Real Clues

[RealClues] #321: On-Line Dominance

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A Special Invitation: Our Second Annual Really Awesome Women in Real Estate Conference will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from April 21 to 23. If you are a woman who holds a leadership position in CRS, Women's Council or if you hold an executive or management position at your Board, Association, or company, and would like to know more about this conference, please email me at Bernice@RealEstateCoach.com. This event is by invitation only. We wanted to make it available to those of you who support our efforts here at REC. Don't wait--we only have a few slots left.

This week at www.LuxuryClues.com:
The Internet as we know it is about to become obsolete
The coolest new gadget for your lawn
Barack Obama is on this Business Social Network--You Can Be Too!

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Table of Contents
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1. CoachingClues: On-Line Dominance: Michael Russer Reveals How to Achieve It
2. Welcome Notes: Reduce Your Taxes
3. Reprise: Market Smarter with Sixteen Key Marketing Questions (Part 2 of 3)
4. Create a Better Life: How to Up Your Deductions
5. Positive News for Positive Realtors(reg): The Credit Crunch is Easing, Greenspan says "No recession yet," and Loan Money is Out There
6. Featured Products: Special Offer for Michael Russer's On-Line Dominance Course
7. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching
8. Give Us Your Feedback on this Newsletter
9. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe

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1. CoachingClues: Are You Ready to Achieve On-Line Dominance?
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Is your website generating the leads you want or is it a money pit that produces no results? If you want to turn your website into a money making machine, today's column will show you how.

Michael Russer, aka "Mr. Internet," has been an expert on how to use the web to market your real estate services since the mid 1990s. He has been a leading advocate of working with virtual assistants and has shown thousands of agents how to build successful on-line businesses.

According to Russer, the number one reason that agents fail miserably on-line is that they do not target market. Virtually every top producer in the country controls a specific market niche. The niche may be geographical or it may be a specific market segment such as first time buyers, relocation, or luxury.

Specialization is the key to succeeding on-line. In fact, designing your website so that it is highly targeted to a specific area or group is one of the best ways to generate more web leads. It also allows you to fend off the competition as well.

Russer argues that most agents try to be everything to everyone. The result is that if you fail to niche your business, you are competing with everyone. "Many agents are concerned that if they specialize, that they will lose business. In most cases, they don't have it anyway, so there's really nothing to lose. Furthermore, it's not a loss if it's the wrong type of client for your business."

Russer believes that using the web to build your business is faster and more effective than working by referral, networking, or door knocking. The challenge is that these techniques require a considerable amount of face-to-face time. Furthermore, these approaches "provide no insulation from other agents who may know your potential client. In fact, the typical person knows between 6 to 12 people who hold real estate licenses. In contrast, when you're the recognized expert in your area, other agents will find it difficult to compete with you."

While many agents want to know how to drive more traffic to their websites, the real issue is what happens when your web visitors get there. If your website does not provide the experience the consumer wants, the money you spent to acquire that web lead is wasted. Consequently, you must first address what market you will target rather than how to drive traffic to your site.

In Russer's On-Line Dominance (www.OnlineDominance.com) course, he encourages agents to find something that they are passionate about doing. For example, if you select a geographical niche, you must be excited about working that area. You also need to be involved in that community. If you specialize in a specific market segment such as golfers, you must be excited about working with golf course homes as well as being passionate about playing golf. To succeed on-line, you will have to live and breathe the choice you make. If your choice is half-hearted, look elsewhere.

It's common for agents to decide, "Well, I'll just specialize in the area where I live." This can be a great decision, provided that you do the necessary work to become the dominant player in your market. Sometimes, however, the area where you live is a poor choice. One of the first steps to take is to examine how much turnover is occurring in your area. If you live in an area where people seldom move, this is probably a poor choice. On the other hand, if your area has high turnover and properties sell with ease, then selecting your area as a niche would be a wise choice.

To illustrate this point, one of Russer's clients wanted to specialize in horse properties. When the agent evaluated how much turnover there was in this specific niche, he could not hit his income goals, even if he had 100 percent market dominance. Instead, he decided to become the "outdoor specialist" for his area. This specialization drove tremendous business to him almost immediately.

Recently, a group that I'm working with decided they wanted to double their current sales level. Their first step was to hire a marketing specialist to help them identify what their past clients had in common and how they could market more effectively to that niche. Their research showed that they were most likely to work with highly successful, young entrepreneurial business and entertainment clients. Their target market was a very specific geographical location consisting of a few prime streets and buildings. They are now in the process of creating a website that provides both real estate and lifestyle information that specifically target this market. Even though they are only partially through the process, they have already started seeing results.

Building a successful on-line business requires you to go deep into a specific niche. What else do you need to do to convert more leads on-line? See Part 2, "Wow--This Site Is for Me!"

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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.

Tax time--if you're like many agents, you're probably on extension. For those of you who will file your taxes on time, take time to note how much your total commission income was, how much you paid in expenses, and how much you had in terms of net income. When markets slow, a good way to maintain your profitability is to cut unnecessary expenses. For example, working at home two days per week saves you the cost of commuting to the office. More importantly, it also saves you the time. This week's "Create a Better Life" includes two articles from past RealClues that address how to maximize your deductions as well as what you need to know if you face an audit.

If you're feeling stressed out from tax time, check out our Listen and Learn Real Estate Program. I just posted four great tips on how to avoid stress. The cost is only $29.97 per month or $147.00 for six months. We already have a library of over 50 recordings and it's growing every week. If you want training 24/7 on your schedule from the convenience of your computer, iPod, or MP3 player, tune in and Listen and Learn

Make it a great week.

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: Market Smarter with these 16 Key
Marketing Questions (Part 2 of 3)
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Can't afford an expensive copywriter for your business? This article first ran in 2005 and was the result of an interview with James DeKoven, who has an impressive track record of helping businesses create real results from their marketing. Persuasive copy sprouts from probing questions. DeKoven has found the following questions to be among the most helpful in his arsenal. Before you spend more money marketing your services, evaluate your current marketing campaign by asking these key questions outlined in this important series of articles.

http://www.realestatecoach.com/articles_archive/art20050613.html

In case you missed part 1:
http://www.realestatecoach.com/articles_archive/art20050606.html

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4. Create a Better Life: How to Up Your
Deductions and How to Withstand an Audit
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Although these articles first ran several years ago, the advice is timeless. Always check with your CPA or tax professional about the deductibility of any item in your business.

http://www.realestatecoach.com/articles_archive/art20020401.html

http://www.realestatecoach.com/articles_archive/art20020408.html

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5. Positive News for Positive Realtors(reg)
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There's money back in the market--the credit crunch is easing. Freddie, Fannie, and FHA are all making loans. Professional investors are buying properties in bulk. If you're ready to hear what's right about today's real estate market, tune into this week's Positive News for Positive Realtors.

http://listenandlearnrealestate.com/news.html

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6. Featured Products: Save $100 on Michael Russer's
On-line Dominance Course
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If you're not achieving the results you want from your website, don't wait. Michael Russer made a great offer to our readers--$100 off his On-Line Dominance course. He normally sells this seminar for over $2,000. The price he is offering to our readers is $100 less than it is on his website (He's charging us $495.00 for the 12 week intensive course.) After interviewing Michael, I'm convinced that this course will produce the results you want. You'll have to do some work, but the dividends will be high for years to come. To receive this special offer, please email me at Bernice@RealEstateCoach.com for a personal introduction to Michael and learn how to become the On-Line Dominance agent in your area.

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7. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching
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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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8. 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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9. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
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Visit our Web site, http://www.RealEstateCoach.com to subscribe/unsubscribe to RealClues.

Copyright (c) 1996-2008, 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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