Enjoy:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Please chime in!

www.SellMyHouse.com Staff Writter

http://twitter.com/sellmyhousecom

 www.SellMyHouse.com will be getting a face lift. The updated site will go live in March.

www.AmericasBestRehabs.com will go live in March. It is has been in Beta testing.

www.BuilderLeasePurchase.com is being redesigned and will launch in March along with the  marketing campaign to expand in markets where we currently have a Realtor Partner. The new site will expand from builders to rehab investors and single family sellers.

http://www.sellmyhouse.com/community/   Our blog will be getting a facelift. Feel free to register and begin commenting on news and events with your specific contact info, market conditions, etc. An integrated news feature will eventually be buillt into the www.sellmyhouse.com template.

 Realtor Questions Answered:

“What is the difference between a Realtor Partner and a basic Realtor Affiliate?”

An Affiliate is a Realtor who just gets leads from SMH but does not actively market the company via sign riders or participate in the company’s expanded marketing programs such as our fsbo business, lease sites, investor networks, or other marketing systems. The Affiliate program will be phased out over the next few years.Under the Realtor Partner Program we end up building our entire business around the Realtor. They have direct access to all of our brands, partnerships, and services. In 2010, we have begun the process of hiring marketing reps in Realtor Partner markets to expand lead volume in all facets of our business.

 “Do you offer personal websites for your Realtors?”

It’s in the planning stage. In the future we plan to offer a these customized sites that will have built in blogs, news, etc fed from sellmyhouse.com with the goal of improving the SEO rankings in each market while creating a marketing platform for each of our Realtors.

 “What is the average lead volume you generate for your Realtors?”There are many factors to consider including size of the market, market conditions, etc. However, the primary factor in our lead volume stats comes down to marketing efforts. We are a referral based company so it makes sense that we would concentrate our marketing dollars in markets where our Realtors are also actively marketing the brand as well. The best way to explain it is simply in our Realtor Partner markets where they add our sign riders to our listings or participate in our FSBO marketing program, our corporate offices allocate marketing resources to expand lead volume in these markets. The www.SellMyHouse.com Realtor Affiliate Program is primarily a by-product of our national internet presence. Lead volume expands dramatically in Partner markets where we do direct marketing campaigns. 

The SellMyHouse.com Team

www.SellMyHouse.com

You have to develop and follow a plan, then you must hold yourself accountable no matter what resolution you hope to achieve. In our case, it is creating the potential client activity needed to; 1) build a consistent income to survive, and 2) begin to create long term wealth.

Personally, I believe that real wealth is built thru consistent investment in real estate and the stock market while our  ‘day job’ pays our bills and puts us in a position to begin making those investment decisions for our future. For purposes of this discussion, we’ll focus on the activity required to create an income to support our Realtor careers.

The very first point that needs to be understood if you want to make sure real estate becomes an actual paying career is that there are two kinds of clients; 1) those that know you, & 2)  those that do not!   

Understanding the significance of branded versus unbranded marketing will be critical to your success. If you do not have a consistent lead generation system in place that will put you in front of those potential clients that do not know you it will be virtually impossible to meet the goal of creating a full time income. In this market, we figure you need at least 8-10 well priced listings on average to ensure you get a closing every month either from a buyer or a sold listing. We all know that many listings are still overpriced so that number may actually be much higher. We set a goal of creating at least 15-20 NEW client leads a month for our Realtor Partners.

Creating the Activity

We all know the statistics regarding buying client leads. Most never translate into money due to the nature of the beast. The real question is how to create that consistent lead volume needed without paying a bunch of money upfront to get them. We do not believe in paying for leads. Sure, some work and end up in an actual cashed check. However, there are so many factors involved in converting a lead to an actual client that 3^rd party lead systems get very expensive when looking at the statistics. Ask yourself this, if buying leads is such a full proof system as many of these lead companies claim, why are their territories always coming open? Wouldn’t we all spend $2500 a month if we knew it would create $10,000 a month in income?

You need to have an unbranded marketing system that you either own yourself or operate under a partnership or referral basis. You can still buy great local domain names that meet this unbranded requirement. You will have to dedicate your time and money to building this platform over a 3-5 year time period. There is no easy way to do it unless you have an enormous budget and can buy the top spot on Google for you market. It takes time. Many of the best global unbranded domain names like www.sellmyhouse.com and www.webuyhouses.com have been taken. Most utilize a pay per lead or per territory business model. There are a few that will partner with good Realtors though. Do your research!

Be creative with your service platform and set yourself apart from your competition. Everybody offers the MLS. Why are you different? Use this in your unbranded marketing. If you partner with somebody, they will be anyway. Remember, this is a volume business. The more leads you bring in the front door, the more closings you usher thru the back door. We utilize a for sale by owner strategy, online auction platform, and special financing options to give our Realtors an edge in their market.

The internet is a tremendous tool to generate leads. However, it does not create a brand. Local signage is critical. If you are lucky enough to partner with a national brand, MARKET IT!  Remax, Century 21, and Coldwell are all great brands. If you work for them you market their name don’t you? Do the same with your unbranded partner/domain. If you understand the following statement you will be successful. Potential clients that do not know you are looking to buy or sell a house, not work with a specific Realtor!  The Realtor is just the tool that gets them to their goal and there are literally thousands of Realtors in your market who can help them reach that goal. You have to use unbranded methods to get in front of that type of client or get lucky and have the perfect house listed that they are looking for.

Have a strategy to deal with investors! At the moment, they are the buyers with the money. Because the market is demanding it, we are in the process of developing a website specific for the wholesale investor sector. You need to be flexible in terms of your client segment. Working only with buyer’s in the first time home buyer category may lead to months without a paycheck.

Follow Up! Invest in a CRM system. Not every client you talk to today will buy or sell today. Use the unbranded system to generate the lead and make the introduction. Use the CRM system to turn them into a client when they are ready!

In summary, if you really want to create or resurrect  a long term career as a Realtor, you better get very serious about lead and client creation. If you do not, you stand a 75% chance that at best, this will be a part-time gig. Even Realtors that have been in the business 15 years are struggling to survive right now because they have no unbranded marketing system in place. The days of having 5 or 6 listings resulting in 1 or 2 closings a month are behind us for the foreseeable future. Time to make some changes.

Jason K Roberts

Founder & CEO, SellMyHouse.com

888-557-2772

We found our St Augustine Realtor and opened that market in September. Because we have a variety of selling choices for our clients, we have been able to make an immediate impact in that market using our fsbo marketing campaign. To date, we have already had 2 closings, and have one scheduled later in December. So, our Realtor Partner has already generated almost $12,000 in commission because of our relationship.

It works and we have markets all over the country proving that everyday. If you truly understand our relationship, you understand just how much leverage our company can give you in your market. We have some tremendous partnership opportunities in the hopper for the new year as well.

If you are like 90% of other Realtors around the country your annual income looks like the Screamin’ Eagle roller coaster ride at Six Flags. The winter months are always the leanest for most of us that dont live in warm retirement retreats. I expect this year will be no different than most, especially considering the current market conditions we are facing.

December and February are the months you have to push hard to create the activity needed to jumpstart your spring paycheck. The same could be said for February marketing efforts in preperation for the spring selling season. Here are a few tips that we utilize with our Realtor Partners at www.SellMyHouse.com.

1. December/January are the months to hit the FSBO market hard. They are frustrated that they havent sold yet and are starting to worry their house will not sell. We have a marketing strategy that will get you infront of as many of these sellers as possible over the next 5 weeks. If you do not have a strategy or are having a hard time converting these people into listings here is one technique that we utilize: FSBO Marketing
2. Go after the Expired List. A little different approach but the same thought process. They have already listed so getting past the commission issue is not the issue. They are looking for something they havent already had. You have to go the extra mile with marketing, personality, expertise, etc. We use an online auction angle.
3. If you are not plugged into the investor sector it is time to get plugged in. This group represents almost 50% of the current transaction volume around the country. Join investment clubs, research specific neighborhoods, and become an expert! This can be a very complicated sector to break into because this group doesnt typically like to just ‘list’ their properties with any Realtor. You need an angle. Either you are the reason they find good deals or you can help them liquidate quickly to make a profit. If you happen to have access to both ends of the transaction then local investors will come running. This can take years to build however. Our investor network has been in the works for 8+ years. But you have to start somewhere or get hooked up with somebody who can help you. The waiting list to become an REO Agent is longer than a nice walk thru the desert but it is a place to start. We follow a different approach that may help you via Wholesalers.

Time to hit the streets again folks. It isnt the funnest part of our job and sometimes it isnt pretty, but, the Realtors who get out after it are the same Realtors who are vacationing in Jamaca in January. You can be one of them if you are aggressive and have the right platform!

Ask us how we can help you make more money by emailing businessdevelopment@sellmyhouse.com.

Jason K Roberts

Founder & CEO

www.SellMyHouse.com