Tag Archives: marketing strategies

Let the Camera be Your Friend–Use Your Digital Camera to Enhance Your Professional Image

closing, Marketing / Communication, ,

It has not always been this way. When I started practicing law in Massachusetts in 1968, single reflex cameras were heavy and required a host of accessories to insure proper lighting, focus and the like. The modern digital camera has none of this complexity, or bulk, and I have found my camera useful in marketing myself as an “in-tune” professional. The plethora of self-taken photographs on ActiveRain is ample evidence of the fact that most of us know how to “point and shoot” which is really all that is required to produce an acceptable photo that can be useful in the following types of situations:

     1. Photographs at the closing. Generally, everyone is smiling once the papers are signed and the keys delivered. I bring my camera to every purchase transaction. I try to get pictures of the Buyers with the Buyer’s Agent. I later email them to both parties. It is something that a savvy realtor can use to his or her advantage, and I have provided it. Here we are at one of the most important days of our lives, and our realtor helped make it possible.

     2. Photographs during the home inspection. The potential buyer have a lot on their minds. They will NOT be taking pictures. If you are their realtor, you can assist them with pictures. If a situation comes up regarding repairs or substandard conditions, you have a contemporaneous photograph of the problem. It may help you work out a solution with the other realtor or the Seller. And, of course, there is always the problem of “what is included” with the home. A photograph at the time of inspection will be great evidence of what was shown to the Buyer.

     3. Photographs when the Buyer moves in. If you are the type of realtor who participates in this event, why not take some photographs when the Buyers are crossing the front door, or flopping on the living room rug, after a rigorous day of moving? These shots will be cherished somewhere down the road, and you will be person providing the memories.

I have just touched the surface here. I am sure each of you can devlop other scenarios where a photgraph can be helpful. I am alwasy interested in new ideas and thoughts. Share them with me when you comment,

Active Rain Got Active–I have a Local Connection that Will Probably Work

Marketing / Communication,

I am not going to divulge the name of this person. It is important to me, but really is not germane to the point of this post. Suffice it to say that this person liked some of the material I have been writing and re-blooged it on her own blog. She and I have made contact, and we are going to meet soon for a cup of coffee to explore future joint undertakings. The prospect of a new person to work with interests and excites me. To paraphrase a sports metaphor “It’s why we play the games”.

I have written almost 80 posts since February, 2009. I was reluctant to write at first. I have been more confident about writing posts in the last few months. To me, writing posts is like submitting a paper or a blue book in college. Once I am finished with the work, it is up to the reader to assess whether my work is relevant or useful. I have done all I can by writing the material.

So, when a person not only reads my stuff but thinks it is useful enough to include in his or her blog, that makes me feel that the effort is worthwhile. I can honestly tell you that I now have no idea whether something I write is going to achieve “Featured Post” status (it  has happened a couple of time) or crash and burn. That outcome is totally out of my hands. All I can do is continue to observe and analyze, and then write things down.

I am a Massachusetts real estate lawyer. Through my writing on ActiveRain, I may have made an important connection to grow my business. That is a serendipitous result from my real pleasure in writing for the Active Rain nation. I have this to be thankful for, and I wanted all of you who have commented on prior posts to know how appreciative I am of your feedback. It gives me ideas and insights. What more could I ask from any audience?

Confidence and Humility–Get the blend right and the world will beat a path to your door

Marketing / Communication, , ,

In Massachusetts, where I practice, we have been very fortunate in having excellent professional sports teams, with enlightened management. Only the Bruins, our representative in the National Hockey League, has not won a championship in the 21st century. The Patriots have won three times, and the Red Sox twice.

Still, there are times of frustration for New Englanders as fans, and last night’s Patriot’s 34-35 loss to Indianapolis surely ranks as one of the most difficult pills for me to swallow as a sports fan. What made it worse for me was the rather blase manner in which Bill Belichick tossed off a bad decision late in the game, and never just said “I made a mistake”.

That smug attitude in defeat got me to thinking about what I would have done in a similar situation. I have been practicing real estate law in Mssachuseets for more than forty years, and I have made many mistakes along the way. There was a time when I would make excuses for my mistakes, or, worse yet, blame others for problems I created myself.

Just about the time I started getting things done on time rather than making excuses why I had not, I realized that most clients would accept an honest apology, especially when it is coupled with an action plan to fix the problem. In fact, i have had some of my best triumphs after I started out in the worst of positions.

Americans are great “forgivers”. They are ready to give people a second chance almost all the time. Keep that in mind when you are practicing your profession. Lying, or making lame excuses, is not the course of action for a person of integrity. Admit what you did wrong, and try to fix it. If you demonstrate humility now and again, you will endear yourself to those people who sought you out because of your confidence and talent.

There is a balance there, and we should seek it every day. Coach Belichick should have just said he made a mistake. We all do, and with his track record, he is entitled to a few. So are all of us.

Working Unusual Hours–Turn Your Idiosyncracies Into a Marketing Plus

Customer Service, Marketing / Communication,

A while back, I noticed a clip in an online legal service I subscribe to which indicated that a real estate customer was suing her realtor for harassment because the realtor sent this client emails in the middle of the night. I never found out what the outcome of this litigation turned out to be. My only thought was that this suit was a perfect example of how deeply enmeshed our country is in litigating anything and everything. It is my fervent hope that this customer did not prevail in this lawsuit.

Like many Rainers, I work strange hours. I don’t sleep much, and when I wake up in the middle of the night, I am just as likely as not to go to my computer and fire off a few emails as to return to bed. I have some thoughts and solutions for some of my clients. Why shouldn’t I write them down and get them in front of the people I am trying to serve?

To me, the beauty of email is just what I described. I can write an email any time I please. My client can read it any time he or she pleases. For me, email has cut down my phone conversations considerably. More than that, it has permitted me to put down in writing often complicated solutions to questions, in print, so that my clients have a better chance of understanding what I mean because they see it in words rather than hearing it from me, and perhaps, not quite understanding everything I have said.

My clients often say to me “Don’t you ever sleep? What are you doing sending me an email at 3:45 AM? I usually respond that I was thinking about a solution for their situation, and I thought it made sense t get it down in writing so they could have an opportunity to review what I was thinking. My sense is that, deep down, there is recognition of effort and commitment on my part, and these two qualities can only enhance my standing with clients.

I can’t really control how much I sleep. Fortunately, none of my clients have sued me for sending emails in the middle of the night. My sense is that my sleep deprivation syndrome may be a marketing plus. I would be interested in hearing your reaction to this analysis, and whether, you, too, use middle of the night emails.

If Your Posts are not “Singing in the ActiveRain”, there is Only One Solution–Write Some more Posts

Marketing / Communication, ,

I have been writing posts for ActiveRain since February, 2009. I have had a few featured posts; I have had many more which did not evoke any reader interest. ironically, the posts I wrote which became “featured” were not what I considered my best, or even most original. Others, which I absolutely thought would get people making comments,proved to be duds. My observations on this phenomena, and on my involvement with ActiveRain in general,  are as follows:

     1. ActiveRain Nation is one diverse group of people. A lot of you practice real estate in states where attorneys are not very much involved. Accordingly, some of my comments about situations I have experienced are not of much interest to you.

     2. The posts which you have responded to most actively involve situations where strategy is involved. Strategy and planning are two aspects of our profession which people relate to. So if I discuss some of the marketing initiatives our firm has instituted, or the virtues of “walking away” from transactions, you responded actively and with many interesting comments.

     3. There are a lot of smart and motivated people logging in to ActiveRain every day. I enjoy other people’s posts, and I believe been able to learn a lot from them.  In terms of the posts which I have written, some of your comments have been somewhat “anti-attorney”. Most, however, have been helpful and constructive.

Bottom line to all of you, I intend to keep sending in posts and trying to keep them lively and on point.I do not have the luxury of having something tangible to sell, like a piece of real estate whch I have listed. I just need to come up with ideas that are new and appeal to you. i welcome the challenge, and thank those many of you who have been responding to my better efforts.

Golf as Life–Things 18 holes in the sunshine can tell you about yourself and those you play with

Marketing / Communication, ,

I am an avid golfer, and I have been so since the age of six years. My fondest memories of my youth are the late afternoons and early evenings I spent walking around the golf course with my dad, who taught me how to play, and how to behave on a golf course. As I developed a career as an attorney specializing in real estate law in Massachusetts, I have continued playing golf and using golf as an opportunity to network with current, and hopefully future, clients. These are some of my observations about golf as a marketing tool which I want to share with you:

     1. I never, ever talk real business matters on a golf course. If I am playing with you, I have committed to giving you a rest from the hectic business life you lead. I may speak about your family, or your job, but I do not discuss mortgage, or purchase and sale agreements, or anything that can be viewed as self promotion.

     2. Four hours on a golf course with a group of people you do not know well can tell you a lot of things about these people. Do they count all their strokes? What kind of losers are they? Can they make a bad shot and put it aside? Do they realize that other people are on the course to have fun, too, and not just themselves? I also find out what kind of winners they are. Do they gloat? Do they try to teach others when they really are not equipped to do so? I can learn a lot about them, and they won’t really know why I have chosen to pursue them as clients or associates after the round.

     3. Most important of all, I have found out a lot about myself on the golf course. My golf game, when I was a six handicap, used to be all about me. Now, especially, as my skills have diminished, my golf game is about the others in my group enjoing themselves and enjoying my company. This has been a profound lesson, and has helped to shape me as a person.

I am sure many of you have differing golf experiences,  which i would be interested in hearing about. Suffice it to say, I have been able to use my love of golf as a way to advance my life goals, and that is a bonus that I never anticipated.

Perfecting Your Persona–Being Different Is Not Enough

Marketing / Communication, ,

While acting as a real estate professional, working on purchase and sale agreements, leases, real estate closings and the like, has been interesting, I must admit that nothing in my over 40 years of practicing has been elevated to the status of “earth-shattering” or even unique. What I do every day is generally routine; many other people are able to do the same things that I do. There is no question about that.

So, sometimes I ask myself why is it that I have been able to achieve a fair level of success here, while some others have failed. I have reached the following conclusions:

1. You must do something in your profession that makes people remember you. It sounds simple enough, and most times it is. In the past few years, I have taken to wearing bow ties. It is not that I look particularly good in bow ties. It is just that I am becoming known as the lawyer “who wears a bow tie.” That small thing sets me apart from other attorneys, which, essentially, has been my plan. I know a mortgage originator who brings a pie, which she has freshly baked, to every real estate closing in which she is involved. She has, naturally, started to be known as the “pie lady.” The connotation is positive; she brings sweet things to her Buyers. Another person I work with always wears a special hat to her closings. Gradually, she gets herself noticed, and commented about, when she changes hat, and it is a discussion item.

2. Once people remember you, you need to be “good“. Obviously, something that makes people remember you is what drives new business to your door. But, now, comes the important part. You need to make that initial reaction have some substance. If you are a practicing attorney, you need to be the one who returns “every” phone call, who schedules closings not for his or her convenience, but for the convenience of the client. You need to always be the person who stays calm when others are frazzled, who always offers solutions when none seem apparent, who never gives up until the deal is closed and the deed on record. If you are a loan officer, you need to be the person who always looks for alternative ways of structuring the deal, who shows up at the closing in case there are last minute glitches, who is always positive and never “kills” a deal that can be rescued. If you are a realtor, you need to have a reputation as being a “deal maker” not a “deal breaker”. You need to work ceaselessly to find solutions when there is an impasse. In certain circumstances, you need to be willing to make concessions on your own fee to make the deal happen. You need to be totally loyal to your client.

As I have said, if you can combine the “persona” you have established with a reputation that is postive, you will set yourself above the rest. People will seek you out, and just you.It is great to be on the first page of Google; it is even greater to have a flock of “raving fans” who go out of their way to refer business to you. Your “positve persona” is the key to success; we all can improve ours through hard work and creative thinking.

Vendor Inclusive Marketing (“VIM”)–Using your tested referral sources to explode your business

closing, Marketing / Communication, ,

Vendor Inclusive Marketing (“VIM”) is probably not new to most of you. You are probably using many elements of VIM in your everyday practice. Because you are a cutting age professional, you understand the worth of knowing the very best electrician in your market. The guy who will show ip promptly at a customer’s home, do an effective diagnosis of the problem,  provide a reasonable estimate for the work to be done and then deliver his services, on time, at the price which was quoted.

Knowing who this person is elevates you in your customer’s eyes, and, realistically, provides a ready source of referrals for you the next listing, next legal engagement or next mortgage application which comes before that artisan. It is just common sense that the person to whom you have given solid, quality referrals will think of you the next time work in your line of business is available. Who knows, your VIM person may go out of his way to promote your services without even being asked.

Given the effectiveness of VIM as a marketing concept, I am making a view suggestions here which cannot help but increase your VIM score and drive business to your door:

     1. Assemble a VIM List of reliable vendors. Your professional experience may have you pretty far along the way on this list already. What you need now is to organize your referrals and get them in a document, or on your Web Page, so you can easily reference them.

    2. Deliver the “VIM List” at what you consider the appropriate time. Because my time to perform is at residential real estate closings, I deliver my VIM List in conjunction with the Notebook given to every Buyer at a closing I conduct (See my post “The Closing Table–An opportunity for marketing”). I put a plastic page for business cards in the last section of my Notebook. I tell my Buyers that the people who are in my book are tested sources. I, and my clients, have used them and they are solid.

    3. See if you can get your VIM List people to give discount certificates you can give to the Buyer. In these days of required penny-pinching, f you can give solid referrasl, at discounted prices, to your Buyer, you are doing something. Not only will your VIM List people do everything possible to give you referrals, the Buyesr will, as well.

In prior posts, you have commented on my ideas and given me new ideas to build my marketing efforts upon. For instance,one of you suggested that I place a 2010 Calendar, with my firm’s name on it, in the ever-present Notebook. I got my printer to prepare same for free,and he puts his information on the reverse of te calendard, which I place in the insert infron of the Notebook. Win-win for both of us, and a tool to keep our firm’s name in front of the client.  “Drop” marketing,if you will. Please share any of these enhancements with me. We are all working together to develop a better mousetrap. TOGETHER WE CAN!!!!!! (Sound familiar).

The Closing Table–A Venue for Marketing!!!

closing, Marketing / Communication, ,

As a Massachusetts title attorney with over 40 years of closing experience, I am often shocked at the number of missed opportunities for marketing that the closing table presents. For my own part, I view the closing table as a chance to market my law firm and to provide the Buyer with an array of services my firm offers. This not only includes helping their friends and relatives with their next real estate transaction; it also includes explaining why home ownership presents a need to bring their estate plans up to speed and to make sure their insurance coverage is adequate. After all, they have just signed up for a large liability in their mortgage, and they want to make sure that if something happens to them, their home (and children) will be protected.

There are several other things I do at each closing:

     1. I always give the Buyers a small gift. Sometimes a special bottle of wine, other times an umbrella with my law firm’s name emblazoned on it.

     2. I have now taken to preparing a large loose leaf binder with the name of the Buyer and the property address. I tell the Buyer to place a copy of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement and a copy of their Owner’s Policy of Title Insurance as the initial entry into the binder. Thereafter, I advise them to place a copy of each and every invoice relating to their home into the binder. If they are diligent in doing this, they have created a wonderful marketing book for you, the real estate professional, to sell their home when that time comes. recently, I have inserted a plastic sheet for business cards. i place mine in the sheet and urge the selling broker or buyer’s agent to place theirs in the sheet, as well. I am a member of a BNI Group. I also place the cards of those BNI Members in whom I have confidence into the binder.

These are the marketing opportunities I have observed for other real estate professionals:

     !. Realtors. A realtor in attendance can often firm up future business by being at the closing and being helpful. I have seen realtors bring small gifts, as well. Many seasoned realtors also backstop suggestions I make to the Buyer, and in general serve as liaisons in the process. It is akin to bringing home the girl you brought to the dance, and the sense of closure is important.

     2. Mortgage Professionals. I am surprised at how few appearances these people make at closings. To me, this is a perfect opportunity to market only to the selling broker or Buyer’s agent who almost certainly in attendance. On many occasions, the listing agent appears, as well. Closings take an hour or so, and there is a lot of dead time for the realtors. What a great chance for a mortgage originator to make a captive sales call. He or she can answer questions, speak about new programs to people who have no choice but to listen. Maybe a new deal sprouts from this initiative!!!

Perhaps, many of you have found closings to be boring chores foisted on you by your superiors. As this post indicates, I view them quite differently, and I urge you to give some thought to some, or all, of the marketing ideas I have shared herein

“Kiddie” Condos–They make more sense than ever in this Market

Condominium, Marketing / Communication, , , ,

I have written about “kids at school” in prior posts. With more kids at college and grad school (grad school, especially grad school, because jobs our of college are becoming so scarce), there are some strategies we can suggest for “kiddie” condos which may produce some sales for realtors, mortgage originators and real estate attorneys (my defined group “The Resource Triangle”.

These are my thoughts:

      1. Price of Condominiums are lower than they have been. Certain areas of Boston have held up better than others; in general the market is soft, especially in the $200,000 to $400,000 range.

      2. Rental prices are increasing because people have to live somewhere, and they are not buying as rapidly as they did. The rental population is on the increase, as well.

      3. There are some distinct tax strategies which make a parent’s purchasing a condominium for his or her child during the time that the child is a student:

          a. After tax benefits, the actual cost may be lower than rental.

          b. At some point in time, the parent can make the child the owner of the Unit, thus entitling the child to take advantage of the $250,000 exclusion when the Unit is sold. In Boston (and other cities, I am assuming), owners who live at the premises are also entitled to favorable real estate tax treatment.

          c. If we are at the bottomo of the real estate cycle, or close to the bottom, the appreciation in the Unit can be passed on to the child, rather than the parent. That becomes a handy way to handle estate planning transfer for the parent.

          d. In Boston, I am aware of several Lenders who have developed “Kiddie” Condo programs. Wainwright Bank, a Lender for whom I do a lot of work and an ActiveRain member, has such a program.

If your customers need any further advice about Kiddie condos, have them contact me directly. I have completed at least fifty (50) of thes e deals in the past three years, all of which have worked to the Parent’s advantage.