Apps to Schedule Tweets

Up until very recently when I launched my new website, twitter accounted for about 85% of my new business.  I know, I think that’s crazy too, and I wasn’t even spending more than 15 minutes there per day.  I used SocialOomph to manage the alerts I set up and to auto follow people, and tweetdeck for responding to @AprilSullivan’s, DM’s and actual tweeting.  My blog posts are also automatically tweeted and so are my fan page updates and then it all feeds into my LinkedIn account thus connecting me to people I’d never normally be connected to.  Pretty cool, and I haven’t even scratched the surface yet.

Here is a link to a blog post I came across today by Rotorblog titled 10 Apps to Schedule Future Tweets on Twitter.  If you’re not already doing it, you need to be.  It may not bring in a steady flow of business, but if done right, you will stand out in the crowd as a true professional.

How to Keep Your Listing Descriptions Sounding Fresh

Cool Real Estate Tool of the Day:

If you have a hard time coming up with fresh content for your listings, and lets face it, who doesn’t, Write My Ads can do it for you. Just answer the questions, plug in some info about the property and PRESTO! you’ve got 6 different ways to present it.

I only tried out their free version, so I’m not sure if the quality is any better with a paid account, but it was ok.  I think a few of them were a little too salesy (I HATE salesy) but for the most part they generated some new ideas for.  At $120 to $195 a year, I think it’s a little too much to pay for just inspiration, but I’m sure a few real estate agents will find it useful.

But don’t forget, a good Virtual Assistant can do the same for a lot less money!

It’s Safer to Sell Real Estate on Facebook?

Here is an interesting post by Mike Butcher at Tech Crunch UK.  “The ability to verify Facebook users turns out to weed out the scammers.”  Quick and interesting.

Is Property Going Social?

This is another to add to the ever-growing list of tasks your VA can perform for you.

What are your thoughts?

Why a Virtual Assistant is the Perfect fit for a Realtor®

Taken from my new Virtual Assistant Chick website

A Real Estate Virtual Assistant can help you take your business to the next level, whether that means helping you attract more clients, breaking into a more expensive market or building a team that will allow you to soar.

The right VA will provide cutting edge Marketing, Listing, & Transaction Coordination in addition to professional and ongoing administrative support.

The Virtual Assistant Chick knows real estate, has an extensive background in administrative support, and the tools to bring it all together for you.

From listing to closing and everything in between, The Virtual Assistant Chick is the right choice for a savvy realtor®.

Learn More

Meet the Virtual Assistant Chick Now!

My posts have been few and far between lately, as I’ve been working on changing my Virtual Assistant business into something a bit more reflective of me.  A new name, a new look and whole lot more heart and soul.  Do you like the new logo up top?

The new website is simple but straight forward.  Hopefully my passion for the work that I do shines through.  And I hope you don’t take the “chick” thing too seriously (I did  a lot of research on other “chick” websites, and they do just fine!)

Please visit Virtual Assistant Chick . com.  Maybe you’ll let me know what you think, maybe you’ll decided that my services are exactly what you’ve been looking for.

Either way, head on over to facebook when you’re done and become a “fan” of Virtual Assistant Chick.  My page is brand new and could use a few friendly faces!

Real Estate Virtual Assistant Chick

Promote Your Page Too

Thanks, and have a wonderful day!

Create an Online Business Plan

This post is via an awesome Realtor® that I get a lot of inspiration from.

Posted on September 17, 2009 by Tom Pelton

Step One – Create Your Personalized Biz Plan
Use the Automated Online Biz Plan Builder to create your own personalized Biz Plan for 2010.  This online form will guide you through the process of creating your plan.  When you’re done, you’ll receive your completed Biz Plan via email.  It’s easy and it’s FREE!

Automated Online Biz Plan Builder

Get Clients Now!

I will be re-reading C.J. Hayden’s awesome book Get Client’s Now! and will be working with a reading group this time around and documenting my progress here.  I have recommended this book to so many other Virtual Assistants and Realtors® and I will recommend it to you again right now.

If you’re interested in joining a reading group, let me know and we can  set one up.  One for Realtors® and another for VA’s would be perfect.  If you’d like to find a facilitator, I know of a few that I could recommend to you.

Just Do It Already!

Nine times out of ten during my initial consultation with a potential client that has marketing needs, I am asked “what is the best way to market in real estate?”.

Honestly, if I had that kind of magic information, chances are you couldn’t afford me.

My answer is always something akin to “whatever you want it to be”.

It really doesn’t matter which route you take, just that you take one and you take it often.

People tell me that Direct Mail is dead.  Nobody will look at a postcard from a Realtor® these days.  I hear that you HAVE to tweet.  Don’t cold-call (it works but I don’t recommend it – too annoying).  You need a website, a blog, a facebook fan page and 5,000 contacts on LinkedIn.

I’m stopping there because I’m beginning to sound like all of the other blogs that I read everyday.

So here’s the big secret:  pick a type of marketing that you’re comfortable with and exploit the h*ll out of it.  There are 1.3 million Realtors® in the U.S. alone and the majority don’t have a solid marketing plan and they aren’t consistent.  Most of them subscribe to the “build it and they will come” theory.

Build it and they may check you out is more like it, but in order for them to stay and recommend others to stay as well, you must consistently remind them just how wonderful you are.

Here is my “magic formula”

• Keep your database updated
• Send out Just Listed and Just Sold postcards as if your sales depended on it (it does)
• Send out a monthly e-newsletter
• Build friendships with clients and colleagues via facebook
• Send out birthday cards and Home Anniversary cards
• Walk flyers around your neighborhood monthly
• Attend networking events monthly

These are the basics, and when done consistently, are well worth the effort put into it.

Getting Back on the Saddle

Wow, I guess you can say I almost killed another blog of mine…. but here I am and I survived the holidays!

I became completely swamped with work and family, which is a good thing, but now I’m ready to take a big, deep breath and take a look at my business from different angles (I will NOT call these “resolutions”).

First order of business:  be more business-like.  Most of us entrepreneur-types put our hearts and souls into our work.  We don’t just make contacts, we build relationships.  Almost like a boyfriend, we work extra hard in the beginning to show just how wonderful we are, often times neglecting others in the process.  This is a mistake I made recently, and when it turned out that the person on the other end of all of this wooing and schmoozing just wasn’t that into it, well, it hurt deeply.  Not very business-like.

But it’s tough, isn’t it?  How do you build or create something and then not love it?

Second on my list is consistency.  I want to consistently be consistent, and enjoy the consistency of it all.  It’s not in my nature, but I’m determined to find a way to make it work for me.  Step by Step, how to be consistent, and I’ll do it every day.  ; )

Third (and maybe this should be first) I’m going to rework my business plan and develop a stronger marketing plan.  Dive a little deeper, push myself a bit harder and really strive to make this year better than last.

And finally (because I have ADD and can’t focus on more than that) I will continue to further my business education.  Whether that means becoming a licensed agent, taking additional marketing classes, design classes, whatever, I will continue to better my business by bettering myself.

What about you?  Are you going to try anything different this year?

See, I Told Ya!

I’m gloating.  And I’ll admit freely that I like to be right.

My previous post (from way back on the 20th) was about my client who just got his first listing, and how easy it was going to be for him to sell his first property.  Well, he did it!  I’m very happy for him, and I’d like to think that part of the ease of it all came from our well-laid plans (we don’t really need to mention that he IS a very likeable guy).

Congrats, and here’s to many more!

If you are a real estate agent and would like a FREE copy of my Agent Listing Plan that you can pass on to your Virtual Assistant, leave a comment and I’ll send one out to you right away.

Have a prosperous day!