Some commercial real estate agents and brokers struggle with prospecting on a regular basis. Over time that will have a major impact on their market share and listing conversions.Those agents and brokers are likely to say that the following are the facts of the market:The market has slowed
There are no buyers and tenants around
Enquiry is dead
It’s time for a ‘holiday’
Finance is not available
Deals are hard to put together
There are too many agents and not enough buyers and tenants to go aroundSo the list goes on, and I guess you may have a few other things that you can add to the list and have heard in the industry. Excuses are prolific and easy for most sales people to come up with in commercial real estate. If things are not good with listings and commissions they will fall back on one or more of the ‘excuses’ I have just given you.Show me a broker that is at the ‘top of their game’, and I will show you a focused and active prospecting salesperson. So prospecting is at the centre of everything. Without prospecting, nothing works. It really doesn’t matter what brokerage you work for, it is the prospecting that will give you market share and listing opportunity.To fix any problem of this type in commercial real estate, it is time to ‘look within’. Understand the personal things that are holding you back from finding more new clients and properties to work with. Deal with those ‘weaknesses’ and move ahead into the market with a fresh attitude on growth and client contact. Put your clients at the centre of your business and market share.If an agent or broker is coming up with ‘excuses’ as part of addressing low market share or commissions, it is time to turn the focus back on that salesperson to find out what they are not doing and why that is so. Training and performance planning can fix those issues.Responsibility MattersYou are responsible for the business that you generate and on that basis real action and focus is required. Market knowledge and skill may help you with some of your listings, but it is the prospecting that is more important than anything else. Find out why you are not prospecting enough and solve the problem.In an average working day, a commercial real estate broker or agent should be prospecting for 3 hours and at least half of that time should be spent with talking to fresh new people.Set some personal targets to connect with 10 or 15 new people per day. It will take you 30 or 40 cold calls to achieve that. From those connections you can create some valuable meetings and that will then be the start of a valuable client relationship for the future. That is what prospecting and networking is all about.
Trying to Market ESL Or EFL Programs to Internationals? Multilingual Marketing Gives You an Edge
Schools offering English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL or ESL) programs benefit from marketing their programs in a variety of languages.
Put yourself in the position of a parent who wants to send their son or daughter to a faraway land to learn English. Chances are, it will be one of their child’s first experiences living away from home and away from the family. The decision to send a child – even a teenager or young adult – is one that many parents take seriously.
Imagine this: Your daughter wants to go away and study a foreign language… maybe Chinese or French or some other language that you don’t speak. She tells you that she has found two possible schools and wants you to have a look at their web sites. She sends the links to you at the office. During your coffee break, you check out the first school’s site. All the information is written in English. You find out about the school, the teachers who work there, the homestay accommodations available and the program she will be taking.
You move on to the second site. All the same information is there (you think?) but it is written only in the language your daughter wants to learn. You surf around, look at the pictures and try to get back to the home page again. But you don’t speak the language the website is in, so the best you can do is get a general idea from the photos and site design.
After you’ve looked at both sites, where do you want to send your daughter?
The fact of the matter is that both schools may have excellent programs, but if students (and their parents) can read about it in their own language, you will build an unspoken relationship of trust with them. It’s both perception and perspective. You trust what you know.
For English as a Second or Foreign Language programs that recruit international students, translating your web site (or at least major points of it) into the languages of your major markets gives you an advantage over your monolingual counterparts.
This article is adapted from a chapter in the author’s book, 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program: A Practical Guide for Language Schools.
Want to cite this article in your own research? Here’s the citation information:
Eaton, Sarah Elaine. (2010). “Trying to Market ESL Or EFL Programs to Internationals? Multilingual Marketing Gives You an Edge”. Retrieved from EzineArticles.com.
How To Become A Successful Real Estate Agent
Become a Successful Real Estate Agent
With so many people out there who have their real estate license or have thought about going into real estate, why aren’t there more successful realtors? It always seems like you see the same names over and over again in certain areas. How did these people become so successful? With this industry being so different from many other more traditional vocations, what does it really take to be a leader in this business? This article will give you some great tips in order to propel yourself forward in the world of real estate.
Have a Plan
In real estate school they tell you “in a year, most of the people in this room won’t be working in real estate”. Why is that? Due to the lack of traditional company structure, it takes a real self-starter to succeed in the real estate world. Nobody is going to make you go into work every day. Once you sign up with a brokerage, you are somewhat on your own. That is why it is important to set goals for yourself right away and develop a plan that you know will work for you. There are usually more experienced agents ready and willing to offer advice or counsel to new agents.
Choose an Area To Specialize In
This is a common mistake that agents make; they fail to focus on one area of real estate in particular. Do you want to work commercially or residentially? Perhaps you want to specialize in foreclosures or short sales. Whatever your interest, it is a good idea to pinpoint this early on and start with a clear focus.
Choose the Brokerage That is Right For You
There are several real estate companies that are available to hold your license for you as a new realtor, however it is important that you properly research each one effectively. Do you want a large corporation that is represented nationwide, or a smaller, local company? What can each of these types of brokerages do for a novice agent just starting out? It is crucial that you meet with each company and hear how they plan on supporting your career as a real estate agent. Make sure to align yourself with a professional organization that will help you be the best agent that you can be.
Develop a Marketing Plan
So, now you’re a realtor, but you have no marketing materials. The first thing to do is develop a professional business card for yourself. Don’t be afraid to make it unique. What are your interests or hobbies? Perhaps you want to somehow incorporate those activities into your business card or portfolio. In the real estate business, people tend to work with agents that they find personable and friendly. For a lot of people, the process of buying or selling a home can be an emotional time and they want to be able to count on you to do your job to the best of your ability. So, design your business cards or other materials with a personal touch. Some other wonderful printed materials that are great for realtors are greeting cards, flyers, brochures, letterhead, envelopes, etc. Whatever printed materials you can think of to promote yourself and share your ideas and knowledge with the people you will be working with.
Have Open Houses
Especially just starting out, the only way to generate business and develop a client base is to have open houses. Ask an agent at your company who has multiple listings if you can hold theirs open for them. You can make signs with your name on them and use these during the open house. This gets your name out there and starts to make people familiar with you. Have printed materials available for people to take away from the open house. You should have materials that talk about you as a realtor, but also materials that have information about the home for sale. Communicate with everyone who walks through the door and let them know you would love to work with them and help them find the home of their dreams.