Vanessa Lindsay

As a business owner, have you implemented a system to monitor your effectiveness? Do you know if your customer service is effective? How about yourself as a manager? Is your website attracting clients?

The above questions play a key role in the outcome of your business. Don't wait until your business goes under before you say "I should have...or...I could have."

I encourage you to set a date aside that will be dedicated strictly to a professional evaluation. Look at your business as a whole and from an objective stand point. Gather statistics (#'ers don't lie) about every aspect of your business. Maintain your research on a weekly or monthly basis and review this information. Is there something you could be doing better? Perhaps you need to implement a marketing campaign? How much time do you spend on SEO?

A great way to find out if your effective with your clients is to ask for a testimonial. GET FEEDBACK! Some clients won't willingly provide a testimonial on their own accord. You need to ASK! Review the testimonials and listen to what your clients have to say. Ask for their permission to post their testimonial on your website. This will also help build your reputation and show prospective clients that you can be trusted. While your at it, ask them for a referral. Each client you have knows hundreds of people and they know people etc...

There will be nothing worse than your ultimate failure as a business owner because you didn't take the time to gather information and make changes as necessary. Re-visit your business plan, are you meeting your goals? If yes, make new ones! Always give yourself something to work towards.

Here is a little homework assignment:

Complete the following questionnaire BEFORE you do your research. Upon completion of your research answer the questions again for a comparison. It is very important that you answer the questionnaire the first time around as honestly as possible. Then when you answer the questionnaire the second time, fill in the answers according to your research.

Effectiveness Questionnaire

1. Is you customer service effective? YES NO UNSURE

2. Are you an effective Manager/Business Owner? YES NO UNSURE

3. Is your website attracting customers? YES NO UNSURE

4. Is your website useful to your clients? YES NO UNSURE

5. Do you have an effective procedure in place? YES NO UNSURE

6. Do you have a marketing compaign? YES NO UNSURE

7. Is your marketing campaign effective? YES NO UNSURE

8. Are you working to your full potential? YES NO UNSURE

9. Do you optimize your website regularly? YES NO UNSURE

10. Are your clients satisfied with your work? YES NO UNSURE

11. Do you receive referrals from clients? YES NO UNSURE

12. Are you making goals regularly? YES NO UNSURE

13. Are you attaining the goals you set? YES NO UNSURE

15. Are you maintaining your promise to clients? (i.e. turn around time) YES NO UNSURE

Happy Self Reflecting!

To Your Success,

Vanessa Lindsay

Real Estate Professional Assistant (REPA)

http://www.NessLindsay.com

Person: "Vanessa, can you create an excel spreadsheet for me? I need you to enter some numbers and automatically calculate the totals."

Me (Vanessa): "Absolutely. Send me over the information. I'll create it for you and add some flair. I can't wait to get these started. I'll have it back to you by the end of the day."

Person: "Wow. That would be great. Can I ask you a question?"

Me (Vanessa): "Of course!"

Person: Why do you sound so excited? It's only a spreadsheet with numbers?"

Me (Vanessa): "You are a valued client. I appreciate your business and I love what I do."

This is just a little food for thought. No matter what business you're in, LOVE what you do. Clients will feel your enthusiasm and be more inclined to give you more business or a warm referral if they are pleased with your efforts no matter the size of the project they give.

To Your Success,

Vanessa Lindsay (REVA)

Http:www.NessLindsay.com

I have heard many people ask "How do you know which keywords and phrases to focus on for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?"

This would be my response to said question:

THINK LIKE A REAL ESTATE AGENT

First, you'll want to define or tweak your target market. Who is your audience? What area(s) are you farming? Define the people you want to provide real estate services to.

THINK LIKE A CONSUMER

If you were looking to buy or sell a home within your area, what keywords would you use to find a home or an agent? Put yourself in the shoes of your target market. What methods would you use to get the information you need?

Make a list of all your thoughts. Then type these keywords into a major search engine. What are the results? Explore the results and see what other agents are doing. Try and think outside the box. Don't necessarily strive to achieve high rankings for demanding keywords. Find phrases that are unique for your area. Is there a specific area within your city that you'd like to focus on?

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE:

I live in Georgetown, Ontario. A high demand phrase would be "Homes for sale in Georgetown, Ontario." Instead of using this keyword, I might want to focus my efforts on a specific area in Georgetown such as, "Homes for sale in Glen Williams Georgetown." This phrase isn't as sought after as the first and would yield greater results for my SEO campaign.

Do your research and think like a consumer when formulating your keyword phrases. Once you implement your new phrases, be sure to install tools that will allow you to track your success. This perhaps is as important as generating new keyword phrases.

To Your Success,

Vanessa Lindsay (REPA)

Http://www.NessLindsay.com

Yet another great way to keep in contact with your clients is to host a quarterly contest. You can either run the contest in your monthly newsletter, or write a personal note to clients detailing your offer.

Posting the contest in your newsletter is a great way to discover if your clients are actually reading it every month. The prize for the contest should be desirable for your clients. Don't be afraid to spend a little money in order to catch the attention of your readers. At the same time, don't make the contest too difficult and discourage them from taking part.

You could ask for a referral and for every referral submitted; your client will receive one ballot for each referral given. Don't set a limit on the number of ballots allowed. Your client will then have a chance to receive a $200.00 gift card to Home Depot or Rona.

Be sure to set clear rules for the contest, and a dead line for submission. Draw a ballot on the specified date, and be sure to thank all participants and announce the winner in the following month's newsletter. Hand write a thank you card to the winner and include their prize. Feel free to ask clients what type of prizes they would like to see offered for future challenges.

Remember, you might spend $200.00 on a quarterly prize, but, a warm referral from a satisfied client is priceless!

To Your Success,

Vanessa Lindsay (REPA)

Http://www.NessLindsay.com

I recently took part in a webinar with one of my clients. The webinar discussed many aspects of a successful website for REALTORS.

Below is an overview of the 5 Essential Steps to having a successful website in the real estate industry.

1. Branding your identity.

2. Ensuring your website appeals to your target market.

3. Getting found on search engines. (completing Search Engine Optimization)

4. Formulating great content

5. Having a site that is useful and user friendly.

Creating a website that encompasses these essential steps will certainly give you that leverage you need against competitors.

To Your Success,

Vanessa Lindsay (REVA)

Http://www.NessLindsay.com