VanEd - Real Estate School News

Instructors: IDW for Real Estate Instructors coming July 19th

Nebraska Real Estate Commission sponsored

Instructor Development Workshop for Real Estate Instructors

July 19, 2018 (Register by June 15, 2018)

To be held at Southeast Community College, Jack J. Huck Continuing Education Center

301 S. 68^th St Place, Lincoln  NE (Just South of 68^th and O)

Author, Motivational Humorist & Business Strategist Karel Murray DREI (Distinguished Real Estate Instructor) • CSP (Certified Speaking Professional: National Speakers Association) • Bachelor’s degree in human resources • Former regional executive of human resources at a large commercial insurance firm • Award-winning real estate salesperson • Top producing real estate broker/manager • 2013-14 Real Estate Educator’s Association National President • 350+ client audiences throughout the U.S., Canada, and abroad • Author of 4 books •

 

 

Charge:  There is no registration fee.  Once again, this workshop is being sponsored by the Nebraska Real Estate Commission

Schedule:            Registration beginning at 8:30 am

• Continental Breakfast
• Session 1 from 9:00am to 12:00pm
• Lunch on your own
• Session 2 from 1:15pm – 4:15pm

Credit:                  Six (6) hours Continuing Education available at no charge! Must attend entire event.

Register NOW for the 2018 Instructor Development Workshop July 19, 2018.

• Please open the attachment for details and registration form.
• Seating is a finite consideration. Don’t wait!

 

You can open and return the registration form (word doc) found on this page to register for this one-time event.

         Download Registration form

Teleseminar: Ten Simple Ways to Reconnect with your SOI - This Week with SWS

Everyone knows that your sphere of influence is the best source of business for a real estate agent (oh, you didn't know that? It is!)

But here's the problem... most real estate agents do a terrible job of staying in touch with the people they know, for various reasons. And then they are disappointed that those people aren't enthusiastic supporters of their real estate careers and proclaim that "SOI doesn't work!"

And back to their cold-calling, door-knocking, farming and such.

Or, conversely, they apply complicated, icky, cheesy or pushy methods to their staying-in-touch... and when these methods don't produce the results they desire, they proclaim that "SOI doesn't work!"

And back to their cold-calling, door-knocking, farming and such.

 

It doesn't have to be that way.

 

Keep reading...

This is the subject of this week's SWS teleseminar! Join us?  

 

THE Details

DATE: Thursday, February 22nd, 2018
TIME: 7:30 am Pacific / 8:30 am Mountain / 9:30 am Central / 10:30 am Eastern
DURATION: 60 - 90 Minutes
FORMAT: Teleseminar - Listen via the telephone or your computer

 

REGISTER HERE

Hope to see you there!  

 

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored five books and multiple courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm.  Her book Prospect with Soul for Real Estate Agents is available online at www.sellwithsoul.com

Using Your Contact Manager to Help You Be the Best Thing to Happen to Your Clients

A while back, I invited folks to participate in a survey about your opinions on being an Exceptional Agent. Here's a link to the original invitation if you missed it.

The results of the survey were fascinating (to me anyway, I really like this stuff) - you can see the results yourself here.

You might notice that one of the biggest discrepancies between what you thought was a critical factor in being exceptional and how you (as a group) rated yourself was #9 - Having Systems in Place to Manage Current Listings and Contracts (Checklists and Follow-up). As a group, you rated the importance of this a 9.5, but as far how "exceptional" you feel YOU are was only a 6.8 - which was the biggest spread in the survey.

In other words, as a group, you know that keeping track of your listings and contracts is important, but you aren't necessarily happy with how well you're doing it. 

If this applies to you, please consider joining us over the next month on Monday mornings for a series about just that -  using a contact management system to implement buyer and seller checklists so that nothing slips through the cracks... and so your clients will think you are (and tell everyone they know that you are) the very best real estate agent on the planet.

Sound like a good use of a few minutes? Then join us starting next Monday for the Contact Manager series.

Hope to see you there!

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored multiple books and courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm.  You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com.

Home Staging 101 ~ Under Pressure to Sell? Try these tips!

I received a call from one of the real estate agents that I work with, and I could tell that she had a problem on her hands with one of her listings and needed help from me fast. The home had been on the market for over 90 days, and there was no interest for several reasons. 

There were several large dogs in the home, which means dog hair, but the homeowner’s mid-moving state was more than what potential buyers could see past.

The agent was faced with a stressful situation with this home: the sellers had found a house they wanted to buy but could not swing both homes, so they signed a contingent offer on the new home. In the meantime, there was interest from another buyer on that home and all at once the agent was faced with having to sell their existing home in 2 weeks or they would lose the new home. With 90 days on the market and no offers, it was time to make something happen!

I went over to the home and was faced with some real staging challenges. The home was a multi-lev­el, and the entrance oddly came into the lower level where there was a mish-mash of furniture and items half boxed up, a purple wall, and two spare bedrooms right in front of the entrance. Up a half a flight of stairs was the kitchen, dining and living area that was dark, with a sort of odd floor plan to boot. Up another half a flight was the master suite with no doors for privacy, and the bed was right in front of the wide door opening.

If there was an opportunity to be a little overwhelmed as a home stager, this was it!

Not only was the house oddly laid out, the dogs continued to shed, and I had 2 weeks to not only stage the home, but help get a contract in place.

I had little time to stage this home, and little budget to work with.  I had to choose my strategy carefully.  Here are 3 of the areas I focused on:

1. Fixed the odd entrance with staging. The entrance was a real deterrent (as described above) and I had to do something with the purple wall and the awkward set up of the room the front door opened into. I made the purple wall look like it was done “on purpose” by bringing in artwork, pillow and accessories that complimented the color, along with some black and white to cut the intensity of the color. I arranged the furniture in a way that segregated the seating area from the entrance, placing the loveseat parallel to the side wall, creating a conversation space that did not immediately open up into the entrance path.  This is critical as it removed the feeling that as you entered the house you were invading personal space, and gave the potential buyers a logical pathway to the main part of the house.
2. Opened up the living space to make it look lighter and brighter. As you went up half a level from the entrance in this house, the living area was on the right, and it was very dark and dingy feeling.  Because of the dog hair and half moved status, it just did not have a good feel to the home.  I could not bring in new furniture, so I had to figure out a way to make this room feel good and look clean with the existing furniture in the home.  The couch had been placed in a way that blocked the light coming in from the window, so I immediately pulled the couches to each side so that the room looked and felt airier, which in turn, helped brighten up the space significantly.  The wood looking floor was one of the best aspects of the home, so I made the most of it!  I removed the rug from under the coffee table, which helped the room feel more spacious and allowed the floors to be seen without interruption while removing one of my biggest culprits of dog hair.  I added pillows, artwork, removed a large chair from the space  and placed the coffee table in the middle of the couches with some artificial apples, which also helped the room looked fresh.   Here is a before and after of the room:

BEFORE Living Room:

AFTER Living Room:

 

3. The kitchen was small and needed to look more spacious. Kitchens, like bathrooms, have to be clean and look spacious for your buyers to see themselves living in the home. It is easy to do, and in this case, just a few things made all the difference.  First of all, the owners had a frying pan they kept out to cook bacon in, and that had to go!  We put that away, and I let them know the stove had to be completely clear of any pans, especially used ones! I cleared the counters of clutter and created a cluster of décor in the back corner of the counter to keep it looking organized with clear spans of counter top in between. I followed a similar strategy for the top of the cabinets.  I kept the island completely clear, as the buyer needs to see space in the kitchen, so they feel like they have room to roll out those holiday cookies! Here is a before and after of the kitchen:

BEFORE Kitchen:

AFTER Kitchen:

As you can see, the things I did in these rooms took very little time and very little money!

The results? I got the home staged, it went under contract within days, and the homeowner is happily in their new home!

With 2 weeks to sell the home after being on the market for over 90 days with no interest or offers, it sold in a matter of days, allowing the homeown­er to move to their new place, and the agent to have a nice sale on a property that looked impossible.

 

Karen Conrad is the owner and designer of Karen Conrad Enterprises, LLC. She is an instructor, speaker, and aut hor of The First 7 Seconds as well as the Home Staging 101 course now available online through VanEd.

Home Staging 101 ~ 10 Steps for Staging a Master Bedroom

The master bedroom is one of the most critical rooms to stage, especially if you live in the home while you are trying to sell.

Here are 10 steps for staging your master bedroom: 

1. Store away personal effects and personal artwork, unless it conveys the feeling you are trying to express in this room.

You will be removing any sign of nightgowns, robes, photos, makeup, and books—unless, of course, you are trying to make use of one of these items, such as a book or perfume, as a decorative item to match your theme of décor or as a product placement item. In fact, the master bedroom should have no personal items at all.

The buyer should not feel as though they are invading your privacy through the personal items inside the room.

2. In terms of furniture placement, there are a few techniques you can use. Try placing the bed at an angle for vacant homes in order to create something more spacious and more visually appealing. You could also try adding some chairs and tables so that a large master bedroom does not feel so empty.
3. The bed should be made neatly, and the covers should look new or luxurious.
4. To add a dramatic splash of color, simply add some decorative, colorful pillows to the bed over the neutral or white bed­spread, then tie that color in with the flowers you choose, drapery, artwork, and/or accessories.
5. You may want to add a throw to the foot of the bed or on a chair to tie it all together.
6. You could use linen spray or scented candles in the room to keep it smelling beautiful. You can find some of these items at your local dollar store, and the small investment will yield maximum benefit. These atmospheric solutions will contribute to the sense of fresh beauty that should emanate from the master bedroom.
7. Open windows during the day when possible to be sure the master bedroom has a nice, fresh, clean scent and is well aerated so that it does not smell stuffy.
8. Make the room feel open and bright, and let in as much natural light as possible.
9. Flank the bed with lamps to create softness and coziness. Light does wonders, especially lamps with soft white light bulbs. Changing the lighting of the room is a great technique to add brightness or to create a romantic feeling for the room.
10. The bedroom should be extremely clean—be sure to get rid of any old bedding or rugs in the room. Dust and clean every part of your room and furniture.

BEFORE Occupied Mountain Home Master Bedroom:

AFTER Occupied Mountain Home Master Bedroom:

 

Karen Conrad is the owner and designer of Karen Conrad Enterprises, LLC. She is an instructor, speaker, and aut hor of The First 7 Seconds as well as the Home Staging 101 course now available online through VanEd.

Ten Tips to Being a Good Refer-ee (one who receives referrals from other real estate agents)

I’ve been doing a lot of referring these days. Both of my own leads to other Denver-area agents, and also coordinating agent-to-agent referrals around the country (see below if you wanna play, too!).  

I’m seeing some distinct differences in how my referrals are handled by the refer-ee, and I tell ya, the ones who handle them better are far more likely to see more from me than those who don’t!

Remember that the referring agent probably has some concerns about you. He’s worried that you’ll forget you owe him a referral fee. That you’ll make him look bad by treating the client poorly. That you’ll drop the ball with the client and cost the refer-er his referral fee. That you’ll resent paying the referral fee when all is said and done. Stuff like that. Reasonable? Maybe not, but I promise you, it’s going thru his head.

So, if you’d like to ensure that your first referral from an agent isn’t your last – here are some tips…

1. Be appreciative! I mean, sincerely, enthusiastically, over-the-top appreciative. As if this referral is the most generous thing anyone’s ever done for you.
2. On the other hand, if you aren’t the right (wo)man for the job, disclose that upfront, and offer the name of someone who is. Your helpfulness will be remembered.
3. Contact the client right away – duh!
4. LET THE REFER-ER KNOW YOU CONTACTED THE CLIENT (right away) and share all the juicy details of the conversation (within proper privacy limits, of course).
5. Tell the refer-er how much you enjoyed talking with the client and thank him or her again for the referral.
6. Keep the refer-er updated on your activities with the client. Let him know when your listing appointment is scheduled or your first showing takes place. As you make progress toward the closing table, let the refer-er know. Be sure to contact the refer-er as soon as the transaction closes.
7. DO NOT complain about the client or imply in any way that you’re working harder than you usually do for her (which might be interpreted as the beginnings of referral-fee-resentment).
8. If it turns out the the client isn’t ready to buy or sell right now, don’t fuss about wasting your time and stay in touch with her, and the refer-ee.
9. Sign and return the referral agreement immediately. No excuses.
10. And of course, knock yourself out impressing the sox off this referred client. Not only will this bring you future business and referrals from the client, but also from the refer-er.

Speaking of referrals, I just fired up my SWS Referral Network, which is an agent-to-agent referral resource for those who have
bought into the Sell with Soul philosophies. It’s been live for a few weeks now and we’ve already placed a dozen or so referrals.

Want to learn more? Visit http://www.sellwithsoul.com/sws-referral-network.html

 

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored seven books and multiple courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.

What do I do with a Backburner Client?

Recently I was asked three times essentially the same question: “What do I do with a backburner prospect (BBP) to stay in touch and not lose his/her potential business?”  

For example:

• “I met with a homeowner who wants to sell his home ‘sometime;’ maybe by the end of the year.”
• “I hold frequent open houses and meet many visitors who have ‘just started looking;'” and
• “A friend asked me to ‘keep an eye out’ for a particular kind of home in a particular neighborhood.”

Since they asked, here are my thoughts on the matter!

First and most important…DO NOT put the BBP on any sort of drip campaign or systematized follow-up!!!! Puh-leeeaze! That’s what every other real estate agent is doing (and yes, they are likely talking to several) and trust me, being added to a drip campaign doesn’t endear you to anyone.

What to do instead? Howzabout this? Follow-up personally each and every time you do follow-up (to be discussed shortly). Put a reminder in your planner at appropriate intervals to check in with your BBP, no pressure or pitches, to remind them that you’re ready, willing and able to help when THEY are ready (see below).

Second, add the BBP to your regular Sphere of Influence communications if you do any – i.e. your mass email distribution list or snail-mail/doo-dad list.

Third, when you do follow-up with your BBP come armed with something of value (besides just “Are ya ready to buy/sell yet? Huh? Huh? Huh?”). This should be easy enough – if it’s a homeowner wanting to sell at some point, let her know when a neighboring property comes on the market, goes under contract or closes. And if previewing is allowed in your market, make a point to preview new listings in the area as they come up.

If it’s a BBP buyer, just keep an eye on the market he’s interested in. Put yourself on an auto-search for them and make an effort to preview new listings that come up so you can speak intelligently about them when you follow-up. Again, don’t just put THEM on an auto-search and hope they contact you if they see anything interesting… be more proactive than that!

And finally, when you do check in, never pressure your BBP that they need to BUY NOW or SELL NOW. In fact, just the opposite. Be casual, low-pressure, patient… “Just checking in – when you’re ready, I’m ready!”

Now, what if your BBP doesn’t respond to your check-ins? Don’t fret! They may have changed their minds about buying or selling and it’s nothing personal. Or they might have other things going on right now and you are a low priority for them (again, it’s not personal). But if you’ve checked in several times with no response, just make a final call/email saying “I don’t want to bug you, so I’ll leave the ball in your court. Just track me down when you need me and I’ll be ready!” I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised how often they will call you to apologize for not being responsive!

 

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored seven books and multiple courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.

Okay, So the Sign is in the Yard - What Next?

Your listing agreement is signed and you’re heading out to install the lockbox and yard sign for your fabulous new listing! By this afternoon, the property will be entered into the MLS, and hopefully your fancy-schmantzy home brochures will be delivered by the end of the week. 

Whew! You’re done, right? Time to move onto the next listing prospect!

Well, that’s up to you, but I don’t recommend it.

Those first two weeks of a new listing provide a beautiful window of opportunity to knock the sox off your seller and cement your position as his or her all-time favorite real estate agent. Oh, and by knocking the sox off your new seller out of the gate, you’ll buy yourself a little grace if, down the road, you unintentionally drop the ball (it happens)!

When you put a new listing on the market, strive to have contact with my seller every single day for the first week; and into the second week if possible. Remember, while listing another home may be just another day at the office for us, it’s a monumental event for most home-sellers. They are watching your every move (or lack of movement) very closely – AND – commenting on those moves (or lack thereof) to their peers.

So, what can you do to knock some sox those precious first two weeks of a new listing?

• Send the sellers a copy of the MLS listing and ask for their blessing
• Send the sellers a draft of the home brochure and ask for their blessing
• Schedule the first open house
• Create and deliver your first State of the Market report
• Deliver feedback from showings, if any
• Send links to your online advertising (Your Virtual Tour, Craigslist, Postlets, Realtor.com, your blog, etc.).
• Ask seller to distribute the virtual tour to his social network.
• Drop off brochures
• Do your Open House
• Deliver feedback from Open House
• Ask sellers how they feel the process is going so far
• Preview any new competition and share your feedback
• Call to check on brochures – do we need more yet?
• Prepare a market report with the number of showings and virtual tour hits, along with an update on the status of the competition.

After the first two weeks, you can slow down your attention a bit, although of course, do continue to provide showing feedback and check on brochures and such. Every 2-3 weeks, send an updated market activity report, and at six weeks, prepare a full CMA and schedule a meeting with the sellers to discuss it.

If your seller feels you’re being TOO attentive, he’ll probably let you know, but I really doubt that will be a problem!

Any other ideas of reasons to contact a seller? Please share!

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored seven books and multiple courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm. 

You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.

Here's Sixteen Ways to Keep Your Seller Happy with You

What’s the Number One Thing “they” say that homesellers complain about? 

All together now…

Communication (or lack thereof) from their agent. And, having been on the other side of the For Sale sign a time or two, I can certainly second that emotion. But “communication” isn’t just about calling every week to say “Hi, how’re doin’?” No, it’s also about keeping the seller informed on local market activity. On providing feedback from showings. On notifying him of new competing listings and recently closed sales. And, frankly, on making sure the seller knows exactly what his agent’s been up to to promote his home!

If the only time a listing agent contacts a seller is to ask for a price reduction or a listing extension, well, I can pretty much guarantee that seller is less than tickled with his agent. And that agent deserves every bit of his seller’s discontent! Oh, the seller may not complain to his agent, but I’ll bet he’s not keeping quiet around the coffee machine!

The good news is that keeping a seller happy isn’t that hard. They just wanna know what’s going on and that their agent cares. Is that too much to ask?

Here are sixteen things you can do to keep your seller happy with you. And a happy-with-you seller just might be a great source of future business!

1. Notify him as soon as the listing hits the MLS and send him a copy of the listing
2. Send him links to all your online advertising (Realtor.com, Craigslist, Postlets, Active Rain, your own blog, etc.)
3. Send him a copy of the home brochure before it goes to print and ask for feedback
4. Make sure he knows when home brochures will be delivered
5. Schedule an open house right away (yes, you must do an open house)
6. Call after the first showing(s) to see if he has any questions about the process
7. Pursue and deliver feedback, especially in the first month
8. If you do any print advertising, send the seller copies (including Just Listed cards)
9. Send him a “state of the market” report showing all the competing listings. Update this report every two or three weeks
10. Call periodically to find out if he’s running low on brochures (if it’s impractical to keep the box full, just remove it.)
11. Be sure to provide feedback after open houses (if someone else does your open houses for you, be sure to follow up with them afterwards)
12. Schedule an appointment to review the latest market activity
13. Preview any new competition and provide feedback to your seller
14. Refresh your Craigslist ads and send the seller a link
15. Ensure that your photos are in season
16. Ask for feedback on how you’re doing

How many of these items do you already do? If you do at least 50% of them, you’re blowing away your competition. Sad, isn’t it? The last few times I’ve had my own properties listed, my agents did ZERO of these activities. ZERO… Zero.

A happy seller is a cooperative seller. An unhappy seller is not, and will likely become more and more uncooperative as time goes by. You pick!

 

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored seven books and multiple courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.

Here are Ten Ways to show your Seller You Don't Care

Now that the listing agreement is signed and your FOR SALE sign is in the yard, you’re done, right? Onto the next victim  prospect to WOW with your fancy listing presentation and 132-point marketing plan! Of course, most of those 132 points are pretty much fluff & nonsense, but by the time you’ve overwhelmed the seller with your promises of Exceptional Service and Total Commitment, he probably won’t notice. 

No, he probably WON’T notice at the time, but he’ll certainly notice later. The good news is that by then it’s too late! He’s committed to stuck with you! And you’ll be damned if you’ll let him out of your listing agreement after you’ve spent ALL THAT MONEY and ALL THAT TIME on his listing! Besides, he probably won’t have the guts to even ask (whew!).

Want to Show Your Seller How Much You (Don’t) Care?

It’s easy! Just follow these simple steps…

1. Don’t send your seller a copy of the MLS listing entry to get his feedback.
2. Don’t let him know when his house officially goes “on the market.”
3. Don’t offer to do an open house, and be sure to argue with him if he asks you to.
4. Don’t call the seller after your open house with feedback.
5. Don’t call the seller after you show his house with feedback.
6. Don’t call after the first few showings just to check in.
7. Don’t monitor showings, but the next time you talk, ask “Have you had any showings lately?”
8. Put up a brochure box, but never fill it (or let it stay empty after the first batch is gone).
9. Don’t send the seller copies of your advertising.
10. Don’t contact the seller at all until it’s time to ask for price reduction or to extend the listing.

If you follow these simple instructions for each and every one of your listings, you will be assured a long, glorious career of prospecting, prospecting, prospecting to keep that pipeline filled! You’ll never have to worry about repeat or referral business distracting you from your all-important prospecting schedule.

 

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored seven books and multiple courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.