While you are making phone calls to Expired prospects, FSBOs, or even to your clients, have you ever thought about how much time is wasted by JUST dialing the telephone?   If you call 50 people per day (which, by the way, is the absolute minimum that most coaches recommend) and it takes about 15 seconds to pick up the hand set, and dial the numbers from your screen, you are spending about 12 minutes a day JUST dialing! It may not seem like much but if you add that up over the course of a month or year you are looking at MANY hours wasted.  Forget about the time wasted, wouldn’t you like to have a system that allowed you to click on a phone number (on your computer) and have it call your party automatically?  The new Skype has this feature!   

Its really quite simple to set up too! All you have to do is download the Skype program (this works on Mac too!) and when ever you go to the LeadSenders web page, it will turn the phone numbers into a clickable link. When you click on the link it will automatically dial the lead.You simply plug in a headset to your desktop or laptop and make calls from anywhere in the world. Their outgoing plans start as low as $2.95/mo and its free if you want to talk to another computer that has a Skype account.

You may be worried about quality given that this is a voice-over-computer program. Years ago, this was a valid concern.   The quality of a Skype telephone conversation was similar to using 2 tin cans attached with a string.  Since they were purchased by eBay, the quality of the conversation often trumps that of good ‘ole Ma Bell…at a considerable savings! We are actually using Skype on all of our systems at the office due to the savings!

This program definitely gets two thumbs up from us! If you have any questions about this and how to integrate it with Leadsenders, feel free to send us an email or call and we will be happy to walk you through it.

Try Skype now, its free to set up an account!

Also, please leave a comment below and let us know how YOU are using it to save time and money!  By the way, the image below is a screen shot taken from an actual LeadSenders page showing you what it looks like when its set up.

This article is brought to you by Scott Friedman, Co-Author of  Now What Do I Say?, a collection of over 425+ objection handlers from top agents.  For more information  you can email info@yourethedifference.com or go to www.YoureTheDifference.com

So, you have an expired seller on the phone and they tell you they’re going to re-list with the same agent. 

Or, they tell you they want you to cut your commission in order for them to list with you. Or, perhaps you’re in their living room and they want to list at a price much higher than you’ve recommended.  Or, they just want to think about it, so they’ll call you on Monday.

Or, a buyer calls up on your sign and says they just want the price.  Or, they want you to work with them and if they find something they like, then they’ll talk to a mortgage person.  Or, worse yet, they have a home to sell but won’t put it on the market until after they find the home they want to buy.

Now what…

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Since LeadSenders is a tool that helps agents make more money by prospecting Expireds, we constantly receive requests for “what else do you recommend?”.   To complement your calling, we highly suggest you follow up the phone call with marketing materials. Plus, studies have proven that when a prospect receives a letter/flyer/postcard after your initial contact, the closure rate is much higher!

BrokersHelper.com is Web Based Marketing software for Real Estate Agents. Because the system is all inclusive, Realtors no longer need to be a member of 5 or more services to get what is offered in the BrokersHelper.com bundle. The system integrates all of your marketing with its contact management system.

Finally theres one system that performs your day to day marketing and follow up.  The software doesn’t TELL you what to do and when to do it, IT actually DOES IT FOR YOU!
This product was developed by an agent for agents.  There’s no contracts, no set up fees, and it’s affordable.  For only $49.95 a month agents have access to the following:

• Agent Websites & Domain Names
• Unlimited Property Specific Websites
• Stealth Lead generation sites
• Email Listing Flyers to other Agents
• Unlimited Email Marketing to your database
• Thousands of E-cards to choose from
• Thousands of Postcard Templates & Campaigns
• Letter Templates & Campaigns
• Promotional Items (mousepads, magnetic white boards, notepads, and folders)
• Real Estate Reports & Newsletters
• Web-based Contact Management System
• NO MINIMUM ORDER on ANY product.
• Material is Available in Spanish

This product is a great way to stay organized, automate your follow up, generate leads, advertise your listings, and brand yourself.

Please visit the website and “Take a Tour” or watch a “Video Product Demonstration” for more information. Sign up for a free 15 day trial today.

So, you’re hopping into your car heading back to the office after an open house.  Suddenly your phone rings and the voice on the other end says, “I saw your name on a sign around the corner and thought I would give you a call… I am in desperate need of an agent with your experience to sell my home”. Your eyes quickly widen and a gleeful grin drapes your face. But no sooner than the call begins, you hear those dreaded words… Short Sale!
At that very moment, your grin succumbs to a grimace while you contemplate how to gracefully decline the homeowner’s request. All the while thinking to yourself, “There is no way I am working with a Short Sale!”

Unfortunately, this scenario is becoming increasingly familiar. Home values have plummeted to an all time low, our nation’s unemployment rate is at an all time high, and homeowner’s have been forced to make difficult decisions…

• Should they continue struggling to pay the mortgage each month?,
• Should they let the bank foreclose on the home?,
• Or should they try and get out now to maintain some semblance of a decent credit rating?

These tough economic conditions have not only been hard on the homeowner’s, but they have been equally difficult for the Real Estate Agents involved. Agents that refuse to represent Short Sales may have come to the realization that the “good deals” along with the commission checks they produce are few and far between. But, there is hope!

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I’m sure many of you have been approached by numerous coaches over the years offering promises to DOUBLE your income or make you a more EFFECTIVE agent.   More often than not, you have shrugged them off thinking, “Why do I need a coach?!”.   Well, guess what, if you hire the right coach it could mean the difference between being JUST an agent and being the TOP agent in your office. 

Consider this…regardless if you are a sports fan, every great team is lead by an outstanding coach.  When a team fails to make it to the playoffs year-after-year, the first change is getting a new coach.  Why, you ask?  Simple, they inspire their players to work to their abilities!

While we are not recommending one coach in particular, if you want to supercharge your real estate career, we do recommend that you interview different coaches and hire one today!   Since their job is to keep you focused and on track, you should immediately see some changes in your performance.

For the nay sayers who, especially in this market, are thinking they can’t afford a coach I pose this question, “Can you afford NOT to hire a good coach?”.

Do you have any listings that are not selling in this market? Do you realize there are a LOT of international investors looking for homes to purchase? Your MLS only provides regional access to your listing so how can you tap into this huge market?

I was just referred to a site by an agent selling a quite a few of his homes to foriegn investors called IntListings.com

Their claim to fame is getting home owners (or in your case, agents) access to international offers. Their quoted price of $299 will allow you to post your listing and get seen by numerous countries. With what is happening with the local economy these days, getting the attention of non-local home buyers should make you look like a hero in your clients eyes.

Consider taking one of your listings that you just cant seem to sell within the local market and post it to the site…it may just be the exposure you need to get the house sold!

Some agents believe that your first impression starts with the listing interview…we beg to differ!  First impressions start with your phone system!   Thats right, your phone number AND your answering service.  Whether you are are single agent or manage a team, you SHOULD have your own 800 number AND a professional phone system that will manage your calls through out the day. 

Second to getting their property sold, a client is most concerned about communication before, during and after you take their listing.  When they call your phone number you need to make them feel secure with your professionalism and we ‘ve discovered a great tool to accomplish this…and its very inexpensive!   What we are referring to is Ring Central.  Not only do they give you an opportunity to search for your own vanity number (ie. 800-Top-Agnt), they also provide an easily customizable phone tree that you can use to route calls.  They also offer music on hold (or even a recorded message to promote your services) while the system is trying different numbers to find you.  Also, if you are a techy agent and you have an iPhone thre is also an application that will allow you to call out with your new number from your cell phone and your clients will see the 800 number on their caller id…how is that for professional?

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Hello Leadsenders clients and fans, for 2009 we are introducing something new that we are all excited about.   As we are always curious about new techniques that can help agents make money, we decided to start a blog about all sorts of lead/business building ideas.   We will look at and review different tools avaliable to agents on the web that will help you streamline your business and ultimately sell more listings! 

While we review these products, we would encourge you to do the same and leave feedback on our articles.   Don’t be shy about your reviews, after all we all need to succeed to have a balanced real estate market.