Today, I reached a major milestone in my real estate career, and I'm darn proud of it! No I didn't land a $25 million dollar listing...at least not yet. :)
As I was sitting at the computer crafting my next blog post, I happened to look up and noticed that my most recent offering on AR marked my 100th post. WOW! I had no clue that I had been gotten that far. That may not seem like a big deal to some people, but writing 100 blog posts is a MAJOR accomplishment.
Like my girl Janet aka Miss Jackson said, "Funny how time flies when you're having fun!"
Reflecting on my time here on ActiveRain, I think about how much of a benefit this AMAZING online marketing & networking platform has been for me. In fact, "Active Brad's" recent post about sharing our success stories and testimonials is what got me reminiscing. So here's some of my AR story...
"When I first became a member of the site in 2007, I never thought I'd actually make it past my first post, much less achieve my 100thpost...lol. :) Would anyone really care about what I had to say? What was I going to write about? I mean I wasn't a professional blogger at the time, right? Hmmm... Or was I really a blossoming blogger in the making? I began blogging initially, but never did it consistently because I was inundated with new business. I was taking bunches of new listings and sales. Not a bad problem to have I guess. :)
I got my first ActiveRain listing and closed the transaction at the end of 08' thanks to a referral from fellow AR member Debbie Barrera in Austin, TX reading about me on this site. She had a client in Austin whose friend from Keyport, NJ needed their condo sold. After researching me on ActiveRain, Debbie then checked my main branding site, www.AmberLovesRealEstate.com and voila! I was able to earn the listing.That transaction was both one of the most emotionally rewarding and physically challenging homes I've ever had to market and get SOLD. The homeowner was deaf and didn't use a translator. Sign language wasn't an option, so I literally could not speak with him. In addition to the communication barrier, he had just relocated from Keyport (Monmouth County NJ) to Austin, TX so I had very little "face" time with him. Because the homeowner and I are both avid Blackberry users and text-message senders, we were able to effectively communicate through the entire 88 days it took me to get his condo marketed, under contract and SOLD! What a great learning experience that transaction was.
I can't even begin to put a pricetag on who fulfilling and valuable the professional relationships I've made with other ActiveRain members has been. Each of them challenges me to be my BEST self. Not to mention, I now have a HUGE network of real estate professional with whom I can partner to relocate people who need to move anywhere in the United States, Canada and beyond.
Over the nearly 2 years I've been "Active," thousands of home buyers and home sellers looking for homes in Marlboro, Manalapan, Freehold, Old Bridge, South Amboy and other NJ towns have read about the real estate services I provide thanks to finding me on ActiveRain.
Talk about "Google Juice!"...People searching for NJ real estate listingsor local info have literally told me they've Googled my name "Amber Noble-Garland" or put it in various search engines like Live.com, Yahoo.com, MSN.com and even CNN.com and "BAM!" my name pops up everywhere. I absolute give AR a ton of credit for helping me reach the top of many search engines.
I've gotten several calls from people who've read my blog posts on ActiveRain and have invited me to their homes to give them a current market analysis (CMA) on their home's value. Some are not ready to buy or sell right at this moment, but they stay in touch with me for the future and often reach out for information and advice. Others have found me here "in the rain" and I'm actively working with them as we speak to sell their homes and find them new homes to buy.
I've even beefed up my teaching and public speaking skills in connection with ActiveRain. Just last year the manager/broker of my office (Barbara Berg) began asking me questions about the online marketing and blogging. Often times when she had a question or problem with things Internet related she would look for my opinion. A few months ago she approached me and asked if I would mind teaching a seminar to the 70 or so agents in my office about how to become more experienced in the online world. Being a person who loves to talk and share, of course I obliged. Needless to say I used that seminar as an opportunity to teach the room about ActiveRain and how it works.
After the class I immediately resent the links to every single agent for the 2nd time (the 1st time was a few months prior to the seminar). A few like Joanna Siminero, Barbara Chasser, Essie Cruz and Linda Cramer graciously headed my advice and actually joined AR following my presentation and plea for more agents to "splash in the rain" with me. I guess that makes me doubly successful thanks to ActiveRain, right? :) Not just because I'll be earning points from the people I invited, but more importantly I was able to expose them to a "career changing" and "priceless" tool that has the power to forever improve their depth of knowledge and income for the better! ActiveRain has been an amazing gift to me, and so many others."
I could go on and on for days about the memorable benefits of ActiveRain.com and it's sister-site, Localism.com. While both sites have been invaluable to me directly, the greatest satisfaction I've gotten from this whole learning experience "in the rain" is knowing that consumers have benefited greatly from ActiveRain.
Whether looking to buy & sell real estate, obtain a mortgage for a home or finding a way to save themselves from foreclosure through a possible short sale, consumers now have access to a talented consortium of 133,479+ real estate professionals poised to do the job right!
Thank you ActiveRain; I can't wait to contribute my next 100 posts. I'll start with this one...# 101. :)
Staying positive & motivated,
Amber
AMBER NOBLE-GARLAND
Weichert, Realtors (Marlboro~ Manalapan office)
455 Route 9 South
Manalapan, NJ 07726
917-723-5645 - cell
732-536-4400, ext 199 - office
http://www.AmberLovesRealEstate.com
"Your Reliable Resource For Real Estate, Local Info & More"
I'm not the kind of agent who will do anything to close a transaction if it's not in my client's best interest. I want the client (and his/her referrals) for life, not just for this one deal.
