Real Clues

[RealClues] #293: Vendor Consolidation (pt 2)

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Table of Contents
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1. CoachingClues: Make Your Business Soar with vFlyer
2. Welcome Notes: New Blogging Course
3. Reprise: Hot Tips for Handling Shifting Markets (Part 1 of 4)
4. Create a Better Life: How's the Energy in Your Home
5. Featured Products:
*To team or not to team--tips from successful agents
*New blogging teleclass--if you're serious about blogging, don't miss
this opportunity
6. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching
7. Give Us Your Feedback on this Newsletter
8. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe

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1. CoachingClues: Make Your Business Soar with vFlyer (Part 2 of 2)
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Tired of having to go to a separate vendor for your flyers, your web
site marketing, and creating unique web addresses for your listings?
If so, vFlyer.com, the winner of the Inman most innovative web
software award, has a solution to make your business soar.

One of the most difficult aspects of Web 1.0 was how complex it was
to integrate the various web solutions an agent or broker needed. For
example, you might have your website with one provider, your blog
residing at a different provider, and your Email newsletter at a
third provider. Web 2.0 solutions are now integrating these separate
functions into a single platform that allows users to easily obtain
all of these services in one place.

Last week's article examined how the Point2 Technology platform
integrates web site technology with syndication to multiple websites.
They also offer a National Listing Service, a blog, syndication to
other agents, and a new technology platform for using Facebook. All
of this is available at no charge.

vFlyer.com provides a different solution that addresses many of the
same issues. Until now, you would probably use two different
suppliers to publish web listings on-line vs. marketing in print
media. vFlyer integrates these two functions plus much more.

When you sign up for a vFlyer account, you have the option of
creating a separate web address or URL for each of your listings.
Their system does this automatically. Unlike the Point2 system that
requires you to upload your listings one-by-one, the vFlyer program
allows their premium users (for a fee), to do bulk uploads.

Like Point2, vFlyer also syndicates to numerous websites including
eBay and MySpace as well as to blogs such as ActiveRain.com. It also
allows you to import Email addresses so you can send the digital
version of your flyer to the appropriate members of your database.

To use this function, it's smart to set up subgroups in whatever
system you use for Email. Many agents and brokers use Outlook. You
can set up a "new group" in Outlook and then simply click on the
names of the members you wish to include. Consequently, you could
have one client who may appear in three different groups. For
example, one person could belong to your past client group, your
current investors, as well as your second home database. Setting up
subgroups is a smart way to niche market your services.

vFlyer also allows you to create a PDF of your flyer and print hard
copies of your brochure. Using a "widget" (a piece of HTML code) you
can add your flyer to your website or blog. The vFlyer SMS service
("Short Message Service"--the technology that allows your mobile phone
to display text messages, web sites, pictures, animations, and songs)
also allows you to create flyers that can be displayed on mobile
phones.

In addition, vFlyer has a simple program that allows you to add
graphics to your brochures. In the past, it required a fair amount of
expertise to add a "Just Listed" banner to your on-line brochure.
This function is now as easy as "point and click."

Perhaps the most important function that both Point2 and vFlyer
provide, however, is the ability to track results. For years, most
agents and brokers have marketed without tracking the return on their
marketing dollar. Given the shift in today's market, it's important
to make every marketing dollar count. Each of these providers allows
you to see how many unique visitors your web marketing program is
generating. This is an extremely important tool in terms of obtaining
more correctly priced listings. For example, if you're competing with
two other agents for a listing, show the sellers how many hits your
marketing has generated from Yahoo Classifieds, Trulia, CraigsList,
etc. You can bet that most other agents will be unable to provide
that data.

This is also an important took in terms of helping sellers achieve
maximum exposure to the marketplace. Maximum exposure results in
maximum price. When you go on a listing appointment, sellers want to
know how you will market their home. An easy response is to say,
"Your home will be marketed on over 30 different websites." Twenty of
these come from loading the property into Point2. You can also
prepare a "vFlyer" and show them how both the print and on-line
versions of their listing will appear. Ask for feedback, as well as
what changes they would make. When they start telling you how to
change the flyer, the listing is yours.

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2. Welcome Notes
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Welcome to our new subscribers this week. Each week RealClues
provides you with great strategies to improve both your business and
your life. If you find this issue of RealClues helpful, take a moment
to hit the "forward" button and send it to another friend in the
business.

Our new library at Listen and Learn is growing each week. If you
haven't yet subscribed, you're missing one of the most effective ways
to grow your business. Each month you will receive a minimum of 10
new interviews on the latest tips and techniques for making money in
our changing market. For less than a $1.00 a day, you can have the
best training and information in the business at your finger tips
24/7. To learn more, visit http://www.ListenAndLearnRealEstate.com.

Our good friends Joeann Fossland and Frances Flynn Thorsen have just
completed writing a new blogging course. If you're serious about
blogging, this is well worth the fee. Fran mentored Mary Pope Handy
who won the Inman/Active Rain blogging contest. This is a great
opportunity to master the secrets of having a successful blog. Best
of all, the teleclass format allows you to take the class without
having to pay for a hotel or airfare. To learn more:

http://www.joeann.com/nblb-berniceross.htm

Have a great week!

Warmly, Bernice Ross, MCC, and Byron Van Arsdale, MCC
www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.RossdalePress.com,
www.ConferenceCallTraining.com, and www.TeleconferenceLine.com

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3. Reprise: Hot Tips for Handling Shifting Markets
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The "b" word (bubble) continues to raise its ugly head. While some
markets are cooling, others are booming. Do you have the skill set
required to prosper in both up and down markets? When interest rates
increase, affordability decreases which results in fewer buyers. If
your market is slowing down, you are experiencing longer market
times, fewer buyers, and unrealistic sellers. If your market is
increasing, you may be experiencing more competition from
discounters, FSBOs, and stiffer listing competition from traditional
brokerages. Surviving market shifts while maintaining or increasing
your production takes planning, solid skills, and innovative
marketing strategies. Click below to learn more:

http://www.realestatecoach.com/articles_archive/200605_1tips.html

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4. Create a Better Life: How's the Energy in Your Home?
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Have you ever walked into a home where you just wanted to turn around
and leave? Like the electricity that we take for granted, the energy
that surrounds us has a tremendous influence on every aspect our
lives. We seldom notice it unless something is severely wrong and yet
it influences how productive we are, how good we feel, and even how
we interact with one another. If you would like to make your home
more energy efficient, here are some tips.

http://www.realestatecoach.com/articles_archive/art_energy.html

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5. Featured Products
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Here are just a few of the MP3 files we'll be posting in September
that you can listen to 24-7 on your computer or download to your MP3
player or iPod. Learn how to get buyers off the fence in this slowing
market, including good news from the nation's leading business
economists; Brandi Mahon discusses the secrets of closing short sales
as well as how she works with deaf clients. Bloggers extraordinaire
Jim Cronin and Teresa Boardman share the secrets of how to launch a
successful blog. Mike Kelly discusses how to build your business
using radio. Michael Edlen (with $110 Million in closed sales in
2006) and Lester Cox (with $250 million in closed sales in 2006)
discuss the secrets of building a successful team. Subscribe now to
get the edge you need to today to make plenty of money tomorrow.

To sign up, visit http://www.ListenandLearnRealEstate.com

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6. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking for a well-trained coach who knows the real estate business?
Our coaching team can help you increase your production and make your
dreams come true! Send an e-mail to Shane@RealEstateCoach.com and
we'll help find the right coach for you.

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7. Give Us Your Feedback On This Newsletter
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We want your feedback-to share your thoughts and suggestions, please
e-mail us at Shane@RealEstateCoach.com.

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8. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
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Visit our Web site, http://www.RealEstateCoach.com to
subscribe/unsubscribe to RealClues.

Copyright (c) 1996-2007, RealEstateCoach.com and Teleclass4U.com,
LLC. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or
distribute RealClues as long as this copyright notice and full
information about contacting the contributors to this newsletter is
attached.

Contributors to this newsletter:
Bernice Ross, MCC, and Byron Van Arsdale, MCC, Owners,
www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.LuxuryClues.com,
www.ConferenceCallTraining.com; www.RossdalePress.com; and
www.TeleconferenceLine.com
Shane Bowlin, REC General Manager

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