Wendy Kosloff

It was a long and cold winter in the Lowcountry...it even snowed! Time to put all that behind us because Spring is HERE! We have had a stretch of absolutely gorgeous weather that can't be beat. It just reminded me why I live here.

In the world of real estate, things are "blossoming" as well. The buyers are coming to town. Inventory levels are down a bit...less new listings are coming on the market. Seller confidence is slowly coming back. The number of pending properties is more favorable than it was last year at this time. The villa market is showing a much stronger percentage of closed properties than last year. Are we out of the woods as far as a tough market goes? Well, no. But we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

With the "Selling Season" upon us, my clients are busy gearing up their marketing efforts to attract those buyers. About 90% of buyers start their search on the internet. Everyone knows that these days...are YOUR listings where they need to be?

I had a fantastic meeting today with a local lender, AnnMarie Jenkins at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. She is venturing into some outstanding online marketing products that she will make available to SC and GA agents at little or no cost. Why is she doing this? Well, sure she is interested in building her business....which by the way, if you haven't worked with her, you are missing some of the most competitive loan rates in the area, but she is also interested in helping agents build their businesses. It's a WIN-WIN situation.

Think about single property websites with call capture, virtual tours with unlimited media, feedback system, online flyers, one click to Craigslist, syndication to all the major RE sites, 24 hour access marketing information, mobile phone mortgage calculator website, online flip book listing presentation....

Sound good? Now figure in the cost vs. value: She is offering this at 50 cents per property per month. No brainer on this one.

Another of my best picks for great marketing is with DownSouth Publishers. Locally known for their first class magazine, Island Real Estate Magazine, they are also the folks behind the top ranking website www.HiltonHead360.com. They are now offering agent websites that link directly to their 360 network of sites and syndicate your listings nationally and internationally. they are not custom websites, but they look great. For an example go to www.GreatRealEstate360.com.

Pricing starts at $995 plus $39/month. There are additional applications that can be added for additional cost, like a newsletter program, contact manager, Twitter feed....

If you need a site and want one that will impact your business without spending a fortune...it'a a MUST to check this out.

As always, if you need some assistance on these or any other marketing...please email me at wendy.kosloff@hargray.com or call me at 843-290-0016.

Happy Spring!

2009 Completely Sucked. It's Not OVER. Don't Fret.

Did your business grow up or shrivel in 2009? Did you earn more or less? Were sales easier to close or harder? Were people stressed or blissful?

You made it this far anyway, right? Congrats! You made it through the first 9 months of the worst year EVER.

You and I are apparently survivors - Yea!

What's 2010 Next?

If you've been around awhile, you know seasonality in the real estate business will shrink the opportunity pie through January 2010. Doesn't mean there's NO business for you and I, just a smaller pie.

Some will decide to bask in the seductive glow of the Holiday Season.

We Have Some Choices..

Most will slow to smell the pine-cones and sip eggnog. The cozy-comfort crowd will hibernate till January 7th, then Spring forward, blah, blah? That's what most will do. Because it's the easy thing to do. It's a cozy-comfort zone and common.

Can I ask You A Semi-Personal Question?

How'd you work your way from bloody-back-there to hopeful here? How did you scratch, bite, claw and hard-work-navigate through the Wall Street Melt Down, the Rip-Snort-Recession and Housing-Bubble-Blow-Up? By doing what's easy and comfortable?

Hell NO! I didn't think so.

What's Next?

Here's what might happen...

1. Job losses begin slowing - less people lose their houses, more people can afford stuff, the economy turns.
2. Corporations begin reporting profits - people feel confident, companies hire more people, people spend more money.
3. Retirement portfolios are slowly re-inflating - people feel safer.
4. Interest rates will most likely remain low the 1st half of 2010; but talking bobble heads warn double digit interest rates loom - this creates a sense of urgency and fear of loss (loss of flea sized interest rates).
5. Case Schiller reports home prices are on the rise - previously cautious buyers begin to feel homes have bottomed. 6 month and 1 year leases begin to expire; the flood of families who chose to rent consider taking advantage of supremely low rates and bottomed home prices.
6. People who have the ability to up-size, downsize, rightsize, etc., have postponed needs and desires; this is called pent up demand. Desire and need doesn't go away, it smolders and sparks to eventual satisfaction. When it's safe, these able buyers and sellers will leap. This is called pent-up demand and a screaming opportunity for the prepared (you and me).
7. Instead of my Pollyanna perspective, imagine your worst nightmare scenario unfolding in FUBAR slow-motion.

Pick your recovery mode; V, U, W or FUBAR; relaxing into the Holiday Season will kill your chances to explode into the 2010 New Year.

Knowing the "slow season" will seduce most into a cozy-comfort zone of inactivity and invisibility, you can choose the same and hope for the best in 2010 or you can choose...

Hyper Visibility and 2010 Majesty.

The plan is simple, but not easy. Sprint for the next 91 days. Take your visibility, remarkability and relevancy to new heights. While others become invisible, become omnipresent. When the snow melts, you'll be a shiny Top Of Mind Awareness North Star!

1. Make time to hug, love, celebrate, smell pine-cones, sip eggnog and position yourself for 2010 majesty.
2. Engage in On-Purpose, In-Person Conversation and Contact.
3. Schedule some Open Houses - Meet new people and promote like P.T. Barnum.
4. Send handwritten Note-Cards after talking to people on the phone.
5. Take some friends to the movies.
6. Set up some neighborhood auto-notifications.
7. Flood your blog with relevant content.
8. Recontact all those renters you placed in the last 12 months.
9. Call everyone and wish them happy holidays - no need to mention Real Estate, just say "Hi, blessings". Then send a note card.
10. Find out where the local Holiday festival, Lighting Of The Doves, etc. are being held, send the information to everyone, post on your blog, post links in FB.
11. Daily, check the Facebook Status of your friends, clients, suspects, prospects and past clients. Comment. Engage.
12. Use the Add-Friends-Feature of Facebook to scan your email accounts for friends - add them. Send invitations to everyone else.
13. You know what to do. Do what you did to survive this mess, just do it harder, deeper, longer....for 91 days.
14. Please share any bright, simple, effective, proven, remarkable, easy actions and activities you might recommend, in the comments. Thanks.

What say you? Cozy Comfort, In-Activity and Invisibility or Counter-Comfort, Hyper Visibility and 2010 Majesty? Inquiring minds want to know.

CREDIT ISSUED: Re-blogged from Agent Genius.com

I have worked on all of the mentioned tempate sites, but haven't seen any long term results, so I thought I would throw it out to the experts.

Times are tough, and I want to be able to effectively counsel a client on which site to purchase for the best lead generation. Do you think that the Point2 Professional gets the same lead results as the Z57 site with comparable monthly payments...or is it worth investing in a "semi custom" agent image site. Granted, it all depends on what content is added, keywords, metatags, etc...and I know tto be skeptical of anyone offering a great deal to get you great rankings.... But as a general question, could I get some general answers?

Thank you in advance for your help.

I try to be as active as I can be on both by joining the appropriate groups etc.., but I was wondering from others, of the 2, which has brought you more business? Sure you have contacts, friends or associates...but has either network made you any money? I am contacting agents for business, but have any agents actually received referrals from either of these? Any what about Twitter? Is it worth getting involved in or is it much of the same?

Most of us know that duplicate content is a no-no on websites when it comes to search engines. There are some great template sites out there, but the key is to take the time to personalize them. You have a niche, don't you? if you don't, we need to talk about it.

Your site needs to be..well..YOUR SITE. I really like Point2 sites. There is alot you can do with even the freebie version. Unless you want to spend big $$$$ on SEO (search engine optimization) and get a custom site, a Point2 site is ideal for the Realtor who needs a presence but has a small budget.

I have created several Point2 sites in the HH/Bluffton area. It's a clean, nice looking site. All the personal touches and the information that your target Buyer/Clients are looking for and it's a perfect site to send people to through mailings or print media. You will need to upgrade the site to add the IDX feed to it, unless you have a free site through your Brokerage with MLS that you can link into the Point2 site.

Remember, if you are one of those agents who have only a Brokerage provided free site, you have pages upon pages of duplicate content! Make the new year a time to break free of the mold. Call or email me to discuss getting an inexpensive template site that we can make your very own.