My Dear Family -
What an honor it is to be the recipient of a birthday present that unites, energizes and mobilizes Keller Williams agents all over North America to go into their communities and do these good and wonderful projects. Every year I hear about the incredible acts of kindness and awesome amount of giving and I am deeply, deeply touched.
RED Day is our culture at work. And it’s the glue that binds our company together as we express our commitment and our solid values to make our communities better places in which to live. I can’t tell you how awesome it is to see videos like the one below display our wonderful culture in action. You are incredible, and I thank you.
Last year’s impressive success story included 150,000 hours of community service by 35,000 agents.
We’re only a few weeks away from this year’s RED Day and my hope is that we will double our efforts! At least 250,000 hours spent working in our communities and 45,000 associates.
So here’s the question: Is everyone rallying around together to go make this wonderful, wonderful thing happen. I think so!
When you participate in RED Day, your life will be changed to a greater extent than those you have helped. This is going to be a glorious day. I thank you so much for your efforts. I thank you for what you’re doing and the difference you’re making not only in the life of your community, but in your own personal life. We love you.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
3 Ideas to Engage your Facebook Fan Base
Provided By KW Blog
Facebook Fan Pages have drawn attention to themselves because, when done well, they can be extremely effective. It’s a great outlet to create raving fans and win more business.
Gaining a friendly following isn’t about posting quantity, however, it’s about quality. Moreover, the “If you build it, they will come” mentality doesn’t apply anymore. Today’s consumer expects meaningful interaction that can benefit them. If you can successfully do that, you’re fans will be more likely to repay the favor in the form of loyalty and sending business your way.
Here are three ways and a few great ideas to create raving fans on your Facebook page.
Gotta Be:
BE Information-based. As a real estate agent you have a wide variety of topics to discuss on Facebook. Here are some ideas to incorporate into your posting plan.
Local market data including days on market, current inventory, mortgage rates, and the average or median listing price in your area. There’s no shortage of data and statistics out there – get creative!
Activities happening in and around your area or events you’re attending. When you’re posting, find out who in your sphere is coming. If you’re at the same event, why not make it a point to get some face-to-face interaction with the people who are following you?
City-wide issues positively or negatively affecting your neighborhoods. Sue Adler, associate with the Summit, N.J. market center got the conversation going when she posted about a recent hot-button issue in her area.
Seasonal topics of interest – time changes, back to school dates, best place to catch fireworks on July 4th, getting your home prepared for winter, Thanksgiving tips or recipes, local pumpkin patches for Halloween are a few ideas.
BE Yourself. You wouldn’t start a dinner party conversation with “HEY YOU: 3 bedroom, 2 bath home; just reduced!!!!!” That would be awkward, right? You are more than a real estate agent. Introduce yourself, talk about your hobbies, family, friends, and the latest books you’re reading. If real estate is on your mind, or you have an open house, absolutely post about it – just remember that it should be a two-way conversation. Talk WITH your sphere not AT them.
BE a Success: Buyers and sellers base their decision to work with you on several qualifications. And while not all clients will choose you for the same reason, many will look at your reputation. Your Facebook page is an excellent way to let potential clients know that you offer the best customer service in your area. Reputation-based posts are to be used sparingly – no one likes a bragger. Clients do like seeing how you can help them. Some example posts might include:
Happy clients. Did you help a family purchase their first home, or perhaps successfully sell a home that was about to be foreclosed on? Talk about it. Better yet, ask your client if they’d be willing to post something on your wall.
Briefly describe a challenging sale and how you and the client worked to get the home sold in the least amount of time and for the best price. (Remember to use your discretion on details, and ask your clients if it’s okay to post about their experience).
Add the “Review” application to your page and ask recent clients to post reviews of their experience with you and your team.
Set up a Yelp Profile and add a link on the notes section of your page. (Make sure you balance who you ask to post on your Wall and on Yelp. Not all of your clients will be willing to post on both sites.)
BE Consistent. Now that you have new ideas for posting, it’s time to get organized. Create a posting schedule so that you can participate in the social media sphere while doing job no. 1: helping clients buy and sell homes. Try this one:
Monday: Local market update or an interesting article on real estate
Wednesday: What you’re doing that day or something interesting you’ve done that week. Make it real estate related or not! You choose.
Friday: Highlight a weekend event. Ask who’s going!
Saturday/Sunday: Post about a successful open house, a quote that inspired you that day, or something fun your family did over the weekend.
If you’re having trouble remembering to post, try HootSuite. Using HootSuite’s unique social media dashboard, individuals or teams can collaboratively schedule updates to Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Wordpress and other social networks via web, desktop or mobile platforms. Hootsuite also lets you track analytics on your updates. Schedulers aren’t for everyone, try it out and see what you think!
Key takeaways: E-I-O
Ol’ McDonald had the right idea. E-I-O.
Engage your fans.
Influence others.
Open the conversation.
If you can successfully execute these three strategies, you’ll be on your way to more fans.
Facebook Fan Pages have drawn attention to themselves because, when done well, they can be extremely effective. It’s a great outlet to create raving fans and win more business.
Gaining a friendly following isn’t about posting quantity, however, it’s about quality. Moreover, the “If you build it, they will come” mentality doesn’t apply anymore. Today’s consumer expects meaningful interaction that can benefit them. If you can successfully do that, you’re fans will be more likely to repay the favor in the form of loyalty and sending business your way.
Here are three ways and a few great ideas to create raving fans on your Facebook page.
Gotta Be:
BE Information-based. As a real estate agent you have a wide variety of topics to discuss on Facebook. Here are some ideas to incorporate into your posting plan.
Local market data including days on market, current inventory, mortgage rates, and the average or median listing price in your area. There’s no shortage of data and statistics out there – get creative!
Activities happening in and around your area or events you’re attending. When you’re posting, find out who in your sphere is coming. If you’re at the same event, why not make it a point to get some face-to-face interaction with the people who are following you?
City-wide issues positively or negatively affecting your neighborhoods. Sue Adler, associate with the Summit, N.J. market center got the conversation going when she posted about a recent hot-button issue in her area.
Seasonal topics of interest – time changes, back to school dates, best place to catch fireworks on July 4th, getting your home prepared for winter, Thanksgiving tips or recipes, local pumpkin patches for Halloween are a few ideas.
BE Yourself. You wouldn’t start a dinner party conversation with “HEY YOU: 3 bedroom, 2 bath home; just reduced!!!!!” That would be awkward, right? You are more than a real estate agent. Introduce yourself, talk about your hobbies, family, friends, and the latest books you’re reading. If real estate is on your mind, or you have an open house, absolutely post about it – just remember that it should be a two-way conversation. Talk WITH your sphere not AT them.
BE a Success: Buyers and sellers base their decision to work with you on several qualifications. And while not all clients will choose you for the same reason, many will look at your reputation. Your Facebook page is an excellent way to let potential clients know that you offer the best customer service in your area. Reputation-based posts are to be used sparingly – no one likes a bragger. Clients do like seeing how you can help them. Some example posts might include:
Happy clients. Did you help a family purchase their first home, or perhaps successfully sell a home that was about to be foreclosed on? Talk about it. Better yet, ask your client if they’d be willing to post something on your wall.
Briefly describe a challenging sale and how you and the client worked to get the home sold in the least amount of time and for the best price. (Remember to use your discretion on details, and ask your clients if it’s okay to post about their experience).
Add the “Review” application to your page and ask recent clients to post reviews of their experience with you and your team.
Set up a Yelp Profile and add a link on the notes section of your page. (Make sure you balance who you ask to post on your Wall and on Yelp. Not all of your clients will be willing to post on both sites.)
BE Consistent. Now that you have new ideas for posting, it’s time to get organized. Create a posting schedule so that you can participate in the social media sphere while doing job no. 1: helping clients buy and sell homes. Try this one:
Monday: Local market update or an interesting article on real estate
Wednesday: What you’re doing that day or something interesting you’ve done that week. Make it real estate related or not! You choose.
Friday: Highlight a weekend event. Ask who’s going!
Saturday/Sunday: Post about a successful open house, a quote that inspired you that day, or something fun your family did over the weekend.
If you’re having trouble remembering to post, try HootSuite. Using HootSuite’s unique social media dashboard, individuals or teams can collaboratively schedule updates to Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Wordpress and other social networks via web, desktop or mobile platforms. Hootsuite also lets you track analytics on your updates. Schedulers aren’t for everyone, try it out and see what you think!
Key takeaways: E-I-O
Ol’ McDonald had the right idea. E-I-O.
Engage your fans.
Influence others.
Open the conversation.
If you can successfully execute these three strategies, you’ll be on your way to more fans.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Overflowing Kindness at our Core
Provided By KW Blog
It’s been more than a month since we said our final goodbyes to each other in Anaheim as Family Reunion 2011 drew to a close, but the experience is as near to my heart today as it’s ever been.
What a blessed privilege and profound joy it is for me to be in the company of so many people who get it. You get that Keller Williams annual convention is about more than opening our minds to new ideas, new ways of doing business and new possibilities. It’s also about opening our hearts. The “Called to Serve” theme of this year’s Inspirational Brunch resonated with us in many different ways, and that’s what made it so special. It would be easy, of course, to dismiss the stories of those among us who felt called to take their compassion and their convictions way beyond the limits of what was expected, and to say, “That’s great for them, but I just don’t have the money … or the time … or the talent.”
But that’s not how you responded.
What we heard from you was that heartfelt feats of kindness and the ability of overcome enormous obstacles were reminders of the magnificence that surrounds us and the opportunities we face every single day. Or in the words of Plato: “Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”
You may not be in a position to fund a much-needed surgery or finance the education for a stranger who is holding down two jobs just to make ends meet. But what we can do is make sure that we go through our lives with our eyes wide open, ready to give an encouraging word, or even just a friendly smile that says, “I see you. I recognize you as a member of the Family of God.” And then to be open to where that might lead.
Joanie Cowan, associate at our Roseville market center in California is among the multitudes of Keller Williams associates who “got it” after this year’s Family Reunion. In an email to me following the event she wrote:
“When I walked out of the Inspirational Brunch I asked myself, “how could you not want to be associated with this? How could you not want others to experience what we have? It is a place we can grow spiritually and grow in our careers. It is a place we learn to give to others in need and it is a place to learn. To learn to be better at what we do – to be better people and better agents to serve all of the people who come into our lives.”
Thank you Joanie, I don’t think I could have said it better myself!
Keller Williams Family Reunion is all about becoming better in every way, and that’s actually the foundation upon which our entire company has been built. I believe that this is the spirit that drew you to Keller Williams Realty in the first place, and it’s the spirit that continues to draw the best talent in the business to your market center.
My dear Keller Williams family, together we have built the second largest real estate company in the United States, but what makes my heart truly soar is the fact that we have built so much more.
It’s been more than a month since we said our final goodbyes to each other in Anaheim as Family Reunion 2011 drew to a close, but the experience is as near to my heart today as it’s ever been.
What a blessed privilege and profound joy it is for me to be in the company of so many people who get it. You get that Keller Williams annual convention is about more than opening our minds to new ideas, new ways of doing business and new possibilities. It’s also about opening our hearts. The “Called to Serve” theme of this year’s Inspirational Brunch resonated with us in many different ways, and that’s what made it so special. It would be easy, of course, to dismiss the stories of those among us who felt called to take their compassion and their convictions way beyond the limits of what was expected, and to say, “That’s great for them, but I just don’t have the money … or the time … or the talent.”
But that’s not how you responded.
What we heard from you was that heartfelt feats of kindness and the ability of overcome enormous obstacles were reminders of the magnificence that surrounds us and the opportunities we face every single day. Or in the words of Plato: “Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”
You may not be in a position to fund a much-needed surgery or finance the education for a stranger who is holding down two jobs just to make ends meet. But what we can do is make sure that we go through our lives with our eyes wide open, ready to give an encouraging word, or even just a friendly smile that says, “I see you. I recognize you as a member of the Family of God.” And then to be open to where that might lead.
Joanie Cowan, associate at our Roseville market center in California is among the multitudes of Keller Williams associates who “got it” after this year’s Family Reunion. In an email to me following the event she wrote:
“When I walked out of the Inspirational Brunch I asked myself, “how could you not want to be associated with this? How could you not want others to experience what we have? It is a place we can grow spiritually and grow in our careers. It is a place we learn to give to others in need and it is a place to learn. To learn to be better at what we do – to be better people and better agents to serve all of the people who come into our lives.”
Thank you Joanie, I don’t think I could have said it better myself!
Keller Williams Family Reunion is all about becoming better in every way, and that’s actually the foundation upon which our entire company has been built. I believe that this is the spirit that drew you to Keller Williams Realty in the first place, and it’s the spirit that continues to draw the best talent in the business to your market center.
My dear Keller Williams family, together we have built the second largest real estate company in the United States, but what makes my heart truly soar is the fact that we have built so much more.
Monday, April 11, 2011
What Motivates You?
Provided By KW Blog
The following animated video is about the best-selling book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink, a featured speaker at Family Reunion in Anaheim.
For great blog posts and more information about Pink, you can visit his Website.
The following animated video is about the best-selling book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink, a featured speaker at Family Reunion in Anaheim.
For great blog posts and more information about Pink, you can visit his Website.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Prospecting the Efficient Lead Generator
Provided By Realty Times
Prospecting is the most efficient lead generator ever created. All it takes is time and a little bit of skill. You don't need large amounts of money to prospect well. When I entered real estate sales, prospecting was my only option, since I was undercapitalized in starting my business(translation: broke!). Developing and implementing a large marketing and direct mailing campaign was out of the question. I was forced to prospect for business.
Looking back now, I would not have traded my broke position in the beginning with no capital to invest for anything. It freed me to learn a primary skill of every salesperson's success early in my career. There is no method of lead generation that deals so well with the law of cause and effect. The law states certain causes create certain effects. Making phone calls and talking to people creates leads in bunches ... period.
We really only have two types of people we can call. Everyone in the world fits into these two neat categories. The categories are people we know and people we don't know. Those are the only two options. The question is which of these categories is bigger? I'll give you a minute to think about it. The people we don't know is larger. There are more potential prospects in that group. The group of people we know is smaller, but the odds of us doing business with them are greater because we are an insider, not an outsider like we are with people we don't know.
Most agents are searching for the "magic pill" formula or solution to avoid prospecting and have a Champion Agent's business. They are hoping and praying that their marketplace runs contrary to the laws of success. We have to plant seeds before we can harvest. If you look at prospecting as merely planting seeds, that may help. There is no harvest without sowing seeds.
In ancient scripture, there is a parable called The Parable of the Sower. The story tells about how seeds must be sown or planted. If you just cast them to the wind, some seed will land on the road and be trampled or eaten by the birds. Other seed falls on rocky soil and sprouts, but the seed has no water and withers. Still others fall among thorns, and the thorns grow and choked the young plants out.
Finally, some falls on good soil and grows and produced a crop 100 times as great as the seed. In our prospecting, we will encounter the road and get trampled and beaten up. We will fall on rocky soil where things look promising but there is no depth to the prospect or even our strategy and technique, so our results will quickly wither. We will cast the seed of prospecting and get choked out by the negativity of others. The good news is some of the seeds of prospecting will land in good soil and will bring you wealth, success, and happiness exponentially, compared to the amount of seed planted - a crop that is 100 times as great.
Anyone who approaches you by saying, in effect, "I have taken out the road, rocky soil, and thorns and left you only good soil", you must question. That is, in effect, what most peddlers of the "magic pill" marketing gimmicks without some prospecting are offering. "Just send my stuff out in the world, and watch the flood of success come your way." It doesn't work that way in life, and we all know it! My best advice is if it seems too good to be true; it probably is.
Prospecting is the most efficient lead generator ever created. All it takes is time and a little bit of skill. You don't need large amounts of money to prospect well. When I entered real estate sales, prospecting was my only option, since I was undercapitalized in starting my business(translation: broke!). Developing and implementing a large marketing and direct mailing campaign was out of the question. I was forced to prospect for business.
Looking back now, I would not have traded my broke position in the beginning with no capital to invest for anything. It freed me to learn a primary skill of every salesperson's success early in my career. There is no method of lead generation that deals so well with the law of cause and effect. The law states certain causes create certain effects. Making phone calls and talking to people creates leads in bunches ... period.
We really only have two types of people we can call. Everyone in the world fits into these two neat categories. The categories are people we know and people we don't know. Those are the only two options. The question is which of these categories is bigger? I'll give you a minute to think about it. The people we don't know is larger. There are more potential prospects in that group. The group of people we know is smaller, but the odds of us doing business with them are greater because we are an insider, not an outsider like we are with people we don't know.
Most agents are searching for the "magic pill" formula or solution to avoid prospecting and have a Champion Agent's business. They are hoping and praying that their marketplace runs contrary to the laws of success. We have to plant seeds before we can harvest. If you look at prospecting as merely planting seeds, that may help. There is no harvest without sowing seeds.
In ancient scripture, there is a parable called The Parable of the Sower. The story tells about how seeds must be sown or planted. If you just cast them to the wind, some seed will land on the road and be trampled or eaten by the birds. Other seed falls on rocky soil and sprouts, but the seed has no water and withers. Still others fall among thorns, and the thorns grow and choked the young plants out.
Finally, some falls on good soil and grows and produced a crop 100 times as great as the seed. In our prospecting, we will encounter the road and get trampled and beaten up. We will fall on rocky soil where things look promising but there is no depth to the prospect or even our strategy and technique, so our results will quickly wither. We will cast the seed of prospecting and get choked out by the negativity of others. The good news is some of the seeds of prospecting will land in good soil and will bring you wealth, success, and happiness exponentially, compared to the amount of seed planted - a crop that is 100 times as great.
Anyone who approaches you by saying, in effect, "I have taken out the road, rocky soil, and thorns and left you only good soil", you must question. That is, in effect, what most peddlers of the "magic pill" marketing gimmicks without some prospecting are offering. "Just send my stuff out in the world, and watch the flood of success come your way." It doesn't work that way in life, and we all know it! My best advice is if it seems too good to be true; it probably is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)