First impressions are almost always irreversible, and can make or break your connection in a matter of seconds.  How you connect on and offline will determine whether you will win or lose.

What can you do differently from what you have been doing?  Are you relying on the same old things, systems, and habits?  Or, even more concerning, are you doing the same things your competitors are doing?

Today’s savvy consumer knows what they want, and they are not willing to pay for services that do not meet their needs.  The largest buying segment of housing is GenX, and they are especially good at finding another professional who is willing to do it “their way,” and fast!

So, how about a tune-up for your presentation program?  Whether you are presenting to a buyer or seller, creativity, expertise, and delivery will boost or beat your chances.

Here are three key tips on how to fine tune your connection.

1) Speed of response:  How fast are you responding to your lead requests?  If you don’t have systems in place to respond in a nanosecond, your prospects are moving on to the next agent who does have a method to respond in real time with targeted information.  That is what it takes to make a first WOW impression!

2) When you are meeting face-to-face, have you revamped how you personally “go to market”?  Are you “market” presentable?  Are you fully focused on your client?  Have you anticipated their every need?

Before your meeting, are you equipped with a deep needs analysis, pre-written questionnaire that demonstrates you are prepared, interested, and focused to authentically discover and fulfill their real objectives?

Unfortunately, this is an area where many of us have slacked off.  Having left a fast and furious marketplace, we didn’t have the luxury of time or the need to build trust bridges with our prospects.

A slower market is loaded with multiple opportunities to engage, connect, and earn the right to provide our services to those in need, and it’s a great time to demonstrate strong differentiation from our competitors.  As an example, if you are still running a paper CMA from your local MLS and showing up with a worn-out, one-size-fits-all presentation, you might need to start looking for another job!

NAR reports that in 2009, 34% of the properties sold were purchased by GenX.  Translated, that means they are driven by their own core values and preferences.  Those preferences include real-time responses, deep expertise, and real accountability.  Think about investing some time in a marketing makeover, and don’t wait another minute to re-design how you go to market, while you still can!  NAR’s Learning Library offers some free and inexpensive online webinars to help you do just that.  Check them out at (http://budurl.com/MurphyMktgMakeover).

3) Get rid of the old tools and get good at using the NEW ones!  You are right to be confused, frustrated, and downright stubborn about trying to figure out what’s in what’s out; what’s hot and what is not, but that is no excuse.

You might be able to connect with prospects, but keeping all the updates consistent and valuable takes help from techno tools.  Set aside some time, or ask the experts what tools are recommended to help you service clients and prospects 24/7 without actually working all of those hours.

Learn how virtual tours like OBEO.com will do the reporting on activity to the seller automatically for you and engage an interested prospect with interactivity on the tour.

Your time is your money, so employing automated, customized drip systems that offer opt-in/opt-out options integrated with your IDX information is the only way to provide real-time information as it is listed to prospective buyers or sellers who are considering marketing their home.

NAR reports that approximately 98.9% of prospects search for properties on the Internet BEFORE engaging an agent.  Surprisingly only 60% of agents even have a website!  Do the basics, but do them right.  Get a full web marketing website that does the work for you.  Check out www.RealProSystems.com and get the whole enchilada, Podcasts, blogs, drip systems, automated campaigns, back-end training, etc.  You can’t afford to be the jack of all trades, so figure out what systems can best support your goals, and go for the gold.

We’ve all heard that if you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten, and that’s just not true anymore!  We know that we can no longer do what we’ve always done to stay even with what we’ve generated in the past!  If you are truly serious about making money by leveraging your time and expertise, get with the program.   Very few customers or clients say, “I don’t want to work with that professional because they are too good at what they do, too eager to help me get exactly what I want, and too much of an expert at their craft.”  Just ask them!

I have some bad news for you, and, I know, nobody likes bad news.

We all handle the bad things in our lives differently, don’t we?  Some of us tackle the hard stuff head-on, dealing with it right away and then moving on.  The rest of us are just flat out avoiders.  We try to justify our avoidance by telling ourselves we “don’t have time” to deal with that right now, or we “just can’t handle one more thing.”  Those excuses are simply a form of avoidance, straight up.

So, if you’re an avoider, keep reading this.  Don’t let yourself avoid any longer!  Even though you’ve encountered the seemingly bad news that you are an avoider, I am also about to share some great news and useful solutions with you.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned that almost 100% of the time, it’s best to just deal with the hard stuff right away, take care of it somehow and then move on as much as you possibly can.  (And I’ve avoided with the best of them!)

The bottom line is this, it’s how we choose to deal with the hard stuff in our lives that determines our success, or lack thereof.

And, yes, it is a choice that we all have.  I’m sure you can think of sad, negative, or hard things you’ve been faced in your life, and that moment of choice that you faced.  I sure can.

For example, when I was 15, and was still classified as “functionally illiterate” with over 12 different learning “disabilities,” I could have chosen to give up right then and there.  And, I was close to giving up.  But, thanks to hard work, and some key people that were placed in my life, I chose to learn how to read.  It wasn’t easy, but I chose to keep going.  I chose to figure out how to take that bad, hard stuff and make it work for me.  I chose to find a solution.  And, because of that choice, I eventually graduated from college, at the top of my class, with a degree in Economics.

Now, what does all of this have to do with YOU?  A lot!

Now, it’s time for the bad news I mentioned earlier.  Take a look at The Harris Interactive Poll results below from a study conducted in August, 2009.

Just so we’re all on the same page, according to Webster’s New World Dictionary, “prestige” is defined as:

1.  The level of respect at which one is regarded by others; standing.

2.  A person’s high standing among others; honor or esteem.

3.  Widely recognized prominence, distinction, or importance.

It doesn’t look good for those of us who work in real estate, does it?  We’re at the bottom of the prestige and respect list.  This is not the best news, at all.

At this moment, we’re all faced with a choice.

Rather than avoiding this fact or trying to hide it (or hide from it),

let’s use it to our advantage.

But how?  It’s simple, just like we talked about earlier, tackle it head-on, right now!

Follow these steps (I’m serious here, I’m challenging you to choose to do this!):

1. Copy this chart into the beginning of your listing presentation or make a copy to give to the buyers you meet with.  You can get a copy of the chart and accompanying article here:  http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=685.
2. In your listing or buyer presentation script, you need to enter the conversation your prospects are having in their heads, and tackle the fear, doubt, or insecurity they are feeling at that moment.
3. Say something to the effect of, “You probably weren’t looking forward to our meeting today, and I can understand why.  I know that real estate agents, in general, are not trusted, respected, or held in high esteem – just like the results of this study show.  And, there are some bad agents out there, for sure; however, as we get to know each other, you will learn that I don’t fit that preconceived idea people have about agents.

I wouldn’t just be your real estate agent.  I am your advocate, your guide, your master negotiator, and your reference tool for all parts of this process.  I CAN be trusted and I WILL work hard to earn your respect.

I treat my clients like they are my closest friends or family members – giving them my best and most responsive service – always.”

Now, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “I can’t put that in my presentation!  That’s too risky.  Why would I show them the negative results of that study?”

Because, no one else will.

And, as the wise Earl Nightingale so aptly stated, “If you want to be successful, find out what everybody else is doing and do the opposite.”

Do you think anyone else has this in their presentation?  It’s not likely.  All you have to do is choose.

Choose to harness your inner football player … and tackle it!

Choose to make this unfortunate study work for you.

Choose this solution and use it!

Choose to “do the opposite” and experience your most successful, fulfilling year yet!

K.I.S.S., or keep it simple, stupid; or, the more polite version, keep it simple, salesperson. Or even, keep it short and simple. This has been used as an instruction to teach salespeople to avoid unnecessary complexity with prospects.

The simpler the salesperson can make the decision for the prospect, the more likely they are to take action. It makes complete sense, violating this principle is the reason most agent business planning does not stick.

Here’s a radical thought, any business plan that can’t be created in less than an hour is unlikely to be implemented. Take one hour to complete a plan for 2011 as if that is all the time you have; as if that is the plan that has to guide you for the entire year. And, it has to be completed in one hour.  Whether you complete your plan in that hour or not, that sharp focus motivates you to create a better plan because of its simplicity. Keep It Simple and Succeed!

My exploration into using videoconferencing as a marketing tool for real estate has taken me down many roads. There are many products out there, including  TokBox, DimDim, and Skype.

I like Skype. It makes me feel very “international!” Some of my clients are located overseas, and Skype is their product of choice.

In class, more and more of my students tell me they are using Skype to communicate with their clients across the country, and across the world.  But, what is Skype

According to Wikipedia, Skype (pronounced /ˈskaɪp/) is a software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Calls to other users of the service and, in some countries, to free-of-charge numbers, are free, while calls to other landlines and mobile phones can be made for a fee. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing.

Speaking to some of my coaching clients, here are some business uses for Skype:
• Return long distance phone calls to clients
• Check your voicemail when you are traveling
• Make business calls from areas without cell phone coverage

What makes Skype even better is that it starts out free if the person you are calling also has a Skype account.

Video calls, like Skype-to-Skype calls are free, updating your clients is free, no matter where they are in the world. All you need is a webcam and software. You can start by downloading the software: www.Skype.com/download.

If we want to be successful with today’s buyer, we need to remember what is – and always has been – at the heart of the sale: People will only buy something from someone they trust. Only the methods have changed. If you can’t meet them face to face, webcam to webcam will have to do.

Skype options:

• Skype to Skype (free)
• Skype to Local or Long Distance
• Skype to International
• Skype with iPHONE (mobile)
• Skype with video
• Payment options: free, pay-as-you-go, or monthly

Skype-enabled audio and video are already infiltrating business settings, with users recording their Skype conversations and adding the recordings to their blogs as podcasts.

And the ultimate – the ability to see each others’ webcam, and, if necessary, to record the call. A great software at Pamela.org will enable you to do this.