Web Marketing Seminar

We are pleased to offer a seminar on web marketing. It will be held:
Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 1 PM
K-W Board Office (540 Riverbend Drive)

Terry LeClair is the Broker of Record/Owner of Prudential LeClair and Associates Realty in Barrie. He is a selling broker, selling over 100 properties a year.
Over the past few years he has focused on building his business through having a great website to capture leads. He has tried many different ideas, keeping the good ones, and tweeking the ones that didn't work.

The two main topics he will be covering are: Seven Functions of an Effective Website, and, Implementing a Powerful Web 2.0 Experience. Goran and I have seen his presentation and thought everyone could benefit from his pro-active and researched ideas. I hope you can make it on the 11th.

NAR Survey results

I recently read the results of the National Association of Realtors (U.S.) on their annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Surveys for 2008. It is always interesting reading. There are 1.3 million realtors in the United States and they have many more resources than us, just based in the numbers. The annual survey always includes over 100,000 participants. The two Canadian factors to keep in mind are: firstly, they have been embedded in a housing recession in some areas for more than two years, and secondly, most surveys related to the internet show that Canadians use the internet in higher numbers than our American neighbours.

Where will you spend your marketing dollars?

When asked what resources buyers used when searching for a home:
87% used the internet
85% used a real estate agent
62% used yard signs
48% attended open houses
47% looked at newspaper or print ads

Buyers usually start their search process on line and then contact a real estate agent.

When asked where they first learned about the home they bought:
34% learned about the property from a real estate agent
32% found the property on the internet
15% discovered it through the yard sign
7% heard about it from a friend, neighbour, or relative
7% found it from a builder
3% from a newspaper or print ad
2% learned directly from the seller
1% from a home book or magazine

Interesting numbers...

Aeroplan Miles and Your Listings

At the recent Prudential conference in Toronto, I crossed paths with the Aeroplan people who have opened up your ability to offer Aeroplan Miles to your Buyers and Sellers.

We always talk about ideas to make yourself unique among the agents you are competing with. Here is one of those concepts. For every 10,000 in value on a property, your client gets 500 Aeroplan Miles. So, on a $200,000 purchase, they get 10,000 points, and on a $300,000 purchase , they would receive 15,000 points. You make arrangements through Aeroplan for your client to receive the points and for you to make the payment for them.

For more information, you can contact mvarona@homeserve.com and visit their website at aeroplan.com.

What are you doing to differentiate yourself?

Imprev Marketing Materials

We have recently signed an agreement with Imprev to give our agents access to some great marketing materials for your listings and your self promotion.

Imprev is an online service that allows you to create very professional presonal brochures, flyers, feature sheets, virtual tours, postcards, web commercials, e-newsletters, and much, much more.

If you haven't already joined in, you can check out their website and promotional video at imprev.com

Please see Goran or me for more information and pricing.

Sears Home Centre Corporate Discounts

We are pleased to announce an affinity alliance for your your buyers and sellers with the Sears Home Centre at 130 Gateway Park Drive, Kitchener. All your clients are entitled to a 5% additional discount off any pricing in the store. This offer even applies to all items on sale.

The program requires that the customer have a Sears Discount Certificate which is available in our office. Sears will monitor the certificates redeemed and there will be gift card incentives for the agents referring the most clients.

If you have any questions, our contact person is Kristin Devlin. She can be reached at 519-242-5171 (cell) or 519-650-3993 (store).

Catch the Spirit - Canadian Connection

Prudential Real Estate Canada is running an excellent training day in Toronto on Thursday, November 13th THe two speakers are Dirk Zeller, a renowned U.S speaker from Real Estate Champions, and Chris Leader (who many of you know) from Leader's Edge in Barrie. Of particular note, the afternoon session is eligible for three Continuing Education Credits.

There's a free lunch, courtesy of Prudential, a chance to network with Prudential agents from across Ontario, and an exhibit area set up with marketing materials and tools.

It will prove to be a great day... and it's free. There's a sign up sheet at the office. Deadline for sign-up is November 7th.

Food for Thought

I was browsing through our REM magazine the other day and came across an article by Heino Molls that caught my eye. (Heino is the publisher of REM and occassionally runs editorial columns.)
This one deals with a unique form of marketing and it's called "Donut Shop Marketing" If you haven't read it already, take a minute. It's worth the read.
What do you do set yourself apart from the crowd?

Here's the link:Donut Shop Marketing

Easy Web personal websites

At yesterday's Kitchener office meeting we had a presentation from Avi Singh from Easy Web. He is offering websites that are easy to maintain and inexpensive as well. For $ 19.95 per month, they host your website, they buy, register and connect your domain name, offer 26 different website design templates, and offer an easy to use program to set up your site with information you would like. You have a choice of having your personal listings posted from the mls.ca website or you can enter them yourself in a customized style. You also have an option of having all the office listings on your website. You can post lots of photos and link vitual tours if you like. You can check it out at easywebonline.com or call Avi in Mississauga at 1-800-792-4060

A New and Unique Way to Market Your Listings

Listings Domain is great tool that can put you head and shoulders above the competition. The program allows you to create a website for the specific property such as www.123MainStreet.com You then add photos, property description and details, maps, mortgage info, school locations, and almost anything you want! You are supplied with a rider that attaches under your name on the sign. You can advertise the domain in your print ads, other websites, and on the sign. The program makes it very easy for the buyer to contact you for more information or a showing. You can check out their website at www.listingdomains.com