How many of you have dismissed Facebook because you think that it’s just a time-wasting social swamp? Well, actually, Facebook has some of the most powerful business tools that you can imagine, if you know how to use them correctly. As a real estate speaker and dealing with real estate SEO on a daily basis, I can tell you that I have some powerful secrets to share for how to make your Facebook more “business friendly”.

Take a look at this introduction:

View more about “Building a Facebook Business” at www.webstarget.com/webinars

Not everybody loves listing properties, but I surely did! I loved taking at least 10-12 a month for many years, and the reason I loved listing so much is that all of my competition literally was working for me! If a property is listed thru MLS, you’ve got a huge team out there that have more buyers than I could handle at one time, so my job was to make my listings really stand out!

So, here are a couple of tips I found to be extremely successful to helping get my listings sold no matter what the mood of the marketplace at any one time:

1. First, choose your listings well! I know, there are sometimes we feel like we just need to list about anything for any price just to have a few listings … and our strategy is HOPING that they sell! Well that’s your first mistake! Like any good professional, only take those properties that are PRICED RIGHT, and work with sellers whom you like and would enjoy a good professional relationship with. If they are high maintenance before you list, they are generally more demanding later! So, identify properties in an area where you have great confidence and expertise, and choose to work with property owners who are motivated and willing to work with you.
2. Price properties with the market! READ your marketplace! If the market shifts, you don’t want to chase the market. Studies show that overpriced properties sit longer and generally sell for less than fair market value in the end. Coach your sellers right from the get-go on this important facet of their marketing strategy. Study the market WEEKLY to report what’s happening so they are part of the decision process.
3. No matter what, the property must show well and you must provide easy access. It’s at this point you must have control of how the property can be shown. Nothing is more frustrating than investing your time and money only to have a prospective buyer not able to see the premises because it’s a bad hair day for the owner. Just remember when there are plenty of properties on the market, if your listing is hard to show, the buyers will just move on to the many other choices available.
4. Don’t insult the sellers, but insist that they make particular improvements BEFORE you begin investing your precious money and time to market their property. Who wants to buy a property that is messy, smells bad or needs fresh paint? Unless you are selling distressed properties, your listing becomes YOUR house, so if your sign is on the property it must GUARANTEE that it is in tip top shape from the curb to the kitchen! There’s simply too much competition out there and today’s market has been described as a beauty contest and a price war. So be firm about having the changes done before exposing the property to the buying public.
5. Use technology! A recent study revealed that only 10+ percent of all listings were marketed with virtual tours. And this is a GREAT way to get the new GenX/GenY buyers involved in your listings, as well as creating differentiation at the listing table with your sellers. Use the best virtual tour programs that help ENGAGE the buyer into the property. My favorite is OBEO.com virtual tours because it offers a myriad of features that allow the prospect to interact with the tour, like changing the colors of the flooring, walls, and cabinetry. It also has a great “automagic” reporting capability to your sellers.
6. Use MORE e-tools: If you aren’t using some of the latest tools to market properties why should your sellers list with you? It’s like hiring a doctor that doesn’t have the right medical equipment to make sure you are healthy! If you want to dazzle your prospective listing clients, demonstrate your incredible box of power tools to get their property sold! Are you using BLOGS that help direct search engine optimization or web traffic? Are you using a tour that helps submit your tour to major web portals? How about podcasts? Are you maximizing search engine optimization using iTunes and Technorati? What about offering your sellers their own property website, which, by the way is a feature offered by some top virtual tour services. Brochure boxes are nice to have, but what happens when a buying prospect opens the box and it’s empty?  Do you explain to your sellers that you have that covered with a call capture number that works 24/7?

It’s been said that in order to last in real estate, you need to LIST to LAST!  There are a million ways to win the listing and get it sold, so grab a few of these great ideas and take your listings to SOLD!

It was session three of seven of our S.P.A.R.K. Course, and one agent after another approached me at each break. Each comment or question had the same theme. It was weird.

Each agent said something along the lines of, “I can see how this is really going to work for me, but here is the problem.” Or, “This is great stuff and it would really work for me, except, here is what I face.”

There are over a hundred people in the class and over a dozen of them expressed this type of sentiment. The problems included other jobs that took their time, taking care of children, not enough experience, and more. It was clear that the problem had nothing to do with the issues that they were bringing up. Something else was going on.

While driving away from the conference center, I realized what it was. As these agents began seeing and feeling that they were capable of achieving and exceeding their business goals, when they were sincerely confronted by the prospect of their own success, then the psychological barriers that have prevented their success began to come to their consciousness. Their mind perceived their most desired future for their business and their psyche was finding the reasons that it was not likely or possible to achieve it.

This is the definition of a limiting belief: a thought that is perceived as the absolute truth by the person having it, when in reality it is a false barrier. So, at the next session I led them through an exercise to identify and eliminate limiting beliefs. The response was overwhelming. One person after another was experiencing a breakthrough they knew was possible, but couldn’t previously quite reach. Now it was happening. The skills were there and the barriers were not.

Even Oprah is doing it.

The discussion, the conversation.

That is my answer when people ask me why they should participate in social networking.

I was home one day a few weeks ago after a minor procedure on my eye, which required an eye patch. So, the only thing I could do was watch TV. I tried reading, working on the computer, it was a NO GO.

After catching up on all of the recorded TV shows that I had missed for the last month, I ended up watching Oprah. It seems that on Fridays, instead of one guest, she hosts an entire panel and they discuss all sorts of topics. They have a real conversation, everyone stating their opinion in a lively discussion.

Kind of like Twitter on TV.

The conversation is important. Since the creation of  the digital divide (using the computer to communicate more and more, instead of face-to-face conversation), the fast pace of our busy lives prevents us from seeing as many people in person as we used to, and part of our relationships are taking place online. I recently read that Generation Y (18-32) will never lose touch with anyone in their lives. Think about it baby boomers, haven’t you secretly Googled an old flame to see where they are today? Not a problem with Gen Y, they grew with the conversation online.

When I meet someone in person, first of all they say that I look like my picture, and secondly that they know my voice, because they follow my posts on Facebook, Twitter, or they read my blog. They feel like they know me even though it is our first face-to-face meeting.

So, I encourage you to enter into the conversation. Choose one network, and be consistent. Just remember not to sell while you’re there.

Oprah does it … and, yes, I am recording her show now as well.