Fisher & Company's Blog

Here’s a quick tip to figure out what the general public really thinks about your homes, communities, amenities and site agents. 

(Note to Realtors: You can use this at Open Houses to collect valuable buyer perceptions about your listings.)

Have someone greet and interview your model visitors as they depart your model.  A bright, colorful clipboard that is highly visible will improve your response.  Keep your survey short and ask questions to determine the buyer’s perception of the positives and negatives of your homes and community.  Ask buyers to rate the overall size, features, value, style of homes, amenities, etcetera.

Final question could ask them to rate how well the site agent explained and demonstrated the homes and communities to them.   If you ask this question, for an objective opinion, please use an outside source to conduct the interview.  This also prevents office gossip about the performance of your site agents.

Remember to keep your grading system simple and craft your questions so that the rating system is the same throughout.  Make use of a large, colorful laminated card with the response choices clearly printed on it, handing the prospect the card at the start of the interview so they may refer to it and properly decide the appropriate choice.  

I once did this when we had a model home that was not selling. The exit survey highlighted that buyers were looking for a four bedroom home but were perceiving the model home to be a three bedroom because the site agent was using the fourth bedroom as an office. The price list and the salesperson clearly indicated to the public that the home was a four bedroom, they just didn't see it.  I immediately converted the garage to a sales office, merchandised the bedroom as a bedroom, and we saw an immediate jump in sales.

For more information on exit surveys, crafting questions, and making sense of the data, you may contact us directly.  

We have thousands of sheets of our high-quality company letterhead and beautiful matching envelopes stored in our supply closet.  Designed in-house, our stationary is full color, embossed, and printed on expensive paper that reflects the essence of who and what we feel we are to our clients. Unfortunately, many of our clients rarely see it as we use email as our chief means of written communication.

It takes us less time to send an email than a letter.  We can copy multiple people who need to share in and be aware of the information or content we are sending, it is virtually immediate, reduces our cost of communicating, can move things forward quickly, clarifies and confirms phone communications faster than traditional correspondence, can provide potential customers the information they need to make a buying decision and thus move the critical path of selling along at a faster rate, and email generally increases our efficiency and improves the management of our time for the benefit of our clients. 

While email clearly has numerous benefits, there are some considerations that you should take under advisement as you craft and send out emails to clients, colleagues, friends, and others to avoid embarrassment, potential lawsuits, or mis-communication:

1.  Emails are NEVER private.  EVER.  If you send something out, it can, and often will be, shared with someone else, possibly multiple people, in a very short period of time.  Never, ever, put anything in an email that you would not want to see plastered on the front page of the local newspaper.

2.  Stay away from any comments or observations that can open you up to a law suit. See rule number 1 above.

3.  Remember that once you hit the send button, your email can't be retrieved.  Someone will get it, share it, and it will exist in the virtual world forever.  Don't let your words come back to haunt you.

4. Sometimes things are best said face-to-face.  Don't hide behind and email or allow an email to take the place of a personal encounter.  Never deliver bad news via email. 

5.  Guard your written tone.  Since your reader may take your email literally, sarcasm and humor in the written word are often best left to professional writers. Keep your tone clear, and if in doubt, have someone else read a printed copy (Rule 3) prior to hitting the send button.  I like to save critical communications as drafts and come back later to relook at the content and get a fresh perspective.

6. With the spam filters and glitches that occur daily in our virtual world, important communications should also be delivered via an alternate means of communication, either by phone or traditional mail to ensure delivery.  Additionally, remember that many people do not check their email daily, so be aware of this if your email contains time-sensitive deadlines, dates of appointments or scheduled meetings.

7. Always use spell checker. and remember that spell checker can only do so much. Words like write and right, their and there, weather and whether, among many others, are overlooked by spell checker.  You MUST proof your work prior to hitting send.

8. If you struggle with grammar, craft your e-message in a Word document first, run a grammar check, then copy and paste.  Use traditional sentence structures, avoid all caps, smiley faces, font colors other than blue or black, hard to read fonts, etcetera in your business communications.

9. Keep your tone professional and business-like when communicating with clients or potential clients.  Save the jokes and casual tone for family and friends.

10. Do not provide any information in an email that is subject to change without providing a clear disclaimer that the offer or content may change without notice.  Examples of this would be pricing, availability, terms, etcetera.

We hope these tips will help you to refine and polish your communication skills in the virtual world.

Happy Marketing!

Do you use postcards, letters, newsletters and other direct mail pieces as a part of your promotional strategy?

Recently, someone sent me a direct mail piece that I still can't figure out.  The offer was for a land / vacation home package at a price that caught my attention.  A price that would definitely be of interest to me and one which I am well-qualified to buy. The problem is that I have absolutely no idea where the land / vacation package home is located.

I examined the direct mail piece looking for a map, driving directions to the property, or an address to the sales center that would help me to discover whether or not this vacation home was situated in an area that would appeal to me.  To obtain more information, I hunted for a web address, but one wasn't provided.  There were other flaws with the piece but the chief flaw was that the only way I could obtain more information about the land and homes was to call the phone number provided. 

Even though I am at heart a salesperson and love to buy, I am the typical consumer.  I prefer to have a little more information prior to making contact with a salesperson. 

So here's the tip of the day for making consumer response easier on your direct mail pieces: part of the success of every direct mail campaign is to make it easy for consumers to respond to your message.

Tell them how to contact you or get more information in multiple ways. Think beyond a phone number to web addresses, driving directions, locator maps, hours of operation, property address, your office address and more.

Is that rocket science?  No, but for some reason so many people make it difficult for the customer to contact them.

Someone spent a great deal of money getting this vacation home offer printed and distributed to what I would imagine was a very large database. 

I find it very hard to believe that the piece was professionally designed, and I am thinking that they could really use our help.  You're getting this advice for free. They are going to pay for it.  I hope you will take this under consideration the next time you invest in a direct mail piece so that you aren't wasting your money.

By the way, I collect direct mail pieces, ones that are done well, and ones that are done poorly.  If you recieve a direct mail piece that you think I might be interested in adding to our collection, please forward it on to me at:

Fisher & Company, P.O. Box 550711, Jacksonville, Florida, 32255.

Happy Marketing!

Someone needs to tell hurricane Fay that she needs GPS.  We never (well, ALMOST never) get hurricanes here in Northeast Florida.  Local lore is that it is that cute little tummy tuck up there at the crown of the state just to our north that sends them up to either Georgia or the Carolinas.

I can remember living in Jacksonville during the late '70s when Hurricane David decided to march straight up the coast to give Jacksonville a good shake, rattle and roll.  My dad was a general contractor down in the Bahamas, so having experienced some serious hurricanes first hand, I took things very seriously.  I hauled plywood from the lumber yard on top of my car and boarded up my brick home.  My neighbors stood out in the street and laughed at me.

"Didn't you hear? Hurricane's coming," I yelled over the screech of my circular saw. (Hey, I just said my Dad was a builder! I know how to measure twice and cut once.  Besides, I was a starving student and couldn't afford to hire it out.  It was tough enough buying the wood.  "They had a sale on Spam at the Winn Dixie. I have plenty if y'all need any.  (Y'all was one of the first southern exspressions I learned when I moved to America. I liked it then and I like it now.)

So there I sat, hatches battened down, house boarded up, lights on in the middle of the daytime in my now windowless house . . . and my neighbors worked in their yards, washed their cars, watered their lawns, cleaned their windows and laid out by their pools.  These people don't take hurricanes very seriously, I thought as I organized my cans of Sterno, spam, tuna, Vienna sausages, and the 36 gallons of water. 

I waited.  And waited.  I finally went out on the patio and threw a couple of steaks on the grill. My neighbor was the professor of something or other at Jacksonville University, and he may have been all of five feet tall.  He was a shy man, or so it seemed to a twenty-year old who was going to set the world on fire.  Maybe I just scared him by making him wonder if I was in any way truly representative of the future leaders of business and industry.  I could hear him speaking to me in whispers from behind the weathered cypress fence we shared: "We don't board up around here unless George boards up." He was such a nice man to quietly tell me the way things worked here, sort of like he was letting me in on the secret.

The George my scholarly neighbor was telling me about is George Winterling.  George has been at local TV Channel 4 as the Grand Po-Bah of weather for over forty years.  Maybe more. I think George may have invented weather. Or TV.  Still, the fact that George wasn't boarding up seemed sort of reckless to me, so I wasn't very impressed by the Grand Po-Bah of weather.  George knows weather and he wasn't boarding up? Had George never ridden a hurricane out? I was skeptical that a weather guy wasn't boarding up when all of the models showed the hurricane coming in at Jacksonville. 

After all of my preparation, hurricane David stood Jacksonville up.  Totally missed us. I think the storm went in down at Daytona and crossed the state, fizzling out somewhere west of Gainesville. We never even had a drop of rain nor the faintest wisp of wind.

Twenty or so years later, in 1999, there was Hurricane Floyd.  I remember the date because I had just finished the remodeling of a waterfront condo that I had purchased in a very low area. One foot of rain would put the water table at the second step of my interior staircase.   George was boarding up.  That was good enough for me.  Floyd was a pretty large and powerful storm and unsure of whether the building would make it or not, I decided to load up the munchkins in our motor coach and head off to Tallahassee. Better to be safe than sorry and, after all,  George was boarding up.

My neighbors stood out in front of my condo and laughed at me as I loaded one cat, four dogs and a budgie onto the coach.  Noah's ark.  "Hey, y'all," I called, "Didn't you hear? There's a hurricane coming! Right at us! Even George is boarding up.  Y'all heading out?  I've got a extra water and a skill saw if you need it. I bought way too much Spam and Harris Teeter had a great sale on corned beef hash. It's the good kind 'cause you don't need a can opener. Y'all help yourselves while I finish loading up." 

As I carried the family bible, baby pictures, rare works of art created by seven year old artist, plus my entire Beatles record collection to the coach, one by one my neighbors wandered off to water their pots of posies, take their cars to the gourmet car wash, and plan the community picnic for that evening.  The association pressure washed the buildings and washed windows exactly as planned.

I drove out of the community heading west across the flatest, most boring section of road in Florida, wondering if my building would be there when I got back.  Not only were people fleeing west from Jacksonville, they were fleeing north and then west from Daytona and I spent ten hours sitting in traffic on I-10 West for a trip to Tallahassee that normally takes me two and half tops.  As I sat in my plush captains chair behind the wheel, I looked over at I-10 East and saw two empty lanes of black top headed in the wrong direction.  What a waste of road.  As I inched past every on ramp to I-10 East, a sheriff or HWP vehicle blocked anyone from getting on to head back toward Jacksonville.  Why didn't they get the west bound interstate using the wasy bound lanes? We sat. And sat.  One by one the carcasses of cars were pushed to the sides of the highway as they ran out of gas or overheated.  This coach gets seven miles per gallon, I pondered, so how much fuel by the hour?  Should you cut the generator and save the fuel? By the time I made it to Tallahassee, all of the campgrounds were full, so I drove on to Panama City Beach.  Having never been there and so close . . . it seemed perfectly logical to me.

From the comfort of my spot at the Panama RV Resort, I sat and listened to the weather report.  Floyd totally missed Jacksonville.   I think that Floyd came blowing up the coast, dartied in and spit at us.  I know because I felt a drop on my arm. All the way over in Panama City Beach.  Didn't Floyd know that even George had boarded up?  Where was Floyds GPS?  By the time I made it to Lake City a week later, located halfway between Jacksonville and Tallahassee, there were T-shirts for sale at every gas station that read: Floyd the Barber, A Close Shave.  For those of you too young to recognize Floyd the Barber . . . go ask someone over 50.

Having lived for many years down in the Caribbean on an island that today seems smaller than the property my current home sits on, we were used to a good blow or two each year.  It simply wasn't summer unless we went through the drill of battening down the hatches, boarding up the windows, securing the boat, and stocking up with canned goods that I wouldn't normally eat on a bet.  Our island was the size of a pea on a football field.  Even if the hurricane gave us wide berth, chances were that some part of it snagged our little island and shook the coconuts out of the trees for us.  Often, we wouldn't have power restored for weeks. 

I have a great respect for the damage a hurricane can cause.   I've rode out far too many not to fully understand what a hurricane can do.  The one advantage that we have with a hurricane is that we can prepare.  So, if you are reading this and you hear that hurricane Fay is headed your way, please don't blow it off.  Follow the hurricane preparedness guidelines and secure your homes, family and pets. 

In the meantime, I am going to head up to Publix and grab a few cans of Spam to tide of us over.  Oh, and I am going to check with George and see if he is boarding up.  I don't want my neighbors laughing at me.

There is something about the Olympics that gets even the least sports-minded couch potato involved and interested in the medaling at the Olympic games.  The world gets hooked on the Olympics with the Grand Opening Events and follow every event even though we ourselves are likely to never compete, never participate, and never make any effort to be an athlete. 

In the winter games, even Floridians who have never left the sunshine state will talk giant slalom, ice skating, and the luge with the prowess of an expert.  In the summer, people who have never lept a hurdle or sprinted through a tape will hold their breath, make the jump, the leap, or stroke and kick for the medal from the comfort of their sofa.

The 2008 Olympics have given Americans someone to be proud of: Michael Phelps, an amazing swimmer who was born to the water.  We want to check his fingers and toes for webbing, but don't care either way because with eight medals (at this writing) he is that good, that great, that incredible. 

In Phelps' shadow, just a bit, is the story of Dara Torres, not quite the fish that Phelps is, but an amazing athlete in her own right. At 41, Torres is the ancient lady of swimming, the oldest U.S. swimmer in Olympic history and old enough to be the mother of some of the swimmers that she is competing against.  Torres sat out the 1996 and 2004 Olympics, and Beijing is her 5th. Olymplics. She has won 10 Olympic medals, none of them individual golds. 

Torres has done two things for Americans by participating in these Olympics.  She has shown the world that Americans are some of the most generous spirited people in the world, and she has shown Americans that age does not matter.

Dara Torres arguably is the poster athlete for sportsmanship.  Torres delayed the start of the 50m race because a competitor in the same race had a "swimsuit malfunction".  Torres stated to a reporter that she originally tried to help Swedish athlete Therese Alshammar secure the strap to her suit as they were walking in to the pool area for the event.  Upon seeing Alshammar rush back to the locker room to change suits, Torres approached an official to delay the race, and attempted to settle down other competitors who wanted to start without Alshammar.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/share.html?videoid=0816_HD_SWB_AU_L1686

When asked by a reporter why she stopped the race, Torres commented, "In the pool they're my competitors, but out of the pool they're my friends."

That's the epitome of sportsmanship, and should be a reminder to all of us that even though we may be competitive in life, in the business world, or on the golf course, we don't need to be cut throat.  Besides, if we are as good as we say we are, we don't need to be, and Torres is better than she says she is.  She is that good.

Additionally, Torres has confirmed, reminded and restored the world's faith in Americans. As a foreigner in America, I can say with conviction that these Americans are a unique people.  For the most part they are a generous people, friendly, caring and willing to lend a hand and help someone out.  In spite of what others may say,  Americans do what they do and step in when they need to because they value their freedom, have national pride, and when the chips are down they will band together and stand united with anyone who asks.  

Another thing I like about Dara Torres is that she is reminding people of all age groups, young and old and those somewhere in between, that age really is just a number and a state of mind.  As a woman who feels and thinks 28 when her birth certificate clearly states otherwise, I can confirm to you that if you think you are old, you are. I observe it in people every day. 

When asked about her age, and if she has broken any rules for older athletes, Torres stated, "Hopefully I rewrote the rules for anyone who wants to do something and think, they are too old to do it."

The Olympics are meant to bring us together, the best of the best, the best of our countries, in a series of sportsmanlike events.  While medals are given out, differences are meant to be put away.  The better part of valor, of grace, of personal integrity.  Torres personifies the Olympic ideal and the ideal character of an American. 

 That's my take on today's Olympic news.  I welcome yours.

I like the motivational and life changing speaker Stephen Covey.  One of the things Stephen Covey says is that highly effective people seek first to understand then be understood.  In my previous post Builder / Realtor Relationships - A Love/Hate Relationship Part I  I began trying to create an awareness for Realtors and Builders of how each other thinks.  Realtors think apples and builders think oranges.  It doesn't mean that either of them is thinking wrong.  It's just two different perspectives on the residential real estate industry.  I'm hoping that a better understanding between the two will lead to more successful business relationships in the future.  

Working on-site and in upper management with builders for over twenty years has given me a wealth of opportunities to work with Realtors to resolve both their issues and those of their client customers. Before I'm blasted by any Realtors or agents, please note that this post is based on my extensive experience resolving issues in the field. There are always those Realtors who do things in a different, better and more professional way, and since you are reading and blogging all things real estate you are likely in the better and more professional category. 

For Builders: The Realtor's Perspective (The Builder's Perspective for Realtors was in the first post. Jump there from here to view.)

The homebuilder's goal is to drive quality traffic, not quantity. Realtors are taught early on that success in real estate is quantity, a numbers game, so they try to list and show as many homes as possible.  This is why they keep asking for your listings. They need to keep building listings, which are their inventory, since listings sustain their efforts.  They have all those other agents out there working with buyers and hope that one of them will sell their listing even if they themselves can't.  While agents will try to sell their own listing what they want most is to pick up other business from that listing in the form of new leads for other listings and buyers for other properties.  Think of it as multi-level marketing and the pyramid.  Their goal is to build up a database of suspects who will either buy or sell or lead them to someone who will.  A successful Realtor adopts the attitude of hanging in there until they either buy or die.  This is why so many of them invest heavily in points of contact such as newsletter, cards, developing farm areas, client events, emarketing, etc.  

In home building, we track and measure everything.  We count traffic and study lead sources.  We grade every prospect and turn those grades in with our traffic reports. We look at cost per lead and cost per sale.  The general real estate agent doesn't, especially if they work for someone else.  To them, a buyer is a buyer and a seller is a seller.  They are trained to work with their hottest prospect first, and often do not ask the same qualifying questions that site agents are trained to ask. 

Unlike a site-agent, or new home consultant, most Realtors are not willing to hang out in your inventory home holding an open house during the week. They are working on multiple things and don't have the support staff that builders typically have to handle closings, homeowner orientations, etc.  Realtors must chase down the mortgage approval and any supporting documents, meet and juggle roofing inspectors, plumbers, home inspectors, termite men, repair men, and more.  They work hard for their money and earn it by handling all of the details that you have a full support staff for.  If they are sometimes a little harried or ditzy, it's probably because you have caught them at a time when they have four balls and a couple of flaming batons up in the air. Haven't you ever asked yourself how some of your sales team can safely cross the road? Great sales people are often great not because they are good at details but because they are good at building relationships.  It's the superstars that are good at both.   

Site agents are generally taught the price is the price on the price sheet.  Taking the lot off the market through lot reservations are typically the first steps in the site-agent's path to a purchase and sale agreement.  Realtors are taught to negotiate and ask for an offer as the first step.  

Builder's and site-agents work in the abstract off of blueprints and the promise of tomorrow and what will be.  They learn to speak in generalities when discussing time frames, and are likely to discuss changes and modifications, options and upgrades.  Not having brick and mortar to show doesn't phase them.  They have learned to paint the picture. Realtors work with the here and now.  They are not abstract sellers.  They must deal with the home as it sits and must learn to overcome bad decorating, small yards, poor lighting, lack of closets, and home made, hand lettered DO NOT LET (PET) OUT (IN) signs.  Often, Realtors don't like to show new construction because they themselves can't see it.  

Realtors can expect to be paid in thirty to forty-five days from contract.  Site agents know it could takes ten months to close and be paid.  Realtors want quick gratification so that they can move on to the next "deal".  Site agents must develop patience and learn to accept that gratification comes in time.  

Good builders (or their sales managers/sales directors) will have a clear policy as to which site agent has earned the right to write a contract for a customer, and thus avoid any disputes between agents.  Buyers frequently roam around without their Realtor and will end up buying from another Realtor.  The procuring cause rule. Realtors somewhat skeptical and hesitant to "register" their prospects with the builder, when in fact, this is exactly what they should do to protect themselves as the procuring cause. 

HOW TO SOLVE THE BUILDER - REALTOR LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP

I am going to recommend that both Realtors and Builders read each others points below.  If you can each understand what the other is trying to accomplish, and why things are done the way that they are, you will bridge the gap of miscommunication and understand the residential real estate arena from both perspectives.

BUILDERS:

• Put your Realtor Co-Op policy IN WRITING and make it available to Realtors on your web site and in your offices.  
• Clearly state the registration requirements, and whether or not you will accept a phone registration and under what conditions you will take one.  
• If you require that the Realtor accompany the prospect on the first visit, then please say so in writing. 
• Don't send mixed signals.  Establish a policy and then stick to it so that it will be well known and have greater acceptance with the Realtor community. When you make different rules for different occasions or special agents, you risk making your policy unfair and discriminatory, whether or not by intention.  Just like buyers, Realtors talk, and you do not want word getting that you are saying one thing and doing another,
• Provide a Realtor Registration form that is four part - One for you, one for your site agent, one for the Realtor, and one for the customer. Yes, one for the customer.  You want the customer to know that they are registered with XYZ Realty, and that you will be working with Agent 007.5 from XYZ Realty to help them with their new home needs.  What you are trying to achieve is to discourage them from getting another Realtor involved in the sale later on in the process as well as reassure them that their agent is a welcomed business partner. 
• Make certain that the prospect completes the registration form at the END of the presentation, not the Realtor, so that you can collect data critical to your sales and marketing success (for proper pricing, promotion, product, placement, etc.) and have the customer state what their new home criteria is. (Realtors, please read this comment in YOUR section for the logic behind this as it applies to YOU.)
• DO NOT OFFER ONE PRICE WITH A REALTOR AND A LOWER PRICE WITHOUT.  Train your site agents how to properly handle this request.
• Do not treat Realtors differently from one market cycle to another.  Be consistently fair and willing to either co-op with them or not.  
• Do not fall into the trap of begrudgingly paying them their commissions.  If they have followed your registration policy then they have earned it.  Pay them cheerfully and thank them for their business by honoring your Realtor co-op policy.
• Please have your site-agent follow up with the Realtor to both inform the Realtor of any progress being made towards a successful home buying experience and also discover any new information that may help the agent further identify how to help the prospect make a buying decision for one of your homes.
• When a purchase ensues, if the Realtor is not present, as is often the case, please contact the Realtor ASAP and provide them with a copy of the executed agreement ASAP.  
• Keep the Realtor posted of closing dates.  By being proactive, you are building your relationship and earning the trust and confidence of that Realtor and developing future business.

When someone registers on your website or contacts you for more information via email, it's likely that you are using an automated email responder to notify them that their email has been received.

Instead of the expected "Thank you for contacting us"  why not send a POWERFUL message back to your prospect with details of your current promotion, or a special offer for them since they have taken the time to register on your site or request information from you?

Transactional emails provide any business with the perfect power tool since they can add unexpected and added value to your email. 

You may want to use home improvement tips, highlight a feature of your business, provide a gardening tip, spotlight FAQs, showcase a listing, or any number of tidbits related to your industry or product.  Remember to change the content frequently to keep things fresh.

Customers expect to receive an email message back from you when they email you.  By providing them with a special message that adds value to your product or service, you can greatly increase your chance of converting a casual request for information into a bonifide customer or sale. 

We hope that this emarketing tidbit produces great results for you.  As always, let us hear from you.

Happy marketing!

It comes as no surprise that the top states for foreign buyers are Florida, California, Arizona and Texas, but I was surprised recently when I reviewed a recent National Association of Realtors report that stated that Canadians are now the number one international buyer of American real estate, a position previously long held by Mexican buyers. 

Canadians currently account for nearly one quarter of all foreign buyers.  We all know how strong the Canadian dollar is compared to the America dollar, and clearly Canadian buyers are using a soft housing market to make their move and take advantage of some of the lowest home prices in years and snap up those bargains for vacation homes.

In the Florida market, my fellow Brits, supported by the strong Euro, are the number one foreign buyer, followed by Canadians.  It was also interesting to note that slightly more than half of all German buyers selected Florida as their real estate investment choice.  While California won the Chinese buyers' favor, Florida showed with a strong second place.

The weak dollar is likely having an impact on foreign investors purchasing homes in America; as the housing market continues to strengthen, foreign investors will likely feel reassured that their investment is safe and we will continue to see foreign investors looking for both primary and vacation homes for their families. 

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Dear Real Estate Swami:

A couple of months ago I read something in one of your posts about the Jacksonville, Florida, Real Estate market being in a possible recovery.  Are we in a recovery and if so, do you have any idea when home prices in Jacksonville will be at the bottom? 

Signed,

Waiting

Dear Waiting:

The post you are referring to was What's Really Happening in the Jacksonville Real Estate Market.  Didn't The Great Swami already state in a Fisher & Company, P.A. newsletter to clients and later blog that there were numerous local market indicators that pointed to a recovery of the Jacksonville real estate market and that buyers would soon be looking at the bottom of the market from their rear view mirrors?  

Have you checked your rear view mirror recently?  Didn't Swami already warn you?  According to the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) recently, home sales in Jacksonville have doubled in the first six months of 2008, and Jacksonville isn't the only market to experience an increase in home sales. Statewide, single family home sales have increased nearly 74% from January to June and sale of condominiums have jumped 61%.  (Swami discloses that the statewide figures don't include data from the Naples Realtors Association.)

Even the Miami and Orlando markets have seen dramatic increases in sales, with Miami reporting that single-family sales have risen 60% from January to June and condominium sales for the same time period have increased a whopping 81%. Orlando, once flooded with in excess of 24,000 homes on the market, saw single-family sales jump an impressive 86% and condominiums 89% for the same time period.  True, the number of Orlando condominiums selling is still a relatively low number compared to the 2004 and 2005 real estate boom, but any positive movement at all in condominiums should indicate that the market has turned.

One question per fin, so either cough up another fiver or move along and give someone else a chance.

Dear Real Estate Swami,

What's happening with home prices?  Prices still seem high.  Where are the deals?

Signed,

Montee Haul

Dear Montee,

Wake up. These are the deals.  Have you checked interest rates and gas prices lately?  Interest rates are at their lowest and gas prices at their highest.  If you've been out to the grocery store lately you'd realize that everything has gone up.  Been out to eat lately?  Notice that your tab is up by about 22 to 24%?  The cost of building materials is soaring, and that's being passed on to the builders and then directly on to you.  It's a cruel world, but somebody has to pay for it, and that person is the end user, the consumer, i.e., you. 

I don't know if you are aware of this or not, but insider scoop is that traffic is up at both builders' models and Realtor offices.  Traffic means interested lookers and interested lookers are buyers.  They are coming into the market off the sidelines and getting back into the market.  The Great Swami was visited recently by a Jacksonville Realtor who told the Swami that she was working with a couple who had not one but two homes sold out from underneath them.  On the first one they made an offer just a couple of thousand dollars below the asking price, and someone else simultaneously offered the sellers full price.  On the second home, having learned their lesson on the first, the buyers offered full price, but another buyer simultaneously offered a couple of thousand more.   

Montee, you're obviously looking for a deal.  Well so is everyone else, and clearly every day you delay the buying decision someone else is beating you to the deals. Did you not read the above response to "Waiting"?  The market is moving.  That means that prices are only headed in one direction and that is up.  You need to decide what it is that you want in a new home, be it a brand new home from a builder or a previously loved home that someone has outgrown.  Make an appointment with a REPUTABLE mortgage company or bank and get an idea as to how much home the bank will approve you for.  Make up a list of what it is you are looking for in your new home and check out Realtor.com and some of the other really good real estate web sites.  Shop on-line and save gas before heading out. There are deals out there, you just need to pick one and jump on it.  Remember the lesson from the buyers who made two offers on two different homes: if you love the home be prepared to present the sellers with something strong so that you don't end up having someone else get the home you want.

Ask questions and do your homework.  Compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. The Swami finds it annoying when people shop for and compare homes by price per square foot.  That's like comparing cars at cost per pound.  The Hyundai is clearly going to cost less per pound than the BMW, but the BMW is going to come loaded up with a bunch of neat toys.  So please, think apples to apples and oranges to oranges, and don't annoy The Swami.

Montee, since you're looking for a deal, here's a tip.  Find the area that you most want to live in, and then begin by exploring the housing market in that area. Check out the builders and see what they have available, check out some nice resales, and then buy the home that best suits your budget and needs.  If you are happy with the home and happy with the amount of the monthly investment, then clearly that's your best deal.  

Montee, I see a great deal just waiting for you; don't let it get away.  I see others also interested in the very same home.  

Dear Real Estate Swami,

If the market is improving, why isn't the media all over this?

Signed,

Skeptic

Dear Skeptic,

Probably because they are too busy following really important things like Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears. Haven't you realized that when anything that is positive about the economy or the government or even this nation is buried in the back of the paper right next to any apologies or corrections.  

You're holding up the line.  Next, please.  Step up before the Great Nokandask Swami and ask your real estate question.  The Great Swami sees all and answers all.  Put your money in the slot and ask your question.

10:30 PM I put baby puppies to bed and crawl in mine.  It was a long day that started for me at 5:30 AM.  I was up at the crack of moon to get ready to drive down south to the breeder to pick up a precious, unseen, baby Pomeranian.  I was supposed to pick up one puppy, but came home with two.  Salespeople love to buy, don't they?

If you've ever had a Pom, you know what a delight they are. Cute balls of inquisitive fur who are highly intelilgent, cocky, and really know how to work a crowd.  I had a Pom about four years ago.  He was eighteen years old when we had to put him down.  Even our vet cried.  It has taken us this long to be able to bring another one home because the first, Bradley McLeod, was so amazing.

10:50 PM I awaken to sharp puppy squeaks and run to check on them.  Angus McLeod needs a potty break.  Trained already at eight weeks, I scoop both he and his sister, Hailey Devyn up and deposit them on the puppy pad so that they can take care of business.  I live on a lake and nature preserve, and at 1 pound 2 ounces and 1 pound 4 ounces, there is no way I am taking them outside late at night with the amount of wildlife I have around my home.

10:52 PM they need to chow down (again) and they want to play.  Great. I want to sleep.  I lay on the floor in the family room and watch with one eye as they cavort around with each other.  Hailey is the oldest and at one pound four ounces she outweighs baby brother Angus by two ounces.  He is half her size, and may even be smaller than a gerbil.  He's expected to be all of three pounds at full growth.  She may reach four to five pounds.  Judging by the way she eats it will be closer to the five.  He is carrying a petite Nylar brand bone around in his mouth that is almost bigger than he is.  She drops hers and takes the other end of his.  They chew contentedly, each working on an end.  Finally get them back into their bed at 11:15 PM and I fall into mine.

1:11 AM I hear the now familiar squeek.  I peer into the porta-play pen we purchased especially for them.  They are so small that they have to be corraled lest someone inadvertently step on them, and I don't want them to find mischief for themsleves, i.e., going behind the refrigerator, under the sofas, on my orientals.  He realizes he has me trained to respond when he squeaks and jumps on sleeping Hailey to show her what he can do.  I think that my responding like this every time he decides he wants human interaction may not be smart, but they are already in the potty training mode so I do what needs to be done: get up and get them on the potty pad to reinforce the plan.  For good measure he leaps on Hailey's back again to make sure she is awake and knows that they are about to be set free again.

1:27 AM they are finally resting after chowing down, again, and racing around the family room.  They want to be cuddled and I oblige.  (I drowsily wish I had planned to take the day off.)

2:44 AM I hear what I now recognize is his sharp squeak.  Back out to the family room, I wondered where all of the help was that I was promised earlier.  Now when I put them on the pad it is automatic.  They are crunching on their puppy chow, Angus has his front paws in the bowl, and Hailey keeps taking the pebbles out of the bowl and putting them on the floor before selecting just the right one to munch on.  Diet conscious already, she's all girl.

2:58 AM Angus discovers his love for diamond earrings and keeps going for the studs in my ears.  Suddenly I am irresistible and they want nothing less than to shower me with puppy kisses.  They start to wrestle and sound like little gremlins.  I am going to bed and so are they.

5:30 AM Sharp angry squeaks.  I am up for the day.  Oh, goody.  I can catch the sunrise for the second day in a row.  I wonder if they sell doggie diapers.  Is Starbucks open at this hour?  They are both awake in their porta-cot and are glad to see me, greeting me with wagging tails and tiny little Pom bounces.  They have not cried for their mother since we picked them up and don't seem to care that they have been separated from the rest of the pack.  They are in their new pack, and at the moment, this is all they care about.  They are fed, fat and happy. 

Ah, puppy love.  Is there anything more wonderful than a new puppy?

For the past week or so I have immersed myself in social networking to see what impact, if any, it could have on my business and that of my clients'.  What an interesting exercise this has become.

While I have only just started getting involved with Facebook, Twitter, Utterz, and some of the other networks that are available, I did make a decision a few weeks ago to actively post to my Active Rain blog spot, and have followed through, posting, reading, and commenting when appropriate.  I've made some great contacts on Active Rain, people that are smart, people that make me think or laugh, and these have become associates, and hopefully friends.  I would hope that if they are ever in my area that they would feel free to call and drop by.  I'll either put on the coffee, or open a bottle of wine, and maybe throw something on the grill.  

The one thing that has struck me as I am working to increase my sphere of influence and build up my list of acquaintances, friends and contacts through social networking is how many people I have discovered who are linked in to me through other friends and associates. The six degrees of separation seems to be two. 

For months I have been participating in an on-line webinar program and we have been communicating back and forth with the company only through emails.   Guess who showed up first Twitter and then on Facebook?  I am connected with Realtors in my area that I may never have a transaction with, but if and when I do, I know that they will be a fine representation of a professional real estate agent.  I've 'bumped' into 'old' home builder friends and even people in the industry that I didn't know personally but knew of or who knew of me. 

Maybe through social networking the world has become smaller.  This can be a good thing.  When we can all say that we have something in common, that we are one, maybe then there is the chance of understanding between us, we'll put away the guns and the bombs, and the price of oil, the color of our skin or our religious preferences won't matter.

This exercise started out as an experiment in marketing.  It has become so very much more. 

Peace!

Do I need Twirl?  Is it going to make my life any easier?  

This keeping up with all of the social networking is killing me.  I think I need to hire an Internet social secretary just to keep up with my Twitters, Tweets, and Utterz.  

Now I have done the unthought of and joined facebook (Deborah Fisher.Fisher & Company) so I will need to set that up as well.

Good Lord, how am I ever going to keep it all up?? How do y'all do it? Is anyone getting any work done?

To add to my busy Internet social life, I am going to be doing a mobile web in the next few days.  That's probably going to eat up some of my time. 

Please help me decide if I need Twirl.  Here's what I am using at the moment:  I use a Macbook Pro and a Vista OS LTPC, so I can sit here, work on one and keep several windows open at once and see what is going on.  Plus I have the Blackberry Curve which does a great job for me. (Want an iPhone, don't want the provider.)  

Oh, yeah . .  I also have a FLIP that I just bought.  I need to factor that into the mix. I am lovin' that thing. 

Do I need Twirl? Someone please let me know.

You can Twiiter me @deborahfisher 

Thanks.

I run up and down the state of Florida highways daily, and occasionally a few other states as well.  I just have one question:  What is it with these people who are seemingly asleep at the wheel of their cars and totally oblivious to the traffic around them?  They are just lumbering and plodding along on the highways and byways, tying up traffic as they contemplate the wonder of the fuzz in their belly buttons. 

Don't they know that some of us are working and trying to get somewhere???  We have places to go, people to annoy.  Why can't these idjuts look in their rear view mirrors and see the one hundred-and-seventy-three cars and trucks piled up behind them, drivers all agitated and red in the face, hoarse from screaming at them:  Hey, Moron!  This is not the YOU ARE NUMBER ONE finger that everyone is showing you. (Note dear readers, that I would NEVER personally offer any hand signals or gestures to any other driver . . . but I have had the unfortunate experience of having people offer one to me when I finally get the chance to dash around them, screaming at them as I blow past: "THANKS FOR FINALLY MOVING OVER YOU FREAKIN' IDJUT!!!  I HAVE ENJOYED BEING STUCK BEHIND YOU FOR THE PAST FORTY SEVEN AND A HALF MINUTES!!  I love the look I get . . . they are totally surprised . . . dazed and amazed . . . thinking that I am the one that is the idjut.  Do you know the look I mean?? Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Yeah, that one. Moron.

Don't these morons know that the left lane is for passing and even though you may be doing the speed limit . . . move over and let the rest of us pass!

There they are, driving aimlessly down the highway of life, blocking the left and center lanes, clearly being passed on the right, cutting people off, not paying attention to the road signs and suddenly swerving like maniacs across four lanes of traffic so that they don't miss their exit.  How can they miss the sign for their exit??  Was it in some foreign language and undecipherable?

I see more accidents caused by knuckleheads careening off the highway at the last minute.  You hear the squeal of brakes as motorists try to avoid hitting the moron, a cacophony of horns blaring in warning, and you can't help yourself as you glance in your rear view mirror knowingly, seeing the smoke from the brakes of the Semi that was riding on your tail spewing smoke as the putrid smell of rubber scrapping on asphalt assaults you.  You brace yourself for the impending impact as you see the moron that created the problem scoot down the off ramp of the highway, oblivious to the dented fenders, crushed metal, shattered nerves and terror they have left in their wake. La-de-dah . . . totally, incredibly oblivious.  I guess it never occurred to them to drive safely to the NEXT EXIT and loop back.

Here's another pet peeve.  Why do people come to a dead stop on the interstate off ramp when the sign CLEARLY indicates that they will have the right of way if they stay in the right lane.  You know the sign I mean.  The safety yellow one that shows 2 lanes and 2 arrows heading in the same direction simultaneously meaning that you can exit off the ramp and onto the road without hindering traffic because YOU HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY IN THAT LANE!!!  So some knucklehead comes to a complete stop, and everyone behind him starts BLOWING their horn, and you, alas, are at the back of the pack and you see the car approaching at 65 mph + thinking he/she is going to cruise off at this exit without stopping.  (Do they see me?? Do they realize that I have stopped??? What are they doing!!!!! SHREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!)

How about the drivers that are multi-tasking while in life's fast lane?  They're eating, drinking, texting, putting on their ties, shaving, adding lipstick, eyeliner, blush, baking turkeys, writing letters, sending emails, performing surgeries, and whatever other tasks they can squeeze in during the ride. 

Have you ever noticed that the hand signals come in three varieties?  You have "the one finger salute", "the open toss"" of a hand as if to say, "HEY! WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE, YOU MORON?  The Dollar Store???" 

Then there is "the closed fist" which is meant to signify"IF I WEREN'T IN A HURRY!!!" 

How about all of the people reading in their cars.  Have you seen those idjuts??  They are driving and reading at the same time.  Now that scares the heck out of me!  I used to pass a man on I-95 every day on my way to our office down South.  Without fail he was drinking (coffee?) and doing the crossword in the paper.  I never saw him look up.  Ever!!  Sometimes I just rode along beside him for a moment to see if he even realized that he was being observed, or was even aware that there was another car near him.

Have you ever been passed on the shoulder?  Now, that's a treat! 

I propose that we do away with automatic renewals of driver's licenses.  In Florida, if you are accident free and have zero tickets, your driver's license says SAFE DRIVER on it.  Just because someone has not been ticketed or had an accident doesn't mean that they are a safe driver. 

I am slowly confessing my deepest, darkest secrets.  I have already stepped out and admitted that I have a serious addiction to technology. I am now going to confess my other dark secret . . .

I want to be the Secretary of Transportation.   I am going to send both presidential candidates my outline to clean up the highways of America and make them safer for everyone.  I'm willing to do it for free.  And all of you people who are driven crazy by motoring morons will thank me when you can go back to enjoying motoring inyour beautiful cars again.

I am going to implement a lottery for renewing drivers to weed out some of these morons.  They are going to have to do a road test and pass it before they get their license again.  Plus they will have to identify the road signs, and what all of those pretty colored lines in the roadway means . . .

I think we need serious punishment for knuckleheads poking in the left lane and making everyone pass on the right.  We'll get a hanging judge to oversee the court and rule from the bench. 

And another thing, those semi-trucks are just going to have to keep out of the left on the highway, period.  I'm kind of sick of them backing up "four-wheeler" traffic for miles just for the heck of it while they "jaw" on their CBs.  I'm tired of them running up on the back of us when we clearly can't get around the moron ahead of us who is going the same speed as the turtle in the right hand lane.

In the meantime . . .

Pity the poor offspring of a builder bringing home their future spouse, a Realtor, to meet mom and dad. Imagine the conversations going on behind closed doors later that night: 

Builder Dad, "Where did we go wrong?"

Builder Mom, "She's doing this to get back at me because I didn't let her dye her hair chartreusse in the 10th grade.  I knew she'd make me pay for that some day.  But in this way!"

Builder Dad, "A Realtor.  She's actually going to marry a Realtor."

Builder Mom, "How could she do this to us?  And in our own home?"

Picture it: Downstairs. The front door.  Suitcase in hand.

Realtor fiance: "You never TOLD me your parents were builders!"

Blushing bride-to-be: "I thought that once you got to know them . . ."

"We're finished, Jane.  There's no way I'll have builders for in-laws."

Pleadingly, "I'm sure they'll grow to love you."

"I'm sorry, Jane, but I'd sooner marry into a family of home inspectors than builders."

Builders and Realtors are definitely two different species, and sometimes each is given a bad rap because of misconceptions and misunderstandings.   It may often seem to each that the other is not on the same side, yet nothing can be further from the truth.  Take a moment as we explore that both the builder and the Realtor actually have the very same goals and let's see if we can bridge the gap between the builder-Realtor community.

For Realtors:  The Builder's Perspective

Many home builders prefer to hire, train and manage their own sales team than list with a Realtor because the builder wants someone physically on site working to sell their homes 7 days a week, 8 plus hours a day. When an agent is provided a model home to "sit" in, that agent is usually tied to that model and does not enjoy the freedom that a Realtor does.  When working with a builder's agent, respect their time and they'll respect yours.  If the site agent has agreed to meet you on their day off, please don't be a no show or arrive hours later than the time frame you gave them.  Unlike Realtors, site agents are tied down to their models and usually are only away from them on their day off.  That doesn't leave a lot of time for them to run their personal errands and run their households.  By far, Realtors have the benefit of having schedules that are flexible and their own. 

When a builder is in the closeout phase of his/her community it may no longer be feasible to keep an agent on-site in a model home, so the builder may offer the scattered unsold inventory to a local broker to sell.  If you want those listings, you'll likely have to earn them by frequently making an effort to show the builder's communities and following up to remind them that you are interested in representing them on any unsold inventory.  Once you get the listing, you'll need to do more than a good job, you'll need to do a great job.  Remember that this customer can give you lots of repeat business.  Be sure to let him know how may times the home has been shown, the feedback that you are getting, and be certain to check the home frequently to make certain that it is the proper shape for a viewing.  Since the builder has likely moved on, it's up to you to keep an eye on the property and make certain that the home is getting the attention it needs.  A quick call to the builder telling him that the grass has not been cut let's him know you are on top of your game.

Builders often work with slim profit margins.  They carry land costs, brick and mortar costs, overhead, inventory costs, are challenged to look at their return on assets, return on investment, cost of sale, and more.  Home building is not the bed of roses and the high profits that many people think.   When Realtors ask builders to throw things in, they need to remember that sometimes the builder is making less on the deal than they are.  Before you ask the builder to provide something as an incentive, ask yourself if it is really necessary in order to make the sale, and then ask yourself if you yourself would be willing to pay for the incentive.  If you feel the item is GENUINELY justified, then ask the builder.  Don't forget to explore the idea of sharing in the cost of the incentive.  If the builder realizes that you understand their situation, you are likely able to increase your worth to that builder and will be thought of as a true professional.

Most builders know exactly how many days it takes to build each plan in their offering, and they build time in for weather delays, permitting, inspections, and holidays.  Please do not promise your buyer that the home will be ready when they need it.  Let the builder provide the dates.  No matter how many times that builder has brought homes in before the original date, the one time you need a home by a certain date is the one time that scheduling will get off track and the home fall behind.  Pushing the builder may not necessarily help. 

Allow the Builder's agent to demonstrate their product.  They have been trained to properly provide the features and benefits of the homes, and should know them better than you.  If they haven't been trained, either find another site agent or another builder.  In addition, professional site agents are trained to give information and get information so that they can quickly narrow down what it is that the customer is looking for.  You wouldn't want the site agent along on your listing appointment taking over your job when you are the listing expert, so don't take over the site agents.  Step back, relax, and enjoy the ride.  If you are a control freak and can't handle it, let the site agent give them the spiel while you borrow a phone and start working on your next sale.  This one just might be in the bag if you let the site agent do their job.

Do not freak out if there are loose ends on the home prior to closing.  Many builders button homes up just prior to closing.  If you go to the walk through and the list is long, call the sales manager and ask them to look into for you.  The walk through is not the time to earn your commission or show the buyers how much you know.  If you notice something that gets overlooked by the builder and the buyers, so that you do not create friction between the builder and the buyers, make a note of the item on a pad and just prior to the walk though, ask the builder if you may speak to him a moment.  Show him your list and ask him about those items.  See how he handles it.  After that, you may discuss and legitimate concerns with the buyers and tell them that you have discussed it with the builder and what the outcome is.  If you are dealing with a company employee, your next step may be to get someone higher up involved.

Next post - How Builders can work more effectively with Realtors to build trust and create sales.

Until then . . . Happy Marketing!

Unavoidably these past few days I have been subjected to the media's announcement that it is cheaper to rent than to buy in many areas of the country. 

One of the news reports I recently heard (in Orlando) said the typical home in the Orlando area was currently renting at just over $1000 a month, and that the same home purchased would cost about $1700 a month, so the newscaster's opinion was that it was clearly cheaper to rent than to buy.

I disagree. Cheaper today, maybe, but not in the long haul.  I have always been taught that any time you put money in your own pocket, you are saving money.  If you are giving away $1000 to your landlord, that $1000 is gone and you have zero to show for it.  Personally, I would rather put $1700 towards a place of my own than give away my money and get nothing in return. 

Clearly, home prices in many markets are finally hovering at or near the bottom.  Some areas a reporting a mild increase in pricing.  I keep telling everyone that if you find a home you like at a price you can afford and the price is agreeable to you, purchase it TODAY.  You may soon find yourself looking in that proverbial rear view mirror and wishing that you had.

Last week, I had a Realtor in my (Jacksonville) office telling me that she had shown a home to a couple, and they decided to make an offer; they didn't get the house.  It sold at full price to another buyer.   They made a second offer on home choice number two for the full asking price.  The seller rejected their offer and accepted an offer from another buyer that was a couple of thousand more than the asking price.  Is it an odd coincidence that this couple just missed purchasing two different homes?  I don't think so. The real estate market is again moving forward as people move away from the sidelines and enter the market.

On this rent versus buy thing:  If I rent a home for $1000, my landlord gets it all, plus he also gets the tax advantage while building equity.  I can also plan on not getting my deposit back, because let's face it, the minute I hang any artwork or spill something on the carpet, the landlord is keeping the money for repainting, carpet replacement, etc.  So I'm down another grand there. 

If I buy a home today, at $1700 a month, I now have the benefit of having a roof over my head that I can count on, and someday, it will be paid for.  I am also going to enjoy the tax advantages of the home, and I am also going to do things which I will enjoy doing to improve it and create value.  I can hang pictures anywhere I want, paint the walls any color I choose, add landscaping, fencing and whatever else my heart desires. I can rip out carpeting and put down wood flooring, take out the cheap mini blinds or window coverings and install something nice.  I can take pride in the fact that this is mine, not the landlords.  I may be paying $8400 a year more than rent, but I own it, and since real estate generally does appreciate, by purchasing TODAY I am getting in at the bottom of the market while interest rates are historically low, and some day I too am going to have equity.  After all, aren't we supposed to buy low and sell high????  Isn't this the low??? 

Sorry, but I am never going to rent.  I am going to grow my personal wealth by owning my home, and, hey, I may become a landlord again myself because there is always someone who needs to rent.  it's just not going to be me.

As a proficient mathematician, I could have done the whole real estate agent worksheet thing which shows the true cost of home ownership, but I don't need to look at a bunch of numbers to know that owning a home of my own is still the greatest financial achievement.  Buy low, build equity, trade up, yeah, I got it.  That's why I have the gorgeous home I have today compared to the first little brick bungalow I owned in college.  I can't wait until my next day off.  I'm doing this Venetian plaster thing . . .

That's my thoughts on renting versus buying.  I welcome yours.

Wow, did I collect a lot of business cards at the Southeast Builders Conference over the past few days, and fortunately I was able to hand out a bunch of mine.  I hope that people will hang on to them as a reference for whenever someone says that they need help with marketing, and that they'll remember us and pass our contact info along.  I think I prefer handing out a card over a Blackberry to Blackberry data swap.  I want something that will last a lot longer than my last mobile backup. 

As I was sorting through the cards and making notes on them, I was struck by what a wide variety of looks the cards had.  Business cards are one of the most important parts of your marketing message.  Here's what a business card does:

1. Formally announces you
2. Creates a first impression
3. Tells something about you (title, professionalism, accolades)
4. Tells something about your company (culture, professionalism, length of time in business, awards, etc.)
5. Provides important contact information
6. Brings them to your door
7. Sends them to your website
8. Sends either a negative or positive message
9. Reminds them what you do
10. Reminds them of the product and services you provide
11. Becomes the BRAND of your company