Safe is for sissies.

The Florida Bar Association has a program that allows you to request attorneys to speak at group meetings.  I took a look at the different topics available and noticed that there were attorneys available to discuss intellectual property rights and laws. To me, that was a perfect topic that would go hand in hand with my goal of getting more of my agent’s marketing and prospecting online.  It could also seriously backfire and I could end up having agents falling asleep and out of their chairs or worse, boycott any future meetings on principal.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Stephen Luther, a Patent Attorney with Allen, Dyer, Doppelt, Milbrath & Gilchrist, P.A. in Orlando was our presenter recently and he did an amazing job!  His presentation lasted a little over an hour.  He kept it easy enough for the agents to understand, encouraged them to ask questions and did a good job relating the material back to what we experience in our day to day real estate business.  Some of the key points for me were:

• As independent contractors, agents own the pictures they take of their listings.
• Agents need to carefully choosing slogans they want to trademark making sure they are not too general.  For instance the “best real estate agent” would not hold up well as a trademark.
• The usefulness of a DNCA takedown letter when someone has posted your real estate pictures or content without permission.
• The difference between a ® (federally registered)  and a ™​  (no registration required)

I would encourage Brokers to have similar speakers at their meetings especially as more agents venture online.  Having a basic understanding of what can and cannot be done as it relates to copyright and trademark laws could prevent bigger problems down the road.

He received these responses from the agents in attendance.

1. Call everyone you know and let them know how excited you are to be in the business and inform them of your initial success.

2. Hold an open house everyday that you don’t have anything else to do.

3. Take a top producer to lunch or shadow them.

4. Spend time with your Broker, getting familiar with contracts.

5. Show up at the office and good things will happen, perhaps an agent will have a referral they are too busy to handle or someone will need help on floor.

6. Work on a direct mail campaign to your farm area.

7. Avoid “stinkin’ thinkin’”

All are very good suggestions that do work when applied. I think the best thing learned from this morning is that there is a wealth of knowledge and experience in the real estate office and sometimes when you don’t know what to do, the answer or many answers can be found by asking the agent in the office or cubicle next to yours.

Jar opener

The jar opener is a common promotional item used by associates of my company. The benefits of the jar opener are its many uses, and relatively inexpensive cost to brand and purchase. We keep boxes of jar openers on hand and encourage the associates to pass them out when the meet a customer for the first time, in office or while canvassing a local neighborhood. Several years back I offered, via my website, to send anyone who emailed me a request, a free jar opener. Within the next few days after making the offer I received hundreds of requests from people throughout the world.

Other promotional items

There are many different types of marketing pieces you can choose from besides key chains, calendars and magnets. You have a better chance of your item being kept and your name remembered if you put some time and thought into what you decide to use. You should try and tailor the item to your niche or area or expertise.

• Umbrellas
• Coolies
• Mouse pads
• Pens
• Stress toys
• Tote bags
• Mugs
• Hats or visors

Of course none of these items will help you or your business if they stay stuffed away in a closet or storage area. You have to get yourself in front of as many people as possible to pass out your freebie and hopefully add another name to your business network.

photo credit by oskay

Consistent role playing will have a huge impact on the success of our careers.  Practicing what to say and when to say it when dealing with buyers and sellers will give us the confidence and skill to handle the issues that arise during the course of our doing business.

Agents tend to shy away from role playing because of how uncomfortable it makes them feel.  This should not be a reason to not participate.  Experiencing a loss of comfort in order to pick up valuable tips, receive constructive criticism and improve your communication skills, from our peers, is better than freezing up or not knowing what to say when faced with the real situation.

Grab yourself a partner or ask your manager to work with you and role play.  You will find in time that practice does indeed equal production and success.

The same should hold true when “presenting” ourselves online.  As agents we spend a considerable amount of time and money building up our online presence with the goal of building business relationships and ultimately meeting real estate customers face to face.  With that goal in mind, why would we do anything that could result in the customer having a bad first impression of us?

If our blog, Facebook, Linkedin, or Twitter profiles clearly identify us as being real estate agents, shouldn’t we behave the same as we would if the buyer or seller were sitting directly in front of us?  If we would not wear it, say it or do it when touring homes with a buyer or on a listing appointment with a seller, then why in the world would we do it when in front of possibly thousands of potential buyers or sellers online?

Caution should be exercised.  Cursing, off colored comments or jokes, rudeness or unfriendly behavior could result in an online observer having bad first impression of you, reducing or eliminating any opportunity you might have had to cultivate a new business relationship.

Keeping this in mind will help you make a good first impression, even online.

• Call your neighbors and let them know how home values are doing in your neighborhood.
• Call your family and friends and let them know you are committed to your real estate sales career and need their referrals to help you succeed.
• Call your past customers and ask them how they are doing.
• Call former agents you know who were unable to stay in the business.
• Call expireds, FSBO and renters.

Call someone, anyone and talk about your business with them.  Don’t leave your office or put your cell phone down until you have talked to people about real estate.  Set a goal that you will speak to 5-10-20 people about the real estate market daily and stick to that goal.