Brokeragentspeakers's Weblog

Why DO Agents Attend ‘Live’ Events, Anyway?

brokeragentspeakers — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:49:47 +0000

Darlene Lyons

As the head of an event management company, I review our annual event production calendar regularly. When looking at the reports this week it struck me that every one of our clients that has independent contractors has reduced their meetings size. Especially in real estate.

Just today I had a tough call with a company’s COO, CEO, President, Marketing Director, and CFO on how to reduce their losses based on losing over 500 attendees at this year’s event. That is a painful conversation, folks.

Once we had gone over the realistic numbers I asked them just exactly what was in the event for the attendee. The company had jam-packed the event with announcements, the same-old speakers (yawn!) and the same functions they have year after year. “But what really is in it for the attendee?, I asked. No one understood my point. Here is what I shared with them:

People attend ‘live’ events for one or more of five reasons:

1. Food

2. Fun

3. Fame

4. Community

5. Education

So, I asked them to review their offerings to be absolutely sure they had touched on all five so they could increase their attendance and the overall success of their event. They wisely added more recognition functions, more fun exercises like a “jeopardy” session in their main session and changed some of their format to encourage more hands on, confidence building training. They will inevitably see more attendance and a higher satisfaction rate (and a higher return rate) because they refocused the event on their attendees.

I encourage you to consider those five motivators when planning your next event. Here is a video piece explaning a little more about the five reasons. Here’s to your next successful event!

Overpriced Listings – Are They a Problem for YOU?

brokeragentspeakers — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:33:34 +0000

Reading a blog earlier today about Jackie Leavenworth, ABR, CRB, CRS, GRI, I thought, “gee, it’d sure be nice to take a break from all of the social networking hullabaloo”. I’d like to see more offerings on the basic skill sets so that when you actually do get a live, breathing prospect you have the skills to successfully close the transaction.

So I asked Jackie if I could tout one of her videos on pricing. Check out this insight on “The Danger of Overpriced Listings”.

How Good Are YOU at Handling Objections?

brokeragentspeakers — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:39:34 +0000

Verl Workman

When was the last time you made a presentation and were hit by a common objection and you blew the answer? I know it’s happened to me! And to all of us. The follow video by real estate speaker Verl Workman is a perfect example of why you need to be prepared for the main objections you KNOW buyers and sellers throw out. So you can get the deal!

Check it out:

Webinars are still HOT!

brokeragentspeakers — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:16:02 +0000

I am still excited about learning via webinars. Catch a free preview of Jennifer Cummings, trained economist and brilliant marketing mind as she presents “Seven Steps to a Highly Effective (and Low-Cost!) Marketing Campaign” sponsored by Cyberhomes. The webinar is on January 27th at 10 am PST.

Here is the link to register
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/781226853

She is a good presenter and has an amazing knack for writing copy that creates a “call to action”. See you there!

Webinars are HOT! HOT HOT!

brokeragentspeakers — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:35:38 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE learning via webinars. With my short attention span, limited time, and reduced travel budget, it is an incredible solution. And I can attend as many as I want and learn about a myriad of topics with little or no fuss. Whether it’s the tools available to the presenter or the ability to just “tune out” if the presenter is boring, it’s simply a fabulous way to learn.

And the real estate market is just catching on! Many of the highly skilled speakers we represent are eagerly exploring and learning the new technologies to be able to respond to the sure coming demand for e-learning.

With the amazing interactive tools available today, skilled instructors can easily keep the audience involved with polls, surveys, chat rooms, video inserts and more. If your budget is right this year, I suggest you attend as many webinars as you can so you can recommend the best courses to your target group. You’ll find it a great way to learn as well!

Technology Speakers ROCK!

brokeragentspeakers — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:19:56 +0000

Okay, I am excited. I just returned form the NAR convention and filming over 150 video vignettes with our speakers. What we have found in the last three months is that both “Technology” and “Marketing” are hot, hot topics. Most Realtors (those of us who are baby boomers) find today’s social media networks mysterious and even scary.

What we have discovered in over 20 webinars and over 50 agent interviews is that basic training on both marketing concepts and applying today’s technologies in real estate are in demand. From getting started using social media to driving traffic to your web site your sales associates both want and need the training.

In the coming months we’ll be promoting highly skilled instructors with great content and broad classroom experience like the folks listed here:

Randy is not only a past CRS President, he has written numerous technology courses for CRS. He has a powerful real estate background, is a search engine expert, and is a very good instructor. You can see his online webinar schedule at his site www.Webstarget.com His one day CRS course, “Driving Traffic to Your Website” is excellent.

Amy Chorew delighted audiences at NAR with the latest in social media secrets.

Don’t miss her webinars or speaking engagements. You’ll see why the Women’s Council of REALTORS(R) books her regularly. Great content, easy delivery style, and she’s great to work with. She is currently developing her 2009 first quarter calendar. I’ll keep you posted.

More on some great marketing speakers next post!

BASB Speakers launch webinar series

brokeragentspeakers — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:32:16 +0000

Wow! Last week Broker Agent Speakers Bureau launched a webinar series sponsored by www.Cyberhomes.com. The beta six part series is based on the “Give-to-Get” philosophy and features some of the country’s leading real estate trainers.

The webinars are free to Realtors(R), mortgage professionals and title professionals to attend, and are an hour long with Q & A. The professional speakers featured in the first series are Randy Eagar, SEO Expert and Past President of the Council of Residential Specialists, Jennifer Cummings, trained economist and marketing expert, Amy Chorew, leading technology trainer, and Allen Hainge, Senior CRS Instructor and President of the CyberStars(TM), a group of 200 of the top “tech-savvy” agents in the western hemisphere. Sound impressive? Well the content is outstanding and the speakers are good.

The first webinar featured trained economist and marketing expert Jennifer Cummings, presenting “7 Steps to a Highly Effective (and Low-Cost!) Marketing Campaign. She presented timely, powerful information on how to turn around your marketing and attract clients to you, how to position yourself as the market expert, 7 ways to use Cyberhomes.com in your listing presentation and alot more. That webinar got excellent feedback from the almost 1,000 folks who registered for the session.

On Friday Randy Eagar delivered “Web 2.0: The Need for Feed and How to Use it to Grow Your Income. In just over an hour, he explained what a blog is and how they work, 5 steps to getting your own started, how to set up and use podcasting, video podcasting, and how you can use one or ALL of these tools to be where your prospects are – ONLINE! He is a skilled instructor and had a fabulous handout for the hundreds of people who attended.

The next webinar in the series is on Friday, October 30, at 10 am PST, 11 am CST, 12noon MST, and 1 pm EST. It is featuring Allen Hainge delivering “The Top Ten Money-Making Tech Tools of Today’s Top Agents”. This is from-the-field up-to-the-minute content from the leading agents using technology to crush their competition. If you are interested, you can reserve your seat for this webianr now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/938348453

16 Things Every Event Flier and Web Site Should Have

brokeragentspeakers — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:27:33 +0000

Stop. Before you advertise your next event check this list.

Before you advertise your next seminar, convention or education class, be sure you have done everything you can to make sure you succeed in driving attendance. Your event flier and web page are your “critical communicators” to your prospective attendees. After all of the hard work you have put into planning your event, don’t let your marketing materials cost you your success!

Following are 16 things I recommend you consider putting on your event flier and/or web site:

1. The Event Title. This is a VERY important aspect of your overall marketing campaign. Give your title seven words or less and if possible, make it an “impact benefit statement”. In other words, make the title interesting and benefit driven for the attendee. Go inside the mind of your potential attendees. Here is an example: Which title grabs you more?

A – “Seventh Annual Trade Show” or

B - ”How to Design an Effective Marketing Campaign”

You get the idea here.

2. The Date. Add the day of the week. Make it easy “at first glance” for folks to make a mental commitment. (Example: Monday, November 5, 2009)

3. Time of Expected Arrival at the Event. Let attendees know what time you need them there and what happens after they get there. What isn’t pleasant are 500 people milling around your registration area griping because they arrived too early with nothing to do. Make sure you clearly state any “dead time”. (Example: Registration and coffee 8:15 a.m., Program starts at 9:00 am sharp!)

4. Time and Length of the Event. Be specific and clear. Also include meal times and plans if possible. (Example: Session 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Lunch 12 – 1 p.m. provided by ABC Title Company)

5. Location Name and Full Address. Even if your attendees are local, be sure to add the full address of your facility, including zip code, so your attendees can use a GPS or Mapquest site to find directions, instead of calling your office.

6. Cost. Include all costs and any hidden charges as well. (Example: Cost to attend: $99.00 plus a $15.00 CE processing fee – or – Sleeping rooms $199.00 per night plus 8.75 % tax, plus a12.00 per day resort fee, single or double occupancy)

7. Meal Function Descriptions. Again, this is very important to the overall satisfaction of your attendees and is just plain kind. (Example: Continental Breakfast 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. or “Lunch on your own”)

8. At Least 5 Benefits for Attending. Many event planners spend all of their precious copy space on the date, location, etc. Though that information is critical, the benefits for attending will many times make the difference between moderate attendance and great attendance.

9. A List of Who Should Attend. The more you can speak to your prospects, the better. Here is an example as it applies to the real estate market:

Who should attend this event?

· Experienced agents looking to increase their profit by at least 30 percent in 2009!

· Top producing agents doing over 30 transactions per year who would like to double their production!

· New agents looking for a great “kick start” to their first year in real estate!

· Any agent who knows that modeling their career after someone already successful is working smarter, not harder!

· Managers who want new, creative ideas that work to share with their sales associates

You get the idea here. Speak directly to who you are targeting and you will see a healthy return on your event marketing efforts.

10. How to Register. Tell them clearly how to register quickly and efficiently. More is not always better, so give them 2 or 3 options (i.e. online at www.yourwebaddress.com, by phone, fax, e-mail, etc.

11. A Map Link. (This applies to your web site). Be sure to put this both on your site and in your confirmation letters and e-mails. This includes local maps and information on driving directions from the local airports if your attendees include people who are not local. Attendees usually don’t look for this information until the last possible minute so make it easy for them to find.

12. Instructions on What to Do if They Have Questions or Need More Information. Tell them where to call or e-mail if they have a question. Make sure it’s answered quickly by someone who is knowledgeable.

13. Program Highlights. People love community spirit, food, recognition and fun! In this part of your marketing piece, include guest speaker bios, session descriptions, raflles, silent auctions, celebrity appeareances, special food functions, etc.

14. Previous Attendee Testimonials. Consumers love to hear from someone just like them. Video testimonials are best, audio with a photo is second and text is a last resort. If you don’t have evaluations from your last event, be sure to add them after this event so you are armed with great testimonials from this point forward.

15. Sponsor Names and Logos. In another article, I tell you how to create winning sponsorships. This is one great way to promote your sponsors and give them a powerful “bang for their buck.”

16. Your Cancellation Policy. I am a true believer in a firm cancellation policy. It costs you time and money to process registrations and then cancellations. State what your policy is and stick to it.

Remember…your event flier and web sites are your “critical communicators” to your prospective attendees. Don’t let your marketing materials cost you your success!

Darlene is President of Broker Agent Speakers Bureau (BASB), the nation’s leading real estate speakers’ bureau. For more helpful information, visit www.BrokerAgentSpeakers.com. Darlene also owns and operates EzEvents, the #1 real estate event management company in the country. Visit www.EzEvents.net

Management Accountability in Tough Times

brokeragentspeakers — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:38:07 +0000

Carla Cross, Management and Accountability Expert

As we all wait anxiously for the economy to get better, most of us have learned to better manage our resources, whatever they may be. Carla Cross, Author, Speaker, and Expert Coach, has trained thousands of real estate sales professionals and brokers across the United States on business planning, office management, systems, lead tracking, profitabilty, and more.

I think she’s the best kept secret on the west coast! Besides being warm, genuine, and a highly skilled teacher, she’s just plain great to work with.

I try to learn something from everyone I encounter, good or bad and this lady has alot to teach. Take a look at her myriad of topics http://brokeragentspeakers.com/Speaker_Topics.asp?id=17 and see how she can help your managers and agents to lead better, more profitable businesses.