Georgia 4-30-18

GEORGIA EDITION

GOOGLE ADWORDS: How to Make Google do the Work for You 6 Methods for BUILDING BETTER EMAIL LISTS FEATURED AGENT

KARA LYNESS

COVER STORY

Tracy Cousineau

Killing Clients with KINDNESS AND VALUE 4 Reasons Why MULTITASKING CAN ACTUALLY DERAIL YOUR DAY

GEORGIA EDITION

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Tracy TRACY COUSINEAU Cousineau

KARA LYNESS

CONTENTS 4) GOOGLE ADWORDS: HOW TO MAKE GOOGLE DO THE WORK FOR YOU

19) 6 METHODS FOR BUILDING BETTER EMAIL LISTS

13) KILLING CLIENTS WITH KINDNESS AND VALUE

22) 4 REASONS WHY MULTITASKING CAN ACTUALLY DERAIL YOUR DAY

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Google AdWords:

How To Make Google Do the Work for You There is no denying that the internet is the first place a buyer begins looking for a new home in this digital age. Knowing how to put the powerful tools available on the internet to work for you can give you a decided advantage when it comes to attracting prospective buyers to your listings, as well as you as an agent. Google is easily one of the major superpowers of the internet, and they have one of the most powerful advertising tools available. Knowing how to utilize Google AdWords in the correct manner can make your internet advertising immensely powerful and possibly your best way to reach prospective buyers.

Google AdWords is also extremely cost-effective. This multifaceted tool gives you much more control over your advertising campaign than other more traditional methods. You can target specific audiences, choose the specific search terms, also known as keywords, that will bring up your ad in someone’s search results, and you can set a budget for each campaign that will dictate it’s reach and how long the campaign will run. Here are some tips for how to put Google AdWords to work for you.

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ent websites. You want to set yourself apart from every other real estate website users are viewing in their search for a house.

MAKE SURE YOUR ADS ARE GOING TO SEND USERS TO A SITE THAT WILL CAPTURE THEIR ATTENTION

You can spend an infinite amount of money on Google advertising campaigns, but if those ads don’t send users to a site that will capture and hold their interest, then you’ve just wasted all that money. Don’t put your cart before the horse. Make sure you are considering exactly where these ads are going to send users. To set up your website for success, at the very least you want to make sure users are greeted by clear call-to-action, such as a message that will encourage them to sign up for your newsletter or subscribe to your blog. You want to set up your website to maximize and capture the leads the ad campaign sends your way.

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BUILD CUSTOMIZED OR CUSTOM-MADE WEBSITES RATHER THAN TEMPLATE WEBSITES It is easy and tempting to use template websites, or to offer your agents template websites if you are a real estate manager or broker. While this offers a cost-effective solution to providing every agent with a website, it does little to set you or your agents apart and capture the attention of users that are used to seeing a wealth of differ-

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MAKE SURE YOU ARE OFFERING VALUE ON YOUR WEBSITE

Don’t simply use your website as a kind of brag sheet. Let users know what makes your particular services valuable to them. Highlight your expertise in a certain location through tools such as blog posts, providing market updates, or giving pertinent information on a unique type of property. This will ensure that your online advertising campaigns are much more successful.

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LOCATION IS EVERYTHING!

Location is everything in real estate, and the same holds true for Google AdWords. You can target specific locations in your ad campaign. While one approach is to focus on the area around your location, a more advanced approach would be to link AdWords campaigns to your Google My Business account. This is a Google service that includes your address in the ad, allowing people to then click on it and see exactly where you are located on a map.

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USE GOOGLE ADWORDS IN YOUR CAMPAIGN TO EXPAND YOUR BUSINESS IN GENERAL

Focus an AdWords campaign on expanding your business by incorporating specific zip codes and neighborhoods that will help you establish a presence in an area where you would like to increase your real estate business. Making sure that your ad appears in search results that are related to the real estate in a specific area will help shape the image and brand of your business as well as bring in new leads.

HARNESS THE POWER OF DATA

When you run a Google AdWords campaign Google Analytics captures a wealth of information about your target client demographic.

You can gain real insight into your online visitors, such as when they visit, what they do and look at on your site once they get there, and what search terms they use. You can use all of this information to grow your business. Use Google Analytics to determine which users (location, gender, age) are utilizing specific aspects of your site, such as looking at multiple listings, reading your blog, etc. You can then use this information to target these specific demographics in your AdWord campaigns, Gmail ads, the Google Display Network, and other advertising.

Using the internet to help advertise your business and your listings is one of the smartest moves you can make as an agent in this modern age. However, you don’t want to simply go into the process blind or you’re wasting a lot of potential resources and data that could make all the difference. To reap the benefits of Google AdWords, you must apply an intelligent strategy to using these campaigns.

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Tracy Cousineau Top Agent Magazine

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Tracy Cousineau After years working in property management, Tracy Cousineau decided it was time to take her talents to the next level by getting her real estate license. “The thing I loved about property management was meeting people and helping them find their perfect living situation. I just felt I had outgrown that side of the industry and was ready to really make a difference in people’s lives. I started taking classes, eventually getting my license in 1999. I convinced RE/MAX, who didn’t take on new agents at the time, to take a chance on me. I sold my first house in two weeks and I haven’t looked back since.” Cousineau quickly became a million dollar producer and one of Atlanta’s most respected agents This year, Cousineau once again found herself seeking new challenges and she opened her own brokerage, 8 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

Real Estate Expert Advisors, where she has finally been able to implement her unique approach to real estate sales, already achieving remarkable success. “We have a Top Agent Magazine

home selling system that we use and it’s very different than what you would get at a more traditional brokerage. We’ve really been able to differentiate ourselves and do things Top Agent Magazine

we never could under a corporate umbrella.”

Real Estate Expert Advisors offer their clients a proven repeatable system, 9 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

that has been backed by market research, to sell homes for up to 18 % more money. “We follow 7 laws, focused on things like consultation, differentiation, exposure, buyer attraction and execution. We are there for our clients every step of the way, making sure to maximize their dollar, everything from staging the property, to positioning ourselves with the advantage at the negotiating table. We have a marketing team, a pre-listing team, a closing team, a market research team, all in the interest of giving our clients the service they deserve.�

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In addition to Real Estate Expert Advisors’ innovative system, all of the homes they list are certified WISE-Buy, and are given a warranty, inspection, professional staging and evaluation.

Cousineau and her team are active supporters of their community, contributing to the local Athletic Association, which enables disadvantaged children to play for local sports teams. They are also proud to participate in the Give Back to Heroes program, an organization that helps military, law enforcement, Top Agent Magazine

teachers, healthcare providers, firefighters and other local heroes save significantly when purchasing or selling a home.

Already making a name for themselves as one of the premiere brokerages in the Atlanta area, Cousineau has plans to expand into Florida in the near future, but for now Cousineau’s focus remains maximizing client satisfaction, which is truly her passion. “I believe in what I do. Yes, I’m a natural salesperson, but when you believe in what you’re doing, you Top Agent Magazine

do a better job. What makes me the happiest is helping people that thought there was no hope, clients who thought they could never get a loan or a seller who was frustrated, to see the joy on their faces when we’re able to sell what was an expired listing in record time, is just so rewarding. At the end of the day, I love being at closing table and knowing that the whole transaction was 100 percent what my clients wanted and more. There is no greater feeling than knowing that we’ve helped make their real estate dreams come true.”

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“At the end of the day, I love being at closing table and knowing that the whole transaction was 100 percent what my clients wanted and more.�

Tracy Cousineau | Broker/ Owner Real Estate Expert Advisors, LLC 770-378-3161 | tracycousineau@gmail.com www.tracycousineau.com Copyright Top Agent Magazine 12

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Killing Clients with Kindness and Value

By Walter Sanford

Sometimes, we need to “kill” our clients with kindness and offer value. I know it goes against everything in our nature to turn the other cheek when they are being mean.

Recently, a coaching client had some challenges with a particular client, and I’m sure you have also worked with the kind of client who discourages you so much that you just want to hit the delete button!

How about offering a response that increases your fame and makes the client always wonder what they may be missing? They might not list with you, but they will never forget you.

Included in the balance of this article are the email from the client, the request for help from my coaching client, and then my suggested response.

Email from the Potential Client: Sorry, I have been really busy. Let me tell you where I’m at with everything. You may or may not be interested.

I am definitely putting the house on the market. The house has been rented for the last 5 years with the same family. They originally signed a rent to own lease. Three years ago, they decided they didn’t want to buy it.

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Anyway, I recently informed them that I’m going to put the house on the market. Now, they are reconsidering buying the house. I don’t think they will buy the house, but I guess you never know. If they do buy the house, it would be for sale by owner. I will not let them drag their feet.

We happen to know a lot of REALTORS® in (area). Some are pretty good friends and with that comes opportunities at rates way under the norm. One of them did sell our last house quickly but circumstances have changed. I know you are a very good REALTOR®, because I have heard other REALTORS® talk about you.

You may not be interested at this point anymore. If you are still interested, let me know what your best rate is. Let me know if you are okay with the current tenants on a “for sale by owner” agreement, if that happens.

I would want a short-term agreement. The current rent is higher than my mortgage payment so I’m okay if they don’t buy and I’m not forced to sell at a low price. However, I want to sell ASAP. I’m wanting to purchase another property so I’m not going to overprice the house and I will negotiate.

Email from Coaching Client to Me: Walter, this guy is a college basketball coach. I want to help him, but I need to have a chance to run a successful business, too! How do I answer this?

Email from Me to Coaching Client (to share with potential client): Thank you so much for the nice words. It is very exciting to hear that our hard work is creating some buzz. I think we can accommodate you and exceed your expectations: 14

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1. We believe that we exceed client expectations more often than most agents, because we spend the time to understand what the client needs.

Then we develop a customized program to meet and exceed that goal.

We would love to help you in accomplishing your real estate needs.

2. We would be happy to exclude the current residents from the listing agreement for 30 days. This would help in motivating the current residents to buy in that they can see the price discounted by the commission, if they commit to buy within the 30 day period. We would like to offer you our closing service that handles everything for a flat fee of $4,000. This handles the contract phase, aligning the team of affiliates, and the closing. This, of course, is at your option.

3..Our commissions are normal for our market, but we save you money over any commission discounter. Our specialty is increasing your net proceeds. We do this by bringing you more buyers with more effective marketing, better negotiating, better systems for handling inspections, better pre-approval tools for your buyer, better contracts, and less post-seller litigation from better contracts. Commission discounts usually cost you money because of the agent’s lack of emphasis on your net proceeds check. It is like a basketball player who is playing with no heart, only for the scholarship.

4. Our rate is retail 6%. This may eliminate us, but that would be a shortsided conclusion. Here are 5 of the ways we can beat any commission discount: A. We beat the average List to sell ratio in (area) by a larger margin than any discount.

B. We beat the days on market, which affects your carrying costs and lost opportunity costs on your equity.

C. We have a low litigation rate as compared to national standards.

D. We can market your home a little over retail due to our marketing.

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D. We urge a pre-inspection plan to get rid of the little and big problems before a buyer is involved and wants everything built new.

5. Our agreements are 6 months, but that is not what sells properties.

Marketing and price sell property. If we are wrong about those two items, we will adjust every week based upon showings and consultations with you.

6. I would also like to advise you on a misconception. Rental costs average about 35% of market rent in our area. Add in lost opportunity costs on your equity that is not doing anything at this point. I can show you how your current position is losing you money every month.

I think our next step is a presentation of the tools we bring to achieve your goals. Listing with friends is loyal, but is it the best business decision?

Do they have the tools and will you hold their feet to the fire when the results are not what you need? (Client’s name), you know the difference superstars make on a team. Let’s go for the win.

It’s not so much whether my coaching client obtained the listing, but he needed to stand up for a profitable, long term business. Never sell yourself short to get business. You will never be happy.

In these situations, I cannot guarantee an outcome, but I can guarantee the client will never forget you. You are planting seeds of discontentment with the small amount of money saved in a commission compared to not achieving their goal. Whether he/she admits it or not, he/she will have respect for you.

Do more lead generation so you won’t have to work so hard on leads like these.

Copyright©, 2015 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Walter Sanford has been designing and implementing real estate systems for 30 years.

One of the most successful REALTORS® and now wealthy from his systems, Sanford teaches his systems and strategies through his products, seminars, and personal coaching producing the best results in the industry. Do what works, do what is proven. Hire Walter Sanford. Call our office at 800.792.5837, email walter@waltersanford.com, or chat with us online at www.waltersanford.com.

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KARA LYNESS For twelve years, Kara worked for her family’s interior design business, mastering the ins and outs of styling, construction, and real estate trends. After starting a family, she was on the hunt for her next professional challenge. She’d always had a knack for sales and entrepreneurship, while her background as a Junior Olympics figure skater had instilled in her a competitive work ethic and deep sense of discipline. Four years ago, she turned her sights on real estate and earned her license, yielding immediate results. In her first year, she closed $5.3 million in volume and earned the rank of Rookie of the Year. By year two, she’d nearly doubled that figure by achieving $10 million in volume. By year three, she’d added a buyer agent to her ranks and closed on $20 million. This year, she launched her own imprint in The Blue Grace Group—titled for her two daughters’ middle names.

in the midst of planning biannual client appreciation events that will draw familiar faces together and demonstrate her gratitude. To extend her spirit of service to the community at large, Kara is active in her church, participates in volunteer work at area non-profits, and contributes to efforts to feed the community’s homeless. In her remaining free hours, Kara most enjoys time spent with her husband and their two daughters. She also enjoys travel, glamping, and shopping for vintage and antique items in the mid-century and Victorian sensibilities.

Looking ahead, Kara has plans to continue growing her business mindfully, with hopes to add likeminded team members in the months to come. She also has ambitions to open a series of boutique brokerages in the years to come. “It’s my goal to continue providing the best service I can and grow my business year after year,” she says. Now, with four sterling years of service behind her and an ambitious eye on the road ahead, the future is bound to yield continued promise for Kara Lyness and the team at The Blue Grace Group.

Now, Kara has carved out a reputation as an agent swiftly on the rise. Under the banner of PalmerHouse Properties, she heads a tightknit group that serves the thriving Atlanta metro region.

What’s more, the vast majority of her business is driven by repeat and referral clientele—the highest praise an agent can receive. For her part, Kara serves her real estate group as a leader and listing agent. Considering her professional philosophy, Kara cites diligence, follow-through, and attention to detail as the foremost tenets of her working style. “I’m a go-getter and I like to cover all the bases,” Kara says. “I put my heart into everything I do and I’m very straightforward and transparent with my clients. I give a lot and I go above and beyond—it’s in my nature, and that’ll never change.”

Kara’s background in design—in combination with her degree in fashion—set her apart for her creative eye. She applies this visionary skillset through her recently launched endeavor, Staging Grace, a staging company designed as an added service for her clients. “I love the creativity of my work,” she says. “Every day is different, and I love spending my time in the field and in the community— from rehabbing properties to giving historic properties new life through restoration.” When it comes to listing properties, Kara’s marketing efforts are comprehensive. She promotes forthcoming listings with a telltale Coming Soon status on her website, complete with high-quality photographs, compelling written descriptions, and exposure across the leading digital listing platforms. Additionally, she leverages the power of social media and word-of-mouth to elicit additional buzz amidst Atlanta’s surging marketplace.

To learn more about Kara Lyness visit bluegrace.group, email kara@bluegrace.group, call (404) 542 – 3790, or visit her Facebook page here. www.

While Kara has established an impressive track record in just a few years’ time, she also prioritizes the connection forged with each client she serves. To stay in touch beyond the closing table, she routinely checks in through emails, follows up via phone, and is Top Agent Magazine

https://www.facebook.com/KaraAtlantaRealty/

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6 Methods for Building Better Email Lists

By Kendra Lee

Email lists can be a blessing or a curse. When they’re composed of real email addresses of people in your target micro-segment, and those people recognize you or your company by name, an email list is an invaluable lead generation resource. When the list is filled with contacts who don’t know of you or your company, i.e. a cold list, lead generation can be though – really tough. Likewise, if your list is populated with fake, inactive, or irrelevant accounts you’re at risk of being banned by your email software provider.

Not surprisingly, I hear from clients all the time asking how to build an email list that will get results for their campaigns.

Should they purchase? Should they attempt to build their own?

Remember that with email list building your goal is to build a list of people within your micro-segment, so quality is more important than quantity. The more similar the contacts, the easier it is to tailor your nurturing and lead generation content to their specific needs.

Here are six methods that will help you build a quality email list.

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Nurturing and lead generation activities: When you engage in social media, nurturing activities, SEO, and Adwords, those mediums provide forums for you to drive people to your website, start a conversation via a social channel, attend an event you’re hosting, and add people to your list. People who respond really do want to be part of your list.

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Membership organizations: Whether it’s through industry associations, mastermind groups, or networking events, these types of organizations provide an excellent means for collecting contact information. Generally, people will update or provide their own information because they want other members to have easy access to them so you know the data is current.

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Shared lists: By finding a peer who targets a similar microsegment with a non-competitive offering, you may be able to forge a partnership in which you promote to each other’s lists. This happens frequently within the high tech space, with consultants, and with professional services organization where they understand the value of collaboration.

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Research the web and build your own: Increasingly, we’re seeing companies comb LinkedIn, Zoominfo. com, InsideView.com, DiscoverOrg.com and other websites for contact information, and then follow-up with companies to confirm the validity of that information. This approach is time consuming, but it can be very effective. A client who we coached through this process recently got a 41% open rate on their email nurturing campaign. I really like DiscoverOrg for the detailed information they have if you’re selling in the IT or telecom industry.

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Purchase lists: There are numerous companies that sell email lists, but you need to be careful which vendor you buy from

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and how much you spend. Prices typically range from hundreds to several thousand dollars depending on list specificity and size.

One warning: Expect higher bounce rates with these lists and negotiate for that issue when you purchase. To avoid high bounce rates, look for a list company that validates the information. In this way I’ve been very pleased with ExchangeLeads for new lists and validation of current lists. If you don’t have any list, this may be the way to get started.

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Trade information for information: Sites like ExchangeLeads and Data.com community give you credit for providing contact information for companies you’ve worked with in the past. As you earn credit, you can use it to acquire lists for free. These services generally have a fee option as well, and the data integrity is dependent upon users keeping it current.

Again, look for companies that validate data to reduce bounce rates and wasted time. I really like ExchangeLeads for trading information as well as purchasing it.

Ultimately, my advice would be to focus as much on the organic list building methods (#s 1-4) as possible, and supplement with the purchased methods (#s 5 and 6) when necessary. If you start with a purchased list, plan to nurture it and build your recognition.

Don’t toss it away if you don’t get immediate results.

At the end of the day, you want to strive for list quality over list quantity. Pushing your messaging out to unwitting, uninterested, or unsuspecting prospects won’t do anything to help you close more deals.

Contact details for Kendra Lee: Phone: 303-741-6636 (Old fashioned, but very effective.) Email: Info@klagroup.com (Yes, I get every one of these personally.) Twitter: @KendraLeeKLA (And I do follow all direct messages on Twitter!) KLA Group is a sales consulting and training firm focused on helping clients get more customers in the Small and Midmarket Business (SMB) segment through lead generation, prospecting, hiring and onboarding Copyright©, 2016 Kendra Lee. All rights reserved. strategies.

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4 Reasons Why Multitasking Can Actually Derail Your Day Common wisdom dictates that a master multitasker is likely to garner the most success. After all, doesn’t juggling multiple projects at once mean you’ll work faster than if you took each one as it came? While multitasking is often cited as a desirable skill—and surely serves its purpose now and again—studies show that a mere 2% of individuals can actually multitask effectively. Meanwhile, the remaining 98% might be doing more harm than good by trying 22

to tackle too much at once. Take a look below at some little-known facts about the risky side of waging a routine built on multitasking.

1. Multitasking decreases productivity While multitasking gives us the illusion of completing two tasks at once, it actually means

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our focus and productivity is split. In other words, switching back and forth between two activities doesn’t mean they’ll each be completed sooner; it means that you’re getting half-as-much complete as you would if you focused on a singular task. Multitasking fatigues your brain, elicits stress, and make you less efficient in retaining new information.

2. Multitasking is actually addictive While watching TV or taking a walk, have you ever noticed the impulse to check your smartphone or scroll through your social media feed? Even though we think about multitasking as a workplace skill, it’s also an addictive form of mental stimulation. By satiating our need for distraction with constant check-ins online, we become accustomed to frequent breaks in our focus, training us to crave updates, messages, and push notifications—we even hit refresh when we’ve checked in five minutes prior! This negative habit-building makes it difficult to complete sustained bouts of concentration.

3. Multitasking has negative physical side effects Studies show that those who juggle multiple focus-intensive activities actually show spikes in cortisol, a stress hormone. Likewise, frequent multitaskers display symptoms of sleep deprivation: fatigue, disorientation, and lack of focus. Studies in Europe have recently Top Agent Magazine

discovered that those who consistently multitask may actually show decreases in empathy and emotional control. What’s more, a constant sense of anticipation—readying to switch from one task to another, or persistently checking for e-mail updates—can potentially cause a decrease in overall IQ.

4. Multitasking breeds mistakes When our attention is split between tasks, it’s difficult to perceive and retain detail-oriented information. Because of this, mistakes—typos, clerical errors, mislabeled documents, and the like—occur with greater frequency. We’re in such a hurry to complete a portion of a task and switch to the next project that we lose sight of prompts, deadlines, and tying up loose ends. This means multitaskers are far more likely to overlook a glaring error than an individual who is devoting 100% of their attention to the task at hand.

Now that we understand some of the dangers of multitasking, what can we do about it? While our tech-driven day-to-day might make focusing on a singular task a difficult endeavor, it’s the surest way to produce efficient, error-free work—while cutting down on stress, fatigue, and miscommunication.

Try approaching your tasks for the day with a clear-cut schedule, moving one task at a time down your to-do list. This approach can eliminate some of the inefficiency inherent in multitasking and make for your most productive work routine yet.

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