Author: Marci Sepulveda

Getting Online Reviews: 3 Tips for Real Estate Agents

Marci Sepulveda Leave a comment

As a real estate agent, your online presence and social media reputation play a vital role in your business — perhaps more than you may recognize. Nearly every homebuyer these days will begin their search online and look for online reviews to check out what people are saying about you.

Many business owners only think of Yelp, but reviews are everywhere online. Not surprisingly, 89% of clients search for information about a real estate agent online before making the decision to contact them at all. 

That said, glowing online reviews can not only help to enhance and build your online profile — they are likely the deciding factor in a potential buyer or seller’s decision to contact you or use your services. In fact, the NAR Profile of Buyers and Sellers indicates that home sellers value the reputation of an agent (31%) more than any other factor when selecting an agent to sell their home. 

So, whether you’re trying to gain more reviews on your Yelp page, on your Facebook business page, or for your realtor.com or Zillow profile, let’s look at some must-remember tips for success:

#1. Let Clients Know About Your Online Profiles 

There’s a fine line between making your clients uncomfortable by aggressively and openly asking for reviews versus simply letting them know about your online profiles and their ability to leave a review if they’re comfortable. 

To ensure your clients know about their ability to leave a review, consider adding your social profiles to your website and email signature. If you have a Yelp page, for example, you can add a Yelp button to your email signature, which can immediately take them to your profile. If you’re a broker, you may also consider adding social media icons to your brokerage’s storefront. 

#2. Make Engagement a Priority 

Most seasoned real estate agents run drip email campaigns that keep their sphere of influence up-to-date on market conditions, new listings, or even community events. 

As part of your ongoing engagement and lead nurturing, consider adding your new testimonials to the footer of your email. Or, perhaps you ask your client if you can feature their review in your latest e-blast or blog. Ideally, you would ask only after they’ve provided a review on their own terms — without you instigating it. 

This not only helps your testimonials and reviews be seen by a wider audience, but it can also be a nice way of showing your clients you appreciate the time it took for them to review you … which leads us to our next point … 

#3. Show Your Thanks 

Always send a quick note or Thank You card to your client for their review. And, if the review was less than stellar, you should still reach out. This is a great opportunity to acknowledge the feedback and put steps into place to learn and grow from the experience. 

If you find yourself getting too emotional about negative reviews, you might also consider asking a trusted confidant or admin at your brokerage to help formulate responses. 

Grow Your Online Reputation 

The importance of online reviews and your social reputation grows with every click of a potential client’s mouse. To learn more about increasing your online presence, sign up for our AgentEDU® course Yelp for Your Real Estate Business today. 

AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth. For a 7-day free trial sign up here.

AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.

3 Habits Successful Agents Use for Peak Productivity

Marci Sepulveda Leave a comment

One of the biggest struggles for real estate professionals can be maintaining peak productivity when the nature of the real estate business can have you pulled in a million directions. Being frazzled or appearing unorganized could, at best, detract from your professional image. At worst, it could cause you to miss valuable opportunities to grow your business. 

Let’s look at some of the ways you can plan your day for peak productivity and some real-life examples of how you can implement these strategies in your real estate business. 

#1. Identify the Times When You Are Most Focused

Some people feel most productive early in the day, while others feel the most productive over lunch, or even on Friday evenings. Spend some time paying attention to how you naturally work and when you feel the most alert. Then, once you know when you work at your best, block out this time on your calendar each day to work on the tasks that most impact your real estate business. 

You’ll never be able to gauge when and where your clients will need you next, but blocking out your “most focused” hours for lead gen or marketing duties can mean you’re knocking those items off your to-do list quickly. 

Pro Tip: Lead follow-up is one of the most important aspects of the real estate business. Use your most focused hours on personal follow-up. This is a great time to also make sure your CRM is up-to-date with your latest client touch-points. 

#2. Create Routines — and Stick to Them

One of the best habits an agent can adopt to increase their productivity is to establish set routines — and then stick with them. Develop a solid morning and evening routine that you can easily repeat each day, and you will naturally see your productivity increase. 

Morning routine habits, such as catching up on current events or a good workout, can set you up for success for the rest of the day. Likewise, a solid evening routine will help you wind down for the day and get on the right track for the next day. Reflect on the day, thinking of what you did well — and what you’d like to accomplish tomorrow. Lastly, make time to do something that you enjoy each evening, whether it’s connecting with family or friends, or a personal hobby.

Pro Tip: To maximize your productivity, consider creating a to-do list each night for the next morning. Then, prioritize those tasks to keep your day flowing. When you do this the night before, it sets the stage for peak productivity. 

#3. Don’t Forget To Ask for Help  

Seasoned real estate professionals know that — even at peak productivity — you can’t do everything alone. Whether you hire an administrative assistant, a closing coordinator or a buyer’s agent, sometimes operating at peak productivity means seeking help for the things that don’t make it to the top of your personal to-do list. 

Pro Tip: Hire help in the areas where you’re the weakest or don’t have the time to give your full attention (examples: your website, social media, CRM management, lead qualification). This will free up your time to focus on the other (more strategic) areas of your business. 

How Do You Prioritize Your Time? 

By understanding when you’re most productive, sticking to your key routines, and outsourcing when possible, you’ll quickly see your productivity increase. To learn more about designing your day for peak productivity and developing your professional image, sign up for our AgentEDU course Developing Your Professional Real Estate Image today.

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AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth. For a 7-day free trial sign up here.

 AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For almost two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.