YPN Lounge

REALTOR® Technology Spotlight Award

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:02:39 -0600

Recognize a member or staff person whose use of technology makes a difference. The first annual REALTOR® Technology Spotlight Award honors REALTOR® family members or their direct support staff who have shown excellence and vision in their use of technology. The Center for REALTOR® Technology is accepting nominations for the award until Aug. 31.

Submit your nomination today >

Photos from YPN-national May Networking Event

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:01:30 -0600

More than 100 YPN members crowded into the Darlington House in Washington, D.C., in May for a networking event, sponsored by NAR's Government Affairs and Community Outreach and the Center for REALTOR® Technology. YPN-national's next event will be at the REALTOR® Conference & Expo in San Diego on Friday, Nov. 13. Make plans to attend the convention today, and connect with hundreds of young real estate pros at the conference!

Introducing REALTOR® Magazine's 30 Under 30 Class of 2009

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:12:36 -0600

By Katherine Tarbox, REALTOR® Magazine

It’s an exciting time at REALTOR® Magazine as we announce our annual 30 Under 30 honorees, marking the program's 10th year.

In this especially tough market, I found many of these practitioners to be very inspiring and I hope you do as well. I encourage you to get to know our 2009 30 Under 30 class and learn how these real estate pros are changing the industry. (You can view their profiles online or grab a copy of June's REALTOR® Magazine.)

And congratulations to Jared James!

For the first time, REALTOR® Magazine asked readers to vote for their favorite from our top 50 candidates for this year's 30 Under 30 list. Your responses were overwhelming with over 13,771 votes! Ballots were cast from more than 30 countries around the world including Germany, India, Argentina, and Iran.

Jared James, ABR®, a sales associate with RE/MAX Right Choice in Milford, Conn., garnered 1,337 votes and earned our Web Choice Award. Way to go, Jared!

Jared will be recognized at YPN's big young pro networking bash during the 2009 REALTOR® Conference & Expo in San Diego.

Learn how you can apply to next year's 30 Under 30 class >

The Best Real Estate Advice I’ve ever been given ... Choose a Niche & Focus on It!

Fri, 22 May 2009 12:55:06 -0600

Once I accepted this advice and began taking action my business improved almost overnight. Well OK, maybe not overnight but I was closing deals and showing property within a few short weeks. I closed more deals that year than I had collectively the past 24 months. So believe me when I say, this is the best real estate advice you can get.

However, there is a little more to it than just choosing a niche. You still have to take daily action. Here are the 3 steps I have taken to improve my business.

Step #1: Choosing a niche

Without question, this is one piece of advice that saved me from becoming a statistic. The reality of it is the statistics show as many as 60 percent of real estate pros leave the business in their first two years.

When I share this with fellow REALTORS®, most react the same way I did at first …. “I am scared to focus on a niche for fear that I will lose business outside of my niche."

The irony is that most, including myself at the time, don’t currently have any business to lose anyway. As if having no business is better than losing some business.

But once you focus on a niche, you differentiate yourself from thousands of others in real estate. Focusing on a niche helps you become the expert: Someone who can provide real value to the consumer.

Step #2: Build a Roadmap/Business Plan for your Selected Niche Market

I was once told that we all have a plan—whether we know it or not. We either have a plan to succeed or a plan to fail. The biggest mistake you can make is not having a plan!

Please don’t start building your plan before you know your niche market, this can be disastrous.

Don’t freak out, your plan doesn’t need to be some 30-page comprehensive guide, it can be as simple or complex as you desire.

Focus on the 4 C’s as your foundation and you will be better off than 85 percent of your competition. The 4 C’s are:

1. Connect—with as many people as you can on a daily basis.
2. Convert—prospects into qualified and motivated buyers, sellers and referral sources.
3. Close—deals.
4. Cut Expenses—always be on the lookout for ways to cut expenses. If it doesn’t directly add t your profits, you must cut it out.

Step #3: Start Networking

Now the fun part: You’ve chosen your niche and built your roadmap so let’s get online and start networking. The key is really in consistency of your brand and your overall message, which is why I feel it is important to complete these steps in this order.

So what is social networking and how can it help you build your business? Building your online presence is much more than setting up your Facebook profile or creating an account on Linked-In. And yes …. it does take some time and effort on your part.

Julz Brown shares some great insight on how to juggle social networking on her recent YPN blog post, "How to Juggle Time for Social Media and Internet Marketing."

Social networking is the new cold calling/door knocking and all the cool kids are doing it.

I just met a young guy, Rafael, today who is working as a loan officer here in San Diego and has just closed 5 deals from Facebook. So for all you that think this is just a trend and time waster, you may want to reconsider. Imagine, five deals with no marketing dollars spent. (Get more ideas for social networking from YPN members: "Getting Real Results From Social Networking.")

So go choose your niche “target market”, build your roadmap, and establish your online presence and watch the business start flowing!

Drew Burks is committed to personal development and continued education. With a love for technology and passion for helping people, Burks has built a brokerage in San Diego California, Dream Design Realty, with a unique twist on an old business model. He recently received the prestigious SDAR Real Estate Broker of the Year Award and currently volunteers his time on four local association committees. He recently launched a new Web site devoted to helping real estate pros succeed with technology: www.WebRealEstateTools.com.

How do you Compete and Beat the Recession? Do the Opposite!

Mon, 18 May 2009 11:29:08 -0600

How many agents are in your area? There were over 8,000 in mine in December.

How many homes were selling? Ohhh about 550 in our area! What about yours?

How do 8,000 agents share 550 home sales? They don't!

How do they compete? Many times on price.

I know of an agent that was listing people's homes for $500 upfront. That doesn't pay for marketing or anything. Agents were so desperate for cash, they were reverted to "survival mode," where they would do anything for a buck. Well, almost anything.

They didn't focus on personal development or adding value because those things don't provide instant rewards. Brokerages are changing splits to survive. It seems as though it's cut throat for many right now. So how do you compete?

According to the book Blue Ocean Strategy by W Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, to avoid the death trap above you have to rise and shine and make competition irrelevant.

How do you become the Starbucks of the coffee industry? How do you become the Cirque du Soleil of the Circus industry? You have to do the opposite of what everyone is doing.

So the question is: What is everyone doing?

Well, brokerages make their money by recruiting as many agents as possible. What does it take to join a brokerage? A pulse and a real estate license.

So if a real estate brokerage wants to succeed, they have to do the opposite. They have to recruit only agents that meet certain standards and they have to focus on making individual agents successful, not recruiting the next agent. Change the focus of making profits and they will stand out from everyone else.

What about agents? Well, what do agents all do? The majority rely on family and friends. They all advertise the same place usually, home magazines. They all do their own marketing, they show homes, do the paperwork, they sell homes, take phone calls for listing appointments, etc. etc.

To be successful you have to do the oppposite. What's the opposite? You become an expert with a team of experts that surround you. This means you might only show homes in a certain neighborhood. This also means that you follow the book The Emyth and that you don't become a jack of all trades.

You aren't a marketer, a negotiator, a sales person, a lead generator, and a business builder. You surround yourself with synergy.

Does this really work? You bet.

There is proof in my hand today that this very thing will cause profits to increase 60 percent and sales to increase 40 percent where the local sales has decreased 25 percent.

When you do the opposite, your sales will increase even when there is a recession with the local market sales decreasing.

How are you doing the opposite and beating the recession?

Dave Robison, known as “Utah Dave,” is a broker of Robison & Company Real Estate.

Hope to see you at the Midyear Meetings!

Fri, 08 May 2009 15:56:57 -0600

It's crazy to think we're just a few days away from NAR midyear meetings in Washington, D.C. If you haven't already registered for these meetings I encourage you to join YPN the week of May 11-15 at the Marriott Wardman Hotel in Washington, DC. (Registration is free to all NAR members; register online).

This will be my third year to attend NAR's Midyear meetings, and I'm looking forward to once again seeing the "backbone" of NAR committees working together for a week straight. It truly is amazing seeing the "politics" of NAR come to life.

These meetings embody what NAR is all about. I get to see "progress" on key REALTOR® initiatives and the broad support for REALTORS® across the country.

As for YPN's progress, we're growing rapidly. Last year at this time we were embarking on our inaugural YPN committee meeting and had zero chapters.

Since January, we have had several new YPN chapters launch at local and state REALTOR® associations across the country, and we are receiving on average five new chapter applications a month.

Our YPN board has really taken shape this year with added volunteer committees too:

-Vice Chair: Wade Hansen helps guide the direction of the board.
-Membership: Koki Adasi-Efuya created a process for our board to efficiently vote on new chapters.
-Social Media: Darrin Friedman, Ian Phipps and Jonathan Washburn are revealing their "YPN Social Media Plan" at our midyear meetings.
-Sponsorship: Amanda DiVito takes care of all of our wonderful sponsors who make our events successful.
-Designation Outreach: Courtney Johnson Rose is creating an avenue to encourage REALTOR® designations to work with YPN.

Read more about our YPN-national Advisory Board.

It is due to all of our committee members and the fantastic support team of NAR's REALTOR® Magazine--Melissa Tracey, Allison Fitch-Markham, and Stacey Moncrieff--that will make this YPN's Midyear "Tuesday" a smashing success!

We hope you can join us 1-2 p.m. Tues., May 12 for our YPN Panel Discussion: "Marketing Strategies That Work" and we hope you've already registered for our sold-out networking event Tuesday from 6-9 p.m. at the Darlington House. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at Midyear!

Shannon Williams King is the 2009 chair of the Young Professionals Network Advisory Board. King founded TriBella Realty in Austin, Texas, and is co-founder of Schoolhouse Realty in San Diego, Calif.

New YPN Chapter: North Texas

Fri, 08 May 2009 15:55:48 -0600

Welcome, YPN North Texas members! The Lake Cities Association of REALTORS®, Collin County Association of REALTORS®, and Ellis Hill Association of REALTORS® teamed up to start a North Texas chapter of YPN. To get involved with this group, send an e-mail to Sylvia@sylviaseabolt.com with your name and contact information. You'll then be added to their mailing list to be notified about any of their upcoming events. Find out more about this group.

View a list of more YPN chapters >

New YPN Chapter: Omaha, Nebraska

Fri, 08 May 2009 15:46:03 -0600

Welcome, YPN's new Omaha, Nebraska, chapter! The Omaha Area Board of REALTORS® in Nebraska has started a chapter of YPN. To get involved with this group, send an e-mail to rwiebusch@npdodge.com with your name and contact information. You'll then be added to their mailing list to be notified about any of their upcoming events. Find out more about this group.

View a list of YPN's chapters >

New YPN Chapter: Washington, D.C. Metro Area

Fri, 08 May 2009 15:42:15 -0600

Welcome, Washington, D.C., YPN members! The Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS® and the Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS® have teamed up to start a chapter of YPN in the Washington, D.C., metro area. To get involved with this group, send an e-mail to info@YPNMETRODC.com with your name and contact information. You'll then be added to their mailing list to be notified about any of their upcoming events. Find out more about this group at the YPN Web site or at the group's official Web site at www.YPNMetroDC.com.

View a list of more YPN chapters >

New YPN Chapter: Corpus Christi, Texas

Fri, 08 May 2009 15:28:30 -0600

Welcome, YPN members from the Corpus Christi Association of REALTORS®! The Corpus Christi Association of REALTORS® in Texas has started a chapter of YPN. To get involved with this group, send an e-mail to YPN@CCARonline.com with your name and contact information. You'll then be added to their mailing list to be notified about any of their upcoming events. Find out more about this group.

View a list of more YPN chapters >

New YPN Chapter: Hampton Roads REALTOR® Association

Thu, 07 May 2009 15:09:46 -0600

Welcome, YPN Hampton Roads REALTOR® Association members! The Hampton Roads REALTOR® Association in Virginia has started a chapter of YPN. To get involved with this group, send an e-mail to sivey@hrra.com with your name and contact information. You'll then be added to their mailing list to be notified about any of their upcoming events. Find out more about this group.

View a list of YPN's chapters at the YPN Web site.

YPN Chapter: Triple Play Associations of Southern California

Thu, 07 May 2009 09:43:19 -0600

Welcome, YPN Triple Play Associations of Southern California members! The Inland Valleys Association of REALTORS®, Pacific West Association of REALTORS®, and Tri-Counties Association of REALTORS® have joined forces to create a chapter of YPN. To get involved with this group, send an e-mail to marke@tricorealtors.com with your name and contact information. You'll then be added to their mailing list to be notified about any of their upcoming events. Find out more about this group.

View a list of YPN's chapters at the YPN Web site.

How to JuggleTime for Social Media and Internet Marketing

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:57:19 -0600

Intermingling ourselves, business and expertise into social media and Internet marketing is an essential part of a business plan. But finding time to incorporate these activities into day to day operation can be an issue for many.

With multiple blogging sites, social networking sites and all the dozens of listing search sites, streamlining our efforts is more important than ever. So, how do we keep up with the online marketing and social networking while still performing our daily duties as real estate practitioners?

Part of the solution lies with using applications that broadcast and share our content with multiple sites and other users.

We can not be on all social networking sites but we can pick a handful to focus on and use one or two applications that will broadcast to these sites. Check out Ping.fm it is a "simple service that makes updating your social networks a snap." Just say it and ping it!

This site will post to over 50+ other social networking sites: Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, to name a few, work with Ping.fm, as well as many other popular sites.

Also, do you want to incorporate an easy way to advertise new listings on your top networking sites and several search sites without having to post to each one individually? Go to Postlets with a couple clicks you can set up a free account.

Uploading photos and listing information is quick and easily and it is formatted and

broadcasted out to sites you choose to send to.

Into video clips? Posting clips to Twitter and Facebook is easy with 12second.tv. Video from your phone, Web cam or camera can be uploaded and broadcasted in seconds!

So, although social media and Internet marketing takes time, it does not have to take hours. Set aside a small amount of time each day and use the Internet to your advantage.

After all, that is where the buyers and sellers are. And that is where we need to be too—right there in front of them. It’s the new “face to face”.

Lastly, if you have any great sites or applications that aid in saving time please post a comment and pass it on!

Julz Brown, ABR®, is a full time REALTOR® with Group REALTORS® and has been serving home buyers and sellers in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas for more than 10 years. Visit her Web site at www.SellingCincinnatiHomes.com.

3 Ways to Market Yourself like Apple's Steve Jobs

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:11:19 -0600

Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., is a master when it comes to branding and marketing. Here are three marketing tips from Jobs that can be applied to your real estate business.

1. Image, image, image

Image might not be everything, but don’t kid yourself, it’s a huge part of what makes a person successful vs. not! When I took over my office, I did so at the age of 32. It was a long established, traditional office in an affluent area. I knew no one. Now this may sound silly, but in the first 12 months I wore a French cuff shirt with a suit and tie all but two days. Why? Because the image a person projects means something.

Your office or company might have a different culture. Regardless, match the culture that you want to personify and never waiver! So whether it’s a black turtleneck like Jobs, or a French cuff shirt like me, be the image you want to create and the one your vision demands—because if you don’t, you're cheating yourself out of something so easily accomplished.

2. It’s all in the presentation

Every six months Steve Jobs has traditionally done a much hyped presentation about a product release. Fans and reporters come from everywhere to watch and report Apple’s newest technological mass media sensation. Why? Theatrics and a well planned event always make an impression.

My thing, for a while now, is making presentations. For me, a well-designed presentation is a dynamic way to get my point across.

Why do I really do it? I like being in my element, which for me is up in front of a crowd making a

presentation. But there is an interesting bi-product to these presentations I have given: people expect them, and what’s more they like them. These presentations have helped me recruit agents, enhance the office’s agenda, and made reflections to the bottom line. Now, you have to develop your niche!

3. Be the “now” guy

Steve Jobs does “the now” thing, better than anyone. He sells the concept that he knows people want right now, and what he knows people will pay for right now.

The question is can you sell it too? No matter what you do or who you lead, if you can define yourself as the person who understands “the now”—people will follow. You will be the person the press wants to interview on why things are the way they are. You will be the person that customers flock to and what's more …

You will have shown it, simply by touting a philosophy that you GET IT. And in business, and in leadership, there is nothing more important.

Darrin Friedman is the branch vice president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Chevy Chase, Md. and a member of the 2009 YPN-national Advisory Board.

Save the Date! May 12 YPN-national Networking Event in D.C.

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:47:06 -0600

Get ready to mingle withother young professionals in the business!

E-invitations went out today to all registered YPN members for our upcoming networking event in Washington, D.C. We hope that you can join us for this FREE networking event! You must RSVP to attend.

YPN Networking Event in Washington, D.C.
Tues., May 12
7-9 p.m.
Darlington House
1610 20th St NW
Washington, DC 20009
RSVP Online Today!

Thank you to our sponsors! This event is sponsored by NAR's Community Outreach & Diversity and the Center for REALTOR® Technology.

Join YPN earlier in the day!
YPN Session: "Marketing Strategies That Work"
Tues., May 12
1-2 p.m.
Location: Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Thurgood Marshall Ballroom West
YPN Advisory Board members will be offering their best prospecting, marketing and social networking tips to better connect you to Gen Y and X clients.

**This session is part of NAR's Midyear meetings. You must register to attend. Registration is free to all NAR members.