Resources For Independent Real Estate Agents
The business.gov.au events calendar now lists business events for June 2008. You can find networking functions, workshops and seminars focussing on improving your business.
To get started, visit the business.gov.au Events calendar and search by your state, date or event category. For further information or to register for business events in your area, contact the administering agencies directly.
REINSW is conducting a course for Property Managers on How to Manage an Appearance at the CTTT
This is a 4Hour course and is to be held on 15th May 2008. 12 CPD points will be allocated to attendees.
Topics:
To find out more or to register visit the REINSW website at http://www.reinsw.com.au/REICustomisation/EventViewTrainingDetails.aspx?Bck=Y&EventID=3973&StyleFolder=13
WHO’S WHO IN PROPERTY 2008
Now in its twentieth edition, the Who’s Who in Property is firmly established as Australia’s largest directory of the major players in property.
It is the most comprehensive list available and includes vital contacts in companies who deal in commercial, industrial and major residential property.
The 2008 edition contains over 11,000 companies and 18,000 contact names in the following categories:
- Property Developers and Investors;
- Real Estate Agents and Valuers;
- Major Lessees;
- Local Councils;
- Property Managers; and
- many more, including Architects, Engineers, Consultants, Construction Services.
Who’s Who in Property is available in hard copy book, read-only CD ROM, or tailored mailing list.
ORDER FORM and BROCHURE - Click here to download PDF
or contact their Sales Office on 1800 333 444 for more information.
Want to know what business opportunities are near you? Or perhaps you’ve been considering expanding your current business and want to know where else you should open a shop? Then you might find it useful to start your planning or market research with the 2006 Census Social Atlas series provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Social Atlases allow you to see the demographic make up of your city through the use of maps. The maps contain information on topics such as:
Social Atlases are available for all Australian capital cities and selected regional centres. You can download the Social Atlases for free, or purchase a printed copy. For more information call 1300 135 070 or visit the ABS website.
Real estate agents have been advised by the Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) to ensure they comply with the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 or they are likely to face penalties. Since 31 May 2007, when the Act took effect, it has been unlawful to make a telemarketing call, or cause a call to be made, to a telephone number entered on the Do Not Call Register. To enable businesses to comply with the Act, a ‘washing’ service is in place which allows businesses to compare their calling lists against the Register and identify which numbers they can and cannot call.
ACMA advises that real estate agents cannot rely on ‘washed’ data lists purchased from external providers. Real estate agents should wash any calling lists they use themselves, within the 30 days prior to the call being made. This can be done at: donotcall.gov.au Calls may only be placed to phone numbers which are not registered on the Register.
With advice from REIA, ACMA has developed guidelines for the realestate profession on the Do Not Call Register, to obtain the guidelines, click here.
Retail leasing is an important part of running a business. To help you improve your arrangement and overcome any leasing challenges, a new info pack Protect Your Lease is available from the NSW Retail Tenancy Unit (RTU).
Included in the pack is advice on:
To find out more information or to order your copy of the pack, contact the RTU by phone on 1300 795 534, or by email at rtu@business.nsw.gov.au.
Promoting your brand in a positive way in consumers’ minds is an important aspect of growing your business and understandably can stretch your marketing budget. This is a pretty obvious opening statement but, an important one to note, especially for those principles and managers who face the relentless pile of advertising invoices - which I’m certain produce offspring at any given opportunity.
Real Estate Agents obtain business through a variety of ways. Buyers who become sellers, referrals and street smart prospecting are all a part of tapping into the consumer stream and most likely potential business has arrived from your marketing dollars. Given that the majority of (potential) consumers will view your website then it should be a priority to regularly update and manage it effectively to maximize the return to your overall marketing investment.
A website is a reflection of the business it represents. A well designed, regularly updated website will be a tangible asset to your business, an effective pipeline to productivity and gain. Equally, a poorly maintained, out of date site will be a bottleneck that turns consumers away; and, a liability to your business.
Statistics released on 18th March 2008 by the Internet Measurement Company Nielsen Online showed that the amount of time Australians are spending on the internet, “Has for the first time ever, surpassed the time spent watching television”.
Your website can present valuable interactive aspects that cannot be offered via print, television or radio.
Even when it comes to offline advertising, your website should still be utilized effectively as a virtual shop front to your business, one that is an efficient, purpose driven site, an online entrance point for potential consumers and one that will efficiently guide them to where they need to be, that is your businesses services, products and resources, a site that assists in the path of conversion from potential consumer to customer.
Given the above you can quickly ascertain how your marketing dollars will fair when operating an up to date, well managed website as opposed to one that’s not.
There are many different aspects to consider with the development of a successful website including up to date presentation and technology, automation, search engine optimization, user friendly navigation and quality up to date content and resources that attract visitors. These are just a few of the many points to be considered with your web development professional. Below are a few points to consider from a management perspective:
*Note that some of these points may not be applicable to Franchise operated websites and systems
· View your website as its own department and manage it effectively. Understand your website can be an asset or a liability, a pipeline or a bottleneck for your business. It needs to be developed and managed with a focus over time to maintain a positive consumer impression.
· Gain regular, quality feedback from your website visitors. I cannot emphasize this enough. They are the ones who will swiftly choose to stay or leave your site, this is where you will either gain or lose a consumer so you had better know what the majority of them think. Feedback can be obtained by having an interactive submission form on your website with a few questions and tick boxes regarding the visitor’s experience (or) a simple feedback request form for salespeople when talking to consumers; you might be surprised at just how much feedback you receive. This feedback is valuable but only if you take the action and implement change.
· If you haven’t already, make it a priority to invest some time into resourcing a good web development consultant and work towards building a positive long term commercial partnership with them. Although it’s not imperative, try to source a developer that understands the culture of the real estate industry or is open to learning. A good web consultant should be positive about your business and the industry in general. They should also be up to date with most web based platforms and systems. Some developers will prefer certain platforms or systems and should have the facts as to their preference.
· Request an evaluation by your developer for your web and internet parameters. You will start to gain a very quick picture as to whether it’s time to bite to bullet and go for a full redesign or at the very least a priority list of tasks large or small to be implemented over time. Your site should not just contain property for sale/rent and a few testimonials, it should be a hub of up to date information and resources that are high on the list for users who are searching.
· When it comes to web based knowledge accept the fact that it’s not your specialty but it is imperative that you do gain a basic understanding of e-commerce and web based business. Although you don’t directly make a product sale online you do market property on the web and this is the starting point of a potential sale. The world is moving swiftly towards web based interaction and if you don’t keep up you will be left behind.
· Understand that a website will never fully arrive. It should never be a set and forget system. Even in a recent upgrade situation there are ongoing improvements that can be implemented over time to make sure your site is providing a positive experience for visitors and delivering the best possible return for this department.
· Finally, Include web upgrades and development tasks into your annual budget. You do not want your website to be placed in the too hard basket; it should be one of the tasks you give priority to.
Craig Honeyman
Managing Director | realestateguide.com.au
To celebrate World Intellectual Property (IP) Day on Saturday 26 April, IP Australia will be running events for businesses across the country. These events will focus on the importance of creativity, innovation and the intellectual property system.
IP Australia can also help you manage the intellectual property in your business with their Smart Start guide. The guide assists those starting a business, buying a business or protecting a new idea.
To register for World IP Day events, or read more information on protecting your business’ intellectual property, visit the IP Australia website today.
