Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas Real Estate

In The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, Gary Keller discusses the importance of building and growing a lead database. He divides the database into two categories: 'Met' and 'Haven't Met'. The 'Met' portion is where the majority of your business will come from. If you want to increase your business, you need to move people from 'Haven't Met' to 'Met'. One way to do that is a '12 Direct' program.

'12 Direct' stands for twelve direct-mail pieces sent over the course of a year. These can be sent to a geographic or demographic farm area, and can be a pre-printed newsletter, a market update, or any other piece that provides useful information and promotes you as an agent.

Gary Keller's research indicates that for every 50 people you market to twelve times per year, you can expect to generate one sale. So if your target is 20 sales, your '12 Direct' database needs to be 1000 names.

The key to this program is to be consistent and make it systematic. Keep your message and branding consistent. Take advantage of one of the many real estate direct mail companies (such as ReaMark, SellSmart or QuantumMail) to leverage your time. And as 'Haven't Mets' turn into business, reinvest a portion of those commissions to grow your database and your business even larger.

It's always amusing to me when I get a flyer or postcard from another agent who claims to be 'the neighborhood expert.' They tout a recent listing or sale and include the basic MLS statistics for the area. When I check further, I often find that they don't even live in the same city, and this is their only sale in my neighborhood!

A real Neighborhood Expert goes beyond the MLS. They know where the nearest elementary school is, how to get there, and whether it's 9-month or year round; what is going to be built on the parcel across the street; when the next homeowner's association meeting is and what new rules just went into effect; which youth sports teams play at the nearby park and how children can sign up. A real Neighborhood Expert knows all of the real estate info plus all of the 'quality of life' issues that affect homeowners.

Can you be a Neighborhood Expert without living there? Absolutely! It starts with knowing the inventory. One of the components of The Daily Challenge from the  Keller Williams Camp 4:4:3 training is to preview five homes a day. Take notes on flooring, color schemes, architectural details, upgraded appliances, specific landscaping features. When someone asks why House A sold for $10,000 more than the identical House B -- and you can answer 'House A had new hardwood floors in the kitchen, dining and family areas, a beautiful rose garden in the back yard, and is just around the corner from the school' -- then you're the Neighborhood Expert.

Secondly, get involved in the neighborhood. After you preview a home, knock on twenty doors (five left, five right, and ten across the street), introduce yourself and ask 'Who do you know that might like to move into this neighborhood?' Listen to the residents. Attend the homeowner meetings. Visit the city or county offices to learn about new development in the area. Host a barbecue to help the neighbors get to know each other.

By combining your detailed real estate knowledge with a sincere interest in the people who live there, you'll find many doors will easily open for you. Be consistent and genuine in your efforts, and you will soon be known as 'The Neighborhood Expert.'

Mark your calendars now for these cultural activities presented by the City of Henderson, Nevada:

Safety and Health Expo
October 14, 2006  11 AM - 3 PM
Horizon Town Center

• Bring the family for fun activities, safety and health tips, and community information. Meet rescue personnel face-to-face and view different police and fire vehicles. Have personal documents shredded by Shred-It. There will be over 30 booths plus hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks.

Henderson Salsa Challenge
October 14, 2006  11 AM - 5 PM
Henderson Pavilion

• Over 35 individual and restaurant salsas will by vying for the title of "Best Salsa in Nevada." There will be great food, live entertainment, and a Jalapeno Eating Contest. Call 267-2171 or 267-4849 for more information. General admission tickets are $10.

Henderson Symphony Orchestra
October 21, 2006  8 PM
Henderson Pavilion

• Under the direction of Maestro Peter Aaronson, the Henderson Symphony Orchestra opens its 20th season with classics from Mendelssohn and Beethoven. Admission is free.

Legends and Professional Storytellers of the Haunted Pavilion
October 28, 2006  2 PM - 9 PM
Henderson Pavilion

• Legend and terrifying tales will be told throughout the day an evening. Bring your carved pumpkin to exchange for Chance Drawing tickets. From 5:00 - 6:30 PM there will be a costume contest. A winner of the best Trunk or Treat vehicle will also be chosen.

Water Street District Fine Arts Festival
October 28-29, 2006  10 AM
Henderson Events Plaza

• Come see unique, handmade art, sculpture, paintings, glass, jewelry and more at this juried fine arts show in newly refurbished downtown Henderson. Artisans from Southern Nevada and across the country will be selling original artwork.

For more information on Nevada's second largest city, visit the City of Henderson website.

A marketing event that has been particularly successful for me is 'Day in the Park.' I pick an area of about 500 homes that has a neighborhood park with grills and picnic tables. About 1-2 weeks before the event I distribute flyers to each home saying "Come out and meet your neighbors! Enjoy FREE food and drinks, get the latest real estate and mortgage info, and enter to win free prizes."

The cost is split with a mortgage and/or title rep. We shop at a warehouse store for hot dogs, hamburgers, condiments, chips, water and soda. To make it an attractive event for families with young children we rent a bounce house. The prize drawing form asks for name, address, phone, email address and if they want info on buying/selling a house or mortgage rates. Prizes include movie tickets, Starbucks cards, and gift cards to book stores or home improvement stores.

The total cost for an event like this is $5-600. I've done this three times and generated over $1 million in sales. And a bonus for me is that Sundance gets to come along! So if you're looking for a chance to relax a little bit, get some fresh air and still generate some business, plan to spend a 'Day in the Park.'

Residential real estate search engine Trulia announced today that they've gone national, adding information on over 60 million properties. The free online service allows consumers to search homes for sale by price, type of home, number of bedrooms, square feet, and geographically by city/state or ZIP code.

For brokers and agents, Trulia has plans to offer enhanced/branded listing features and performance-based text advertising to create additional exposure for their listings.

One of Trulia's focuses is to help consumers understand real estate trends at the local level. To do that, they've introduced three new tools:

• Interactive Heat Maps dynamically search a city to show average listing prices, median sale prices, and popularity in different neighborhoods
  
  
• Home Comparison Tools help consumers compare their home with current listings and recent sales
  
  
• Neighborhood Spotlights provide listing and sales information, schools overviews, income data, crime statistics and community links.

Trulia recently won the award for favorite real estate web site or tool from readers of BusinessWeek.com. For more information on Trulia, visit their website or read the Trulia blog.