If there is one question that stirs debate amongst real estate bloggers, it’s whether or not it is “correct” to blog about your listings.

On the surface, this may seem like a no-brainer. Your blog is a marketing platform, it’s quite likely advertising (another subject of much debate) and hopefully people are coming to it in droves – all chomping at the bit to view, and buy, your sellers’ listings.

But let’s step back and look at the big picture and take a look at the pro’s and con’s of blogging listings.

The Pro’s

Sellers want to see their listings in as many places as possible. If you have an established blog with some readership, there is no question that blogging a listing will expose it to more people. And exposure for a listing is generally a good thing.

In addition to getting good exposure for the listing, it can also provide good exposure for you. And whether you want to admit it or not, you are blogging to market not just your listings, but yourself.

The Con’s

Blog posts about listings can be boring. Take for example the typical pitch: Continue reading this post

Leads are the lifeblood for an agent. Without leads it really doesn’t matter what else you do well. If you have no leads you have no one to convert to a client and therefore no one to follow up with and no sales to close.

I think a successful REALTOR® will have more than one avenue in his lead generation model. If one method fails or slows he/she will have other ways to keep his business successful.

Consistency is one of the main keys in a successful Real Estate practice. I think you have to pick about 3 lead generation tools—a 3-legged stool if you will –- that will keep your pipeline full.

The three we use are as follows:

1) Internet—Surprise!

We use a combination of our own websites and the HomeGain system. Our own sites include one devoted specifically to Fort Benning, Georgia, Real Estate as well as one devoted to Columbus Georgia Real Estate and rank well on their own merit. Continue reading this post

Today, in a further demonstration of our commitment to employee satisfaction, we officially opened the HomeGain Employee Lounge.

The spacious lounge which is equipped with a wide-screen TV, complete kitchen, complimentary breakfast cereals and coffee, was decorated for the occasion with balloons that streamed towards the 40 foot ceiling.

Concurrent with the opening of the lounge, we also kicked off our Second Annual Employee Appreciation Month.

With the entire staff of ‘Gainers present in the new lounge, the Members of the HomeGain Employee Activities Committee outlined some of the fun activities they have scheduled for HomeGain employees.

A few of the planned activities during May include: a scavenger hunt, a trivia contest, a build Max a home out of office supplies contest based on an AgentEvaluator profile Max filled out and a special day when HomeGain Managers will cook and serve breakfast to their direct reports at their desks.

Employee Appreciation Month will conclude with a firm wide picnic at the Emeryville Marina.

Louis Cammarosano

Continue reading this post

As HomeGain enters to the Web 2.0 world people have been asking “What took you so long?”

The simple answer is we believe a business is run first and foremost on satisfying the needs of your customer base and making sure you provide an enjoyable and challenging work environment for your employees.

These two goals come first. Creating buzz is secondary.

HomeGain recently created the HomeGain Agent Blogging Network that gives our AgentView customers free blogs. We did this not to create buzz (although we did generate a fair amount) but rather due to customer demand for such a product.

We aim to meet the needs of our customers. Our customer is the real estate professional. Wherever we have real estate professionals as our customers, we feature them prominently in an ad free environment. Continue reading this post

The market is slow in most parts of the country and how to cope with current market conditions is a hot topic at office meetings, online forums and water cooler discussions.

When I talk to experienced agents and ask them how they are handling the current climate, they usually mention going back to “the basics.” I concur, but it occurs to me that anyone who hasn’t been in the real estate business for more than 5 years doesn’t have a clue of what the rest of us are talking about.

I’ll be the first to admit that for many of us, the past few years were a great ride, but one that didn’t require skills beyond how to deal with multiple contract situations. We worked hard but it was an easy kind of hard, if that makes sense. We didn’t need to worry about “the basics.”

We paddled as fast as we could, worked a lot of hours, and for those of us that were able to put good systems in place, we made a lot of money.

I drove past a little house in Groton, CT yesterday. I hadn’t been by that house in years and the memories of my early career brought a smile to my face. That little house was my very first listing in 1977 from a seller who wasn’t a friend or previous acquaintance.

I can thank “the basics” for that listing Continue reading this post

Barry Cunningham and Barry Johnson of Real Estate Radio USA open their April 30 radio show by discussing the launch of HomeGain’s new Agent Blogging Network with Louis Cammarosano.

Hear the story behind the origin of the agent blogging platform and how it came to fruition. Find out why real estate agents [and others in the real estate industry] are so excited and how they are already benefiting. Also find out how to get your own Agent Blog.

Barry Johnson stated: “The agent’s page clearly displays the person’s picture, contact info, blog posts, and a question box. It’s everything a consumer wants to see. That’s worth gold to some Realtors.”

Listen to the radio show Continue reading this post