Improving Your Business

Stories, articles and advice aimed at improving your business

What Your Customers Really Think

“The only way to know how customers see your business is to look at it through their eyes.” Daniel Scoggin Consider this question: how well do you know your customers? I mean, really know them? Take your time, because

To Fish Or Not To Fish…That is the Question

This holiday season, as I look toward a new year, I have to reflect on the past and analyze what I did well, what I need to improve, and what I want to accomplish next year. Positive growth is

The Ins and Outs of Great Client Testimonials

Client testimonials, as any good agent knows, are the lifeblood of a successful real estate career, but in today’s technological age, they are shrouded in ambiguity. Where should clients submit testimonials? How can you ensure that future clients read

Building a Solid Social Media Foundation

By Mitch Levinson In my last post, I talked about what Chicago real estate agents and homebuilders should be incorporating into their social media program. Today, I’m going to share more on the foundation to this program – your

10 Questions to Help You Check the Vital Signs of Your Client Relationships

Most doctors firmly believe that certain types of regular screening tests and checkups are essential and help save lives. And most of us, no matter how much we despise devoting an hour or more to getting poked and prodded,

The 5 ‘Musts’ for Real Estate Agents

By Christine Groves Whether you are a new agent or a seasoned agent, there are some key items to building and sustaining your business. We must always keep learning and developing in order to succeed – and making sure

The 2012 Real Estate Forum and the Future of Chicago’s Rental Market

By John Michael Grafft The 2012 Real Estate Forum, which brings in the “Who’s Who” of local real estate, was one of the better events I attended this year. I was told attendance was approximately 64 percent higher this year with

Start Planning 2013 – Now

This article is about planning for your 2013 year in real estate – starting now. That’s right,

Success at Life – That is the Secret

By Jason Abrams Choosing one’s business partners and employees wisely is the single greatest challenge of a real estate “mega-team” owner. Those of us who own mega-teams know how to generate leads at a blistering pace. In fact, the

Real Estate Websites Help Realtors Stay Ahead of the Curve

By Jennifer Mills Klatt Over the last few years in real estate, websites such as Realtor.com, Chicago Block Shopper and Zillow have given consumers information they didn’t previously have in their hands, and it has undoubtedly impacted the way

Why Politics Don’t Matter in Real Estate

Did you know that the guy behind the deli counter at your grocery store voted for the other guy? Want to know why it matters? It doesn’t. There are a lot of places where politics don’t matter. The deli

Four Must-Know Lessons About Online Real Estate Advertising

By Bob Corcoran This past summer, my son was looking to buy a home in St. Louis, not far from my office. I intentionally watched as he sat down at the computer and turned the occasion into my own

Facebook Metrics: Building a Strategy Around Free Data

By Carrie Gable  We hear it all the time: one of the best ways to have an effective and thriving online presence is to monitor who is looking at your content and which elements of your marketing are seeing

3 Things to Address with Your Buyers and Sellers on Home Inspections

By Christine Groves As we know, a home inspection is a voluntary process, but as agents, it is our fiduciary responsibility to strongly recommend them to our buyer clients and prepare our seller clients for the inevitable. With that

Getting Comfortable With Social Media for Your Brand

By Mitch Levinson Chicago real estate agents and homebuilders, are you using social media as part of your marketing strategy? If your answer is no, it’s most likely because you’re overwhelmed by all of the different social media outlets

Mortgage Refinance = Referrals?

By Delfin Joaquin Paris III I was watching the news a few weeks ago and saw a segment about how mortgage rates are near historic lows. I was aware that rates have been dropping all year, but hadn’t yet

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