Whether you are just starting out in Real Estate or have been an agent for quite some time, there are a lot of marketing decisions that you need to make. Do you focus on print media? Radio or television ads? Online marketing? With the advent of the Internet, more and more people are doing their research online before making a purchase — whether that is a new car, a new house, or a new pair of shoes. Real Estate agents need to tap into the online stream and make their presence known in order to compete in this day and time. While there are a myriad of ways to market yourself online, there are seven main categories where you can focus your interests.

Blogging
A blog is short for “web log” and started out as an online diary of sorts. Today, it’s used more as a platform to share information with anyone who visits your website. By writing a few paragraphs of information once or twice a week and adding it to your blog, you are letting people know that you are involved with Real Estate in your area and that you are continuously sharing.

Social Media
While many think that social media websites are just for teens, the truth is that sites like Twitter and Facebook are being used for business on a daily basis. People are using these sites to create relationships with other people: prospective clients, future collaborators, etc. By interacting with other people, you show that you are a real person and interested in them.

E-mail
Yes, you can use your e-mail to help market your Real Estate business! Many people are more comfortable with e-mail contact as it’s less intrusive than the telephone but more personal than a “snail-mail” letter. People interested in learning more about you will most likely share their e-mail address with you, while getting their phone number may take some time. Just be sure not to flood someone’s inbox with a ton of e-mails.

Forums
An online forum is a website where people can go to ask questions and find answers. Sometimes it’s used for networking with other people as well. Forums are good places to find answers for your own questions, and then you have the opportunity to answer others questions.

Virtual Tours
As you are probably aware, there are many places online where you can create a tour for your listing. This is a great way to market your listings to those who go online. You can show so much more of a home online than on a print flyer. And with special 360 degree photos, prospective buyers can really see the home “virtually”.

Advertising
Just because we are focusing on online marketing doesn’t mean that advertising is passe. There are many ways to advertise your business and listings online. Whether you use a free classified ad source like Craigslist.com or pay-per-click advertising like Google AdWords, there are many places that people go online where you can advertise. Ads still work, just be sure to place them where people are going.

Listing Website
Another good way to utilize the Internet for marketing is to create a special website just for your listing. This website can just be a virtual tour, or it can be a full website with links to area businesses, utility companies, schools, etc. By creating a “one-stop-shop” for your listing online, prospective buyers will realize instantly that you know your onions and are the expert in your area!

Every real estate agent is interested in realtor tips regarding the best marketing tools for the industry. The goal is to become a realtor with marketing success. Each agent will need to find what works best in the locality and what reaches their target market. As a realtor you are the one who will have to decide what tools will work for your situation. It is always a good idea to check on occasion to see what the top marketing tools available are and if you are not using them consider them in your market applying the tools that fit.

What are the top 10 realtor tips for real estate marketing?
1. Website
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
3. Blogging
4. Direct mailing
5. Seminars
6. Referrals
7. Realtor Newsletter
8. Virtual Tours
9. New Gadgets
10. Implementation

In the world of high speed internet, social media, online sales, and electronic gadgets along with other high tech tools, having a real estate website is not an optional tool in the industry any longer.

Once you have established a realtor website, you can’t stop there you must apply SEO and add various other tools that will get you the best ranking possible by the search engines. There are many individuals and companies available to put their expertise in this area to work for you. You will not need to have know how yourself.

Blogging is a great way to improve your website ranking on the major search engines. The key here is to use the blog appropriately and consistently

Direct mailing is not a thing of the past. It has been used for a long time and with the new technology there is no wonder some would question the use of maintaining direct mailing as a continuing marketing tool for real estate.

Seminars presented in your community for home buying realtor tips allows you to position yourself as the expert you are and provides the best marketing advantage for a realtor.

Referrals from your past clients is one of the most effective and powerful tools for a realtor. Most realtors who have become a realtor of choice have received this status based upon past client referrals and simply their word in the community regarding the excellent service you provided

The value of a realtor newsletter can not be overlooked. The realtor newsletter should be available online and as a paper production as well.

Virtual tours should be available on your website. About 90% of realtor clients first start their search for an agent and house online.

It is important to keep abreast of the new technology and gadgets available in the market. You should pay special attention to what your clients are using and put into practice the tools that will give you added exposure to your clients.

Implementation is the last realtor tip to consider. Actually this tip is not optional. Implementation assures you will follow through with using the tips you have identified as needed to help you become a realtor of choice.

Part 1: The Problem

I have found in my 14+ years of coaching Real Estate Professionals, that the ones who are flourishing are the ones who have mastered the “Inner Game” of lead generation.

They feel confident about picking up the phone, they market themselves consistently, their pipeline is always full, and their contacts yield profitable results in Ideal Clients, so they make more money with less effort.

However, if you are like most Real Estate Professionals, when you think of Lead to Generation, you probably get caught up in an “avoidance pattern”, which looks something like this:

* You procrastinate
* You do busy work
* You tell yourself that you don’t have enough time to prospect
* You may schedule out the time to call, but then never get around to it
* Worse yet, you may have called someone who was rude and then you feel so devastated that you recoil from from prospecting for a few days or a few weeks or a few months

If any of that sounds familiar, you are not alone and it’s not your fault.

I believe that there are 3 reasons why we avoid picking up the phone and calling people:

1. The fear of the unknown and the fear of rejection

2. Self limiting beliefs

3. Inner conflicts about calling

Can you begin to see what lies beneath the surface of your “avoidance pattern” about making those calls?

* It’s not that you are “lazy” or unmotivated…
* It’s not that you don’t know what to do or say…
* It’s not that you don’t have enough time…

…It’s just that you have Fears, self-limiting beliefs and conflicts that prevent you from doing what you need to do to get your business on track, i.e. lead generation.

However, here’s the Good News: you are NOT stuck with your fears, your self limiting beliefs, or your conflicts as they can all be dissolved and replaced with confidence and ease, leading you to prospect in an easy and effortless way.

How do I know for sure? Because I have been coaching real estate agents for quite a few years and have seen them transform from fear about lead generation, to actually looking forward to picking up the phone and calling people to offer their services.

A former client of mine, JoAnn, is a great example of someone who was burdened by beliefs that stopped her from picking up the phone. She didn’t even know she had these hidden beliefs, and yet they took their toll.

Even after many coaching programs, she still got nervous about making calls and she didn’t know why. She would say to me “I know what I should be doing, I’m just not doing it”.

It turns out that JoAnn acquired many hidden self-limiting beliefs before she met me. Again she didn’t know they were there, but they included;

* “I shouldn’t pick up the phone and talk to strangers”
* “I call people and bothering them”
* “If I call people I might get rejected”
* “People don’t want to hear from me anyway”

Even though her business was declining and she was “broke and scared”, she could not move forward and didn’t know why.

Once we discovered the old beliefs, removed them, and installed Empowered beliefs, her confidence level soared, she started making the calls she wanted to make, her income increased substantially to 35,000 a month, and at the end, she called herself “unstoppable”.

Here are some of the new beliefs, that we installed in her mind:

* “I have a valuable service to offer people and they are happy to hear from me.”
* “Every time I pick up the phone to call people, I attract clients who are ready, willing, able and fun.”
* “The only persons approval I need is my own.”

With these new beliefs solidly in place, JoAnn approaches prospecting with an optimistic and positive mindset, which yields positive results.

Part 2: The Solution

The solution is to look inside yourself and find out what it is that is blocking your success. What self-limiting beliefs you have that stop you from picking up the phone? What conflicts do have about calling people that paralyze you? Once you bring these beliefs and conflicts up to the surface, you can reprogram them to empower you, rather than stop you. The reprogramming process simply means that you release the old self-limiting beliefs you no longer need and install the empowered beliefs listed above in the example of JoAnn.

Another way that you can master the “Inner Game” of lead generation is to build up your confidence in yourself. Remember, if you don’t call people up and let them know of your services, then you’re forcing people to look into the phone book to find a real estate agent.

Do you think that is the best way for someone to find a real estate professional?

So how do you come to feel great about yourself as a real estate professional?

1. Definitely clear yourself of all self sabotaging beliefs like:

“I’m not good enough” or “I don’t have what it takes to succeed”

2. Another way to build up confidence about yourself, is to compile a list of what makes you a very good real estate agent. For example, are you detail oriented? Are you patient with your clients? Do you have excellent follow through? Do you have an educational approach to helping your clients?

I find that when my clients really take an inventory of their skills, they realize that they are very good at what they do. When you know that, it’s easy to install beliefs “I have a valuable service to offer people are happy to hear from me.”

3. Part of the solution feeling of good about prospecting, is to call with the attitude that you are the “giver”. Doesn’t it feel good to be the giver? Don’t you love giving gifts to people seeing the expression on their faces as they receive a gift? This puts you in a position of power. It’s also true; you are the giver, you are the one with the real estate expertise to offer.

4. Think of the many ways that you can be perceived as the giver:

* You are calling them to let them know of the local real estate activity in their neighborhood.
* You are calling to let them know what houses have been sold in the area and what the prices are.
* You are calling to find out who they would like to have as their neighbors in the houses for sale in their neighborhood.
* You are calling to find out if they would like to have a free comparative market analysis so that when they get ready to sell, they know the price of their home.
* You are calling to give them a connection to a real estate professional so that when they need real estate help, they will already have an established connection.

5. It’s very likely, that your current prospecting strategy is “catch as catch can.” In other words when you have a few minutes during the day, you call a few people.

The good news is that as you release your self-limiting beliefs, get rid of your fears, and restore your confidence in yourself as a real estate professional, you will be more motivated to make those calls because you know you have something valuable to offer.

Here’s a tip: look at your schedule at the beginning of the week and block out a certain amount of time every morning, to do the lead generation. Generally speaking, you will want to aim eventually to be doing two hours every morning. One of the mistakes real estate agents make is to try to go from 0 to 100 or try to go from doing no prospecting to doing two hours a day and then feeling overwhelmed.

You would be best off to:

* Build up to two hours a day starting with half hour increments
* Refrain from taking any incoming calls during that time
* Let any callers know from your voicemail message that you will be calling them back at a certain time

Finally, you will increase your confidence about lead generation by letting go of the belief “I shouldn’t have to prospect, I should just receive referrals.”

Obviously, that is not the case. Even if you are receiving some referrals, in today’s market it’s not enough for you to reach your financial goals. I’m not saying that getting referrals is not a good thing and you shouldn’t work for it. Absolutely not, do what you need to do to get referrals. But don’t depend on them.

Along with that, people often tell themselves “I shouldn’t need to prospect, I should be able to get enough clients through open houses, farming, and social networking.” While all those strategies are good they are not enough in today’s market.

In summary, today’s real estate market, requires that you be proactive and let people know of the valuable services you offer. Rid yourself of your self-limiting beliefs, and fears about lead generation and you will be amongst the top percentage of real estate agents who are flourishing in today’s market and will flourish in any market.