As I’m sure you know, a website is your lifeline to the outside world. Your website is an excellent way to market to the masses and it’s especially important for real estate professionals to reach potential clients online. With over 80% of all home buyers searching the Internet first when looking for a new home (or looking for help in selling their home), it makes sense to have a well designed and optimized website to reach them.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be a computer geek to figure out how to develop a new website. Jodi Diehl, owner of Sunfrog Services, specializes in web design and has graciously provided information on selecting a web designer, the first step to getting online in order to maximize your exposure.

How to select a website designer:

1. Ask for references / portfolio

An established web designer will have a portfolio (most often on their website) showing previous websites he/she has developed. You should take the time to review their portfolio as well as ask for references from previous clients. You want to be sure the person you select to create your website knows their stuff and won’t be “learning on the job” on your dime.

2. Discuss software

There are numerous HTML editing software programs available nowadays. While all get the job done, the code on the backend isn’t always pretty. Dirty HTML code on your website can have an adverse affect on your search engine rankings. Ask your potential contractor which software they use to develop websites. You will want someone that either (1) develops code by hand – manually writing the HTML statements or (2) uses a high-quality program like Dreamweaver (http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/) or GoLive (http://www.adobe.com/products/golive/).

3. Evaluate awareness / knowledge

A website is more than just graphics and text. It is built from HTML code that should be clean and accurate according to current coding standards.

• HTML code

You should ask your potential designer if they validate their work once complete to ensure the final website meets current guidelines. The most popular tool for website validation is at W3C - http://validator.w3.org/.

• Style sheets

Ask your designer if they use CSS to handle layout. A good website will include a style sheet (CSS) to determine how your text, graphics and other items will be displayed within your site. The old method of manually assigning an attribute to each item is no longer good coding practice. Style sheets can be validated through W3C at - http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/.

4. Determine attentiveness

During your initial conversation(s), does this designer listen to your statements or are they quick to say “yeah – I can do that”? You want someone that is going to take the time to understand you, your business and your target audience. Your website must appeal to your web visitors, be easy to navigate, spider well in the search engines and accurately reflect your company’s image. Your selected designer should make you feel they “get” your ideas and instill a confidence that your website will accomplish your goals.

5. Consider investment versus return

The old adage “you get what you pay for” is one that applies to the online world as well. Your website is the virtual showroom window to your business. Cutting corners by hiring a less expensive designer may mean you sacrifice quality. Spending a little more to ensure you have a reputable designer is a worthwhile investment compared to having a mediocre website that suffers in the search engines and does not capture the attention of your visitors.

By implementing these tips you should be able to find the right designer for you. This will make the job of putting together a website much easier and less taxing. Good luck and don’t forget an important step in the website process, Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Next month we’ll have updated information on what the search engines are looking for so you can increase your exposure with Google, Yahoo, MSN and others.

Evy Williams is our VA QUICK TIPS columnist. She specializes in designing marketing materials to sell homes through her company, BrochuresByDesign.com. She holds a Master’s degree in Administration and is a certified Master Virtual Assistant, Military Spouse Virtual Assistant, Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Real Estate Support Specialist and is EthicsChecked. Contact her at Evy@BrochuresByDesign.com

You may contact Sunfrog Services at:

SunFrogServices.com
931 North SR 434, Suite 1201-158
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714
Phone: 866-740-8181
Fax: 866-740-9191
Email: info@sunfrogservices.com

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These are the four biggest blocks I’ve seen clients encounter (and why I hope you won’t…)

1. Repeating the same action over and over and expecting different results

The biggest enemy to sales is the status quo. When sales trainers say that phrase, we are usually referring to prospects. The idea is that most people find it to be very difficult to let go of what they are used to doing (even if it’s not working for them) and so it is frequently difficult to persuade a prospect to make a change. Hence, the biggest enemy to sales is the status quo.

What is interesting is that the same rule is true of anyone in sales. The biggest enemy to your sales is the status quo–your status quo.

One can always sell more. One can always streamline an approach, become more efficient, develop new skills and/or refine existing skills. Yet all too frequently I have seen and heard participants in training sessions adamantly insist that sales habits which do not produce results for them “ought to” work. And I have seen and heard participants refuse to try other approaches because they don’t believe those changes will work for them.

What I’ve always loved about sales is that it is crystal clear. You are either selling or you are not. You are either closing or you are not. When prospecting, you are either scheduling appointments or you are not. If what you are doing is not working for you, it’s time to do something else.

The sales professionals who are truly successful are the ones who continue to hone their skills. Keep what works for you and always be on the look out for tools to use to improve your bottom line.

2. Not doing the homework

Some prospects are better than others. Before conducting any sales activity it is imperative to know that you are focusing only on your best, most qualified prospects. By best, I mean those who are most likely to buy, buy a lot and keep coming back to buy more. Too many sales representatives spend too much time courting prospects who are unlikely to buy, or if they do, buy very little.

Create your “qualifying parameters.” What are the specifics that make a prospect qualified for you? The prospects that you pursue must meet those parameters. And one of those parameters must be that you are speaking with the decision-maker. If you are not speaking with the decision-maker, you are not speaking with a qualified prospect.

3. Expecting instant results

Selling is a process. Your prospects, more than likely, will not instantly say, “yes.” They will probably, at least initially, not even return your phone calls. Too many representatives give up far too soon. They believe their prospects are not interested when the truth is that the selling process simply needs more time.

It is important to understand your sales process. Every sale has a cycle and depending on what you are selling, it could be a short cycle or it could be quite lengthy. While some companies are in the very fortunate position of having prospects contact them, many others are not and need to continually be prospecting for new opportunities.

Remember: Selling is your number one priority. Buying is not your prospect’s number one priority. Even if the prospect contacted you, in the interim things can happen that claim that prospect’s attention. It is your job to help your prospect stay focused and on track and understand the value that you have to offer.

4. Letting fear and preconceived ideas rule your actions

“I don’t want to be ‘pushy.’” I have heard this phrase over and over and over in workshops, in teleclasses and when working with individual clients. It’s a phrase that always frustrates me. What exactly does it mean, anyway? No one knows because everyone has a different definition.

What’s interesting is that the only definition of “pushy” that actually counts is the definition of your prospect.

Now we’re into mind reading territory. To truly not be “pushy” you’d have to discover what your prospect means by that word and whatever that is, not do it.

The problem with worrying about being “pushy” (or being too “salesy” or too “aggressive” or any of the other things sales people worry about) is that it stops you from taking action. Without action, you will not sell.

Bottom line: Selling is a communication skill. And like any communication skill, it can be learned and improved upon.

If there are people having success in your chosen field, there is no reason that you cannot have the same success.

Educate yourself. Read books, attend teleseminars or live seminars, talk to colleagues, hire a coach do whatever it takes to gain the skills that you need to be successful.

Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling,” is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, The Miracle Appointment-Setting Script, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://www.queenofcoldcalling.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy’s free Special Report, How to Write an Effective Cold Calling Script, at http://www.queenofcoldcalling.com

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I am all for scripting. I think it is a useful tool for you to use so that you are prepared with an answer. However, that’s as far as it should go, because scripting can be a dangerous habit that can turn into a cliché. I was reading a blog in the Wall Street Journal Online. The question for the professional was something like this…”a few years ago my real estate agent said that it was ‘a great time to buy real estate.’ Today I talked to my real estate agent and she said that ‘it was a great time to buy real estate.’ What is the truth?”

The writer answered the blog with something to the effect that Real Estate Agents are in the business of selling real estate, etc. and so forth. Then came the responses from the public. What do you suppose the first response was? “All Realtors® are liars, they are worse than lawyers!” Other responses were not as direct, but certainly not very flattering. I dwelled on this for a few days and experienced several emotions. One was to take a defensive posture and defend Real Estate Agents. Then I stopped myself before I wrote something stupid, because I remember something from my psychology training…”in every statement made in anger, no matter how irrational, there is always a hint of truth.” I further looked at this response, and of course I see the flaws, like the word “all”, and it is easily dismissed. However, I began to wonder why this person made such a harsh statement and it caused me to look at the original question that was asked. Then I looked at what the agent said, “it’s a great time to buy real estate.” My wife, a successful agent, has 8 buyers’ agents. She trains them personally on a weekly basis, and also teaches a phone course to buyers’ agents across North America. She focuses a great deal on “scripts” because she wants her buyers’ agents to be prepared. One of the common scripts is to use the phrase “it’s a great time to buy real estate.” I think I begin to know where that harsh response came from.

I am a sports fan, not that I like all sports, but the one’s I do like, I am a large fan of. Periodically when I am watching one of my favorites, the reporter will interview a player after the game is over, and the reporter may ask a question like, “how did you do it, in such an impressive victory?” I can tell you the responses will pretty much be like, “well it was really a team effort”, “we really worked hard in practice this week”, “we made a decision to take one game at a time”, or “we are really coming together as a team”. I can tell you from a fan perspective of wanting something more, it leaves me with nothing when I hear these statements, further, it irritates me to no end. At times I say to myself, “you are such a liar”, you just hit the winning homerun, you just made the game saving tackle, you just threw the winning touchdown, and your telling me all these cliché statements. Give me a break, you did it. I know you couldn’t do it on your own, but still you liar, you feel good about it and you will brag about it to your wife and friends.

So, how do you think the general public perceives you, when you make such cliché’ statements about real estate? What’s worse, what if people have to read your cliché’s on a regular basis on your website? You think they are leaving because you have too much to read, but no, they leave because you are using your clichéd scripts to try to convince people to do business with you. Stop the madness!! As a student of human behavior and relationships, the one thing I can tell you is that people want to be “relational.” They want to know that the person on the other end of the phone, at the other end of the email, or at the other end of the website is really truly trying to understand them and speak to them about their needs, wants, and desires. People DO NOT want to be talked to, sold, or clichéd. They want understanding of their individual unique situation.

I am constantly asked, “why doesn’t my website work? Why don’t people ask me for information? Why am I not getting more inquiries?” The first thing I do is read. If I read your website and you are too cliché’, or you’re too scripted, I want to click away, because I immediately don’t trust you. The number of leads in today’s market are a bit thinner than they were a year or two ago. If people are not staying around your site, or leaving it immediately, it may be because you are not able to communicate to the needs, wants, and desires of your target market because you are too well scripted. So here’s an idea, try being relational. Here’s a cliché with which you can find a ton of truth in: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

Jay Izso aka “Dr. Jay” has his Masters of Science degree in Psychology from Washington State University. He was a former instructor of Human Learning and Motivation, Experimental Psychology, and Statistics at Washington State and North Carolina State University. He has been part of the Linda Craft Top 50 Internationally Ranked RE/MAX Team located in Raleigh, NC, since 1996 where he developed Linda’s award winning Websites and cutting edge technologies. He is also head coach for the Mr. Internet® Total Solutions Coaching program. Many of his articles and writings and observations can be read at www.realestatepsychologist.com.

Jay Izso, “Dr Jay”, M.S., Broker

Internet Doctor

1641 Stannard Trail

Raleigh, NC 27612

919.369.2121

Toll Free: 800.506.0633

FAX: 800.506.0633

doc@InternetDr.com

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I recently took part in a Blog Q&A session with Coach Ken Goodfellow. Below is a recap of our discussion.

Coach Ken: It seems like Blogging is getting a lot of media attention lately. What is your advice about starting a blog.

Brad: Blogging has many benefits from both Search Engine Optimization and attracting new clients. Search Engines love it because it’s fresh and unique content. Site visitors love them because blogs are geared around information and not about hard selling. The other good thing about blogs is that there are great opportunities out there. NAR just released a statistic that only 5% of Realtors are blogging. This means that there is a wide open opportunity to become the expert in your area. And search engines and site visitors are not the only ones that pay attention to blogs. Traditional media are relying more and more on “bloggers” for quotes and expert advice. This allows you to truly be seen as the area expert.

Coach Ken: I know that for most real estate agents, time is an issue. What kind of time commitment does it take to be a successful blogger?

Brad: Blogging does take time. But like all marketing strategies, you have to weigh the cost (money or time) against the return on investment. Imagine if an agent had a chance to speak in front of hundreds or even thousands of potential buyers and sellers. Most agents would probably jump at the opportunity. That is exactly what blogging is all about - being the expert for hundreds of your readers. And don’t forget about the ancillary benefits. One of our clients has only been blogging for a few months. He already has over 5,000 websites linking to his blog. Including places like the Miami Herald, New York Times, Inman News, and thousands of other blogs. On many of his keywords, his blog site actually outranks his main website!

Coach Ken: Does he write all the content himself? Obviously it sounds like the payoff is there - but what about people who may not be the best writers or people who simply don’t have the time.

Brad: He does write all the content himself. In the blog world there is a phrase you hear repeated quite often. “Find your Blog Voice.” You don’t have to be the best writer. But you do have to be a good communicator. Luckily, being a successful Realtor pretty much requires you to be a good communicator. You don’t have to be able to write poetry, you just have to find your style (blog voice) and do what feels comfortable to you. But I do realize that not everyone can or wants to write. Even then, you can get pretty creative about keeping your blog updated.

Coach Ken: Give us a few ideas.

Brad: Sure, Ghost writing is one example. That simply means having someone write on your behalf. When you’re doing this, be sure that the ghost writer knows you enough to convey your personality and style. Remember, your readers will begin to learn your style. They will expect that same style when they see you face to face.

Another idea is to draw from the resources in your preferred partnerships. Negotiate a win-win situation for both parties. For example, have a mortgage broker write a monthly blog on interest rates or something related to the mortgage industry. It’s free advertising for him and it’s unique content for you.

You can also link up with other businesses that are not necessarily related to real estate. Interview business owners about how great it is to live/work in your area. Interview local politicians, school board members, builders, bank owners, CEOs, etc - they will jump at the opportunity to have free exposure and build “good will” in the community.

Get creative and do anything to find unique content. If you have a team, have a buyer agent do a “Day in the life of” post. Let consumers see what it’s like to be a Realtor for a day. This is a great way to soft sell the many things you do to earn your commission!

Coach Ken: Okay, let’s say these agents want to start a blog tomorrow. What options are out there? How do they know the best route to take that is going to have the most impact on their search engine optimization and ultimately their business?

Brad: Scalability is the key. What I mean by that is you want a blog platform that is going to grow with you and be easy to use. That’s such a key ingredient. The reality is that if your blog is not easy to use, then you will be less likely to keep it up. There are a lot of companies that have proprietary software platforms for blogs. But unfortunately you are locked into their system and do not have a lot of growing room. The flip side to this is free blogs. While these are good to use in your total online marketing presence, they should not be used as your main blog. Personally, we use the WordPress platform for all blogs that we build. It’s great because it’s low cost to implement and it gives you tons of flexibility and growing room.

Coach Ken: I want to go back to something you mentioned earlier. You used the phrase “online marketing presence.” Can you touch on that? I know some people think that their online marketing only consist of their website. Can you talk about that for a moment?

Brad: That’s a great point. It used to be that easy. Put up a website and watch the leads pour in. But now days that simple strategy is being harder and harder - Let me give you an example, most people think that Search Engine optimization (where your site appears in the search results) is just based on the content on the site. If I have a site about real estate widgets then all I need to do is have a website about real estate widgets and I will be at the top. But your site’s content is only one of many factors. Google and other search engines take many things into consideration including how many websites are linking to you (and I don’t mean just link farms) as well as credibility, age, amount of content, and a host of other factors. And search engines are not the only ones looking beyond your website. The whole Web 2.0 craze has people relying more on places like social networks to get the information that they need. You want to be where those people are and ultimately point everything back to your main website. You want your website to be the ultimate authority on a subject. It’s only then will you see rankings in search engines. Imagine this – You have a circle in the center of a piece of paper that represents your website. Now think about lots of smaller circles around scattered around the piece of paper. Each of those smaller circles represents other websites. They could be the chamber of commerce, MySpace, Active Rain etc. Each of those smaller circles needs to point to your main website. They basically need to say “Yes we have some information about real estate widgets but the ultimate resource on real estate widgets is this main flagship website. You can see an example here.

Coach Ken: So are there particular websites that help you build an online presence?

Brad: Yes, hundreds of them. But remember, its quality not quantity. Most people make the mistake of just throwing up a ton of duplicated content on lots of different sources and then say that this strategy doesn’t work. I actually wrote a post about that on my blog the other day. Again, it’s all about thinking creatively. If you have a blog, then you have a good chance at being quoted in your local newspaper. Newspaper websites are reference websites and therefore are great links to your website. You can upload content to MySpace, YouTube, ActiveRain, the list just goes on and on. Michael Russer and I recently wrote an eBook about this exact subject. It’s called the Real Estate Website Accelerator. It breaks down how to drive traffic to your site using these and other sources.

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These agents in Pennsylvania resort country maintain that embracing technology, constantly learning its nuances and going virtual are key in differentiating themselves as successful leaders in the industry.

Dear Michael,

We first met you five years ago in Pittsburgh, when you addressed our entire Prudential office staff. As is our custom, we usually go out to dinner with the speaker the night before the presentation. As we walked away from our dinner meeting, I said, “This guy is on to something!” It made me pick my head up and listen to your messages; ones that would harken a new way to not only do business in the future, but keep us afloat and above the competition.

Our business is our priority. The fact that we are and have always been open to new business concepts and changes in the world, naturally predisposed us to taking a closer look at the concepts of virtual assistance and the use of burgeoning technology.

We are very involved in our realtor organizations; we are on the board of directors of the National CBR and NAR associations; we travel about 8 times a year and are on the road, literally, about 45 days out of the year. For many years, before virtual assistance began to become a buzz word, we recognized the beauty of putting the concept in motion and running our business from wherever we were…and are! Our communication model and the way we conduct business is ever changing. In truth, we embraced the virtual model five years ago, when we looked at our business plan and replaced a static model with a virtual one.

Because of our lifestyle and literal “housecalls” to far flung or out-of-state clients, we took the virtual concept one step further and actually became virtual agents. We freed ourselves from the traditional in-office real estate agent model and continue to effectively represent our clients regardless of where we physically are. We have a virtual secretary who comes into the office to file and do updates, but if the weather is really bad in our part of the world, she doesn’t have to come into the office at all and can work from home. If the technology wasn’t there, you couldn’t accomplish this comfortably.

Probably, the biggest glitch in going virtual is mindset—or changing it. As you know, agents, in general, are not willing to jump on anything that requires more effort than the status quo. It’s simple human psychology - if something works, don’t tamper with it.

Our target/niche market focuses on sellers and second-home owners and buyers. Our business plan now includes the adoption of one new technology per month. These include enhancing online listings, online feedback programs, the use of Top Producer 7i, the use of a primary assistant to synchronize client notes, and more. What we have learned is that all business models are in motion and motion has taken us through the virtual world and through the internet. We are so sure of this that we encourage other agents to use VAs and take their show on the road, too! If you don’t embrace technology and leave traditional office tasks to competent experts, you will operate in an inefficient model and not be able to compete in today’s real market.

Because of our physical flexibility, we pride ourselves on superior customer service, backing up our “key to closing” service model. We can confidently advise clients, “mail us the key and tell us where you want the check to go. We do everything else for you.”

Customers place a high value on face-to-face service. Stereotypically, agents don’t make the effort or are unavailable to meet clients in some locations. It’s not unusual for us to get into our car and travel two hours to spend a day with a client getting started in the selling process. We can do this because we have enlisted the benefits of technology to take care of our business needs. We are very pleased with a house-showing coordination center, based in Boston, called E-Showings. When a client sees an interesting listing in the MLS slot, they are contacted by showing agents, who meet with them, and input property information into a system database along with the client’s particular comments or concerns. This provides us with very valuable feedback, is time-saving and serves the client quickly and efficiently. We also use Realtor.com, which offers featured space for virtual property tours. One of the new technologies we will be offering are video tours. Through Microsoft’s local mapping technology (Local Live), Realtors® and clients alike can view the actual geographic characteristics of a particular property.

Our newsletter offers a personal touch to our clients, including interesting local facts and community news pertinent to the new home owner. In addition, we are on 13 different internet sites for total saturation. We diligently aim to stay about 3 to 4 years ahead of our competition, some of whom are just starting to implement the systems we already have in place. Once we master the tasks ourselves, we delegate them out. And, we continually chase people (like you!) who can teach us new things.

Loving what we do as we do, there is no better way to say we have been successful than to attribute it to our thirst for learning and commitment to technology! Embrace it and it will not let you down. Going virtual requires extra effort on the part of the agent; time and money to create an exemplary client service model, continuous energy to stay in the lead of virtual services. If you want to differentiate yourself today and in the future, it is the path you must take.

Sincerely,

Bob and Adrienne Wagner

(”Wags and Abe”)

Wags and Abe may be the veritable poster children of the virtual business model, by embracing technology and using its advances as steppingstones to their next level of leadership in the industry.

They may be contacted at:

Prudential Preferred Realty
3802 State Route 31 – Suite 1
Donegal, PA 15628
(800) 419-7653
(Fax) (724)593-6123
awagner@topproducer.com
www.abeandwags.com

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Have you ever walked into an office and felt that elegant confidence that is produced by a team of individuals who enjoy their occupation, excel at their tasks, and perhaps most importantly, thrive within an industrious and creative community? A rapport like this doesn’t happen on its own. While every individual in an office may nurture it, skillful and humane management is the key to the creation of strong community and high morale.
Management style has changed dramatically over the last few decades. People used to expect to have very few jobs during the course of their lives. With this expectation primarily outdated, relationships between management and workers have clearly changed.

In many ways, employees currently have less loyalty to their companies than they used to. Whereas obtaining a lifetime of security through staying stationary in a sole company was once held in high regard, modern professionals are more interested in finding the best, most rewarding position for themselves. And they’ll stay on the move as their ideals evolve!

This self-interest is not necessarily a bad thing for morale, however. What it means for management is that in order to have the best possible employees or team members, workers need to feel as if they are in the best possible job. Employees will be motivated…and employers will reap the benefits of a happy, productive workplace.

It’s essential to realize that what motivates one group of people is not the same for another. These motivations tend to follow generational expectations. The motivation for a lifetime of job security, for example, is most common in depression era workers, whose morale is enhanced primarily by a feeling of confidence in the security of their positions.

Employees who are in the twenty to thirty year age group have very different expectations. They will simply leave if they feel as if their needs are not met because they do not have the same anxiety about finding another job. Because of these distinct generational differences in workplace motivations and expectations, it’s important to find exactly what it is that an employee needs in order to feel that he or she is in the uniquely right position.

Despite the fact that people come from different backgrounds and respond to different motivating factors, fortunately there are some universal influences!

Say the word. One major way for employers to promote positive feelings of motivation in their workers is to let employees know that their presence makes a difference to the company as a whole. Empower your employees by letting them understand how their work positively affects the company. Ask employees “What makes a job perfect?” Sometimes simply asking is enough to let people know that you are listening, and that they are being heard.

Tune into the emotional needs of your employees. A manager of a successful company with enviably high morale shared a story of a valued employee who was part of a newly blended family. Summer childcare was something that she had never had to plan for in the past and consequently, she felt that she could not meet the demands of her work schedule. The manager listened carefully to her situation and proposed that she work from home every other week during these summer hours. The concept worked out wonderfully! The manager’s one simple act of empathy and understanding regarding the employee’s life situation produced a positive ripple effect. The employee reacted with even greater loyalty to the company, and morale in general improved as other employees observed this caring interaction.

Generate a spirit of gratitude in your office. Letting people know on a daily basis that they have done something both wanted and needed maintains a sense of your expectations on a platform of positive reinforcement.

Set and monitor the vibe. Unfortunately, one or two employees with morale problems can affect the entire atmosphere of an office. Sadly, when you walk into an office, even if you yourself are filled with enthusiasm, motivation, and high self-expectations, it is difficult not to experience a let down when another employee is engaged in negative behavior. It is the responsibility of a manager to keep a system in place that works against being undermined by the few.

Address change. Resistance to change and new authority is a common morale buster. When one employee is promoted and suddenly has authority over another who was previously a peer, managers need to address the shift immediately. Similarly, rumors and grievances that arise over changing personnel or procedures need to be taken care of quickly in order to focus the energy of the office on work, rather than morale problem solving.

Nothing personal. Sometimes an employee will have chronic personal problems and seemingly ingrained negative behaviors. This type of cycle is something that must be addressed openly, and if a solution cannot be reached, the employee may have to be let go. Otherwise, the constant negativity may create a whirlpool that steadily draws everyone into its current. Chronic complaining and defensive attitudes take their toll on morale, too.

In these cases, make sure not to become emotionally involved in an employee’s dramatic response. Stay calm, and carefully explain your expectations. Often when employers are clear about what they expect and offer boundaries, employees have the confidence to move beyond their habitual negative responses and on to creative solutions.

The best way to achieve good morale is for employers to create an environment in which promoting positivity is everyone’s responsibility. Managers are doing their best when they help all workers feel as if they are able to focus on what’s important in the office—great work everyone feels proud of!

With a client list that reads like a who’s who of the real estate industry, Ken Goodfellow (Coach Ken) brings experience and a proven track record to all his clients. As the CEO and Founder of CKG International (www.ckginternational.com ) he takes great pride in the caliber of the program offered. His proven coaching programs are highly regarded among real estate professionals as the top in the industry. In 2005 Ken was given the prestigious Business Coach of the year Award. On top of coaching Ken is widely known through out North America for his interactive and hard hitting speaking style that keeps audience wanting more. He focuses on how to make your business extremely successful. Within his first year of being in real estate Ken became a top producer and maintained that level for five years. He then went on to build his own real estate company from the ground up, creating a firm that had 3 offices and over 150 agents. After achieving success with his business, Ken moved into the training business bringing all his experience with him. With over 10 years in coaching, Ken is widely known for taking high producing agents and real estate companies to a level they never dreamed possible. www.ckginternational.com

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Everyone’s talking about SEO (search engine optimization)—but does anyone really know how to accomplish it? (The bigwigs at Google and Yahoo know, of course, but they’re not telling.) People go on and on about meta-tags, embedded copy, headlines, incoming links…the list is seemingly endless. However, most web gurus agree that the use of keywords is a critical element in successful SEO.

What is a keyword? It’s one or more words, or phrases, that succinctly sum up your target market, and that browsers type into their search engines. For example, if you specialize in first-time buyers in St. Louis, your keywords might include “first-time buyers in St. Louis” (a no-brainer), “St. Louis homebuyers” and “affordable housing in St. Louis.”

Most SEO experts tell you to use your keywords as often as possible in your web copy. Therein lies a problem—your copy has to tell a story to your site’s visitors quickly and efficiently. (Heed the mantra that you have about 6-10 seconds to capture a browser’s interest on your site.) However, in an effort to insert keywords as often as possible, the result is often clumsy and unappealing. Have you seen web copy that reads like the following? I certainly have.

“If you’re looking for condos in Miami, this is the site for you. Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about condos for sale in Miami. Whether you’re interested in Miami condos on the beach, Miami condos on the golf course or Miami condos in downtown Miami, you’ll find it here. We update our list of Miami condos daily, so if you’re interested in Miami condos, read on!”

OK, we get it. This agent specializes in Miami condos. It’s also an example of “keyword stuffing,” a technique that involves loading the copy with as many uses of the keyword as possible in order to manipulate a site’s position in search engine results. Google has caught on to this trick—if your copy is overstuffed with keywords in non-logical places, the site will actually move down in the rankings. In addition, this copy is not reader-friendly and not likely to induce anyone to click through to any of your other pages. For more information on using keywords properly, Google has online guidance at http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35769

If you’re having difficulty choosing keywords, there are some free tools available on the Internet at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal and http://www.yooter.com/keyword/. Additionally, many web design firms will help you select keywords as part of their service.

By choosing and using your keywords carefully, your web site will be well positioned to attract potential clients who are looking for exactly what you have to offer.

Lois H. Feinstein produces powerful and compelling Web copy, marketing materials, newsletters and brochures for Realtors® and other business professionals. She is Chair of the Real Estate Virtual Assistants (REVA) Copywriting Guild and a member of the International Virtual Assistants Association, and has written for a number of magazines including 5280 and Denver Woman. Her business, I Can Do That!, www.i-cando-that.com, is based in Denver, Colorado.

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EXPLORE THE POETRY OF YOUR LIFE

Living the life of an entrepreneur has its privileges. One of them is choosing whether you’ll work 100 hours a week over the course of seven days or six. Every person who has ventured out into his or her own business knows the dark humor in this, even as he/she revels in the life of a free agent, accountable to no one but their own sense of ambition and industry. But, the truth is working so hard can work against your higher levels of success.

When I first went out on my own, as an entrepreneur, after more than fifteen years in the corporate world, where the phone always rang with people wanting to do business with me, I learned a valuable lesson about productivity. As the legions of self-employed before me had done, I performed numerous marketing tasks in order to drum up consulting projects and other work. I made phone calls, took meetings, made more phone calls, sent out letters and resumes, attended networking events and took more meetings. As every independent businessperson knows, attracting clients is a full-time job in itself.

I did whatever I could think of to let the world know that I was open for business. With sterling credentials and worldclass experience, I thought it would simply be a matter of answering the phone to field a flood of clients and projects. But, it wasn’t so simple. It was difficult at first. My phone didn’t ring off the hook like it did when I was the client.

Although I was surprised at the meager response to my efforts, I wasn’t overly concerned because I knew my work ethic would keep me pushing and pitching. Like many of you, I know that about myself. I know that I am relentless and indefatigable when pursuing a goal. And my goal then was to make it as a successful entrepreneur. I believed that by keeping the pressure on myself, it would be just a matter of time until the door swung wide with clients and cash flow.

One day (a Wednesday, I recall) during this intense period of dialing for clients, I found myself lying on my sofa, reading a book. It was a novel. Well… I was aghast. On a weekday afternoon? On my sofa? Reading something for . . . pleasure?! I remember actually looking around to see if anyone was watching me commit this unseemly crime of self-indulgence.

Then, I felt a gloom of guilt descend on me and I heard a voice deep within me somewhere lecturing myself about how unproductive I was being and how lazy I was. It was the voice of my “inner dictator” demanding that I needed to be making more phone calls, sending out more letters, attending more events, doing this and doing that to make something happen for my business. “Reading for pleasure?” the task-master implored. “Are you crazy? I’m going to tell your boss.” (”Or, your mother!” the primal authoritarian within me threatened.)

Then, just as I was ready to surrender to the command and flog myself into submitting to make 20 more phone calls, I heard another voice within. It was calm and soft and quiet. It said, “It’s okay. I’m exploring the poetry of my life, not the industry of my life.” And, immediately I felt an ease come over me.

The lesson I learned in that moment was that there is a balance point that needs to be paid attention to. Even an assembly-line machine has a cutoff switch and I needed to locate it within me and turn it off sometimes. Without guilt!

The irony is that,  by refreshing and renewing our body and our mind by doing something purely for pleasure, even in the midst of an intense work period, we become even more productive and effective when we turn the switch back on and get back to work. This seems contradictory, antithetical and just plain illogical, but it’s the way of the “logical creative.”

Trammell Crow, one of the world’s most successful commercial real estate magnates and philanthropists, is known to actually schedule time for daydreaming in his busy day. He knows that this humble activity enables his body and mind to be refreshed and to enable creativity to flow more easily. He has discovered this secret of the logical creative and it makes him a more effective executive, and a happier person.

The coda to my story is that after allowing myself to continue to enjoy the poetry of my life that day, the phone rang the very next day with a high-paying consulting job. Interestingly, the call was not from one of the many contacts I’d made previously by following the industry of my life.

As a creative director for The Cola-Cola Company for ten years, a vice president of Universal Television, and a communications director of the 1996 Olympics, Neil Tepper has had a creative and fulfilling professional career. He now focuses on what he loves best ­ helping people live more successful and meaningful lives through his unique insights into the creative process. Visit Neil’s website at www.neiltepper.com.

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