Dennis Rosvall

Scottsdale, Arizona

On Thursday, the Professional Realty Council (PRC) launched PRC Access Realty, based in Scottsdale, AZ. Since 2006, PRC has been building a national network of background and credential checked agents that is expected to hit 30,000 members strong in a few short years. That equates to about 1 agent per every 5,000 households in the United States. The relative exclusivity positions PRC's member agents in a way that they can separate themselves from their competitors in the markets that they serve. Only PRC Council Members can offer PRC's "National Benefits for the Local Move", a managed benefits package normally reserved for national corporate transferees. To learn more visit: www.PRCStandards.net

With PRC Access Realty, PRC created a business model which is opening up new opportunities for brokers and agents. Independent brokers who want all of the benefits of a national franchise can license an office edition package for a fraction of the high costs associated with a national franchise. Agents who want to align themselves with PRC's consumer-friendly brand now have the option of joining one of the office edition brokerages (like PRC Access Realty in the Phoenix Metro Area) and can enjoy the benefits without paying the traditional high desk fees or splits of national franchises.

Professional Realty Council CEO Stephen O'Hara flew into Phoenix from PRC headquarters in Newport Beach, CA to dedicate the launch of PRC Access Realty on Thursday. Below are some of the pictures commemorating the ceremony:

So, you have a Profile set-up on Facebook and you've become Friends with many of your old classmates, family, closest friends and a few colleagues. You may have even learned how to leverage your current or recent client's Friend Lists to tap into their Sphere-of-Influence (SOI) to expand your own. (See Turn Facebook Into A Prospecting Machine ) Now you might be wondering what do you need to say to turn all of these people into clients without boring or offending them? The long and short answer is to BE YOURSELF, and this is going to naturally vary for each person.

First and foremost you need to keep in mind that Social Media is best served for SOCIAL relationship building. It IS NOT a business advertising platform, but if you play the game by the 'rules', Social Media can be much more effective than the most expensive advertisement. Since 74% of your business will on average come from your SOI, we at the Professional Realty Council (PRC) specialize in helping our selected member agents build their SOI in cost effective ways that positions them as the GO TO person for real estate related services in their market area. We feel that Social Media is the most effective means of communicating and networking in real time on a large scale. Yes, nothing beats person-to-person contact, but your time limits will prevent you from reaching enough people to be highly effective from a MARKETING standpoint. (To learn more about PRC, please visit www.PRCStandards.net )

With this in mind, let's get back to what content you will provide. Through our surveys of top agents participating in Social Media, we have found that the 80%-20% rule applies. You will want about 80% of your contact to be personal and social, and about 20% to be business related, or roughly 4 out of 5 posts should have nothing to do with the fact that you are a REALTOR. The 80% should be about you, your family, your hopes, your dreams, your hobbies, and within reason your political and religious views. BE YOURSELF, and DO NOT be afraid to be POLARIZING. If you try to be everything to everybody, you are going to come across as being dull and forgettable. If you want to keep your life private, then Social Media probably isn't for you. You may also want to re-think sales as your career choice. People want to be in your Social Network because you add character, intelligence, humor and value to the collective stream of social consciousness. If you have strong political or religious views, so long as you do not personally attack someone with differing views, you will gain Friends and Followers who share those views. Yes, you may lose some of those who do not share the same beliefs, but the net gain of passionate followers will always outweigh the losses. BE YOURSELF, comment on what is happening in your community, or with your children, or grandchildren, or charities, or on what is in the news. BE ORIGINAL. While it's okay to on occasion copy someone else's post (with credit being given), don't make it a habit. Attach photos to your albums or Flickr account, and/or videos from YouTube. Use your smart phone to upload status updates and content as you participate: meetings, sporting events, visits to exciting places, gatherings with friends, etc. The idea is to let people know who the REAL YOU is. Trust me, you will attract the like-minded people that you'll want to become better acquainted with.

The other most important thing to do is PARTICIPATE in what others on your Live Feed are saying and doing. On Facebook it is very easy to add a comment after someone's Status Update to engage them in conversation. Be positive and supportive. Be likable. Ask lot's of open-ended questions. Your comments will not only be seen by the person who wrote the original comment, but by their ENTIRE Friend List. You can also send private messages to get to know someone better or comment on more sensative postings. Show that YOU CARE about them. Respond to comments that Friends add to your posts. You want to keep the conversations moving forward. Even if only a few people are involved in the conversation, many others will be reading the back-and-forth.

For the other 20% you want to just mix in enough content about your business to gently remind people that you are a professional and the GO TO resource for real estate information in your area. Talk about how you helped a recent client, post links to newsworthy articles about the real estate market in your area, share classes, seminars or other educational opportunities that you've had or offer. Talk about why a new listing is special or why you enjoy working with the client. Remember, the idea is not to sell a house today, but to build long-term relationships where people in your SOI trust you enough to call you WHEN they have a need for your services. This is no different than how you've positioned yourself to your SOI in the past, just with Social Media you are now able to leverage relationships much faster, in greater depth, and for FREE. My only caution is that you manage your time wisely so that you don't spend too much time in this one area of marketing.

I'd love to hear what Social Media prospecting techniques have worked for you. In my next installment I'll talk about using Twitter and Facebook in conjunction with your personal blog to reach an even wider audience.

Dennis Rosvall is the Broker/Owner or PRC Access Realty in Scottsdale, Arizona and can be reached at www.Facebook.com/DennisRosvall or www.Twitter.com/UberRealtyGuy

If you are one of the 10's of thousands of REALTORS to already create a Facebook profile, you may be enjoying networking with your old high school friends, family and industry colleagues. Facebook can be addictingly fun, and can take up an enormous amount of time in your day if you let it, but is it working for you as a prospecting tool? Are you making money from the time that you invest 'playing' on Facebook.

Since NAR studies show that 74% of an agent's business will on average come from there sphere-of-influence (SOI), we at the Professional Realty Council (PRC) teach our agents ways to increase their personal (SOI) and mine it for more profitable business opportunities. One of our methods is to maximize Social Media as a prospecting tool. There are many things that you can do with Social Media, but here is one of the easiest ways to turn Facebook into a zero cost yet highly profitable money machine:

First, ask all of your clients in your initial interview what social media they participate in and how often. This should become as automatic as getting their cell phone number and email address - it's that important! For this example, let's assume that they are on Facebook. You need to sell the next line, but sound excited and let them know that you are big on Facebook and ask if it would be okay to send them a Friend Request. They'll say sure and now you are on your way.

You might wonder what the big deal is since they are ALREADY your client, right? Well, here's the magic. Think of Facebook as a Rolodex on steroids. If you use any kind of address book, either on paper, Outlook, or Top Producer, etc., the address book is a static file that you use to look up information. You also need to update it with changes as they occur (Plaxo members excluded.) Also, it's a linear relationship between you and your contact, and is only of value if you reach out and make a connection via phone, snail mail, email, or in person. Facebook, on the other hand, is an ACTIVE address book. It automatically updates contact info in real time, you get a constant stream of everything that is being shared as important to your contacts, AND you get exponential access to all of the people that are important in THEIR lives. All at your fingertips. All for FREE.

Your second step then becomes once your Friend Request is accepted, you can view their entire Friend list (Depending on individual privacy settings, you may have access to this without even Friending them.) When you are actively working with a client, or just completed a transaction, your relationship will be at it's highest point with your client. Now is the best time to send a Friend Request to all of their friends. You can do this with or without permission from your client, and with or without a personal message attached to the Friend Request. It's important here to NOT sound like a REALTOR or salesperson, but rather just a friend wanting to network.

For each request you send, one of three things will happen: 1) They will see that you have a mutual friend and just accept you, 2) They will ignore you, or 3) They will contact your client to see if you are a good person to Friend with. Of course, your client LOVES you right about now so they'll only say good things about you. Also, the more of their friends that accept your request, the more mutual friends will be displayed - creating a bigger bond of trust as mutual friends are regarded as personal endorsements.

You can see how this can quickly and exponentially build your SOI by leveraging the goodwill that you have with your current clients. The larger your Friend List, the more opportunities that you will have to receive warm leads. In another blog post, we'll talk about content to drip on them via your Status Updates/Live Feed that will build your reputation as the GO TO resource for real estate in your community.

How many times have you heard stories like this: A neighborhood in Anytown, USA is being served by one or more veteran REALTORS who really know the community and market place. They might be with a recognized brand, have a sterling track record and they leave a flag at the end of your walkway each July 4th. They serve their customers well because they are knowledgeable and offer value because of it. Then, along comes the new guy. Blankets the neighborhood with glossy postcards, billboards and Open House signs. Within a few months his listings start popping up all over and before long is beating the veterans head-to-head on listing appointments. By the way, this agent just got their license and has yet to actually close a transaction.

So, how does this happen? Why would a seller trust their business to a new and potentially negligent agent versus using an established veteran? The answer folks, and I hate to be the messenger to point out the obvious - is that to buyers and sellers, ALL REALTORS LOOK AND SOUND THE SAME!

I am not talking about your sphere-of-influence - I know that your Mom loves you. I am talking about attracting clients that you DO NOT already know. Consider this: You are a veteran agent with 10 years in the business. You're competitor just got their license last month. You both work for a national brand and have professional signs, business cards and stationery. You both belong to the same Board and MLS. You both use the same forms. You both put your listings all over the internet. You both drive nice cars and look professional and speak well. So, the question in the clients minds is who to choose - and they can't tell the difference. They think you are both EQUALLY good and they will thus choose based on either the lowest commission or who they liked the best. This is REAL folks, and it happens everyday all over the country. So, how do you as a veteran agent win this battle?

This is where Professional Realty Council (PRC) comes to the rescue. PRC is building the first nationwide network of 30,000 agents that have all been backgound and credential checked, plus meet three year minimums of living and working in the communities they serve.

In the corporate relocation world - a $32 Billion Industry that represent over 800,000 transferees each year - there is a growing demand for all representatives working with corporate transferees to be background checked. In our litigious society, there are increased liability concerns that presents exposure to the corporate employer should negligence or, even worse, criminal activity take place against an employee during their move. It won't take long for this liability to penetrate the way REALTORS do business in their local marketplaces. In some cases, it unfortunately already has. REALTORS who join the PRC Network have passed their background and credential check, so they can proudly demonstrate that benefit to buyers and sellers when interviewing for their business. Since it's a third party validation, it holds much more weight with the consumer than simply offering a resume. It's often the slight edge that is needed to establish trust and win the business.

Any REALTOR that meets PRC's standards can apply for membership, and if selected, can use the PRC brand to endorse their qualifications, build their sphere-of-influence and increase their market share. Broker/Owners can also license an Office Edition to back all of their qualifying agents. To find out more, you may visit www.PRCStandards.net.

At PRC, we like to say "You can hire any agent and take your chances, or hire a PRC Council Member and Buy or Sell with Confidence."

What is the purpose of creating a brand? Maybe a better question is what would happen in our modern economy if brands didn't exist? That is, what if all products and services simply were called by their generic name? Kleenex was Tissue. Pepsi was Cola Drink. Ritz-Carlton was Hotel. Big Mac was Hamburger Sandwich. In all of these cases, from a consumer's perspective there would be no differentiation from one product to another in their respective product categories. Even if one product offering was far superior to its competitors, there would be no way for the consumers to identify which product it was simply by looking at the package. And thus, the function of branding is to help with the point-of-purchase decision making process of the consumer.

The branding of a product or service is created by utilizing marketing, advertising and public relations to convey a higher value of one product over another to the product's target market. The more skilled and diligent these disciplines are consistently applied over time, the better the brand awareness for the product or service becomes. So, as the producer of a product or provider of a service, the purpose of branding is to create a perceived value in the minds of consumers that will make them think of and purchase your product or service instead of that of a competitor. When product or service offerings are plentiful and perceived to be nearly identical by consumers, then using branding to win this battle in the minds of consumers becomes critical.

To illustrate how this works, here are some examples:

Q. What is Domino's Pizza's BRAND?

A. If you said the red, white & blue Domino's pizza box, you'd be wrong. That is part of their MARKETING IMAGE, but not the BRAND. For that you need to look at the value to the consumer. What is their need that Domino's fulfills? The answer is that your family is hungry and you don't have time to cook. So, Domino's promises to feed them in under 30-minutes. THAT is their BRAND! Remember "Delivered to your door in under 30-minutes, or it's FREE"?

Here's a another:

Q. What is LensCrafter's Brand?

A. If you said "Eye glasses in about an hour", you'd be correct! See, you're catching on.

How about:

Q: What is McDonald's Brand?

A. You may have thought of a few negative opinions of their menu offerings, but in the end you'll agree that their brand is a fast and consistent meal that meets your expectations anywhere you go in the world. Yes, that's a little tougher, but they have made more people into millionaires than any other company based on the brand of offering consistency.

Now, let's apply all of this to real estate:

Q: What is Realty Executives' Brand?

A. Hmmmmmm? You know, I'm not really sure, either. I don't mean to be coy, nor disrespect the fine agents at Realty Executives, but I've been in this business for 15 years and I can honestly say that I don't have a clue what their value proposition to the public is.

Q. Coldwell Banker's? Century 21's? Keller Williams'? Prudential's?

A. Again, I don't really know. If a buyer wants to buy a home, or a seller wants to sell a home, what is it about any of these brands that connects with the consumer to make one stand out over another?

How about this one:

Q. What is RE/MAX's brand?

A. Ah, you say, THE BALLOON! One of the most recognized logos in the world. Great answer, but wrong again. The famous balloon logo is also a MARKETING IMAGE, not a BRAND.

Well, what about "Above the Crowd", or "Outstanding Agents, Outstanding Results" you say? Aren't they all part of the brand? The answer is yes and no. RE/MAX has a lot of great agents, but so do the other brands that I mentioned above. They also have a lot of them. If you are an agent in any medium to large city, there could be hundreds or even thousands of great agents working at these companies and they are all fighting over the same market share. Even if a consumer believes that RE/MAX has "Outstanding Agents", as one of their agents you could still find yourself in competition with hundreds of your own colleagues. In the consumer's mind, they still don't know who to hire because all agents sound the same. They all are claiming to be #1. Somewhere the RE/MAX brand became more about the agents themselves than the consumers they serve. The very name stems from "REal estate MAXimums" which stands for maximizing an agent's commissions and nothing to do with the consumer, so it really doesn't address the need of helping the consumer in the point-of-purchase decision making process.

So, as an agent, how do you create a perceived value in the minds of consumers that will make them think of and purchase your service instead of that of a competitor? How do you use a brand to stand out from your competition?

Is the answer in the red hat that you wear? The Hummer that you drive? The family pooch in your photo? The pumpkins and flags that you give your farm area on the holidays? None of that is a brand; it's a personal image. Confusing a BRAND with a PERSONAL IMAGE is the single biggest mistake that agents make in their marketing. Advertising a personal image will create a memory in a target market. Advertising a brand will connect at a deeper level with your target market because the brand fulfills a need. A successful brand will win the battle in a consumer's mind every time over a personal image.

Where the big companies mentioned above have missed the mark, a national upstart company out of Newport Beach, CA seems to have gotten this right. The Professional Realty Council (PRC) gives its network of PRC Council Members a consumer-centric brand to secure a place in the minds of buyers and sellers. You may have not heard of PRC, but you will soon. They are the first company on a national level to require background and credential checks of all of their agents. Consumers have a natural distrust of real estate agents because as I demonstrated above, they can't tell the difference between them. Often it's too late when they realize that the agent they hired is inexperienced or negligent. PRC solves this problem by only accepting applications of REALTORS who pass their minimum required standards, pass a background check, and have significant area and industry knowledge. Their brand reflects that "You can hire any agent and take your chances, or hire a PRC Council Member and buy or sell with confidence." This brand resonates with a consumer because it meets a need: they want a qualified agent that they can trust.

In this economy, consumers also want to know that they are getting a good value. Home builders and relocation companies for many years have offered incentive packages to their buyers and sellers if they use their preferred vendors. The transactional savings these 'managed accounts' create are passed along to the consumer in the form of a benefit package. Because PRC offers a similar benefits package to its nationally relocating clients, every agent in their network is able to offer the same "National Benefits for the Local Move" to all of their local clients - even if they are simply moving across the street. Again, a need of a consumer is fulfilled by the PRC brand. This creates value and demand for the services of their member agents.

The Gallup Poll conducted a study for the Better Business Bureau in April 2008 of what consumers want from a business they buy from. The top four answers were:

72% - Deliver on their promise

70% - Stand behind their advertising

67% - Increased Disclosure

66% - Certify products are inspected and safe

PRC realized that there is a natural hesitancy for buyers to make an offer on a home that they know very little about. They are suspicious of the seller and fear the unknown condition of the home. This is often reflected in low offers, difficult negotiations, extensive and costly repair requests, and often lower net proceeds to the sellers and lower net commissions to the agents involved in the transactions. Therefore, PRC offers consumers the PRC Certified Home that pre-inspects and warrants their Council Member's listings prior to placing them on the market. A buyer can purchase a typical home and take their chances, or buy a PRC Certified Home and enjoy piece of mind. Again, the PRC brand fulfills a need of the consumer and leads to a happier transaction for everyone involved.

Lastly, because PRC only certifies enough agents to serve their market areas, there is virtually never competition between agents. In fact, PRC only allows 1 agent to be certified per 5,000 households. This works out to about 1 per zip code, or about 30,000 agents nationwide. Again, by keeping the supply of agents exclusive to their communities, they each experience higher demand and enjoy greater market share.

It is very difficult and expensive for a single agent to create this kind of consumer-centric brand on their own. Yes, they can get a background check and offer incentives on their own. They can even pre-inspect a home. However, they lack the story and 3rd-party credibility that a national company like PRC can use to substantiate value and trust in the minds of consumers. It's not just about what services you offer, but the perceived value that will make a buyer or seller think of and purchase your services instead of that of a competitor. PRC acts as an advocate of the consumer, therefore their endorsement helps their certified member agents stand apart from their competitors and gain market share in the communities they serve.

For more information about PRC, please visit www.PRCStandards.net