Christmas is technically over, but you know what that means?
IT’S LEFTOVER SEASON, BABY! 🎅🍗🍾🍬
About Larson Educational Services:
Utilizing 40 years of real estate training and professional education experience, Florida real estate school Larson Educational Services is the premier provider of Florida real estate licensing, exam preparation, post-licensing, CAM licensing, mortgage loan originator licensing, and continuing education in Southwest Florida. Classes are available in Fort Myers, Naples, Sarasota, and online. We are an approved Florida Real Estate School (License #ZH1002299), Florida CAM School (License #PRE31), Florida Insurance School (License # 370501) and NMLS Approved Course Provider.
Utilizing 40 years of real estate training and professional education experience, Florida real estate school Larson Educational Services is the premier provider of Florida real estate licensing, exam preparation, post-licensing, CAM licensing, mortgage loan originator licensing, and continuing education in Southwest Florida. Classes are available in Fort Myers, Naples, Sarasota, and online. We are an approved Florida Real Estate School (License #ZH1002299), Florida CAM School (License #PRE31), Florida Insurance School (License # 370501) and NMLS Approved Course Provider.
Utilizing 40 years of real estate training and professional education experience, Florida real estate school Larson Educational Services is the premier provider of Florida real estate licensing, exam preparation, post-licensing, CAM licensing, mortgage loan originator licensing, and continuing education in Southwest Florida. Classes are available in Fort Myers, Naples, Sarasota, and online. We are an approved Florida Real Estate School (License #ZH1002299), Florida CAM School (License #PRE31), Florida Insurance School (License # 370501) and NMLS Approved Course Provider.
We protect and serve the Southwest Florida community by keeping real estate agents off the streets every day.
You’re welcome.
About Larson Educational Services:
Utilizing 40 years of real estate training and professional education experience, Florida real estate school Larson Educational Services is the premier provider of Florida real estate licensing, exam preparation, post-licensing, CAM licensing, mortgage loan originator licensing, and continuing education in Southwest Florida. Classes are available in Fort Myers, Naples, Sarasota, and online. We are an approved Florida Real Estate School (License #ZH1002299), Florida CAM School (License #PRE31), Florida Insurance School (License # 370501) and NMLS Approved Course Provider.
And as a real estate professional, many of your clients and prospects may come to you through word-of-mouth referrals.
If you’re constantly prospecting like you should be, you’ll be interacting with strangers on a regular basis.
Although it’s unlikely that any of these stranger interactions will put you into danger, you still have to prepare yourself against the worst.
6. Have an escape route
You know how the flight attendants tell you before takeoff  to look around for the nearest exit in case of an emergency (keeping in mind that it may be behind you)?
Practice the same procedure when doing a house showing–know beforehand what the exit and entry points of the property are, just in case you get uncomfortable with a particular client.
It’s also a good practice to keep all of the doors unlocked during a showing.
7. Self defense
It’s becoming more common for real estate agents to learn self defense as a best practice when preparing to show homes.
There is nothing to lose from taking a self-defense course–you’ll feel safer not only at work as a real estate agent, but also in everyday life.
8. Make yourself identifiable
Wear your brokerage or Realtor ID badge and keep your car clearly marked with your company’s name.
If you find yourself needing assistance, you will be best served by making yourself easy to identify–you can tell somebody that you have a large name tag and you are driving a car with your company name on it, both of which combined could describe only you.
9. Follow the leader
Have your prospect walk in front of you when you enter and tour the home. This way they have less of a physical advantage if they were to attempt to corner you in the home somehow.
You can gesture them in certain directions with simple points and verbal cues, such as, “the guest bedroom is on your right down this hall.”
10. Trust your instincts
If a prospect is giving you a fishy vibe, there is nothing wrong with prematurely ending a showing.Â
You don’t have to tell them explicitly that’s what you’re doing, as this could lead to defensive behavior from the prospect.
Simply say that that something urgent has come up at the office and you must get back immediately.
This not only allows you to step away from the interaction, but it also creates an excuse to be on your phone looking for police assistance (when you are ostensibly messaging the office about the fake urgent event that’s pulling you away from the prospect).
Apologize as needed and tell them that someone else from the office will be in touch about rescheduling (which is not necessary to follow through on if the prospect crossed a social or professional boundary).
All in all, remember that it is your right and obligation to yourself to prioritize your safety. No potential sale is worth risking your well-being. If you feel uneasy with a client, step away as you feel appropriate.
Utilizing 40 years of real estate training and professional education experience, Florida real estate school Larson Educational Services is the premier provider of Florida real estate licensing, exam preparation, post-licensing, CAM licensing, mortgage loan originator licensing, and continuing education in Southwest Florida. Classes are available in Fort Myers, Naples, Sarasota, and online. We are an approved Florida Real Estate School (License #ZH1002299), Florida CAM School (License #PRE31), Florida Insurance School (License # 370501) and NMLS Approved Course Provider.
And as a real estate professional, many of your clients and prospects may come to you through word-of-mouth referrals.
If you’re constantly prospecting like you should be, you’ll be interacting with strangers on a regular basis.
Although it’s unlikely that any of these stranger interactions will put you into danger, you still have to prepare yourself against the worst.
1.Protect your private information
Just because Facebook has an option of providing your address doesn’t mean you should give it. With the constant sharing inherent to social media, it’s easy to accidentally give away enough information to locate your home, your family, and when you go on vacation.
Best practice is to keep vacation photos off of social media until you return home and, in general, keep private identifying information off the internet.
Likewise, as a real estate professional, you may want to consider using a separate camera for business.
2. Use teamwork
Ask a fellow agent from your brokerage to join you on private showings.
If a certain prospect or client is considering doing something that might put your safety at risk, you’ll be more likely to deter their behavior with both you and your colleague rather than going by yourself.
3. Announce your showing schedule
Sometimes it’s not feasible to bring a colleague along for a showing, but at least let a coworker know your scheduled location. No, you don’t have to sing your schedule from the rooftops (you’d look a little goofy hollering out “I HAVE A SHOWWINNGGG!” in your brokerage office like Marlon Brando yelling “STELLAAA!” at the end of A Streetcar Named Desire), but at least let someone know your anticipated return time from a showing.
4. Verify customer info
If you’re hosting an open house, make sure you get a signature and phone number (or e-mail) from every attendee who stops by.
This not only protects you by deterring some unsavory person from getting too close for comfort in a somewhat confined space, but it also protects your client’s property from being stolen. (Who wants to steal from someone who knows their face, name, and contact information?)
And if you’re doing an individual showing, make sure to obtain some form of ID and an address from the potential client.
This system provides you with a nice ready-made contact list as well.
5. Scope out the location before-hand
A big part of staying safe (in any situation) is having situational awareness.
This is true whether you’re hiking or showing a new home for the first time.
Get a feeling for your surroundings by taking the time to familiarize yourself with the neighborhood.
(Heck, while you’re at it you might stumble upon some hidden gems in the neighborhood that you didn’t know about before. Win-win!)
Check back next time for part 2.
About Larson Educational Services:
Utilizing 40 years of real estate training and professional education experience, Florida real estate school Larson Educational Services is the premier provider of Florida real estate licensing, exam preparation, post-licensing, CAM licensing, mortgage loan originator licensing, and continuing education in Southwest Florida. Classes are available in Fort Myers, Naples, Sarasota, and online. We are an approved Florida Real Estate School (License #ZH1002299), Florida CAM School (License #PRE31), Florida Insurance School (License # 370501) and NMLS Approved Course Provider.
Utilizing 40 years of real estate training and professional education experience, Florida real estate school Larson Educational Services is the premier provider of Florida real estate licensing, exam preparation, post-licensing, CAM licensing, mortgage loan originator licensing, and continuing education in Southwest Florida. Classes are available in Fort Myers, Naples, Sarasota, and online. We are an approved Florida Real Estate School (License #ZH1002299), Florida CAM School (License #PRE31), Florida Insurance School (License # 370501) and NMLS Approved Course Provider.
No matter how far along you are in your career—whether you’re a real estate newbie or a seasoned veteran—you won’t succeed without a well thought out plan.
And when we talk about a marketing plan, we’re not talking about your ideas to write a blog whenever inspiration hits, or to create videos when you have time (if your plans are only in your head, they are little more than pipe dreams).
We’re talking about a detailed plan to jumpstart your business through specific actions.
A marketing plan is:
a document that details you or your company’s marketing goals for a specific timeline, including a detailed step-by-step framework for achieving those goals.
Think of it as the blueprint you’ll use to guide the construction of your real estate career—your process for promoting your services.
Some quick tips for getting started:
Allot a significant amount of time preparing the plan
All goals within the plan should be reachable (with specific steps for reaching them)
Keep it easily accessible for reference
Share with the necessary people who can help enact the plan
Refer to it regularly (say every quarter)
Be willing to adjust it
How to Create Your Marketing Plan
Without clearly defined goals, your time and money with both be spent inefficiently.
Whether you’re an agent, home inspector, mortgage loan originator, appraiser, or notary public, just joining a team or setting up your office is not enough to attract customers.
You need to find them through marketing.
Although the details of marketing plans may vary, there are still some universal elements that every plan needs.
1. Clearly define your goals
Every subsequent step is based on this one, so it must be right. Maybe you have one specific goal or several—whether it’s driving more traffic to your website, increasing your number of clients, or reaching a higher revenue point—you won’t accomplish any of it without writing it down first.
2. Find your niche
What separates you from your competitors?
The answer to this question will help guide you to discovering your niche in the market.
Once you discover your niche, that knowledge will drive the tone of your marketing plan.
3. Find your target market
You cannot reach everybody.
Trying to reach every person is the same as attempting to reach nobody. Because time and money and effort are finite resources, you must necessarily exclude some potential customers in your marketing plan in order to more directly reach your target clients. (This comment is called “Hiding in Infinity.” Read more about it here.)
4. What’s your message?
Here’s where you get to have a little more fun.
What do you want to say to your audience and how do you want to say it?
Are your marketing materials going to be playful, professional—maybe a little bit of both?
Without a game plan going into it, your tone will be inconsistent.
Take a mountaintop view of your marketing plan and imagine how your brand will appear across various mediums and social media platforms.
5. What’s your budget?
How much are you going to spend on your marketing plan every month, quarter, or year?
It’s possible that the amount you spend could be zero—it’s possible (at least as far as money is concerned). However…
 Remember that your budget includes time, as well.
Defining a budget helps you cap expenditures before you get ahead of yourself trying to reach goals that may not be within reach yet given your revenue.
You may hate crunching the numbers, but it’s a necessary step, otherwise you may find yourself with a plan that has no financial backing.
What about traditional marketing like magazine and newspaper ads, direct mail, and perhaps even billboards?
You don’t necessarily need to be everywhere, but you do need to think of the best channels through which to reach your audience.
Where do your potential clients?
Where do they spend their time?
You need to be right there with them.
7. Cultivate a content expertise
Try adding a blog to your website to share and post original content. Contribute to other real estate websites. Stay consistent and, over time, if you are adding value to people’s lives, you will be seen as a market expert.
People will begin to trust you.
Google will begin to trust you.
Your website and related content will rise in Google’s search results.
More clients will come to you.
8. Delegate
Your team (if you have one) needs to know about your marketing plan in order for it to come to fruition.
Get their buy-in from the beginning and set the plan into motion.Â
To sign up for classes with Larson Educational Services, visit our website, LarsonEd.com, or give us a call at 239-344-7510.
About Larson Educational Services:
Utilizing 40 years of real estate training and professional education experience, Florida real estate school Larson Educational Services is the premier provider of Florida real estate licensing, exam preparation, post-licensing, CAM licensing, mortgage loan originator licensing, and continuing education in Southwest Florida. Classes are available in Fort Myers, Naples, Sarasota, and online. We are an approved Florida Real Estate School (License #ZH1002299), Florida CAM School (License #PRE31), Florida Insurance School (License # 370501) and NMLS Approved Course Provider.
Understanding the needs of your clients is the first step to better serving them.
The next step is understanding their fears.
Why did your client choose now to obtain life insurance?
What obstacles stand in the way of them making the decision to get coverage?
What are their desired outcomes from their plan?
The answers to these questions could put you on the road to providing the best service possible for your clients.
Income Replacement
In general, when a client is obtaining a new life insurance policy or trying to change their current coverage, you’ll use their current income as the starting point to decide the right amount of coverage for them.
However, there is often a serious disconnect between reality and perception when it comes to client benefits.
For example, according to LIMRA’s 2016 Insurance Barometer Study about 60 percent of life insurance clients see their policy as a potential replacement for lost income when they pass away (see page 20 of the study).
These consumers are often under the impression that their benefits will be paid out in a lump sum upon death.
Thus, they may see a lump sum payment as a deterrent, especially if they have a family that will need payments in regular intervals.
Let these consumers know that most policies can be arranged to pay out at regular intervals, thus quelling your clients’Â fears about lost income.
Given the prevalence of the assumption that policies only pay in lump sums, you can attract and keep more clients if you offer options that pay at regular intervals after they’ve passed.
Flexibility Over Time
Another deterrent for consumers acquiring a policy is the fear that they will be locked in to the same policy for years, even if their needs change.
Flexibility will win.
A younger family getting coverage might be better served by being over-covered rather than being under-covered, given the possibility that their net worth and income might increase before they reach retirement age. (Plus, they might prefer this option as opposed to coming into your office every 5 years to change their coverage.)
Over-coverage is not a problem as long as you are flexible with your clients and communicate openly.
According to that same LIMRA study, about 30 percent of consumers are interested in changing their policies over time.
By being open about your flexibility, and by offering products that have many possibilities, you are more likely to retain clients.
Remember: you’re trying to provide for these people for the long term—you want clients for life. The more willing you are to meet them in the middle and be open and honest with them, the better served they will be and the more business you’ll attract.
To sign up for LarsonEd insurance courses, visit our website, LarsonEd.com, or give us a call at 239-344-7510.
About Larson Educational Services:
Utilizing 40 years of real estate training and professional education experience, Florida real estate school Larson Educational Services is the premier provider of Florida real estate licensing, exam preparation, post-licensing, CAM licensing, mortgage loan originator licensing, and continuing education in Southwest Florida. Classes are available in Fort Myers, Naples, Sarasota, and online. We are an approved Florida Real Estate School (License #ZH1002299), Florida CAM School (License #PRE31), Florida Insurance School (License # 370501) and NMLS Approved Course Provider.
If we ever decide to expand to the east coast, we’ll be ready.
Check out our class schedule here: LarsonEd.com
#Miami #larson #vice #larsoned #florida #naples #fortmyers #realestate #school #floridarealestateschool
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Naples Real Estate School 
