Your Negotiation Skills What’s the number one skill that you need in today’s market? It’s the ability to negotiate. Because of the strength of the real estate market until 2007, we have a huge percentage of agents who have never mastered the art of face-to-face negotiation. Even for those of us who have learned this skill, about the only time that we practice is when we are actually working with a client. The question is how can you gain this important skill in an easy, inexpensive, and fun way? We have the answer! Real Estate Dough is a game that teaches you powerful negotiation strategies in a real estate simulation game. You have 12 different categories of properties with different price points. You place properties under contract, close them, make referrals, and do exchanges, all with the goal of making as much real estate dough as possible. Best of all, this is a fun game that teaches you real skills that you can play with friends, colleagues, or kids who are 10 years or older.

To see the power point that illustrates how to play, visit http://budurl.com/jljy and click on the left toolbar to download the power point. (It’s a big file so will take a little bit of time to download.) Best of all is the price–only $29.95 to get the most important skill you will need in your business! If you’re ready to find your personal recipe for success in 2009, don’t wait, order today, http://budurl.com/jljy

8. Positive News for Positive Realtors Discover how easy it is to find out what’s right about the real estate business–just click and listen!

This week–plenty of good news about the beginning of the real estate rebound. Some of these numbers will really surprise you! Also, good news about protecting your commission from Fannie Mae, good news for military families facing foreclosure, plus much more.

http://budurl.com/x272

9. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching Looking for a well-trained coach who knows the real estate business? Our coaching team can help you increase your production and make your dreams come true. Send an e-mail to Shane@RealEstateCoach.com and we’ll help find the right coach for you.

10. Give Us Your Feedback On This Newsletter We want your feedback-to share your thoughts and suggestions, please e-mail us at Shane@RealEstateCoach.com.

11. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe Visit our Web site, http://www.RealEstateCoach.com to subscribe/unsubscribe to RealClues.

Copyright (c) 1996-2009, RealEstateCoach.com and Teleclass4U.com, LLC. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or distribute RealClues as long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the contributors to this newsletter is attached.

Contributors to this newsletter: Bernice Ross, MCC, and Byron Van Arsdale, MCC, Owners, www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.ConferenceCallTraining.com; www.RossdalePress.com; and www.TeleconferenceLine.com Shane Bowlin, REC General Manager

Give a Gift to a Friend: Please forward RealClues to your friends and colleagues, since your recommendation is how we grow. Anyone can subscribe to RealClues by visiting http://www.RealEstateCoach.com and signing up. To cancel, visit the Web site and simply cancel your subscription.