Unique Ways to Market Your Real Estate Business

Are you getting tired of marketing your business with typical door hangers and mail flyers? A hip young real estate agent in San Francisco took to the bar scene to reach out to potential consumers, according to Inman News.

The inspired entrepreneur had beer coasters designed with his information and distributed them to the most popular bars in the area. The establishments were happy to accept the free supplies, and for just the cost of the coasters and printing, the young agent was excited to have the additional exposure.

It makes us think, there are so many untapped places that real estate agents in today's market can reach out to. The real estate agent in the article recommended branded urinal cakes... Now that may be to far but we encourage you, next time you step out of your home, to look at the world from a different perspective. From your travels to the office, to lunch or to the grocery, what interactions with day-to-day life offer you the opportunity for branded exposure in your community?

Accept the challenge, and let us know where you make your mark!

Click here to read the rest of the article.

*Photo via InmanNews.com.

Closing Gift Ideas for Executives

As an Executive, you always go above and beyond for your clients. What better way to show you care than to go the extra mile with a personalized gift on closing day?

Here are a few ideas for your next closing gift...

• Homemade taco night in a box (an easy fix for dinner on moving night!)
• Homemade pasta sauce with a personalized tag
• Herb garden in a pot
• Personalized candle holders
• Sweet little plant with a note
• Personalized wine bottle cooler
• Heirloom seeds for the garden

You can find these and so many more ideas on our Pinterest Board dedicated specifically to this topic at http://pinterest.com/realtyexecs/gift-guide-for-clients/.

Shake Up and Wake Up

Wow! Did any of you attend Shake Up and Wake Up at movie theaters across the United States yesterday? Talk about inspiring. About 25,000 real estate professionals gathered in front of movie screens as famous football coach Lou Holtz and top real estate coach Brian Buffini provided invaluable insight and wisdom about the real estate industry and life itself.

The event kicked off with Lou Holtz. This man is pure wisdom. He entertained audiences with delightful stories and more importantly engaged us all in how to tune into the most important factors in life; trust, commitment and love. He taught us that if we create dreams for ourselves and then focus on the present to accomplish daily tasks that benefit that ultimate goal, we can accomplish our visions. Holtz shared that if we exit bad situations with grace and dignity, far better opportunities will present themselves on the horizon, much like his career winning move to lead Notre Dame to victory. Let's just say the event could have ended there and all 25,000 of us could have walked away feeling refreshed and invigorated, but it wasn't done yet...

Then, Brian Buffini stepped in and leveraged what his mentor Lou Holtz taught us by catering the message specifically to the real estate industry. He focused on these five key principles of why real estate agents struggle:

1. Peaks and valleys in income - Buffini taught that the only workaround for this is lead generation year-round, not just after a closing.
2. Not knowing where the next lead is coming from - The answer to this is developing systems. If you do this you will...
   
• S. ave
• Y. our
• S. elf
• T. ime
• E. nergy
• M. oney
3. Not being able to stand out against the competition - Provide value and benefit to your clients by sending out resources (systematically of course) such as how to raise your credit score, how to stage your home and statistics about your current market.
4. Not having a skillset for the market - Go to educational events, such as Shake Up and Wake Up to keep yourself at the forefront of your industry so you're prepared for everything.
5. Being disorganized - In order to stay organized, Buffini suggests you:

• Prioritize
• Remove and Replace
• Start Today!

If you attended this incredible event, we'd love to hear what your takeaways were. We hope you're buzzing with energy and ideas just as we are after that one-of-a-kind presentation!

A Social Media "Dating Site" (Minus the Dating)

Just when we thought we were maxed out on social media platform options, the team at Brokur.com, brings us a new one.

Inman News joked that it's, "the dating site for real estate" due to it's unusual methods for pairing brokers and clients. Brokur itself refers to their idea as "Match.com meets LinkedIn." Either way you look at it, it's just another way for real estate agents to get their name and message out there.

The idea is simple, it's a website that allows buyers or sellers to find their ideal "match" in a broker or agent. Instead of starting with a home search and then contacting a real estate agent attached to a listing they like, they can instead, find the real estate agent first, the property second.

The system operates very similarly to Twitter once you've signed up. You can post messages and photos to stay in front of your audience.

The good news is, whether this platform is something you'd like to tackle or not, it's absolutely free so there's little risk (for now anyways, there's talk of adding cost if you'd like to be featured down the road).

So far according to Inman News, only a few hundred brokers have signed up, so if you're going to hop on this train, you'll be one of the first.