CRM by Delta Media Group

4 Ways to Dominate Your Market
You're ready to own your market, stay ahead of your competitors, and become a top-producing real estate team dominating the local market share. If the goal is clear, the road to achieving that goal can be hard to imagine... until these essential tips come into the picture. Let's look at fresh and timely strategies that your real estate team can leverage to help you climb to the top of your market. 1. Leverage technology in the right ways Not all technology adoption may be the right choice for your business. Nowadays, there is so much PropTech out there — but what your team needs is the right tech tools. As a best practice, you should strive to leverage technology in the right ways that create tangible and trackable value. Think automated nurture marketing, eAlerts, and the generation of meaningful insights. On the other hand, you might want to rethink the deployment of technology in areas that could negatively impact the experience that your clients have when engaging with your business. For example, speed-to-lead is crucial, but no one wants to talk to bots. Instead, it's ideal to have real humans who are seasoned marketing experts communicating with your precious customers. Being specific about what, how, and when you are using your technology can help you retain a people-centric, value-driven real estate brand culture. 2. Build an accountability process Pop quiz! Are you and your team actually achieving what you set out to do? Are there areas of your workflow that fall through the cracks? Are you measuring your progress towards concrete production goals? If you answered these questions and realized that you're not capitalizing on a clear, goal-oriented strategy, it's a sign that you need an accountability process. All of the top entrepreneurs have accountability practices. Accountability is all about blending the big picture and the immediate moment to create consistent progress toward a goal. Accountability begins with setting realistic and achievable goals. Then, that larger goal is broken down into all of the smaller phases and steps that need to be taken in order to achieve that larger goal. Let's say it's your goal to close on 20 transactions in a year. That means your team should be closing five deals per quarter. To close those five deals, you will need to be working a certain number of leads to ensure that five of them will convert in the future. Become more accountable and efficient by mapping out the actions your real estate business needs to take, helping guide your day-in-day-out workflow strategy. Pro Tip: Leveraging the right tech can actually help your team become more accountable. If you have a back-end team portal that is customized to your unique transaction workflow, it can be much easier to keep tabs on what tasks have gotten done, who's responsible, and what has been overlooked. For example: if your team sends out a closing gift to clients at the end of every transaction, you need to ensure that the gift is being planned and ordered ahead of time. If this is programmed into your project management portal, the reminder is automatically there. You can tag the team member in charge, they can fulfill the task, and voila! Never miss another gifting opportunity again. #3. Set consistent life and work routines Maintaining a strong work-life balance can help you stay motivated, boost creativity, and increase productivity. You're much more likely to succeed if you're feeling uplifted, secure, and are prioritizing your wellness. When you're unorganized and not taking care of yourself, you're likely to spend more time working but ultimately getting less done. An effective way to improve your workflow is to create a consistent daily routine. Make time to take care of yourself and your work tasks, helping you fall into the rhythms of a strong daily groove. Pro Tip: Everyone is unique, so the optimum work and life schedule will naturally vary from person to person. Take time to look in and find the process that works best for you. Encourage your team to do the same. #4. Prospect, prospect, prospect If you want to beat the competition, one of the most important things that you need to be doing is getting serious about your prospecting. To boost your market share and access new opportunities, you need to be consistent about reaching out to leads. Investing in your lead generation capacity can help you build up your lead and client database, fueling your sales funnel and allowing you to dominate your market. To view the original article, visit the BoomTown

6 Lists All Agents Need to Succeed
Broker Bryan Robertson shares six must-have lists that will keep you organized, drive new clients and make your business run like a well-oiled machine. Here's Bryan: Lists can be powerful when used properly. They imply organization, impart control and enable understanding. Instead of a "to do" list, I'm talking about lead lists. Instead of trying to explain a complicated customer relationship management (CRM) solution or an expensive training program, I'm going to tell you the six lists you need to succeed in this business. If you've got these and work them right, you'll close deals. The 6 lists every Realtor needs to succeed: Your sphere of influence Your past clients Your "A" leads Your "B" leads Your "C" leads Business development contacts If you've got people in each of these categories, you've already got a good start. What most agents need—and seem to pay a fortune for with consultants, advisers and coaches—is the definition of who to put in each of those lists and what to actually do with the lists. It's not complicated, as I'll explain. Who is in each list? Sphere of influence: Friends, family, past colleagues outside real estate. Past clients: Duh! For new agents, this list will come. "A" leads: Anyone buying or selling in the next 90 days, who are preapproved and motivated. "B" leads: Anyone buying or selling in the next six months, who are organized, serious and seem loyal. "C" leads: Open house contacts, website leads and anyone "thinking" about real estate. Business development: Builders, lawyers, accountants, referral agents, etc. Just to be clear on the ABCs, a lot of agents waste time massaging and cultivating their B and C leads as much as the A leads. In a word: DON'T! This is a numbers game, and you will never convert every lead. Conversely, don't treat your "A" leads like Gollum treats The One Ring in The Lord of the Rings. That one client you really need to close is not "your precious." Clients can smell desperation and clinginess from a mile away. Provide good service, but balance your energies on other clients and prospects. What to do with each list? What's the reason most agents never do business with past clients? FOLLOW-UP! Even if they like you, if you don't reach out and touch them once in a while, they will forget about you. Don't take it personally, but if you don't send me a Christmas card or a "Happy Birthday" via Facebook, I'll probably forget you, too. So, the crazy, insane, ultraclassified secret to successfully using lists is... SEND THEM SOMETHING OCCASIONALLY!! There, I said it. That's the secret. The cat is out of the bag. I've blown it for all the top producers. If you follow Brian Buffini, then you'll send them something every month. If you're like me, I send them something six to eight times a year. Whatever you do, send them something so they know you're breathing and you'd like them to send you some business. Now, seriously, what you send them is up to you. Here are some specific suggestions, but you'll find dozens of options from every sector of the industry: Newsletters (short and useful) Personal notes (NO PITCH, just say "hi") Phone calls (NO PITCH, just say "hi") Emails (useful information) Gifts (something small) Appreciation party invitation Letters (yes, in an actual envelope) Postcards (the big ones) Are there other ideas? Sure. The point is that you send them things that are useful and genuine. If you treat them like just another cog in the system, they'll pick up on that. Read up on "mass personalization" and you'll understand what I mean. Just a tip: Your MLS drip for buyers is NOT a contact. That buyer probably gets the same stuff from realtor.com, Zillow and Redfin. Your MLS drip is meaningless. Send them something about the neighborhood they're looking in. That's useful and will get their attention. What is the business development list? Rather than paying for leads or hoping that the next buyer at an open house will write an offer, you need to be proactive. The purpose of business development is to CREATE BUSINESS. For the record, that doesn't include whatever advertising or marketing program you're running. This list includes people you talk to about frequent, repeat business. Let's say you want to sell trust assets (homes of seniors who die). You like working with the families and understand the process. You need to reach out to trust attorneys and promote your skills to them. Set up meetings and discuss what you offer. Build relationships with several trust attorneys and keep pushing for why you're the best agent to sell those homes. Another group is builders. As agents, you've got contacts on the lending, investor and builder side. Okay, put that to use by building a team of people to buy and develop properties. Sure, many builders have these relationships already—but then again, they may not. It's up to you to figure out what they need and how to cultivate the relationship. When do I drop people from the lists? Patience is a virtue and, unfortunately, many prospects have very little of it. Your sphere of influence and past clients are most likely to remain stable and grow. Those two lists should seldom see people drop off. The other lists will see people come and go regularly. Don't take it personally. Here are some thoughts: Spend one to two hours each day on lead generation and cultivation. Drop leads when they tell you they've gone elsewhere. Drop leads when you determine they're wasting time or aren't serious. Don't fear losing leads — generate new ones. Customer service and your lists The whole real estate business is based on customer service and how good you are at providing it. You don't even have to be great at marketing or sales — just ensuring the customer is happy can go a long way. Harry Gordon Selfridge is credited with using the phrase, "The customer is always right." His store, Selfridge's, was all about providing an exceptional customer experience. Keep this in mind with everything you do with the people on your lists. Make people remember you. Make people want to remember you. If you do, those lists will grow and grow. To view the original article, visit the Zurple

Using a Client Referral System for Real Estate Leads
In business, client referral programs involve a process of asking your current (or recent past) clients to refer you, your business, and your services to other people--people within a network and a sphere of influence. Typically, referral programs are free (no strings attached) or linked to an offer or incentive for the referee. Referrals remain one of the best ways for real estate agents to connect with qualified, warm leads. Increasing your referral business can significantly boost your sales–and with much less hassle than trying to convert online leads. Research indicates real estate referrals are crucial for growth and the easiest way for an agent to get referrals is through past clients who had a positive experience with them and their brokerage. Even with all of the digital information and options we have at our fingertips these days, we still look to those we trust for referrals and recommendations. In fact, 84% of consumers say that they almost always trust referrals or recommendations from their friends or family when it comes to products and businesses. A real estate CRM not only helps you get more referrals but it also helps you track referrals more effectively, increasing your odds of converting them to clients – whether it's right away or down the road. What you do with your referrals, specifically how you manage and keep in touch with them, can make a significant impact on your business. To view the original article, visit the IXACT Contact blog. Further Reading 65 Sources of Real Estate Referrals You May Have Overlooked 5 Professionals Outside of Your Network to Get Referrals Friday Freebie: Guide to Asking for (and Getting) Referrals How to Generate Real Estate Referrals Using Local Online Groups Brokerage Marketing Secrets: How to Help Your Agents Get More