I need your help!

Tonya,

I keep hoping to run into you at an event sometime - I'll end up at one of your lunches soon, I hope!

One thing I can't stand in any professional (mainly those who do sales as some part of their work) is high pressure salesmanship. The quickest way to make me run to someone else is to make me feel pressured, or as though I'll get a guilt trip if I shop around, question your advice, etc.

One thing I look for is someone who truly listens, and then follows through on what they hear.

Hope that helps, and I look forward to seeing your de-suckified (as Chris Haddad would put it) website!

Best,

Valerie

I think the main problem I've seen with real estate marketing is... it's all cookie cutter, and has almost nothing to do with me.

I would be impressed with someone who put up a website that was unique, and dared to have some personality to it. And who had a niche and really knew their niche. And who cared about more than just selling homes.

Here's our realtors, here in Portland: Roots Realty.

And another company we like, too (in fact, the principals of Roots started here)

Portland's Alternative Realtors.

As opposed to something like this: Hasson- Who in the heck are these folks? How many realtor websites have you seen that are some version of this? Boring, confusing, distracting, and way too much, with no way to connect to anybody.

Anyway, there's my two cents. :) I hope it's helpful. Let me know what you think.

My favorite real estate agent is someone who takes the time to get to know me and is not presenting as desperate. I trusted my agent because there were many houses we looked at that I liked but she talked me out of buying because she knew they would not be right in the long run. She was also an investor and made money that way, so I knew she didn't have to sell me a house in order to eat. The one I did buy was not our favorite but was a good investment and she could see that and encouraged us to buy it. So she was a real partner in the process.

I think in order to communicate that kind of trust it has to be really real! When you are real in that way it will be easy.

I never once looked at her website by the way. It was unimportant. It was all about how she related to me. Hope that helps.

As is true in any business...people don't buy from real estate companies, they buy from PEOPLE. It can be so difficult convincing someone that they need to be at the center of their PR. I don't mean in the typical head shot way, but in a way that shows me as a potential client, who you are, how you operate, that I can trust you, that you are HUMAN and not a machine etc.

In terms of RE, what bugs me about agents is their constant responding to their cell phones. Makes me feel I am not as important as whomever is on the phone.

Someone said it above, they often do not listen. My son recently had a difficult experience because the agents involved just would not accept the fact they were working for HIM.

You are on the right track by asking people what they want. Knowing who you are and what aspects of yourself to play up on your website will make you stand out from the crowd. Couple that with what potential clients want and you've got a winner.

Warmly,

Lynn www.TheGreenYear.com

Tonya,

You're getting great feedback here! Another thought I have is that having your previous clients talk about their experiences with you might be a helpful addition to your new & improved website. I think one of the "why your website sucks" tips was to have the website be about your clients, rather than all about you. This might be a way to take the focus off you and let someone else tell your web visitors why you're a great agent!

Best,

Valerie

Glad to help! And be sure to post to this thread again when you finish your new website- can't wait to see what you come up with. :)

I need someone with patience, someone who will answer every little question, because, let's face it, this is the biggest purchase most of us will ever make.

As far as marketing goes, I think that even if you are with a big company, personal branding is key. That trust issue is huge and if you appear to be nameless, faceless, and "soul-less"...is that a word?..., I won't feel like I know you enough to trust you with something this big.

I know that niche marketing sometimes frightens realtors, but I've seen it done very well. (Mark's link to the Portland Alternative Realtors is a good example, although, LOL , his other link took me to Roots Reality.com, an herb company. Oh, those typo's!).

Our realtor here on Anderson Island, Cheryl Steffen (she just joined Biznik!), is another example. She only deals with property on the island and has carved a very nice niche for herself.

I see you hosting a lot of events, Tonya, and hope to meet you at one sometime.

Drat! Thanks for catching that, Judy. The corrected version: Roots Realty

I'm a web developer and I do most of my work with two other guys. Together we formed Fire Pixel Marketing. We do awesome work, we have great rates and we are easy to get a hold of.

I'd be happy to prepare a quote for you, are you on any chat programs? AIM? Otherwise I'll have Adam give you a call if you'd like, he's a real friendly guy =)

All fantastic ideas for you to build in. I also think part of your site should be somewhat educational. Are you a buyer agent or a seller agent or both? Explain what are the differences to the public. Know your areas well so you can communicate with the buyer to helpf ill their needs. Good luck!

Tonya,

I can be at your help in this regard.

Nikhil

tanya,

did you ever follow through on getting a wordpress powered site?