Do you ever work with some customers that you simply hate? Do you feel that you are making too little money with your real estate job? Or maybe you are making enough money but can’t really enjoy what you are doing? It all looks like another job, but with a 12 hours a day schedule?

Are you dealing with the right type of customer?

I want to borrow a presentation from one of the most respected and influential Internet marketers to date because I think there are some key points that everyone has to assess in order to be really successful and which have to do with choosing a business and a customer that fully resonate with you as a person and which feel completely comfortable for you.

People perceive more than meets the eye and they can feel when you are doing something just because you have to and when you are not really “sold” yourself on the subject and on the actions and activities that such a subject entails.

Frank Kern’s “Core influence” presentation is 2 hours long and is definitely worth watching. I don’t personally agree with some aspects of it, like the “brain or subconscious theory” (I have a much more spiritual approach to life), but the process that he describes is definitely important when it comes to actually find your perfect market and your perfect customer. And he also gives an account of his personal experience with this process.

My take on it is that you’ll never be successful if you don’t take the time to:

1.Define what is the type of life you want to experience and where you want to experience ti and with whom. Having stuff is really not important if you can’t use money or object to live the life you really want to live.

2.Establish what you really enjoy most doing, that is the type of professional life you want to live and what kind of work exactly fits you best. In real estate for example there are a number of strategies and professions one can undertake. Often people look for the most lucrative one that can give the most results in the minimum time and with little or no effort. And they fail or commit to a job that they hate.

3.Figure out exactly what you customer wants to experience, how your properties or services can enhance his life. This brings us into selecting a segment of the market or a type of customer that is closest to your personal inclinations. Some people hate dealing with home buyers and they focus only on wholesaling properties to other investors. Some other people prefer rehabs and like dealing with hammers and drywall. Other people like me prefer the marketing side of it and specialize in creating relationships between people and in tutoring them. In my international real estate work, for example, I am translating between different cultures and actually sell by teaching.

4.Make sure that what you do aligns perfectly with what you desire to do most and is targeted to a customer that is just like you or that needs exactly what you have to offer.

By putting these four elements in play, you will get sales effortlessly and you will naturally attract the right type of customers. This is not something esoteric or complex. It is simply looking at what honestly you would like to do, regardless of constraints or potential consequences, and steer your boat into that direction.

Roberto Mazzoni

P.S. If you want an example of this approach in action look at Frank’s presentation. It’s free.

Why people don’t buy from you is a post from: Real Estate Investing Benchmark

The next new wave is going to be commercial foreclosure, but you really need to know how to ride it.

These are the five key differences:

1.The legislation on the subject is substantially different and therefore it requires a different approach and a different type of knowledge.

2.The owners of a commercial property have much more experience and knowledge in the field than a regular home owner that is gone in foreclosures. So we are not dealing with distressed owners any more, but we are rather dealing with business men who we are not necessarily trying to substitute, but rather ally with.

3.The cycle of a commercial real estate project is much longer: usually 18 months or more versus 3 to 6 months being the typical cycle length for a residential property.

4.There is very little knowledge on commercial loan modification and many owners don’t really know what they should do, yet they HAVE to do something because commercial loans usually are 5 years long not 30 years long. Therefore people go in foreclosure not because they can’t make their mortgage payments anymore, as it happens in residential real estate, but because they have to renegotiate an existing loan for a property that has lost value.

5.The value of the property is more dependent on its proper management rather than on the actual value of the building itself. Location, age and state of repair have naturally something to do with it, but proper management and marketing are paramount.

Why is this interesting for international investors? They can invest on a single deal with a local investor that they trust rather than having to do multiple residential projects. The risk is more concentrated because you have all your money in one single project, but there are many more tools to establish the worth of the project and the competence of the local investor working with them.

Much less people will be able to play in this field, and that will weed out many of the losers.

Roberto Mazzoni

The time has come for commercial loan modifications is a post from: Real Estate Investing Benchmark

Using catchy phrases in other languages and countries can have painful results.

Pepsi sold their product in China with the typical message “Pepsi brings tyou back to life” eventually translated into “Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave”. And how about General Motors that failed the launch of Chevy Nova in South America for then discovering that “nova” means “it doesn’t go” and sales didn’t actually go anywhere until they changed the name of the vehicle.

And Parker told to his potential pen buyers in Mexico that their pen was not going to leak in their pockets and make them pregnant. And it just goes on and on. So you need to realize that many Internet Marketing strategies don’t work outside of the US for the added complexity introduced by the language and if you rely on automatic translation tools you are in for some very bad and embarrassing surprises.

There is no substitute for simplicity. They more you avoid cunning slogans and double meaning sentences, and just stick to basic communication with possibly lots of pictures or videos then you are fairly on the safe ground. And again there will still be a majority of people that will misunderstand most of what you say, but at least you will avoid the most embarrassing situations. And again they say that 90% of our marketing efforts produce no results and that we get the majority of our customers from the remaining 10% or 20%.

The point is that it take 90% of mistakes to figure out the 10% that really works for you. So keep trying my friend, but be careful of the language and cultural barrier when it comes to international buyers.

Roberto Mazzoni

Why your international marketing efforts fail most of the time is a post from: Real Estate Investing Benchmark

I have just found two very relevant posts, both written by Sean D’Souza on the site Copyblogger that give valuable advice on how to get a valuable testimonial and how to present it so that it contributes to out credibility, rather than subtracting from it.

The first article is titled: “The Secret Life of Testimonials” and the second: “Six Questions to Ask for Powerful Testimonials”. Sean introduces us to the interesting concept of the “reverse testimonial”, namely “ a testimonial that starts off in reverse” and instead of beginning with praise and ending with even more praise, they begin instead by describing some kind of problem the person was trying to solve, the uncertainty she was going through before deciding on the purchase.

In this way you obtain several benefits: first of all you mimic the state of mind in which your new potential customer is right now, you first emphasize the “pain” or trouble he is trying to solve, could it also be just his inability to take a decision and then to stick with it. I would add that you are not pushing the decision toward your customer or reader, but are initially withdrawing a bit so that HE reaches a bit, lowers her screens that have been developed in listening to overly sugary testimonial that nobody would believe. Also you address and solve, in the testimonials, many of the objections that would come in the mind of your potential customer.

The article suggests to structure the testimonial, which is not a new idea as such, but which is always a good idea because the person delivering the testimonial will have a track to follow and will feel, look and SOUND more natural. It is like when you interview some important person as a journalist: they always want to have the questions in advance, so to be ready to answer properly and intelligently. This also helps getting testimonials from people that are far away and that have bought your product or service much time ago.

The article suggests six questions you can ask as a routine. They are quite good, but you can develop your own. The key factors being addressed are

1.Objections to the purchase (so that you can defuse them with the rest of the testimonial).
2.Reason for buying despite the obstacles.
3.Key benefit received from the product or service (note it is just one).
4.Additional benefits
5.Reasons for recommending it
6.Additional comments

I would personally add a presentation of the customer herself, who she is and what she does. I know it’s kind of understood but it always an important to give further credibility and also offer her the chance of promoting herself or her company during the testimonial.

Roberto Mazzoni

Testimonials that actually sell is a post from: Real Estate Investing Benchmark

But if you can overcome the desire to know it all and to do it all from the very beginning, then you can really make some sense out of it and you will eventually master it. I am personally on this route and I have been traveling on it for some time now, but only in recent times I have decided to develop it at a professional level sinche I realize that the majority of my business opportunity and leads come from some form of Web interaction, may I it be social media or more simply browsing sites and other blogs.

I have selected for you four articles that will help you stay oriented and progressing on the path:

21 Management Tips for Bloggers

This is an article by Daivd Risley, a professional blogger from Tampa that I know personally and who is very down to hearth. I am part of his “Blog Masters Club” and I have been getting some very solid advice from him.

Blogging Frustration! 10 Simple Tips to Keep You From RIPPING your Hair Out

This article comes from Problogger network and gives some real life perspective from an author who has been through the same frustrations as you have been.

10 Tricks for Getting Inspired to Write

This is an article of Copyblogger by far the best site for learning how to write something that other people WILL read.

Enjoy!

Roberto Mazzoni

P.S. If you liked this article, pass it along!

The biggest challenge: avoiding overwhelm is a post from: Real Estate Investing Benchmark

give people motivation and make them win and they will get you money.

This evening I participated to a meetup in the area of Tampa focused on Internet Marketing. The special guest was one of the top professional bloggers in the nation who happens to live in the area and that I know because I have bought some of his materials on blogging. It was the perfect situation where the people present could have picked the brain of somebody who has managed to gain a five figure income online only by himself and through his own efforts and by blogging alone.

But the majority of the people present were asking what platform should they use to publish their blog, which theme (graphic layout) they should chose for their WordPress installation and so on, and the majority were not even asking questions. I could not believe my ears! They had a really successful blogger within their reach and they could have asked for free advice on how to establish their own success online and they were silent.

After the event, very few people exchanged some chat and I was the only one to reach the speaker, whip out my business card and fire many more questions in addition to the ones I had already done, trying to establish how his business was working and, more importantly, how his customers (students who try to become professional bloggers) were succeeding. And he told me that the vast majority of people got bogged down in technical issues and really didn’t believe they could make it, have trouble in staying focused and don’t know whether they are coming or going.

It looks a lot like the type of feedback that I hear from many fledging real estate investors: they have never done a deal and they wonder where to start from looking for the perfect “system”. Exactly the same happens in Internet Marketing training circles or affiliate marketing training circles. The fact is that where people are involved you cannot have a system: people are different, they react differently to things and therefore you need to become an expert in dealing with THEM not in technology.

There are many techniques for selling a house, but then again it boils down to people and how well you can motivate them. For example I have started marketing a house I have just finished rehabbing few days ago. I decided I was going to have a buyer fast and I already have a hot prospect: he lives just next door with his mom. He has seen the house change under his eyes, he knows it inside out and knows the neighborhood perfectly and would like to say close to mom but have his own space. He is VERY motivated. Do you thinks it is going to be an hard sale, if he can qualify for a loan? I don’t think so. Did I have to argue about the price? No. Did I have to explain the intricacies of the contracts? No. Did I have to show the house, pitching all of its amenities? No!

It’s a world made of people. They want to communicate with you and being helped, even if sometimes it looks like the contrary. Do that, and the rest will fall into place.

Roberto Mazzoni

Selling motivation pays off is a post from: Real Estate Investing Benchmark

A simple challenge to get your Web presence to the next level.

There is so little time in a single day and you don’t feel like you have to say something that is important enough for other to read or listen. You wonder how the time you are spending in front on this computer is ever going to pay back and how can you really make money over the Internet.

Maybe you have subscribed to some expensive (or not so expensive) “make money online” system you you still wonder why yous subscriber list doesn’t increase and why you can’t use your computer has not yet become an automatic teller machine that spits out money every time you push the “send” button.

Well you are in good company because the vast majority of entrepreneurs and so called Internet marketers feel the same way, from time to time. I count myself in the crowd and even though I have a huge professional writing experience sometimes I hit a “blank” spot where writing just another single sentence seems pointless.

But it never is and let me share with you a little secret that might change you whole perspective: every time you send something out which is of value, you will get something back in. It can come from a totally different quarter. That is, maybe you sent out a post to a certain list and you are then getting people reaching for you from a totally different angle. It can also happen with some delay, but it always does.

It has happened to me recently: I was promoting some of my houses in the US to international real estate investors and I got in return the request from an European businessman to help him market a very valuable property that he wants to sell world wide. It always comes back.

And here is a resource you want to check out to improve the effectiveness of your Internet efforts. It is called “30 day challenge” and it is a free program that assists you in developing a workable Internet presence in one month. It is easy, you don’t need to be a technology expert. It has been used successfully by many and there is a support forum.

Check it out!

Roberto Mazzoni

Can you challenge yourself for 30 days? is a post from: Real Estate Investing Benchmark

An American Indian totem.

Audio has become a key element for keeping myself updated on my business and passions. I rarely have time to stop and read something, but I can listen to my recordings when I am riding on my car or when I am waiting in line or also when I am jogging. There is so much to know and so much to implement at the same time, that I prefer use my time in front of the computer for implementation, while the new digital media world allows me to consume the information wherever I am an in any format I want.

As I reported in my “Eight Rules to Avoid Social Media Disaster”, you cannot predict where your customer will use the information and therefore must be prepared in providing it to her in many different formats. So this time I am the consumer and I will take some quality time with my family and I will put to test, at the same time, the effectiveness of having my whole conference library on my iPod. I am copying right now 3,000 audio tracks, spanning from real estate to Internet Marketing, list building and professional blogging. I have just downloaded the last private briefing by problogger Brian Clark to the Third Tribe project members.

The power of having the whole of it at my finger tips in a small portable device is remarkable and the ability to listen to any selected item while I am in a beautiful location, fully immersed in nature and with the people I love most, I am sure will make all the difference in my ability to capture the key information and transform it into action.

Roberto Mazzoni

P.S. If you want to delevop your business around your blog  in a very professional mannel check the Third Tribe project (affiliate link).

Following Osceola’s trail is a post from: Real Estate Investing Benchmark

Allow your customers to have control of their valuable time.

Our life was actually running at the drum beat of somebody else. I remember for example when I was a kid in Italy, we had a very popular advertising show being run every evening at 9 pm sharp. It was a collection of very spectacular or funny (for the time) advertisements, it featured some of the best actors of the time, each one featuring a “short movie” centered on a specific product. It was very popular.

Almost every kid liked it and they watched it with their families just before going to bed. Therefore this show, named “carousel”, was the signal of the end of the day for a whole generation of kids, not the sun set or some other natural event. That how powerful the television was then.

Today, in the digital media age, we can view our preferred show when we want: we can record it, get it on demand from a subscription service, rent a DVD, download it from the Internet, and so on. Therefore the customer is getting used to control her own time and decide when he wants to consume our services.

This is applicable to any field, including real estate where I operate. It is becoming more and common with brokers or investors to have the buyers go visit a house that is for sale or for rent by themselves, without the escort of a Realtor or the owner himself. Maybe the listing broker or the owner gives them the code to a lock box or a neighbor lets them in. The prospective buyer has therefore the chance of looking at the house at her time and her speed, involving anybody he wants before coming to a decision that she is really interested in it and then you can move forward with the negotiation and the financing issues.

It has been noted that people feel safer when they have the chance of doing so and therefore tend to appreciate the house more, or they simply discard it, saving also you own time since you don’t have to go there and show the house to a bunch of people that will never buy it or wait for the arrival of a prospective tenant that never shows up.

There is of course lot’s of benefit also in having the customer escorted there by somebody who can describe the house and overcome comments and answer questions, but this can always happen after the first visit or drive-by. We all have very limited time and any system that goes in the direction of allowing all the parties involved to decide when to do something and the time to spend on it is going to be successful.

Roberto Mazzoni

P.S. if you like this post subscribe to my newsletter or to my RSS feed so to not miss any future nugget.

Are you losing control of your time? is a post from: Real Estate Investing Benchmark

Procuring the buyer a way to get a loan is probably the best selling tool in residential real estate

How this plays into the real estate market? Well, most people today don’t seem to be out looking for a house, but are looking for somebody that will help them get a loan. Addressing the financing issue and helping potential buyers qualify through maybe some financial coaching is proven to be a key factor for facilitating sales in the only area that seems to be moving well now: the first time home buyer.

I have been selling houses for a few months now using some other broker or Realtor and I have noticed that the interest in the property was more dependent on the question: “Is it going to appraise for the agreed selling price?” rather then on the merits of the house itself. Naturally the buyers need to like the house, but they depend utterly on their ability to get a loan for actually getting it.

I have seen that one approach that is growing in popularity consists in marketing to potential buyers that have bruised credit who come in the house as tenant with an option to buy and then spend the following three to six months in fixing their credit and using the option to actually complete the transaction.

The house needs to be price within a value range that will be confirmed by the appraiser, but with this system you can get a buyer in the house in as little as 15 days and you can have the house sold in 3 months if the pre-screening of the buyer was done well and he follows the direction he is given to improve his credit.

I am currently testing this strategy on the house I have on the market right now using the help of a broker that has been doing it many times in the last years. It is a very different type of sale as compared to the usual listing, but the time of the actual sale can be comparable (the time to sell on the MLS right now averages 3 months in Florida for exampe) and while you wait for the final closing, you get some cash flow from the rent as well as the option deposit that you will keep if the prospective buyer doesn’t get his credit fixed and therefore his financing.

I will update you on the outcome of this test that, if successful, could change a lot the way I market my properties. The nice thing about it is that, while you market the property, you also build a list of contacts to which you can market the next house and you get referrals from the people you have helped in getting a new home.

Roberto Mazzoni

What have you done for me lately? is a post from: Real Estate Investing Benchmark