The campaign has exceeded realestate.com.au’s expectations and reached its target in just two weeks of going live, with thousands of Australians taking part in the integrated corporate social responsibility campaign.

The campaign has been a joint partnership with Habitat for Humanity Australia, which is the world’s number one provider of housing for low income families in need.

Spokesperson for realestate.com.au Joanne Whyte indicated that support for the cause has been overwhelming, with many online users embracing the concept since the campaign went live in early October.

“Deciding to integrate Facebook into the campaign was a clever way to engage consumers who want to help make a difference in this world.  We are really pleased to see the general public get behind this cause and embrace the Fresh Start Project,” said Joanne.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to making a difference, realestate.com.au has contributed $130,000 to Habitat for Humanity Australia that will go towards building a house for a low income family, with construction commencing on 8 November 2010,” she said.

Two thousand three hundred fans have had their photos published on a ‘supporters wall’ sharing Fresh Start Project with family and friends.

Established in the United States in 1976, Habitat for Humanity is a global not-for-profit organisation with a presence in over 90 countries and has changed the lives of people all over the world building more than 400,000 houses and sheltering more than two million people in 3,500 communities including almost 100 homes in Australia.

Habitat for Humanity believes in giving people a hand up rather than a hand out by building homes in partnership with families both in Australia and overseas.  The families put in labour and a deposit, and Habitat for Humanity assists with the expertise and financing and importantly, as the no-profit loan is repaid, it goes into a revolving fund to help finance even more homes for people in need.

Habitat for Humanity’s recent projects include its work in helping rebuild homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and in Haiti with the support of celebrity A-listers such as Brad Pitt, Bon Jovi, Barack and Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey.

Between now and 7 November 2010, members of the public keen to follow the Fresh Start Project can keep up-to-date with the latest campaign developments via realestate.com.au’s Facebook page and the microsite as the next phase of the campaign unfolds. Consumers can continue donating social bricks via the realestate.com.au home page to help raise awareness around housing affordability for low income families.

Follow Me on Twitter:

The Fresh Start Project campaign is the latest instalment forming part of realestate.com.au’s spring activity which helps Australians get fresh start in life.

Joanne Whyte, General Manager Marketing Communications and Insights for realestate.com.au said the company was pleased to partner with Habitat for Humanity Australia, which is the world’s number one provider of housing for low income families in need.

“realestate.com.au will donate $130,000 which will go towards building a safe and secure home for a family in need and help realise their dream of home ownership through low cost housing,” she said.

“The Fresh Start Project is a fully integrated digital campaign which leverages our social media assets using Facebook as the main channel to help spread the word and garner support from socially conscious people,” she said.

The partnership will enable realestate.com.au consumers and Facebook fans to spread the word about this worthy cause by collecting social bricks as they visit the realestate.com.au site.

The bricks will help build a supporters wall to acknowledge the contribution from realestate.com.au. Participant photos will be published via a virtual montage and people can share their involvement with family and friends.

In early November, realestate.com.au and Habitat for Humanity Australia will announce the lucky family who will be given the home. Together with volunteers and members of the community, the family will help build the home over a two-week period, with Fresh Start Project fans able to track the progress of the build via the microsite.

Habitat for Humanity Australia CEO Jo Brennan said: “We’re deeply grateful for the support of realestate.com.au and its desire to help house a family in real need in Australia.”

“We rely on individuals and corporate Australia to make homes a reality for so many low income families here and around the world, so we’re looking forward to seeing the number of bricks build up on the realestate.com.au site and of course seeing the supporters of Fresh Start Project on Facebook,” she said.

Habitat for Humanity is a global not-for-profit organisation with a presence in over 90 countries and has changed the lives of people all over the world building more than 400,000 houses and sheltering more than two million people in 3,500 communities.

Established in the United States in 1976, Habitat for Humanity’s recent projects include its work in helping rebuild homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and in Haiti with the support of celebrity A-listers such as Brad Pitt, Bon Jovi, Barack and Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey.

realestate.com.au has worked closely with digital agency Amnesia Razorfish to bring the campaign to life alongside media agency Starcom. The campaign follows the recent launch of realestate.com.au’s TVC and advertising campaign which went live in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane recently.”

This time around it looks like Realestate.com.au and Amnesia Razorfish have put together a good marketing campaign (alongside Starcom).

It’s a massive improvement on their House Hunter Video campaign disaster earlier in the year which ended up being labelled as “REA suffers from Amnesia”.

Plus, it”s good to see that they”ve used an introduction video from CEO Greg Ellis to add a more personalised approach to the whole initiative. (should help them win some points amongst the Facebook community and Gen Y”s).

PS: If you haven”t seen realestate.com.au’s TVC mentioned within the press release you can view it here…

Follow Me on Twitter:

Have you ever wished you knew how many people are opening your e-mail’s, or one better… see exactly who clicked on your links?

I used Vision6 recently to send out a price adjustment on a property, and then called every person who clicked to see ‘more information’ on the property. The response was great! Everyone knew what property I was talking about and thanked me for the call. I was touching base with people who actually cared.

I then decided to explore it a little further and consider other ways I could implement this system. Some of the uses I have already adapted include the following;

1. Send every new registered buyer a link to ‘the buying process’ with a link down the side to ‘tips on how to prepare your home for sale’ – as this will provide an early tip as to who’s selling.
2. Send all my database a quarterly report and again add the ‘tips on how to prepare your home for sale’ link
   In the process of allowing users to sign up to my e-newsletter automatically using the forms feature.
3. Will offer my next vendor an improved e-brochure service which allows us to track who clicks on the ‘more info’ link. Then call anyone who did not attend the open for inspection to understand why not or possible encourage them to attend the next one or discuss similar properties coming onto the market.

If you use Vision6 or similar systems what do you use them for?

Follow Me on Twitter:

The new site looks very impressive.

One of the major things I got out of the presentation was how the ‘Local Voices’ section will be adapted into the site and ways that I could possibly use it to help promote me as a local area expert more effectively.

The ‘Local Voices’ site is something launched by realestate.com.au to allow anyone registered to write and respond to reviews on streets and suburbs, which is then shown on the search pages of realestate.com.au.

They have also set the site up to be somewhat like a social networking site. It seems to me that this application which will be nested in the realestate.com.au search pages will quickly become popular with new buyers and potential sellers alike.

Once in the site when analysing suburbs the site displays the ‘top local experts’. This, from what I can see and was told is based on the amount of reviews and responses to a local suburb. My aim (and at this stage I have only registered my profile and explored the site) is to become the local expert within my target areas. I plan to do the following;

• Create a professional profile on the site with contact details.
• Create a professional suburb profile (some of you may already have these) and load it to the system.
• Create an rss feed for my local suburb and respond to any reviews by others in a constructive way.
• Add any person that appears to live within the suburb as a ‘friend’.

With time (and at this stage as its new it doesn’t appear it will be too difficult) I should become the top local expert for my target suburbs. This will hopefully generate leads as local sellers start to investigate their suburb prices and local agents, and are naturally attracted to what others have said about their suburb.

I’d love to hear if anyone has already started using ‘local voices’ and the way in which they are doing so.

Follow Me on Twitter:

When connecting with Julie on LinkedIn, I happened to notice one of her recent presentations was available on SlideShare and thought I”d share some of Julie”s insights with GenYre = energy readers.

Whilst I appreciate that the SlideShare presentation isn”t anywhere near as effective as it would be with Julie presenting it, I believe that you can still gain a lot out of her presentation slides.

There are some great points that Julie shares about appearing different in your market place. She is also a big believer in using the internet more effectively to help build your profile and make the right first impression.

Julie has also included some very interesting stats about Social Media and a great insight into Dominant Buyer Motives,  plus lots more…

Follow Me on Twitter:

In Part 2 of the book they discuss Fast Decisions…

“Fast thinking won’t get you very far unless you’re able to quickly process your thoughts and make a decision. Nothing slows down an organization more than paralysis by analysis – the inability to make even the smallest decisions quickly.”

And when reading this paragraph, it made me think of the road blocks that so many of the Gen Y real estate agents are facing each day due to committee meetings & old-school methods being used by lots of agents and the frustration some young agents are experiencing.

Whilst I’m not taking anything away from the wealth of knowledge that the Baby Boomers & Gen X agents can share with the Gen Y agents ( I”m a Gen X agent myself), but the slow uptake of real estate technology & Social Media that exists within our industry means that in many offices Gen Y agents are sent out into the field to do time consuming, ineffective hit & miss ”old school” prospecting to build networks.

Gen Y are the greatest networking generation ever.

As a kid growing up my friends either lived in my neighbourhood or were classmates,etc from school. Whereas, Gen Y have hundreds of friends online from all over the place. As I said before, they are the greatest networking generation ever and yet some agencies won”t even let Gen Y agents use a computer.

C”mon!! We are talking about a generation who were literally born with an email address and a mouse in their hand.

If only you could see what I”ve seen some Gen Y agents doing you would be blown away…

The leverage that some Gen Y agents are applying to real estate sales has to be seen to be believed.

They use the internet & Social Media to do a task once and then leverage marketing strategies around that task or use other marketing tools (eg. Personal Profile Video, Blogging, Facebook Fan Pages, etc).

It”s time that Baby Boomer & Gen X agents sat up and took notice of what can be done.

This year Gen Y will out-number Baby Boomers for the first time in history and for the older, more experienced agents, there will need to be a significant shift in thinking & marketing strategies to ensure that they remain relevant within their marketplace and find ways that they can deliver a more streamlined approach to help retain high performing Gen Y agents and at the same time make sure they appeal to the ever growing Gen Y customers.

When you think about it, this is the first time in history where parents have had to ask their kids how to do things. Like, how do I program my new phone, how do I do certain things on the computer, etc, etc, etc? And, this same situation is now happening within real estate agencies & other businesses throughout the world.

Bosses are recruiting to fill in the gaps for their weaknesses in technology, but in the main they aren’t seeking the knowledge required to ensure that they have a better than basic understanding of how online real estate marketing really should work.

This means that operating systems within the agency are developed around old methods which normally make things less efficient and leads to frustration from employees and customers.

I understand, for a lot of agents, learning about computers is one of the last skills sets they are interested in learning.

I’m not suggesting agents need to turn into computer geeks, but they need to get a basic understanding of why web 2.0 is important and the psychology of the internet and embrace internet marketing strategies so they can use them to leverage their time & resources more effectively.

Plus, at the same time, find ways that they can use technology to deliver a better end user experience so that customers will want to deal with that agency and/or recommend them to their friends.

It”s not enough to have your listings uploaded to the major portals, having a company website and database software. you need to understand why customers aren”t doing business with you & what you can do to build more trust over the internet and use strategies that help to convert website visitors into clients on an ongoing basis, 24/7.

I feel disappointed when I hear about good young agents leaving our industry or going out on their own simply out of frustration and a lack of vision from their leader.

I know of a number of agents who have left companies simply because they felt held back due to lack of vision from their boss and have ended up opening up an agency down the road as competitors. Which is something that is becoming easier & easier for agents to do, especially with the emergence of virtual agencies & the current National Agency Licensing regulations.If an agency wants to move forward and retain their Top Performing Gen Y agents, they really should sit down and spend time listening to some of the ideas of the Gen Y agents rather than sticking in the comfort zone of “this is how I did it when I started out in real estate so that’s the way Gen Y agents should do it too.” (Wrong)

If agents continue doing the old things they will simply frustrate the good new recruits out of the industry and end up employing a team of people who lack innovation, inspiration and will find themselves heading down the wrong track where there is only a dead end.

Gen Y’s love being part of a fast thinking business that embraces change.

Step out of your comfort zone and don’t hold your Gen Y’s back and stop killing off their enthusiasm by using those boring ‘old school’ strategies that all your competitors have all gone back to doing simply because that’s all they know.

Look for new and exciting ways. Innovate, Inspire & Embrace Change Faster.

Follow Me on Twitter:

Providing a superior service that goes beyond our competitors will see our existing clients return and will often lead to them recommending our service to others.

But, how are we to know what specific areas of our service need to be improved?

Well, in order to improve our processes, we need to analyse how they are currently received by our market. This data will enable us to pin-point where to focus the most attention immediately and improve strategies and create a system to ensure our service is delivered easily, effectively and in a timely fashion.

What do they expect, want and what would exceed their expectations?

In order to be a successful agent we should track customers’ perceptions of our performance to discover our strengths, weakness and ensure that we are delivering beyond their expectations.

There are many ways to do this, including making it easy for customers to make a complaint or suggestion, or even conducting a mystery shopping exercise. The main method I suggest for tracking performance is via the use of a Customer Service Survey.

When compiling a survey for your customers, remember to keep it short, relevant and easy to understand. More information about creating an effective survey can be found at All Business. Plus, here”s a great survey that I came across the other day ~ City of Ryde’s ‘Customer Service Survey’ .

Innovation and Implementation

Customer service surveys can provide some amazing insights into what you are doing right & what areas need to be improved upon. After receiving feedback on the quality of your work, strategies should be developed to overcome any limitations.\r\n\r\nFor instance, one of the customer surveys I did revealed that one of my customers felt that I had an impersonal approach to customers & yet prior to doing the survey I had no idea that some of my customers had felt this way about me at all. It was a bitter pill to swallow at the time, but now I”m a better agent for it.

I”m currently in the process of  implementing a system for customer relationship management so I can design a better daily approach to my workflow and communicate more effectively with my customers. I currently use Box & Dice’s BOOM, a Customer Relationship Management System. I now input every person I come into contact with into this system, and document any communication that is made. This allows me to refer to my past notes on a client and remember our last few conversations.

Another issue was my constant follow up. I discovered this was due to a lack of valuable information being provided, resulting in a negative relationship. My solution to this is a Quarterly Report, which includes facts about what”s happening within their suburb such as statistics, sold homes and more.

If you”d like a copy of this Quarterly Report please feel welcome to email me at chris.shepherd@rwfm.com.au and I”ll send you out the latest version.

Within the CRM, I have also set up specific campaign trails such as Hot, Warm or Cold seller trails so that the BOOM system reminds me of what communication I need to make, at the appropriate time.

While I encountered these two problems, there are many others and it is important to develop a solution specific to the weakness.

What to do?

Given the financial and time costs involved in getting new clients, it is important to fix our current systems and maintain a healthy relationship with our existing clients. By so doing, it is only a matter of time before lots of extra business is generated via ongoing referrasl.

Using client surveys, complaint/comment systems or even mystery shoppers can establish weak points within an agent”s current systems, which can then be enhanced for a much better customer experience. Plus, you”ll get a much better appreciation of what your clients needs & expectations really are, so you can deliver what they want and more.

Once these issues are highlighted then they simply shouldn”t be ignored by brushing them under the carpet. Find a solution and then take the necessary actions required to ensure that your customer service is implemented on an ongoing basis, you”ll very quickly generate lots of ”raving fans” and a fantastic reputation within your service area.

I”d be interested to hear if other agents have used Customer Service Surveys and what sort of response they”ve had? Or maybe what”s been the most enlightening question they”ve asked in their survey?

Follow Me on Twitter:

The response to date has been very interesting & has provided a great insight into what’s happening out there in the current marketplace.

Yesterday, I had a radio interview about this issue with Kevin Turner from REUncut about some of the feedback that I have received from real estate agents thus far, here’s the interview…

Click here to listen to the interview – Future Of Agents Commission – 2010

To have your say about this important issue affecting our real estate industry, make sure you share your view by clicking the link below & completing this quick survey (easily completed in under 90 seconds).

Please Click Here to access the Future Of Agents Commission 2010 Survey

Note: The survey will close on February 19th 2010 and results will be compiled & posted out shortly afterwards.

Follow Me on Twitter:

Just like a restaurant could use the iPad for taking orders or displaying their menu, real estate agents can use the iPad to demonstrate how professionally they can present a potential sellers home, show comparable sales and create a marketing campaign digitally.

The pricing of the iPad means that Apple have provided an affordable way that an agent can make their company appear more high tech.

Here”s 8 Ways That Real Estate Agents could use the iPad…

• Use it for digital listing presentations

• Show property photos and videos in high definition

• Visit websites for doing CMA’s and show other related sites

• Create a Demo Individual Property Website for a client right before their eyes

• Instant database entry at open homes

• Portable client management

• Show details of current listings to buyers on the run

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n
• Checking email enquiries & setting appointments

Today’s launch of the iPad also provides an insight into where Print Media is heading. The iPad is going to make it a whole lot easier for people to get their news digitally, which will have an effect on major newspaper distribution numbers.

Local Press may not feel the same affect for a while, but it certainly could have an impact in the long term.

My hope is that the introduction of digital readers like the Apple iPad and Amazon”s Kindle may help to bring the real estate print media prices down to a more affordable level for agents and sellers.

Whilst I see some great uses for the iPad for real estate agents, there are some developers who feel that Apple could have gone a lot further with their development, eg here’s 8 Things That Suck About The iPad.

I’m sure Apple will include a number of these extra features to the iPad very quickly, just like they did with the iPhone.

But for now it looks like they have made something that is very appealing to the majority of people & have priced it affordably enough that the iPad should end up becoming just as popular as the iPod and the iPhone.

While agents will have to wait to get their hands onto an iPad, over the next few weeks there is a perfect opportunity to prepare a digital listing presentation in time for its delivery.

I’ve shared 8 uses for agents, if you can think of any others I”d appreciate any other thoughts or ideas.

Follow Me on Twitter:

This year I’ll be adopting a new approach. I’m taking advantage of an online system to help follow up on leads and to keep in touch with clients.

Last year I saw myself making lots of phone calls to keep in touch and thought this year I would mix phone, text and email to help keep me in touch with my clients (both existing and new)

I’m looking forward to a great year and wish that all the young agents have a fantastic and rewarding 2010 as well. Lets make the most of it.