by RMLS Communication Department | Jul 6, 2012 | Tips & Tricks
When it comes to promoting your business you’ve probably heard a lot about creating a Facebook profile, tweeting or posting photos to Pinterest. It can be easy to jump on to one of these social networks and hope it will help market your work to potential clients. Any one of these platforms can be a great tool if you have a marketing plan in place and understand your brand.
It’s important to think about your image or brand because it’s actually the first step in figuring out how to effectively promote yourself. If you haven’t already, or if it’s been a while, set aside some time to define your brand.
What is a brand?
Seth Godin defines it as:
The set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer.
Defining your brand can feel a little overwhelming so here are a couple of steps to help you get started.
What do you offer?
Think about the services you offer and what makes you unique. Do you focus on a particular area or community? Do you target a certain demographic? Are you an expert in a particular area of your field? What do you offer a client that’s different than your competitors? What kind of positive comments do you get from your clients? Take some time to write down a list of your services and think about what makes you different or unique.
Your 30-second Bio
Develop a 15-30 second “elevator pitch.” You’re in an elevator with someone and they ask you what you do for a living. You have 30 seconds to answer and pique their interest. So, it would be great if you had an answer beyond, “I’m a realtor” or “I’m in real estate.” Use the list you’ve put together about your services and what makes you different to come up with a concise, interesting pitch.
Here are a couple of sample elevator pitches:
“You know how stressful buying a home can be? I manage that stress for my clients by being at their side every step of the way. I love to make the process as easy as possible. My goal is to create a fantastic experience for every one of my clients.”
“I love the Northeast area. I’m really involved with the neighborhood associations and I’m a market expert in five different neighborhoods. Anything you want to know about real estate in a Northeast neighborhood I can tell you.”
Once you’ve honed in on your strengths and expertise you will be in a much better position to figure out who your potential clients are and how to reach them.
Next up: How defining your brand helps you develop a marketing plan.
Photo Credit
by RMLS Communication Department | Jun 12, 2012 | RMLS News, Tips & Tricks
Yes, it’s that time again. . . billing for quarterly fees will be sent out on July 1. Here are some insider tips to help you keep your account current.
#1 Credit Card Auto-pay
Make paying your quarterly subscriber fees easy by using our debit/credit card auto-pay service. Your fees will be paid on time, every time, automatically. You can specify if you want the funds transferred on the 1st, 15th, or 25th of the month they are due. Use this form to start auto-pay.
#2 eBilling
Email notification will be sent within two business days of your account being billed each quarter. The email will include the due date, total amount due and a link to log-on and pay your bill. For more information read our eBilling Q & A document.
#3 Free Reminders
We know you’re busy and have a lot of information to track—let us help you. You can opt-in to our free reminder service. We will send you a reminder email two weeks before your quarterly fees are due and call you if your account becomes past due. Call our Accounting Department at 503-872-8003 to sign-up for this free service.
#4 Keep Your Contact Information Current
It’s important that RMLS™ be able to contact you if an issue arises around your billing activity. If your email, phone number or address changes please go to RMLSweb–>Toolkit–>User Preferences–>Edit RMLS Subscriber Account contact e-mail to update your contact information.
Reminder—Not paying your bill doesn’t cancel your account. If you need to cancel because you’re leaving your current office or turning in your license please fill out the Subscriber Change Form. If your license is still active but you qualify for a waiver (see our Rules and Regulations) please complete the Waiver Form. Both documents may be sent to the Accounting Department.
For more information or if you have any questions please email accounting@rmls.com.
Photo Credit
by RMLS Communication Department | Jun 12, 2012 | RMLS News, Tips & Tricks
Yes, it’s that time again. . . billing for quarterly fees will be sent out on July 1. Here are some insider tips to help you keep your account current.
#1 Credit Card Auto-pay
Make paying your quarterly subscriber fees easy by using our debit/credit card auto-pay service. Your fees will be paid on time, every time, automatically. You can specify if you want the funds transferred on the 1st, 15th, or 25th of the month they are due. Use this form to start auto-pay.
#2 eBilling
Email notification will be sent within two business days of your account being billed each quarter. The email will include the due date, total amount due and a link to log-on and pay your bill. For more information read our eBilling Q & A document.
#3 Free Reminders
We know you’re busy and have a lot of information to track—let us help you. You can opt-in to our free reminder service. We will send you a reminder email two weeks before your quarterly fees are due and call you if your account becomes past due. Call our Accounting Department at 503-872-8003 to sign-up for this free service.
#4 Keep Your Contact Information Current
It’s important that RMLS™ be able to contact you if an issue arises around your billing activity. If your email, phone number or address changes please go to RMLSweb–>Toolkit–>User Preferences–>Edit RMLS Subscriber Account contact e-mail to update your contact information.
Reminder—Not paying your bill doesn’t cancel your account. If you need to cancel because you’re leaving your current office or turning in your license please fill out the Subscriber Change Form. If your license is still active but you qualify for a waiver (see our Rules and Regulations) please complete the Waiver Form. Both documents may be sent to the Accounting Department.
For more information or if you have any questions please email accounting@rmls.com.
Photo Credit
by RMLS Communication Department | Jun 12, 2012 | RMLS News, Tips & Tricks
Yes, it’s that time again. . . billing for quarterly fees will be sent out on July 1. Here are some insider tips to help you keep your account current.
#1 Credit Card Auto-pay
Make paying your quarterly subscriber fees easy by using our debit/credit card auto-pay service. Your fees will be paid on time, every time, automatically. You can specify if you want the funds transferred on the 1st, 15th, or 25th of the month they are due. Use this form to start auto-pay.
#2 eBilling
Email notification will be sent within two business days of your account being billed each quarter. The email will include the due date, total amount due and a link to log-on and pay your bill. For more information read our eBilling Q & A document.
#3 Free Reminders
We know you’re busy and have a lot of information to track—let us help you. You can opt-in to our free reminder service. We will send you a reminder email two weeks before your quarterly fees are due and call you if your account becomes past due. Call our Accounting Department at 503-872-8003 to sign-up for this free service.
#4 Keep Your Contact Information Current
It’s important that RMLS™ be able to contact you if an issue arises around your billing activity. If your email, phone number or address changes please go to RMLSweb–>Toolkit–>User Preferences–>Edit RMLS Subscriber Account contact e-mail to update your contact information.
Reminder—Not paying your bill doesn’t cancel your account. If you need to cancel because you’re leaving your current office or turning in your license please fill out the Subscriber Change Form. If your license is still active but you qualify for a waiver (see our Rules and Regulations) please complete the Waiver Form. Both documents may be sent to the Accounting Department.
For more information or if you have any questions please email accounting@rmls.com.
Photo Credit
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by RMLS Communication Department | Apr 6, 2012 | Tips & Tricks
The use of photos and photo captions on listings is something we hear a lot about at RMLS™. Our subscribers ask us to remind listing agents to put multiple photos on their properties and to use photo captions. Subscribers have told us that photos and captions help clarify what a property has to offer and saves time.
Here are some quick tips for using our photo manager and captions.
- In Listing Load you’ll find a column titled “P” for photo. The buttons in this column indicate the number of photos currently uploaded for a listing.
- To use Photo Manager you need to download Microsoft’s FREE Silverlight product. It only takes 30 seconds to install.
Rule Alert — RMLS™ requires that at least one photo must be attached to a new listing within 72 hours and it must be an exterior building view. You cannot add a caption to this first photo. If the property is land then a photo of the bare land is required.
- You can upload a total of 16 photos to a listing.
- Silverlight will resize your photo prior to upload to 640×480.
- If you upload a photo smaller than 640×480 Silverlight will add a white border around it rather than stretch it to fit.
- The caption link allows you to choose a caption and sub-caption for each photo.
Rule Alert – The reason subscribers can’t type in free form captions is that they have to be checked for HUD violations. The staff time required to check listings individually would be prohibitive. RMLS™ believes the best solution to this issue is offering a broad and extendable set of standardized choices for photo captions.
- Click on the photo in the Agent Full report to display a pop-up photo viewer.
- Captions are displayed in the photo viewer.
- Did you know if there’s a caption you want to use that isn’t part of our pre-approved list the Rules and Regulations Department can add it? Send them an email and they can add it our list for all subscribers to use.
That’s all there is to it! If you have any questions about using photo manager and captions please call our Help Desk at 503-872-8002 or send them an email. We’re here to help.
by RMLS Communication Department | Feb 8, 2012 | Guest Post, Tips & Tricks
Guest post by Vallerie Bush, RMLS Rules Administrator
Compliance notification is not something our subscribers are excited to receive, and often they aren’t sure how they have broken the rules. However, in most cases the solution to their compliance issue is a simple fix! Below you will find 10 tips for avoiding RMLS™ compliance issues. Follow these rules and you’ll be on your way to a happy listing!
1. Picture Perfect – Add a Photo!
Without photos, potential buyers may pass up your client’s listing. In order to prevent this, make sure to add a photo to your listing as soon as possible. The rule is that you must add a photo of the exterior building view within 72 hours of adding a listing to RMLSweb. Subscribers also have the ability to upload photos to In-Progress listings. If the seller does not want a photo, you can have the seller sign a Photograph Omission Form, which is Document #1263 on RMLSweb.
2. Update Your Status
It’s important to update your listing’s status. If your listing has sold, make sure to change the status to SLD in RMLSweb. If your listing has an accepted offer, make sure to change the status appropriately. Remember, changes need to be made within 72 hours.
3. Double Trouble – Don’t Duplicate Listings
A listing may only be entered into RMLSweb twice if the property is able to be listed under two different categories. If you’ve got it listed twice as a Residential listing, we’ve got a problem.
4. Keep Your Password to Yourself
RMLS™ Rules and Regulations strictly prohibit sharing your RMLSweb password with anyone else. We do audit your login information to see if there are any duplicate logins that are suspicious, so please keep your password confidential.
5. Property Type Perfection
Not sure which property type to use? A definition of the property types can be obtained in Listing Load by clicking on the field. There is a separate Document #1270 for Residential listings.
6. Your Contact Information = Private Remarks Only!
The Public Remarks field is not meant to be an area for your phone number, contact information, showing information or broker/agent branding, so make sure to enter this information into the Private Remarks field instead (viewable only to other RMLS™ subscribers).
7. Play the Name Game
Owner Name is a required field that sometimes gets forgotten. If the owner does not want their name to appear on the listing, have them sign the Owner Name Omission Form, which is Document #1261 on RMLSweb.
8. The More (Showings), the Merrier!
The listings in RMLSweb must be available for showing when entered in RMLSweb.
9. Select the School Name
“Other” as the school name is only meant to be used temporarily until you can enter the correct school name. By entering the correct school name, potential buyers interested in that area will be able to find your listing!
10. Correctly Enter Tax ID Number
Sometimes, tax numbers aren’t entered exactly as they appear on the tax records. It’s important to make sure it’s entered exactly the same. You can be sure to get the correct number by using the Tax Autofill function when you start your listing. Also, remember not to use any extra wording in the address field and lot number should be added to the Unit/Lot Field.
Questions? Contact the RMLS™ Rules department at rules@rmls.com
