VARbuzz » Frank Borges LLosa

VAR Video Blogging HOW TO Class 1hr

Frank Borges LLosa — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:55:06 +0000

This was recorded at the VAR annual convention. This year it was in Hot Springs Va.
The topic is why you should be using Video in your business.
Including:
- Get started without buying anything
- Premium equipment if you wanted to upgrade
- Different types of videos. (ie for listings, neighborhoods)
- Things to talk about in your video and creative ideas

Hope you enjoyed it.

Frank Borges LL0SA- Broker FranklyRealty.com

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Clients thinking you are too busy? Use video.

Frank Borges LLosa — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:02:49 +0000

I’m sure you’ve hear the traditional real estate mantra “Make sure your clients think you are busy, but always end with ‘Never too busy for your referrals!’.”

Well bloggers aren’t traditional. We have to walk a fine line from looking too spammy with “Hire me now” at the end of each blog post.

However recently I had 4 people (yes 4) tell me that they religiously read my blog, and wanted to use me, but thought I was too busy. So I made a WheelEstateCam video on the topic and immediately doubled my business. And then new clients started saying, “If it wasn’t for that video, I wouldn’t have called you.”

That is called effective online (free) marketing.

So if something works once, I figured I’d try it again. Here is my latest video.

I also encouraged Jeff Royce and Joe Bauer to have a crack at it:

From Jeff Royce’s Fairfax Real Estate blogger

From video blogging newcomer Jay Bauer Penn Quarter Realtor Video Blogger

And if your full name on YouTube brings up a foreign rapper, you better use Video to 1 up them. See “The Real Jay Bauer”

Also you can’t forget Brian Block’s approach to a similar topic (done before all the videos above).

So how are you using this new media to let clients know you want them to contact you?

Frank LL0SA
Broker FranklyRealty.com
Owner FranklyMLS.com

“The Google?” Net Lingo. Write Your Domain Correctly.

Frank Borges LLosa — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:45:20 +0000

George Bush’s “I use The Google” topped the list of Bushisms. And just yesterday somebody wrote me that they got their first video up on “Utube“.

Does net lingo really matter? No. But will a net savvy consumer notice it? Yes!

I just got a newsletter from VARBuzz. I was so impressed, I had to blog about it. Maybe it is just a pet peeve, but it is great when your state association “gets it.” Something as little as how one writes website domain names and links to sub-pages.

Here is a pretty use of a URL (website domain name):

“sign-up online today at www.VARealtor.com/LegislativeConference”

You might not notice the beauty of this, so I’ll break it down for you:

No need for http://**. Just because the http:// pops up after you write in a domain name, it doesn’t mean you have to publish that part too.
Caps in the right places.VARealtor.com is easier to read then varealtor. Note that the main domain name (the part before .com) is nOt cAsE senSiTivE.
Subpages without the .html, also with proper cases. Much prettier than http://www.varbuzz.com/legislative_conference_09_08_2009.html , a way many others might write the same thing. Also note that the part of the domain name after .com IS sometimes case sensitive. It depends on your website program. So double check before writing …com/HolidayFestival vs …com/holidayfestival.

What you should be asking is whether or not to use the “www.” That is a wild card. Note that CNN.com doesn’t. Short and sweet. However one reason to use the www. is that many email programs won’t make the domain a blue link unless it has www. or http://. Since www is shorter and prettier, I’d suggest that your email signature end with www.MyNameInMyTown.com .

(notice how I ended the sentence with .com “space” period.) I suggest that when writing domain names that end a sentence. Otherwise the “.” can get logged into the domain name and create errors. Mark my words, in 3 or 4 years that won’t be considered a typo by linguists .

So thanks VARBuzz for geTTing iT.

Written by Frank Borges LL0SA
Broker FranklyRealty.com

** The one place you might want to put http:// is in a craigslist ad. If you put http:// it automatically makes your domain a clickable link.

Does your email look like SPAM? Email headers matter.

Frank Borges LLosa — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:42:13 +0000

Only 5% of Realtors have their “From” headers in the correct format. Are you part of the 5% or the 95%?

Don’t think your email headers matter? Or maybe you just never thought about it?
This is actually my inbox. Within minutes a Justin Wood and a Justin Wool emailed me. Who is who?

Do you want your clients’ first reaction to be “who is this?”

How about when a customer can’t tell if you are a President of company or customer support for a trash company!!

Again, look at my actual inbox:

With 100-200 emails per day, and many of those being spam with fake names, it is very difficult to memorize who works for what company. And if you want your email to be read first, then make it easier to speed read in a flash.

Which is easier?:
Smith, John (worst)
John Smith (bad)
John Smith XYZ Corp (better)
John Smith- XYZ Corp – 703.555.1212 (best, save them a click, have your phone # in your “From”)

Here are the “from” headers for Frank, David and Eric and 2 spammers, which ones stand out?

Frank Borges LL0SA FranklyRealty.com 703-827-4OO6
David Johnson [1.877.555.1212 - XYZ Realty]
Eric Owen [703.555-1212 - HomeFirst Mortgage]
Eric, Johnson (spam for free music)
Peter Patterson (spam for something else)

Much easier to read and process than:

LL0SA, Frank (real)
Johnson, David (real)
Eric Owen (real)
Eric, Johnson (spam for free music)
Peter Patterson (spam for something else)

Only until you open Eric and Peter’s email will you know it is spam.

By NOT looking like spam or a high school friend, it makes your company look more professional and your emails don’t get lost in your client’s (and fellow Realtor) flooded inbox.

In case you didn’t get my point, here is a third example of my inbox:

Ok, so how do I change my headers?

Using OUTLOOK? This is where you change your headers.

Look for the “Your Name”

(More Outlook info here)

How to change in Gmail:

Click Settings (top of page), then Accounts, then “edit info” and change your “Name” (for advanced users, in gmail you can also change your actual from email address AND your reply to email address)

Cheers to pretty email headers!

Other tips for email headers: Change Your Email Headers to Ensure…

Written by Frank Borges LL0SA- Broker FranklyRealty.com

Thanks to NAR & Keith Garner

Frank Borges LLosa — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:11:01 +0000

Could it be? Frank drinking the NAR Kool-Aid?

Well when something is done right, I figured it was worthy of full props.

I just got back from INMAN in San Fran and wanted to take a moment to thank Keith Garner, managing director of NAR’s Center for Realtor® Technology.

I recently bought a $200 laptop on Ebay and he helped me install Linux on it. And at INMAN he even sat down and hacked into my computer (in a good way) to do some great troubleshooting. So I have to thank NAR for having people like Keith on board.

ALERT! Market BOTTOM! I have 100% Proof!

Frank Borges LLosa — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:41:34 +0000

I officially have 100% proof that we have officially hit rock bottom.

No other indicators from NAR or the government have been as accurate as the proof that I have. I found a 100% correlation!

When My MOM SELLS, THE MARKET SKYROCKETS shortly thereafter!

The chart to the left is factual. Actual points when my Mom has sold a property.

The last arrow is from a recent listing, which is my Mom’s house which is now under contract. (See listing)

So there you have it. No more need to think. I have always been against the NAR campaign that says “Buy Now,” but now I can show proof that NOW is the time to buy! That market is going UP UP UP!

Thanks Mom, for taking one for the team and helping us all out by single-handedly turning markets around!

For my previous prediction on the EXACT best day to buy, read my old market timing post.

RPAC: REALTOR® Voice or Political Bribery? (NVRPAC too)

Frank Borges LLosa — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:42:16 +0000

Bringing backroom discussions to the forefront appears to be part of the mission for VARBuzz.com , so I thank them for this opportunity!

Back to the post… I’m torn.

Give to NVRPAC and Virginia RPAC or not?

I’d like to discuss my understanding of what NVRPAC is (I could be wrong and I’m looking to your comments to correct me), and my dilemma on whether to contribute (which is not tax deductible).

NV/RPAC stands for Northern Virginia REALTOR® Political Action Committee. Their slogan is “Your bi-partisan voice in politics.” What else? I don’t know. A search for them brings up only 3 pages (here is one). They don’t own NVRPAC.com and they don’t have an interactive blog giving us updates on what they are doing. It has been run by Mary Beth Coya, the Vice President of Public & Government Affairs for many years.

I still don’t get it. To me it seems like “Give us money, don’t ask why, but we will push the REALTOR agenda. Thanks for the $200,000, now we can give that to candidates so they will listen to us.”

Is giving money to candidates a necessary evil?

So here is where the dilemma starts.

I frequently disagree with the REALTOR agenda. For example, recently a transportation bill, which would raise taxes (backed by NVRPAC), was shot down as being unconstitutional. If my political belief is that government is too big, and we need less taxes, how do I justify giving them $100 to back something I am against?
I also disagree with the message the REALTOR® associations put out, like the “It’s a great time to buy or sell a home” campaign. Yet two years later we are flooded with Short Sales and foreclosures.
And here is the big picture issue that I have… Where exactly does the money go?The weblink above says, “Contributions go to candidates who are supportive of private property rights and who are sensitive to the REALTOR® point-of-view on key issues.”

Is it to help candidates win, or is it to buy a voice?

Do we give even $1 to a candidate that is ahead 30% in the polls? If so, it doesn’t seem like we are helping him win, instead it seems like we are buying the right to be heard.

One can easily say, “That is how it works in DC, either play ball or lose.”

But I am fundamentally against a Congressperson accepting $100,000 from a special interest group, that they are expected to regulate.

Yes we want our voices heard, but why do we have to give them $100,000 for that right? It seems more like a bribe. (Update 3-3-08: See comments for clarification on this number. Most donations are much smaller, but they have been as high as $50,000 for one candidate in one year and over $80,000 for a few candidates over a few years)

Maybe that is the process in DC, but what if you oppose the process?

So this is my personal debate. I’d love to see your opinion. And if you still want to donate, here is a link to contribute to NVRPAC online. Actually they only accept contributions by mail or fax or check. Cutting edge!

The hope is that this post will INCREASE contributions if that is what the REALTOR wants. I’d rather them contribute because they understand and accept the process, and not because they are told to, or are offered a raffle or a trip to Jamaica.

And here is a video on Youtube from Virginia’s RPAC.

I look forward to the discussion. I hope we all agree that discussing this is the best way to understanding it.

- Written by Frank Borges LL0SA- Broker FranklyRealty.com

Update 3-3-08: P.S. The comments are better than the post. Don’t miss them!