There are so many social media sites available today.  God knows I am probably on 100 different sites.  Being on so many sites can be difficult to track your success rate.

A few google searches and taking the time to find out how people found you will always be a guiding light in which what social networking sites to be active on.

Naymz.com is so under rated…if only people knew the true value.  I can attest to this since I recently changed the way I do business and have added additional services.  Naymz.com gets the word out…..

With endorsements, testimonials and a point system that allows active members to be found on the top of the search engines a true benefit for your online presence and SEO.

Check it out and let me know what you think.  If you are there  why not connect with me!

Read what KillerStartUps.com has to say!

When the fall months come and the air is much cooler I seem to slow down. Less activity = more downtime or in my case I seem to really reflect and soul search.  I plan.   And many times the decisions that I make seem to happen by end of the year.

• I got married in December twice
• Closed on a house in December
• Changed jobs, careers and brokerages
• Bought cars in December

Yes, December has always been a very active month for me and this December is no different.  My life is about to change and I’m not sure where it’s going to take me.  It’s something new…exciting …and a little scary…and in many ways a dream come true! I am about to embark on a new career path for me it’s the beginning of an exciting journey really truly working online.

Three years ago I set goals for myself and slowly my goals are starting to become reality.

I have to let some things go in order to proceed…

One is actively selling real estate.   Real Estate has been a huge part of my life but my passion lies within training and teaching.   It’s time to get back to training neutrally and without the REALTOR logo.  (that to me is a little scary and sad)

My latest endeavor is writing web content and offering SEO services on behalf of International Web Media or better known as IWMonlne.com, my fearless leader Bruce Kirkpatrick is innovative, a hard core web developer and offers some amazing products.  Everyday I learn something new and everyday I am excited.  The feeling is not much different than closing your very first sales contract.  That excitement hits me everyday that I work.  Lucky me…I work from home!

Finally I will have time to write real estate training, finish ebooks and continue with my sites:

• DaytonaRealEstateTrainer.com
• MidoriMiller.com
• MidoriInterviews.com

So this winter if you are snowed in or feeling a bit lazy…why not take some downtime and take a hard look at your own reflection..if you do not like what you see…take steps to change it!

Make it a great week!

180-tasks-for-a-realtor

terri-and-joy prelisting template

Almost new home 3/2  in good condition features a living/dining room combo with open floor plan. Concrete block construction with 2 car garage. Split plan bedrooms and big back yard. Fridge, washer, dryer & alarm hardware does not convey. A must see asking $140,000.00

To view the virtual tour click here

To view Florida Real Estate Listings for Sale click here

Contributing Writer: Midori Miller is a Real Estate Trainer and writes and trains Real Estate Training and assists sellers in short sale situations.  Midori is a Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker , License # BK645709 at CENTURY 21 Sundance Realty and a member of the Daytona Area Association of REALTORS.

It’s a technology based world…with the instant gratification in many part of our lives…technology allows us to function this way but really is it always good business?

There are many occasions  where I will not hesitate to allow my phone to ring and send people to voicemail.

Is it wrong?  Bad business?  Not always.  I’m must have some old school ways of thinking….

• I believe the person in front of me at the moment is more important than the person on the phone in most cases.

• Sometimes I am in the middle of putting something together with the expectations of perfection by other parties and picking up the phone will only kill the concentration and the momentum and allow for costly mistakes.

• When it’s meal time there is nothing more unappealing than listening to someone chomp on their food or partake in a family dinner conversation while trying to conduct business on the phone.
• Solicitations…Solicitations…and sometimes as you are calling I am googling at the same time!

• Many times on the road I will not pick up the phone.

These are just a few of the occasions where I do not pick up the phone…I can tell you there are others depending on what I am doing, the day, date and the time.

With the speed of technology and the power of the web…we sometimes let technology take over our lives and jump through hoops and short change those who need our attention.

So if I do not pick up the phone…don’t take it personally..it might very well be…that I prefer to talk when there is enough time for a conversation or maybe I am in front of a person…and while technology moves at the speed of light…this old school trainer..admits…sometimes she does not!

Sometimes I lack discipline in regards to writing..can’t stand talking to myself but more importantly I have something to say and I want it to be heard…I admit I like an audience and the interaction.

I long for more connections…prefer word of mouth marketing over the hard sell and that is a big reason why I love social networking.

For many of my brilliant real estate friends..they started their own blogs years ago…and I stuck with social networking.   Some questioned…some shook their heads and some thought maybe she doesn’t have a clue.

Little did people know..I trained agents just the opposite…get your own blog going...even if its just photos… because the down side of social networking sites are:

• You can spend countless hours of socializing without making a dime.
• There is sometimes too much drama on social networks
• Eventually you will have to pay and it will be difficult to give up.
• You are creating additional traffic to a site that does not belong to you.
• For some social networks… there seems to be a certain mindset and if you do not agree…you can and will get into heated battles.

I didn’t really look at it in this light…because I love people!

The upside of social networking sites are tremendous if you are social and many of these benefits would include:

• Growing your sphere of influence
• Referral Business
• Like Minds
• Several pats on the back and sometimes several slaps.
• Endless Opportunities

I can’t say that I have been anti-social these days…just socializing very different.  I admit…time is money…including the time I spend on social network sites and the time I spend in my business.

For the past few months I have been working on my own blog…its just little Ole me and the computer scientist honoring my request for changes in my template…added tools and features.

I can honestly say…I really love my own personal blog even if it gets a little lonely…but it hasn’t been lonely at all.  It’s a myth…there is the big bold blogosphere out there…and many people globally want to connect.  I admit its an amazing feeling…when someone contacts to me outside of my social network sites and social circles.

Now with the responsibility to drive traffic to my own site..I am working quite differently..

• Studying SEO and using the correct tags and key words.
• With moderating every one of my comments
• And watching the numbers closely on technorati and alexa
• Posting more frequently here than anywhere else
• Managing my time it takes to write each post

So in comparing social network sites vs. my own blog…the social network sites that I belong to are just that...my social network sites…

As for my own blog…its really not that different as a matter of fact it has become quite social…..it seems to generate more emails…phone calls from total strangers outside of the real estate realm.

I admit I got another call from a first time homebuyer today..yeah baby..I’m on a roll!  And when I asked them where did they find me…it wasn’t my social networks it wasn’t my site…

It was google…and my own personal map using the words..Daytona Beach Real Estate Agent..and then it lead them to my real estate website…my social networks…and then to this blog… and the proof is in the pudding…by connecting all of these sources my little blog…has become quite a social network and very social!

Contributing Writer: Midori Miller is a Real Estate Trainer and writes and trains Real Estate Training and assists sellers in short sale situations.  Midori is a Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker , License # BK645709 at CENTURY 21 Sundance Realty and a member of the Daytona Area Association of REALTORS.

One of my favorite real estate bloggers handed me one of the finest compliments.  Coming from Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com I admit I really appreciated it.  If you do not read her you should..she is enlightening…she is extremely experienced and opinionated!

Midori-Social Network Maven?

In a comment on Activerain.com Network, Lenn states:

“Goodness Midori.  Looking at the list of social media venues you work, it appears that you are more than a social network expert, you are a social network MAVEN.”

Then you look at my sidebar filled with all the social networks I belong to..it sure looks that way.   In reality it’s an illusion but the way I view it it’s my own personal Internet.

Many of these social networks allow auto updates for your blogs and sometimes people connect in more than one place.

When I think of social media and social networking..I think of building my own Internet through all of these venues…like a spider weaving a web..and pulling people in whether it is daily, weekly or monthly.

Its taking each piece of silk and creating an extension of the web and continuing this process until the web my personal web is large enough and if not the spider maven continues…just like a spider web your social networks  once a section you link  is done there is a chance an intruder friends, readers, business might be caught..

With all of these social networks that you have to choose from, living in reality you cannot always be social but you can sure link all of sites together and create your own personal web.

And for argument’s sake..some social sites..I check on once a month..and others everyday.  In business we have to look at the rate of return and determine which site offers you the best bang for you buck…and I can tell you..many of the best are FREE!

Top 10 according to compete.com read here…. and the crazy thing..I think I am a member of all of them!

Visit MyBlogLog and get a signature like this!

Today I spoke with a potential seller..an interesting conversation and quite typical.  Meaning two parties who want to sell a piece of property..but they do not agree on many things.

Now this property was not a high end property..in fact… the value is in the land…the problem with this property more than likely it would end up expired..it would be difficult to finance…and also to insure.

The property was rented and owned free and clear.  Imagine to my surprise  it was not a short sale but a property I didn’t think I could sell! 

Usually I ask a few questions…and then call back…I need to look at numbers..I need to look at all the numbers in the entire MLS.  I also need to be brutally honest with myself...so I can report back to the potential seller.

These days price reductions = Lost Property Value…price it right from the get go otherwise you lose the window!

Next I ask myself a few questions…Can I sell this property? and is it worth my time?  Will the seller cooperate and is it sometimes better to wait meaning the seller should continue to rent it out rather than attempt to liquidate if they expect x amount of dollars?

Sometime waiting can cost them more..I present the facts…all of them..from placing it on the market now vs. waiting…guess what NO GUARANTEES!

With selling…with property value… and with closing!

I also think about the inventory on the market…do they have a shot?

When I call back…I sounded negative…but in truth all I did was tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth..I am brutally honest!

No I didn’t think I could sell the property for what they wanted to sell it for…heck there was a property that was on the market for 988 days.

It wasn’t worth my time if the seller wouldn’t offer seller financing..more than likely we might get a contract…but without a cash buyer…it would never make it closing.

While they were in the ball park of their pricing..it would not be enough.  Especially since there were 264 other properties competing…yes all active the difference was most of the 264 properties were single family homes…yes they had a mobile home on a piece of land.

As I ended the conversation..I had to tell it like it was…I am more than happy to take a look at the property on Monday…please  talk to your family and consider holding a mortgage if not..you might have to find another agent.

Before I hung up the phone..I explained…that anyone can list a property….and you want to sell right and not just list it?  Of course!    Well I am in the business of selling and if I don’t think I can take it to closing…I’m not the person for you!

I apologized for sounding so negative.   Being brutally honest in real estate can save everyone time, money and energy!

Funny thing I explained I was not available over the weekend to look at the property..their final words, Can I call you sometime this weekend to just let you know what my family says?

If I took every listing that every seller offered I would have a huge inventory and not very many closings.

I won’t hesitate to be brutally honest and if the shoe were on the other foot…I would expect the same!

Contributing Writer: Midori Miller is a Real Estate Trainer and writes and trains Real Estate Training and assists sellers in short sale situations.  Midori is a Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker , License # BK645709 at CENTURY 21 Sundance Realty and a member of the Daytona Area Association of REALTORS.

Ever been called hun or sweetie while trying to perform your job?  Personally I do not like.  But sometimes there is no other choice for a customer because some opt not to wear a name tag.

I personally do not enjoy name tags..back in the retail days we all wore name tags and many of us tried not to wear them.

In retail, name tags are as important as wearing shoes and if you didn’t wear one..sometimes you were sent home!

After leaving retail I attempted to be rebellious: “I AM NOT WEARING A NAME TAG! NEVER AGAIN!” I threw it away….Celebrating my departure from retail being nameless…without anyone knowing my name.   So when I started my real estate career…I opted not to wear one..

Being in front of the public and being a no name..I noticed a couple of things would happen people would refer to me as hun or sweetie and sometimes when talking with people I would have to  repeat my name over and over again..

For a very long time I had a nameplate on your desk.   Why?  Was the public going to see that?

I spent thousands each month getting my name out…with postcards..and ads and my website…yet I was stubborn, by not wearing a name tag did it hurt me?  Yes it did.

I slowly figured it out…the name tag wasn’t for me but for the people I wanted to do business with.

For such a small investment with so much value. I ordered a name tag and before I knew it I had a few.

I started to notice a few things…

People would look directly at it.. My name is unique, I would have to repeat my name about 3 times with the customer….spell it for them and let them know Midori is a common Japanese name and it means green. Then I would point at my name tag.

Usually standing in line…fine dining and wearing the name tag..people would start real estate conversations with me..and at the end sometimes I would find a phone number in my hand.

For some reason the public finds name tags as official.

Ever been out in public for someone to notice you because you farm their neighborhood and they want to say something to you but they are not positive it’s you? Then all of a sudden they walk up and introduce themselves and tell you I wasn’t sure if that was you until I read your name tag. It has happened to me over and over again!

Don’t be rebellious…just pin and go..its one of the most affordable, useful marketing tools..just ask yourself this question.  Can you really afford a missed real estate conversation or lost opportunity?

Contributing Writer: Midori Miller is a Real Estate Trainer and writes and trains Real Estate Training and assists sellers in short sale situations. Midori is a Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker , License # BK645709 at CENTURY 21 Sundance Realty and a member of the Daytona Area Association of REALTORS.