December 2015

We can change someones life.

Christmas is almost here. This year I’m really thankful to have lived another happy, healthy year. I have enough stuff so I’m spreading my Christmas Cheer to families that do not have a home – something I cannot even imagine. Together, we can change their story.

https://campaign.newstorycharity.org/raj-qsar

I’m asking friends and family to support my campaign (that is you)! Every penny of the money raised will directly build a new home. Even better, New Story Charity will show us, with video, exactly which family we funded once the home is complete. Use link above to spread the love.

Help me reach my goal!

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Top 7 Things to do at ICNY 2016

By:  Raj Qsar

This will be my 7th Real Estate Connect hosted by Inman News and it is the one event I look forward to year in & year out.  I remember my first Connect like it was yesterday and it really helped me connect with people & solidify connections I had made online over the years. So for all you first time or repeat attendees here is a simple Top 7 list before you head to #icny for the 20th Anniversary of Real Estate Connect:

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1.  Make a list of the people you want to meet “in real life (IRL).” Connect is an amazing time to solidify some of those online relationships and connect with people who you admire and respect and make that true emotional connection. Some of the connections I have made at Connect have become life long friends on mine! Remember this quote from GaryV, “People are not addicted to social media. People are addicted to people.”  Some of my friends I met at #icsf: @katielance @sethstuff @laurahbrady @vboakland @sarasutachan @nobuhata @chris_smth @avhellman @lauramonroe @mattbeall @lisaarcher @lauriewdavis @jefflobb @jackmiller @valeriegarcia1 @zachshadbot @matthewshadbolt @seancarp @clicknfinance @thejayt @joeschutt

2.  Attend the sessions that are a must attend for you! Look for the sessions that pull you out of your comfort zone and will challenge you on a personal & professional level. See the full schedule here and meet the speakers here. This year Seth Godin will be kicking off the festivities so be sure not to miss him on main stage on Wednesday morning at 9:15am.

3. Have you joined the Inman Coast to Coast Facebook Group? If not join here for all the latest updates & play by plays.

4.  The Party after the Party!  Do I need to say anymore?  We all know the real fun starts after 10pm! So just ask around, jump in an Uber Cab (download app here) and find out where the action is!! Check your email for last minute invites to all the happening VIP parties and events. If you still can not find the party make sure to tweet @clicknfinance or @seancarp (they will steer you in the right direction or lead you to the correct karaoke party).

5. Lobbycon! Yes. Its official! Probably the one place where you meet the CEO’s, Founders, Presidents, movers & shakers all just “hanging out.” Bring your business cards and make sure to say hi. BTW, when is the next time you will be in the same hotel as Dolly Lentz, F. Ron Smith, Mauricio Umansky, Spencer Rascoff and Brad Inman?

6.  Get out into the city! New York is an amazingly gorgeous city with sights, sounds, history and killer food! And since our team at The Boutique Real Estate Group are total foodies check out this list of 100 Best Restaurants in New York City via Zagat. Or if you want to get up in the air check out FlyNYON for a helicopter tour above the city.

7. Connect with some of the local “NYC” agents for a tour of their hip office space or one of their $7m listings!  Some of my favorite local NYC agents include: @NikkiBeauchamp @patricklilly @truegotham

If you made it this far and are headed to ICNY please find me in one of the sessions, lobbycon or at one of the after parties. Would be amazing to connect with you!

@rajqsar

@theboutiquere

Read Post on Inman Website

11 Examples of Perfect Real Estate Branding

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Successful real estate branding can’t be accomplished with just a fancy logo or a catchy motto. The real secret behind strong real estate brands is a combination of creative elements and on-point messaging into a coherent identity. And if you want to become a real estate branding champion, it takes valuable content, a strong media presence, and regular interaction with your audience to convey that identity.

Each of the agents and brokers listed below (in no particular order) has mastered the art of branding in some aspect, so check out what makes their brands unique and memorable, and learn how you can emulate their methods to bolster your own real estate agent branding.

Raj Qsar, The Boutique Real Estate Group

Qsar’s brokerage has been a leader in the video marketing sphere for some time now — so much so he could be designated the King of Real Estate Video (should such a designation exist). From hiring excellent video marketing vendors to help him capture some amazing listings, likeHale Ali’i, to shooting his own recordings featuring his agents and the properties they represent, Qsar has shown a knack for crafting wonderfully attractive and charming videos that make you want to watch over and over again … even if you don’t happen to be in the market for homes for sale in SoCal. The videos have now become a trademark of his agency, and it’s thanks to some nifty real estate branding savvy from Qsar.

Lisa Archer and Laurie Weston Davis, “The Geeky Girls”

It’s hip to be square. The Geeky Girls Archer and Davis have taken this mantra to heart with their real estate branding approach — one that’s made them well-known in the world of real estate. The social proof is in the pudding: Just take a look at the duo’s Placester website homepage and you’ll see a multitude of industry members sporting Geeky Girls gear. A bold color scheme to accompany their creative logo and a sense of pride in their unique business persona have earned the pair quite a following. Want to emulate success? Don’t feel obligated to label yourself as “The [Insert Adjective Here] Agents.” Instead, focus on what separates you from other agents in your market and blend that information seamlessly into your real estate marketing. For instance, if you mostly sell great beachside properties, use language in your marketing messaging to denote your status as one of the premier beachfront property sellers in the region. A catchy moniker, like The Geeky Girls, is simply gravy.

Matt Beall, Hawaii Life

Matt Beall is a prime example of real estate branding done right for several reasons. He built his agency, Hawaii Life, rapidly — more than 200 agents and brokers have joined the firm’s 11 offices in just four years. He’s hosted a brokerage-sponsored real estate conference called Worthshop that has featured numerous big industry names. He positions his firm online as the preeminent brokerage in the state. And, on top of all that, he’s even managed to get his agency some airtime on HGTV, thanks to the aptly named series “Hawaii Life.” In other words, Beall has put in the work needed to build a powerhouse real estate firm and is now focusing on maximizing its potential by getting its name out through various channels.

Michael Thorne and David Fauquier, “Mobile Agent TV”

Not all real estate marketing strategies need to focus entirely on getting in front of consumers. Directing your marketing tactics at your peers can position you as a thought leader in the agent community. Take Thorne and Fauquier, for example: Their RE/MAX-sponsored “Mobile Agent TV” webisode series entails them interviewing the best and brightest in the real estate sector. These shows (like the episode above featuring Placester’s Seth Price) inform agents and brokers all over on how to better their bottom lines with the latest and greatest sales and marketing efforts, emerging technologies, and general business tips. Additionally, though, the series has transformed them into knowledgeable agents in the eyes of their local market. Each and every episode of “Mobile Agent TV” enhances Thorne and Fauquier’s status as a go-to resource.

Jill Hertzberg & Jill Eber, “The Jills”

It pays to work in one of the hottest (literally and figuratively) housing markets in the nation, but even that is no guarantee for success. Miami-area agents Jill Hertzberg and Jill Eber, who have capitalized on their first-name branding opportunity, understand that it takes some special marketing to stand out from the crowded field of real estate professionals operating in sunny Miami-Dade County. Thus, the dynamic duo has worked hard over the last several years to cement themselves as the premier agents not only in South Florida, but across the U.S. and world. Nearly every usage of their simple-yet-elegant logo is accompanied by copy denoting their status as “the #1 agent team worldwide.” When you’ve got the numbers to back up your claims, it’s an easy decision to take advantage of such a title. The Jills don’t rest on this logo and tagline, however — they also make sure to optimize their joint real estate website, produce detailed real estate videos, and take advantage of speaking engagements and other promotional endeavors.

Travis Greene, CountryWide Properties, Inc.

Branding for real estate businesses is primarily accomplished online these days, thanks to a bevy of inbound marketing tactics agents and brokers can implement. But offline marketing methods can also make an impact. For instance, Realtor and Placester customer Travis Greene has added his real estate agent branding to his truck, meaning he can promote his business simply by getting behind the wheel. Offline marketing techniques like this can go wrong (very wrong, in some cases), but Greene manages to incorporate his online branding into the real world effortlessly and attractively. Having a strong internet presence is vital to real estate marketing success, but spending some ad money on things like this can still offer reputational benefits.

Sue Adler, “Hear It Direct”

As we’ve discussed on the Academy before, agents have a wide array ofreal estate conferences available to them. Some of these conferences cover broad topics, like technology’s role in real estate and how to better organize your team. Others take a different approach — like Hear It Direct, a series of consumer-meets-agent events started in part by Sue Adler. What better way to market yourself than to speak with buyers and sellers in your area and answer their questions? As with the RE BarCamps that have become popular among agents nationwide, Adler’s Hear It Direct conferences have helped close the divide between agents and consumers, and make it simpler for both sides to understand one another. Adler can take a lot of credit for how successful Hear It Direct has become and deserves recognition for her selfless real estate branding. It’s a novel approach to a fundamental idea: Speaking and networking directly with those you want to work with.

John Hesse, Accelerated Realty Group

You have to go to great lengths sometimes to develop effective real estate agent branding — literally and figuratively. Sacramento-based Realtor Jon Hesse, for instance, flew a great distance to meet up with a branding firm he hired to get his photos taken for promotional images. The results? Well, just look at the “about me” infographic above, which features one of the images taken by the agency. It’s simple, yet shows Hesse is serious about his business because he’s willing to take the time to get professional shots taken. The same branding is used atop his real estate website and on all of his major social media accounts, meaning he’s taking full advantage of the branding services he secured. It can cost a pretty penny to get photos taken by seasoned pros, but if the fruits of that labor end up making you look reputable in the eyes of your audience, it’s more than worth the expense.

Marguerite Giguere, “The Skydiving Agent”

When you think “skydiving,” you may think “risky,” but perhaps that’s exactly what Giguere wants you to think: that she’s willing to take risks to help her clients close deals and provide excellent customer service. Look closer at her real estate branding, though, and you realize she’s much more than a gimmick. Giguere has charm and personality to spare, and clearly shows she cares about her clients. Email is a core element of her real estate marketing plans, as shown in this Academy post, while she also spends a great deal of time on her blog to inform the local community about interesting events, venues, restaurants, and other goings-on. Simply put, Giguere goes all out to make herself as personable and relatable as possible — and she passes that test with flying colors.

Julian Pilarski, Royal LePage Real Estate Services

To become a local, trusted brand name, real estate agents must implement some creative real estate marketing. A high-quality, appealing logo can be a great starting point for establishing your brand, but the real secret to broadening awareness and generating interest in your business is to use your brand marks in as many places as humanly possible. That means doing what Realtor Julian Pilarski has done, creating a beautiful real estate logo (like his below) to use on every page of your site, in your email marketing, atop your social media accounts, on flyers, in ebooks, and any other marketing collateral you create.

Pilarski specifically does an excellent job of using his logo in his real estate videos, as evidenced above. The branding is prominent at the beginning and end of his videos, and is even used in the corner of the screen mid-video. Seemingly small touches like these used hundreds of times over will add up over time and resonate more and more with local real estate customers.

Judith Weiniger, The Weiniger Group

Some agents forget to have a print real estate branding strategy in addition to online tactics. Look to Judith Weiniger’s marketing, for inspiration: She has mastered the art of the real estate mailer. Weiniger sends out print collateral like market reports and a home seller’s guide that are perfectly branded. They feature her agency’s logo, have a unified color scheme, and, most importantly, feature lots of valuable content that educates her audience.
Who do you think will be atop the list when recipients decide to buy or sell? Once again, consistency is key. Weiniger noted in a Placester Academy post that sending out mailers a dozen times annually is ideal. Doing so has helped get her and her company top-of-mind with qualified leads in her market.

Need some real estate branding ideas? Check out our Academy post 75 Ways Real Estate Agents Can Promote Themselves Online. What are some real estate brand examples you’ve seen that you loved? Share some notable instances in the comments section below!

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Ride to Build / Giveback Homes & The Boutique Real Estate Group

SoulCycle Event

 

Ride to Build. Benefiting the Giveback Homes Build in The OC.
Shoes & water provided.
$40 minimum donation.

Donate Here:

Join Giveback Homes, The Boutique Real Estate Group and SoulCycle in Newport Beach as we raise money to build a home for a family in need.

YOU MUST RSVP to Mary@GivebackHomes.com to save a bike.
@givebackhomes
@TheBoutiqueRE
@soulcycle

Sign Up on The Facebook Event Page Today.

37th Annual Corona del Mar Christmas Walk

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A Holiday Festival & Community Tradition

FREE to the public. Join us on Sunday December 06, 2015 11:00AM – 4:00PM at our office.

3653 E. Coast Hwy in Corona del Mar. Corner of PCH & Poinsettia.

Champagne, Hot Chocolate, Donut Bar and Open Air Photo Booth with Mrs. Claus & her Elves!

The Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce is proud to present the community’s most popular event of the year! This is an absolute can’t miss special event filled with holiday festivities for family, friends, residents and visitors looking for a spectacular way to ring in the holiday season. Each year “The Walk” brings together thousands of fun-loving people into the Village of Corona del Mar for live entertainment, food, prizes and games in true holiday spirit!

Festivities include:
>Toys for Tots Drive
>Corona del Mar merchant promotions throughout Corona del Mar’s Business District
>Live Entertainment with over 12 signature bands in strategic locations
>The popular Fireman’s Grill BBQ provided by the
NB Fire Department
>Restaurant tastings and celebration parties.
>Kid’s entertainment including snap shots with Santa Clause, bouncy houses, bungee jumping, holiday characters, a petting zoo and more.
>Unique vendor exhibits in the popular vendor faire at the center stage.
>Beer & Wine Garden located in Bandera’s Lower Parking Lot with Signature band “Pinch Me”
>Famous Opportunity Drawing with over $15,000 worth of prizes.
>Langford Properties Raffle, stop by their booth
>Performances by High School and community organization

Win Great Prizes!

Christmas Walk Opportunity Drawing
Langford Properties Raffle: Enter your name at their booth 11-4PM

Pre-sale tickets Avail / Winner Need not be present:

Each year local merchants donate prizes for the popular Christmas Walk Opportunity Drawing and the odds are spectacular. Purchase tickets to win unique gift items, hotel stays, restaurant dinners, spa packages, gift certificates, services and more than $15,000 worth of prizes. Winner need not be present so get your tickets in advance. Tickets also make great gifts for clients.

Ticket prices = $1 ea.
11 tickets for = $10
25 tickets for = $20

#SindeoSitDown Recap: Reeling in Buyers With Video

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In our latest #SindeoSitDown, Owner of The Boutique Real Estate Group and video guru, Raj Qsar, sat down with us to talk about how and why realtors everywhere should be leveraging video to grow their business.

So…what did we learn? For starters, if you’re not already using video to market your listings you should be! Listings that use video receive 4x as many leads as those without. Video has become the #1 ROI for money spent and returned for Raj and his team, as is the case for most realtors doing video successfully.

What kinds of things can you add to video to make them exciting and “sticky”?

  • Add a human element – Create videos that are about more than just the property. Feature pets, give the house a story, include actors that “live” in the home, find ways to make it feel real so viewers can relate.
  • Include the community – B-roll footage is key. Buyers aren’t just moving into a house, they’re moving into a community. So, show it to them! Shots of local businesses, parks, beaches, and amenities go a long way. Plus, this content is evergreen, meaning you can use it again and again.
  • Make it cool – There are so many hi-tech additions you can incorporate to put your video above the rest. Use hyperlapse, add filters, film aerial shots with a drone!

Create beautiful and effective listing videos that capture a buyer’s attention and keep clients coming back.

Don’t know where to start? Get inspired by some of Boutique Real Estate Group’s amazing videos. Check them out!

Missed the webinar? No problem! You can catch the entire thing by

CLICKING HERE.

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Reeling in Buyers with Real Estate Videos

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Did you know 85 percent of sellers want to work with an agent who uses video? And homes listed with video get 4x the inquiries of homes listed without it! Marketing your property with video has quickly become the largest and most effective way to reach your clients.

So what does this mean for you? If you’re not already leveraging video, you should be!

In this #SindeoSitDown, Founder/Owner and marketing extraordinaire, Raj Qsar, will explain how to think about listing videos a bit differently ad how to drive traffic to your listings.

Join us for this 15 minute #sindeositdown on Wednesday December 2nd at 10am.

REGISTER HERE:

Connect with Raj Here:

Watch Videos Here: