Women's Council of REALTORS® Lake Houston

Attending the Women's Council of REALTORS® Lake Houston Chapter Business Resource Meeting last week was educational and rewarding, with effective networking and great speakers.  President Debra Camino and the leadership team created a welcoming environment for real estate professionals and affiliates, and The Mystery Guest brought back some memories!

The speakers, Tim Underwood and Michael Mengden, educated us on VA Financing (with real world examples) and Understanding the Basics of Leasing (real estate agents, be sure to brush up on the Texas security laws of rental properties...will post info to my blog soon). 

Congratulations to Michael Clapp, winner of the membership recruitment contest!  

No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.  Enjoy your networking opportunities this week!

~Patti St. Louis, 2012 Texas State Secretary
"Accentuate the Positive!"

Amy Smythe Harris presents “Don’t Botox Your Brokerage, Go for the Whole Facelift!”

Part One – Focus on Your Brand

Amy Smythe Harris delivers programs that always promise to be as entertaining as they are educational.  Her presentation at the Women’s Council of REALTORS® Midyear Conference last month was no exception.  Although the focus here is for REALTORS®, it applies to any business.

Branding is an integral part of your business.  What does your brand tell the consumer?  Your Brand includes your personal Brand, your office Brand and your company Brand.  Just as “Finger Lickin’ Good” tells us how delicious KFC’s chicken really is, you should have an effective Brand that tells the consumer why they should use a REALTOR®, and why they should use your company, your office and you.

Your Brand includes your company name, logo, slogan and photo.  When you create your Brand or give it a facelift, do your research, develop your marketing plan, and consult a few people before implementing, then monitor your Brand.  

Researching current trends and the viability of your target market are essential.  You will also want to utilize Namechk.com to make sure your desired user name and domain name are available on dozens of sites.

Developing your marketing plan should include social media.  Start your Facebook biz page, use Twitter as a cold calling tool, start your Blog and be consistent, update your Google profile, and be sure to use a Wordpress site.

Monitoring your Brand tells you what people are saying.  Some of the many tools to monitor your Brand include Google Alerts, Socialloomph.com and Socialmention.com.

As Amy says: Measure! Everything!

Patti St. Louis, “Accentuate the Positive!”
Insuring This Land is Your Land