Listing Experts Academy- Updates- We are Opening 3 spaces This Week

I hope you are reaching your goals for 2014 so far. It has been an amazing year so far for us and members of Listing Experts Academy.

 

See what others are saying about Listing Experts Academy:

We are starting a network of agents in Listing Experts Academy to help each other apply social signals to boost their traffic, engagement and SEO organically.

 

I am opening the doors to Listing Experts Academy for 3 more agents to join us. Once the 3 agents have been approved we won’t allow access again for a while.

 

So far in Listing Experts Academy we have covered:

 

• Discovering your avatar- really fine tuning who your audience is and how to engage with them

 

• Finding your niche- we went through how to find underserved niches.

 

This is huge because this module alone can increase your profits of your business by over 100%. I know it has for us.

 

• Flying under the radar of the big ZTR’s- don’t compete against zillow and trulia and realtor.com on their terms. Learn how to fly under their radar and have google pick your website and blog up for keywords that have high commercial intent but that the big 4 are not going after. That is how you stay in business with a smaller marketing budget than what they have.

 

• Dominating 7 out of 10 spaces on page one on google- here I show you how you do just that. This module alone is worth the investment of Listing Experts Academy.

 

We still have Reputation Management, Expired Listing Marketing, Listing Presentations, Social Media and a lot more to cover live in Listing Experts Academy-

 

I also added these bonus trainings:

 

1. YouTube SEO

2. ImageSEO

3. Mind Hacking ( to get your thinking in the right place)

4. SEO spreadsheet development for your posts

5. Trello tutorial

6. Google tutorials

7. Update on SEO steps to take now

8. Creating your facebook timeline covers

 

and that is just the beginning!

Join us today to be one of the 3 that get in the door now:

 

http://goo.gl/NMKaUT

 

That btw is a google url shortener code that you can get free from goo.gl to track your clicks.:) It is a great free tool by google.

 

See you at the top!

Marketing in 2014 is all About Your Avatar – Dove Gets it Spot On

Marketing in 2014 is all About Your Avatar- Dove Gets it Spot On 

We started blogging on ActiveRain in 2007. It will be 7 years this year. During the past 7 years Google has made numerous updates to the way that their algorithm finds content on the internet and how it verifies the validity of that content, quality of that content and authority of that website. 

The one thing that has remained a constant has been: write good quality content that your reader would like to read. 

That has not changed in the last 10 years. For SEO purposes you still need to add keywords and become an authority site. 

But once your blog or site is found~ there must be a reason for your reader to stay there to read what you wrote. 

Companies, agents, writers and marketers who get this one part right will weather any SEO storm that Google decides to send out. 

• Know your avatar. 
• Speak to your avatar. 

Your avatar is the one person who wants to buy a house from you ~ not hundreds of people who want to buy a house in your market. 

Your avatar is the one person who wants to sell your house with you ~ not hundreds of people who have a home to sell. 

Once you know and understand your avatar~ you then write directly to your avatar invoking emotion, establishing a relationship of trust and helping the avatar to understand and know you. 

This goes back to the original reason that never changes of how people buy: know, like, trust. 

An example of this that I found recently was the Dove company. They have really embraced social media that speaks to their avatar and they have done a brilliant job of this. 

In this particular campaign the Dove company speaks to their avatar ~ who is a woman who is prettier than she believes herself to be. So the avatar is a middle aged woman who does not have the greatest self esteem. There is a lot more to their avatar but we won't go into the entire phsyche of the avatar at this time. 

This video to the Dove avatar is effective and invokes emotion. It touches a woman in her heart and soul. This connection develops an emotional attachment that can even become one of defending Dove creating a “fan”. This video has nearly 62 million views. 

Steve Jobs and Apple did this same marketing strategy brilliantly. Apple “fans” ( including myself) are more than just buyers, we become salespeople for Apple and don't even get paid a commission to do so. That is a raving fan. 

You may need to get your tissue ready as you watch this video from Dove. While it is hard to watch this video from just purely a marketing standpoint, because it will draw you in emotionally, try to. I had to watch it a few times before I could separate the emotion from the strategy. But once you can do this, I want you to see HOW Dove is speaking and connecting with their avatar. The engagement is key. 

Engaging your avatar and forming that relationship with you is how you know you are adding the right content so that when your ideal prospect finds your blog or website, they will stay to read what you spent your time writing. 

And as an aside ~ If you don't think you are pretty or beautiful then you most definately must watch this video. You should show this video to your daughters and your sisters. 

 

 

 

How To Use Trello as a CRM for Entrepreneurs- Consultants- Coaches- Small Business Owners

How To Use Trello as a CRM for Entrepreneurs- Consultants- Coaches- Small Business Owners 

Are you just starting out in business? Are you looking for a simple solution to keep track of your contacts, leads and customers?

Trello is a free. Here is the link to Trello. There are very few reasons to upgrade to a paid version, however they do offer a business class and a gold class. But for most people, they can use the free version of Trello.  

Now granted, Trello is not a professional CRM program like Infusionsoft is. If you need really robust applications then you will have to look at solutions like Infusionsoft. 

Trello is a great project management app that can be used for many different things in your home and in your business. We use Trello for remodeling our home. We use it for homeschool projects and household chores. We use it to run our company projects on and keep track of listing syndication projects. 

I created this video tutorial below to show you how easy it is to set a Trello board up as a CRM, contact management system.

Trello is very beneficial to visual learners and tactical learners. I don't like spreadsheets. They drive me crazy. But I love the boards and cards that you use on Trello. It is visually appealing to me. You can use it on your desktop, iPad and iPhone. I like the app for it on the phone.

I go to Lowe's and snap a photo of something I want for the home and add it right into my home remodeling board. We went to Ikea and we took photos of the furniture and kitchen cabinets we want to buy and then placed them on my Trello board for Ikea hacks in home remodeling. 

I recommend that you sign up for Trello through your gmail account; that way it is very easy to login and you can also email directly from Trello- it will open your default email program. 

For Listing Experts Academy I will be doing a tutorial on how to set up your listing syndication board. Our VA team is being trained to use Trello so shortly they will be able to run your tasks in Trello for you. 

Please use my link to sign up for Trello. I get credits, no money, just credits towards their gold service if you use my link. Since I don't use the gold version it really does not matter to me however I like to keep track of who is getting Trello because of my recommendation. 

Strategy Sessions for 2014 ~ Strategize to Develop Your Best Plan of Action for 2014

Strategy Sessions for 2014 ~ Strategize to Develop Your Best Plan of Action for 2014 

Albert Einstein was known to have said: “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.” 

This is a great time to review your goals. You most likely have sat down over the holidays to plan out your 2014 calendar and make a list of your 2014 goals. 

Hopefully, you have also written down how much money you want to make in 2014. 

Now it is time to create a strategy in order to make sure that you meet these goals. 

One of my coaching clients came to me for a strategy session before she hired me as her coach because she was thinking about leaving the field of real estate. The reason she was going to leave real estate was because for five years in a row she never made more than $28,000. She was going to give it one more year and if it didn't work out then she was just going to throw towel in. And I don't blame her.

She decided after our strategy session to invest in private coaching to see if we could change your business around. 

By doing her first strategy session and developing a plan of action, instead of making $28,000 in the year she made $28,000 a month! Now she was on her way! She became the top producer in her office and she made $100,000 that year and last year she's made $150,000. 

Of course we did more than just set up an strategy for her but that is where it all began.

If you'd like to have a strategy session please fill out the form below and Allegra will get in touch with you to set you up with an appointment with me.

You can also email me directly at CoachKaterina ( at sign) Gmail.com  

Please make sure before we meet that you send me a list of all of your websites and social media accounts that you were working with. Also please have with you when we meet your list of goals and what you have planned out so far. You will also need to have gmail chat available for fast sharing of links. 

Your January strategy session investment is $279. Allegra will send you an invoice.

I look forward to helping you move your business to the next level.

Reflections of 2013 ~ Can I Handle the Seasons of My Life?

Reflections of 2013 ~ Can I Handle the Seasons of My Life? 

“Time makes you older, children get older, I'm getting older too… Can I handle the seasons of my life…. ” Stevie Nicks might have written these words in contemplating her choice to make song writing her life however, the words to this song are quite poignant. 

Enjoy the song and Stevie's beautiful voice and person as you read my reflections of 2013 ~ 

 

Joy and sadness seem to appear on the scene close together. The span of rising up with emotion to the heights of euphoria watching Tristan emerge as undoubtedly the best pitcher in his age and the best short stop in Palm Beach County, most likely also the state of Florida and surely in the top 10 in the country, to the lows of two fathers passing and a dear friend all within months of each other bringing us to diverging underneath a bedrock of grief. 

Where does our life take us? While much of life is based on our own choices and the paths we choose to take we are met up with processes in life wherein we seem to not have a choice. After all, I did not wish for my father to die the day he died, Nestor did not ask for his father to die the time he did and Mary's two small sons did not every choose that their mother would die on Christmas Eve. 

Yes, we get older and so do our children. Mortality has a way of showing up. 

While flashing back through 2013 ~ it was a great year in many respects ~ such is the ying and the yang in life. You would never know success if you never experienced failure. You would never know joy without every feeling sorrow. You would not revere life if we could deceive death. 

Tristan is amazing. He is such a great son. We are so honored to have him in our family. All the adult children are working and being responsible. Joshua went to China this year. He is our second oldest son and is a Chef for the Fairmont Hotels. He was offered a very good Chef position in Shanghai for the Fairmont and then just a couple months later they asked him to go to Nanjing to start a new restaurant for the Fairmont. Kaleb is our third oldest son and he is the Chef at Kon Tiki in Wellington. 

The grandchildren are all doing great. They are all happy, safe, learning and growing. 

Our real estate brokerage – International Properities and Investments LLC had a great year. We hired two agents, one in Wellington and one in Fort Lauderdale. We expanded delegating more tasks to our virtual assistant team. We shifted some goals around and worked on purpose. Listings is still the forefront of priorities for Nestor and we continue to work more on our business instead of in our business. 

Coaching and consulting grew during 2013 and I was afforded opportunities to speak at events to brokers who own their real estate brokerages which has really helped to grow the income of our coaching company. I developed a new course called, Listing Experts Academy and I am so excited about the success and the value of this program already. The company increased in revenue by another 20%. I found out recently in one of my entrepreneur masterminds that I participate in that if your company grows by 20% a year for 5 years in a row you are considered a “gazelle” company. 2 more years to go:) to see if I earn that status for our company. 

We are continuing to develop new products and support systems for REALTORS®. But life is not all about real estate and we have a lot of interests and experience at our ages wherein we can touch lives, empower others to follow their dreams, help people live happy lives and more. We are expanding the companies, hiring and training and moving forward. 

So can I handle the seasons of my life? I believe I can with the help of my Heavenly Father, Nestor and our family. 

My Biggest Accomplishment of 2013- I lost 56 Pounds

My biggest accomplishment of 2013 was that I lost 56 pounds. 

While I had many achievements throughout 2013 in business and in my personal and family life, if you ask what is the one thing I am happiest to have achieved it would be my weight loss. 

My clothes are loose, I dropped over 4 dress sizes and well on my way to a better and healthier body. This is the suit that I wore to speak in Atlantic City at the RainCamp: 

 

Sometimes things show up in your life so that you have no choice but to deal with them. It seems like just yesterday when they told me that there was a VERY big chance that it was cancer. 

On January 5, 2013 I went out ready to kick the big “C” out of my body. We went to buy a juicer and I started to juice. We live very near Hippocrates Institute and I have been there on many occasions to learn and eat at their raw food restaurant. I remember all that they said they did with cancer patients and I started to mimic it all. 

The good news is that 3 weeks later the tests came back clean of cancer. But there was a side effect to my actions- I had lost over 10 pounds!!! 

I felt full of energy and my double chin was disappearing. 

Now I look at my photos from a couple of years ago and can not even recall being that obese. But I was. 

I still have 40 more pounds to lose which I already know I will lose in 2014. 

There were a couple of habits that I formed that have really helped with overall health. 

The first thing they teach you to do at Hippocrates is first thing in the morning to drink a cup of hot water with a fresh squeezed lemon in it. We have a lemon tree and our lemons are large so I use half of a lemon. I started this on January 5th of 2013 and have not missed one day of having my hot water and lemon on an empty stomach first thing when I wake up. The best part about this habit is that when I fly I can take my lemons with me. In the hotel room I use my Smart Water and run it through the coffee maker in the room to get hot water, and hand squeeze the lemon. When we drive for vacation or baseball games, I take my lemons and water with me. There has not been one single day in 2013 where I could not find a way to start my morning with hot water and lemon. 

The second thing that I have learned and continue to do is to eat naturally fermented foods along with any solid food that I eat. This helps the digestive track and helped me get rid of the “belly” fat which amazingly was the first noticeable change. I used to look like I was 8 months pregnant. My belly is near flat now. 

The third thing that I did was have fresh carrot juice with pineapple and with strawberries when they are in season every morning. No, I did not turn orange:). Every morning for a year with the exception of a few times when I was speaking in another state and could not bring my juicer with me. I miss the juice so much when I don't have it. 

I also drink my green juice, I love green juices. I do not juice for all 3 meals and if I had done so, I most likely would have already lost the other 40 pounds. But I did not that. I am still working on the “smell” of food factor going on in my mind. But I do work towards eating 70% all raw foods, juices, nuts and snacks. I am not a vegan. 

We are a totally Dairy Free family. We do eat grains and we do eat meat sparingly and when we eat flesh, it is mostly fish. 

In 2013 I wrote about my juicing journey on my blog and video taped our starting to juice on YouTube. Now it is time to do an “after” video! 

This was never a new years resolution and I am glad for that because resolutions rarely create the desired end result. But it was the push, the scare that I needed to get going! 

For those of you who follow me and this journey- you know that I was supposed to have surgery to remove the tumors but now my doctor believes they are no longer there. I will go in for another ultrasound to make sure they are gone. Wouldn't that be awesome!!!!