This is a first for Zanola Company! We are making available an entire presentation via our blog. The slides found below were presented at the St. Charles County Association of Realtors General Meeting earlier this month.
The presentation will only be available until this Friday, May 15th, so pass it on!
Missouri is number seven in a ranking of states that are the most affordable and have the most options in long term care including home care, nursing homes and other forms of assisted living. This is per the Genworth Financial 2009 Cost of Care Survey recently published.
New Home Sales Professionals - how many times have you heard this one? Allow me to let you in on a secret, not very many people are actually “just looking”. While there are no hard numbers on this statistic, some exit surveys suggest that up to 80% of the people who claim to be “just looking” are actually doing a lot more than that.
Think about when you are looking for a new laptop. What do you do first? Just walk into Best Buy and start browsing? Probably not. More likely, you find your best friend Google and start typing.
Narrow it down to a brand…
Visit their website…
Google the fancy terms…
Figure out which fancy terms you need…
Find the ones with the most features you need in your price range…
etc., etc.,etc.
All before you even set foot in the store. When you do get to the store and the sales associate asks what he/she can help you with, what are you most likely to say? Right, “Well, I’m just looking right now.” You are SO not just looking!
The same goes for homebuying, the person that calls you or walks into your model is most likely armed to the teeth with researched knowledge on school districts, comparable neighborhood prices, if there are any sex offenders in the 5 mile area, etc. The amount of information that a potential buyer can find out before you even know their name is limitless.
They aren’t just looking, so do your job and sell to them.
1. Ask questions and start a neighborhood conversation. Find out what they know and validate or expand upon the information.
2. Ask questions and start a family conversation. Find out their needs and use them on the walk through.
3. Ask questions and start a competitor conversation. Find out what other communities they have visited and know your answer to why yours is superior.
Or don’t and let them keep “just looking”.
We have made several Supply and Demand Data Maps from the March 2009 St. Louis Housing Forecast available through our website. Click here to view the maps and call or email if you have any questions!
We have been telling anyone who will listen that the first factor that a potential buyer weighs when they are looking for a new home is the neighborhood. Is your subdivision well kept, is there enough nearby shopping, how is the school district, etc. Well, today we learned about a new product that takes that concept and integrates it with a listing engine that is graphically pleasing, user friendly and the coolest thing we’ve seen all week.
Users can easily search for their next home by -gasp!- lifestyle and neighborhood preferences. Please watch the demo and fall in love - Lifestyle Listings Engine API
We all have our own patterns of thinking that allow us to process the barrage of details that demand our attention everyday. These same patterns that help us to make decisions and move forward through the usual can be our downfall when our typical modus operandi is upset – for example, in an economic recession.
The following processes were introduced to me at a recent workshop I attended on Fostering Creativity in Your Child by Shelia Glazer. The four processes jumped out at me in context of my business life and what I’m hearing from clients and colleagues so I had to share.
Willingness to Take Risks
To have the courage to:
be unconventional;
expose oneself to failure or criticism;
take a guess;
function under non-structured conditions.
Preference for Complexity
To seek the challenge to:
look for many alternatives;
see gaps between how things are and how they could be;
bring order out of chaos;
delve into intricate problems or ideas.
Curiosity
To want to:
be inquisitive;
toy with an idea;
look for new insights;
to be open to one’s own hunches;
follow a particular bent just to see what will happen.
Imagination
To have the power to:
visualize and build mental images;
dream in the world of fantasy;
feel intuitively;
reach beyond artificial or sensual boundaries.
Now, read those again and find the change you can bring to your day, your business, your industry…
People’s lives revolve around their… well, lives – their interests, their activities, their families, their causes. Mike Arauz of undercurrent.com calls them desire paths. Meaning, everyday people explore avenues that lead them to their interests. For example, an avid reader probably spends a lot of time reading reviews and finding deals on amazon.com.
Guess what people don’t do everyday - search for new ways to buy your product, Google you or think about your company.
In the 1950’s, an advertiser could reach a huge portion of the population with one, single television commercial. In the digital media age, even if you scour the couch cushions for the ad dollars to put 30 seconds on American Idol – you won’t reach a fraction of your intended audience. Who watches TV in real time anymore?
So, unless you figure out what your target audience’s lives revolve around and set up shop right in the middle of their “desire path” you probably won’t get noticed. Take for example, Nike. They are certainly not the most inexpensive athletic shoe or even the most well made, so how are they the best selling? They have aligned themselves with the passions of their audience: running, fitness, endurance. Nike has taken their emotionally charged messaging and integrated into the daily, interest exploring avenues of their customer.
In order to be relevant, you must delve into the lives of your consumers and discover their passions. Make their passions your passions and get involved.
On the news, in the headlines: crisis, crisis, crisis-talk, talk, talk.
1. We prefer not to think of it as a crisis, more of a temporary set back. Not to diminish the economic pain that everyone is feeling, but we can get through this! Let’s start by changing the self perpetuating language that surrounds us.
2. “Hey, you - deer in the headlights- wake up!” We know that the market has been subdued and that it may take some time to recuperate. The reality of the situation is that people don’t stop needing new homes and they don’t stop wanting to improve their current home. Life will continue. Right now, buyers are deciding who they will choose to help them create their dreams when the time is right. When, they are ready (soon!) make sure yours is the name they’ll choose. Take action! (more…)
News 4 in St. Louis is actively reporting on good news in the area and came to us to find out the latest updates in the St. Louis Region’s new housing industry. Click here to see what Joe Zanola has to say about the the good news in housing , what will happen to the developed lot supply and the areas where values are stabilizing.
