Connie Goodrich, CRS (McKinney Realtor) Texas

Vision - holds several layers of meaning. Vision of your image as viewed by others, vision as being futuristic, vision as in seeing things clearly. All important and all needed in your real estate business. One of the best investments to your business is to create an identity of yourself through a thoughtful marketing piece - a Personal Brochure. The common theme - vision should be considered when designing your brochure. Some points to explore include:

•1. What do I want the reader to see about me?

•2. What message about my business do I wish to present?

•3. What passion do I want my readers to know about me?

•4. How do I want my brochure to look?

•5. What photographs of me should I use and what should I wear?

•6. What colors should my brochure utilize?

•7. How should I lay out the brochure?

•8. Who is the intended reader of this brochure?

•9. What contact information should I give out?

•10. What size and paper should I use for this brochure?

To get started, you need to begin with you - what are you all about? For me, my brochure is centered on my logo - Experience that Moves! Make a list of what is important that others know about you. Then narrow your list to a format that would be easy to present and not too much verbiage. Readers like to glance then wade through paragraphs and paragraphs.

Your personal photo - be thoughtful in what you wear! Make sure the colors you have are a compliment to the colors you wish to have in the brochure, look vibrant and compliment your personal color scheme. Stay away from pale colors as they "wash" you out. If you are trying to work with your company colors then make sure the color tone i.e. red is the same or similar tone. Wear solids. Have fun but look professional! Also if you incorporate action shots such as working at your desk, visiting with clients, walking the dog, make sure the area is staged well and others also dress to fit in color tones. Best use of your funds is to consult and hire a professional photographer.

When laying out your brochure makes sure you have determined the size of your pages. You may wish to use an unusual size for the brochure to make it stand out and give a creative edge. Make sure your layout includes white area, uses friendly fonts, not a whole lot of mixed color. Remember it is the pictures that generally have the color. Make your message meaningful, short and use bullet points. Be sure that your contact information is clear and easily read. You may wish to budget in a graphic designer to help vision your brochure.

Step back and view - does this brochure give the vision I wish others to see? Does it professionally present me? Does it look good? Have others give input. Proof read and make sure not only is your spelling correct but grammar as well.

After you think you have finished ask yourself, is there anything else I should do to take it from good to great? Be proud of your marketing piece. If you feel good about it then you will know it reflects quality and content that gives you a great presence to others.

In celebration of Saint Patrick's Day I thought some quick references for energy efficiency tips for homes would be appropriate. It is amazing the dollars (another green) that is saved with a few easy changes that makes a huge differences. Besides, respecting green standards is respecting our environment.

•1. Light Bulbs - Switch to Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs. They use 75% less energy and last 6 to 10 times longer

•2. Drafty Windows & Doors - Stop drafts by placing a draft dodger (a long fabric tube) along the edges where cold seeps inside to stop it. Close your drapes or blinds for the day when you are out. The heavier the drapes the better they will perform.

•3. Fireplaces - Make sure the damper is completely closed after use.

•4. Dishwashers - Only run full loads to save water and let everything air dry after the final rinse instead of the heated dry option.

•5. Refrigerators - they run 24/7 and account for 25% of our household energy use. Do the dollar test - close the fridge door onto a dollar bill and check to see how much effort it takes for you to pull it out. If it comes out easily then the seal is not tight enough and this needs to be fixed. Another test is the door test - open the fridge door and let it go. If it doesn't shut by itself, it will need to be re-stabilized. If your refrigerator is older than 10 years, consider replacing it with an Energy Star- graded one which will save you around 9% on your electric bill.

•6. Home Office - the screen saver on your computer is a real energy hog. Turn it on to the sleep mode when not in use. The chargers and plugs for Blackberries, cell phones, printers, etc. are using energy even when not in use or turned off (Phantom Load). Place these on a surge protector and turn off the strip when these items are not in use.

•7. Junk Mail - Sign up to have name removed from direct marketer's lists. When you receive this type of mail simply circle the return address and write, "Return to Sender" on the mailer and drop in the mailbox.

•8. Electronic Waste - Collect diskettes, cd's, zip disks, printer cartridges, cables, broken small computer accessories. Box them up and send them to Green Disk (www.greendisk.com) there is a small fee involved.

•9. Cleaning - Instead of chlorine bleach, consider rubbing alcohol. It kills germs and evaporates quickly. You can also use biodegradable all-purpose cleaning product with a micro-fiber towel to clean dirt and bacteria. This type towel can be washed and reused again.

•10. Minimizing Dirt - Stop wearing shoes in the house. 80% of all household dirt came from shoes and clothes.

All achievable and all worth incorporating as good Home Habits!

In preparing your marketing material, not only is the content important but the proper attention to the presentation is critical. The first impression to any marketing piece is the visual image that leaps up at you in a glance. That is why simple rules to consider when designing your layout and color choices should be pre-planned in your marketing

•· Colors - no pale colors. Use high contrast colors. Black and white is the highest contrast tones. Vibrant colors such as red, green, blue, orange are all good strong tones.

•· Don't use too many colors - too busy with lots of colors. Making it pleasing to look at with black, white, grays, and maybe two other colors that compliment your photography, logo, company colors, etc.

•· "Less is more!" Mies Van Der Rohe, an architect pointed out that simplicity is always good design. Reference quick facts, leave lots of white. Do not cram words, photos, etc. into the full page. Step back and make sure that it is easy to read. Same thing applies to pages in a listing book or other materials in presentation binders. Headers need to have space and distance and indentations for ease of reading. Condense material, readers lose interest quick.

•· Text selection is important for capturing attention and being easy to read with a professional touch. The best text to utilize is Serif font - Garamond, Baskerville, Georgia, Times New Roman. Be careful with the Times New Roman as it is very popular and not as a stand out for creative marketing pieces.

•· Never use black background with white text - it does stand out but is not as easy for the reader to glance and grab interest.

These tips came from my graphic designer who gives the advice of be simple, use good color and nothing can replace a short thoughtful message. Grab your audience with the first glance and then the content will be read. Make your material a stand out and receive a "thumbs up" of approval.

Sending touches to a farm area is a consistent activity needed in order to obtain results. Over the years I have tried several avenues of mailouts to keep my visibility but more importantly to bring in the business opportunity. The type of mailouts utilized have been jumbo color laminated cards with varied messages, just listed and just sold cards, calendars, refrigerator buttons, and area market update information. So what has given me the best results?

By far the best results have come from my information letter. My letter includes:

•· Overview of the real estate market for our area.

•· Documented Trends in an Excel Sheet regarding inventory levels for varied price ranges.

•· Discussion of the mortgage market and recent new requirements and impact.

•· A little about my background and all contact information.

•· Overall impressions on the current season and what is anticipated.

•· Have your letter proofed for good grammar and professional tone.

I keep my letter to no more than two pages and include a separate sheet with for my resume. The letter is on good quality paper and is in color for my logo and company logo at the top. I personally sign the letters in blue ink, and yes, there are several hundred letters. The envelop has my return address and is stamped with "Current Market Update" in a separate area.

When I receive a call I inquire as to how they came across my name and what made them pick up the phone to call me. One consistent comment is that my letter is well written, great information, and professional. No other Realtors send us this wealth of information.

It all comes down to being a little different and appearing to have a great grasp on information and professional presentation. You don't have to spend huge marketing dollars on all your touches, just some time to depart thoughtful information.

Once in awhile I'm blessed to work with clients that by their actions truly give me pause to step back and admire. I have been very fortunate this week to work with such a couple. I have their home listed and it quickly went under contract. They had not anticipated such a quick sale because they had it previously listed for a long period of time and it just sat with no offers. It was time to look at homes to locate their special new home and just when we all thought they would have to lease a property for a short time, bingo it all fell in place.

The new home had most of all the criteria they were seeking and the owner was willing to leave a gorgeous two year old front load stainless washer & dryer on stands as part of the purchase. In our Texas area, washer & dryers are considered personal property so must be negotiated as non-reality items to a transaction. My clients were ecstatic as they had a very low quality old miss-matched appliances and this was an absolute dream to have these and this house. The wife's eyes just lit up when she found out the owner were willing to include this with the negotiated price.

Second thoughts set in a couple of weeks later when the listing agent for their new home called to say the seller had promised the washer and dryer a few months back to a nephew and he had forgotten. He wanted to substitute furniture or $500 for the appliances. These appliances were barely used and were fairly expensive so my clients said they felt really bad for the seller but they really wanted the appliances to remain as agreed in the contract. Another week goes by and we are about to close. Another call and the listing agent have offered to throw in $500 of his commission on top of the other $500 to make a $1,000 offer. These appliances all day long were worth around $2,200. I just knew my client would refuse and then the moment of inspiration shined through. My clients said that they discussed the offer and although they realized this paled in comparison to the cost they would accept. They had already donated their old set to a charity and would just have to purchase some new ones. I quizzed if this is what they really wanted to do and they confirmed their choice. The reason they gave was the owner had made a promise and his word to his nephew who meant more to them then their personal desire to have the appliances. It goes beyond "things" and we feel this is the right decision. It was a wow moment to realize that there are really kind people out there who care about others they don't even know. Truly inspires us to think outside of material objects and look at the broader picture.