The Diverse Solutions Blog

About two weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to attend the 4Realz Internet marketing educational seminar as a sponsor. The event I attended was held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The venue itself is an amazing place; I fully encourage everybody who can visit to do so. In fact, the center actually plays host to many schools for field trips, and so with the excitement of children in the air, the seminar kicked off promptly at 8:30am.

The seminar itself, hosted by Dustin Luther (Rain City Guide and Move.com) and Jim Marks (Virtual Results), is currently touring the west coast with the goal of helping the agents who attend better utilize their Internet marketing dollars and efforts. The class I attended lasted until 4pm, and not a single minute felt wasted! The course covers a great deal of material including everything from social networking to ROI. Throughout the seminar, agents are educated on the importance of understanding what consumers expect, and as Jim, states “different is better.”

Additionally, the two pointed out the importance of “original content” to establish better web presence during their seminar. I completely agree with them and can assure you that having original content on your site is an incredibly important subject. As many of you know, we have a very aggressive SEO (search engine optimization) program here at Diverse Solutions, and one of the key elements in our marketing packages is custom content. Basically, the more original and unique content you have on both your website and blog, the better chance you’ll have to be recognized by search engines and subsequently rank above your competitors.

As I thought about it a bit more, I decided to create a way for agents to better take advantage of this knowledge. For the remainder of the month, we will be offering 10 pages of custom content that can be added to your web site or blog for just $500; normally, we charge $1200 for this package! All you have to do to take advantage of this offer is just let us know what topics you would like us to cover (real estate related, of course). Our professional writers will do the rest. The offer is a great opportunity for individuals who recognize the importance of Jim and Dustin’s advice as well as those who may be considering implementing a marketing strategy in the near future.

Thanks again to both Dustin and Jim. You guys gave a great presentation, and I look forward to seeing you soon in Orange County!

(Note: If you’d like to attend the Orange County educational seminar, it’s only $49 for “the most informative 4-5 hours that you will likely ever spend on real estate education.” You can register here.)

Diverse Solutions is proud to announce our sponsorship of 4Realz Educational Seminars billed as “Valuable Internet Marketing Education for Realtors.”

Dustin Luther and Jim Marks have always been fans our dsSearchAgent Mapping IDX we just never knew how much. Evidentially they like it so much they ask if it was okay if they used it as an example of what TO use in their up coming REALTOR education seminars. The seminars are to focus on why Realtors are not succeeding on the Internet, and what they need to change and do, in order to be successful. Needless to say we were very happy with their choice.

Weeks went by then some great news came. They announced they were going to be having sponsors. We couldn’t think of a better way to get the word out about our IDX and help some REALTORS along the way. Not to mention after they explained the format and what they were going to be covering we knew it was going to be a success. So without hesitation we became an official sponsor. Little did we know that other power houses like Inman News, TOP PRODUCER, Zillow and Altos Research would also be involved. It doesn’t get any better than that.

4RealzEd.com will have 3 shows to start off with in the Southern California area with the first being in Los Angeles then to Irvine and San Diego. More cities will be scheduled later. Come out learn something new and talk with us. We’ll see you at the seminars.

Wow! I’m tired! I arrived in Vegas Tuesday at 2pm, while Justin and his team had been here since Sunday night to prepare the endless tasks to get this show rolling. We have been SO busy ever since the start of the show. Anyway, I really wanted to put a “shout out” to all the awesome people I’ve met and finally been able to put not only a face, but a voice, to the “post” per-say. Thanks everyone for coming by to chat a little about this crazy industry of ours!

Pat Kitano - Transparent Real Estate

Kevin Boyer - 3 Oceans Real Estate (who unabashedly fired up a crazy discussion about mls rules and regulations, awesome!)

Michael Price - ML Broadcast

Brian Boero - 1000Watt Blog

David Gibbons - Zillow Blog

Loren Nason - Future of Real Estate Technology

Reggie Nicolay - My Tech Opinion

Mark Flavin - Tales from the Tech Side

I never thought we’d get so many of these blogger-dudes over to our booth, it was pretty sweet.

In addition to all of that, I also was given the chance to talk to a couple of our current clients:

Stephen, Todd Webster & Christine - SuccessRealEstate.Com

Jay Valento & Stella - RedWagonTeam.Com

Make sure to come back in the next week to check out our full low-down on this year’s NAR Convention.

Again, thanks to everything that made it out, and if I’ve left anyone out feel free to berate me in the comments

Everyone should know by now that the all-time classic car is a ‘57 Chevy. As I realized that the car has now been around for 50 years, I began to think what it must have been like 50 years ago. There was a strong sense of community, soda-pop fountains (I recommend Watson’s in Orange, CA), hula-hoops, and service stations that actually offered service. Attendants would run out to your car to check the oil, air pressure, clean the windows, and fill it up. We all know about those feel-good days which are often referred as the “bubble-gum-era,” and the ideas of that era are forever immortalized in movie’s like “American Graffiti” and “Back to the Future.”

Similarly, as the real estate industries begins to descend into rougher waters, consumers will demand more for their dollar and will expect this high level of service for the commissions paid. Today’s consumers are far more tech-savvy than ever before, and over the past several years, I’m sure that they’ve noticed that agents’ websites have began to all look alike and offer the same content. Such similarities between sites allow those consumers to more easily differentiate agents when they stand out from the crowd, and with the recent turmoil in the real estate industry, it will allow them to choose an agent which they believe will offer them a higher level of service per dollar.

Additionally, consumers are also expecting that the latest in technology be a part of that service. The “salad days” of simply putting a listing on the MLS and having it sold within days or weeks with little or no marketing are a long ways behind us. Agents who intend to stay in business and do well in today’s real estate industry must also understand and effectively use newer technologies to their benefit. For example, agents must be willing to place their listings in Craiglist along with photos, links to their listing page, links to their blog, etc. What agents should not do is put their listings into Craigslist without putting photos or any other similarly important information. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Like I was saying, consumers are more tech savvy than ever before, and agents now have more technology available to them than ever before. The key to unlocking the relationship is to provide a 1957 service experience for the consumer. Your use of technology is a reflection of you and your service. That being said your website should provide a positive experience for the consumer with interactive maps, chat, and other useful content.

The lesson here is 50 years old. Take the time and effort to provide a sincere service to the consumer in order to making their experience a beneficial one and, in turn, both you and your client will be handsomely rewarded.

First of all, a big thanks to all the attendees who visited our booth at the 2007 CAR EXPO at the Anaheim Convention Center. We were really excited to see so much enthusiasm about our product lineup, especially with our MLS Search Solution: dsSearchAgent. In fact many of you commented that we’re the only company out there providing the broad range of technology and services which dsSearchAgent provides. Also, a big thanks to Loren Nason at www.futureofrealestatetechnology.com, who we had the pleasure of meeting with at the show, he had great things to say about dsSearchAgent.

We heard a lot of "Web 2.0" being thrown around at this year’s conference and we would like to reiterate that this "wave of the future" isn’t all just flashy catch phrases, "Web 2.0" allows you to help not only your clients buy and sell property, but it also helps you, the Agent, to work smarter and faster. For those of you who stopped by our booth, or even have just visited our website, you know that helping you and your clients buy and sell homes faster and smarter is what Diverse Solutions is all about.

On a side note one our helpful sales team members, Sean, is telling me that quite a few of you asked if the new dsAgentChat can be integrated onto a non Diverse Solutions website. The answer is: yes it can. With a $99.95 setup fee and $19.95/month or $199.95/year subscription you can be up and running with dsAgentChat on any website you may have.

Again, I want to thank everyone who spent time with us at our booth at CAR, it’s always a great pleasure to meet new people, and talk face to face about our products. And if you thought we stepped up our booth this year, please visit us at the National Association of Realtors® Conference in Las Vegas Nevada, we have big plans in store! Hope to see you all there.

Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Robert Luna, and I’m the Director of Business Development over here at Diverse Solutions. My job is to work with the executives at MLS’s, associations, and large brokers who are interested in our dsSearchAgent IDX solution, our AgentCast websites, and all of the other products we offer. My background and experience has given me a unique perspective in the real estate software industry, and I hope that I’ll be able to share some of that knowledge with this blog’s readers now and in the future.

Earlier today, I heard a coworker telling a story about a broker in need of a company website. The broker hired somebody who is a “web developer” to create a real estate broker site. Over 3000 dollars and six months into the project, the broker was frustrated and still didn’t have a site. Sounds hard to believe, right?

Unfortunately, these stories are more common than you might think. We’ve all heard the adage that “there is no free lunch.” Well, here’s another classic: “People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.” My point is that you must make some time to set up a marketing plan, and since we all know that there really is no free lunch, you will need to roll up your sleeves do some research, make a plan, and follow through.

When I started doing sales twenty years ago, I was given a copy of Zig Ziglar’s Secrets Of Closing The Sale. My manager told me that it was “the salesman’s bible,” and that if I wanted to be a professional at sales, I would need to study to develop my skills. Today, I have an entire library of sales literature and have attended more conferences and seminars than I can count. In a similar fashion, today’s real estate professional is expected to be the expert by his/her clients and have all the answers.

That being said, in order to be a real estate professional, you will need to keep up with current events and have a definite marketing plan. Following are a few tips to get you started.

Step 1 Write down you goals. What are you looking to accomplish, and how soon are you planning on accomplishing it? Once you have something down on paper, you’d be amazed at how much more motivated you will be to keep those goals.

Step 2 Define your target area. Too many Realtors® bite off more than they can chew. Instead, you need to make sure that you are an expert within your area.

Step 3 Create a marketing budget you can live with and track the results. For example, if you’re spending $1000 in print ads, and you generate ten leads, you will know that each lead cost you $100. Then, for each one of those leads, you should track your commission. By the end, you’ll have some good ideas on how to allocate your budget.

Step 4 Manage your time like your check book; after all, they’re both directly related. You should have a routine and set specific times for specific tasks. You’ll soon be surprised at how efficient you can be and how much more you can get done.

Step 5 Manage your web presence. Our AgentCast Pro website solution is exceptionally powerful and offers many “Web 2.0” features. One such feature is our dsAgentChat instant messaging technology which offers real-time chat with your website visitors. According to Stephan Swanepoel’s 2007 Trend Report, the majority of Internet real estate shoppers expect email responses within 30 minutes. With dsAgentChat, you can cut 30 minutes into mere seconds.

Step 6 Follow up on your website leads. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I have seen studies that show that up to 35% of the leads generated on an agent’s website are not followed up.

Step 7 Get social. Social networking tools such as Active Rain, Trulia Voices, Zillow Q&A, and even Facebook will help you stay fresh and relevant among many Internet users. In addition, you’ll find that more and more top producers across the nation are blogging on a regular basis, so this is something that you may want to consider getting into if are looking for a way to set yourself apart.

Step 8 Continue your education. Personal development will require you to set some time aside for training attending classes, reading, or attending seminars and conferences constantly continue to develop your skills.

Step 9 Reach out. I have met very few people who have told me that they enjoy cold-calling, and even fewer who have time set aside to do so. While it may be enjoyable to only a few, remember that everything you get out of your business is a direct result of what you put into it. Therefore, it may very well be time well spent for you to reach out and try cold-calling every once in a while.

Step 10 Network constantly. Many businesses within your area may have a constant flow of homeowners who visit their offices and / or use their services. Creating relationships with these businesses may be beneficial to you, your clients, them, and their clients, all at the same time!

What I have provided is only the proverbial tip of the iceberg. There are many, many more ways that you can develop your knowledge and improve your marketing skills; just like everything else in life though, you’ll have to wisely commit to the decisions you make with your time and financial resources.