Industry Visionary Interview

Mark Stark, CEO, Broker/Owner, Prudential Americana Group REALTORS®, has 22 years experience in the real estate industry as a Realtor, Broker, CEO and Owner of Prudential Americana Group Realtors®, the largest residential Broker  in the State of Nevada, with over 1,025 sales executives. 

Currently Mr. Stark can be seen on several TV stations presenting an informative understanding of buying, selling, and investing in Real Estate with his show "Conquering Las Vegas Real Estate". 

You can reach Mark at marks@americanagrp.com

Tip #1:  How to get better "Net" results with just a little fine tuning to your Web Site?

I'm alway reading and searching the Net for valuable information. Cory Rudl's Internet Marketing Tips is one of my best reads. Cory continuously studies, measures, and improves his marketing and advertising efforts resulting in millions of dollars in online sales. Here's a summary of some of his advice.

Make sure you have all the essential components of your Web site:

• Compelling headline
• User-friendly navigation
• Well-written sales copy
• Great photos & graphics
• Incredible testimonials
• Strong opt-in offer
• FAQ page
• About Us page
• Contact Info page
• Multi-Media tools

What's the most important component missing? Your right if you said "Call to Action." What is it that you want people to do when they visit your site?

• find out about benefits of product
• sign up for newsletter
• request additional information
• tour product
• contact you for an appointment
• buy product
• email you comments or questions

How does your Web site tell your visitors how to take these action steps? Here are some strongly worded suggestions to drive your visitors to take action.

• "Click Here to Subscribe"
• "Join Our HomeFinder Alert"
• "Join Our Garden Club Program"
• "Add to Shopping Cart"
• "Order Now to take advantage of this limited-time offer!"
• "Sign Up for Special Viewing"
• "Attend Homebuying Seminar"
• "Email your Questions or Comments"
• "Read on to learn how you could save thousands of dollars on your next home purchase"

Before you get to the Close the Sale action, be sure you have done the following:

• emphasized the benefits of your products or services by answering major customer question: "What's in it for me?" Keep in mind that your Web site is not about you, but the customer.
• establish credibility with your bio and testimonials (audio testimonials are awesome)
• build value in your offer by defining your unique selling proposition
• backed up offer with strong guarantee (free information, introductory offer or counseling session)
• offer valuable bonuses with purchase (free rug cleaning, free yard service, free pool cleaning, free ebook of tips, one hour with home decorating service)

Frog Pond suggests that if you are not getting the desired results from your Web site, maybe it's time to fine tune. Be sure to include a Call to Action so you can lead your visitors to place an order, to make an appointment, or to contact you... then you will be able to:

• grow the relationship

                         ...so you can

• qualify the lead

                         ...so you can

• satisfy the need

                         ...so you can

• close the sale.

Tip #2: How to get better "Banner Advertising" Results with just a little fine tuning of your Banner Ads.

Digital delivery is redefining marketing. Main reason: its cost-effectiveness allows for very focused and granular efforts. Stop trashing banner ads because you have short term focus and completely unrealistic expectations. If you are still buying pay-per-clicks, you're missing the boat; and, if you're selling, well, you are just lucky-stupid.

Allen Wiess, another marketing guru, agrees that "banner ads make people aware of a product, associate a brand name with what a product stands for, lead to higher recall, build brand equity, and create a positive brand attitude."

Allen also says, "Ads that are relevant to someone in a buying mood are the most likely to be clicked...Some expect people to buy using reflex actions. But the Net hasn't repealed the laws of human psychology and people don't react reflexively, unless they are standing in a grocery store checkout line."

Recently Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer declared his vision to an audience of over 500 ad agency and marketing executives at MSN's Strategic Account Summit: "By 2010, a full 100 percent of advertising will be delivered across intelligent IP networks." He reasoned that "all media, from online to TV, from games and music to print, will be transmitted into homes through the Internet and routed to personal devices and applications through PCs and new digital entertainment platforms."

Steve knows online advertising works. He's stepping forward and going to the bank with it. Here are a some suggestions to deliver better results from your Internet banner advertising.

• Redesign your creative work to have call to action, not just your logo
• Get animated
• Add different banner sizes to your mix-Skyscraper's are in vogue
• Change date sensitive messages often 
• Try to bundle banner advertising with an infomercial or editorial opportunity
• Sponsor a special report or monthly profile 
• Self-promote through event sponsorship announcements

Two important questions to ask when buying banner advertising space:

• Does the profile of the readership fit my target audience?
• Why is this Web site important to this audience?

When you find the Web site created for and read by your target market, you have hit a homerun! Take advantage of a great opportunity to buy banner advertising on these Web sites.

Frog Pond can provide you with information about where you can advertise on broker and association lWeb sites and online publications. 

Call us (800.704.FROG) today to use the power of the Web to brand your products and services to your target market.

You too can hit a Home Run out of the ballpark!

Tip #1. Marketing Calendar

Keep a marketing calendar. Plan special promotions for the next year and then track your results within your calendar with a rating of 1 to 4 stars for each marketing event carried out.

Tip #2 Build Relationships with Young Parents via eNewsletter

Reaching young members in your community can be profitable, yet challenging. Consider partnering with your church, elementary school/PTA, local YMCA, Day Care Center, pediatric centers and neighborhood children's store to produce a monthly eNewsletter designed with valuable information for young parents.

Why young parents? Because they need more living space, are first-time homebuyers, need expert advice and lots of handholding. Young parents are very Internet savvy hunters and buyers. They subscribe and read targeted eNewsletters with information on child care issues. What better than a locally designed and produced eNewsletter with local issues and events?

Collaborate with these partners to collect opt-in email addresses by offering sign up at events, offices and retail centers. Give away hard copy sample of first issue eNewsletter filled with specific lifestyle sensitive information. WIN-WIN for everyone!

Getting Through to More Buyers and Avoiding Resistance

Art Sobczak shares several do's and don'ts to aid the professional saleman's efforts to get through the Gatekeeper to the Buyer.

Tactics to Avoid Here are tactics to avoid when dealing with screeners, and on voice mail ... approaches that clearly label callers as time-wasting, self-interested salesmen.

Leaving only a name and number for a call back.  Not identifying your company suggests you have something to hide. Granted, it almost forces the prospect to return the call, thinking it might be a prospect or customer. He might even get his expectations up. But the balloon falls with a thud when he realizes it's a salesperson trying
to sell him something.

Making a statement, then a demand. As in, "I need to speak with Jan Smith. Please connect me." Sure. Let's try to intimidate the screener into putting the call through. What are these people thinking?

Believing the nonsense of, "Never give screeners any information because they can't buy from you." Maybe most of them can't make the final decision to buy, but they can make the decision that no one will buy from you.

Keep in mind what the screener says to the boss after they put you on hold and announce the call to the boss. You don't want them to say, "There's some bozo on the line who sounds like he's selling something. Want me to ditch him?"
 
What To Do Instead Here are some ideas on what to do to enhance your chances of reaching your decision maker, getting help in doing so, and having more and better information once you arrive.

Ask for help. The simplest, yet most effective technique I know is asking for help. You appeal to a person's innate sense of feeling needed, wanted ... important.

Ask for information. Gather as much elementary, factual, qualifying information as you can before speaking with your decision maker. They expect it. Their job is not to waste time educating you with stuff you should already know by the time you reach them. Preface your questions to screeners, assistants ... anyone, with, "I want to be sure that what I have will be of interest to Kathy. There's probably some information you could give me ..."

This also positions you apart from typical salespeople who don't respect the buyer's time.

Have something of value. This is the not so secret "secret" to getting people to return your calls, or at least them being in a positive frame of mind when you call back. You must,
I repeat, must, have something of interest for them. Why would they take your call otherwise?

Your value item should answer a question: "What will you help them gain or avoid?" They don't care diddly about your products or services. They'll let you through or return your message if they suspect you might be able to help them get something they want, or avoid something they don't. And the more customized and relevant your value item, the better (see the point above about gathering information).

For example, a value statement to a screener could be, "We specialize in helping H.R. Directors spend less time screening resumes of unqualified applicants. Depending upon whether or not that's an issue for him, we might have something that he'd like to take a look at. I'd like to ask him a few questions to determine that." And that is very easily modified into a voice mail message as well.

Want to get through more often and have more calls returned so you have a chance to sell? Then don't sound and act like a stereotypical salesperson.

Read more articles by Art Sobczak. Need an outstanding speaker for your convention? Email me for Sobczak's Keynote Presentations and availability.

Some mimiced company Web sites have been Citibank, FDIC, Yahoo Email, eBay, Hotmail.

It's best to be safe and secure.

Barbara Hemphill, Taming the Paper Tiger, emailed me about a powerful book, The Profitable Power of Purpose in which the author Ian Percy states "If your customers were not irritated, they would not even be your customers." "How true it is!", she hails.

Barbara's mission is to help you increase your productivity, so you can accomplish your work and enjoy your life. She asks, "So what's stopping you?" Barbara wants to know, in the interest of providing better service to your customers, what irritates you about the organization solutions you have found?

Barbara says, "One of the biggest stumbling blocks to improved productivity is 'action!' Action prevents thought and not thinking leads us to do the same old things in the same old way."

She remembers an old Burma Shave sign on a Nebraska country road: "Choose your rut carefully - you'll be in it for the next 30 years!"

Are you in a rut? If so, you need Barbara Hemphill's help. Email Barbara with irritating organization issues.

Ask me about Barbara's software solutions and Keynote Presentations today!

NAR 2004 Survey of Real Estate Firms Shows Higher Profitability  

WASHINGTON (June 28, 2004) – Real estate firms have become more profitable during the recent real estate boom that set home sales records for three straight years, according to a new survey by the National Association of Realtors® .

Six out of ten real estate firms report higher profitability in 2003, according to The 2004 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Real Estate Firms. About 54 percent of realty firms expect greater profits this year, and another 32 percent believe profitability in 2004 will be equal to 2003, the survey showed.

David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said that by adopting new technologies and tailoring services to their clientele while serving the needs of agents, firms are increasing the value of their business and making the economic picture for the real estate industry bright. "Many firms report they are supporting their staffs by offering technology investment, training and group affiliations that have translated into greater profitability," Lereah said. The survey shows company size has little bearing on the essential services provided, he said.

NAR President Walt McDonald, broker-owner of Walt McDonald Real Estate in Riverside, Calif., said, "Technology is playing an increasingly important role for both consumers and real estate professionals. More than six out of ten real estate firms said the harnessing of technology was most effective in helping to generate sales and enhance profitability. "
"Those technology trends and online resources help home buyers, sellers and real estate firms to save time and money by increasing the efficiency of the transaction process," McDonald said.

McDonald pointed out that the vast majority of real estate firms, 88 percent, use e-mail to communicate with clients, while 52 percent have a Web site and another 8 percent plan to have one in the future. In 2000, a separate survey showed only 56 percent of residential real estate firms used e-mail.

One in eight firms increased spending on technology by at least 25 percent last year, while one-third of firms plan to increase technology spending this year

"The strong real estate market over the last few years has also led to the creation of new firms," McDonald said. "Six percent of firms have been in the business for less than a year, while nearly one in five has been in the business for three years or less."

The profile shows 84 percent of firms with a Web site generated some business leads from their site in 2003, up from 68 percent in 1999. It also shows 12 percent generated more than 25 percent of their leads from the Internet in 2003.

The survey provides an inside look at the demographic and business characteristics of the nation's real estate brokerages. The typical firm is a single-office operation specializing in residential brokerage. More than three out of five firms have been in the business for over 11 years, and 68 percent report their main revenue is from residential brokerage.

Turnover is fairly modest and salespeople tend to stay with their firm, with 84 percent of firms reporting that no salesperson left during 2003; however, 21 percent of firms reported adding to their staff last year. Thirty-nine percent of firms provide in-house training to agents, while 21 percent reimburse salespeople for some portion of real estate sales training expenses.

"This commitment to education aids our members in staying on top of changes in the industry and advancement in specialties, demonstrated through the achievement of various Realtor® designations such as GRI (Graduate, Realtor® Institute) held by 19 percent of all Realtors®," McDonald said.

The vast majority of real estate firms, 93 percent, are single-office operations. Only 2 percent have three or more offices. Single-office operations have an average of three salespeople, while firms with four or more offices have an average sales staff of 23 per office. The typical sales agent is an independent contractor; 76 percent of firms have a sales force composed entirely of independent contractors.

More than one-third of franchised real estate firms have been affiliated with their franchise for over 10 years, and 43 percent of firms have relocation departments. Larger firms tend to engage in a wider variety of real estate specialties and often hold a business interest in related non-brokerage activities.

Non-brokerage business activities are an important part of many firms' business models, including mortgage lending and a variety of services such as escrow, settlement and moving.

Commercial brokerage was the primary activity for 8 percent of real estate firms, with 4 percent each for building and development; farm and land brokerage; and appraisal.

The 2004 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Real Estate Firms was based on a 61-question survey mailed to a national sample of 33,180 real estate firms during in February of this year, generating 2,808 usable responses; the response rate was 8.5 percent. This included a survey mailed to each of the 500 largest firms to assure adequate representation.

The responses were weighted to be broadly consistent with information from the U.S. Census Bureau regarding the distribution of firms by size.
The survey can be ordered by calling 800/874-6500. The cost is $50 for NAR members and $75 for non-members.

The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1 million Realtors® involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

The National Association of Realtors® , "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. 

Below is one of the almost 1400 FREE articles you can reprint, email or snail mail to your customers to stay in touch. Adding extra value each time you communicate with your Buyers and Sellers builds trust and confidence.

Let FrogPond.com be your source to a powerful knowledge base. Add our link to your your resource center. (Request our logo and link to add to your Web site.)

5 Simple Steps to Organize Each Day

by Maria Gracia

Start off each day in an organized way, and you'll get more done than you can imagine. Here are 5 simple steps.

1. MAKE A TO DO LIST. Make a list of the things you have to do tomorrow, the evening before. Prioritize and organize each item in the sequence that it should be accomplished. Consolidate similar tasks together. When you wake up in the morning, you'll have a clear-cut guide detailing everything that must be done.
   
2. BE CAREFUL OF GETTING DIVERTED. Very often, a schedule gets thrown off track due to distraction. If you find that you constantly get off track, get a watch with a timer and set it so it goes off every 30 minutes. Every time it sounds, be sure you're working on what you originally said you would. If you're not, stop what you're doing and get back on schedule. Most distractions are not emergency situations.
   
3. CALL BEFORE YOU LEAVE. If you have an appointment during the day, always call to confirm before you leave your home or office. This will ensure that the person you're meeting did not forget about the appointment. Also, if there is going to be a long waiting time, perhaps you can do something else first, before you leave.
   
4. CHECK OFF ITEMS AS YOU COMPLETE THEM. Every time you finish something, cross it off your To Do List. This will give you a sense of accomplishment throughout the day.
   
5. DO A FINAL CHECK. At the end of the day, take a look at your list. How many items were you able to accomplish? Are there only 1-2 things left undone, or many? If there were just a few undone, simply move them to tomorrow's To Do List. If there were many undone, and you worked diligently on everything all day, then you probably had too many things on your list to begin with. Re-think how much you can possibly do in a given day.
   
   Remember, you only have 24 hours, and you should be using a third of those hours to sleep!

4 Steps to An Organized Refrigerator

by Maria Gracia

A healthy and stress-free life can start in your kitchen. Here are 4 steps to getting your refrigerator organized.

1. TOSS. Immediately toss out any food that is spoiled, has an expired date, is unidentifiable or that nobody in your family is ever going to want again. The same goes for the freezer.

2. CLEAN. Moving your items from one shelf to the next, empty off each shelf one at a time and wipe clean. Scrape off any leftover bits of food and wipe up any spills. Do the same for the interior refrigerator door and drawers.

3. CATEGORIZE. Designate shelves for different categories. Milk, juice and soda bottles on the top shelf. Foods ready to eat (leftovers or foods that need no cooking) on the second shelf. Unprepared foods that need to be cooked on the third shelf. Soda cans and heavy items on the bottom shelf. Veggies and fruits in the produce drawer. Condiments on the interior door.

4. CLEAR OFF THE OUTSIDE. Remove all loose papers from the outside of your refrigerator. Toss out anything that is outdated. Put coupons into a coupon organizer. Recipes you're definitely going to prepare, should be placed in a recipe file. Place other papers into a Tickler File or a filing cabinet.

Over 50 Outstanding Organization/Time Management articles written by Maria Gracia, Sue Pistone, Barbara Hemphill and many other experts, are yours FREE to read and reprint in your newsletters and Web sites at FrogPond.com.

New business model: PreList America!

You should be asking yourself "How can I protect my agents and my brokerage from predators selling us leads?" Would you like to have "Contracts" and not just "Leads"? How about a profitable exit strategy? Well, now you can?

The new kid on the block, patent-pending PreList America, can show you how and make it easy. The PreList System provides Homeowners with a fantastic new opportunity to connect with a REALTOR® today so they can lock in benefits on their future real estate transactions.

By setting up this relationship today, Homeowners can partner with a REALTOR®  that will serve as their trusted advisor within the world of real estate. And in turn, the REALTOR® advisor agrees to reward the Homeowner for their loyalty.

Frog Pond interviewed Alan Pyles, President of PreList American, to learn more.

Click to listen

The New Science of Selling and Persuasion by Bill Brooks

Sales has changed dramatically in the last few decades, yet many organizations and many salespeople continue to employ simplistic practices that no longer work. The New Science of Selling and Persuasion brings sales into the twenty-first century with carefully researched tactics and strategies that work in the real world of modern sales.

Backed by facts and figures, author Bill Brooks offers hard science that dispels such time-honored myths of selling as:

Myth #1: Closing is the key to selling.
Truth: Research clearly shows that how you open a sale is more important to customers than how you close it.

Myth #4: Persistence is the key to sales success.
Truth: Badgering bad prospects doesn’t work; concentrating on the right prospects from the beginning does.

Myth #7: Experienced salespeople don’t need to prospect.
Truth: Prospecting is an art and a science that inevitably leads to more sales.

Myth #12: Cold calling works.
Truth: Cold calling is the least effective way to find new prospects.

Rather than repeat selling’s time-worn myths, Brooks highlights the underlying principles, consistent patterns, statistical realities, and proven standards that yield predictable sales improvement. There’s no way to guarantee that a customer will buy anything, but the cutting-edge strategies you’ll find here are proven to lead to better prospects and more repeat business.

More than just a guide for salespeople, this one-of-a-kind book helps business leaders diagnose and correct organizational problems that inhibit sales growth. Based on his long experience as a salesperson and sales consultant, Brooks offers cures for organizational ills in sales management, culture, and hiring, among other areas. Looking at both organizations and the individuals who comprise them, he gives both sales managers and salespeople the tools they need to take a critical look at their own sales strategies and at their organization’s structure.

The old tricks and tactics of the last century no longer work with today’s savvy, cynical customer. Combining step-by-step strategies with organizational guidelines, personal sales tips, and even career guidance for sales pros, The New Science of Selling and Persuasion presents a practical, relevant, and revolutionary approach to sales that works wonders for organizations and individuals .

English-Spanish Real Estate Dictionary by Charles J. Jacobus and Norma Olmos 

With more and more real estate professionals finding themselves operating in bi-lingual markets, the English-Spanish Real Estate Dictionary is the obvious solution to have on hand to overcome the language barrier to met customer needs and make sales. As a side bar, the dictionary is a must read when practicing for the real estate licensing exam.

Sound intelligent, powerful, polished, articulate and confident
by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

Do you want to sound intelligent, powerful, polished, articulate and confident? Of course you do! Voice coach Carol Fleming, Ph.D. gave me some great insights based on her years of study and working with thousands of clients.

TO SOUND MORE INTELLIGENT:
Speak just a bit slower to allow yourself to select your most appropriate vocabulary and to give the impression of thoughtfulness.

TO SOUND MORE POWERFUL:
Use short, simple declarative sentences. You say what you mean and you mean what you say. Cut out any useless connectors, adjectives and adverbs, especially superlatives.

TO SOUND MORE POLISHED:
Never answer a question with a blunt 'yes' or 'no.' Append a short phrase of clarification. For example, "No, I did not see it." "Yes, I know Mary."

TO SOUND MORE ARTICULATE:
Make a special effort to pronounce the final sound in a word and use its energy to carry over to the following word. Pay special attention to final 't' and 'ng.'

TO SOUND MORE CONFIDENT:
Carry your body up. Hold your head as if you had a crown on it. Don't let your arms and legs have side to side motion when you move. Keep your elbows and knees close to the midline of your body.

Patricia Fripp will energize any room! Email me for Patricia's availability and Keynote presentations. There's a presentation just right for your next convention!

Here's a fuel cost calculator and it's just in time for summer vacation! The American Automobile Association (AAA) has a Web page that estimates how much it costs to drive from one city to the next.

Enter your starting city, destination and your car's year, make and model. If your make and model isn't listed, you can enter your car's average miles per gallon.

The distance, fuel consumption and price of fuel are estimated. It can't give an exact number but it's great to use for a budget.

TO VISIT THIS SITE, GO HERE:

http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/

Source: Kim Komando

Michael Russer's coming to Houston July 21! FREE seats still available. Call Houston Association of REALTORS® for reservations 713.629.1900 #263.

Steven Friedman's Recruiting Connection Retreat is coming to Washington D.C. September 29, 30, October 1. Make your plans to attend.

Email Steve to request registration form.

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