We composed these 6 steps to help you improve your pre-listing package and ultimately improve preservation.

1. TIMING IS EVERYTHING

To ensure prospective clients know you care is to thank them right away.  A simple, quick, cost effective email to thank them should be almost instantaneous.  If you’re sending them something in the mail, it should take them no more than 2 weeks to receive. If you’re personally delivering your package it shouldn’t be longer than 2 days.  Remember the “warm feelings” you’ll create when your acknowledgement arrives promptly.

2. BE FRIENDLY

Your Thank you letter should be welcoming.  Make sure it sounds like it has been written by you – the individual, not from your organization or team.   Try not to create your pre-listing package based on facts and statistics.  While it is great to say you’ve “sold 80 homes in the past year”, instead tell your prospective client a story about how you personally made a difference in the lives of your past clients.  Perhaps you recall a particular client who struggled with their budget or had special interests in which you were able to attain.  Remind prospective clients what impact you and your team have had on clients and the rippling effect that is making. By making an effort to capture the work of yourself or your team in a story or a simple photo, you will make it easier for the client to connect with you.

3. GO BEYOND YOUR PACKAGE

Encourage your prospect to seek additional useful resources and tools from your website, blog, or alternate websites.  Provide a high-level of interest for them to want to look around at these resources. Tell them why they will benefit and remind them you will follow-up with them to answer any questions they may have. All of these are ways to engage and promote a dialogue with your prospect.

4. SHOW YOUR CREDENTIALS

Don’t just tell the prospective client they’ve selected the right real estate agent – SHOW THEM! Provide your credentials and show them why they selected the right real estate agent and remind them that it was a sound decision. Credentials can include testimonials, awards, designations etc.  Keep in mind, just because they made an effort to contact you doesn’t mean they are convinced they should have.

5. ENCOURAGE FEEDBACK

It is so imperative to begin a dialogue with your prospective clients and to do that you have to engage them in conversation.  Perhaps you can ask them to fill out a simple, quick and easy questionnaire to help you get to know them.  Provide a free piece of marketing material that is branded yet, useful to them. Fridge calendars are great!  The initial response you receive may be low however; you will allow the more engaged prospects to show themselves which you can then prepare them for a more specialized touch program based on their specific needs.

6. DON’T GIVE A NOVEL  

Your thank you notes and pre-listing packages are the beginning of a conversation, not a complete thesis. Do your best to keep your package upbeat but most importantly make an impact!  Don’t exhaust them with too much information.  Ensure your package is visually appealing and user friendly.  If you’re insistent on sending ample information, then it might be wise to break your package into two separate methods of contact.

Use this package as an opportunity to remind your prospective clients that they made the right choice, and begin to build your relationship correctly, right from the start!

Furthermore, it describes what a licensed and unlicensed assistant can do for you as a real estate agent. After reading the points below, should you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to give my office a call 289 891 8446, we’d be happy to assist you.

“A registered assistant is just that – registered under REBBA 2002 and can trade in real estate just as any registrant would.”

“An unregistered assistant cannot participate in any activity that is considered “trading”.  REBBA 2002 states that no one may trade in real estate unless registered.”

Under the direction of a salesperson or broker, unregistered assistants may:

Answer and forward telephone calls to registrants/employees in the brokerage

Submit listings and changes to MLS

Receive and coordinate documents

Have keys made for the Brokerages listings

Prepare and produce ads and promotional material

Type contract forms

Place signs on property on behalf of registrant

Act as a courier service to deliver documents and pick up keys

Schedule appointments for registrants to show listed properties

Retrieve information from a real estate board or association for the use of the registrant

Set up listing files, take photos of listings, complete fact sheets and deliver to properties

Provide access to a brokerage’s listings for an appraiser, inspector, etc.

Install lockboxes

Distribute listing information for the public

Unregistered assistants may not take part in the below actives, which fall under the definition of trading:

Represent themselves, at any time, as an industry member, salesperson or broker

Show properties

Preview homes or listings unless accompanied by a registrant

Attend a listing or sales presentation unless accompanied by a registrant

Negotiate purchase contracts, listing contracts, rental agreements or leases

Negotiate or agree to any commission, commission split, management fee or referral fee on behalf of a registrant

Hold open houses

As always, check with your brokerage to ensure you understand their specific rules and regulations. While RECO says it is ok for an unregistered assistant to provide access to brokerages listings for an appraiser, inspector etc, and most brokerages will not allow unregistered assistants to complete this task.

Information published by the Real Estate Council of Ontario, winter 2010

This year, there is no difference.  I am taking the time to reflect upon the past year of 2009.  I’d like to share my story with you to prove that positive thinking does work, consistency does pay off and these two traits coupled with determination and goal setting will make or break you as a business professional.

HERE IS AN OVERVIEW OF MY LIFE IN 2009:

January 2009 – My husband looses his job due to company bankruptcy.

April 2009 – My Mother falls at work and suffers a separated shoulder.

June 2009 –My Mother is rear-ended in a car accident and suffers shoulder and back injury.

June 2009 – My Grandmothers dog is run over by an SUV. Thankfully she survived but it was stress nonetheless.

July 2009 – My beloved Aunt Elaine passes away after her courageous battle with Cancer.

October 2009 – My dear Uncle Myles passes away after a fall, causing him to break his hip. His health deteriorates and he succumbs to his injuries.

October 2009 – My Mother slips at work and suffers a dislocated shoulder.

December 2009 – My husband is still without a full-time job due to economic downturn.

AS A FAMILY WE UNITE AS ONE

Before I continue, I would like to mention that my mother is not a klutz.  I live in a household that includes 7 people.  My Mother and Grandmother are two of these people. Therefore, their events had a direct impact upon me and my family.  Unfortunately, 2009 was an extremely bad year for Mother and our entire family.

Although 2009 was an emotional, nerve racking and most certainly a trying year; we never gave up. We as a family united to hold each other together and kept moving forward. We embraced each new milestone (good or bad) as a learning experience and took from it what we could.

THERE IS ALWAYS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

As I felt like my world was crumbling around me and at times it might have been “easier” to just throw in the towel, I was adamant on staying positive and keeping focused on my goals – personally and professionally.  I knew eventually there would be a light at the end of the tunnel.

I continued to work my Real Estate Virtual Assistant Company; I kept my goals in the fore-front of my mind. I just knew something good would come…and it did!

Although my mother endured harmful accidents, I lost loved ones and my husband was without a job, I still connected with past, current and new clients.  I continued to build my business and went from solely running my office to building an outstanding team of professionals.  While my personal life was often in shambles, my professional career continued to soar.

IF YOU SHOULD TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM MY STORY, TAKE THIS…

I beg of you not to allow the negative factors of life stand in your way. YOU and only you have the power to evoke change, the ability to set goals, and achieve them. You can, and you WILL do it! You just have to believe…

As I sit and reflect upon 2009, it may not have been the best year I’ve ever experienced, but I do have many blessings to be thankful for.  It will be these blessing I treasure and take with me moving forward into 2010.

My positive thinking is stronger now more than ever as I have completely experienced its true results. The Ness Lindsay Team continues to grow and we consistently help Real Estate Agents spread their wings. We have our goals set and we know where we are headed for the coming New Year – we’re going to the top!

Where are you headed?

Have you set forth your goals for 2010?

What are you going to do to achieve them?

Enjoy!

FIVE WAYS TO SAVE ENERGY IN THE COLDER MONTHS

November is a great month – the holidays are fast approaching, we get to visit more often with family and friends, and colder weather makes us feel like getting cozy in our homes. Since you’ll want to keep warm in the coming months, I’m including a list of tips for you this month that will help you to save money on your energy bill, while still staying warm and cozy!

1. Set the timer: Program your thermostat to reach lower temperatures while you’re sleeping or out of the house. This simple action can save you a lot of money – and will ensure that your house stays at a comfortable temperature at all times.

2. Open and shut: During daytime hours, keep your blinds, draperies and other window coverings open. This will enable your home to absorb the warm afternoon sunshine and will effectively add heat to the entire house. Close all window coverings at night to keep the heat in!

3. Installation time: If you have a window or two that feels drafty no matter what you do, consider installing tight, insulating shades to those particular windows. You’ll be surprised what a little bit of extra insulation can accomplish!

4. Light a fire: A fireplace is an easy solution to add extra heat to your home without adding to your energy bill. Capable of warming the entire room, you and your family can relax at home while keeping the thermostat at a lower temperature.

5. No leaks allowed: Check doors and windows for drafts and places where air might escape. Weatherizing windows and doors is a simple task that you can perform; your local home improvement warehouse will have all of the materials you need!

Everyone wants to be a leader. Everyone wants to make a difference in one area or another. I enjoyed the simplicity of these 7 steps and thought I would share them with you.

This is what I received in the email:

WHAT GIVES A MAN OR WOMAN THE RIGHT TO LEAD?

It certainly isn’t gained by election or appointment. Having position, title, rank, or degrees doesn’t qualify anyone to lead other people. And the ability doesn’t come automatically from age or experience, either. No, it would be accurate to say that no one can be given the right to lead. The right to lead can only be earned. And that takes time.

The Kind of Leader Others Want to Follow

The key to becoming an effective leader is not to focus on making other people follow, but on making yourself the kind of person they want to follow. You must become someone others can trust to take them where they want to go. As you prepare yourself to become a better leader, use the following guidelines to help you grow:

1. Let go of your ego.

The truly great leaders are not in leadership for personal gain. They lead in order to serve other people. Perhaps that is why Lawrence D. Bell remarked, “Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things, and I’ll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things.”

2. Become a good follower first.

Rare is the effective leader who didn’t learn to become a good follower first. That is why a leadership institution such as the United States Military Academy teaches its officers to become effective followers first – and why West Point has produced more leaders than the Harvard Business School.

3. Build positive relationships.

Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. That means it is by nature relational. Today’s generation of leaders seem particularly aware of this because title and position mean so little to them. They know intuitively that people go along with people they get along with.

4. Work with excellence.

No one respects and follows mediocrity. Leaders who earn the right to lead give their all to what they do. They bring into play not only their skills and talents, but also great passion and hard work. They perform on the highest level of which they are capable.

5. Rely on discipline, not emotion.

Leadership is often easy during the good times. It’s when everything seems to be against you – when you’re out of energy, and you don’t want to lead – that you earn your place as a leader. During every season of life, leaders face crucial moments when they must choose between gearing up or giving up. To make it through those times, rely on the rock of discipline, not the shifting sand of emotion.

6. Make adding value your goal.

When you look at the leaders whose names are revered long after they have finished leading, you find that they were men and women who helped people to live better lives and reach their potential. That is the highest calling of leadership – and its highest value.

7. Give your power away.

One of the ironies of leadership is that you become a better leader by sharing whatever power you have, not by saving it all for yourself. You’re meant to be a river, not a reservoir. If you use your power to empower others, your leadership will extend far beyond your grasp.

In The Right to Lead, you will hear from and read about people who have done these same things and earned the right to lead others. Because of the courage they found and the character they displayed, other people recognized their admirable qualities and felt compelled to follow them.

The followers who looked to these leaders learned from them, and so can we. As you explore their worlds and words, remember that it takes time to become worthy of followers. Leadership isn’t learned or earned in a moment.
~John Maxwell

Make today and everyday count.

I appreciate you,

Vanessa Lindsay, REPA

www.NessLindsay.com

http://twitter.com/nesslindsay

Direct: 416 420 3519

Office: 289 891 8446

“You don’t have to be everything to everyone, you just have to be something to someone”

REAL ESTATE VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS (REVA) HAVE BEEN AROUND SINCE THE 80’s

The term Virtual Assistant isn’t new, yet too many agents still don’t grasp what a Virtual Assistant can do for them. In an attempt to bridge the waters, I wanted to write this blog post in hopes that I could further explain what exactly a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can do for real estate agents worldwide.

THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE
Unlike an in-house assistant, a virtual assistant works from their own office. Office space is not required thus, reducing your over-head expenses significantly. In addition, virtual assistants pay their own taxes, benefits, sick leave, vacation time, etc.

When partnering with a Real Estate Virtual Assistant, you have the flexibility to choose when you will delegate work to your REVA. In most cases, they’ll work part-time, full-time, on-call, per week, per project, on retainer, or even just a one time basis.

INDEED WE ARE PROFESSIONALS

A Real Estate Virtual Assistant is a trained professional. They have the experience, the background, and the knowledge to be the leverage you need in your business. You don’t have to worry about someone who is fresh out of high school, or someone who hasn’t worked in your industry before. Real Estate Virtual Assistants are familiar with real estate lingo, the dos and don’ts and the standard rules and regulations. You can be rest assured that when partnering with a REVA, you’ll be satisfied with the end result.

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

Picture this: Your sitting in your office. It’s 10:00 am. Your desk is full of paperwork. You have a newspaper ad that needs a once over before sending to the publisher. You have a personal brochure that you need to create to give to new prospects. You have a website that needs updated or worse yet, you don’t even have one yet. You need to get your just listed/just sold cards mailed. You have new listings that need to be uploaded on the internet. You have a client that needs feedback on their showings for the past week.

If this wasn’t enough on your plate, you have 3 listing appointments booked this afternoon, 2 buyers that want to sign a contract and heaven forbid you forget to meet with Sally who has an offer on one of your listings.

While you’re worrying about all of the above, your subconscious comes creeping upon you; reminding you not to forget to pick up clothes at the dry cleaners, feed the cat, and meet with your Mom for dinner. Exhausting isn’t it?

THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
This is exactly when a Real Estate Virtual Assistant would come in and save your day, week, and perhaps your career. A Real Estate Virtual Assistant company like Ness Lindsay would be the leverage you need to work smarter, not harder.

You could email over your newspaper ad and we’d proof it for you AND email it to the publisher on your behalf. We have a graphic designer on our team that will complete the personal brochure for you. You send over your pictures and logo and leave the rest to us. We’ll even have them printed and shipped directly to you if you’re not in our general area. We can either update and maintain your website or create one for you. We have for past clients, called agents to receive their feedback on the showings of listings and reported back to our client’s sellers… we can do this for you too! Our team of professionals can ensure your just listed/just sold cards are designed, printed and mailed to your target area and ensure all your listings are uploaded onto the internet in a timely fashion.

So, while you’re sitting at your desk feeling overwhelmed and not sure if there is a light at the end of the tunnel, learn to delegate your work load to professionals who can ensure your work is done exactly the way you want it. Now that we have taken away over half of your work load; you now have the time to meet with your clients, prospects and colleagues. We’re sorry but going to the dry cleaners, feeding the cat and meeting Mom; you’ll have to do on your own. Unless, she’s making something good for dinner…we may reconsider!

Don’t be afraid to seek assistance of professionals ~ we’re here to help and we are passionate about what we do.

Seriously though, let’s embrace this profound statement for a moment…

(Embracing)

So, here’s the thing…I’ve quickly discovered as a business owner; I’ve strived to market myself to a large group of people, I also had a desire to “please” everyone.

Here’s the problem:

I simply couldn’t! I couldn’t possibly please everyone, it’s just not possible.  When I created my marketing material with promises to my prospects that I was the best; and in turn prospects just had to do business with me, I was falsely advertising myself and my core values of my business. Why you ask? Because I couldn’t possibly be everything to everyone!

Kicking it old school – Take it back to the basics

Instead, I should have been focusing my attention and my efforts on a being something to someone.  I realized I had to take my efforts back to the basics. I told prospects that I would be myself, be honest, and promise to offer then only what I knew I was capable of fulfilling. Instead of owning Girl Friday and promising the “be-all”; I did some soul searching and found what I was truly passionate about. Who did I really want to help? What could I honestly offer them? With these answers, it was only a matter of time before I opened NessLindsay.com.

It was this outlook that allowed me to be me. I didn’t have to pretend, I was fully confident in my abilities. I didn’t need to try to re-invent the wheel. I was able to bring things back to the basics and wasn’t afraid to offer personable services to my clients – services with all my quirkiness to boot!

Just be yourself

You don’t need flashy technology or big empty promises to grab the attention of prospective clients. You just need to be you – narrow your market to the people who match who you are. Don’t break yourself trying to be everything to everyone….just be something to someone! Clients will naturally gravitate towards you….with all your quirkiness too because they can relate…you quickly become human again.  This feeling is pretty surreal. Since I have begun being something to someone, I have grown my business 10 ten-fold!

Best of luck to you and your business’ success!

For the entire month of April, I am a feature interview with this great forum. To learn why I LOVE being a virtual assistant and working with the real estate industry; check out the interview here.

I hear you LOUD and clear! Blogging can be quite tedious for some.  Finding new content, or more importantly; quality content, tends to set people back.  I too sometimes find this difficult and in the beginning of my business start-up, I put on my fastest running shoes and ran in the opposite direction when someone said “blogging”.

Trust me. Don’t run. Embrace blogging with a new outlook – it can be fun!

So, let me share some tidbits with you. Here are a few questions to ask yourself BEFORE you begin to tackle the world of blogging.

1. Who is your target market? Who you do want to speak to when you’re writing?

2. What areas or topics do you want to talk about? Marketing to clients, tips for other agents?

Once you are able to define who you want to reach out to and what you want to discuss, it will give you a more defined area to start with.

Some tidbits to help you tackle your topics:

1. When you are in the mood to write and your creative juices are flowing, sit down and write. Don’t stop until all your ideas are on paper. You can keep a blogging book or simply type them into Microsoft. Keep these ideas and blog posts on file. This will help you alleviate your stress when you have writers block. On the days you don’t feel like writing or can’t come up with a topic, just pull a blog post you’ve previous written about and submit it.

2. Try and write when you can give your undivided attention to your thoughts.  Don’t try to write on a busy day when you know you won’t be able to concentrate.

3. Keep a ‘blogging’ book with you at all times. Write jot notes for ideas down wherever you are. You just never know when an idea will come to you.

4. Search the internet and other people’s blogs to get ideas of what people are talking about. 

5. Visit the below sites to get some ideas:

http://www.didyouknow.org/info/info.htm

http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/live/article/163822

http://www.remonline.com/detail.aspx?menu=26&app=153&cat1=473&dt=1217365&tp=12&lk=g

http://realtytimes.com/

http://www.remonline.com/

http://realestatetomato.typepad.com/the_real_estate_tomato/2007/07/food-for-fodder.html

http://www.famousagents.com/content-ideas/

http://www.rsspieces.com/a-year-s-worth-of-real-estate-blog-ideas-6

http://www.rsspieces.com/real-estate/365-Real-Estate-Blog-Ideas

Best of luck and happy blogging!