Podcasting as a new medium

We launched our podmail and podcasting system last month and are having great success in helping real estate agents use the tools to promote their business. 4MySales originally created the podcast tool in response to REALTORS continual need to differentiate themselves from the competition. I felt that the time had come to give real estate agents a simple tool to create their own podcast, and subsequently their own voice on the net.

There are thousands of professionals that have taken to creating periodic podcasts as part of their marketing mix, and more and more professionals are using it every day. In fact a quick search on Technorati shows that there are over one million posts on podcasting in their search engine. The new medium is being adopted by professionals across the globe, and it is time to step up as a real estate agent and claim your own voice on the net. Click here to create a podmail now!

Approaching Expired Listing Leads

In the new market, expired listings are the resource of the day for immediate opportunities. In point of fact, if you have the skills to convince homeowners whose listings have expired to list with you, you can generate a great amount of business.

Bernice Ross at Inman posted a great article this week on how to approach expireds and how to turn these cold and defensive prospects into more receptive clients. Her advice is to expect these people to be quite angry with REALTORS in general and to expect to answer questions such as: “Where were you when I listed the house the first time?” “Why should I work with you instead of the thirty other agents that have called me today?”

Instead of apologizing for the lack of success with the previous listing, the article advises to use these questions to differentiate yourself from the competition. I recommend focusing on the marketing tools that you have available to you that your competition does not. This specifically applies to any online tools that you have to help promote the home for your clients.

Bernice’s advice is to explain that most homes don’t sell because of pricing and exposure, and that you are prepared to work with the client to optimize both. I will reference her scripts below, but my recommended approach is to explain that most buyer’s find homes online now and that you can maximize the home’s exposure on the net with tools such as virtual tours, podmail, Podcasts, Blogs, Showing Agent Feedback, and various other tools to help increase the number of ways that prospects can view the home online.

With those points in mind, here are a few of the scripts that Bernice recommended to use when prospecting expired listings:

“One of the reasons that listings expire is because they did not receive adequate exposure on the Web. If you were to place your property on the market again, would having it marketed on more than 20 different Web sites be a service you would want?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Seller, there is currently 10 months of inventory on the market. This means that if no new listings come on the market, it will take 10 months for the existing inventory to sell. In other words, in any given month, the probability that your listing will sell is 10 percent. The probability that your property will still be listed next month is 90 percent. Consequently, you have an important decision to make. Will you price your property in the top 10 percent of listings that will sell next month or will you price it in the 90 percent that will still be listed next month?”

Boom, Bust, or just new leadership at RedFin, Zillow and HouseValues?

Big changes are happening in our industry; especially online. The founding member of RedFin stepped down in August, and HouseValues stock price has taken a nose dive. Zillow, after a great fanfare is now facing lawsuits. Now I luckily I never invested in House Values.com, and am not surprised to hear that their lead-generation approach was not fully sustainable. However, what do these changes mean to our industry?

If you look at the behavior of industry and supporting technology in a boom/bust market (now I am not saying our industry has gone bust, this is merely a recap of historical performance) the industry grows first from rational support. After a time, rational, but risk adverse, investors invest in the industry. Finally the growth of the industry accelerates until irrational investors choose to jump into the market. This goes on until fundamentals cannot support the growth and a correction occurs. This is what happened with railroads, and more recently with tech-stocks.

The interesting observation however is that after each correction there exists a long steady growth period where the industry steadily grows to well beyond its initial size at growth rates that the fundamentals can support. Once again, a great example is the presence of the internet now versus seven years ago…. Don’t forget that Google just paid 1.6 billion for YouTube.

So what does this mean for the real estate industry and the competing online real estate services? I suspect that online companies will continue to find ways to streamline the transaction and will help real estate agents differentiate themselves from the competition. However, instead of rapid-growing web companies, I see a lot more REALTOR-centric technologies that help the real estate agent guide and advise the client through the transaction.

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Investment Property, It's all about Income and Cap Rates

My dissertation on Cap Rates. I wrote this some time ago, but was too lazy to grab onto anything new. Maybe I'm just overwhelmed from the news of Ed Bradely and the election banter on talk radio. I'll look for more interesting topics at a later date, but for those of you that own income property, enjoy...


When looking to buy a piece of property, one must determine exactly what your expectations are for that bit of real estate. What mix of rent and real property appreciation do you expect with this investment.? More importantly, what is the right price to pay for this investment?
This last question is certainly the most important because it will determine the difference between a good investment and a waste of money. If you invest wisely and get a good price for a piece of property, you may expect revenues of 18% and with capital gains in the hundreds of thousands. Conversely, if you pay too much, you may end up paying into a losing investment for the rest of your days.

Probably the most common, and therefore effective, method to value an investment is through the use of a cap rate. Precisely defined, the cap rate is the net operating income of the property divided by its purchase price. It shows the expected percent annual return given a specific investment. The benefit to using a cap rate is that a buyer can determine his or her expected revenue from the investment, and define what a prospective investment is worth. This effectively eliminates the random pricing of real estate and reduces determination of the sales price to a simple investment calculation. Instead of questioning whether an investment in a piece of property is a good decision, a cap rate can be used to determine what the expected return is, and if the investment will be profitable.
Another benefit of using cap rates to value property is in the resale assumptions surrounding the investment. When you value a property as an investment, you must assume that the person that will eventually purchase that property from you will be looking for a similar return on their investment. If you are purchasing an investment property and plan to hold onto it for a fixed number of years, the cap rate can be used to determine the resale value of the property in addition to your expected annual return.
As will all periodic costs, rents increase with inflation and local demand. If you assume that the individual that will eventually purchase your property is expecting a return on investment that is similar to your own expectations, then the cap rate must be held constant. You expect a ten percent return on investment (10% cap rate) so it would be prudent to expect that the next buyer will also expect a ten percent return on investment. If the cap rate is held constant, but the rents and subsequent net income are increased, then the selling price of the property must also increase. By assuming a growth rate in rents for a given holding period, you can determine the resale value of your investment, and the magnitude of the capital gains that you will realize from the sale.

Cap Rates are used widely in real estate because they provide a simple method to determine a percent return on investment. From that, information, investors and realtors can determine the proper pricing for an investment given an expected return. They can determine the resale value of an investment and any associated capital gains. Finally, cap rates can be used to forecast to total expected returns on investment and confirm the proper purchase price for an investment property.

Take Steps to Rock the Vote

Election Day is upon us and once again we have the opportunity to express our opinions and choose the candidates that best represent the interests that we support. In casting my vote today I had the opportunity to use the new touch screen ballot system, and I must tell you that in spite of all of the negative press around security for these new devises, the submission of my vote was easier today than it has been in any election that I have voted in previously. I know that there are a lot of nay-sayers saying that this new technology maintains to high of an inherent risk for failure or tampering, but my experience today was just great.

Now I know that you don’t care how I voted. After all, who am I but some guy in Orange County that knows a lot about marketing and a bit about real estate? However, regardless of whether or not you care, I am going to share with you my observations. My observation is that these days the only difference between Democrats and Republicans are wedge issues. Opinions on how the government should be run are almost identical, regardless of which of the two parties are in power. The practices and activities of the two parties are now almost identical in most aspects of governance. The only differences are on those few issues that polarize opinions such as religion, abortion, gun control, etc., and it is on these wedge issues that the two parties differentiate their platforms. I think Governor Ventura (Minnesota) said it best during one of his initial interviews on Larrry King when he stated: “When they talk about the two-party system, that's only one more than Russia. You know, we get one more choice than Russia”

For me personally, I voted my conscience. I voted for some Republicans and for a few Democrats. I am also proud to say that there were a few Libertarians that I voted for as well. Like Ventura, I do support the idea of having more than just a two party system. Regardless of your opinion, please take remember the civic rights for which your ancestors gave their lives and cast your vote.

My Thoughts On The Orange County Market

There is a lot of discussion about affordability, and I have even been lambasted for putting my name and link to this blog. But as a long-time resident of the city of Mission Viejo in Orange county, I would like to point out what effects rates have on our market to demonstrate that even if prices go down (professors at Chapman argue that prices are not expected to retrench much more than they have currently) the home buyers may be able to afford more now than they will next year if interest rates tick up.

With that in mind, lets look at a Mission Viejo home priced at $1,000,000 (wow homes are expensive in Orange County.) Okay, so if you bought a house for $1,000,000 with no down payment and a 30 year fixed mortgage with a fixed interest rate at 6.25% (today’s published rate on Wells Fargo.) Given this scenario your monthly mortgage payment will be $6,157.17.

So now what if prices do go down but interest rates go up? What if home prices dip by 5% and rates tick up from 6.25% to 7.0%? Well, that million dollar home is now priced at 950,000. However the monthly mortgage cost has increased to $6,320.37. As a home buyer, I would have been better to buy the million dollar home at the lower rate.

The great unknowns here are pricing and interest rates. Nobody is arguing that rates will increase. They are just discussing when they will tick up. Pricing as well is an unknown factor. In various areas of the country (Florida, and even San Diego) prices have dipped significantly. However, while inventory is as high now as it was in 2002, prices have only declined by about 3% across the county.

For the investors and flippers the time to pull out of the market has passed months ago, and if that is your strategy than there are other opportunities to make a quick buck. However, if you are looking to buy a home, the next nine months are in a sweet spot where you will have a lot of choices and rates that are still at historic lows. This can be translated into a buyers market.

With regard to fundamentals in Orange County, there are very few residential investors left in the county who need to get out, and employment rates are still at very low rates. Many people still commute two hours along the 91 freeway to go to work and dream of buying a home in Orange County. In addition, other than Ladera Ranch and Tellaga there are very few developments planned in the county to absorb the housing demand.

In my assessment of the area we are in a buyer’s market. Inventory will remain high for the next nine months as houses sit on the market and people who bought more than they can afford work through their challenges. During that time, the people that spend two hours a day on the freeway coming into work will take advantage of the market and absorb many of the available homes. Because there is very little new construction available and a lot of people that want to live here (my brother-in-law likens Mission Viejo and Irvine to living in park) After much of this inventory is absorbed, prices will begin their slow and steady increase once again.

Barrett Niehus

The Expanded Marketing Plan as Part of Your Listing Package

I think we are all in agreement that the listing presentation is a critical component of the sales process. Let’s face it, if your presentation doesn’t secure the listing, you have wasted your time as well as that of your clients. One of the presentation components that I have found to be successful for different agents is what I refer to as the Expanded Marketing Package. In addition to the rest of the materials that you present your prospect, comps, tax rolls, days on market data, advertisement examples, I recommend including one or two sheets that details your expanded approach to marketing the home. In this Expanded Marketing Package, include all of the various marketing activities that you plan to use to help the seller divest their home. If you use a blog, podcasts, agent caravans, newsletters, flyers, referrals, postcards, peer announcements, business cards with the listing data on it, advertisements, detail each item with a brief description so that your prospective client can understand the lengths that you will go to in order to effectively sell their home.

The Expanded Marketing Package serves a number of functions during listing presentations. First, it sets you apart from the competition that may not utilize the marketing resources that you do. Second, it presents unique value to the client so that they can understand why they need your services. Finally, by reviewing the investment that you will be making in marketing the property, you will be much better positioned to justify a full commission to the client.

Real estate is ripe for innovation

An interesting article from MarketingProf’s today details an interesting approach to innovation, and I think the approach can be very pertinent to the real estate industry. Technology has advanced to a point where blatant inefficiencies in the traditional real estate business model are being continually challenged by simple innovation (think Zillow, RedFin, Zip Realty) and there is significant opportunity for people in the trenches to really succeed with a little innovation…..

Okay, back to the article and the lesson. The MarketingProfs article: To Innovate, Break A Rule recommends that approach of taking stock of traditional rules and dogma for doing business challenging the validity of those rules. With new technologies and tools, many of the old rules of the transaction no longer apply, and the groups that challenge those rules end up capturing market share. As an example, a comps report used to be the exclusive tool of the real estate agent. Zillow broke that rule and now we are reeling. The same concept applies to access to MLS data. Now you can get listing data off of thousands of websites and a full interface from Trulia. RedFin broke the rules of the two-party exclusive representation and is rapidly growing beyond the Northwestern market.

So what does the article teach about creating innovation in your own business? I have posted some excerpts below, but please read the entire article.

“How do you do it?
Rules come in innumerable forms: service levels, pricing models, distribution, product features, and customer experiences. Clearly, rules can only be broken that are operationally and financially realistic, but I recommend approaching the task openly, with three questions in mind:

1. What are the natural laws of your business? The practices that are so familiar and regular they are almost unnoticeable? This is perhaps the most difficult task, because by definition it requires seeing your business clearly, without the bias of "business as usual."

2. A rule must be relevant. Backroom processes and cost-reducing efficiencies don't count unless they translate into something profoundly meaningful for your customers. Ask: Which affects them the most? Are there ones that most obviously frustrate or irritate our customers? (A really clear indicator here is this: What do you fight with your customers most about?). At this stage, focused customer research can be useful, particularly if you can test alternative service/product models.

3. Which practices, if changed, could
have the most disruptive impact on the marketplace? What would really change the rules of the game? Breaking a rule isn't just about creating new value, it's about repositioning yourself. The question is as much about marketing as product/service innovation. It should send a dramatic signal that you do business differently. Even if few Commerce Bank customers go on Sundays, being open seven days a week gives immediate credibility to their "most convenient" market position. “

The Carnival of Choosing Your Niche

I was reading one of the Carnival of Real Estate’s posts from Bloodhound Realty last week on the topic of changing your business model to maximize your return. The post was specifically on adopting a flat fee model versus a full commission business model to adapt to the current real estate environment. Now there is nothing special about the flat fee model, but what I did want to point out is that the approach that our Bloodhound has taken is to identify where the biggest revenue potential exists in his organization. He has then adjusted his business model to leverage these opportunities.

The posting make the point much more eloquently that I have. However, the lesson is simply that real estate agents need to take a good look at their current service offerings as well as their market and determine exactly where the greatest opportunities lay. For Bloodhound Realty, their approach for differentiation is to move to a flat-fee service and really market the savings that potential buyers and sellers will enjoy. For other agents, they may choose to focus on specific niche’s; agents in my area are specializing in buy and hold investors as well as first-time home buyers. Regardless of your approach (flat fee, low priced niche, luxury niche, investor niche, rental niche, leasing niche, etc.) now is the time to really look at how revenue is brought into your organization and what is needed to keep the cash flowing in.

Real Estate Agents Have a New Voice Online

I am please to announce that our Podmail system in ONLINE!!!! This one has been some time coming, but I think you will like the system and the service. I have posted a copy of the press release below. After you read it, feel free to try out the new Podmail system fee. Simply click here, plug a microphone into your computer, and you are ready to go!

(October 27,2006) - 4MySales.com Agent Success Systems announces the addition of a new Podmail social media tool to the suite of resources that the company currently offers real estate agents. The new Podmail feature allows member agents to leverage new online technology to add an audio component to their email marketing to increase client response and lead generation. 4MySales Podmail include a complete podcast system where members of 4MySales can record, post and distribute their own podcasts as well a new direct email feature which allows the member to record and distribute audio messages as part of their drip email marketing campaign.

“Our goal has always been to help novice and experienced real estate agents leverage technology to increase the revenue-generating capacity of their business. Many agents struggle with finding clients. Our mission is to help make that process as simple and as automated as possible. I feel that this new Podmail system, coupled with our other tools to help agents generate leads and manage clients, creates a comprehensive program that real estate agents can use to really boost their business.” stated Barrett Niehus, the company’s principal.

The new Podmail feature compliments the company’s current suite of tools which includes online lead aggregators, an automated real estate blogging system, client management tools and a full email marketing system. The company’s service offering is completed by the inclusion of a tool for member agents to automatically generate a complete and customized marketing plan that is designed to allow member agents to target specific areas of their practice where improvement will have the greatest positive financial impact. The new Podmail tool and associated suite of resources is available now through the company’s website, www.4mysales.com

Help your clients send you leads

I wanted to share an interesting referral idea with you that I had received the other day. The concept is to simply create business cards that you client can hand out that provide the property details.

When you client signs the listing agreement, explain to them that their own sphere of influence is a great place to really create word of mouth exposure for their property. Friends are always more open to tell other friends about great homes that need to be sold. As a service to the client, have business cards printed that have the property details on one side and contact information where people can call to get more information on the other. Give these cards to your client and ask them to hand them out at their leisure to everybody that they know.

The distribution of the cards is a great way for your client to help in the marketing effort of their property. In addition, the contact information on the back leads directly to you; which means that this is an excellent and mutually beneficial marketing tool. Your client benefits from increase exposure of their property and you benefit from potential leads calling you for more information.

For investors it is time to buy...

I’ve been spending a bit of time lately on different real estate investment sites. TheCreativeInvestor.com is the one where I get most of my information, but there are a few others. Anyway, what I find interesting in the different discussion boards on these sites is that the strategies for investors has not changed significantly since the slow-down. Many of them are still trying to employ the creative financing and acquisition techniques. However, most have adopted a buy and hold attitude.

You may be asking, what does that mean to me? Well, if you are not an investor yourself, you may have clients that are. If you look at the market right now, we are in a lull where the opportunity is present to position yourself for some substantial long-term gain. Prices have stagnated or dropped, but interest rates are still at historic lows. Prices will remain low-to-stable for the next year, but will inevitably begin their slow march up again. For those investors that are looking for a long term return, now is the time to acquire properties with positive cash flow (NO FLIPPING) that they can hold onto for a few years. As rental rates rise, so will the values of the investment property. Although rates of appreciation will likely not reach the double digit growth that we have seen in the past few years, you can still retire wealthy simply by buying rentals with positive cash flow and holding those properties for the long term.

New real estate lead generating idea

Okay, so I had this promotional idea the other day and I have not quite flushed out the details. However, the idea is a variation on the ideas that I had mentioned earlier about using RSS feeds to get in front of your target real estate customer at work.

My idea is instead of creating a customized feed that sits on your prospect’s wallpaper, why not use existing technology to get your message continually into the prospect’s Outlook email box? The idea is simply to leverage news feed tools such as the NewsGator Outlook interface to create a news tool that you can give your clients. I am not sure if you can do this yet, but what if you could customize the feeds that were included in the download as a default and then use it as a promotional giveaway to your clients? They could download the tool which would put your personal news feed updates (just listed, blog, podcast) right into their email in-box. Obviously your prospective client could customize the feeds to meet their individual needs, but if your template adds value, they will be exposed to your message on a continual daily basis.

Driving customer to choose you… with email

I have always been a fan of using drip email marketing to drive clients to REALTOR’s® websites. It is arguably to most cost effective direct marketing tool that many agents have available. There are however, a number of things to keep in mind to make sure that your email communications are welcoming customers toward you and not driving them away. If you are just sending out updates and data you may not be getting the results that you are looking for and may even be hindering the sales process. In contrast, a carefully crafted email message with the proper call to action can have great results. With that in mind, I want you to answer the following questions about your own drip email campaign:

1) Does the piece offer specific value to the client? Many email newsletters just contain general information about topics ranging from local housing markets to new recipes. The data may be interesting, but is there any component of it that a prospective client would really look forward to receiving. Newsletters that include specific reports, guidelines and lessons that help home buyer’s make better informed decisions tend to be much more welcome than those that contain generic data.

2) Does the piece communicate your specific value proposition? The drip email piece is a marketing tool for you. This is one of the few tools that you can use to truly communicate how you can add value to your prospective client’s life. First and foremost the piece should communicate why your client should choose you over all other real estate agents.

3) Does your direct mail reference the positive experiences of other, or even include testimonials? The web is an anonymous place and distrust is understandably inherent in the medium. Help you clients understand the benefits that you offer and use testimonials to help manage their expectations of how beneficial working with you will be.

4) Do you have a call to action and does your piece set up the expectation for future communication? Every direct marketing piece that you send should have an explicit invitation for the client to contact you immediately and directly. The “call us now; operators are standing by” approach is often the tipping point that is needed to get a response from your target client. In addition, if you are presenting valuable information, a great approach is to hold a little back with the promise of divulging it in the next communication. The “cliff hanger” approach serves to create additional brand awareness with your target homeowners or buyers and helps to ensure that your next communication is accepted and opened.

5) Does the data in your drip email message move your client further into your prospecting engine and further down your sales pipeline? Your communications should serve to educate your prospects about the value that only you can offer in the home buying/selling process. Each message should be crafted to help your prospect understand the value that you present and their need for your services.

As I mentioned above, drip email marketing can be a great tool to help you and your fellow agents attract more clients and maintain a continual presence with current and past clients. We use drip email as and integral part of our 4MySales prospecting engine and continually enjoy phenomenal results.

Update from REALTOR Tools

I have been a bit remiss in posting this week. We are in the midst of launching our new podcast feature and are having challenges getting the Active X certificate. The new feature should allow you to record a podcast, associate it with a listing, post it on your blog, and even included it in your direct email campaigns to increase your close rate. When it is up and running I would like to invite everybody to come and check it out. Until then, I am juggling the new products and finding new and cool ways to help you grow your business.

New FSBO Prospecting Idea

I was made aware of an interesting FSBO lead prospecting tool this afternoon and I think it may be a great way to close more FSBO prospects. The idea was published in a Broker Agent News article and the approach is simple, but may prove to be highly successful. The biggest part of the idea is to provide your FSBO lead with their own 800 number. The leads would go through you, but would be provided to your FSBO prospect to help them sell the house. The article also recommends that you create flyers and loan the prospect a yard sign.

The benefits of providing these tools to the prospect are that you can feel comfortable asking for the listing. You can also feel comfortable in asking for referrals. In addition, you have visibility of those that are looking to buy a house, and flyers may still maintain your contact information. It’s an interesting tweak on some direct placement marketing.

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The border wall is a pain in my side

Normally I talk about nothing but real estate and marketing. It’s kind of a passion and hobby for me. However every once in a while get moved to focus on more political issues. The issue that is getting my attention right now is the border issue and the bait and switch that is going on in our government. I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the two border patrol agents that are facing 20 years in prison for trying to arrest a drug smuggler with 740 pounds of marijuana. If you recall, they were convicted because the US attorney general gave the smuggler amnesty to come to America and testify against the two agents. Anyway, that sort of ignited my indignance toward the security policy of our country. It also increased my fears that terrorists may someday slip across the border and cause another umpteen-thousand deaths in the name of their religious convictions.

Needless to say I have been following the news about the border since learning about the plight of those two agents. I was fascinated to hear that last week congress authorized a 700 mile long fence to be constructed along the US/Mexican border to support an increased level of security. Now I personally never believed that congress would actually take steps to secure the border and my beliefs were validated this afternoon when I learned that the move to approve the fence was primarily just a PR move. According to this most recent article on MSNBC:
In border fence’s path, legislative roadblocks
Loopholes mean fence may never be built, at least not as advertised

The actual construction of the fence may never happen. The money will be allocated to infrastructure projects as well as some pilot programs. Legislators can happily now tout the new legislation during this election year as a PR move to prove that they support border security. They can also sleep with the cozy assurance that the fence will likely never be built…. at least until some terrorist-derived travesty happens on American soil. So it is business as usual on Capitol Hill. Politicians continue to say one thing and do the other, but those that support the mire can rest assured that they have lost my vote.

A bit about my past

I have been involved in real estate for a while in some form or another. I started out trying to learn everything there was to know about the creative investment market. I spent a great deal of time on websites like theCreativeInvestor.com as well as read a number of books on flipping, hard money lending, creative financing, short selling, lease to own, as well as a number of other creative real estate investing techniques. During that time I developed our IP Ware real estate investment analysis software which provided a great return as a business as well as proved to be a great real estate investment analysis tool. From there I got into online marketing and started finding new ways to help real estate agents really become successful at their chosen careers.

Four Critical Keys to Writing a Web Site Home Page

All of us have web pages. It is a fact of life and most of us can’t do business without a good website. However, how many real estate agents have really taken the time to craft their home page into something that really conveys their unique selling proposition? I know for our site we spent a great deal of time just to develop the message A Simple System to Close More Sales. The unique selling proposition of your site should be blatantly apparent as soon as your prospect lands on the site. After that, my personal recommendation is to put as many data captaining features as possible on the page so that you can convert the page view to a prospect. With those personal thoughts in mind, here is a great article from Marketing Profs that details the four critical components to consider when developing a website.

I am not sure if the article itself is part of their premium offering, so here are the four conditions from the article:

1. Use your principal homepage headline to communicate your site's underlying value proposition
2. Use some short introductory text to clarify and expand on your headline
3. Help visitors find what they are looking for
4. Make your first-time visitors feel comfortable and confident

Overall, your website should effectively convey the benefits that you offer prospective home buyers or sellers and provide simple and easy ways for them to give you their contact information. Many real estate agents use their websites simply as billboards with great head-shots and pictures of nice houses. With some simple planning, a website can be so much more.