When you have a unique property to sell consider a Limelight Single Listing website. This one is for North Vancouver Realtor Stephanie Orr. We use the Ubertor CMS and the websites are responsive so they work on all mobile devices.
You email the photos, floor plans etc and we do the rest. We will add aerial views, streetview, map and slide shows. We will even add area information if applicable.
Check out this website for 4630 Eastridge Road in North Vancouver Read More
Rebranding and updating a company website can be a daunting task when trying to accurately reflect a company’s new business direction, fresh content and business growth but especially so when the timeline to complete the transformation is very tight!
The whole process is about needing to make a good first impression, every time someone visits the site. Website experts make it their business to help grow your business…but this only happens if the content and visual tools that are incorporated engage prospective clients that are eagerly looking for such services or products.
I’m guilty of not refreshing my website regularly, clearly outlining the new direction my business has taken recently as well as introducing my latest body of work that I am proud to share with the world. So when change and enhancements became necessary, I realized it would take technical expertise to get it right, so I happily engaged the web design company Limelight Marketing, and they certainly “Got It Right”!
Mike Blaney of Limelight Marketing is an approved vendor for Ubertor websites that globally specializes in web design that allows “personal changes to your own site” an easy reality. He and his team professionally assist with the initial design implementation and take much of the stress and guess work off the clients shoulders…since Limelight is a full-service marketing company that makes the whole process simple to understand and assists in getting new sites started or as in my case successfully re-branded.
Their services were a breath of fresh air for me, when I realized I desperately needed to update my site. They were patient with my many personal requests and visions for my site, which I greatly appreciate. They were able to execute exactly what I had envisioned and I couldn’t be happier! They assisted me every step of the way!
If you are in need of a polished, easy to navigate website that accurately reflects you & your business strategies…I highly recommend Limelight Marketing!
Ask for Mike and explore what he and his team can do for you!
Ubertor has announced their new responsive Real Estate websites and Limelight Marketing has already launched 2 websites each using a different template.
The new Responsive templates is the platform we can use to create clean, easy to navigate modern looking Real Estate websites. Ubertor currently offers 2 themes with 7 impressive variations.
What is a Responsive website? A Responsive website automatically responds to any device: desktop, tablet, and smart phone. The design and look of your website stays consistent across all devices.
We used the Pacific template to create this sleek and modern, black and white logo for Joe Lloyd and Brody Lloyd. You can see the new website by clicking here.
We have also designed a great new website for New Westminster Realtor Cindy Gering using the Sotheby’s version of the Avenue template.
The web is accessible on a huge range of devices from small-screen phones through to huge-screen televisions. Each device presents its own unique benefits and also constraints. As a web developer, we are expected to support all ranges of devices and the new Ubertor Responsive template gives us the tools to better serve our clients.
If you made a list of all of your buyer and seller ends for the last year and identified exactly where the lead originated, you would most likely find that more than half of your sales were from referrals from people you know.
If you did not know where your leads came from then you probably have not developed strategies to sustain the leads and generate more from leads from people you know.
What is the secret to getting more referrals and leads from people you know? You need to stay top of mind when they think of buying or selling or when they have referrals they could give you. And you are going to have to work hard to keep them thinking about you.
Most Realtors seem to be more comfortable working cold leads that come in through newspaper ads, listings, open houses or from their website. They know that people are referring to them and fall into a false sense of security that people will continue to refer clients to them without having to nurture the relationship.
I also know that many Realtors feel like contacting people they know and asking for referrals is like begging, but it is not. Every business needs customers to grow. Every past client, friend and family member feel great when they can help out you and their friend by referring them you. A good referral is a positive reflection on the people you know. And it is a two way street. You can help build their business by referring people to them that need their product or service or trades that you trust.
There are a number of ways to stay top of mind:
The first place to start is analyzing your database:
You should prepare yourself with a script and be well prepared with something of value to give. Make your topic both timely and interesting. Think about themes that your contacts would like to know about. A good suggestion is to provide a quarterly market update.
Be very sensitive to their time. When you call people you know, but are not friends with, you are intruding on their time and you want to be brief. Don’t spend a lot of time on idle chit-chat. Get to point of why you are reaching out to them for quickly.
“Hi John. This is Mike at Limelight Real Estate. I know it’s been a long time since we were able to speak- how are you?”
“Great! How are the kids?”
(Try and find a connection related to them like their new job, ask about renovations on their house or if they have any future plans needing a referral to a trade or resource you know.)
“I know you’re very busy, so the reason I wanted to connect with you is to provide you with a quick market update. But before I do, I wanted to ask if you have any questions for me- anything at all you’d like to know about the real estate market…”
“I did an analysis of homes in your area and the average price is up 12% over last year and homes are selling on average in 24 days at 99.3% of asking price so your neighbourhood is definitely a seller’s market. If you were to list your house for sale today I think it would sell for about $1.4 million.”
“One more question if I could, is there anyone that you can think of that I could assist – someone that may have questions, need advice, or may be thinking about buying or selling that I should reach out to? Also have you ever thought of investing in a condo to rent out?”
“John, thank you for thinking about this for me, now if you’re ok with it, would it be alright if I added you to my email list to receive a quarterly market update?”
“Great. I’d just like to confirm your email address and if I have important information to send out, I’ll send it to this address.”
After the phone call, send a handwritten note thanking them and enclose a couple of business cards. If you have a market update you can enclose that, or another item of value that would add to the connection.
Now you are ready to get more referrals from people you know.
– See more at: http://www.rew.ca/news/marketing-for-realtors-how-to-get-more-referrals-1.1745598#sthash.6E8yZG8r.dpuf
A marketing strategy for homeowners with expired listings should be part of your overall plan to acquire new clients, but it requires a sound marketing strategy. You are not the only Realtor working the listing, so you need to stand out.
What is an expired listing? Every listing contract has a termination date. Once that termination date passes, the listing is deemed expired. When this happens, as a licensed real estate agent, you have the right to approach that seller, offer to represent them and ask them to sign a listing agreement with you. Check your local Real Estate Board rules before approaching expired listings – and be considerate of the original listing Realtor.
It is a good idea to understand the mindset of homeowners whose house did not sell. Knowing what they are going through emotionally will help you gain their trust, address their concerns and possibly get the listing.
When a home does not sell by the listing termination date, the sellers may try to rationalize it by saying they didn’t really want to sell the house or that they chose the wrong time of year, and it may appear that they are not upset. Don’t interpret this as a sign they will not re-list, because deep down they are probably upset by their home not selling.
I have heard from clients who market to expired listings that these sellers will probably take their frustration out on you, even though you aren’t the Realtor that originally listed the home. Don’t take this personally, as they may just be transferring their frustration with the first Realtor to you.
There are usually four options available to the seller:
Option 1 – Re-list with their current real estate professional: Listings often expire because the sellers go against the advice of the Realtor, which contributes to the home not selling. This may not be the type of expired listing you should pursue; in fairness to your fellow Realtor, the seller should re-list with the original Realtor.
Option 2 – Take the house off the market: When a house does not sell, the sellers might rationalize the failure by saying they did not really want to move or that the housing market is in the doldrums or it is too much trouble.
This is your opportunity to rekindle their enthusiasm by asking, “Why did you originally put your house on the market?” Then, convince them that there is nothing stopping them from getting their house sold so they can pursue their original dreams. This is where you need to have a marketing plan that demonstrates what you will do differently and try to find new angles to market their home. One of my clients gets the home measured even though it was measured before and often finds extra square footage that was missed originally.
Look at past advertising and determine if the other Realtor might have missed something important, like the ability to rezone and split the lot, add a rental suite or move a few walls to dramatically improve the look of the home.
Option 3 – List the house as for sale by owner (FSBO): If you are marketing to homeowners with expired listings, be prepared to have to explain that, as in any other business, not all Realtors are the same. If they are lumping you in with the other Realtor, be prepared to demonstrate that you are different and that you bring a new approach to the marketing of their home. Often the homeowners have decided that their home did not sell because the Realtor did not do anything, and therefore all Realtors do nothing. That is when the FSBO looks attractive, as they think they are capable of dealing with all of the paperwork and will save a lot of money in commissions.
You must be prepared to explain why listing with you will be different and that in the end they will be ahead financially and probably emotionally.
Option 4 – List with you: The most surprising thing about marketing to homeowners with expired listings is that the majority of the time they list their home with another Realtor. So expect the unexpected and have the mindset to accept that being the best you can be is an option.
The secrets to marketing to expired listings are:
The next steps will depend on how much progress you are making with the seller, but I believe persistence will pay off.
You don’t want to be the “dog that caught the car”; you need to be ready to deliver.
As of October 23, 2014 the US National Association of Realtors (NAR) and CREA in Canada have made available a “.REALTOR” domain name for your website. It’s a new top-level domain like .com, .ca and .net exclusively for their members and representative organizations. Only REALTORS® can use the new .REALTOR domain.
Should you get one? If you get one what do you do with it? What does it do for your marketing?
Can I use just my first name? Yes i.e. Robert.REALTOR
Can I use just my last name? Yes i.e. Anderson.REALTOR
Can I use my middle name? Must be used with first or last name only i.e. JohnAnderson.REALTOR (where middle name is John)
Can I use my nickname? Can use nicknames for your formal first names as our system accepts over 1 million common nicknames i.e. Bob.REALTOR orBobAnderson.REALTOR
Can I use my initials? Must be used with last name, not as a standalone i.e. RAnderson.REALTOR
Can I use words or a phrase before my name? Can use as long as it is appropriate i.e. TeamAnderson.REALTOR or SellwithBob.REALTOR
Can I use numbers? Yes, before or after your name i.e. Robert1.REALTOR or 21RAnderson.REALTOR
The number one reason to register a .REALTOR domain is so no one else can, but other than that I do not see any benefit.
Direct mail is the oldest form of direct marketing and has endured and prospered in spite of the advent of the internet and email. No other form of direct marketing makes the same impression on customers as a targeted, well-designed direct mail piece.
Does it work? Think back to the last time you wanted to replace your roof or thought your car needed an oil change. Did you find yourself more attentive to the “junk mail” in hopes of finding a service provider? Maybe a discount coupon you could use? It is the same with real estate direct mail. If 7% of people move each year and you mail 1,000 pieces then 70 recipients are hyper-sensitive to real estate direct mail in their search for a Realtor.
A study* some years ago from the U.S. Postal Service showed that when customers are retrieving and reading their mail – a period of time known as “the mail moment” – they are highly focused and attentive to the contents of their mail. This daily ritual provides a unique opportunity for Realtors to get their messages read. A direct mail piece with personalization and colour makes it a high-impact form of direct marketing, helping you take advantage of the “mail moment” and spur customers into action.
This is an excerpt from a blog post about key sales and marketing tasks for the Fall period. We contribute Realtor marketing articles weekly to the Real Estate Weekly website. Read the entire article by clicking here.
The first thing to consider about the next four months is the “90-Day Rule for Marketing.” It might have been Patti Brotherton, a real-estate consultant, from whom I first heard about the 90-day rule and it sure makes sense for any business.
Whatever you do today will impact your business in 90 days. Prospect two hours a day and 90 days from now new business will start.
If you scaled back your marketing during the summer, it will have an impact on the next three months – but don’t despair. Here are five things you can do in the fall that will start paying you back by the end of the year.
The best way to ensure you will end the year well is to review what worked earlier in the year. Use an Excel spreadsheet or a piece of paper write down all of your sales year-to-date. Make additional columns and list where the client came from – whether a referral, a repeat client, someone you met at an open house, a lead from your website or something else.
What do you do with this information? Spend 80 to 90 per cent of your time targeting where the majority of your business came from. If your business thrives on referrals, then make sure you make a few contacts with your referral sources. You can call them, email them or write them a letter or thank you note (see holiday marketing below). If your business came from direct mail, plan to mail out a few more pieces over the next few months.
Thanksgiving, Halloween, Remembrance Day, end of Daylight Savings Time, Hanukkah, Christmas, Boxing Day and the New Year. At least five of these holidays are great marketing opportunities for reaching out to your clients.
Your success in the next few months will depend in a large part on referrals and it is important that you nurture referral relationships. The fall offers a number of opportunities to host a client appreciation event. During late September and through October you could buy pumpkins and offer them to your sphere or give them away in the area you focus on. You could host a family function at a local corn maze, announce a Halloween costume contest where clients submit photos and you award prizes. Add the photos to your website.
Keep in mind that a successful client appreciation event is measured by the “return on experience” vs “return on investment”.
Continuing on the theme of the importance of referrals, it is your sphere of influence that provides those referrals, but you need to heed item #1 above and categorize your sphere accordingly. In the next few months you should focus on the “A” clients; the loyal fans that go out of the way to help you and your business.
This idea is compliments of Robert Crowe, a Vancouver Realtor, and is a tip that I personally subscribe to. Keep a top 10 list of people who may do business with you in the next 90 days. These might be people who expressed an interest in a larger home a few weeks ago. They may have called you about what the market is doing as they are thinking of downsizing. They might be a lead from a supplier you work with. Try and do something for all 10 every week. Email them new listings. Call to see if they are getting closer to a move.
Always look to replace people on the list with more likely prospects – keep the best 10 in front of you at all times and continue to market yourself to everyone else in your data base at the same time. This is a sure-fire way to double your business in the next 90 days.
Read the entire article by clicking here.
Do you have a unique property you want to showcase? Are you in a competitive situation where you need to wow the vendor to get a listing? Do you simply want greater exposure of a listing?
A single property website is the solution for all three. A unique, customized single property listing website using the Ubertor platform dedicated to a single listing address enables you to display a property that is for sale and put it in the spotlight.
Every property has a personality that a single property website can spotlight. With all of the search sites available, homes and properties get grouped with other listings and they get lost in the mix. In today’s media rich world every property for sale deserves its very own website.
Single Property Websites are the best way to showcase a home as you have the undivided attention of the buyer. Our single property websites feature:
We will customize the graphics, the menu, the pages to showcase your listing.
Who purchases and owns the domain name?
To save you time we will purchase the domain name which will be the listing address. If you already own the domain we will simply point that domain to the listing website.
How long is the single listing website active for?
The fee includes 6 months of hosting. After 6 months the monthly fee is $25.00. All sites are cancelled when the listing is sold unless you instruct us otherwise. You may want to keep it live and refer prospects to it.
How will prospective buyers find my single listing website?
Ideally we will create the website and launch it before the listing is on the MLS which will greatly improve your search results. Regardless every page will be optimized with key search terms, your site map will be submitted to Google Webmasters and we will blog about the site to improve search engine results. You should also advertise the website on your main website, direct mail and in any newspaper ads.
Will I receive updates on visitors to the website?
We will set up a weekly email from Google Analytics to keep you informed.
What if I have an open house or need to change information?
Simply email us the open house date and time or any new information and we will add it to the website?
What do I need to do to get the single property website under way?
Provide floor plans, photos, property description and video for the listing as they become available. We can glean information off of the MLS to get the website under way. We will probably need a photo of you and any branding you can provide. After that we do the rest. We will also need a credit card for payment.
Here is the sample website:
Here is a live single property listing website using the Ubertor platform.
The key to marketing success lies in focus and consistency — creating a meaningful message and repeating it to those most receptive to it. The following five tools, in no particular order, are a combination of technological time savers and organizational tools to make your marketing programs and client contact easier to manage. Any Realtor will find them useful.
Dropbox is simply a great tool to share documents with others, and store all of the stuff you need to keep. It is called cloud storage and is like having a second hard drive to store documents and photos. It is secure, easy to use and can be a real time saver.
From a client perspective it is a great way for a photographer to provide photos for your listings and in turn you can share listing photos with your clients or website provider. You never have to worry about sending emails that bounce because the attachments are too large.
Instead of filling up the hard drive on your computer with contracts, addenda and other documents of your previously closed deals, they can be stored on a service like Dropbox. You can also use it to sync files between your home PC, office PC and iPad.
If you are getting design work done or printed materials have the designer share proofs and finished material in Dropbox so you can review them from any computer or smartphone and in turn share the folder with anyone else involved.
Evernote is a fantastic tool for information gathering and storage. For a Realtor it can be real time saver and streamline your marketing efforts. You can clip articles, websites, images and content from any website and store it for easy retrieval from any device and any place. Great for gathering content for blog posts.
Keep notes about every conversation in specific client notebooks. Group notes by buyer name in a buyer notebook and keep qualification notes, consultation notes, property tour notes, negotiation notes and transaction notes, as well as all associated documents in one place.
Create a customized property tour including the MLS sheet of all homes customers will preview. Include hyperlinks to the map and a calendar entry for the associated showing times right inside one single note.
Forward all client-related emails directly to your Evernote account for a complete repository of all communications with your buyer over the course of the buying lifecycle in one, easily searchable place.
You can even snap a photo of your handwritten notes and send it to your clients Evernote account for review later.
The MailChimp newsletter program is one of the top email marketing service providers around and it is free up to 12,000 emails to 2,000 subscribers a month. It is used so widely I don’t think anyone ever gives a second thought to the MailChimp branding at the bottom of your emails. With one of the most complete platforms available MailChimp has proven itself as an extremely useful and effective email marketing provider. It has great analytics for tracking emails. Lots of templates to choose from and importing client information is intuitive.
MailChimp is excellent for “drip” email campaigns where you create a series of four emails that go to your new prospects on a timed basis. After you have met someone add them to the mailing list and the first email can go out the next day. A second email can be sent a few days later explaining more about the service you offer, what you do and inviting them to join your newsletter mailing list.
You can also set up a market update newsletter template that you email monthly to your mailing list just changing the statistics each time, but retaining the same look and feel.
You can create a signup form which you can add to your website to manage newsletter signups. They enter their information and it goes directly into the mailing list.
Formerly Google Places For Business or Google+ Local, Google My Business is a new platform that makes it easy to manage all of your Google accounts in one place and add in your real estate business hours, photos of your company, and information about your services. This will not only help you get found better through organic searches, but also get more visibility for your Google+ profile.
Setting up Google My Business can easily improve your online presence for real estate by keeping your business information centrally located for Google. And as long as you continue to follow SEO best practices for your real estate website and Google+ page, this will boost your brand awareness and search optimization.
If you want to be found in a Google search for Vancouver Realtor as an example, setting up a Google My Business account is a key step in the process.
Social media is now a must-have for good real-estate marketing, and managing your various channels becomes much easier with Hootsuite. Think of it as a dashboard where you can monitor everything going on in your social media accounts and you can post to one or all from one place. It lets you update and keep track of your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media accounts all in one spot — a huge time saver.
Hootsuite is particularly useful for Twitter. With Hootsuite, Twitter users can:
There are many more tools out there, but these are the ones we feel are most practical for most Realtors. If you have any favourites, please share them in the comments below.
