By Kristina Jaramillo
During a presentation I gave at a small business owner’s boot camp, I was asked a very interesting question by one of the attendees:
“I am a real estate agent and not sure how LinkedIn can help me, since it is a business-to-business platform and I am targeting consumers and homeowners. Should I be focusing just on Facebook, which is more consumer-oriented? And, if I should be on LinkedIn, how can I best utilize it to help me obtain more business and clients?”

By Bob Corcoran
“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill�
I could spend this entire article moaning about the problems real estate has endured over the last three years, but I refuse to do it. And you should vow to yourself right now to never pay attention to any negativity. Everyone who knows me knows I believe success in real estate is about adopting a positive mindset. I’ve always been that way, and always will.

By Rebecca Denison for AGBeat
McKinsey & Company released a report about the overwhelming amount of data being created by the Internet called “Big Data.” With the new data coming at us at all times, McKinsey predicted that nearly 200,000 specialists will be needed in the coming years to make sense of it.
Who are these specialists? They will need in-depth analytical skills and the ability
to work with incredibly (if not unimaginably) large amounts of data coming from innumerable sources.

By Timothy Dwyer
Thanks to depreciated home values and historically low interest rates, potential homebuyers have a bargain-hunting mindset. As you prepare for the busy spring real estate season, you will need to differentiate yourself to these value-driven buyers in order to attract business and close more deals. You can do this by positioning yourself as the broker who can save clients the most money at the closing table.

By Bob Corcoran
The great American poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote, “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been!’”
And it’s the saddest part of my job: seeing potential left on the table. I see it far too often. So I’m dedicating this article to help you identify what I’ve come to learn about why so many agents and brokers aren’t reaching their fullest potential.

By Melissa Zavala
The short sale listing appointment can be an intimidating and scary meeting for any borrower that is considering listing and/or selling his or her home as a short sale. Some borrowers will tell you all about how awful their experiences have been with the lending institutions, how many months they have spent on a loan modification to no avail, and how much equity and sweat equity they have put in their beloved abodes.

By Rebecca Denison
It’s not a secret that social media users generate a great deal of data. Big data. Take a tweet, for example. Each time one 140-character message is sent out, dozens of pieces of metadata are connected with it.

By Matthew Collis
Although email marketing may be a vital component of your communication strategy, you may not be aware that email marketing campaign reports can help you to pin-point the best leads in your database and increase the return on investment (ROI) of your email marketing.

With today’s housing environment and the volume of distressed properties on the market, buyers are seeing a surplus of affordable homes available for purchase. And while homes may be available, many are not “move-in ready,” or immediately suitable for homeowners. Homes that require repairs or updating or pose a threat to a home-owner’s safety are perfect examples of homes suitable for FHA 203(k) loans.

By Bob Corcoran
The Chinese philosopher Laozi once said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
If making positive changes in your business looks like a thousand-mile journey, the good news is this: you can make your real estate business better. And even better news: making it better is not as difficult as you might think.