Open House info on Realtor.com

Well, well, well, I just found out something interesting.  Did you know that our open house information feeds automatically to Zillow, Trulia, and ColdwellBanker.com? Just by adding the information into IQOffice it flows to those sites.  Pretty cool, huh?  Did you also know that it flows to TulsaOpenHouse.com? (that one may be new to you).  I always thought that because we sent our open house information back to the MLS to show up on TulsaOpenHouse.com that it would automatically feed to Realtor.com.  NOPE!  The only way, for now ;-), to get your open house information to Realtor.com is to login to your account and add it to your listing.

Now some of you may be asking, "But Bryan, I've never logged into my Realtor.com account and don't know how to do that. Can you help me with that?".  Well, of course I can.  I am the Tool Man and this is Tool Time so here we go.

1. go to http://solutioncenter.realtor.com
2. Select the MLS as Tulsa
3. Put in your MLS indentifier (This is your GTAR #)
4. Put in your password (if you don't know it, click on the Forgot Password Link, If you don't have an account, click on the Sign Up Here Link - only if you are new to real estate).
5. On the left menu, click on "Edit a Listing"
6. Select the listing you want to enter the Open House info for and click "Edit".
7. Click on Open Houses and then "Add an Open House Date"
8. Select the Time and Date and click Save.

YOU'RE DONE!

Now that wasn't all that bad was it?  We are working on a way for us to send this information directly to Realtor.com without you having to go through this step, but for now, you'll need to do this.

Hope this helps and don't forget to comment on this post if you like it, hate it, or just want to sound off.

ColdwellBanker.com Profile Pages

Did you know that you have a profile page on ColdwellBanker.com? Yep, that's right. It's one of those perks you get for being BLUE.

Here's what you do. Go to http://cbworks.coldwellbanker.com/ and login. If you don't know what your login is, then you follow these steps. On the CBWorks login page, it will say "First Time Users, Click here for Access". CLICK THERE. It will ask you for your email address. This will be your company email address. The CBWorks system will then email you your password for the system. Follow the steps in the email to get logged in to the system. If it asks for your CREST ID, contact accounting and they can get that for you.

Once you get logged into CBWorks, you will see your name on the left. Click on your name, this will take you to the ColdwellBanker.com/secure site where you enter your profile information. On the left hand side, click on "Profile" and then on "Edit Profile".

There are some requirements that you have to have in your profile in order for it to show up. (1) You MUST click on "Media" and upload your photo. (2) You must have 6 bullet points combined about you in "General", "Credentials", or "Qualifications" area. The rest you can put in what you want. If there is any information that is wrong that you can't change, send an email to czumwalde@cbtulsa.com and we will get it fixed for you (She's going to love me for that one).

Once your profile is setup, it takes about 24hours to be active on the site. Check back the next day and let me know if you have any issues.

Remember, if you want the leads from your listings to go directly to YOU on ColdwellBanker.com, then you have to have your profile page setup.

HouseLogic.com Information

• Check out some of the articles that you can pull from HouseLogic.com/members.  It's FREE if you are a Realtor.  You can post these in your BLOG, share them on Social Media, download them for a newsletter, etc...  It's a pretty nice service that NAR provides.
• 

  Dos and Don’ts of Homebuyer Incentives

  Homebuyer incentives can be smart marketing or a waste of money. Find out when and how to use them. Read
• 

  Fielding a Lowball Purchase Offer on Your Home

  Consider before you ignore or outright refuse a very low purchase offer for your home. A counteroffer and negotiation could turn that low purchase offer into a sale. Read
• 

  6 Reasons to Reduce Your Home Price

  While you’d like to get the best price for your home, consider our six reasons to reduce your home price. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2012 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

RREIN Newsletters

I just received my latest issue of the "Home Matters" e-newsletter from about 10 different agents that have me on their COI list. It was great, and the best part about it was, I didn't have to do anything and neither did the agents. How cool is that? The newsletter provided me great information on Interior Design, Home Staging, Prepping my home to sell in the Fall, the short sale process explained, and access to all the listings for sale in our MLS. Oh, and all I have to do to contact the agent that sent me the email is either click on their email, or pick up the phone and call them. The information and picture of the agent is right there in front of me.

Did you know that I have a really hard time coming up with good information for my BLOG. Why don't I just take some of this information from the RREIN newsletter and repost it to my BLOG? I don't know. Sounds like a pretty good idea. Where are you getting your content from??? ;)

So, if you don't have your contacts loaded into IQOffice, get on it. They automatically feed to the RREIN system and your contacts get the monthly email newsletter from YOU. Make sure you add yourself to your list so you know what they are getting.

There's Only One Way to Go (Thoughts of a new agent)

I received this letter from a dynamic, hard-working, new agent in our company. Thought I might share it with you all:

"Is it ok to write about your job when you’re in a really bad mood about it (among other things)? I think so…it’s why they call it editing.

So I’ve been thinking about what to call my renderings. Here are my choices:

“Tales of a Frustrated Real Estate Rookie”

“There’s Only One Way to Go From Here”

“Seven Months in and not a Dime to Show”

I haven’t decided yet because all of these things keep running through my head, so I’ll let you know when I’ve realized the most apropos description, which may only come after I’m done writing down my thoughts regarding the first six months of being a realtor.

Seven months in and I have yet to make a dime! It’s true—I got my license in January and began my post-license training in the middle of 22 inches of snow and temps that fell below Alaska’s. Wonder how the real estate business is doing up there? Anyway, in March I sent out 127 “farming letters” to a neighborhood across the highway from me, only to be called by a realtor who shall remain unnamed, who informed me that she lived in the neighborhood; therefore, it belonged to her. I used the only techno-jargon I knew and told her I had done my “Market Analysis” and had discovered that no realtor owned a “20% or better market share” in that area which made it free game! She also worked for another agency, so it didn’t matter anyway. Then she offered to “work WITH ME!” I told her, “Snooze, ya loose, sister,” in so many words. That was the only phone call I got.

I then went on to FSBOs, (about 6) and actually got a call from 1, whose house I listed in May, at a price much higher than I wanted, but it was my first. I needed a sign in someone’s yard and name recognition, so I was willing to pay for it. Turns out, this person works a job that produces many referrals of those needing to sell their homes. So I got my second listing off of referral, which felt fantastic—finally!

Also in March, I began working floor hours answering the phone (when it rang) and I learned a great deal by answering the questions of realtors calling in saying, “HURRY…look up such and such a house and tell me such and such!” And I got really good at it. Then one day I got a call from a woman who wanted to place a bid on a HUD home and I went through the roof with excitement! My first buyer! Wow… And… the house was a $22,300 bungalow that was going to prove a really good investment for my client, but not much commission for me. Again with the name recognition. She made the bid in April and here we are in July, hoping and praying to close on the deal by the end of the month. With a few dozen unpleasant surprises behind us, it will be worth it. But the next HUD buyer who comes along, I’ll probably refer. We’ve got a new rookie coming in the next couple of months—she can have him/her. OK, not really. Remember…“not a dime so far…”

I am now up to 5 listings, 2 active buyers, 3 “hot” buyers, and about 20 “working” buyers. Given those numbers, I would agree the saying has rung true… “Buyers ARE liars.” They don’t mean to be. Everybody wants to buy a house. Just not everybody CAN buy a house. And not everbody INTENDS to buy a house. LOTS of people want to LOOK at houses. Aggravates the daylights out o’ me, but what choice do I have? And most buyers want something for nothing—one of those awesome HUD deals that their cousin got. Or they want a 3BR 2BA brick home with a fenced yard, an attached 2 car garage, and wood floors in Owasso for $70,000. Me: I’m not sure that exists but I’ll look! (Bright cheery smile with gritted teeth) Them: But I’ve got CASH!! (Pride written all over their face)

Sometimes I ask myself, “What was I thinking?” I mean, the economy is the absolute worst it’s been in decades, and I go into Real Estate? People giggle or offer me sympathy and both are warranted. But…I’m about to help a single mom with a daughter in Afghanistan close on her very first home, and I’ve helped a childless widow list her home so she can move into a much-deserved and much-needed retirement community. I even took her 4-wheeled walker to her after a friend had borrowed it, and she cried. I am helping a couple who have re-united purchase a new “start-over” home, and have listed 2 inherited homes after the passing of a loved one, thus taking a huge weight off the shoulders of the new owners. I had no idea. No idea. After having taught school for 10 years, I was afraid I would not be “helping people” as much in this profession as I had in the past as a teacher. In the words of my 7-year-old nephew, I was “Wrong-O!” I absolutely LOVE this job and I know I’m doing exactly what I have been purposed to do at this point in my life. God has certainly shown me that I can serve him ANYWHERE and doing ANYTHING!

Soooo.,.poo on “not a dime yet,” and “frustrations of rookie-dom,” I’m picking “There’s Only One Way to Go From Here!” as my title. It’s already actually pretty darn good, and I like it, and I know the Lord will provide if I honor Him in my work and serve those He brings to me. Besides, I haven’t had a paycheck in 4 years—why start now? We’ll be okay till a little lagniappe starts rolling in. Until then, I’ll focus on the positives and reap the rewards of a job I know has been well-done thus far. Got to go…Open House at 2:00 and showing another at 4:30. God is good… "

Thanks to Stephanie Wideman for sharing her thoughts and experience with us all.

Individual Property Websites

So, you're getting ready to go on a listing presentation and you want to know how to determine the right domain name for your Individual Property Websites (IPW) so you can tell your seller. What is it? What's the address? How's it typed in? Are they working yet? What did you say?

Yep, I get those all the time. Here are some of the answers and a slick way to know EXACTLY what the web address is to your listings IPW.

(1) YES, the IPW's are up and working, they have been for the past few years, but we changed the addressing scheme to match the address of the listing and a really cool, new look and feel.

(2) The standard address for your listings IPW's is www.address.cbtulsa.com

(3) The "address" part of the domain name is determined by how it is typed into MLS. If "street" is spelled out, then it will be in the domain name. If it is "st", then that's how it will show up.

Here's the easiest way to find the actual domain name for your listing's IPW:

(1) Go to www.cbtulsa.com and go to the details page of your listing.

(2) Click on the "View Property Website" link to the right of the photo. This will pull up the IPW of your listing.

(3) Look at the address bar of the website. SHAZAAM - There it is.

I hope this helps, especially if you are getting ready to go on a listing presentation, emailing a link to your seller, or inserting these links into your e-newsletter or flyer.

Text or Call - Let the Consumer Choose

Well, here we go again. At Coldwell Banker Select, we like to think of ourselves as "Technologically Advanced". Fancy term for simply providing the latest tools to our agents to help them grow their business. The latest development to our HomeFacts system does just that.

You can now TEXT the property code to (918) 990-0660 on your phone and receive a text message back with the basic information on the property, the listing agents name and contact info, and a link to the property listing on the agent's mobile website. The agent will be notified with the consumers phone number, the address of the property, and whether it was a text from the yard sign, Select Living, or whatever the source. Pretty slick. Even if you call the number, it will let you put in the code, just like the normal HomeFacts number.

The nice thing is when the consumer clicks on the mobile site link, they get to see all of the photos of the property. It's a great way to drive someone to the agent's mobile site, without having to do a lot of advertising.

Maybe, they'll even come up with something that will ask the consumer if they want a text with the property information, even if they call. (hint, hint, wink, wink!)

Engaging on Facebook

I've had a number of questions lately about Facebook and how would I recommend an agent "Engage" people on the site. Well, the short answer is "It Depends!" What do you want to accomplish? If you want to post your listings to other agents, then you need to have as many other real estate agents as your friends as you can. If you want to engage your LOR (List of Relationships), where most of your referrals are going to come from, then you need to have them as your friends.

Try this . . . create an A+, A, B and C list in Facebook and categorize your Friends, just like you do in your database. Then, every week, go into the A+ and A Group and look at each of their posts to see if there is anything that you can "comment" on or engage them with. Look for signs like, "My mother is moving to Seattle" - BAM - Engage and get the referral. or signs like, "We're having a baby" - BAM - larger home needer - Engage and work on the business. Remember that these are your A+ and A groups so they will more than likely refer to you anyway, as long as you care and pay attention to them.

You might also share your new listings with this group and ask if they know of anyone that would be insterested in the listing. Keep it personal and not too generic like most of the direct posts from MLS.

The other thing that I would do is post "something of value" at least every 2 weeks. Maybe a link to an article you've read about homeownership, low rates, etc... Or something that is going on in the community that you are involved with to show that you are "giving back".

Spend the time, but not tooooooooooooooooo much time. It's easy to get lost in it and then your day is shot.

LOR - A Change Taking Place

In the past we have put a lot of stock in what is termed the "Center of Influence". Some people use circle or sphere of influence. Well, I've been reading the Work by Referral book by Buffini and I've decided to change my vocabulary, or atleast the acronym, to LOR (List of Relationships). I think it better describes what we need to continuously do with those who are on our list - Build Relationship.

If you don't have one, start from scratch. You can use the following to help you develop that list:

• Friends and Family - These are people who are on your Christmas Card list.
• Current Clients - This group is often overlooked as a referral source.
• Past Clients - An easy one, but remember, 82% of people who sold a home said they would work with thier agent again. Let's not give them a chance to forget us.
• Groups and Associations - These are you church groups, PTA's, Hobby groups, teams, etc...
• Business Associates and Networks - Local Chambers, Contractors, Inspectors, Lenders, etc...

For those who already have a COI, the first step to converting it to an LOR is to evaluate the people that are on it.

Organize your list and group the relationships into 5 categories (A+, A, B, C, D)

• A+ - These are the people that send you multiple referrals a year.
• A - People most likely to refer you.
• B - People who would refer you if they were asked and shown how.
• C - People who MAY refer to you in the future.
• D - Difficult and Demanding people. I call this the "Ritual Removal Group"

All of the people in your LOR should fall into one of the above categories. Once you have them all categorized, it is imperative that you verify their information is correct (Address, Phone and Email).

There will be more to the story after Labor Day, so remember to take some time off, but also use your time wisely. It shouldn't take you more than an hour to come up with you names and categorize them. Then starting Tuesday, start verifying the info.

The Annonymous Client

Have you ever wondered why so many people (into the 90 percentile) who are looking for homes, use the internet? Especially when they can utilize a Realtor and have us do most of the work for them? Crazy isn't it. Well, we're salespeople, and one of the stereotypes of a "salesperson" is high pressure sales. Most of us have experieinced it. Some of us like being in that environment, we know how to handle it and navigate our way through it, but most people don't like it at all. They would rather have the "I'm just looking" approach and then if they have any question, they contact you. Which brings me to... (Dum Dum Duummmmmmmm) - The Internet Lead.

When someone's looking for homes on the internet, which almost everyone is, they remain anonymous, until they need a question answered. Once they ask a question, we have an opportunity to shine to that potential client. We may not know their financial situation, their motivation for buying, how long they've been in the market, or when or if they actually plan on buying, but as professionals, part of our job is to provide information to every possible buyer in the market for our listings. The question is this, if you were in a store "just looking" and had a question about a product that you were thinking of buying and yelled "Can somebody help me? I've got a question." and no one responded, would you move on to the next store where they possibly have a similar product? Would you be frustrated? What if someone heard you and said, "I can help, but I'll get to you in an hour." How would you feel then?

What if someone came right up and said, "I can help you with that, answer any questions you may have, AND if you're interested in anything else in this store or any other, I know all about that as well." Now how would that make you feel? Would you be more willing to work with that person? I know I would. If that's how we feel over an item that's $20 - $100 dollars, then how much more would we have those feelings with a $150,000 purchase.

So, I know Internet leads are tough, they come in at wierd times, and sometimes we don't know what to say, so we just don't do anything with them at all. PLEASE, Don't do that. In a market that is slower than we are used to, it is imperative that we handle these leads different than we have in the past.

I would argue, JUST RESPOND. Answer their questions and follow it up with a question of your own, like "Did you know I can answer any question you may have on any home on the market?" If they like you, you're in.

Just my thoughts. Please comment on this if you think I'm off base, or right on the money, or if you want some further help with what you might say to an Internet lead.

Incredible Potential - the iPad

OK, I finally was given the opportunity to get my hands on one of the new Apple iPad's. All I can say is "WOW"! This thing is the real deal. It doesn't take long before you are tapping, typing, drawing, surfing, reading, watching, etc... like a pro. Alot of people say, "well all it is is an iTouch, only bigger". That maybe true to some degree, but where the iTouch, and even the iPhone are lacking is the screen size.

I'm so excited about the opportunitites that this tool has for our industry, I am already thinking a million miles an hour.

So here's what I want you to do... sit back, close your eyes (after you've read this), and imagine with me. Imagine a world where all you need to do your real estate is your iPad. Imagine your calendar reminding you that you have a listing presentation. Imagine walking into the sellers house and being able to "hand-write" your notes about the property on your iPad. Imagine quickly opening your listing presentation on your iPad and "flipping" through all that you and Coldwell Banker Select have to offer. Imagine being able to present the listing documents that you can fill-in right on iPad. Imagine closing the deal and having your seller's sign the documents on your iPad and you emailing them a copy of it right then and there. Imagine those documents being copied to your office admin for processing. Imagine the full-color photos of the properties that you can show your buyers at the tips of your fingers.

Imagine, just imagine the potential.

Is all of that possible right now, NO, but will it be in the future...You Bet.

So, as I try to get this thing figured out, stay tuned.

Do you need some Margin?

In all aspects of our life, we need to have "Margin". Margin looks and feels different for every person, but it is needed. Margin is what keeps us from having the engines burn out, the plane dive and start into a flat spin that we can't pull out of. What does margin look like?

In your real estate life, margin may be the time you set aside to learn something you don't know how to do to make you better. It may be going to a conference and be motivated or inspired. It may simply be having coffee with a past client.

In your personal life, margin may be the time you spend at the lake just "chillin". It may taking a walk with you son or daughter, playing with your grand kids, taking a long-needed trip, or simply dressing up and going on a date with your spouse.

There are lots of other areas of our lives that we need margin. It is critical.

So for Memorial, take some time to have some Margin in every aspect of your life. Rejuvinate, get inspired, spend time with those you love, and come back ready to take on the world.