Empowering Real Estate Professionals: Constant Contact CEO Shares Insights and Strategies
The role of effective communication and marketing cannot be overstated, especially for small businesses. One company at the forefront of empowering small businesses to maximize their marketing capabilities is Constant Contact. In a recent interview with Marilyn Wilson, President of RE Technology, Frank Vella, the CEO of Constant Contact, shared valuable insights and strategies aimed at helping real estate professionals thrive in today's competitive environment. Frank Vella's journey into the world of technology and small business empowerment is one fueled by passion and purpose. With a background that includes stints at Microsoft and a deep-rooted connection to small business through his upbringing, Frank brings a unique perspective to his role as CEO of Constant Contact. The vision he brings to Constant Contact is clear: to help small businesses stand tall and succeed in their endeavors. Real estate professionals face unique challenges, especially in today's dynamic market. Through tailored solutions and a deep understanding of the industry's nuances, Constant Contact aims to empower real estate professionals to effectively market their services and connect with their clients. Constant Contact is best known for its email marketing platform, but they offer far more than just email marketing. It serves as a comprehensive digital marketing solution, designed to simplify the complex process of marketing for small businesses. By integrating things like social media and event planning and promotions into the platform, busy agents can maximize their marketing time by accomplishing several tasks without switching platforms. This also leads to deeper personalization and automation options based on user interactions across different media. Sometimes the hardest part of any marketing effort is simply getting started and getting past the blank page. Understanding that challenge, Frank explained how they have built AI-driven content creation to alleviate the burden of marketing content generation. With a few simple prompts, their AI engine will create anything from an open house invite to just sold messages. In times of economic uncertainty, Frank offers invaluable advice for real estate professionals. He emphasizes the importance of leveraging existing networks, staying present, and being responsive to client needs. Despite market fluctuations, the fundamental need for housing remains, presenting opportunities for those who are adaptable and proactive in their approach. As the real estate industry continues to evolve, Constant Contact remains committed to providing innovative solutions and unwavering support for real estate professionals to thrive in a competitive landscape. Watch the full interview with Frank Vella in our ongoing Tech Titan series: Get a free trial of Constant Contact for your business. Gain 100% access today. FREE TRIAL. No credit card. Related reading 8 Ways to Leverage the Magic of AI for Real Estate Marketing Recruitment and Retention Tactics: How Brokerages and Teams Can Leverage Constant Contact

Realtor Market Expert Q&A: Scarlett Green and Josh Taylor
In the spring of 2022, RPR's Broker Services Team put together a special training series for Howard Hanna agents. To receive their "RPR-Howard Hanna Market Expert" certificates, the agents were required to complete four classes on four different topics (available in an on-demand video webinar format available to them via the RPR blog). After each session, they were also asked to complete a "homework" assignment to get full credit. After four lessons and completed "homework," the agents received their certificate. They were also asked to fill out a survey, where they were asked to "Share Their Story" about their RPR training experience. In this Q&A, we speak to two RPR Howard Hanna Market Experts about their experiences taking the training, what they learned, and how they plan to apply their new RPR skills to their business. Scarlet Green Here's what Scarlet Green from Allen Tate Realtors, North Carolina had to say about the training sessions: I have been using RPR for months now and I love it!! Reasons why: 1) the more you use it, the easier and faster it becomes as the best and latest tool in real estate 2) the simplicity of RPR, user friendly 3) RPR offers so much info that you are able to choose exactly what you want/need so you may customize the reports/info for your client(s) 4) RPR offers material and info that are appropriate for both buyers and sellers! 5) Love having a mobile app that actually works! This app was well planned out and created to be user friendly. I also love that you are able to send the info the way your clients like to receive it; example, by text, email, airdrop, etc. I plan on continuing using RPR and appreciate all those who were involved in creating this. Thank you! Q. Hi Scarlett, thanks for joining us. How long have you been in real estate and what area do you specialize in? Ten years, I'm a residential agent, and I mostly work with sellers. A few buyers here and there… Q. How did you get introduced to RPR? Another agent in my office uses it. I heard that doorbell "ding," the sound effect from the reports being generated, and I wanted that! (LAUGHS) I love that doorbell chime of the notification. It's brilliant. It's the small things, you know? Then I started using it for doing comps. I love (and hate) doing comps, but RPR makes it easy. You can't go rogue, the program keeps you right on target. For clients, buying or selling a home is a milestone in life. And they trust us to watch their wallet through the process. I appreciate RPR for helping me create CMAs. Q. In the testimonial you sent us, you mentioned that RPR is simple. Can you give me an example? Sure, I was messing around in RPR last night… and I started looking into Opportunity Zones. As I started, these little prompts came up and I was able to follow along with the pink boxes. So helpful! It's a wizard/teacher to help and guide you. It helps me not waste time! Every time you get on RPR you learn something new, and the more you use it, the more knowledge you get for your clients. Q. You also mentioned the RPR app; how do you like using it? I love it. Whoever came up with it should teach other programmers how to create user friendly tech. I use it in the field all the time, because I can easily pull stuff up. I can instantly send reports and answers to my customers. I have the tech in my hands and it works every time. Tech that works makes me a huge RPR advocate! Q. We love hearing that! What else did you get from the training? Basically, I felt refreshed about navigating the comps and it gave me more confidence. I now tell other agents that I can't believe they're not using RPR. It's a whole different level of experience in real estate. Josh Taylor Josh Taylor from Howard Hanna Pennsylvania had this to say about his Market Expert training series: I'm a newer agent and still learning and growing everyday. I have really enjoyed this series as an introduction to getting more in-depth with RPR. I have used the research pieces and some of the reports already, but I have many new ideas now. I have learned how to drill down in a much better and more efficient way. I love the micro-neighborhood reports to really have that access to learning about even the smaller neighborhoods in my area. RPR helps me to present my expertise and show clients the knowledge base that I have access to in order to show my value add for them. Thank you for this learning opportunity and I look forward to learning more! Q. How long have you been practicing real estate Josh, and what area do you work in? Just over a year and a half, and I work in residential. Q. How did you get introduced to RPR? I had used it on my own a bit, and I was getting monthly emails about the training and webinars from my brokerage, NAR, etc. But I must admit, this Market Expert series was more of an incentive, the certificate was appealing. As a new agent I need help learning CMAs and RPR helps with that in a lot of ways. Q. You mentioned new ideas for using RPR, how are you doing that? So many! I didn't know about mailing labels, or how to search neighborhoods and subdivisions for specific owners. It's great for direct mailings and new listings. Drilling down into neighborhoods and uncovering the demographics, that stuff is really helpful. I like using the neighborhood search and the neighborhood reports. And the maps are great for prospecting. I've used that a few times since the training took place. Q. How does RPR help you in your business? I like that the CMA has different ways to achieve the goal to get the right pricing. Some info is outdated and you can add updates to the home using the Refine Value tool. That gives me a framework to the price, and then I can pull up really specific values and features, like a pool. The flexibility is controlled, and I get more accurate results using RPR than just my MLS. The other thing I really like is when you print something from RPR, the branding and the cleanliness of the report is important. And that it looks like it comes from me! Having my picture and my information in the reports makes it well branded. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Experienced REALTOR Makes RPR His 'Go-to' for All Things Real Estate
The inbox at RPR (Realtors Property Resource) continues to fill up with praise and success stories from our users. Last month, we received this email from Eric Nitzschke, a seasoned, industry vet who had this to say about NAR's property data platform: RPR is an industry "must"... what a tremendous resource with relevant analytics, and detailed information that caters to both agent and customer. My number one "go-to" for real-time, accurate and informative data. — Eric Nitzschke, eXp Realty, Bend, Oregon Well, we could've ended it right there, but we decided to dig a little deeper in Eric's RPR experience and find out how he uses RPR to nurture and accelerate his business. Here's this month's Success Story Q&A, with Eric Nitzschke: Q. Hi Eric, how long have you been a REALTOR®? Just over 30 years, and I'm licensed in California, Oregon and Washington state. West Coast guy! Q. Thirty years, that's impressive! What area do you specialize in? Residential mostly, and I work with both buyers and sellers. I will do a commercial deal here and there. Q. How did you hear about or first get started in RPR? I first learned about RPR when I worked in Florida. This particular real estate group used RPR all day long, every day. The office would use RPR to assess current values of homes. Once I was exposed to it, I realized it was way more than just a valuation tool. There's just so many capabilities and it's especially helpful in doing listing and sales presentations. The property reports are good and the comps are so valuable, and both are really easy for customers to digest and comprehend. I think RPR is super helpful and it's my go-to for every day tasks. Q. What are some of your favorite features in RPR? The reporting aspects are super valuable, especially with the market as frothy as it was. Using RPR really lends credibility to your work. For example, the market here in Bend, Oregon is small. And people are getting all this info about the market, but it's disparate and it's off the mark. RPR is a good resource to bring people to the baseline of understanding what is accurate and realistic. It really helps me explain to folks what our local market is doing and to take out the emotional aspect. I do this by providing RPR Seller's reports, Market Activity reports and Neighborhood reports. They're super valuable. Everything is always very current and up to date and accurate. I see it as a good third-party resource at arm's distance, so you're not skewing the info. It backs up my recommendations and gives my advice some data-backed credibility. Plus, it's readily accessible, and it doesn't cost anything. That's huge! Real estate people get chiseled at every turn, so this should be a real go-to resource for real estate agents. 100%. I also like that it's user friendly, it's not over technical. For someone new or not so tech savvy, it's easy to interpret, which can't be said for a lot of tech. That aspect is a big benefit. Q. Well said! Does RPR relieve any pain points for you in your day-to-day tasks? It's just super user friendly, in my opinion. I tried using some other tech tools and it's frustrating, and you give up. But RPR is so much more straightforward. Every application I've used is different, and you have to learn, and there's a steep learning curve. With RPR, it's the same every time. It's consistent and easy to navigate, and that's a huge relief for me. Q. Any good RPR "wow"' moment stories? I just had a client who closed on their home a little while ago. They were new to selling (in their 60s!) in that they had never sold a home before. I helped them through the process and put an RPR report together for them. It really simplified things for them and gave them a comfort level that they weren't in over their head. They could relate to it, you know? The supporting data I provided helped in figuring out and agreeing on the listing price. They were "wowed" and very appreciative! Thank you Eric, we really appreciate your story and for using RPR as your "go-to" tech tool. Whether you're a brand new agent or 30-year vet, RPR can help you, too! Check out our line-up of free webinars to help you get started in the platform and on your way to "wowing" clients and closing more deals. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

[Podcast] Lead Gen and Leveraging Data with Ed Carey of Audience Town
In this episode of It's Closing Time, RentSpree CEO Michael Lucarelli sits down with Ed Carey, Founder and CEO of Audience Town, a digital advertising platform designed for real estate. In addition to talking about Audience Town's advertising products, they also dive into how lead-gen technology shifted during the pandemic and how real estate agents should be leveraging data.  

[Podcast] Growing Your with Technology with Matthew Kuchar
In this episode of It's Closing Time, Matthew Kuchar of Showami sits down with RentSpree CEO Michael Lucarelli to discuss technology tools for real estate agents and how agents can extend their professional network with PropTech tools. Showami is a service that connects licensed real estate agents with other licensed real estate agents to assist with buyer showings. Learn more about Showami at www.showami.com.  

Houston REALTOR Uses RPR to Deliver Reports and Results
Consider yourself an RPR "power user"? You may have to reconsider after you read about Bruce Inman and his dedication to creating and sending out RPR Seller's Reports as a way to prospect for new clients. "Every day, seven days a week, I mail out five RPR Seller's Reports to prospective clients. I've been doing this for four years, and I know for a fact that it works," says Bruce. If you're keeping score at home, that's just over 7,000 reports generated! Is Bruce reluctant to share his winning strategy and process for finding leads? "Not one bit," he says. "Because I know that most people will find it to be too much work." Take 5 RPR Reports and Call Me in the Morning Bruce Inman is a Broker-Associate with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene Memorial Office out of Houston, Texas. In real estate for 20 years, he describes himself as a "land guy" that specializes in ranch and farm properties, including land that investors want to develop. Growing up, his parents owned four ranches, so Bruce knows a thing or two about Texas-sized plots of land and how to develop them. He also knows his way around easements, mineral and oil rights, and flood zones. And he certainly knows his way around RPR! Read on to learn how he farms an area and uses RPR reports as mailing deliverables to drum up business. Here's a Q&A with super productive RPR user Bruce Inman. Hi Bruce, thanks for joining us. How did you get started using RPR? Four years ago, I started sending out RPR Seller's Reports to my family and friends about their homes. I got feedback from them on what they liked to see, how many pages it should be, etc. I wanted to create something that they would keep and not throw away. How did you come up with the idea? I got the idea one day when reading an old Motor Trend magazine. My wife asked, "Why do you keep that magazine around, it's three years old!" And I replied, "Because it has my car in it." And that's when it hit me! It was like that Back to the Future a-ha moment when Doc Brown hits his head on the toilet. And this works? Oh yeah, it works, people keep them around. One time, a couple called me two years after I sent them a Seller's Report. I walked into their living room, and they had the report on their coffee table, next to all their magazines. It feels special to them when I send it. Great story! How does a typical report-sending day look for you? In the morning I get my coffee, and get on the computer. It takes time, but I'm dedicated. First I check for expired and terminated listings, but there's not too many of those nowadays. Then, using the RPR maps, I look at properties near properties where I've had listings. I systematically go around, in a radius, and look for properties that meet my criteria. Basically, I check tax records to see how long they've owned it. If they've owned the property 10-20 years, and it's not upside down, I go for it. Do you have a name for your method? I call it "target specific marketing." Choose a home near a listing, research it, then create and send the report. No mass mailers or recently sold stuff. Just one report on their property and how much it's worth. I use the RPR current market analysis for that. How do you deliver the reports? I get the first page customized with all my brand info, my picture, contact info, and I usually deliver a custom message. I go into my office to print the pages and I use the binding machine to put it together. I handwrite the address on the envelope, put on the stamps, drop in the 10-page report, and toss in two business cards. It costs $1.61 per mailer, and yes, I'm on a first name basis with all the folks at my local post office. Of course! Why not get an assistant or hire someone to fulfill the mailers? I have found that the personal touch of handwriting the address has a huge emotional impact. I had one client tell me how much they were impressed by the report and that my staff hand wrote the envelope. I told her that I did not have a staff and I addressed the envelope. That blew her away! She was the first listing I got using an RPR report and she still refers clients to me. It made me stand out from the crowd. Any words of advice for someone who wants to try this approach out in their area? You've gotta be consistent, and stick to doing it every day. And don't get frustrated if you don't see immediate results. It took me six months until I got a response, and then they just kept coming. There's over 26,000 agents in Houston that I'm working against, so you have to hustle and think outside the box. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Website SEO Tips
Bondilyn Jolly, VP of Marketing at Elevate, interviews CJ Hays of Agent Reputation on his top tips for driving amazing SEO on Google. If you are looking for your website "to be found" on Google searches, tune into this discussion on tactical blogging, original content, IDX indelibility, reviews and more. CJ packs TONS of great tips into 14 minutes, so be ready to hit the "replay" button! Want MORE great website SEO tips? Download Elevate's FREE "Website SEO Guide" at: TryElevate.com/websiteseoguide/

Case Study: How Quicken Loans Boosted this Agent's Closing and Retention Rates
If there's one thing Quicken Loans has, it's name recognition. You've probably seen their ads on TV or online, but have you ever wondered what the company can do for your business? We talked to Ari Prostak, a top-producing buyer's agent with the Jason Mitchell Group to find out just that. Rather than getting overwhelmed by the sheer size of America's largest mortgage lender, Ari found that Quicken offers both agents and consumers an easy, tech-driven experience that's user friendly and customer-centric. In this new, downloadable case study, Ari shares: How Quicken's Verified Approval program provides peace of mind, ensures more closings, and works as a strong negotiating tool. How Quicken's customer service team works faster than smaller lenders, leading to happier clients and quicker closings. Why Quicken's trusted name and brand recognition is a plus for consumers. Why, despite relationships with multiple lenders, his multi-state team does the majority of their business with Quicken Loans. How working with Quicken Loans results in more referrals and repeat business. Download this free case study now to find out how Quicken Loans can boost your closing and retention rates!

Real (Estate) Talk: How a Single Mom and New Agent Achieved Success in 6 Months
How did you feel when you first started in real estate? If you're anything like Tina Minshall, you probably felt worried—worried about building your pipeline, worried about supporting your family, and worried about navigating the ins and outs of the industry. As a new real estate agent and a single mom to an autistic son, Tina had those same concerns. But those concerns quickly receded as Tina built a real estate family of mentors and caring clients. In just six months, she has created an impressive book of business and far exceeded the goals she initially set for herself. How did she do it? In a recent video interview with Bondilyn Jolly of Elevate and 3sixtyfive.agency, Tina shares the secrets to launching her business and achieving success so quickly. Tune into this interview for an inspiring conversation and some key takeaways. Here are a few highlights: 1:50 - On creating one big, happy real estate family: "My family is first. However, my clients become family most of the time, which is awesome. And I've managed to integrate my son into some of those families." 2:55 - Tina's secrets to work life balance: "Be you, be human … You just can't pretend your way through it." 4:30 - Tina on the technology that drives her success. "I understand that social media is where it's at, or video is where it's at. None of that is my gig. I like to meet people and sell houses, but I understand that I have to do all of it." She uses the Elevate platform to automate her social media and blog posts on busy days, generate leads, nurture leads, and more. 6:55 - Tina shares how Elevate saves her time, but also lets her personality shine: "Elevate lets me be me when I want to be...me. I don't want a stuffy, everyday Realtor's site or image or anything like that. I need me to come out. I have a personality, so people should know that." One of her goals is to change the public's sometimes negative perception of REALTORs. 9:45 - Tina on her #1 piece of advice to other real estate agents: "Be you. Be human." Watch Tina's full interview for more great advice:

New Thought Leadership Series: 24/seven with Bondilyn Jolly, with Guest Molly McKinley
In this exciting new thought leadership series, industry leader, tech marketing entrepreneur and investor Bondilyn Jolly interviews inspiring professionals to "get to know the person behind the professional." The basic premise is that underneath the professional, the title, the paycheck, and the prestige is a person with hopes, dreams, fears and a lifetime of inspirational and motivational stories that have led them to where they are today. With each guest, Bondilyn conducts a series of interviews that are then presented in a variety of consumable formats: podcast, video, written and photographic. To kick things off, Bondilyn's first interview features a well-known face in real estate, Molly McKinley. Below is a snippet from this interview, along with links to enjoy the complete experience.

Digital Marketing Strategy Wins Agent 3 Transactions from 1 Inquiry
How would you like to win multiple transactions from a single online inquiry? That's what happened to Realtor Terry Grayson of The Grayson Group when a lead from realtor.com referred him to family members who owned a construction company. And although those referrals already had a decades-long relationship with another agent, they decided to transact with Terry because of the online exposure they knew their listing would get. We recently spoke with Terry to learn how he differentiates himself online, his secrets to converting more leads, and more. Today's topic is multiple transactions from one inquiry. Apparently, you have been able to make this happen with your online leads? How did you get started with this and what triggers the "extra business" from your online marketing? In 2014, I started off with purchasing leads from two of the national websites. Also, the company I was with at the time would send me their brokerage overflow leads if the listing agent did not pick up. This introduced me to the whole concept of online advertising and reaching out to clients when they have an inquiry about a property. When I switched over to realtor.com, I could just see a difference in the quality of the lead. The others were not as serious or as ready to engage immediately. As an example, I have a realtor.com customer right now that I'm working on. This one realtor.com lead turned into three transactions so far because he was not only a buyer looking for property; his parents have a construction company that does concrete work and they met me at the showing. They came along just to make sure that my buyer made the right decision and they were looking at the structure of the property. Six months after we closed, his parents reached out to me and they went forward with me to list their property based off of that relationship. It was an interview process because I was competing with a more well-established real estate agent that had a 25-year track record in the community. And yet they felt that I would do a better job listing their house and selling it—just due to the fact that they knew they would get online exposure. What is it that you can offer your buying customers on the listing side to facilitate double-ended transactions? The likelihood of the house selling would be better than if it were just to be put online because I have the realtor.com branding. With this new Local Expert product, we are coming up 50% of the time in local home searches. I own market share in ten different markets, and I'm showing up in the fourth position on the front page for all of them—and so are my sellers' properties. This is really awesome because they can see that they're going to get that exposure where the other competing real estate agents wouldn't. I've already have used it for listing presentations, and it worked out perfectly. It's quite impressive that you can just show up 50% of the time in somebody's neighborhood. Do your clients take notice of your branding? Yes, and if they're using, for instance, Facebook, it attaches itself to that and all of a sudden my ad pops up. I've had customers come back to me that are still actively looking for homes (they like to do their own house search even though I send them listings through the MLS). They come back to me and say, "Terry I see your face all over the internet—you're everywhere." Since you have closed an abundance of customers you met online, how does this position you to get additional listing business, repeat sales and referrals? It really is pretty impressive. I feel very confident that the past clients that I serviced realize that I am the agent of choice in the area because my face just continually pops up everywhere they're looking. When they come back in the market to move again, they're the ones really looking online on a daily basis and they see us over and over and over again. Sample of a flyer that Terry uses in his business:

Market Dominant Yet Still Marketing: One Agent's Secrets to Success
If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times: the biggest ingredient for marketing success is consistency. That's the secret to Realtor Rosemary Allison's success as well. The luxury real estate veteran of 40+ years still diligently markets her brand across her market area. In this interview, she shares the online and offline methods she uses to become one of the most recognized names in her local real estate market. Your brand, your name and your image is associated with real estate all over Ventura County. Tell us what this does for you. I think it's very important to my success. I spend a lot of money to make sure that people know who I am. But at the point when they're thinking about who they're going to call for real estate, I think it's real important that they remember to call me. I believe that they go to the name that they recognize. Of course it is in support of the most important branding I have going, which is having good client relations. I make sure they're happy with my services because most of my business, honestly, is referrals. One thing I'm proud of is that at this point I've been selling real estate full-time since 1975. I am now selling the children of previous clients their homes. That's really neat to me. The fact that the parents are recommending me to their children really says that they did know that I gave them the best service and that they could trust me to handle their real estate needs. The branding reinforces these bonds and reminds them I am still serving the community. How are you directing your marketing to reach the consumers you will be most successful with? What I try to do is target market towards the buyers of the homes that I'm selling—the luxury market. I have a kiosk outside Nordstrom's, and advertise in Homes and Land, Society Magazine, and Westlake Magazine. Then, of course, I've got realtor.com, which is branding for a precise community. When you specialize in an area, you pay the money to get those additional imprints. You're getting attention from the potential buyers and sellers for your area. I find that realtor.com not only is a wonderful website, but it's one that brands you very well when you specialize like I do. I focus on an area of Ventura County, Calif. The mall kiosk is almost industrial branding, but it's not something that's specifically targeting real estate prospects. It's not going to give you return, which realtor.com can. When we have someone going to realtor.com, they're most likely either looking to sell a home (they want to see what the homes in their neighborhood are selling for), or they're interested in buying in a particular area. Are you able to track the success of your branding on realtor.com? Honestly one of the great things about realtor.com is that I see inquiries in my contact base. I can see people that are asking about properties and asking me questions. It's very easy to track, because with the realtor.com dashboard, you can see activity. I utilize that not only for potential buyers, but I think it's also a great tool to show sellers the tracking of the imprints of people interested in their home who have clicked or viewed their home. How are you using this on the seller / listing side? I now have the Local Expert city tool and I am so excited! I just did my ads and I'm really looking forward to seeing what I can do with it. Basically, on a listing presentation, I can tell my clients their home will be featured first and it will not go down the scoreboard on realtor.com because I've paid for the Local Expert ad. You said that your primary business is referrals – has this had an impact on repeat business and referrals? People you know three, five years down the line. I got a call recently from someone from decades ago when I sold them their home. Although I hadn't spoken to them, they had seen the other branding I do and when they looked at properties online, they saw my picture pop up. Of course they said they were going to call, but reminding them to do so and making it easy to contact me helped make sure they did.

Make Giving a Part of Your Business Strategy
Whether it's running a charity 5k, serving lunch to the homeless or simply fundraising for a cause close to your heart, having a social giving strategy in your business is a must. It's also an easy and fun way to motivate and inspire your team while giving back and connecting with the local community you serve.

Building Your Brand and Referral Business with Ad Retargeting
Digital advertising and retargeting have become an increasingly popular tool for businesses to ensure they get their product/services in front of the right people at the right time. If you've ever checked out a pair of shoes while online shopping, you may have noticed that ads for those shoes have suddenly started following you to other websites. Lisa Fettner of ReferralExchange recently interviewed Chris Leithe, VP of Sales and Customer Success at Adwerx, to discuss how agents can use retargeting to build their brand and business. Below are tips from Chris on how you can use ad retargeting to boost your brand and reach the homebuyers and sellers you want to work with.

Mission Focused: Behind the Scenes of a Top Team
The Nick Shivers Team is mission-driven, dynamic and red hot. What's their secret? Peek behind the curtain of one of the most successful teams in the Pacific Northwest. Nick Shivers Team, Keller Williams Realty Portland Central Building a Culture In real estate, we talk a lot about culture — and culture seems especially important when it comes to building, growing and sustaining a team. How would you describe the culture of the Nick Shivers team? Our team culture is about giving back, through our Sell a Home, Save a Child initiative. So at the core of it, we all believe in trying to help people; that's the basis of the team and the business. But as the team leader, I know that if my agents don't have business opportunities, they can't help clients or give back. So, we recruit with a combination of making sure the culture fits, but also by feeding them high-quality business opportunities and leads so they can better jumpstart their businesses. Extending Your Brand Online and Listings Statistically, sellers list with someone they know and trust. How do you carry your brand over to online to start building trust with those who don't know you and your team? The Local Expert™ product from realtor.com® really helps us in our listing presentations. It's an online ads solution that targets buyers and sellers with ads on realtor.com® and Facebook. And I know it works because my agents are using it to win the listing. The biggest thing that I've seen my agents do there is show sellers, "When people click in your area, you can have your open house advertised right there." It's massive exposure and I know that sellers, who are really interested in their house being seen by as many buyers as possible, are impressed. I can tell without having a lot of data (because we're in the early stages), that it is working right now. We also have our rocket listing, which is our instant buy program that I run on radio and billboards and advertise on realtor.com®. Lead Nurture, Persistence and Conversion If you meet a potential seller online, they may be months away from making a decision to sell. How do you keep the relationship fresh? To be successful, you need to be structurally able to follow up immediately. We offer new agents a 90-day ramp up where they're trained on scripts, dialogue and follow-ups for leads. The key is the follow-up and how they can use our technology to do that. We also focus a lot on staying the course. When I started in the business, I was really good at working with the leads who were interested in transacting in the next 30 to 60 days. I was not so good at the longer-term prospects and that's where the gold is. The sale might come after seven, eight or nine follow-ups. That is where you're going to get a lot of those deals, but it is in those repeat contacts that a lot of agents will give up. So we are laser-focused on training our agents not to give up too soon. Retention Once your agents "get it" and start using these guidelines, do they stick around? If I get my agents on the system, my retention improves. I suggest agents stick with me for a minimum of three years and then if they decide to start their own team, that is completely all right with me. I had an example in 2018, my number one producer decided to go out on his own. We are really good friends and I said, Great, go for it. He made less money this year and admitted that it's a lot easier to think about it and talk about it than to actually do it. Final Thoughts from Nick What defines your company? What are the main reasons that should someone consider joining your brokerage? Our big mission statement is about serving people — saving kids by selling real estate. Everything that we do is based on how we can give back to underprivileged children around the world, so that's number one. If that strikes a chord with you, then you're going to get past the first layer. The second thing is we love the underdog. I don't care where you have been. I want to see that you've had success, but I also believe that it doesn't matter where you start, it's where you're going. Last, it's about our systems and our lead generation and solutions and their long-lasting impact. And from this, we've built a tribe of loyal clients. In today's market, that's so important for agents. And of course, a big part of that is that our followers and clients know what we stand for. Because when you can literally say that your industry has helped — our Sell a home, Save a Child movement has raised over a million dollars to help kids — I think that makes a point where people go, "Wow, I'm not going anywhere else but with these guys and gals."    

5 Tips for Winning More Listings with Your Property Data Tool
Looking for an edge to beat out the competition for listings? Look no further than your property data tool. From generating CMAs to helping you overcome seller objections, this tool can help you impress prospects and win more listings. But how? To find out, we turned to an expert. Nikki Morgan of CRS Data has spent years training agents on how to leverage public records. "The best thing agents can do is to come to the table with the information that your property data solution can arm you with," says Morgan. "Not just words, but the facts." Here are five ways agents can tap into their property data solution to impress sellers and win more business:

20 Years of Staying in Touch Leads to Multiple Transactions
Leah Goldstein is a successful agent with Ebby Halliday Realtors in Dallas, Texas. She's been in the real estate game for 20 years and has been using Top Producer CRM for each and every one of those years. We asked Leah to reflect on the long term implications of having the discipline to keep up with customers in this system and whether this translated into bigger rewards over time.

Agent tried online leads and received a lead that closed on day one!
RDC: We know this is not always going to be the case – but we heard you signed up for realtor.com leads and immediately received an inquiry that went to contract – can you tell us about your experience? JP: I received my very first realtor.com® lead the same day I signed up for realtor.com®, from a gentleman out of Oklahoma looking at properties in Carillon Beach in Panama City Beach Florida. We toured four homes and we made an offer on a home listed at $1,175,000 on May 19th, just ten days after I signed up for realtor.com® leads. We closed on that home on June 6th, less than six weeks after the initial contact. It was a cash purchase and it went fast. I am very happy for him and his family and I was glad to be a part of the transaction.

How Technology Training Revolutionized One Realtor's Business
It was a fluke that led John Diaz to the training program that changed the direction of his real estate career. In August of 2013, he had been in real estate for over a decade, and a broker since 2005. Diaz already knew that leveraging technology was important for success in real estate, but he struggled with how to implement it. He planned to get an iPad, but hadn't yet. He had also tried Evernote, but "could never put my arm around how to use it for my business." That all changed when he travelled from California to Chicago for a conference hosted by his franchise. There, he hoped to learn how to better use technology in his business, but was largely disappointed—with the exception of one fleeting moment. "What I had flown to Chicago for I didn't really find," said Diaz. "But what's interesting is that the speaker I went to listen to briefly mentioned The Paperless Agent. He's actually the one who pointed me in their direction." The Paperless Agent is a training program owned and operated by the leaders of GoodLife Realty. GoodLife is an independent brokerage in Austin, Texas that's well known for driving sales through their innovative use of technology. Through The Paperless Agent, they share the technology systems and best practices they successfully use at GoodLife Realty with other real estate agents and brokers. On his flight home, Diaz took advantage of the onboard wi-fi to work through the first training session of The Paperless Agent. He was so impressed with what he saw, that he immediately went out and bought his first iPad and started implementing what he had learned.

Ask an Expert: Answers to Your Top Real Estate Marketing Questions
As the real estate industry has evolved and technology plays a bigger role in marketing every year, there are always new questions from agents. You want to make sure you're being as efficient and effective as possible with your marketing efforts. In this post, I invited real estate expert Danny Wood to answer some of your top questions. Danny has a deep understanding of online lead generation. In the last 11 months, he has generated over 10,000 home buyer and seller leads using just social media and Google search alone! He helps real estate agents with marketing and technology... and he helps broker owners with seminars and agent recruiting. For more about Dan, go to: www.brokeragenation.com. Question: I'm a new real estate agent who is just getting started in the business. With my limited budget, what are some of the best marketing tactics I should start with to get my name out there and start building a list of contacts? Answer: When I was a new agent, I would hold open houses every week. At least two. I'd use the entire week as a marketing opportunity and go door knocking or cold calling with invitations to see the new listing. It was a way for me to build my database and meet people thinking of moving. Every week, I had new listings to choose from. If I didn't have many myself, I'd contact agents at my office. I'd watched our office listings and call the agent right away to ask if they wanted me to look after the open house.

Mobile App Prevents Agents from Becoming Crime Victims
In late 2014, Realtor Beverly Carter vanished while showing a house to prospective buyer, Arron Lewis. Five days after Lewis was apprehended, police were led to the body of Carter. While Carter's case may be heartbreaking, this is not an isolated incident. Many agents have been murdered, raped or assaulted while working. In 2011, a Bureau of Labor study said that those in the real estate industry experience a 40 percent higher rate of on-the-job crime than the average profession. According to Lee Goldstein, CEO of Real Safe Agent, it doesn't have to be that way. Combined with a team of programmers and financial partners, Goldstein thought of a new way to keep Realtors safe. Unlike personal safety apps that have been readily available for years, Real Safe Agent is an enterprise safety system that deploys through the MLS or Realtor Association and allows the entire real estate community to protect each agent without interfering with legitimate sales opportunities. According the company's website, "Any agent could need help on any day, but every can help any other agent every day." "Staying safe means preventing trouble, not merely alerting people that you are already in trouble; by then it's too late," says Goldstein. "The Real Safe Agent system represents a paradigm shift. We designed it to deter predators and allow agents to prevent trouble." The system's key features include allowing agents to visually verify prospects before meeting with them, finding out if other agents have felt unsafe with the prospect and, during a showing, if an agent becomes uncomfortable for any reason, the app allows the agent to request that a nearby agent drop-in. According to the company, having another agent drop in during the showing prevents trouble if the prospect was a threat without interfering with the sales process if the prospect wasn't. Additionally, brokerages, associations, and MLS can have watch commanders if they choose. These are individuals who can monitor alerts and even ask agents close to an alert to respond if no one has responded within 30 seconds or a minute.

How One Realtor® Leverages RPR for Lead Generation
You're likely aware of the reports and other features of Realtors Property Resource® that can help drive the success of your business. But did you know that you can use RPR as a valuable lead generation tool, too? We didn't either until a recent chat with Dale Chumbley, a second generation Realtor® based in Vancouver, Washington. Don't be surprised if you recognize Chumbley; he's shared his real estate technology expertise with audiences at Inman Real Estate Connect, NAR Annual and Midyear, and beyond. Today, he's going to share a few tips for leveraging RPR's new mobile app in your marketing efforts. Responding to Leads from Anywhere For Chumbley, the mobile app is central to how he uses RPR with leads. "RPR came to life when the app was released," says Chumbley. "I'm such an on-the-go agent that the app has made RPR become part of my day-to-day world as opposed to a tool I use once in a while." "One of the cool things to me about the app is anytime I receive a lead inquiry, I have it set up so that I get a text message," he says. As soon as that text alert comes in, Chumbley pulls up either the property's MLS number or address. Then he goes into RPR Mobile, pulls up the data from RPR and generates a Mini Report and immediately emails it to the prospect. "What it's done is allow me, within just a couple of minutes, to be able to reply to the person that's inquiring on the property," says Chumbley. "I'm not just able to reply saying, 'Hey, I got your message. I'll get back to you later.' I'm able to reply to them immediately, 'I'm here. I'm happy to help. Here's a bunch of data for you to start looking through. Let me know when you are at a point where you want to be let in the house, talk to a lender, whatever it is that needs to happen.' It's just a very quick easy way for me to get some real value information to that consumer."

How a Top Agent Goes to the Next Level
A while back, I did an interview with Justin Havre, a top real estate agent in Calgary Alberta working at CIR Realty. CIR is the largest independent firm in Canada with about 650 agents. With his team, Justin Havre & Associates, he has been number one or two in his market for a number of years (number one team for 2011-2013). To put things in perspective, at the time of the first interview he and his team were doing nearly 200 transactions a year. I sat down with Justin in our original interview to understand some of the things he was doing successfully to reach this level as well as to see where he thought he could improve his business practices. In our original interview, Justin noted the significant investment he makes in technology every year. He operates multiple real estate websites and the leads generated from these sites form a significant piece of his business. At the time of the first interview, he had six people on his team. One of the problems he noted as needing improvement was the ability to respond effectively to the large number of leads he received every day. The second key area that needed to be improved was his communication and contact with customers he has already worked with. He realized that largely due to the huge new lead volume he was experiencing, he was neglecting the people that he had already done business with. I interviewed Justin recently to get an update on how things were going and to see what he had been able to do to address the specific business needs noted in the first interview. Most importantly, I wanted to see if whatever steps he took had the outcome that he desired.

One Agent's Advice for "Selling With Soul"
Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn, a former top producing real estate broker turned author, knows how to energize a real estate sales career, and, as any of her followers will tell you, can motivate, inspire, and advise like no other. Jennifer's books have been tremendously successful and instrumental in helping REALTORS® improve their careers. When Jennifer was a real estate broker, she sold between 40 and 60 houses per year and since then has been passionate about sharing her knowledge with others. IXACT Contact recently sat down with Jennifer for part two of our Q&A blog post series (read part one here). "I believe one of my keys to success both as a real estate agent and in my current role is being authentically me. I am who I am and I don't try to change that," she says. IXACT Contact: You wrote a popular book, If You're Not Having Fun Selling Real Estate, You're Not Doing it Right. What can agents do to "have fun" selling real estate? Jennifer: There's a quote on the back of that book by Pearl S. Buck that reads, "The Secret of Joy in work is one word – Excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it." So my "fun" book is all about that – being excellent and thus enjoying the heck out of your real estate career. IXACT Contact: Why do those entering real estate often have such a hard time in the business? Jennifer: I could talk about this all day, but I'll try to keep it short: 1) Lack of competence training in favor of prospecting training and 2) unrealistic expectations of new agents.

Follow the Leader: Top Agent Justin Havre on the Value of Technology
Justin Havre is a real estate agent from CIR Realty in Calgary, Alberta. CIR is the largest independent firm in Canada with about 650 agents. With his team, Justin Havre & Associates, he has been number one or two in his brokerage over the last three years. To put that in perspective: in 2011 they were number one, closing 171 sides with an average price in Calgary of about $430,000. I sat down with Justin recently at a technology conference put on by his web technology provider, Real Estate Webmasters, to find out how technology fits into his success. One thing that became clear immediately was Justin's intent to make technology an integral part of his business from day one. Before real estate, he worked in the cable industry on the technology side, but, after some time, decided that he wanted to make a change. He set his sights on real estate. He chose CIR Realty (Canada's largest independent brokerage) because of the great virtual tools they offered and their overall commitment to technology. Everyone in their office, he pointed out, does their own documents online, manages their deals online--including deal processing--right down to payment of commissions. It was exactly what he was looking for.

Real Estate Coach Radio Daily
Guest Contributor Bernice Ross of Real Estate Coach Radio brings to us today a quick but highly informative radio show. This great show includes an interview with Janet Choynowski of Immobel.  Today Bernice discusses: Social Media is Global Media 95/5 Facebook Rule Two easy Real Estate Video Tips Continue to the next page to take a listen . . .

Who is Doing it Right? A Best Practice Interview with Successful Top Producer
When looking at local websites in real estate that demonstrate great marketing strategies, SellingSaskatoon.com is a great example of real estate best practices. I caught up with the man behind it, Cam Bird, for an in depth Q&A session – to talk about marketing, selling homes, and everything in between. So without further ado…let’s get started!

The Queue: Live from the Keller Williams Family Reunion
I have to say that the Keller Williams Family Reunion conference was a blast. In this week's episode of The Queue I was able to interview several industry thought leaders and get the inside scoop on some innovative new technology solutions. This week I cover Ben Kinney, Stefan Swanepoel, eEdge, Tiger Leads, Howard Tager and more.

Google SEO Guru Interview
If you have a website, and have been discouraged by how far down on Google searches your website gets listed...consider learning about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This technology separates the pile of agent websites, pulling the most SEO savvy to the top! Don't be left out! The guru of SEO is Google. If you want to learn about SEO, follow Google. More specifically, learn from Google's SEO expert software engineer Matt Cutts. Cutts is known as the face to Google's SEO and is someone you want to pay attention to. Stone Temple's Eric Enge recently interviewed Matt Cutts and made this interview available online. Continue to read the full interview transcript, and learn why SEO matters and how it works...