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

Contact Management Series by Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn - Part 3: "But I Can't Afford a Contact Management System!"

At one point or another in their careers, most real estate agents consider purchasing a contact management system to help them manage their businesses. It can be an overwhelming decision – so many to choose from, offered in various platforms and formats all promising the world in features and benefits. And these features and benefits come at a cost, of course – that cost ranging from $10/month to $35/month to $90/month, or, for desktop-based versions, a one-time charge of $300 or more plus annual upgrades. 

This can be a sticking point for many agents, especially those who are struggling. I hear it all the time – “But I can’t afford $35/month for a contact management system!”

$35/month.

Yes, times are tough. Budgets are tight. Every dollar coming into the household (or not, as the case may be) must be accounted for and spent wisely. I understand that and frankly, I’m impressed with agents who don’t just jump on a bandwagon to spend spend spend just ‘cause someone told them they should.

BUT

Two things.

First, you should never purchase a system, tool or program that you don’t believe will not cover its cost, either in hard dollars or by saving you time (with which you can go out and earn some hard dollars). I will never recommend that you purchase anything for your business that won't, at the very least, pay for itself (assuming you use it), with the goal, of course, being that it pays for itself many times over.

Second (brace yourself, this might sting a little), you are in business for yourself. You are self-employed. You made the leap of faith into selling real estate knowing (hopefully) that you would no longer be protected by that regular-salaried, benefits-included, vacations-paid J  O  B you left. Selling real estate professionally is not a hobby. It's not (hopefully) a side gig that you do because you have a little spare time. It's your career; it's your profession. And it's up to YOU and YOU only to invest in the tools you need to be successful. And if you're at the point where $35/month breaks the budget, it might be time to re-evaluate whether or not you're doing the right thing by you and your family by being self-employed at this time.

That said, if you spend $35/month for a contact management system, will you automatically be successful? No, of course not.  Especially if you don't use it! Do you HAVE to have Contact Management to survive as a real estate agent? Again, no, not at all. But if you bite the bullet and invest in yourself and your business by committing to a good contact management system, it will change your professional life.

Next up: Contact Management Pays for Itself (If you use it, that is)

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

Contact Management Series by Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn ~ Part 2: Creating Reasonable Expectations for Your Contact Management System

There's a natural desire among us human being types (especially us self-employed creatures) to be as efficient as we can with our money and our time, and, apparently, the space in our purses or pockets. Thus, the evolution of the All-in-One printer/scanner/fax/copier/sandwich-maker, the smart phone data device and yes, the contact management system.

But is an all-in-one solution always the best solution? Not always; in fact, perhaps not usually! 

Some salespeople still use two devices - one for business and one for personal use - and that's fine!

It’s the same with Contact Management. Most systems claim to provide a kitchen-sink level of features and services; from email management to newsletter creation to market snapshots to CMA's to contract preparation.

Impressive.

But, alas, I'm not impressed. All these extraneous features, in my experience, are clunky and imperfect. Yes, they will do newsletters, but, oh wait, the ability to track opens or include your fancy signature isn't available yet, but will be in the next upgrade "sometime next year!" Yes, it will create a CMA for you, but not in all markets and, no, that particular report isn't available, but will be in the next upgrade! Yada yada yada.

Here's the thing. We are professionals; therefore, it only makes sense that we choose to use the BEST systems, tools and programs to run our businesses. And it's highly unlikely that one system, tool or program can possibly be the BEST at everything you need a system, tool or program to do for you.

A contact management system is simply one tool to help you run your business, and it should its basic functions of managing your contacts and your contracts very well. If you can find a CMS that you are happy with in those two areas, you're golden.

But don't expect it to do everything else for you - does a surgeon have only one-size scalpel? Does your family doctor only prescribe one drug? Does your hairstylist only have one pair of scissors?

No, and as professional real estate agents we should search out and commit to having the best tools and systems, both to build our businesses with and to serve the clients we're honored to be hired by.

Next up: "But I Can't Afford a Contact Management System!"

 

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 books and resources can be found online at www.sellwithsoul.com.

Contact Management Series by Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn - Part 1 - The Two Things a Contact Manager Should Do VERY WELL

For the uninitiated, a Contact Management System is a program you purchase to help you manage your business. Originally, contact management systems were promoted primarily to help agents create their database of everyone they know and meet so they can easily get in touch and stay in touch with those Very Important People. In recent years, contact management system providers have expanded their features to include just about everything a busy real estate agent could possibly need, including newsletter creation, drip email programs, CMA production, contract preparation and much more.  

While it’s always exciting to find a product that promises take care of all your needs under one roof, so to speak, there are two functions a good contact management system should do well. Very well. If it doesn't do these two things Very Well, it really doesn’t matter what else it does, Very Well or otherwise.

These two things are:

•  Managing Your ConTACTS, and

•  Managing Your ConTRACTS.

Your "conTACTS" are the people who make up your database, aka, your sphere of influence or SOI. Your "conTRACTS" are your active listings and pending sales.

Managing Your Contacts
A good contact management system (let's use CMS from here on) will allow you to easily and intuitively enter contact information for everyone you know, including data for their spouse, partner, children and other relatives, including different last names and individual contact information. It should allow you to track the birthdays of all members and notify you of an upcoming birthday (and other special dates you want to acknowledge). It should allow you to categorize your contacts into various groups, and the names of such groups should be fully customizable. It should allow you to include a person in more than one group and sort accordingly. It should allow you to link conTACTS with conTRACTS.

Managing Your Contracts
Speaking of contracts, a good CMS should allow you to create checklist templates (also known as action plans or activity plans) that are fully customizable, to apply to your real estate transactions.

For example, the CMS should make it easy for you to create a "New Listing Checklist" with all of the to-do's associated with a new listing from Day One to the date it expires or goes under contract. When you get a New Listing, you simply apply the New Listing Checklist template to that contact profile and BAM! You have an auto-populated to-do list for the listing that reminds you to do all those things you need to for the seller, on the day you need to do them.

So, those are the two things a good CMS must do. The rest – it’s just fluff if it doesn’t perform its basic functions well. I don't care if it creates fancy splashy newsletters, I don't care if it has a gazillion drip campaign emails or marketing letters, I don't care if it creates CMA's or listing presentations, I don't care if it blows your nose for you. If it doesn't do the two things I just described Very Well, it's not a good contact management system.

Next up - Creating Reasonable Expectations for Your Contact Management System.

 

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.

Find out more 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.

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.