Have you taken a moment (actually, more than a moment – be sure you get it ALL out) to write down exactly what you want and how it will make you feel once you get it? I’ve previously mentioned this technique it helps bring you closer to your end results more quickly. Here are three specific reasons why:

1. Writing things down brings your desires into physical form.
2. Writing helps you gain clarity and further refine your desire into something you absolutely know you want.
3. Writing allows your desire to “stand alone” without being surrounded by the clutter that normally exists in our thoughts regarding what we want.

Well, what are you waiting for? Start writing!

Rich Rogala

Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, Real Estate Marketing, Writing Your Goals, Marketing Plans

Unfortunately, though, with all those different sites it can be easy to lose track of what you’ve done.

I’ve created a Marketing Checklist for New Listings, which makes it easy to ensure  you’ve posted your property on all the sites you normally use, and easily keep track of what has been done. It also makes it easy to pass off to an assistant, since all the steps and sites are laid out. Plus, it serves as a handy sheet to use in marketing to sellers – they can see that you’re actively promoting their property.

Feel free to download and use in your own marketing! To download just “right-click” on the link below and Save to your computer.

Marketing Checklist for New Listings

With the right applications, a real estate agent in the field can be just as productive as one in the office. You have the ability to network and communicate with clients, fax documents, look up listings, find local area resources, calculate mortgage payments, and even shoot video!

If you have an iPhone, their app store is currently the biggest out there, and offers lots of apps to make doing business on the go easier and more convenient, so check out this list. These are just a small group of what’s available, but this list alone could probably save you hours of time versus running back and forth to your office!

Realtor.com – Search over 4 million homes with this app from REALTOR.com. Find property details, pricing, photos, open house information and more on homes for sale.

Home Buying Power – Determine how much house your client can afford by plugging in desired payment or income percentage, down payment, loan term and interest rate information to calculate buying power.

Dictionary of Real Estate Terms – Convenient and user-friendly reference tool for real estate professionals and consumers on the go.

Mortgage Calculator – Helpful tool for making quick calculations such as monthly rates, loan options and adjustments for down payments, insurance and taxes.

Zillow – Get access to the popular search site that many real estate clients are using.

Yelp – Search for places to eat, drink, shop, relax. Become an expert of your neighborhood.

Walk Score – Calculates the “walkability” of any location and shows you a map of nearby amenities; helps clients find walkable neighborhoods.

LoopNet – Get access to commercial listings around the country.

Documents To Go – Create, view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from your smartphone.

Mobile Phax – Use the camera on your iPhone to take a photo of a letter-sized document and then send as a PDF to any email address.

Vlingo – Send a text message, call a friend, search the Web or update your Facebook or Twitter status using voice commands.

Qik Live– Shoot and share live video from your phone and send to a client.

Smarter Agent – Search homes for sale or recent sold, and apartments for rent.

Expensify – Import expenses and receipts and submit paperless expense reports from your phone.

Foursquare - Foursquare on your phone gives you & your friends new ways of exploring your city.

There are also lots of apps for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and instant messaging – giving you lots of ways to quickly and easily connect and network with your clients.

Credits: Originally published by Stephanie Sievers, Illinois Realtor Magazine

There are great examples for other types of local businesses, but what really caught my eye is a tool Nathan mentioned called TwitHawk. Maybe I’ll do a more in-depth post on using it later (after I play with it for a while), but check out the full post. Twit Hawk looks like it has a lot of potential for you to find local people discussing

• how tired they are of their apartment
• considering looking for a home
• recent job transfer/new job in your area
• needing more space
• etc.

Now remember, you are not going to see positive results if you jump in and try to sell them on using you as a Realtor®. At best, they’ll ignore you, and at worst they might block you, or even tell their friends. BUT, if you have some tips for them (maybe in the form of a blog post, free ebook, etc.), it would be acceptable to say something like “Hi @twitterperson, I have a blog post at www.myblogposthere.com with some good info for first-time homebuyers – feel free to check it out.” Low pressure contact like this is acceptable, or you could even just give them a warm welcome to the area, or recommend a listing you just listed that sounds perfect (but make sure it really does!).

So check out the post, see what you think of TwitHawk, and I’d love to hear how it helps your biz!

If you have one of the 80 million accounts that got upgraded to the new look on February 4th, and are struggling to figure it out, today’s Web 2.0 post will be great for you!

It comes from Nik Nik at MyTechOpinion, called 10 Tips for Getting Reacquainted with Facebook’s New Layout.

If you can’t seem to find ANYTHING, or just feel like you’re missing some of the old navigation links, check out her post. She provides screenshots that make it easy to figure out what’s what.

And if we haven’t connected already, look me up at www.Facebook.com/RichRogala.

Could you define each term below?

You might be able to rattle off a explanation worthy of the best real estate textbook out there, but can you actually communicate in a way that your client understands? An easy way to lose rapport and trust with a client is talk over their head. They’ll usually feel like either a) you think you’re much smarter than them, or b) you’re using big words because you’re trying to pull the wool over their eyes on something. A great way to establish trust and rapport is to be able to explain all the paperwork, laws and new concepts that come along with our profession in a way that makes sense to them. They’ll feel much more comfortable with the transaction because they’ll be making educated choices, and will associate that comfortable feeling with you, their agent.

So here’s your challenge – take the definitions below and see if you can’t find a way to explain them in layman’s terms that works with your personality. Why not have a little fun with it? Personality just deepens your connections with clients!

Appraisal: a written report by a state-licensed professional that includes an unbiased analysis of the property’s value and the reasoning that led to that opinion. An appraisal report is required for any property sale.

Broker: an agent who brings together a buyer and a seller, or a landlord and a tenant, in a real estate transaction. All brokers must be licensed by the state in which they work. Most work on commission, and the landlord or seller usually pays the fee.

Build-to-suit: a method of leasing property in which the landlord makes improvements to a space based on the tenant’s specifications. The cost of construction is generally factored into the lease terms. Most build-to-suit provisions apply to long-term (10-year) leases.

Concessions: benefits or discounts given by the seller or landlord of a property to help close a sale or lease. Common concessions include absorption of moving expenses, space remodeling, or upgrades (also called “build-outs”), and reduced rent for the initial term of the lease.

Escalation clause: a clause in a lease that allows the landlord to increase rent in the future. Rent increases dictated under an escalation clause may be charged in various ways, including:

• A fixed increase over a definite period
• A cost-of-living increase tied to a government index, such as the tax rate
• An increase directly related to increases in operating the property

HVAC: an acronym for “heating-ventilation-air-conditioning” system. In a commercial building, the landlord generally is responsible for maintaining the HVAC.

Lease: an agreement by which the owner of a property (the “lessor”) grants the right of possession to a tenant (the “lessee”) for a specific period of time (the “term”) for a predetermined amount of money (the “rent”). A “leasehold estate” is the space occupied by the tenant. Common types of leases include:

• A straight, or flat, lease, which stipulates that the same periodic payment (usually monthly) be made for the entire term of the lease.
• A percentage lease, which uses a percentage of the net or gross sales to determine the monthly rent. This is most often used in retail properties and with a minimum base rent.
• A net lease, which requires the tenant to pay maintenance, taxes, insurance and so on, along with a fixed rent. This is also called “net-net-net” or “triple net.”

Lien: a legal claim filed against a property for payment of a debt or obligation. If a property owner fails to pay a creditor, for example, the creditor can place a lien on the property. A lien can halt the sale of a property.

Sale-leaseback: a transaction in which an owner sells a property to an investor, who then leases the property back to the original owner under prearranged terms. Sale-leaseback deals offer the original owner freed-up capital and tax breaks and the investor a guaranteed return and appreciation.

Sublease: a lease given by a tenant for some or all of a rented property. For example, if a tenant rents 20,000 square feet but only ends up needing 10,000 square feet, they may want to sublet the extra space for some or all of the remaining term of the lease, providing they continue to occupy and pay rent for the property.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Real Estate, Real Estate Marketing

Read the full post to get the full picture of how Yelp has grown by creating an iPhone app.

You may not have thought about trying to get clients to provide a review of you as a real estate agent on sites Yelp, Google and Yahoo, but why not? It gives you more credibility if they’re doing a simple search for real estate agents. It gives you more spots to be found in the search engines. And since these are public review, you can probably take them and use them on your site if you like (haven’t checked into the legality of this, so don’t hold me to it, but if they left you a good review, they’d probably be happy to have you use it on your site, so just ask).

Now, I’m no mobile marketing professional, so if you are looking for more info on reaching potential and current clients on their cell phones, you can read more about it at “What is Mobile Marketing Anyway?”

But our Web 2.0 Wrap-up for today is actually a post from MyTechOpinion on a brand new iPhone app from Realtor.com. As NikNik mentions,

Agents that already utilize Realtor.com to post their listings will be able to sync with their account via the app. Branding and contact information is carried over so that interested buyers can easily reach out to the agent, or even add the agent to their iPhone address book. In fact, an interested buyer can contact the listing agent in a number of ways with a single tap: ask a question, call agent directly, visit agent Website.

If you are already using Realtor.com to post your listings, I can’t see why you WOULDN”T take advantage of this new app. So many people access the internet via their cell phone, you want to be able to be the agent that gives them the ability to view listings and share with friends on Twitter and Facebook through their mobile device. So check out NikNik’s post, then go sync your Realtor.com account, and pass the word along to your clients and friends!

Posted via email from Rich Rogala | Digital Life

As he says:

There are seven disciplines you must develop if you want to achieve all that is possible for you. You can learn these disciplines through practice and repetition until they become automatic.

1. Goal Setting: Each morning, take about 5 minutes to write out your Top Goals. The act of writing them down programs them into your subconscious mind. It stimulates your mind, and helps you move towards these goals faster.
2. Planning & Organizing: Take a few minutes each evening to plan out your activities for the next day. Always work from a list and always think on paper.
3. Concentrate on your Highest-Value Activities: The ability to work single-mindedly on your most important task is as important to your success as any other skill you can develop. If necessary, outsource your less important tasks to a virtual assistant or onsite assistant in order to get your Highest-Value Activity done.
4. Exercise and Proper Nutrition: Your health is the most valuable things you have. Developing the discipline to eat right and workout will filter down into all the other areas of your life.
5. Learning and Growth: Your mind is like a muscle – if you don’t use it you lose it. You should always be learning and growing to become a better version of you.
6. Time for Important People in your life: Relationships are everthing. “Be sure that in climbing the ladder of success, you do not find it leaning against the wrong building. Build time for your relationships into every day, no matter how busy you get.”

This is such a great list of 6 things that will guarantee your success in life that I just had to share it. If you want more info like this, I strongly recommend you sign up for any one of his newsletters at www.briantracy.com.

Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, real estate marketing coach, Brian Tracy personal growth schedule, how to become a successful real estate agent