Sioux Falls Sales and Real Estate Careers Video Blog

What Can You Do to Generate More Leads?

Hello, and welcome back to our coaching blog! Today, we want to discuss one of the most important processes if you want to take your business to the next level: prospecting!

Prospecting is important because it's the lifeblood of our agents and their budding careers! It's what we need to be doing in order to accomplish all of the goals we set for ourselves, but it's also the first thing we stop doing as soon as we get busy. The key is coming up with ways to stay on top of our schedules; our favorite strategy is time blocking our schedule - setting aside a certain time each day dedicated only to prospecting.

You need to plan around a certain time block on your schedule so that your pipeline is constantly filled and you never hit those lulls that will sometimes happen when things slow down. The question that comes up is, "How much time should I be spending on the phone?" Really, the amount of time you should spend on the phone varies depending on your level of production. Our magic number is between one and two hours a day spent on the phone. This may seem like a lot to some people, but if you manage your schedule and qualify your leads, you will notice a huge difference!

If you have any questions about prospecting, or if you would like additional help growing your business, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to hear from you!

How to Make Your Buyer Calls More Effective

Welcome back to our coaching blog! Thanks for all the questions you've sent us, we're looking forward to addressing them in future videos! Today's topic is the structure of a buyer call. There are six things you want to go over when you get a buyer on the phone:

Location: Where do they want to live, and what are they looking for in a home?
Price: What can they afford? Are they looking for a certain payment or price range?
Motivation: When are they looking to make a move? How flexible are they? Are they an "A" buyer (0-30 days), or a "B" buyer (60-90 days)?
Whether they're working with an agent: Make sure you know before you start showing homes. They may just want your assistance because their agent is on vacation.
Whether they're pre-approved: Have they talked to a lender? Do they have an approval letter in hand? If not, you can recommend people you like to work with, and help them get through the process.
Setting up an appointment: Ask when you can meet them. The best course of action is to find a time to show them how you operate, so you can set yourself apart from the rest!

If you have any questions about how you can make every buyer's call more productive, give us a call or shoot us an email. We would love to help you get more clients and grow your business!

How Can You Walk Into a Listing Presentation with Confidence?

Looking to improve or start your real estate career? We're here to help you make a smart decision when it comes to growing your business, improving your bottom line, and choosing a place to work in real estate sales. If you'd like to learn more about working with The Peterson Goff Real Estate Experts, contact us at (605) 413-4813 or Info@PetersonGoff.com
Hello, and welcome back fellow agents! Today we're going to explain what you should include in a listing presentation in order to give yourself the best chance at success.

Why do you need to do a listing presentation? For one, it makes you look more professional, gives you more credibility, and is a chance to display your marketing skills. Simply having prepared a listing presentation beforehand will impress your audience.

Within your listing presentation, you should include pieces of marketing you have used to sell houses in the past. If you've sent out postcards, posted on social media, or used your website or blog to market past listings, examples should be included in your listing presentation. This will let the seller know how their home will be advertised.

You also want to let sellers know what websites their home will be advertised on. If your listing syndicates to multiple sites, add them to your listing presentation so your audience knows exactly how their home can be seen by potential buyers.

Another thing to include in the listing presentation is pricing. You don't necessarily want to include the price of the home in the presentation, but you want to explain how you go about pricing your listings, as well as why it's important. Since sellers always want top dollar for their home, you need to have a conversation with them about what's realistic given what the market is willing to bear.

Next, you need to explain how you're different from other agents. What makes you worth what you charge? You may explain what you offer that other agents don't, the backing from the company you're working with, or the one-of-a-kind services you provide. If you don't share everything you have to offer, you're not going to be able to hold the seller's interest.

Lastly, include how showings will happen. Who will be showing the home and when? Will you be bringing the buyers personally or will other agents? These are questions you need to answer for potential sellers so that they know exactly what to expect from your services. This can save you a lot of hassle down the road!

If you have any questions about getting your listing presentation ready, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We would love to help you walk into a presentation with the confidence necessary for success every time!

Thanks, and good luck!

Photography tips for selling homes

If you're listing a home, photos are one of the most important steps in the listing process. But how do you go about making your photos stand out?

The internet is the first place buyers are most likely going to see the home you just listed, and the quality of your photos will make or break whether a buyer takes interest in your listing. This is the buyers first impression.

The questions is: How can you make the most of the photographic process?

Consider the lighting of the home. You don't want dark, blurry photos of your listing. Make sure there are bright colors and natural light to make it shine online.

Consider the angles as well. We always try to get as wide of an angle as we can so more of each room is shown. You want your photos to give an accurate impression of what the home is really like.

Consider helping your Seller by offering suggestions on how they can maximize the space in their home. Before taking photographs, we do a walk-through with the buyer and give decluttering tips. Your listing needs to be clear of any unessential items when the photographs are taken. Clearing surfaces and taking down pictures are just a few examples.

These are just a handful of the many things you can do to make your listings stand out online. If you have any questions about photography or need coaching of any kind, don't hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. We would love to give you a hand!

What Are Your Goals for the New Year?

We would like to thank those of you who have a been watching our videos over the past year! We hope you found the information we shared useful!

Since the year is about over, many people are starting to think about how they're going to make 2015 their best year yet. Whether it's your career, your family, your health, or something else that is important to you, the start of a new year is the perfect time to set goals to improve different aspects of your life.

At the end of the year, we sit down and go through a strategic plan for our business and our lives. Today, we want to share a few helpful tips that help us through the process.

An important document we use is called the Wheel of Life. It has eight different categories that represent different areas of your life. They include: social life, work, exercise, creativity/alone time, learning, partner, volunteering/community, and family. The idea is to rate yourself from 1 to 10 in each category to see how balanced your life is.

Once you've identified which areas in your life need the most work, you can improve them by focusing on three questions:

What kind of results are you trying to create?
What results have you produced in the past?
What action are you going to take and how do you prepare?

We've found that this strategy is an effective way to set and achieve goals, both professional and personal. Always remember, being a Realtor® is about more than business - it's about our health, spirituality, finances, and many other facets that make up our lives.

We hope these tips help you set meaningful goals and assist you in accomplishing them throughout 2015. If you have any questions about this exercise, or have questions about growing your business in the new year, don't hesitate to give us a call. We would love to hear from you!

How do You Keep Clients for Life?

Looking to improve or start your real estate career? We're here to help you make a smart decision when it comes to growing your business, improving your bottom line, and choosing a place to work in real estate sales. If you'd like to learn more about working with The Peterson Goff Real Estate Experts, contact us at (605) 413-4813 or Info@PetersonGoff.com

How do You Keep Clients for Life?

Today we want to talk to you a little bit about giving back. The people who buy and sell homes with us are the reason we are able to stay in business. Most of us spend a lot of time, energy, and money acquiring new clients, but one thing that we drop the ball on is taking care of these clients after the sale.

We are always thinking of new ways to help give back to our clients. One of our favorite ways to say thanks is with a client appreciation party. For example, our Thanksgiving appreciation gift is a free pie. We are inviting all of our client to come to our office and pick up a free pie. It gives us an opportunity to see them again and catch up, to reconnect and solidify our relationship. This proactive approach will really increase your repeat and referral business.

If you have any questions, or would like to talk about your business or look at a possible career change, be sure to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to share our experience!

How to Choose a Quality Vendor

How to Choose a Quality Vendor

In our business, we rely heavily on the people we work with. It's very important to choose a quality vendor so you can refer your clients with confidence.

One Important thing to look for in a vendor relationship is if you understand how each other works. It's important to have open lines of communication so you can not only stay in touch for your benefit, but for the benefit of your clients as well.

Using testimonials can really help you choose quality vendors. Interviewing them is another route you could take as well. You need to know how the vendor does their job and what makes them different from other vendors out there who do the same thing.

Think of a relationship with a vendor as a referral partnership. You are going to refer your clients to their services and they are going to do the same. You are an extension of each other's businesses.

If you have any questions about finding the right vendor, or about the real estate market in general, give us a call or send us an email. We'd be glad to help you out!